Traveling with Babies

We will be cruising with a 9 month old. Any suggestions to make it easier. Does any one know if we need car seat in Taxis and min vans while traveling to ship and on the islands? Thanks:)

This topic has been discussed many, many times on this board. Try using the search function and you'll pull up lots of information.

But, yes, your child should always be secured in the appropriate restraint wherever you are.

6rugrats is right however I don't mind throwing some of my experiences at you.

Travelling with the little one was easy. We did it when she was 8 months and again at 1.5 yrs. Both times she was small enough for her infant seat and since we had a snap and go stroller that made ports a breeze. The infant seat can buckle right into any seat belt you'll find in port. We always brought a little lunch cooler and filled it with milk and fruit from the ship to feed her snacks throughout the day. If the ship you're on isn't a kid friendly you may need to advise the dining room staff to pick up the pace of the food service. I love a two-three hour relaxed meal but not with an infant. So; in our case we were on Celebrity we had to ask them to pick it up.

If you have any specific questions feel to ask away.

We took our DD when she was 7 months and 10 months. Great time to take them IMO.

You'll need a car seat for airport to port if you're taking a cab/van. If you don't want to bring a car seat you're pretty much limited to cruise ship transfers (bus) or a shuttle. We drove to port so it wasn't a concern for us. We never took a car seat with us and just let her sit in our lap in cabs in port.

As above it's a pretty broad question. If you have any specific questions id be happy to help. We did bring a small blowup tub for on deck for her to splash in. That was a big success! We never used a stroller on the ship just in port so our full size stroller (Britax) was fine.

I recommend bringing a case of premixed formula if you're not breast feeding. Who wants to futz with powder and scoops on vacation?? Plus you can just pop a couple of the bottles in a bag and not have to worry about refrigeration. We just kept the case under the bed. That said, we also brought the individual packets of formula. The kind that look like flavor pouches that you just tear open and pour into 4oz of water. Voila instant bottle. We kept those with us in port in case of a hunger "emergency".

Bring the scented diaper bags for dirties. (Unless you're going on a line that furnishes a diaper genie) You and your steward will be glad you did.

Lastly try to relax. Strangers will touch your baby. Crew member will want play with them. They'll be the biggest celebrity on board. We're pretty laid back and it didn't bother us. We actually found it kind of heartwarming to watch the crew play with her. But I know we're probably in the minority and other parents are often more uptight about strangers around their baby.

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

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I second the pre mixed formula! When we travelled while DD was still on formula we took the individual bottles of Similac. All we had to do was unscrew the top & put a nipple on the bottle. They are pricey but it was worth the convenience. We also had the individual packets as a back up.

One person mentioned taking fruit off the ship for snacks...be cautious about this. Check before doing it as in some ports there are stiff fines for doing this. Pre packaged snacks are not really an issue to take off.

As for taxis/minivans...if you will definitely use them I'd take a car seat. You don't mention what ports you'll be visiting. Different islands have different laws about seats, but some require them. We didn't sail with DD until she was 2. We didn't want to take a car seat so we did not take any taxis/minivans. We stayed onboard in 1 port & in the port area at the other 2 (our plan for one of those was taking a water taxi to town & beach, but weather didn't cooperate). As another person mentioned, cruiseline transfers (or possibly some hotel shuttles) are about the only transportation options where car seats would not be needed. You could also possibly arrange for a car service with car seat.

As said in a previous post. Do not take fresh fruit off in port. Many ports have dogs. You do not want the cute lab sitting next to you. Because her handler, usually a huge guy with a gun, will search your bags. Seen this many times.

You can take off the pouches of puréed fruit. From the ship you can take off cereal boxes. All the ships we've sailed on - HAL, Carnival and Princess- have had Cheerios for breakfast.

The baby yogurt that doesn't need refrigeration is also great to take. Easy to bring into port instead of fruit.

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I mentioned the fresh fruit and while I never had an issue I would differ to other CC members as I am no expert having only cruised twice. I would however pack what you can as it made us feel better that we were feeding our child food from the ship.

Check with your pediatrician about if you can give the baby Pedialyte of needed. The package says over one but mine said it was fine to give earlier. In case of stomach issues, it comes in powdered form

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We took DD on a cruise when she was 7 months, and we have another cruise booked for when she will be 10 months. We brought a sippy cup and a spoon for her. They supplied baby food. This time she will be able to eat table food, so just bringing a sippy.

Also, if you have a messy eater, the dollar store sells disposable bibs, and they're great. We have a compact stroller that she rode in around the ship. The crew adored her, and you should expect to be stopped a lot when getting around.

The ship had a very clean graco pack and play, but we brought our own sheets for it because they just use a regular flat sheet.

Cruising with a baby can be a lot of fun, but a different kind of fun for sure.

We will be cruising with a 9 month old. Any suggestions to make it easier. Does any one know if we need car seat in Taxis and min vans while traveling to ship and on the islands? Thanks:)

Want to really make it easier...bring grandparents :D

We use powder formula but either use the indictable pouches or I measure out the right number of scoops in a small container and put the appropriate amount of water in the bottle - just mix when baby is ready to eat - easy peasy!

We're also planning to stock up on the baby food pouches. Our DD is 10 months and mostly eats table food, but the pouches are good for stopping a meltdown :) as others have mentioned, picking up Cheerios or other dry snacks at the buffet can also make for a quick snack.

At this age, they are might be too young, but when ODD was a little older (16 months) I brought a bunch of cheap toys (McDonald's/dollar store type things) and would bring a few in my bag to dinner each night. If she got antsy I could usually pull out a new toy and it would keep her happy for a little bit.

Lastly, not sure what ship you're sailing, but if possible sailing on a ship with a nursery or with grandparents/someone to help is awesome. With ODD we did one ship without a nursery and one with and it was soooo nice to be able to drop her off for a few hours for adult time on the ship with the nursery. We also met many people traveling with the grandparents who could leave the baby with the grandparents and go out, which also seemed like a good option. Sailing just our family was still great - less dishes, no work, no cooking, etc. it was just a totally different experience than sailing alone or sailing a ship with infant facilities.

Want to really make it easier...bring grandparents :D

OK, we're the Grands going on the cruise with the "kids" and doing the planning. DGD will be 15 months and the question is about cabin selection and crib/pack and play availability. The on-line cabin selection tool won't permit us to book a cabin for two adults and an infant unless there is an extra bed. Since the third bed isn't needed, can we just book a regular cabin?

OK, we're the Grands going on the cruise with the "kids" and doing the planning. DGD will be 15 months and the question is about cabin selection and crib/pack and play availability. The on-line cabin selection tool won't permit us to book a cabin for two adults and an infant unless there is an extra bed. Since the third bed isn't needed, can we just book a regular cabin?

I don't think so.

OK, we're the Grands going on the cruise with the "kids" and doing the planning. DGD will be 15 months and the question is about cabin selection and crib/pack and play availability. The on-line cabin selection tool won't permit us to book a cabin for two adults and an infant unless there is an extra bed. Since the third bed isn't needed, can we just book a regular cabin?

No! I had the same issue when I was cruising alone with twin babies - always still could only book a cabin for three. It's not about how many actual beds you're going to use - there must be a berth for every person in a cabin.

Best,

Mia

I don't think so.

No! I had the same issue when I was cruising alone with twin babies - always still could only book a cabin for three. It's not about how many actual beds you're going to use - there must be a berth for every person in a cabin.

 

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Right on the money . . . something about tie downs for the crib. Thanks! We are booked and set to go. Let the count down begin.

I mentioned the fresh fruit and while I never had an issue I would differ to other CC members as I am no expert having only cruised twice. I would however pack what you can as it made us feel better that we were feeding our child food from the ship.

Definitely do not take off fruit. For most ports, you can take with you sealed pre-packaged snacks. There are some ports (such as in Australia) that are more restrictive. There's many places that are very protective of their agriculture industry. California is one such place as we've had major infestations, and the people here have grown to hate sprayings that have taken place.