Princess vs. RC with a 2 & 3-year-old cruising to Alaska
Has anyone taken a 2&3 yo to Alaska on Princess. I have revservations held on both Princess & RCI. The availability of accomdations for our family are much better on Princess, but RCI's toddler programs would cover both my 2 & 3 yo. I'm concerned about taking my 2yo on a ship with no access to kids programs? How do they spend their days (still in diapers, so not in the pool)? Would they enjoy the Alaskan ports of call? Any advice to help me decide between these 2 options would be greatly appreciated.
I would advise you to really, really do your homework. As it stands if you selected RCCL you may be disappointed to find out that the only children's program your two year old could participate in is a parent tot program which is only held for a short period of time daily, aside from that your child would not be able to participate in the kid's club, because they only accept potty trained kids that are 3 and older. In cabin sitting is available though.
Now compare this to Princess, which will allow your child to go to the children's center as long as you are there with them. The Princess website says they do not offer in cabin sitting, however I have seen posts from people who claim they were able to obtain these services, So if they stick to the policies on their website, I would not count on it being available.
A third choice might be Carnival, whose Kid's program does accept 2 year olds, potty trained or not. My two year old loved it!
There is also Disney, which offers a wide gamut of childcare solutions but it is a bit pricey in comparison to the other lines.
One final thought would be Norwegian Cruiseline they will accept a 2 year old, but you will be paged to care for diaper changes. My toddler also loved NCL but was potty trained by the time she cruised with them.
Hope that helps you make up your mind, fortunately you have lots of choices. I hope you have a great time.
Can't comment an Alaska per se, but just got off a Golden Princess Cruise with our 18 month old. There is not daycare or babysitting available for those under 3. Though, parents are allowed to play in the kids' center with their children. And the kid's splash pool and play area is available.
They do have signs posted "No infants in diapers allowed in pool" so that is out, however, they do not mind the kiddos splashing around in the wading area. And, (off the record) the kiddie pool is not really monitored. I saw parents letting their obviously not-yet-potty trained kids play in the water. We even did it once with a swim diaper. But for the most part, we saved the swimming for the beach.
There wasn't much else for her to do besides walk around, which she loved. But if we go again, we will either choose a cruise line that has a daycare program that accommodates younger children (we are planning on having at least one more little one by the next time we cruise) or bring along a babysitter so that we can get more "alone" time.
One more thing...If you're set on either PRincess or RCI, then choose RCI since you can pay for private babysitting (in cabin) and they have a daily 45 minute session (you must go too) for toddlers. But as I said before, Carnival goes to Alaska and two year olds can attend and have their diapers changed.
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Princess vs. RC with a 2 & 3-year-old cruising to Alaska
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