cruising w/ 9 month old or 14 month old "easier"

[Daisy72582]

Because I am currently pregnant, I will need to change the date of our 4 night Dream cruise booked on board last May. Work schedules allow us to move the date to either Dec. 2018 or May 2019 (when itineraries are announced). Dec. would mean we would be traveling with a 9 month old and May would mean a 14 month old. (We also have a 4 year old.)

Does anyone have any experience traveling/cruising with either/both of these ages?

 

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

I would say 14 would be better. I have not cruised with a child but being a mom the older the better. 9 month old will still be crawling just learning steps. Possibly still breast feeding/ bottle feeding, baby food etc, nap more often. Most can be avoided with a 14 month. Not only that December you'll be dealing with Christmas etc and extremely higher pricing. I would choose 14 month and may hands down.

 

[efam]

I actually think the opposite! Ha! When my babies started walking, they ALWAYS wanted down to run off. When they are little, it just seems easier when they can mostly stay in one place.

 

[aggiedog]

I've never cruised with a young child, but I've traveled a lot throughout the years with our 4. I'd also vote for younger. The less mobile they are, the easier. It will mean more "stuff" though - more diapers, burp clothes, multiple changes of clothes, bottles and formula (if not nursing), maybe baby food. To me, all of that is still easier than chasing a toddler with the means to move and absolutely no concept of what is safe. Unless you are going with helpful family and friends that can help watch the toddler, you will spend most of your attention on the child.

 

[Dug720]

I don't have any advice for with kids, but...

If by "last May" you mean May 2017, make sure the May 2019 will fall within the 24-month mark so you get your onboard booking perks. It's a moot point if you mean May 2016 as either December 2018 or May 2019 would be outside of the 24 month window, but could make a big difference if the May date falls outside the window.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Another vote for younger! A new walker may be a runner! Lol. And new-found mobility becomes hard to contain in a stroller sometimes. Easier to manage a prewalker in my experience with travel. Good luck with everything!

 

[BAIC03]

9 months, hands down. They are still portable, maybe not mobile and they can sleep when they need to. At 14 months, they are mobile, have "opinions" about what they like and dislike, and may have trouble sleeping away from the routine. Plus, the infant fog isn't so bad for mom at 9 months, so you could enjoy yourselves.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I've traveled with all of our kids at various ages from 6 months to 21 years of age. I think the younger ages were easier. Sure, there's more "stuff" for younger kids (bottles, blankies, stroller, crib/playpen) but the actual, "let's go here and see this" stuff - much easier with a kid you can pick up and carry.

 

[cmph]

I haven't cruised with babies/toddlers, but I traveled a heck of a lot with both of mine. So I have to agree with the 9mo being easier. Since they still nurse or bottle feed, they are so much easier to soothe on planes (if you have to take one), and yeah, the lack of mobility is helpful. I've always thought the absolute hardest age to travel with was the 12mo - 2yo set. They do NOT want to sit still (on the plane, in a restaurant, anywhere!), certainly can't be reasoned with (haha!!), and are much harder to distract than 3yo and up. A crawling baby heading toward a dangerous thing can be fairly easily overtaken, but a running toddler heading to the ungated staircase - not so much! I never worried much about non-baby-proofed places we stayed with actual babies. It was always when my kids were toddlers that I was on edge about stairs, outlets, etc.

 

[aggiedog]

We were in an old, walled, maze-like Italian city this summer when a toddler came careening around a corner and down the street we were on. The mom in me reacted without thinking and I immediately grabbed him. A frazzled dad came around the corner a couple seconds later. There's a reason they make toddler leashes, however you might actually feel about them! LOL

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I would say nine for sure! The child develops a lot of strong will between the cute 9-month baby phase and 14-month toddler phase. In addition to that, a 14 month-old is going to be pretty aware that the older child is going to AWESOME places and having fun, and is sure not to see the nursery as so cool. A 9 month-old will be much more pliable.

 

[DCLDVC1]

I cruised when my youngest was 9 months and 15 months and 9 months was a lot easier. Our Baby Bjorn came in very handy.

 

[Terapin]

I'm agreeing with the 9 month old. We cruised last year when our little one was 8 months and she was quite easy. Dinners were quick, however, and we often switched off with DH taking her after our appetizer and returning after I had 10 minutes to eat my main course, then we'd switch because she only had about 30 minutes of dinner table patience in her. She adapted well to the nursery. She also did pretty well sleeping. We are cruising in less than 2 weeks with her at 22 months and her little sister at 6 months! Wish us luck!

 

[rcchello]

My son was easier at 14 months and my daughter at 9. My son was happy in his backpack at 14 months and would stay close when let loose. My daughter had opinions and would end up hiding under clothing displays in stores.

 

[kathi]

I'd definitely say 9 months - not yet ambulatory and more likely to sleep while mom and dad are having dinner or chilling on deck. Also probably more likely to be OK in the nursery if you want to catch some adult dining or spa time.

 

[3monkeys4me]

I would say 9 months would be easier. my kids were easier to hold at that age, as opposed to always wanting to be down. Plus a 9 month old wont need to be distracted away from the pool. Naps were about the same and I was still nursing all of mine. The only issue I could think of is if you choose to use baby food/purees it may take a little more planning with a younger baby. We did baby led weaning, so no purees to deal with.

 

[tinay]

I would say 9 months. My niece went at 7 months, 12 months, and 16 months. At 7 months, she didn't mind the characters, loved crawling around, and was super easy to put into the carrier. She was starting to eat, but was still being nursed. At 12 months, she was partly afraid of the characters (except the princesses), wanted to walk/run, and was still easy to put into a carrier. She was eating by herself, but we fed her most times since we wanted to keep her clean. At 16 months, she was terrified of the characters (stranger danger to the extreme, except for Cinderella and Belle), wanted to walk/run only, and hated the carrier. At meal times, she wanted to feed herself only, so it got messy...

On every cruise, we did a least 1 load of laundry...

 

[DisneyHeather]

I'd have to agree with younger. My son only got harder as he got older.

 

[jahber]

Younger is better in my experience. My second daughter sailed at 6mos (as did my second son, 2 years before). Easy least. We are sailing again next month when she will be 17 months. Hoo boy! It's gonna be busy. We sailed with my second son when he was just about 2 1/2 (when my daughter was 6 months). By far, my son was a TON more work than the baby. We learned our lesson. We are bringing grandma along to help out this time!

 

[arielmomma]

I'd say the 9 mon old would be easier. While we didn't cruise when our children were that young, we travelled a lot and made many trips to WDW. We found that compared to toddlers, it was much easier while they were barely mobile and I was still nursing them.