Cruising with a family is possible, fun, and easy!

Tis the season. And no, not just doing your Christmas shopping! This is probably the time of year you are also busy planning your family vacation for somewhere nice and warm!  Who knows, you might even be planning on surprising your family with a cruise vacation on Christmas morning (I know I sure wouldn't mind that!).

If you have been following me on my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and/or Pinterest, you know that recently my family had the amazing opportunity to cruise the Western Caribbean on the Allure of the Seas thanks to Fisher-Price and Royal Caribbean.

This was our first time on a cruise and it gave us the chance to see that cruising as a family is possible, fun, and easy!  If you are planning your family vacation for next year, you'll definitely want to check out all the fun your whole family can have on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, thanks to great partnerships with companies like Fisher-Price. Stop by to read my article titled, Experiencing the Joy of Learning with Fisher-Price on Royal Caribbean.

In the next little while, I will be posting an article here on Everything Up Close outlining more about our experience. Not to spoil the read, but, it was amazing and I'd definitely do it again!

Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Play Ambassador and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Will travel - with toddler! #FisherPriceMoms

Since our daughter has been born, we have been doing a decent amount of traveling, whether it be by plane, car, or boat (in less than a week's time!). We can already tell that she is going to be quite the little jet-setter! Since my husband and I both love to travel, this is no surprise.

Over the past few weeks, we have been busy getting ready for a very exciting family first travel experience - A Royal Carribbean Allure of the Seas 7-day Cruise - thanks to Fisher-Price! 

Needless to say, we are excited...and I won't lie, a bit nervous too! This will not only be my daughter's first cruise (at only 14-months old, I'm a bit jealous I didn't get the opportunity sooner), but my husband's and my first cruise as well!

When traveling with a toddler, there are a few more things to consider than when it was just my husband and I traveling as a couple. Luckily, Fisher-Price has come up with a great resource to help make traveling with your children a bit easier on everyone!

Since our daughter is only 14-months old, not all of these points apply, but a number of them are very helpful for now, and in the future!  During our adventures with Lyla so far, we always focus on #5 - Bring a bit of home along, whether we are traveling near or far. Bringing familiar items along for the trip makes the new destination a bit less scary and A LOT more fun! It helps to remind your children of home and makes them feel more comfortable in their new surroundings. Items like your child's 'lovies' or 'stuffies' can even help make routines like bedtime a bit easier in your new space.

On this trip, we'll be making sure to pack a variety of Lyla's favourite toys to join us on our adventure! One Fisher-Price favourite that we'll be bringing along is the Laugh & Learn™ My Pretty Learning Purse™. This has been a toy that Lyla has really enjoyed playing with since we received it. She loves pushing the heart-shaped button on the front, opening and closing the bag, putting things in it and taking them out again, and playing with all the fun accessories.  Recently, this toy has allowed her to dabble in make-belief play, and I am sure it will be very fitting for this trip!


We are so thankful to our friends at Fisher-Price and we are looking forward to this experience of a lifetime!

Did you ever travel with your toddler? Where did you go? What tips do you have for parents traveling with young children?


Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Play Ambassador and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.