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Bringing own life vest for 21 mo old


jlynshep

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Hi,

Im going to be going on cruise to Alaska in a few days and I did not know if I should bring a life vest for my son that is 21 months. I know they have them on the ship, but I did not know if they would have them small enough for him and was not sure about the ports where we have to take a tender. Any info would be great. Thank you

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They will have life jackets for a 2 year old...but you will not be able to take it ashore! It's for emergency's on the ship ONLY. So, bring one, if you feel the need. They do have floatation devices on the tenders, in case of emergency.

 

Tenders are pretty large....not a rowboat or anything that small!!!

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They have life vests in all sizes. Check your room as soon as you get onboard if there isn't one that will fit him. Your room steward will bring one.

 

Life vests are just for emergencies of course, if you feel you need one for other things, you will need to bring your own.

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We brought one with us for our last cruise, feb 2013. It was a little difficult to find one 'off season' but I did locate one at an outdoor stuff retailer (Canadian Tire). I was just a bit paranoid that the cruise line would forget to put one or not even have one small enough for our then 9 month old. Granted, I found one that he was 2 lbs short of the minimum weight suggestion but I felt better having something secured for him. It wasn't that bad to pack either. I just put it at the top of our luggage and it melded nicely.

 

 

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They will have life jackets for a 2 year old...but you will not be able to take it ashore! It's for emergency's on the ship ONLY. So, bring one, if you feel the need. They do have floatation devices on the tenders, in case of emergency.

 

Tenders are pretty large....not a rowboat or anything that small!!!

 

Ditto this, plus the life vests supplied on board are for ocean survival/rescue. What most people but in a store are swimming devices.

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Ditto this, plus the life vests supplied on board are for ocean survival/rescue. What most people but in a store are swimming devices.

Good point, didn't even think about that. The vests have whistles, lights and reflectors. The infant sized ones also have an additional cloth piece that covers the back so there is no chance even a tiny child could slip out.

 

Below is a photo of my son at 6 months. We tried on the vest as soon as the steward brought it in case it didn't fit right. Also if there had been an emergency we didn't want to waste precious time trying to figure out the vest.

I'd suggest anyone getting an infant vest do this as you kind of slide the child into it like a harness rather than put it on like a regular vest. I also put mine on and practiced holding him while wearing it. It was surprisingly more difficult than expected(but very doable)

289946725_MexicanCruise2012164.jpg.59925efb1972082c3ee98321557405c2.jpg

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Hi,

Im going to be going on cruise to Alaska in a few days and I did not know if I should bring a life vest for my son that is 21 months. I know they have them on the ship, but I did not know if they would have them small enough for him and was not sure about the ports where we have to take a tender. Any info would be great. Thank you

 

Do you have any tender ports? Most Alaska ports don't require tendering. I've been to Alaska 6 times and never had to tender, but I've only been to the most common ports, not the smaller ones like Icy Strait Point that does require tendering. Depending on your ports, this might not be an issue.

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