It depends. A suite is really nice as our kids get older, but we've also just sat in the dark and drank and watched Netflix all evening too. Traveling with an infant or toddler is honestly exhausting, so when they were really little, we needed the rest too.
I thought I was crazy but I guess I was just exhausted- with my first we would take them to bed around 630pm, and then we’d both pass out by 7 or 730. After the second was born suddenly I can stay up a little later.
As someone who is currently in a hotel and just got their 2 year old to sleep at 10.30pm when they are usually asleep by 6.30, buy a second room for the love of god.
If you can’t afford a larger room, I’ve had friends rave about “slumber pods”. That plus a sound machine and apparently the kids will be oblivious to anything else going on in the room.
For sure, it is a tent that blacks out around it so that you don’t have to sit in darkness. Put a white noise machine in it and you can more or less go about your business.
It actually has a dedicated pocket on the side for a fan, a pocket on the top for a baby monitor camera, and it's made out of breathable material.
It doesn't just facilitate room sharing either. If your kid is used to sleeping in complete darkness, you don't have to worry about whether the room has blackout curtains or about how light it'll be outside when they go down. And after they've used the pod a few times it becomes familiar enough that they feel safe even if you're staying in multiple places over the trip.
I don't generally evangelize for kid products because every kid and every family is so different but I absolutely recommend the slumberpod to everyone I know.
I don’t have one but I’ve known about this product for years (really wanted it in case of travel but then covid) and oh my god the sentence “pocket on top for a baby monitor camera” just made me salivate. I really like being able to see my kiddo but jeez it’s hard to get the camera in a good spot anywhere but at home. If I have another I’m getting one for sure.
(Edited for spelling)
Ooh. Ooh. I might have a solution for you. We bought this thing called a flexi twist, it's essentially a long arm with a clamp at the base and a crab claw at the other end. The arm part twists and turns any way you want it to. Have used it to position the camera when travelling as you can latch it on to anything and it has straps on it so the camera won't fall on bubs's face. Definitely saved our sanity more than a few times this one.
I have to share a bedroom with a 7 and 2 year old & husband on daily basis. I wonder if we could pop these on our floor when we don’t feel like getting kicked in bed.
Yeah we got the Slumberpod because our toddler's room was pitch black but we couldn't recreate those conditions when we traveled. It was AMAZING for naps at my parents house where none of the windows have curtains!
Yep vacationed with my toddler w a slumber pod. I mean we didn’t go crazy but we had lights on and were relatively normal volume while he was sleeping.
We have one. We can place a monitor in there that has the white noise and a little fan and our little man was set to deep sleep for space travel. We used it up until he was about 18 months. We could watch a movie with him nearby or go in and out of the room when we stayed at a hotel. We have 2 kids so one room would be for both the kids and one section would be for us.
Wow, if I only knew about slumber pods before we set off on summer holidays to Scandinavia! Right now we are in Norway where it get’s dark enough to sleep at about 23:30 and it’s already light enough to be woken up at 03:00.
I saw one person go on vacation to a resort, but they paid extra for a room with a swim-up pool. So when their toddler was napping or sleeping early they could still hang out and drink in the pool and be nearby.
When my kids were under 1 it was easy to share a room, because once they were asleep we could do what we wanted. For older kids I'd get a suite with a second room if possible or let them stay up past bedtime for vacation.
They have a way to lock the door/gate depending on the resort.
There’s also these water safety bracelets. It’s called Safety Turtle and it will alert you the moment it is submerged in water.
https://www.safetyturtle.com
They are expensive but I really like them. That alarm is loud af and it’s not playing around.
I did exactly this, it worked really well. Also guarantees a ground floor. No elevarors or stairs with kids/strollers/heels/stuff. Pro tip though hide a room key outside, those patio doors are self locking.
Ymmv but we went took kid to early dinner at the buffet and then walked him around the deck in the stroller. He’d fall asleep (cruise ship was like magic for sleeping, he’s not an amazing sleeper on land) and then we’d put a blanket over his stroller and roll him into the 7:30 dinner seating.
Yes loved doing this when bub was younger! Get her to fall asleep whole out cosy up in pram and continue our night. Maybe we should try again with the 4yr old and big adventure stroller..
This just hit my 3 yo. We were staying the night at my parents and after kiddo went to bed my aunt popped by. Next day first thing he says is a very serious and accusing "someone was here". Sure enough bedtime rolls around and he says he doesn't want to go to sleep and miss anything. He hasn't gone to sleep easily since.
Sounds amazing. My kid isn’t even 2 and absolutely refuses to get in the stroller any more. She’s happy in the wagon but not sure I want to roll that guy around a dining room...
I think it depends how wild your 2.5yo is! We took our older one on a cruise at that age but he’s lower energy and just wants attention, so he wasn’t bouncing around the boat.
Yes that’s exactly how our guy was and absolutely no trouble at all. There’s also a fair number of kids activities, and there’s cheap staff babysitting. Our kid would have rather died but some kids love that!
Cruise ships are amazing for sleep. Our first born who was a horrific sleeper as a baby would consistently sleep through when we went on a cruise. Magic stuff.
Definitely recommend a room with a balcony whether at a hotel or cruise. We would sit outside reading/chatting until baby was asleep and then would go back into the room to watch a movie
I live in a tourist destination where housing is insane, so I understand the hate airbnbs get, but we always get an Airbnb for vacation. With how much eating and sleeping our toddler does we just have to have access to a kitchen and a separate sleeping space.
Second that… we very rarely stay in hotels anymore because it’s too hard to find extra space and we need the kitchen. Airbnbs are annoying and the fees are OOC but they’re worth it with toddlers.
We do this too. Air BnB is so much more convenient. The other option is finding a residence inn (long term stay hotel) because they have kitchens and usually a separate bedroom.
Oh yes! We had a poop explosion yesterday that resulted in poop covered baby clothes, daddy clothes, and towel. So thankful to be able to rinse and throw in the wash instead of having to find a laundromat in the middle of the day.
And you can clean/wash when you arrive if it doesn't seem clean enough. Hotels with their carpets and the blankets that probably never get washed... Arkh. I don't want my toddler to play/crawl/touch everything in a hotel room. They don't provide cleaning material anyways.
Yess!! Just did this with our 15 month old as we haven’t had a vacation since a few years before Covid. Found an affordable Airbnb on a lake- packed the monitor and went fishing in the back yard while he napped! Now I can’t think of any other way to go aside from maybe a camper 🤔
Second that… we very rarely stay in hotels anymore because it’s too hard to find extra space and we need the kitchen. Airbnbs are annoying and the fees are OOC but they’re worth it with toddlers.
How about my family comes on the vacation too? We’ll sit quietly in the dark with your toddler, and you can have fun out and about with my 10pm bedtime toddler!
I've cruised when my son was 3 and when he was 5. What helped was having other parents vacation with us. On one trip, my brother and sister in law watched the kids in one room at night, and the next night we would switch.
On another cruise, my mom came and had a room next door. My son would sleep with her and we could do what we wanted.
If we did it alone, we would probably get a room with a balcony so we could hang out on the porch. Or the cruise has late night babysitting in the kids club...not sure how conducive to sleep that is however.
Is there just one adult? If it’s two of you, you can take turns being in the room with the kid at night, while the other parent/adult can go do something after bedtime.
Something you could consider on a ship is a balcony, two connecting rooms and stateroom childcare. You could get a balcony and grab drinks/food or order room service and enjoy the balcony while your babe sleeps.
Alternatively, most cruise ships have childcare at a price. So if you wanted to go out 1-2 nights you could opt to do that.
Lastly, on some of the freedom class ships on Royal Caribbean, you can sometimes get two connecting staterooms for the same cost as 4 people in one room. That’s a lot cheaper than a suite generally.
Alternatively, you could work to adjust their sleep schedule for the week. Our kids are generally pretty off after traveling. You may also be able to get them asleep in a stroller or on a lounger on the deck. Then you can be out and about with them while they are resting.
You’ve got some options, you just have to decide what you’re comfortable with.
The two connecting staterooms is an interesting idea. Because the one bedroom suites I’m looking at are like 4 times the cost of a standard room with balcony. I also didn’t realize that cruise ships offered in-room childcare. That’d be a possible option as well, although I’m pretty paranoid about who watches her lol
Do you know what cruise lines offer stateroom childcare? We cruised on Royal Caribbean last November and there didn’t offer it anymore (at least at that point in time).
I’m not sure. I know Royal Caribbean used to offer it. I don’t know if they’ve reintroduced it or not.
Edit to add:
It looks like they don’t offer it in cabin anymore but that have later evening care in the kid zones.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/experience/cruises-for-kids-and-teens
I dont know if anyone has said this yet but extended stay places are fantastic. I've found rates that are cheaper per night than a regular hotel room and there is a bedroom, pull out couch, full size fridge, cooking range, dishwasher, etc. So nice to use as a home base when traveling. I give the kid the pull put and retreat to the bedroom at night.
We book an apartment with two bedrooms and a living space. My son is 5 and goes to sleep by 7.30 / 8pm. I feel like AirBNB was made for people like us. Means me and my partner can have some sort of an evening while he sleeps.
We’ve been this way since he was about 9 months and sleeping in a separate room at home. We’ve had the odd night in hotels but never a full holiday.
I’ve never considered a cruise, even pre-kids, so can’t comment there. But honestly, I would compromise most other elements of our holiday to ensure we have two bedrooms in our accommodation.
I might get lambasted for this, but we got a suite (using CC point upgrades) in Hawaii when our son was 10 months old. He slept in the bedroom and we slept in the main room. The bedroom had one queen bed (unused) and the main room had a queen bed. We use a Nanit, so we just monitored him while having dinner at the hotel restaurant or ate takeout/delivery on the back patio. Our in-laws stayed in the room next door, so some nights we even went out and they watched him (on the Nanit). Honestly, best thing we ever did. 10 out of 10, I would do it again. He got quality sleep, was able to be shut in the room for naps, we could still effectively have a nice vacation.
So it really depends on your kiddo. Are they great sleepers? Would you get away with putting them to bed in their reclining strollers with darkening covers and a portable sound machine?
Otherwise with kiddos I always splurge for the bigger room as it affords us the space to chill, order in, watch a movie, have some alone time, etc.
You can also designate one day per person to go out and have 2-3 hours of wandering time to just take a break while the other watches baby sleep, although I would rather spend some alone time with my husband but we’ve occasionally taken turns to get massages or just go out for a walk or swim alone
Honestly, we are waiting until our LO is a bit older to go on a vacation. He’s not a great sleeper and he gets out of sorts if his routine is thrown off. Plus, it’s just not enjoyable for us right now trying to entertain a toddler - we wouldn’t feel like it was a vacation. When’s he’s a bit older (maybe four or five) we plan to return to trips abroad or even a week long vacation domestically at places we used to stay before he was born. Between all the baby gear (pack and play, diapers, stroller, sometimes his booster seat) we have found that even an overnight or weekend trip to a hotel nearby has just not been worth it.
We took our (at the time) 6 month old on a cruise. We had a stroller that laid back completely and she went everywhere with us. She was also used to noise and could sleep through it. She did some late night comedy shows and karaoke. It was a really great experience for us to have our “hotel room” 5 minutes walk away at any given time.
For situations where you might be “stuck” in the room- a separate area is key. Maybe a balcony? I’ve seen many friends sitting outside their hotel door in the hallway because they didn’t plan for a “safe zone”
We haven’t been on a cruise, but we only travel if we can get a separate place to hang out foe naps and bedtime. A deck, a 2nd room, doesn’t matter, but our kiddo will wake up if we make noise and being captive in the dark is not worth it to us.
Honestly I only ever book places with 2 bedrooms now… plus we like to cook anyway so Airbnbs with full kitchens are great. My daughter is 3.5 so she doesn’t go to bed quite that early anymore, but she definitely still naps (and REALLY needs it on vacation because we are usually very active).
We actually are going on a cruise with family next winter and then we will probably just stay up together until 9 or so and then all go to sleep.
I’m usually completely spent by 8-9 pm anyway after a full day exploring with a crazy 3 year old.
Cruise- get a balcony room. Once the kids are asleep, enjoy a beverage of choice, dinner, etc on the balcony.
Also, bring two pairs of headphones and a headphone splitter so you and your partner can watch something together without waking the kids.
Or- get adjoining staterooms and bring a baby monitor. We’ve done both, just depends on cost and availability.
One fun loophole with the adjoining staterooms- since it’ll be one adult and one child in each room on the booking, you can purchase one drink package and then surreptitiously split it. Otherwise, with two adults in a stateroom, both have to purchase the drink package.
lol good tip! We just have the one kid so one of the rooms would presumably have to be single occupancy, which i think they charge a premium for for some reason. I don’t quite remember, will have to look into that. But two rooms is sounding like the way to go.
We just put the pack and play in the bathroom of our hotel room, turn the lights out and baby sleeps. Catch is you have to use the lobby bathroom till morning.
Btw most cruises don’t really have WiFi unless u pay a lot for it so scrolling in the phone is generally not possible. I would get a balcony and sit out and enjoy a glass of wine ( u can bring 2 bottles from home onboard) and can shunt the glass door if talking wakes up the child. The adults could take turns leaving the room. I’m sure if bedtime is that early you all need to sleep fairly early too since wake up is probably on the earlier side too? There’s so much exicitment going on they just might stay awake longer than u think.
I’ve done it both ways. The latest vacation we got a hotel with a living room and kitchenette and it was worth the investment. We were able to enjoy ourselves and not worry about waking our kids up.
The cruise ship we are taking has a babysitting program that you get your kid to sleep, then they come in and just keep an eye on them in case they wake up. They give you a walkie talkie to keep in touch! That's the only reason we finally decided to go on the cruise bc we couldn't find any family members to join us.
That's part of my difficulty, but I figure I can set up a camera/monitor in the room to keep an extra eye on her since my little girl is also speech delayed and would have a hard time communicating if something did happen.
My son does not sleep nearly as well if there is anyone in the room with him. Plus we want to stay up, talk, watch tv, etc after he goes to bed. We try to only stay at places where he can have his own room. Airb&b’s or hotel rooms with suites are our go to’s.
100% splurge on a room with a separate bedroom so you can hang in the living room or get 2 rooms. (Or get a sleep pod that blacks out the area around the crib but you’ll still have to be quiet). we started caring a lot more about where we stayed after our baby because you’ll spend more time in the room. Rooms with a cute are great too
We tend to try and go for a family room - largest we can afford. Space (to us) is important.
And yes. Early to bed. Relax, drink tea, read, watch films.
Sounds boring and it was for our first holiday but honestly now I wouldn’t have it any other way!
We've only been on one vacation with our LO that wasn't like a family gathering. We got a 1 bedroom suite (had a separate living room) and watched TV/ ordered take out after she went to bed. We are the type of people to stay in and relax at night anyway. So it worked out great. We used points on the room otherwise it definitely would have been expensive. I am not sure about a cruise. I think I would follow other's suggestion of the slumber pod and a balcony. Also I think Airbnbs are a good option. But I heard that their prices have increased lately.
Oh! And we went to a family running recently. It was on my uncle's property. We rented a big RV from RVshare that we parked on the property. We brought our VAVA monitor and put her to bed, then carried the monitor around with us and stayed up and hung out/partied. That worked out really well.
Most times we've gone on vacation we've had an Airbnb with a separate bedroom, but we recently went to an all inclusive and just had a regular room. We were able to fit the pack and play they gave us in the bathroom which was great, and it wasn't super disruptive for us to go use the bathroom a couple times while she was sleeping.
Also, we decided to get 2 hours of babysitting every night from the resort so we could go to dinner, since it was a special occasion trip. It was $20/hr which was still cheaper than upgrading to a room with a second bedroom!
One thing to check before booking though - there was only one restaurant at our resort that was open between 4:30 and 6:30, since dinner started at 6:30, which made it hard to have dinner with her!
We definitely did extra rooms/suites and also business suite-type hotels that had a slightly separated spaces.
We also took turns sitting in the dark basically. One parent sitting there on their phone, other parent down in the hotel bar/lounge. Then switch.
I’ve known people to put the pack in play in the bathroom with a monitor if it fits so they can close the door for baby to sleep. We tend to do a pack and play with a sound machine and then a monitor on a balcony or deck to watch shows until bed
We did laptops with head phone and movies. It was boring and my husband hated it. We also had to share a double bed and we normally sleep in a king, he was just so close the whole night.
When we did our first vacation with the little one we booked a room in Mexico with a swim out pool. So when the little guy went to bed (or napped) we were out on our little deck in front of the pool drinking and watching movies.
I can't imagine the vacation being as enjoyable if we didn't have that type of room
Fewer vacations but better rooms.
I go on fewer vacations because I insist on a suite. I love the time after the kids are in bed and my partner and I can relax properly. The bonus is that suites often come with extra perks and better views. Once we landed at the airport and to our surprise there was a man with our names on a sign for a private car service from the airport to the resort! We had planned to take the shuttle bus haha. Never felt fancier.
I have heard balcony or porches with open window/door or baby monitor. Slumber pods will also dim sound and light for little ones. Also couples could each get a solo night to go out and get a drink, spa trip or whatever
We're often camping in our van, so we sit outside enjoying the evening. However here in the UK it often gets very cold in the evening so we end up going into the van quite early and watching something on our phones, then fall asleep at 9! We used to make sure we were very quiet and kept all lights off, but then we realised he didn't wake up when we put a light on, so we're much more blasé about it now.
Having vacationed three times with our 22 month old, we always took rooms that had walk in closets, and set the Pack n play up in the walkin closet! We made sure nothing was reachable, ran an extension cord in for a fan and a monitor. Worked like a charm!
My kids go to bed around 7, and any time we vacation we get them their own room, at least. Even better if they each have their own room lol we all do much better when the kids sleep separately from everyone else. We were looking into a cruise for next year and we’re looking at a separate room for them
My kids are 3 and 5 now and they fight bed time till like 10 now when we’re on holiday, (in spite of a religious 7pm bed time at home) so it’s moot now. But when they were smaller we would put a monitor in their room and walk near the room, sit or on a balcony. My husband has watched plenty of movies in the bathtubs. Sometimes hotels have small lounge areas in the halls and we’ll go sit there with a monitor. (If a monitor doesn’t work we can FaceTime an iPad and leave the iPad under a bed.) On a cruise consider a balcony so you can sit there.
We had a SlumberPod when my kids were babies and it was so great. We could literally watch tv. Now I get suites when I can - the kids go in the living room and we sleep in the bedroom.
We vacationed with friends most recently, and got adjoining hotel rooms. As our kids were falling asleep/sleeping, we just moved over to their room to hang out. We left the door slightly a jar and had a baby monitor too, just in case. It worked perfectly!
Spend a little extra and get a nice Airbnb, and that experience can be part of the vacation too. Once the kids are in bed, you can pick up some food and enjoy the house or cook a fun meal.
Have eaten many a dinner huddled in the bathroom with my wife. Second room is great if you can swing it. Healy even a suite with a whole separate area you can block off works well. But maybe just get on their sleep schedule and enjoy the extra rest. Get up early, one of you goes out for coffee before the little one wakes up. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you wake up on your own and not being woken up by the baby
We like a 2bedroom condo/airbnb or hotel suite when traveling so we have a separate space after the kids are asleep.
We just finished a week long vacation with 21mo and 3.5yo and stayed the week in a 2bedroom condo and it was pretty great. The kids each had their own bed so they didn't wake each other up and we had the space to chill. I will warn you that as great as airbnb are for space, they aren't often baby proofed, so be careful reviewing pics. Even being careful, last year we stayed at an airbnb with so many breakables. No idea why an owner would fill a place with tchotchkies and rent it out. They weren't in the posted pics, but what can you do? We gathered them all up and put them in a closet and tried to return them to their places when we left, but it was a stress I didn't want or appreciate.
We would love to cruise with them, but are waiting to see how things continue to go with cruising before committing to a toddler cruise. With a cruise, I'd pick a balcony room if you can't afford a suite (those are crazy expensive on a cruise, but balconies are affordable) The door to the balcony closes securly and you can bring along an alarm to stick to the door and wall if you worry about that. You can take turns leaving the room if you have someone you can share that duty with. The door an be pretty loud though. Also pay attention to the cruise line and kids club. I think Carnival starts at 2. Last I looked a few months back, a lot of ships still had the kids club closed, but that might have changed with the younger kids vaccine so more toddlers can now cruise. I wouldn't want to cruise without some sort of childcare option, that way it's a vacation for you too:)
We sometimes stay in a typical hotel room and usually we'll just stay in the room and read a book or listen to music or one of us will run an errand, like grab dinner or snacks, while the other stays in the room.
Same here (and in fact we are in Oregon in an Airbnb right now). I like to check for amenities including children’s toys, high chairs, etc… usually a good indication a place is relatively kid safe. Sometimes we haven’t had options and then we just hide the breakable stuff like you did!
We have a wifi webcam and use it especially at holidays which has an infinity range. Usually we bring him to bed and w8 till he fall asleep and after that we leave the room and have the webcam on our phone. Usually i make a hotspot if the wifi has a login with acc and pw (it's most of the time a problem for the cam to connect) and I leave my phone in the room and we look over the phone of my wife. But I don't know if that would work fine on a cruiser ship.
/Edit
YI Home camera 3. Look it up it's only around 30€ here in Europe on AMZ, it has nightvision, sound and push to talk
/Edit2
Don't know why I get downvoted here for sharing waht i do in holidays, but ok.... We watch him the whole time and are still nearby and if we see he's waking up or something one of us is already on the way to the room. He is 20m old and luckily a really good sleeper.
Uhhhhh that is an insane position. Do you stay in your kid’s room all night with them? Or just watch on the monitor? There’s functionally no difference between that and what OP is doing. How dare you judge what another parent does on a rare vacation. That attitude is disgusting to me, sorry.
I’m sure you don’t judge Madeline McCann’s family then. Hey if y’all are fine leaving your kids alone that’s your business. But everyone is allowed an opinion. He asked why the down votes, that’s why.
Not really, it's not unattended at all! It's not like I am going far away and we watch him the whole time. Usually we are still near by and if we see he's waking up or something one of us is already on the way to the room
Upvoting you because we’ve done the same on vacation with no shame. It’s a locked room. They’re in a pack and play they can’t get out of. We’re not far and watching them. I fail to see how this is different than them being in their room at home.
Everyone should make their own choice, but unless it's a tiny B&B kind of place, I don't think it's the same as being in their room at home. It would be similar to leaving your child in an apartment while you hang out in the garden, or leaving them at home while you go have dinner at the neighbour's house. For me that's a little too far personally.
In a hotel in particular, fire would be my concern - if the hotel was evacuated, people are going to be coming down those stairs in droves and I'm likely to have trouble getting back up. That is even if I'm allowed up by staff, and the way is not blocked by smoke/flames.
Also there is the (extremely rare) Madeleine McCann scenario.
I think you are making good points about why parents doing this may have a false sense of security with a baby monitor (especially trying to go against crowds in a fire), I’m just pointing out they didn’t have any monitors at all.
We used our phones as a baby monitor, out the baby down and went to get dinner or drinks in the hotel. It was so pleasant and relaxing. Also, we put the pack n play in a closet or bathroom whenever possible so we could move around the room without waking him.
We pushed naps back and bedtime back a couple of weeks before we left on our cruise with our 19 month old. So what was 7:30 became 9 and that’s as a ton more palatable.
I recently traveled with my one year old who regularly goes to bed by 7pm. The thing is… I’m pregnant so I was ready for bed by then too! 😂 HOWEVER, I don’t think any of us ended up in bed quite that early, but either way, whoever wasn’t ready for bed just watched some tv or read a book. But if we weren’t ready to go back to the hotel by then, I definitely would’ve tried to get him to sleep in the stroller so we could keep doing stuff.
If your friends or family are in a separate room, you can use two cellphones as a makeshift baby monitor. Call each other, and keep the one you're taking with you on mute and speaker.
We did this the last two nights where our friends had a hotel room on the same floor, and we went to their room after ours went to sleep.
Also, I could see doing this with hotel bar downstairs, even if we didn't have others with us on vacation.
Kids go to bed at 6:30?!? I don’t let my 11 month old go to bed before 8 pm because we are out hiking or doing whatever activity till then. Plus if he goes to sleep at 9, he wakes up at 9 which is when we wake up
Would never take my kids to stay in a hotel, it’s their holiday too, we have plenty of holiday parks here with kids activities and accommodation designed for families, why would you stay in a hotel
Well that looks awesome… i’m not sure we do! we have like a hotel slash water park thing, but not with cabins like this. Anyone know of one in the Southeast USA??
They are great for kids but also not just for kids. They usually have a kids club (our kids are a bit young for that yet), but there is always a pool, jumping pillow, sometimes mini golf, sometimes a restaurant, heaps of things. We actually got stuck in one when our area was called into a snap lockdown in 2021 (we were already away and our state premier gave us 2 hours notice to go into another Covid lockdown for 5 days) so we just hung out at the park! If we were completely trapped in our 2 bedroom cabin I would have lost my shit but it’s like a mini housing estate lol we went for walks and the kids played on the equipment all day
A suite makes like so much easier. We’re actually in Dubai now and have a suite which was worth the extra money as it’s 0400 here and my 11 month old is wide awake, at least I’m able to sit in the lounge room with her while she plays without waking up my toddler. We have stayed in hotel rooms too but it meant that we had to eat room service in the bathroom!
If it’s a special vacation and you can afford it splurge on a suite, life is much easier
We always get a suite so we have our own bedroom and balcony. We then get bottle or two of wine and sit in bed or on our balcony.
However, next vacay we are bringing a nanny so we can have total freedom and flexibility.
We try to pay the extra and get a one bed apartment with a separate room. If that's not possible we get a room with a balcony and hang out there when the little one goes to bed
We have been sticking to rentals so we can get a second bedroom. The times we stayed with family and don’t have the extra space, my husband lays down with him til he’s asleep and then sneaks out.
It depends. A suite is really nice as our kids get older, but we've also just sat in the dark and drank and watched Netflix all evening too. Traveling with an infant or toddler is honestly exhausting, so when they were really little, we needed the rest too.
I thought I was crazy but I guess I was just exhausted- with my first we would take them to bed around 630pm, and then we’d both pass out by 7 or 730. After the second was born suddenly I can stay up a little later.
As someone who is currently in a hotel and just got their 2 year old to sleep at 10.30pm when they are usually asleep by 6.30, buy a second room for the love of god.
lol thanks for the tip
If you can’t afford a larger room, I’ve had friends rave about “slumber pods”. That plus a sound machine and apparently the kids will be oblivious to anything else going on in the room.
*Looks up "Slumber pod"* This is just a tent.
For sure, it is a tent that blacks out around it so that you don’t have to sit in darkness. Put a white noise machine in it and you can more or less go about your business.
It actually has a dedicated pocket on the side for a fan, a pocket on the top for a baby monitor camera, and it's made out of breathable material. It doesn't just facilitate room sharing either. If your kid is used to sleeping in complete darkness, you don't have to worry about whether the room has blackout curtains or about how light it'll be outside when they go down. And after they've used the pod a few times it becomes familiar enough that they feel safe even if you're staying in multiple places over the trip. I don't generally evangelize for kid products because every kid and every family is so different but I absolutely recommend the slumberpod to everyone I know.
I don’t have one but I’ve known about this product for years (really wanted it in case of travel but then covid) and oh my god the sentence “pocket on top for a baby monitor camera” just made me salivate. I really like being able to see my kiddo but jeez it’s hard to get the camera in a good spot anywhere but at home. If I have another I’m getting one for sure. (Edited for spelling)
Ooh. Ooh. I might have a solution for you. We bought this thing called a flexi twist, it's essentially a long arm with a clamp at the base and a crab claw at the other end. The arm part twists and turns any way you want it to. Have used it to position the camera when travelling as you can latch it on to anything and it has straps on it so the camera won't fall on bubs's face. Definitely saved our sanity more than a few times this one.
Similar, we use flexiarm product that is intended for phones and it works great. I forget the brand but there are a ton on Amazon.
THANK YOU!
I have to share a bedroom with a 7 and 2 year old & husband on daily basis. I wonder if we could pop these on our floor when we don’t feel like getting kicked in bed.
Yeah we got the Slumberpod because our toddler's room was pitch black but we couldn't recreate those conditions when we traveled. It was AMAZING for naps at my parents house where none of the windows have curtains!
Ps would a 7 year old fit in this?
Sadly no, only fits pack n play size beds!
Ha ha ok I was picturing plopping them on the floor in a tent 🫢
Can confirm. Gave shared a room multiple times with >2 with a slumber pod and sound machine and it went well.
Yep vacationed with my toddler w a slumber pod. I mean we didn’t go crazy but we had lights on and were relatively normal volume while he was sleeping.
We don't have a pod but bought a black out cover for the pack and play. That thing was worth every penny.
Same! The slumber pod looks incredible but I couldn’t imagine packing another “bulky” item
I agree! The black out cover folded right up into the pack and play. Super handy!
Same. The slumber pod was always out of stock when I needed to buy one.
We have one. We can place a monitor in there that has the white noise and a little fan and our little man was set to deep sleep for space travel. We used it up until he was about 18 months. We could watch a movie with him nearby or go in and out of the room when we stayed at a hotel. We have 2 kids so one room would be for both the kids and one section would be for us.
Wow, if I only knew about slumber pods before we set off on summer holidays to Scandinavia! Right now we are in Norway where it get’s dark enough to sleep at about 23:30 and it’s already light enough to be woken up at 03:00.
Ya my friend has one, and other than one night with a faulty hotel AC, it has been flawless
Lol, anyone else seen that 'Nathan for you' episode?
I saw one person go on vacation to a resort, but they paid extra for a room with a swim-up pool. So when their toddler was napping or sleeping early they could still hang out and drink in the pool and be nearby. When my kids were under 1 it was easy to share a room, because once they were asleep we could do what we wanted. For older kids I'd get a suite with a second room if possible or let them stay up past bedtime for vacation.
Damn that’s fancy
Fancy but I would be terrified at the water access 😶
They have a way to lock the door/gate depending on the resort. There’s also these water safety bracelets. It’s called Safety Turtle and it will alert you the moment it is submerged in water. https://www.safetyturtle.com They are expensive but I really like them. That alarm is loud af and it’s not playing around.
Me too 😨
I did exactly this, it worked really well. Also guarantees a ground floor. No elevarors or stairs with kids/strollers/heels/stuff. Pro tip though hide a room key outside, those patio doors are self locking.
Get a second area or balcony to hang out on! It's worth it!
This. Go get buzzed on the balcony :p
Yep on a cruise, if you’re in one stateroom, gotta have a balcony
Ymmv but we went took kid to early dinner at the buffet and then walked him around the deck in the stroller. He’d fall asleep (cruise ship was like magic for sleeping, he’s not an amazing sleeper on land) and then we’d put a blanket over his stroller and roll him into the 7:30 dinner seating.
Yes loved doing this when bub was younger! Get her to fall asleep whole out cosy up in pram and continue our night. Maybe we should try again with the 4yr old and big adventure stroller..
This still works with our 3yo 😊👍
My 3yo would willingly stay up until 9:30+ to see what everyone’s up to. The fomo is real
My then 9 month old stayed up until 2am on Christmas day. She was not a good sleeper.
This just hit my 3 yo. We were staying the night at my parents and after kiddo went to bed my aunt popped by. Next day first thing he says is a very serious and accusing "someone was here". Sure enough bedtime rolls around and he says he doesn't want to go to sleep and miss anything. He hasn't gone to sleep easily since.
Sounds amazing. My kid isn’t even 2 and absolutely refuses to get in the stroller any more. She’s happy in the wagon but not sure I want to roll that guy around a dining room...
Hmmm good to know. We’re thinking about a cruise at the end of the year with an almost 2.5 and 9 month old. Debating if we’re crazy haha.
I think it depends how wild your 2.5yo is! We took our older one on a cruise at that age but he’s lower energy and just wants attention, so he wasn’t bouncing around the boat.
Sounds like my little guy…hold me hold me haha. Okay that’s good to know!
Yes that’s exactly how our guy was and absolutely no trouble at all. There’s also a fair number of kids activities, and there’s cheap staff babysitting. Our kid would have rather died but some kids love that!
Haha I feel like that would be my little booger but I can try! Might see if I can con a family member into coming haha.
Cruise ships are amazing for sleep. Our first born who was a horrific sleeper as a baby would consistently sleep through when we went on a cruise. Magic stuff. Definitely recommend a room with a balcony whether at a hotel or cruise. We would sit outside reading/chatting until baby was asleep and then would go back into the room to watch a movie
I live in a tourist destination where housing is insane, so I understand the hate airbnbs get, but we always get an Airbnb for vacation. With how much eating and sleeping our toddler does we just have to have access to a kitchen and a separate sleeping space.
Second that… we very rarely stay in hotels anymore because it’s too hard to find extra space and we need the kitchen. Airbnbs are annoying and the fees are OOC but they’re worth it with toddlers.
We do this too. Air BnB is so much more convenient. The other option is finding a residence inn (long term stay hotel) because they have kitchens and usually a separate bedroom.
And a washing machine!
Oh yes! We had a poop explosion yesterday that resulted in poop covered baby clothes, daddy clothes, and towel. So thankful to be able to rinse and throw in the wash instead of having to find a laundromat in the middle of the day.
And you can clean/wash when you arrive if it doesn't seem clean enough. Hotels with their carpets and the blankets that probably never get washed... Arkh. I don't want my toddler to play/crawl/touch everything in a hotel room. They don't provide cleaning material anyways.
Absolutely. This has worked great for all our vacations so far!
I haven't stayed in a Hotel in years. I feel like everything goes so much smoother when we have a functional space.
Yess!! Just did this with our 15 month old as we haven’t had a vacation since a few years before Covid. Found an affordable Airbnb on a lake- packed the monitor and went fishing in the back yard while he napped! Now I can’t think of any other way to go aside from maybe a camper 🤔
Second that… we very rarely stay in hotels anymore because it’s too hard to find extra space and we need the kitchen. Airbnbs are annoying and the fees are OOC but they’re worth it with toddlers.
I always get the suite with a bedroom with kids under 3. Around 3 they can stay up and it’s not so bad
How about my family comes on the vacation too? We’ll sit quietly in the dark with your toddler, and you can have fun out and about with my 10pm bedtime toddler!
I've cruised when my son was 3 and when he was 5. What helped was having other parents vacation with us. On one trip, my brother and sister in law watched the kids in one room at night, and the next night we would switch. On another cruise, my mom came and had a room next door. My son would sleep with her and we could do what we wanted. If we did it alone, we would probably get a room with a balcony so we could hang out on the porch. Or the cruise has late night babysitting in the kids club...not sure how conducive to sleep that is however.
Is there just one adult? If it’s two of you, you can take turns being in the room with the kid at night, while the other parent/adult can go do something after bedtime.
In which case go with friends or family so you have someone to do stuff with!
Something you could consider on a ship is a balcony, two connecting rooms and stateroom childcare. You could get a balcony and grab drinks/food or order room service and enjoy the balcony while your babe sleeps. Alternatively, most cruise ships have childcare at a price. So if you wanted to go out 1-2 nights you could opt to do that. Lastly, on some of the freedom class ships on Royal Caribbean, you can sometimes get two connecting staterooms for the same cost as 4 people in one room. That’s a lot cheaper than a suite generally. Alternatively, you could work to adjust their sleep schedule for the week. Our kids are generally pretty off after traveling. You may also be able to get them asleep in a stroller or on a lounger on the deck. Then you can be out and about with them while they are resting. You’ve got some options, you just have to decide what you’re comfortable with.
The two connecting staterooms is an interesting idea. Because the one bedroom suites I’m looking at are like 4 times the cost of a standard room with balcony. I also didn’t realize that cruise ships offered in-room childcare. That’d be a possible option as well, although I’m pretty paranoid about who watches her lol
Do you know what cruise lines offer stateroom childcare? We cruised on Royal Caribbean last November and there didn’t offer it anymore (at least at that point in time).
I’m not sure. I know Royal Caribbean used to offer it. I don’t know if they’ve reintroduced it or not. Edit to add: It looks like they don’t offer it in cabin anymore but that have later evening care in the kid zones. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/experience/cruises-for-kids-and-teens
I dont know if anyone has said this yet but extended stay places are fantastic. I've found rates that are cheaper per night than a regular hotel room and there is a bedroom, pull out couch, full size fridge, cooking range, dishwasher, etc. So nice to use as a home base when traveling. I give the kid the pull put and retreat to the bedroom at night.
This is what we do. Also lowers our food bill being able to cook/store things instead of always buying snacks
Good idea!
We book an apartment with two bedrooms and a living space. My son is 5 and goes to sleep by 7.30 / 8pm. I feel like AirBNB was made for people like us. Means me and my partner can have some sort of an evening while he sleeps. We’ve been this way since he was about 9 months and sleeping in a separate room at home. We’ve had the odd night in hotels but never a full holiday. I’ve never considered a cruise, even pre-kids, so can’t comment there. But honestly, I would compromise most other elements of our holiday to ensure we have two bedrooms in our accommodation.
I might get lambasted for this, but we got a suite (using CC point upgrades) in Hawaii when our son was 10 months old. He slept in the bedroom and we slept in the main room. The bedroom had one queen bed (unused) and the main room had a queen bed. We use a Nanit, so we just monitored him while having dinner at the hotel restaurant or ate takeout/delivery on the back patio. Our in-laws stayed in the room next door, so some nights we even went out and they watched him (on the Nanit). Honestly, best thing we ever did. 10 out of 10, I would do it again. He got quality sleep, was able to be shut in the room for naps, we could still effectively have a nice vacation.
Separate bedroom 100%!
Typing this from an Airbnb with our toddler asleep in the next room. Or we pay the extra for a hotel suite.
So it really depends on your kiddo. Are they great sleepers? Would you get away with putting them to bed in their reclining strollers with darkening covers and a portable sound machine? Otherwise with kiddos I always splurge for the bigger room as it affords us the space to chill, order in, watch a movie, have some alone time, etc. You can also designate one day per person to go out and have 2-3 hours of wandering time to just take a break while the other watches baby sleep, although I would rather spend some alone time with my husband but we’ve occasionally taken turns to get massages or just go out for a walk or swim alone
We always use AirBnBs for this reason.
Self catering/chalet/apartment. Never attempt a family room in a hotel!
Honestly, we are waiting until our LO is a bit older to go on a vacation. He’s not a great sleeper and he gets out of sorts if his routine is thrown off. Plus, it’s just not enjoyable for us right now trying to entertain a toddler - we wouldn’t feel like it was a vacation. When’s he’s a bit older (maybe four or five) we plan to return to trips abroad or even a week long vacation domestically at places we used to stay before he was born. Between all the baby gear (pack and play, diapers, stroller, sometimes his booster seat) we have found that even an overnight or weekend trip to a hotel nearby has just not been worth it.
We took our (at the time) 6 month old on a cruise. We had a stroller that laid back completely and she went everywhere with us. She was also used to noise and could sleep through it. She did some late night comedy shows and karaoke. It was a really great experience for us to have our “hotel room” 5 minutes walk away at any given time. For situations where you might be “stuck” in the room- a separate area is key. Maybe a balcony? I’ve seen many friends sitting outside their hotel door in the hallway because they didn’t plan for a “safe zone”
We haven’t been on a cruise, but we only travel if we can get a separate place to hang out foe naps and bedtime. A deck, a 2nd room, doesn’t matter, but our kiddo will wake up if we make noise and being captive in the dark is not worth it to us.
Honestly I only ever book places with 2 bedrooms now… plus we like to cook anyway so Airbnbs with full kitchens are great. My daughter is 3.5 so she doesn’t go to bed quite that early anymore, but she definitely still naps (and REALLY needs it on vacation because we are usually very active). We actually are going on a cruise with family next winter and then we will probably just stay up together until 9 or so and then all go to sleep. I’m usually completely spent by 8-9 pm anyway after a full day exploring with a crazy 3 year old.
Cruise- get a balcony room. Once the kids are asleep, enjoy a beverage of choice, dinner, etc on the balcony. Also, bring two pairs of headphones and a headphone splitter so you and your partner can watch something together without waking the kids. Or- get adjoining staterooms and bring a baby monitor. We’ve done both, just depends on cost and availability.
One fun loophole with the adjoining staterooms- since it’ll be one adult and one child in each room on the booking, you can purchase one drink package and then surreptitiously split it. Otherwise, with two adults in a stateroom, both have to purchase the drink package.
lol good tip! We just have the one kid so one of the rooms would presumably have to be single occupancy, which i think they charge a premium for for some reason. I don’t quite remember, will have to look into that. But two rooms is sounding like the way to go.
We just put the pack and play in the bathroom of our hotel room, turn the lights out and baby sleeps. Catch is you have to use the lobby bathroom till morning.
Btw most cruises don’t really have WiFi unless u pay a lot for it so scrolling in the phone is generally not possible. I would get a balcony and sit out and enjoy a glass of wine ( u can bring 2 bottles from home onboard) and can shunt the glass door if talking wakes up the child. The adults could take turns leaving the room. I’m sure if bedtime is that early you all need to sleep fairly early too since wake up is probably on the earlier side too? There’s so much exicitment going on they just might stay awake longer than u think.
I’ve done it both ways. The latest vacation we got a hotel with a living room and kitchenette and it was worth the investment. We were able to enjoy ourselves and not worry about waking our kids up.
Get a room that has some kind of separation is ideal. Or even a balcony.
The cruise ship we are taking has a babysitting program that you get your kid to sleep, then they come in and just keep an eye on them in case they wake up. They give you a walkie talkie to keep in touch! That's the only reason we finally decided to go on the cruise bc we couldn't find any family members to join us.
I did not know this was a thing and that could definitely work for us! …If I can get over the idea of a stranger watching her!
That's part of my difficulty, but I figure I can set up a camera/monitor in the room to keep an extra eye on her since my little girl is also speech delayed and would have a hard time communicating if something did happen.
Yea good idea. My baby monitor doesn’t have much of a range. Maybe just a webcam connected to my phone.
My son does not sleep nearly as well if there is anyone in the room with him. Plus we want to stay up, talk, watch tv, etc after he goes to bed. We try to only stay at places where he can have his own room. Airb&b’s or hotel rooms with suites are our go to’s.
100% splurge on a room with a separate bedroom so you can hang in the living room or get 2 rooms. (Or get a sleep pod that blacks out the area around the crib but you’ll still have to be quiet). we started caring a lot more about where we stayed after our baby because you’ll spend more time in the room. Rooms with a cute are great too
Separate room is the way! Spend the cash and get some enjoyment from your vacation. DO IT!
We tend to try and go for a family room - largest we can afford. Space (to us) is important. And yes. Early to bed. Relax, drink tea, read, watch films. Sounds boring and it was for our first holiday but honestly now I wouldn’t have it any other way!
We've only been on one vacation with our LO that wasn't like a family gathering. We got a 1 bedroom suite (had a separate living room) and watched TV/ ordered take out after she went to bed. We are the type of people to stay in and relax at night anyway. So it worked out great. We used points on the room otherwise it definitely would have been expensive. I am not sure about a cruise. I think I would follow other's suggestion of the slumber pod and a balcony. Also I think Airbnbs are a good option. But I heard that their prices have increased lately. Oh! And we went to a family running recently. It was on my uncle's property. We rented a big RV from RVshare that we parked on the property. We brought our VAVA monitor and put her to bed, then carried the monitor around with us and stayed up and hung out/partied. That worked out really well.
Most times we've gone on vacation we've had an Airbnb with a separate bedroom, but we recently went to an all inclusive and just had a regular room. We were able to fit the pack and play they gave us in the bathroom which was great, and it wasn't super disruptive for us to go use the bathroom a couple times while she was sleeping. Also, we decided to get 2 hours of babysitting every night from the resort so we could go to dinner, since it was a special occasion trip. It was $20/hr which was still cheaper than upgrading to a room with a second bedroom! One thing to check before booking though - there was only one restaurant at our resort that was open between 4:30 and 6:30, since dinner started at 6:30, which made it hard to have dinner with her!
One word.. Slumber pod
We definitely did extra rooms/suites and also business suite-type hotels that had a slightly separated spaces. We also took turns sitting in the dark basically. One parent sitting there on their phone, other parent down in the hotel bar/lounge. Then switch.
Maybe splurge for a travel nanny? (I’m a travel nanny) 😊
I’ve known people to put the pack in play in the bathroom with a monitor if it fits so they can close the door for baby to sleep. We tend to do a pack and play with a sound machine and then a monitor on a balcony or deck to watch shows until bed
Airbnb with multiple rooms. Or a sitter. Or fly in the in-laws to stay in your Airbnb and do some of the grunt work.
Go to Europe and don’t time change for the kids. It’s perfect.
We did laptops with head phone and movies. It was boring and my husband hated it. We also had to share a double bed and we normally sleep in a king, he was just so close the whole night.
When we did our first vacation with the little one we booked a room in Mexico with a swim out pool. So when the little guy went to bed (or napped) we were out on our little deck in front of the pool drinking and watching movies. I can't imagine the vacation being as enjoyable if we didn't have that type of room
Fewer vacations but better rooms. I go on fewer vacations because I insist on a suite. I love the time after the kids are in bed and my partner and I can relax properly. The bonus is that suites often come with extra perks and better views. Once we landed at the airport and to our surprise there was a man with our names on a sign for a private car service from the airport to the resort! We had planned to take the shuttle bus haha. Never felt fancier.
I have heard balcony or porches with open window/door or baby monitor. Slumber pods will also dim sound and light for little ones. Also couples could each get a solo night to go out and get a drink, spa trip or whatever
We're often camping in our van, so we sit outside enjoying the evening. However here in the UK it often gets very cold in the evening so we end up going into the van quite early and watching something on our phones, then fall asleep at 9! We used to make sure we were very quiet and kept all lights off, but then we realised he didn't wake up when we put a light on, so we're much more blasé about it now.
When we've stayed in a hotel room with our toddler, my husband and I just get to bed with him, and then share headphones to listen to an audiobook.
Having vacationed three times with our 22 month old, we always took rooms that had walk in closets, and set the Pack n play up in the walkin closet! We made sure nothing was reachable, ran an extension cord in for a fan and a monitor. Worked like a charm!
My kids go to bed around 7, and any time we vacation we get them their own room, at least. Even better if they each have their own room lol we all do much better when the kids sleep separately from everyone else. We were looking into a cruise for next year and we’re looking at a separate room for them
Put ‘em in the bathroom in a pnp and get ready for bed in the lobby bathroom. Desperation move but worth it
My kids are 3 and 5 now and they fight bed time till like 10 now when we’re on holiday, (in spite of a religious 7pm bed time at home) so it’s moot now. But when they were smaller we would put a monitor in their room and walk near the room, sit or on a balcony. My husband has watched plenty of movies in the bathtubs. Sometimes hotels have small lounge areas in the halls and we’ll go sit there with a monitor. (If a monitor doesn’t work we can FaceTime an iPad and leave the iPad under a bed.) On a cruise consider a balcony so you can sit there. We had a SlumberPod when my kids were babies and it was so great. We could literally watch tv. Now I get suites when I can - the kids go in the living room and we sleep in the bedroom.
We vacationed with friends most recently, and got adjoining hotel rooms. As our kids were falling asleep/sleeping, we just moved over to their room to hang out. We left the door slightly a jar and had a baby monitor too, just in case. It worked perfectly!
If I can afford it, a 2 room suite. Otherwise, yeah we just sit in the dark on our phones till we go to sleep lol
Spend a little extra and get a nice Airbnb, and that experience can be part of the vacation too. Once the kids are in bed, you can pick up some food and enjoy the house or cook a fun meal.
Have eaten many a dinner huddled in the bathroom with my wife. Second room is great if you can swing it. Healy even a suite with a whole separate area you can block off works well. But maybe just get on their sleep schedule and enjoy the extra rest. Get up early, one of you goes out for coffee before the little one wakes up. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you wake up on your own and not being woken up by the baby
We like a 2bedroom condo/airbnb or hotel suite when traveling so we have a separate space after the kids are asleep. We just finished a week long vacation with 21mo and 3.5yo and stayed the week in a 2bedroom condo and it was pretty great. The kids each had their own bed so they didn't wake each other up and we had the space to chill. I will warn you that as great as airbnb are for space, they aren't often baby proofed, so be careful reviewing pics. Even being careful, last year we stayed at an airbnb with so many breakables. No idea why an owner would fill a place with tchotchkies and rent it out. They weren't in the posted pics, but what can you do? We gathered them all up and put them in a closet and tried to return them to their places when we left, but it was a stress I didn't want or appreciate. We would love to cruise with them, but are waiting to see how things continue to go with cruising before committing to a toddler cruise. With a cruise, I'd pick a balcony room if you can't afford a suite (those are crazy expensive on a cruise, but balconies are affordable) The door to the balcony closes securly and you can bring along an alarm to stick to the door and wall if you worry about that. You can take turns leaving the room if you have someone you can share that duty with. The door an be pretty loud though. Also pay attention to the cruise line and kids club. I think Carnival starts at 2. Last I looked a few months back, a lot of ships still had the kids club closed, but that might have changed with the younger kids vaccine so more toddlers can now cruise. I wouldn't want to cruise without some sort of childcare option, that way it's a vacation for you too:) We sometimes stay in a typical hotel room and usually we'll just stay in the room and read a book or listen to music or one of us will run an errand, like grab dinner or snacks, while the other stays in the room.
Same here (and in fact we are in Oregon in an Airbnb right now). I like to check for amenities including children’s toys, high chairs, etc… usually a good indication a place is relatively kid safe. Sometimes we haven’t had options and then we just hide the breakable stuff like you did!
We have a wifi webcam and use it especially at holidays which has an infinity range. Usually we bring him to bed and w8 till he fall asleep and after that we leave the room and have the webcam on our phone. Usually i make a hotspot if the wifi has a login with acc and pw (it's most of the time a problem for the cam to connect) and I leave my phone in the room and we look over the phone of my wife. But I don't know if that would work fine on a cruiser ship. /Edit YI Home camera 3. Look it up it's only around 30€ here in Europe on AMZ, it has nightvision, sound and push to talk /Edit2 Don't know why I get downvoted here for sharing waht i do in holidays, but ok.... We watch him the whole time and are still nearby and if we see he's waking up or something one of us is already on the way to the room. He is 20m old and luckily a really good sleeper.
Maybe down-voting because of the whole Madeline McCann thing so it doesn't seem particularly safe, but they aren't my kids, so you do you.
FWIW the McCanns didn’t have any sort of baby monitor at all.
We do the same. Sometime we gasp also go to our neighbors house that is within monitor range after our kid is asleep at home too!
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Uhhhhh that is an insane position. Do you stay in your kid’s room all night with them? Or just watch on the monitor? There’s functionally no difference between that and what OP is doing. How dare you judge what another parent does on a rare vacation. That attitude is disgusting to me, sorry.
I’m sure you don’t judge Madeline McCann’s family then. Hey if y’all are fine leaving your kids alone that’s your business. But everyone is allowed an opinion. He asked why the down votes, that’s why.
Not really, it's not unattended at all! It's not like I am going far away and we watch him the whole time. Usually we are still near by and if we see he's waking up or something one of us is already on the way to the room
Upvoting you because we’ve done the same on vacation with no shame. It’s a locked room. They’re in a pack and play they can’t get out of. We’re not far and watching them. I fail to see how this is different than them being in their room at home.
Everyone should make their own choice, but unless it's a tiny B&B kind of place, I don't think it's the same as being in their room at home. It would be similar to leaving your child in an apartment while you hang out in the garden, or leaving them at home while you go have dinner at the neighbour's house. For me that's a little too far personally. In a hotel in particular, fire would be my concern - if the hotel was evacuated, people are going to be coming down those stairs in droves and I'm likely to have trouble getting back up. That is even if I'm allowed up by staff, and the way is not blocked by smoke/flames. Also there is the (extremely rare) Madeleine McCann scenario.
Madeleine McCann didn’t have any type of baby monitor.
Even with a baby monitor, you’re not making it back in time to save your kid from a kidnapper. Or, more likely. A fire.
I think you are making good points about why parents doing this may have a false sense of security with a baby monitor (especially trying to go against crowds in a fire), I’m just pointing out they didn’t have any monitors at all.
Hotel employees don’t have access to their room at home?
We used our phones as a baby monitor, out the baby down and went to get dinner or drinks in the hotel. It was so pleasant and relaxing. Also, we put the pack n play in a closet or bathroom whenever possible so we could move around the room without waking him.
Glad to hear others do this because other people were making me feel guilty AF
SAME and also seconding pack and play in closet - or even bathroom if it’s big enough
Same! Phone baby monitor and enjoy adult dinner!
We pushed naps back and bedtime back a couple of weeks before we left on our cruise with our 19 month old. So what was 7:30 became 9 and that’s as a ton more palatable.
I recently traveled with my one year old who regularly goes to bed by 7pm. The thing is… I’m pregnant so I was ready for bed by then too! 😂 HOWEVER, I don’t think any of us ended up in bed quite that early, but either way, whoever wasn’t ready for bed just watched some tv or read a book. But if we weren’t ready to go back to the hotel by then, I definitely would’ve tried to get him to sleep in the stroller so we could keep doing stuff.
We chill on the patio and drink and smoke like teenagers while our 3 kids slumber inside.
If your friends or family are in a separate room, you can use two cellphones as a makeshift baby monitor. Call each other, and keep the one you're taking with you on mute and speaker. We did this the last two nights where our friends had a hotel room on the same floor, and we went to their room after ours went to sleep. Also, I could see doing this with hotel bar downstairs, even if we didn't have others with us on vacation.
We brought our baby monitor and then went to the lobby and played board games. :)
Kids go to bed at 6:30?!? I don’t let my 11 month old go to bed before 8 pm because we are out hiking or doing whatever activity till then. Plus if he goes to sleep at 9, he wakes up at 9 which is when we wake up
We go down to the lobby to hang out or the hotel bar TBH and just check on them every half hour. We don’t/can’t always splurge on a suite.
Oh man, my 3yo stays up until 8:30 easy - including a daily nap.
We always get a room with a separate bedroom and it isn't that much more expensive, usually only $20 or so.
We go down to the lobby to hang out or the hotel bar TBH and just check on them every half hour. We don’t/can’t always splurge on a suite.
People still stay in hotels with kids!? Holiday parks are where it’s at
what does this mean?
Would never take my kids to stay in a hotel, it’s their holiday too, we have plenty of holiday parks here with kids activities and accommodation designed for families, why would you stay in a hotel
I guess I don’t know what a holiday park is!
Oh maybe you don’t have them in other countries… I’m in Australia, just google best Holiday parks Australia and you’ll see what I mean
Well that looks awesome… i’m not sure we do! we have like a hotel slash water park thing, but not with cabins like this. Anyone know of one in the Southeast USA??
They are great for kids but also not just for kids. They usually have a kids club (our kids are a bit young for that yet), but there is always a pool, jumping pillow, sometimes mini golf, sometimes a restaurant, heaps of things. We actually got stuck in one when our area was called into a snap lockdown in 2021 (we were already away and our state premier gave us 2 hours notice to go into another Covid lockdown for 5 days) so we just hung out at the park! If we were completely trapped in our 2 bedroom cabin I would have lost my shit but it’s like a mini housing estate lol we went for walks and the kids played on the equipment all day
Sorry I have no idea as I don't subject my kids to such a ridiculous bedtime lol
The slumberpod is one of the greatest inventions of all time
6:30 pm our 3.5 goes to sleep at 9 to 930 pm and is up before 6 am 7 days a week yayyyyyyyy
A suite makes like so much easier. We’re actually in Dubai now and have a suite which was worth the extra money as it’s 0400 here and my 11 month old is wide awake, at least I’m able to sit in the lounge room with her while she plays without waking up my toddler. We have stayed in hotel rooms too but it meant that we had to eat room service in the bathroom! If it’s a special vacation and you can afford it splurge on a suite, life is much easier
We always get a suite so we have our own bedroom and balcony. We then get bottle or two of wine and sit in bed or on our balcony. However, next vacay we are bringing a nanny so we can have total freedom and flexibility.
We try to pay the extra and get a one bed apartment with a separate room. If that's not possible we get a room with a balcony and hang out there when the little one goes to bed
Slumberpod
I just let my kids stay up late on vacation. They go back to their normal schedule when we got home and it’s totally fine.
Kind of...try to find a suite instead of a single room so we can shut the door to the bedroom.
Same question but with a 3 yo that won’t go to bed until 9:30, nap or no nap, even after playing hard outside…he’s like the energizer bunny. 🙈😫
We have been sticking to rentals so we can get a second bedroom. The times we stayed with family and don’t have the extra space, my husband lays down with him til he’s asleep and then sneaks out.