LogFAQs > #976667627

I never understood the point of a cruise, and never went on one, until we had a baby.

Before Covid, my wife and I would go on one 2-week international vacation a year, which cost around $10k-$15k. Between 2020 to 2022, we didn't go anywhere because of Covid... and 2022, my wife was pregnant, so we just did domestic trips. We're now itching to actually go somewhere further, but with a 15-month old, this seems impossible without everyone having a shitty time. Enter: Cruises.

We booked an 8-day cruise that goes to the Bahamas, and we booked a 2-floor loft suite for ~$14k total (with shore excursions) through Royal Caribbean. The 2-floor is critical, so that we can have our 15-month old in a crib on a whole different floor so we can continue to do our stuff when she's asleep (which was cheaper than a 2-bedroom 1-floor suite). This comes with a literal full-time butler that follows you around (royal genie), who will take care of our every need (from setting up dining in our own suite with waiter service and watching our child at night when daycare is closed while we go out do stuff, to something as small as cutting elevator lines), and our 15-month old will be in the "adventure ocean" daycare. During shore excursions, we just booked private areas in beach-fronts vs. what we would typically do on our vacations (hiking and touring), since we have a 15-month old with us.

While this is extravagant (since when people think of cruises, they think of cheap fun), this was the only way for us to relax and have our child with us, vs. traditional family vacations.