baby on board

Hey everyone.

My sister is going on the Voyager of the seas to New Zealand at xmas time with her husband’s family. My sister will be bringing along her then 15 month old daughter. She wasn’t involved in the booking plans so has no idea about cruising with the little one. What facilities or services are available to her or how to get around off ship. I told her that all of you on here were fantastic and have loads of helpful if so I’d ask on her behalf.

Basically any info you can give me. Tips or hints or anything in regards to travelling with a baby would be helpful.

Thanks

The first thing I'd is take what I know as an umbrella stroller.

Next diapers get a box and slap a luggage tag on.

Next shore tours, if arranging private one's contact them and arrange a child safety seat.

How's the baby re food?

Heres a really neat thing I noticed while perusing the gifts and gears of my upcoming cruise. You can actually order diapers (huggies diff sizes) and have them sent to your cabin. You can also order baby food. It may be a little pricier IM sure than at Walmart however the convenience of flying without them, more room in your luggage and if you have to pk a lot you may have to bring an extra suitcase and pay for it. In the end even tho its more money the money may be well spent and end up actually being cheaper( ie added suitcase cost)

Few things I have gone with our now 3 year old DD on 2 cruises one time when she was a 13 months and a second cruise when she was 18 months. if your child doesnt like shower get one of the small baby pools (dollar store sells them) then you can put it in the shower and give the baby a bath. dont worry about toys when you get on board go to the kids club they will let you sign out a bin of toys to take back to your cabin and use around the ship. may want to bring some painters tape to lock the drawers and other stuff away from the kids. i second the stroller get one that is not to wide we used our around the ship and as we do the late seating dinner would bring it if my DD got to tired she would sleep in it next to the table. The staff loves the little ones as most have one back home and they are sooo good with them. if you have any questions feel free to send me a message.

Well they are flying in so i am not sure how they will travel with a box nappies on plane. if they will check them in or put them in a suitcase. They have never travelled with her before.

Yeah she is borrowing a stroller from a friend as she knows her usual pram is too massive.

Baby eats everything and is now eating normal food. So steamed veggies are a staple and of course she wants to eat everything that is on noisome elses plate :)

At 15months I wouldn't think baby food is a concern any more. There will be plenty available to feed a toddler of that age.

I don't know what the weather is like down there at this time of year, but she should know that non-potty trained children can't use the main pools, even with a swim diaper. She could consider bringing something like a small blow-up pool for the baby to play in.

Hey everyone.

 

My sister is going on the Voyager of the seas to New Zealand at xmas time with her husband’s family. My sister will be bringing along her then 15 month old daughter. She wasn’t involved in the booking plans so has no idea about cruising with the little one. What facilities or services are available to her or how to get around off ship. I told her that all of you on here were fantastic and have loads of helpful if so I’d ask on her behalf.

 

Basically any info you can give me. Tips or hints or anything in regards to travelling with a baby would be helpful.

 

Thanks

You didn't indicate what type of cabin they have booked, but would suggest requesting a pack-and-play for the baby to sleep in. (Like a cot/crib). Cabins are small, but they really need a place for baby to sleep.

Don't mean to sound like a dumb/negative comment, but the way you indicted that she is "bringing along" the baby - assume that the person booking the trip knows this and has booked the child on the cruise! Baby is still considered a full-paying passenger and has to have the appropriate paperwork. You can't just bring the baby along ..... like on a car/hotel trip.

There are lots of threads on the family board with a lot of helpful hints.

I think the main things to cover are diapers, no tub (unless in a suite)/eating/bringing lots of clothes (no washers or dryers), would also bring small baby-sized utensils for feeding, car seat for excursions.

Any and all baby meds.....the ship doesn't sell stuff for babies, so bring whatever medications she "might" need....nose drops, tylenol, etc....be terrible to need something and not be able to get it!

Don't mean to sound like a dumb/negative comment, but the way you indicted that she is "bringing along" the baby - assume that the person booking the trip knows this and has booked the child on the cruise! Baby is still considered a full-paying passenger and has to have the appropriate paperwork. You can't just bring the baby along ..... like on a car/hotel trip.

This was my exact thought as I read the original post. Make sure the child is on the paperwork or you will not be allowed to board. Sometimes people assume a cruise is like having a baby fly on your lap on an airplane or a hotel room.

If you have that covered, I apoligize.

That said, I would recomend a collapsable stroller. There is a lot of walking around the ship so its nice to have the stroller, but big ones you use in normal life are sometimes too big for the small cabins and hallways.

Heres a really neat thing I noticed while perusing the gifts and gears of my upcoming cruise. You can actually order diapers (huggies diff sizes) and have them sent to your cabin. You can also order baby food. It may be a little pricier IM sure than at Walmart however the convenience of flying without them, more room in your luggage and if you have to pk a lot you may have to bring an extra suitcase and pay for it. In the end even tho its more money the money may be well spent and end up actually being cheaper( ie added suitcase cost)

RCL's Babies 2 Go offering is very similar to Disney's Babies Travel Lite offering. If it's available for cruises departing NZ, it would be a great option for the OP.

We cruised many times when kids were babies. Royal Caribbean is awesome with kids. There is a nursery onboard and they are fantastic, she should check in with them the first day and they will get her set up. They have toy sharing so no need to bring toys. Servers in MDR love babies and always entertained the kiddos. We asked for a fruit plate 1st dinner and then it was automatically there when we arrived. I agree about the small tub, came in quite handy. Target sells them for $5 I think. Milk at bedtime just ask in the lido or cafe and we always put extra in the fridge. Bring $1 rafts for ports and then you can leave there and not hassle with renting. There is a baby pool for diapered babies onboard. Any other specific questions feel free to ask. :D

Do the dietary request to order baby food, cereal, and distilled water if needed.

Please make sure they bring a blanket for the toddler. Royal use regular sheets and blankets folded up to fit in the pack and play. I found that the regular blanket folded up was to big and heavy when my DD was a toddler. Also I think Little ones will sleep better with a familiar "blankie" ....

Lisa

We cruised many times when kids were babies. Royal Caribbean is awesome with kids. There is a nursery onboard and they are fantastic, she should check in with them the first day and they will get her set up. They have toy sharing so no need to bring toys. Servers in MDR love babies and always entertained the kiddos. We asked for a fruit plate 1st dinner and then it was automatically there when we arrived. I agree about the small tub, came in quite handy. Target sells them for $5 I think. Milk at bedtime just ask in the lido or cafe and we always put extra in the fridge. Bring $1 rafts for ports and then you can leave there and not hassle with renting. There is a baby pool for diapered babies onboard. Any other specific questions feel free to ask. :D

I am not sure that Voyager has a nursery or a baby splash zone. A nursery may have been added during dry dock, but I thought only the Freedom class and higher had baby splash zones.

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I am not sure that Voyager has a nursery or a baby splash zone. A nursery may have been added during dry dock, but I thought only the Freedom class and higher had baby splash zones.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

You are correct - Voyager does not have either a nursery or a baby splash zone. There will be daily "mommy and me" type sessions and there are bags of toys available for borrowing.

Thanks for the help guys. I have emailed off your responses to my sister.

LOL Yeah I re read my post. Yes my niece is on itinerary. Although knowing his family ill get my sister to double check. they often go and invite or expect them to go to things and seem to forget umm hello, kid. Not possible or not going to be easy for the mother/my sister.

My sister informs me they have a window room. My niece has had trouble sleeping lately with a few more teeth coming in so she has been sharing the bed with them for comfort. So she might just share the bed with them for the trip but ill double check. Ill check out the family board for her but I thought I might get more specific information from here :)

My sister has only cruised once before and never with a child so any added info tips or help would be appreciated

Regardless of the expense, I'd take advantage of being able to buy the diapers/nappies from the cruise line. They would take up so much room in the luggage. Make sure, especially with the teething that she has the over-the-counter medicines such as children's tylenol, nose-drops, etc. Nothing is worse than discovering late at night that you need tylenol and you have to wait until you reach a port to look for a pharmacy with a miserable little one. We carried the umbrella type stroller. It was SO easy to navigate on the ship, especially the elevators/lifts and hallways. We just made the shower an "adventure" by someone putting on their swimsuit and getting into the shower with my Grandson. We did carry a few favorite toys. Our little ones have grown up cruising and love it.