17 Reasons I Won't Cruise With a Baby Again

We did an Alaska cruise with our baby (1 year old) and toddler (3 years old). There were parts of our vacation we really enjoyed, but there were several reasons we won’t be taking our little kids on another cruise. Planning port days, not being able to enjoy the main dining room, and the price of cruising were all factors in why we don’t recommend taking a baby on a cruise.

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Table of Contents

1. Planning Port Days Around Nap Time

On our Alaska cruise, the thing I was most excited about was seeing Alaska (makes sense right?) Of course, I was also excited about the ship, but Alaska was the real star of my show. We had a total of four port days on our itinerary. We wanted to squeeze in as much as we could on our those days.

Unfortunately, between coordinating nap time and finding snacks for our kids at random times, we didn’t get to spend as much time as we wanted in port exploring Alaska. This was our number one reason we won’t be on a cruise with a baby again. But.. if you are cruising with a baby and want to know the best things to do in each port, we’ve got you covered!

2. There aren’t Many Little Kid Activities on Board

Kid friendly activities on board aren’t really made with little kids or babies in mind. Our older kid spotted the bumper cars and was devastated that he had to be five to ride them. Many of the activities had a height or age requirement.

There was a play area for little kids near Adventure Ocean but it was not very enjoyable for us as parents to sit in there with the kids because it was far away from everything. It also had no chairs for adults or anything so we just sat on the floor and played with the kids.

3. Early Wake Ups

Our kids have always been early risers, so I expected this one! But, if you’re traveling from the East Coast to an Alaska cruise with your baby (or if you have early risers like us) – you might be spending a lot of morning hours in the lobby or waiting in your room until the sun comes up or breakfast opens.

One good thing about the early wake ups was seeing stunning sunrises on the cruise top deck. And we got to have a ton of conversations with other early risers on the cruise so that was fun too. But it wasn’t my favorite to have to kill several hours every morning on the ship.

Check out this guide for tips on how to travel through time zones with your baby (and make sure they sleep!)

4. Excursions are Not Very Baby Friendly

We didn’t end up booking any excursions with the cruise line because they weren’t very baby friendly. It’s definitely not the fault of the cruise line, but that’s how it is. Helicopter tours, long whale watching boat tours, fishing excursions, etc. are just inherently not activities that are great for a baby.

Pretty much expect to be on your own for port days for an Alaska cruise, unless you have a very well behaved baby! We still had a lot of fun on our port days, just keep this in mind if you’re wanting to do some of the big excursions.

5. Worrying About Car Seats

There is some debate about whether or not you need car seats for your cruise. We chose to rent a car on one of our port days, so it wasn’t negotiable for us. Depending on your plans for port days, you might need to bring a car seat.

It wasn’t that hard, and luckily the room had a TON of closet space which fit both car seats. However, it was just one more thing to worry about bringing onboard the ship as well as on and off during the port days.

6. Babies Can’t Swim on Board

Babies and kids who are not potty trained cannot use the pools on the cruise ship. Even if they are wearing a swim diaper, the rules are they can not go into the pool. This is not cruise line specific, this is just a requirement based on public health laws.

It was a bit of a bummer to take our older kid swimming, but not being able to bring the little one in the pool. Having to take turns going to the pool and hot tub was one of the major downsides of cruising with a baby.

Royal Caribbean With a Baby and Toddler: Everything You Need to Know

7. Too Much Ship Time Compared to Port Time

On our itinerary, we had two full days at sea, plus the hours on board on port days. It felt to us like we were kind of trapped on board for most of the vacation. We could see beautiful Alaska in the distance (which was still fun to see), but not being able to get off the boat more was a bummer! It does depend on the type of travel you like and which itinerary you choose.

8. SeaSickness

Luckily, our kids didn’t get seasick – but I did! I was very thankful for the medication on board because it cleared up my feeling of wanting to throw up quickly. However, both days at sea, I got seasick. It was not fun taking care of two little children while I was sick!

9. No Bathtub

This wasn’t a huge issue for us because our kids both are okay with showers. But if bath time is a necessity for your night time routine, this might be a tough change for you. Some people bring inflatable baths for the shower, but we didn’t pack one of those.

10. Packing is Complicated

If you’ve done a lot of cruising, it may not be complicated for you. But because we were preparing for all types of weather, activities on board, and different activities in different ports it was tough. And when you have to prepare those things for two adults and two little kids it gets even more complicated.

How to Pack for an Alaska Cruise with Kids: Tips and Printable PDF Checklist

11. Lack of Snack Food Availability

We struggled a bit because we didn’t bring enough snacks with us! Overall, it’s a good thing that there isn’t many snack foods available with wrappers and garbage (to be more eco-friendly!) However, it makes it tough to grab a snack quick snack for kids to take on port days. Some of the ports don’t let you take food off the ship, so we did spend a bit of time hunting for snacks.

12. Weather Considerations

If the weather isn’t good on your cruise, it’s a little harder to enjoy your vacation. Of course, there are indoor things to do on a cruise, but it’s harder to find entertainment for little ones. And on certain days it was really windy and rainy on our Alaska cruise, we couldn’t use the pool much with our toddler.

13. Buffet Dining With Little Kids is Hard

If you have any tips on visiting a buffet with a baby, let me know because we were on the struggle bus! Grabbing a plate and loading up food at 10 different tables while holding baby in the other arm was not easy. We did take turns watching him while the other grabbed food, but our meals were a little more stressful at the buffet than a normal restaurant.

Want to enjoy the buffet without your kids? Check out our experience with the Royal Caribbean Nursery and Daycare!

14. Price of Cruising

The price of cruising compared to other forms of travel was pretty dang expensive. You’ll have your flights, shuttle parking, the price of the cruise, gratuities, excursions, and more. It definitely adds up, and there aren’t a ton of free activities on cruises. We found that a lot of the free activities had a lot of restrictions on hours that were paid vs. free, etc.

Make sure to watch out for 10 Hidden Fees on Royal Caribbean Cruises!

15. Lack of Culture

Not to say you can’t get a fun cultural experience on a cruise ship, but with limited time in the ports, it’s really hard to get a really good feel for the area and the culture there. One of the reasons I like to travel with my kids is to enjoy people different than ourselves and explore new places. We found it to be harder to do that on a cruise.

16. Environmental Concerns

Unfortunately, there is a lot of greenwashing that goes on with cruise ships – so you might think you’re making an environmentally responsible choice. However, cruise ships have significantly higher carbon emissions compared to driving, flying, and staying in a hotel. Other environmental concerns include food waste and powering on board activities without access to an electrical source (which also requires diesel or other fuel).

Don’t get me wrong, there are some cruises that are better than others and there are certain aspects of our cruise that were very eco-friendly (ZERO single use plastics! Hooray!)

17. Getting on and Off the Ship is Difficult

Royal Caribbean made getting off the ship pretty smooth, especially on port days. BUT, it was still difficult to get all of our stuff, get off the ship, get on the shuttle, and head to your activity. It takes much less effort, in my opinion, to hop in your rental car from your hotel. We also had hours of waiting to get off our ship on departure day which was NOT fun with two little ones.

18. You’re a Little Screwed if You Forget Something

If you forget an important item, you’re probably a little bit screwed. Depending on what the item is, you may or may not be able to find it on the ship or in the ports. And if you do find it, you’re probably going to pay quite a bit extra. It’s not like staying in a city where you can just head to the nearest store and grab whatever you forgot.

The port cities we visited were small towns in Alaska that were not likely going to have baby items if we had forgotten something important.

Overall, a cruise with a baby can be done! We did it and we do have some good memories from this trip. However, I personally won’t be doing this kind of travel again because it was harder than most of the other trips we’ve done AND more expensive. Have you cruised with a baby? Would you do it again? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!