My ILs have offered to take us on a small, upscale European cruise next year when LO will be around a year old. "Small, upscale" is code for nothing to do on the ship because the main attractions are the ports of call.
My mom had to gently remind me that shore excursions and day trips will likely be impossible with a LO who is napping 1-2x/day. I'm not sure it's worth the time and money to fly over there if someone will always have to stay back with her while she naps.
Thoughts?
17 votes
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
It probably depends on the kid... I have a friend who takes her babies wherever/whenever. They sleep in the ergo or stroller. Another friend will not do anything that interrupts nap time because her kid will only sleep in his crib.
Not much help, I know. We are trying to get our daughter to be the kind who will sleep anywhere, but right now she definitely gets too stimulated/excited when we are out and it messes with her naps
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I didn't, but looking back, it would have been too stressful for us. My son isn't/wasn't the best sleeper and he did best when he was following the same routine, of sleeping at the same time in the same place. I might be tempted to do a cruise in the same time zone, but just the change of time messed us up big time, going and coming back.
nectarine / 2280 posts
I wouldn't. It sounds like it might be stressful. Vacations should be fun for everyone involved. I'm a big fan of cruising but I like it when there are activities for all ages. This one sounds too fancy.
coconut / 8279 posts
I would go!
DS has always been a go-with-the-flow kind of kid, though. If you think your DD will sleep in the Ergo or stroller, why not go for it? If we had taken DS at that age, he may not have napped well but he would've crashed hard and STTN from a full day of activity. But every kid is different.
coconut / 8472 posts
One of the bloggers recently wrote about this. Maybe Mrs. Chocolate? They went on a cruise and had a great time, I think. But it was a tropical one, not European. I'm not sure if the location and types of activities would have an adverse affect.
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@MrsCB: I think the ship has a bigger impact than the location - bigger ships like Royal Caribbean that cater to families would be a no-brainer for us.. but we are looking to do something smaller/quieter, with the trade-off being it's not kid-friendly...
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Is it a long boat, via Viking Tours? I get their brochures in the mail all the time, and they're pretty nice, though, so I'd be torn!
eggplant / 11824 posts
I'd go! Are some of the excursions half day (or only a few hours?). The was the case with the European cruise we took, so it would have been easy to take a LO out for the excursion, but still keep a morning or afternoon nap schedule.
When we travel, LO doesn't nap especially well, but she also doesn't nap especially well at home haha. She isn't a scheduled napper, so I'm not protective of any particular times of the day, etc.
Does the boat have places you could hang out with your LO - pools, quieter lounge areas, etc.? I'd go!
pineapple / 12234 posts
I would go! Besides the naps, it'll be a fun experience. By 12 months, babies seem less fussy. DD still falls asleep when I wear her at 13 months so for me, I probably wouldn't have to stay behind.
coconut / 8472 posts
@JoJoGirl: You know, the more I think about it, I think you might be right about the ship. The success of the excursions will probably depend on your LO's personality and ability to sleep in different situations. But personally, if I was to do a trip like that, I think I'd enjoy it more if the boat was kid friendly and support families with things like kids' play areas and baby sitting services.
We've been tossing around the idea of doing a cruise in a year or so, and while I am totally not a Disney (or large crowds of kids) type of person, I would LOVE to do one of their cruises. They have kids' areas, family areas, teenager areas, baby sitting/day care options, and adult only areas to get away from kids. I feel like I'd personally prefer that to a Royal Caribbean type of cruise where everyone's mashed together, but they're ok with kids on board.
bananas / 9973 posts
I don't have a 1-yr old yet, but we did just get home from a European cruise with our (now) 4 month old! It was also a classy European ship, I think I only met one other American aboard the whole week. There were plenty of LOs, though K was the youngest on our ship. Truth be told, it was pretty boring for me during the time ON the ship. I'm still EBFing and would go back to the room to nurse more often than not. We also battled jet lag heavily, but this translated into EASY excursions (she would sleep through most of them in her stroller or in a baby carrier), but meant I was often in the room trying to get her to get some sleep on the ship. I would imagine this part would be easier with a 1 year old who is on solids and would take a bottle.
Naps during the day were easy since she was basically doing all her night sleeping in the day with our 9 hour time difference.
Also, if the ship has a pool, it might give you more activities to do with your LO. Though most have a no-diaper rule.
hth!
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
I don't have a 1 year old yet either, but I think it could be done. The question is whether you'd want to. For us...lo would probably not sleep well on the cruise or once we got home. She would likely be vocal about it too! 
And the one time we went on a cruise we didn't gravitate toward things we could do with a baby. With lo being bottle fed we would also be washing bottles on a ship, nasty... Well that is unless she's on a sippy by then, but right now she still refuses. I guess my point is it wouldn't be very fun to me so I wouldn't spend money on it. But that's not to say you COULDN'T do it!
GOLD / nectarine / 2884 posts
I would take the opportunity! You may be able to drop a few naps, stay in a few days and enjoy the view, and there will be at sea days too! I wouldn't miss it!
apricot / 469 posts
I would do it - you might never get an opportunity like this again and it would be a shame to get in the habit of not doing things jsut in case it turns out to be stressful. I'm sure that some parts of it will be a bit stressful but you will be making amazing memories and will have wonderful moments too!
We are taking our LO on a European trip in 2 months and this is how I am choosing to look at it!
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