Hi - I was supposed to go on a cruise with a co-worker in December on the Conquest but our plans have changed. Now I'm wondering if I should talk hubby into going on a cruise and taking our young kids ages 2 and 4. Does anyone have experience taking children that young on cruises and what are the pros/cons? I can see the cons being that we'd be limited to activities. Any info/suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

We do not have children but we have sailed on the Conquest. Check into Camp Carnival.....kind of a day camp for the kids when the adults want to do their own thing. I believe there also is some kind of babysitting service offered if you want to do something in the evenings.

Disney, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean are the three best cruise lines for children. Carnival expects to carry a record 525,000 children in 2006. As mentioned Camp Carnival is an excellent program. They have activities for five groups from ages 2-17. Age 2-5 is one group, which your children would be in. They also have after hours babysitting for a fee. It is $6.00 an hour for the first child, and $4.00/hour for each additional child. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to go on the Conquest and enjoy this beautiful ship and have some time to yourselves.

Hi,
I just wanted to say that my husband and I took a cruise a couple of years back with our two small children. They were 2 and 4 at the time as well. It was a 4 night cruise into Mexico on Carnival. The kids actually did fantastic. My 4 year old cried at the end because she didn't want to leave the ship.
We did send them to camp Carnival a few times and they really enjoyed themselves there. There never seemed to be any problems with Camp Carnival. We as parents were a little nervous leaving them, but we would sneak up to check on them, and each time they were playing have a great time. So no real issues there.
I guess there are really numerous pros to taking the little ones with you. As for cons, of course you as parents are somewhat limited on what you can and can't do, mostly at night. Babysitting can add up real fast. We didn't mind turning in early because we too were tired by then. Or I would go in early and my hubby would go to the casino or find something to do. There are ways of working around everything. I guess it's just a matter of how much alone time you and your husband want. We went with the notion of spending time with our children.
All in all it was great fun. Formal night was really cute with the kids being all dolled up. And in Mexico the girls shopped, got their hair braided, and had a good time. I have read that you can actually go to some of the local resorts at ports and eat, swim (some with kiddie slides and play areas), hang out, for a fee of course. But that's an option at the ports. Transportation at the ports is something you may want to think about. Some of the taxi & bus drivers drive crazy and they don't necessarily have car seats for the little ones. We didn't put our children in any vehicles while in port because we were there for such a short time, we walked. But that is something to think about.
Best of luck on your decision making. I hope what I wrote helps a little. We are actually taking another cruise next week for 8 days into Mexico on the Carnival Spirit and taking our girls again..........only now they are 7 and 5. We are all looking forward to it

warmly, Stacey