cruising with babies: what you need to know

Our family recently went on a cruise with extended family. Even though Mike and I have cruised a handful of times–and we love it–this was our first experience with our kids. At the time of our cruise, our oldest was 15, but our youngest was just two years old. Because I went in with such low expectations, it actually ended up not being as bad as I thought, haha. However, I still don’t think I would cruise with a child younger than three again. Especially if they’re not potty trained. And I’m saying that as someone who loves traveling with my kids. In full transparency I wanted to share an article full of everything you need to know about cruising with babies. Spoiler alert–I don’t really recommend it.

everything you need to know about cruising with babies

I want to be very clear that I pretty much knew all these things I’m going to share going into this trip. I had cruised before, and I’d done my research so most these things did not come as a surprise. This would not have been my first choice for a family vacation at this stage of life, but as I mentioned, this was for an extended family vacation. I was not in charge and really just needed to go with the flow. I just say that because I know I’ll get someone who’s thinking–why didn’t you just plan a different trip? Here are some things you should know about cruising with babies, and why I’d think twice before doing it again.

your water-loving baby will be likely disappointed

On cruise ships a baby or toddler in swim diapers can not get in any swimming pools. If you’re cruising with babies it should be known that this is universal across all cruise lines. Some cruise ships do have special splash pad areas that babies in swim diapers can get into. This was the case with our cruise ship (Navigator of the Seas, sailed in July 2025). My two year old loves the water and loves splashing around our pool at home. So, I knew this would be hard for her but was hoping the splash pad area would placate her.

Well, it turns out that on our ship kids in swim diapers were restricted not just to the splash pad, but to the smaller of two splash pads. I don’t want to be a negative Nelly but it was a really small area. And there were only a couple of short water features that were about waist high on my two year old. The area didn’t hold her interest for very long. So be sure to check with your cruise ship about any special splash pad areas your baby may be able to utilize and be prepared. I overheard several upset parents on our cruise who didn’t know about the swim diaper rule.

| Read: What’s Included in the Cost of a Cruise? |

cruising with babies? the kids club may be a no

Something that is great about cruising with kids is being able to utilize the complementary kids club onboard. This helps you have the perfect mix of family together time, time with friends for your kids, and time alone with your spouse. On most cruise ships, the magic age to go to the kids club is three years old (and potty trained). We cruised on Royal Caribbean for this trip and that was the case. Now, most cruise lines do offer a paid service for younger cruisers and the cost is actually quite affordable.

Although we did pre-register our baby on debarkation day, we didn’t end up ever utilizing the babysitting service. It wasn’t a cost issue, it was more because the paid service requires pre-booking to reserve your spot. It seemed like a lot more pre-planning and work than the convenience of dropping your kid off. Which we did several times with our five and seven year old at their requests. Another thing to keep in mind is that some ships within a cruise line will have different guidelines about their kids clubs, so do your homework beforehand.

cruise dinners are long affairs–plan accordingly

I love eating in the dining room on cruise ships–it’s part of the whole cruise experience! However, I know how long of an ordeal dinnertime onboard is. I was definitely a little leery of my two year old sitting through a whole cruise dinner without a meltdown. I figured we’d go the first night and see how it went. Well, I’m happy to say that we were very pleasantly surprised at how well she did at mealtimes. I planned ahead and packed a couple small items for her to play with while we waited for our meals (I’ll link them here for you!) and I think that helped significantly. I only brought one thing a night and alternated items so she wouldn’t get bored.

there goes your baby’s sleep routine

For once I was glad that my two year old doesn’t take regular naps anymore. That would have gone out the window on this cruise. If you are the type of parent who thrives on routine then a cruise is probably not for you. If your child has to nap at the same time, in the same way, every day it’s going to be tricky. One day our two year old fell asleep at lunch and we carried her back to the room where she slept for another hour. Another day she slept for about three hours on a lounge on the pool deck. She also took a nap for an hour on a golf cart tour of Catalina Island on another day, lol.

One thing I didn’t realize was that getting our daughter a good sleeping spot in the stateroom would be tricky. We purposely transitioned her to a bed pre-cruise because I didn’t want to deal with a crib in our room. However, when we got on the ship our stateroom steward explained that their policy wouldn’t allow him to open a Pullman bunk for a child younger than six. Thankfully, since we had a connecting room we were just able to reconfigure some of our kids and work it out.

I want to end with saying that Mike and I still love cruising. And our kids have gotten the cruising bug now too! I really do feel like it’s a great way to travel as a couple or as a family. We’re even already talking about our next family cruise–once our youngest is at least three years old and potty trained.