Norwegian gem with a baby

Hello everyone ,we will be sailing September 5-12th with my eight year old and almost eight month old to Florida and the Bahamas. Can anyone give me any advice on sailing with a baby?

Be flexible!!! Babies have their own schedules, and it's easier to adapt to their schedule than to try and get them to cooperate!!!

Bring any and all "baby stuff" you need....diapers, wipes, lotions and potions, any baby "meds", as the ship won't have what you need! A blow-up tub for bathing baby, unless you're in a suite with a tub....standard cabins have showers and the sinks are small.

Really, there is nothing different about have your baby on a ship than in a hotel....same stuff is needed!

There are no microwaves for passenger use, but the hot water in the bath gets HOT...so you can warm a bottle (if you're not breastfeeding, which is the optimal way, especially on a vacation!!) There are plenty of mashable foods, (bananas, applesauce, yogurt, potatoes, etc..), so if your child is eating baby food...bring some jars!

Also, bring plenty of sunscreen for baby...that sun is much stronger than in northern climes (don't know where you're from, but just letting you know!) and you do NOT want your child burned!!!

Traveling with a baby requires lots of equipment....but going ANYWHERE with a baby does....

Bring your stroller...you WILL need it....if you have more than 1, bring the smaller...halls are tight!

If you have a baby carrier, bring it since wearing the baby is often easier than pushing the stroller around (but definitely bring the stroller too!).

Disposable bibs and those squeezable baby food pouches are awesome for travel.

Depending on what baby is eating, plan to bring bottles, spoons, etc. along with a bottle brush and small container of dish soap to wash things up in your cabin. We cruised with DS when he was 10 months. He was breast fed and eating a fair amount of finger foods at the time. We had his grandparents with us so I did bring a small manual breast pump and some bottles so they could take him for a while.

Check out the Spinnaker Lounge on the Gem. It is often unused during the day, and can be a good place to either let the baby crawl around some, or enjoy the view from a climate controlled space when you need some down time.