Carseats in ports and shuttles??

I know this is a hot button topic but please no sanctimommy comments.

We will be cruising from Baltimore in November with an 18 month old. We would like to leave our car and carseast at the hotel and take a shuttle to the port. However, in my experience, shuttles tend to be vans with no carseats. Can anyone recommend a shuttle service that HAS carseats available? Or some kind of as suggestion short of hubby drops me and kids off at port then returns car to hotel and takes shuttle to port then reverse at the end of the cruise? TIA

Another option could be using cruiseline transfers or parking at the port. Those are usually on motor coaches where car seats can't be used.

Sometimes private transportation companies will provide car seats if arranged in advance. Check with the hotel for contact information for private transportation companies.

We've always driven to our cruises with DD and have never taken a car seat on the cruise. We have parked at the port and not done anything in ports where a car seat would be needed.

That looks like it might be our best option. Parking at the port is so pricey in Baltimore :D

Have you asked the hotel what type vehicle they use? Sometimes they are small buses that wouldn't have seatbelts. EM

We stayed at a Best Western in Baltimore and took our carseat and installed it in the hotel shuttle van. We needed it because we rented a car in Port Canaveral. It stored easily in the closet in our cabin. I don't see any other option unless you can find a bus for transport.

What about using a taxi and seeing if they have car seats available? I know you would have to pay for it but it may be cheaper then parking at the cruise terminal....

we are sailing out of Baltimore too in April and we haven't decided if we are going down the day before or driving the morning of.....if we go down the day before we will be using the hotel package where we can leave our car there and they take us to port but I had not thought about the car seats...my kiddos will be 3 and 5.5 at the time.

We just always park at the port in Baltimore. It's actually the cheapest cruise parking I've seen, at $105 for the week. We stayed at a hotel in glen burnie our first time on the Pride and the shuttle ride was so terrifying (zipping in and out of lanes, crossing highways with no signal, crammed 15 adults into a van with no seat belts, etc) so we refuse to do it again. Not to mention it's so cold in Baltimore to have to wait for a shuttle when you get off. I much prefer getting off, walking to my car, and being on my way.

Nvm

We just always park at the port in Baltimore. It's actually the cheapest cruise parking I've seen, at $105 for the week. We stayed at a hotel in glen burnie our first time on the Pride and the shuttle ride was so terrifying (zipping in and out of lanes, crossing highways with no signal, crammed 15 adults into a van with no seat belts, etc) so we refuse to do it again. Not to mention it's so cold in Baltimore to have to wait for a shuttle when you get off. I much prefer getting off, walking to my car, and being on my way.

Aside from our first cruise, we've never parked at the port! We've been fortunate enough to have family or friends that drop us off or in NY we took the train then taxi (no little ones then so no carseats). $105 is a lot less than I expected! I read in a review that it was $35-40 a day! :eek:

Oh, no! Not in Baltimore! In NYC, yes, it is outrageous, but Baltimore is $15 per night for cars. And the lot is secured and patrolled, unlike a hotel lot.

I live here in Baltimore and have parked many times at the cruise port . It is very secure and around $100.00 per cruise give or take a few dollars. I'm sure if u contacted the cruise line they could give u the exact amount or put u in touch with someone who can.

Have your husband drop you off at the port, go back to the hotel and take the transportation shuttle. We have to do this, because shuttling 4 kids is way too expensive. And the hotels we park at, they only give a max of 2 people free shuttle service, and I'm not paying 40 more.

It's not a good idea to use rental car seats or ones provided by a shuttle company. People in the business of running shuttles are frequently not educated on car seat safety. You have no idea how the seat has been treated or whether it's been properly (and safely) cleaned. You might also have a shuttle show up with a forward-facing only seat or a belt position booster for your baby who still needs a rear facing seat. Trying to figure out whether you can make a seat work or scramble to change plans when you are supposed to be leaving for the port is not a great way to start your vacation.

Since we had nowhere to leave your car seats during our cruise, I got two Costco Scenera Next seats which are very cheap ($45) and will be back-up seats at Grandma's house. They easily fit in the bottom of our closet. It's a great compact travel seat for infants and toddlers. Although it looks like it may be cheaper to park at the port anyway so if you won't be traveling with baby frequently buying a travel seat probably isn't worth it.

We specially reserved a shuttle in FLL that had a car seat for my little one...and it never showed up. (Actually, it was on its way 45 minutes late, then the booking person said there was no car seat, so they sent it back to central booking to get the car seat, which would have made it like 2 hours late.... so we gave up and took a shuttle with no car seat.) If I were you, I would have my husband drop me and the kids, or just park at the port.