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Snorkeling with Baby


Bill McNeal

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We are a couple with a baby, now about 2 months old, and are looking to go on a cruise for the first time.

 

I'm looking at a cruise for the December-ish timeframe, when the baby will be around 6 months old. Also, the main purpose of the cruise is to do offshore snorkeling, so I'd love to find a desination to Belize, Roatan, or other snorkel hotspots. My plan is to drop the baby off during the day at the on board nursery and dive for the day (either through the cruise or separate operator), then pick the baby up in the late afternoon.

 

Any lines or destinations you can recommend for this?

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Some of the Royal Carib ships have nurseries - you would want to make sure that your specific ship offers babysitting while in port since that's the purpose of your trip. For a snorkel trip, my suggestion would be to use a ship excursion since the ship will not wait for those on private tours if there were a problem getting back on time.

 

Also, your baby will have to be at least 6 months old - they don't allow them on board any younger.

 

Best,

Mia

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I know Disney cruise lines have a nursery that cares for young infants. Also Carnival does not typically accept children under two in Camp Carnival, but does offer limited babysitting service for babies under 2 for a fee on Port days and at night. I am not familiar with RCL or NCLs programs.

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Agree with PP--make sure not to schedule your cruise til kiddo is at least 6 months old...most lines won't allow babies younger than that to board.

 

Also, will your baby still be nursing at that point? Honestly, there is no way I would have left my 6 month old with strangers while off the ship. That is traumatic for the kiddo to be in a strange place with strange people. Babies at that age typically do not like strangers.

 

Carnival does not do childcare during the day for kids under 2. They only take babies after 10 pm, and you have to pay.

 

Disney has baby nursery--it is $6 an hour, and they start taking reservations 120 days out for the nursery care. The website says that the hours vary while in port, so it may or may not be open while you want to be gone.

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I believe Disney also takes babies at three months of age. And there is no limit on Pullmantur. EM

 

Yes, I believe Disney takes children starting from 12weeks of age and older.

 

 

Also below is the info I got from Carnival regarding Under 2 infant care:

 

 

Under 2 Infant Care

 

On Port Days, care for infants begins from 15 minutes before the first tour until 12:00 noon (or from 1:00pm until 5:00pm for ships arriving in port after noon time). Port Days are for drop off only. Fees Apply: $6.75 per hour plus a 15% gratuity, per child.

On Sea Days, Under 2 time is scheduled from 8:00am-10:00am. During this time, parents have the option of leaving their child in the care of the Youth Staff Fees Apply: $6.75 per hour plus a 15% gratuity, per child for this service or they can stay and use the Camp Carnival facilities at no charge. Please note that this time is designated for the use of Under 2’s and their parents only.

Each evening, Night Owls is available from 10:00pm-3:00am. Fees Apply: $6.75 per hour plus a 15% gratuity, per child. During this time, there will be children from other age groups (2-11 years) participating in Night Owls.

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We did a snorkel excursion/stingray excursion in grand Caymen and a couple and their baby were on the same excursion. Baby was a little bit older, probably about 9 months. One parent would snorkel while the other stayed with the baby. It was a private tour, so they didn't have to deal with the ships age limits. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful excursion.

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We did a snorkel excursion/stingray excursion in grand Caymen and a couple and their baby were on the same excursion. Baby was a little bit older, probably about 9 months. One parent would snorkel while the other stayed with the baby. It was a private tour, so they didn't have to deal with the ships age limits. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful excursion.

 

I was going to say the same thing. I have been snorkeling tons and this is a very common occurrence. The parents take turns.

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Didn't you post this already and get pages of responses on what a terrible idea this is and why it won't work? I don't love the idea of leaving the baby alone on the boat, although I don't feel as intense about it as the other comments you got, I just don't understand why you're asking again when you got so much feed back.

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Didn't you post this already and get pages of responses on what a terrible idea this is and why it won't work? I don't love the idea of leaving the baby alone on the boat, although I don't feel as intense about it as the other comments you got, I just don't understand why you're asking again when you got so much feed back.

 

Because another poster suggested to him to post the question on the family board. Hope that reason works for you.

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Didn't you post this already and get pages of responses on what a terrible idea this is and why it won't work? I don't love the idea of leaving the baby alone on the boat, although I don't feel as intense about it as the other comments you got, I just don't understand why you're asking again when you got so much feed back.

Yes, I'm the one who suggested the OP ask here since this IS the family cruise board and he would have a better chance of getting answers from posters with children. He question was a bit too specific for the other board.

 

Also, I guess you didn't happen to take notice that all the responses he got on the other board were AFTER he posted here. Most of the time, the posters here are most friendly and helpful without feeling the need to question the OP.

 

Sometimes new people do not know the best place to get an answer. From what I see, he IS getting better answers here.

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To the OP: Having a baby is a tiring thing, particularly in the first few months - and I can understand you and your wife wanting to have a bit of a break.

 

However, you've got a new little person to think of now, which is a big responsibility. You have to consider what is best for your baby, as well as what you want.

 

Deep-water snorkeling, while relatively safe, does present some dangers. It's a long shot, but what if some accident befell both you and your wife while you were off the ship?

 

My son and his wife are both scuba divers. They leave their children with a trusted friend on shore, but they are never both in the water at the same time. They consider that to be a wise precaution.

 

Perhaps one of you could snorkel at one port, while the other looked after the baby? Then you could swap roles at the next port.

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To the OP: Having a baby is a tiring thing, particularly in the first few months - and I can understand you and your wife wanting to have a bit of a break.

 

However, you've got a new little person to think of now, which is a big responsibility. You have to consider what is best for your baby, as well as what you want.

 

Deep-water snorkeling, while relatively safe, does present some dangers. It's a long shot, but what if some accident befell both you and your wife while you were off the ship?

 

My son and his wife are both scuba divers. They leave their children with a trusted friend on shore, but they are never both in the water at the same time. They consider that to be a wise precaution.

 

Perhaps one of you could snorkel at one port, while the other looked after the baby? Then you could swap roles at the next port.

 

I think this is a very wise and reasonable response. When you have a baby, it stops being all about you. The idea of alternating excursions and baby care seems good.

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Hi OP, while we haven't taken our kids on a cruise yet (we'll be doing that next year), we have always taken them everywhere with us from hiking to diving to pretty much everything in between. It is very different from before you had kids. You just have to realize that you are no longer on your own schedule! LOL! It doesn't mean that you still can't do what you like to do.

 

At 6 months old, babies are pretty finicky. They can be ok with babysitters and then just as fast they turn into the woman from the Exorcist and their heads start spinning around. If this happens, I would guess that the sitter would normally try to get a hold of you, which can't be done in an excursion. That is something to think about.

 

If you can get an excursion that allows babies, that would be a good idea. Just make sure that they are equipped with the correct life jackets for the baby or do NOT go on that excursion. With snorkeling, it is easy to take turns caring for the baby. Just make sure that you have enough sunscreen, food, and water/milk/formula for the baby. Also take extra clothing, etc.

 

If you do take the baby on the excursion, please know that you won't really be able let the baby scootch around on the boat.

 

So, this was a long way of saying that it is doable, both leaving the baby and not, you just need to see what you guys are comfortable with and overplan :)

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Since your primary goal is to snorkel and not to cruise, you may want to look at an all inclusive.

A Club Med, Sandals, or something similar.

Many of them have snorkel excursions as well as child-care for infants that is certain to be open. Also it's all in 1 spot, so if there was a very rare emergency, you would be quite close and easy to reach.

 

CC has a sister website familyvacationcritic.com that can give you more information about this.

 

 

Now if you are also looking to cruise and will be alright possibly having to forego your snorkel plan, then please stick around and you'll find great advice here on how to make cruising with a 6-month-old a lot of fun. :cool:

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My husband and I are both divers, but the only diving we’ve done since having kids was a night dive with the manta rays in Hawaii. Because, OMG, we couldn’t NOT go diving with the manta rays! But my husband went the first night and I went the second night.

 

Other than that, we’ve stuck to resorts with beach snorkelling. Beach snorkelling is fantastic because you can snorkel in half hour shifts while the kids do whatever. If they need food, a nap, a bathroom or a diaper change, you have the facilities right there and the one parent isn’t stuck for a half to a full day by themselves with the kids. We often go snorkeling 2-3 times a day each.

 

If you decide the snorkeling is more important than the cruising, I can give you a list of resorts we’ve been to in Grenada, Jamaica, Cozumel, Mayan Riviera, and Hawaii with good beach snorkeling.

 

There is probably a scenario like that in at least one of your ports – where you can take the day-at-the-beach option (probably a lot cheaper than the boat snorkeling excursion) and snorkeling from shore will also be available.

 

If you do go on an excursion, you should bring your own baby lifejacket from home as I wouldn’t expect a tour boat to carry the proper size.

 

You should also know that 6 month old babies are a whole different ball game than 2 month old babies. That’s about the time they start making strange with people, and even *grandma* can’t hold them for 30 seconds, let alone complete strangers for hours at a time while parents are completely unreachable.

 

Don’t worry. You’ll get your freedom back eventually. You just have to find new ways of doing things.

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  • 2 weeks later...
We did a snorkel excursion/stingray excursion in grand Caymen and a couple and their baby were on the same excursion. Baby was a little bit older, probably about 9 months. One parent would snorkel while the other stayed with the baby. It was a private tour, so they didn't have to deal with the ships age limits. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful excursion.

kellylw---Thanks for your reply. We will be cruising with our 1 year old grand daughter and I have been trying to come up with ideas. This is an excellent suggestion. I will start looking for a private tour for our group of Parents, Grandparents and Great Grandparents.

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If you do go on an excursion, you should bring your own baby lifejacket from home as I wouldn’t expect a tour boat to carry the proper size.

 

 

That is excellent advice.

 

I recently attended a baby shower where someone gave the cutest little pink infant wet suit and life jacket. :D That little one is going to be a water baby for sure.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Why don't you check out some of the beaches that offer snorkeling or scuba from the shore/beach? Snorkeling in many places from a beach club is go snorkling when you want. Sooo.. One plays with baby while the other swims and then switch. Im actually researching this now too, cause we're taking our lo on his 3rd cruise in a few months. We travelled to the eastern with lo when he was 10.5 months.. Took him to the beaches, around the ports... You name it. A balcony room is a must though.. While baby was napping during the day, Set up a baby sound monitor, and was able to read on the balcony.. It was heaven!

 

I will say this... We took our lo EVERYWHERE with us.. And still do. Having a baby changes everything (remember the commercial from years ago??). We still have fun on cruises now, but it's a totally different kind of fun than before. Take your clues from lo...

 

There was no way ours would've been okay at 10.5 months hanging out on a snorkeling boat with me while my dh swam. So we didn't do that. Now that he's older, we're able to do other things we couldn't do last time we went cruising as a family. I'm sure that the next time after that, they'll be even MORE stuff we can do, and so on and so on.

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I have a water baby, we actually had rangers come out and "assist" us because they heard her screaming at 18 months old while kayaking. The rangers had a laugh when the saw what was happening, she was in her life jacket, swift water throw rope attached to me in slow moving flat water. She climbed out of the kayak and was swimming along side as I paddled very slowly, the screaming was every time I tried to remove her from the water to bring her back into the kayak.

 

I can see from your post you and your wife has a passion and now a new little one! I share the above story to show that your little one can and will share in your adventures. I do feel that 6 months old is too young to be on a snorkel boat and I would not leave a child that young on board the ship without an adult.

 

If you do decide to leave little one on board please only book a ship excursion. If you book private in that situation the ship has no way to reach you should something happen to your little one.

 

I would recommend if you want to bring little one consider also bringing grandma or grandpa to watch little one.

 

What is your purpose/goals for this cruise? A family time experience, deep sea snorkel and dive trip, combination of both? Only you can make a decision for your family. My daughter is almost three and is ready for her own kayak, still attached to mom but with her own paddle and boat. She has her own life vest and has been in swimming lessons and pools at least three times a week. At 21 months she took her first cruise, she wore her life jacket and swam with me to see the fish, she had a snorkel mask but no snorkel. Instead she put her head in the water and blew bubbles or held her breath. At 3 years old on our January cruise she will have her mask and a snorkel.

 

You will get there as a family to enjoy these experiences but it is a gradual and often slow process. You as the parent can only go/do as much as the little one is capable of at a given point in time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

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I have a water baby, we actually had rangers come out and "assist" us because they heard her screaming at 18 months old while kayaking. The rangers had a laugh when the saw what was happening, she was in her life jacket, swift water throw rope attached to me in slow moving flat water. She climbed out of the kayak and was swimming along side as I paddled very slowly, the screaming was every time I tried to remove her from the water to bring her back into the kayak.

 

You reminded me of a story - when my daughter was around 3 YO we were in a store one day and I told her I was going to beat her to the door. She immediately started running through the store yelling "don't beat me, don't beat me!" I chose my words more carefully after that :rolleyes: .

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