Just back from cruise with 10 month old

so we just got back today from a 7 day cruise on carnival pride out of baltimore. it was definitely different than what we're used to, but it wasn't bad! we left out of baltimore so we wouldnt have to fly with our son. only an hr drive to the port which was great! we booked an aft extended balcony and it was so nice... might be addicted to the aft balconies now! i would recommend a balcony if sailing with a baby so you have somewhere to go while they nap. dh and i would play cards, dice games, read or nap while ds slept.

we brought our son's blow up bath tub to bathe him in and we filled it with water one day and let him play in it on our balcony.

we brought an entire carry on bag full of food for our son and diapers! also brought a case of water to make his formula.

carnival provided a crib and i brought one of ds's crib sheets to put over it so he had something from home & that was familiar.

you really need to go with the flow when bringing a baby and not really have any definite plans. we were pretty much on our son's schedule and had to do whatever he was up to doing.

the ship staff was amazing and everyone loved our son. they would call him by name & go out of their way to come over and talk and play with him. it was really sweet!

we usually eat in the mdr every night, but had to go with the buffet a few nights because our son was tired and not in the best of moods :rolleyes:

if anyone has any questions or wants to see pics of the crib let me know!

Cool. We will be on the Dream when our son turns one in a few months. We will have family to help...or at least that's what I've been promised!! What kinds of solids did he eat in the mdr and buffet? Also show some pictures! I know it was a different ship, but should be relatively comparable. Thanks.

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in the mdr we would order him a fruit plate that i would cut up into small pieces for him to eat...he would also have some of our potato or rice. we brought a lot of gerber puff cereal snacks for him to munch on & to keep him quiet if he started to get a lil loud during dinner :) in the buffet he would have a lil scrambled egg in the morning. he didnt really eat too much of the food though because we had brought jars and pouches of baby fruits and veggies. i also cut up an apple from the buffet for him to eat. they are great in the mdr and ask you what you want for your baby (milk, fruit, potatoes...) there are also plenty of highchairs in the mdr and buffet area. we brought antibacterial wipes to wipe them down before we put our son in them. we also bought a strap for sippy cups or bottles that you can attach to the highchair so if our son would toss his sippy cup aside it didnt hit the floor. we bought that at babies r us.

what a sweet little cutie pie.... :)

What a cutie!

I really don't want to bring alot of baby food, if I don't have to do so. He's 8 months now and is still eating Gerber 2nd foods but he should be eating more big people food by then. I do plan on stopping at a grocery store to get diapers and wipes since we are flying in. Getting those Gerber snacks are probably a good idea too. I bought faster to the fun so we can drop all our junk off as soon as we get on board. I have a 6 year old too.

Oh, do they have sheets or do I need to pack one? thanks!

They wrap the crib mattress in a regular size flat sheet... it is a smaller mattress than a regular crib but I brought one of my sons sheets anyways and put it on there

Thanks for the review. We're looking at doing our first cruise post baby around this age. It's a very long way off but hey I need to do something to occupy my time and relieve my cruise withdrawal ;)

I know you are in the buffet at times but did you do assigned or anytime dining?

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We did anytime dining since we weren't sure when our son would be napping or what kind of mood he would be in lol. We ate in the steakhouse 1 night, 3 nights in the mdr and 3 nights in the buffet because Lil one was cranky and there was no way he'd sit through dinner.

It's best to go with the flow and not have any set plans :p

Aw what a little cutie! We took our son when he was 10 months old and your tip about go with the flow is bang on! We loved it and will be taking our second son on his first cruise at 10 months in just a few days!

Oh he's just sooo adorable!

Thanks for posting this.

Our son will be 11 months when we sail in May.

We know we'll have to follow his lead.

Great tip about the blowup tub!! Adding that to my list of must-buys!

Thanks for the pics of the crib!

Thanks for sharing those photos, he's a cutie. Love the tent, where did you get it? WOuld love it for our upcoming carribean itinerary on the carnival liberty!

I ordered the tent from Wal-Mart.com. it's really lightweight and folds up to about the size of a large umbrella in it's carrying case. Really easy to use too... it just pops open with the pull of 2 strings!

Aww, your little one is adorable :D Thanks for sharing photos and experiences!

We're taking little munchkin on his first cruise next week (he's 8 months), and I'm starting to get a bit worried how it will all work out. I'm pretty sure we have everything we need now (most likely we will be missing something when we're on the ship :rolleyes: ), but antibac-wipes was something I'd missed. Thanks!

One question; how did the crew handle the "mess"? Munchkin insists on eating by himself, and that usually results in food on the floor/table. I don't want to be one of those parents who seem to think the world revolves around their kid, and therefore has no trouble leaving a huge mess behind.

This is really helpful! We are considering a cruise when our daughter will be about the same age. Did you feel trapped in your cabin at night when bedtime came, or were you still able to enjoy the evenings?

What did you all do in the ports? I'm a little nervous about the transportation stuff without a car seat, etc.

It's best to go with the flow and not have any set plans :p

That's the most important tip when cruising with young kids! If you relax and go with the flow, you'll have a good time.

One question; how did the crew handle the "mess"? Munchkin insists on eating by himself, and that usually results in food on the floor/table. I don't want to be one of those parents who seem to think the world revolves around their kid, and therefore has no trouble leaving a huge mess behind.

we were really curteous to the crew and always picked up after our son before we left an eating area. there were usually some pieces of fruit or gerber cereal puffs scattered around the floor & we'd pick it up real quick and put in on one of our plates. i'm sure the crew wouldn't have minded sweeping it up, because they were always walking around sweeping & they all loved seeing the baby, but we didn't want to be one of "those" people who just don't care :p

This is really helpful! We are considering a cruise when our daughter will be about the same age. Did you feel trapped in your cabin at night when bedtime came, or were you still able to enjoy the evenings?

 

What did you all do in the ports? I'm a little nervous about the transportation stuff without a car seat, etc.

we were a little trapped i guess at night once our son went to sleep. it was great having the balcony though because we had an escape :) i don't know what we would have done without the balcony. my husband and i would have wine out there and we brought cards, dice & a travel scattergories game. it was relaxing and nice to have quiet, alone time together! one night though dh did go to the casino while i stayed in the cabin with ds since i wasn't feeling well anyways. the view from our balcony made up for being trapped! lol :)

our cruise didn't have the most exciting itinierary (port canaveral, nassau & freeport) so we didn't really do much in port. we stayed on the ship in florida and freeport. in nassau we walked to a free public beach and spent some time there. i figured if we were going to need any type of transportation it would have to be from a bus or shuttle of some sort because i wasn't going to go in a taxi without a carseat. i think if you do an excursion that has a shuttle bus you should be fine since little one can just sit on your lap.

Your son is just adorable! And what a great family memory :D

Glad to hear you had a great cruise! Our daughter will be 10 months next month when we sail. I was worried about food because she is still on all purees (and no teeth yet), but we did plan on buying some gerber food pouches once we get to Florida. (I currently make all her food now at home). I may even try to pack a steamer (if there's room) to cook food in the room and just mash with a fork. Did you have your own table in the dining room or were you seated with other guests? I'd like the interaction with others, but worried if DD got fussy.

I'm glad you got lots of use out of the blow up tub. I've heard some people say to leave them at home. We don't plan on doing much on port days, so I thought that would be good for on deck or the balcony too. Great idea for a small tent at the beach.

Did you go to any shows with your son? I'm hoping DD will maybe sleep in the stroller so we can still wander around at night etc. Worst case hopefully there are some good movies in the cabin. Is there a light on the balcony? I can't remember.

Glad to hear you had a great cruise! Our daughter will be 10 months next month when we sail. I was worried about food because she is still on all purees (and no teeth yet), but we did plan on buying some gerber food pouches once we get to Florida. (I currently make all her food now at home). I may even try to pack a steamer (if there's room) to cook food in the room and just mash with a fork. Did you have your own table in the dining room or were you seated with other guests? I'd like the interaction with others, but worried if DD got fussy.

 

I'm glad you got lots of use out of the blow up tub. I've heard some people say to leave them at home. We don't plan on doing much on port days, so I thought that would be good for on deck or the balcony too. Great idea for a small tent at the beach.

 

Did you go to any shows with your son? I'm hoping DD will maybe sleep in the stroller so we can still wander around at night etc. Worst case hopefully there are some good movies in the cabin. Is there a light on the balcony? I can't remember.

We we're automatically seated at our own table. We were never asked to dine with others which I really liked.

We never attempted to go to any shows. DS really only likes to sleep in a bed so he'd probably fuss if we tried to make him sleep in his stroller :rolleyes:

The balcony does have a light

I ordered the tent from Wal-Mart.com. it's really lightweight and folds up to about the size of a large umbrella in it's carrying case. Really easy to use too... it just pops open with the pull of 2 strings!

Do you remember what brand or how much it was? We want one of these.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sun-Stop-r-Kwik-Cabana-I/16437927

Here is the link for the one we had. It's only $31 now! :)