Hawaii cruise tips w/10 month old?!

Hello! My husband and I will be traveling on NCL's 7 day Hawaii cruise this summer with our son (he will be 10.5 months at time of sailing) and extended family. All in all there will be 11 adults plus 1 baby.

I guess I was hoping to connect with someone who has done this cruise with a child as well and get any insider tips/suggestions....or if anyone has done this cruise even without a child but can offer some insight that would be helpful as well.

Some specific questions are:

1) Can/should we bring a car seat? Would we be able to use it in transfer vans, buses, etc? I have researched a car seat that can also be a stroller...only one out there I've seen. Anyone used it or know anything about it?

2) Would you suggest renting a car in port(s) instead of taking organized excursions? If so, is this easy to do?

3) Has anyone taken the Maui beach day transfer to Wailea beach and if so, is there anything else around other than beach? Such as a town, with shops, etc to walk around?

I have SO many other questions, but I guess that's good to start! Not sure if anyone can help, but any insight is welcome and much appreciated!

For Hawaii cruise tips in general (like excursions etc) I'd check out the destination board specific to Hawaii or even the Trip Advisor forums. I've been several times but as a land based vacation so I won't offer you that kind of advice except to say it might be better to arrange tours on your own rather than through the ship because those typically last several hours. If you do it privately you will have more flexibility with time and in case you need to return to the ship or cut something short.

As for carseat, I'm not sure about vans but you won't need one in any busses. it might be worth looking into seeing if there are any tour companies or rental car companies that have any to rent. I know on the mainland US rental car companies do have carseats available for rent along with a rental car and I imagine you'd have the exact same thing in Hawaii as well. I'd only be concerred about if you're going during peak tourist season and how many are available but if you book ahead you shouldn't have a problem.

Edited to add: I see you're in New York like me. That's a 10 hr flight to Hawaii not including layovers. Are you buying the infsnt their own seat on the plane? If so, you'd need to bring the carseat anyways so that's definitely an easy decision made. If not, I would consider buying their own seat as at that age they don't sleep as much and being in the carseat is something familiar that might make it a little easier to manage such a long flight/any layovers.

You won't need a carseat in buses..no seatbelts. Most transfers are buses, not vans. You can certainly rent cars for exploring, and a carseat would be needed for that.

Renting a car in each port is great because you have the freedom to go where you want for however long you want - and you can go to the store for supplies.

The car seat that can be a stroller, if it's the one I've seen, doesn't recline or have a sun cover, so it's really not useful. If you're renting cars, you can send someone to go get the car and then come back for the rest of you, so the lugging of the car seat isn't an issue. I second the suggestion to check the ports of call board. We found great suggestions when we did Hawaii with kids (mine were 4 and still in car seats). At some of the ports, the car rental reps do pick ups at the port. Also, you can find out which ports are walkable.

Best,

Mia

Thank you for starting this thread! We are also taking the 7 day Hawaiian cruise very soon with our 12 month old. I've never been on a cruise before and I'm not sure what to expect for us, let alone our son.

We aren't bringing the car seat. He's big enough to use one of the CARES harnesses on the flight. I was afraid our room would start to get too cramped with it. We're only planning 2 family excursions and the rest of the time I think we're going to lay low, so I don't think we'll need it.

For Hawaii cruise tips in general (like excursions etc) I'd check out the destination board specific to Hawaii or even the Trip Advisor forums. I've been several times but as a land based vacation so I won't offer you that kind of advice except to say it might be better to arrange tours on your own rather than through the ship because those typically last several hours. If you do it privately you will have more flexibility with time and in case you need to return to the ship or cut something short.

 

As for carseat, I'm not sure about vans but you won't need one in any busses. it might be worth looking into seeing if there are any tour companies or rental car companies that have any to rent. I know on the mainland US rental car companies do have carseats available for rent along with a rental car and I imagine you'd have the exact same thing in Hawaii as well. I'd only be concerred about if you're going during peak tourist season and how many are available but if you book ahead you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Edited to add: I see you're in New York like me. That's a 10 hr flight to Hawaii not including layovers. Are you buying the infsnt their own seat on the plane? If so, you'd need to bring the carseat anyways so that's definitely an easy decision made. If not, I would consider buying their own seat as at that age they don't sleep as much and being in the carseat is something familiar that might make it a little easier to manage such a long flight/any layovers.

Thanks for the help! I will look into car seats available through any car rental we might get or private excursions we'll plan. We are not getting him his own seat :( I know it will make the flight more challenging but the way we booked the bundle through NCL it would have been a lot more for his seat and meant more for the cabin so we figured he could be passed around between the 11 laps we will have!

Renting a car in each port is great because you have the freedom to go where you want for however long you want - and you can go to the store for supplies.

 

The car seat that can be a stroller' date=' if it's the one I've seen, doesn't recline or have a sun cover, so it's really not useful. If you're renting cars, you can send someone to go get the car and then come back for the rest of you, so the lugging of the car seat isn't an issue. I second the suggestion to check the ports of call board. We found great suggestions when we did Hawaii with kids (mine were 4 and still in car seats). At some of the ports, the car rental reps do pick ups at the port. Also, you can find out which ports are walkable.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

 

Yeah, I like the idea of the car seat that is a stroller but it didn't seem functional as a stroller. We will try to find ways to access rental ones through renting our own cars, etc. Thanks for the input!

Thank you for starting this thread! We are also taking the 7 day Hawaiian cruise very soon with our 12 month old. I've never been on a cruise before and I'm not sure what to expect for us, let alone our son.

 

We aren't bringing the car seat. He's big enough to use one of the CARES harnesses on the flight. I was afraid our room would start to get too cramped with it. We're only planning 2 family excursions and the rest of the time I think we're going to lay low, so I don't think we'll need it.

No prob! I was hoping to find others cruising with a little one! We've cruised a couple times before but never with our little guy. I think the flexibility cruising allows you will work out well - at least that's the hope :)

I saw the CARES harness but since we didn't get a seat on the plane for our son we won't need it. I love our ergo carrier and use that when we fly. Will you just have him sit on your lap for airport transfers and the few excursions that you booked? I'm pretty sure we are going to rent a car in Maui and Kauai, the two over night ports, so we can rent a car seat then. Just FYI!

I've never cruised Hawaii but have done Caribbean and Europe so if you have any other general cruise questions, let me know!

re: bringing your own car seat - it's pretty easy if you have one of the travel bags for car seats that have backpack straps and/or wheels. I traveled by myself with twins a number of times while they were still in car seats and it was pretty easy: kids in stroller; diaper bag hanging on stroller; one car seat on my back and one car seat pulled on wheels. It fits nicely at the bottom of the closet, so doesn't get it the way. In the bag, it gets checked with luggage both for the plane and on board.

Just one note - always have more than enough supplies (diapers, wipes, etc.) than you need for the next few days. Our ship wasn't able to dock in Maui due to strong seas and the parents who had counted on going to the store there were up a creek. The stores on board carry very little in the way of baby/toddler necessities.

Otherwise, cruising is a great way to go with little ones. Have a great time!

Best,

Mia

No prob! I was hoping to find others cruising with a little one! We've cruised a couple times before but never with our little guy. I think the flexibility cruising allows you will work out well - at least that's the hope :)

 

I saw the CARES harness but since we didn't get a seat on the plane for our son we won't need it. I love our ergo carrier and use that when we fly. Will you just have him sit on your lap for airport transfers and the few excursions that you booked? I'm pretty sure we are going to rent a car in Maui and Kauai' date=' the two over night ports, so we can rent a car seat then. Just FYI!

 

I've never cruised Hawaii but have done Caribbean and Europe so if you have any other general cruise questions, let me know![/quote']

He will sit on my lap during the transfers. We did decide to rent a car on Maui, so we'll just rent a car seat also. We have a carrier, but haven't used it much, so hopefully he'll be willing in areas where the stroller won't go. We're going to get some trials in before we leave. I used to carry him often in a Moby Wrap, which we both loved, but then he grew (why do they do that?!). It's supposed to support up to 35lbs, but he's so squirmy now. I digress...

 

I hope you enjoy your trip. I know I can't wait!