sweetpea1714

I wouldn't risk cruising without the letter. Maybe they won't ask for it. but if they do, you are out of luck, out of money, and have no fun vacation.

Ask the local uniformed personnel as you disembark. Likely you will be directed to the customs house where you can request a stamp. Or you might get lucky and one is on duty as you leave the ship. That's what we do.

Why do you need to fax them that you are pregnant? Just bring a letter from your OB stating your due dare and that you are fit to travel (assuming you are under the weeks along they allow). That's all I did. Just showed the letter at boarding when they asked for it (I was clearly showing).

Closer to cruise departure you will have the ability to reserve times online. Or you can do it onboard. Or just show up and wait until a table opens like at a land based restaurant.

Nice that they were accommodated. But there isn't a guarantee of that. If you extrapolate to other situations, it also seems wise to have one. Maybe a parent has a medical emergency and all parties need to fly home.

They aren't expensive or hard to obtain. I figure it's better safe than sorry. But to each his/her own, obviously. ;)

However. If the ship has a problem and you end up having to fly home or it ends up in a us port other than the one from which you originated, not having a passport is going to cause a problem. Mine has had a passport since he was 1.5 just in case.

Neither this sale or last months included Baltimore departures. Very sad.

The benefit of the cruise is that if you order something and don't like it...you just order something else.

Sigh. For MTD that is. Stupid phone.

Can anyone explain WHY the difference? Why are gratuities prepaid fir ZnTD but can be paid onboard (or prepaid) with the traditional seating?

I don't understand what difference it should make. They know who served me each night.

My worry would be you are on a private tour. Things happen. Ship is not necessarily going to wait for you to return and then you have the potential that you miss the ship and it sails with the child but without you (small I assume since hopefully someone on the ship realizes the kid isn't with you).

When possible we dump the poo in the toilet and flush. That helps a lot. We use cloth diapers at home, so we're used to that. Not all poo is usually ploppable though! lol. We've asked our room stewards for extra garbage bags. They are usually happy to comply. Then we keep one tied up with dirty diapers in it.

this, exactly. We CD'd too, except for the cruise we took while ours was still in diapers (my first experience with disposables - very interesting!). We did the same thing we normally do - dump the poo and flush it). Then tightly bundled the used diaper and tied it into a bag (just like the ones we used to pick up after our dog at the park). never noticed a smell at all.

Hi, I'm new here. We're going on a Western Caribbean cruise in March on NCL out of Tampa. It will be my husband and I, our 6 month old son, and 6 other relatives. I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer. I'd appreciate any insight you can provide.

 

1. They're going to provide a pack n play for our room, which is great because it means we won't have to bring ours. However, I've never used a pack n play from someone else before. Is there some way to clean it before putting my son in it? I don't want him to get sick from the kid who used it before him. Also, my son usually sleeps in a crib. The pack n play has a really hard thin pad on the bottom and I've noticed that in ours, at least, you can feel the bar through it. Any advice for making it more comfortable but still safe? My son is able to roll from back to front, but not front to back at this point so just filling it with blankets wouldn't be safe for him.

 

2. We need to buy a new stroller because the one we have came with the carseat and is enormous. Since we're going to Disney World before the cruise, we'd like to get a lightweight stroller that will do well at Disney World, on the boat, shore excursions, and afterward at home. We've been looking at the Chicco Liteway Plus and Britax B-Agile strollers because they would both allow us to snap in our son's carseat (Chicco KeyFit30) while getting on and off the boat. Has anyone used these on a cruise/at Disney World? How did they do?

 

Thank you!

1) personally I would bring my own PNP. IF the one they give you is too grungy or defective, what are you going to do? or what if they don't have the bottom insert and provide a comforter for the inside instead? who knows? if you use they one they provide I would bring a can of Lysol and pretty much saturate the thing, then let it dry before putting the kid in it.

PNPs basically bag themselves once you fold them up and put them in the cover. I'd go the additional step and wrap it with plastic (the kind you use for moving, you can get rolls of it at Lowes or Home depot for like 10 bucks). or buy a cheap(er) one and leave it in the box for air travel if it comes to it. and just leave it on the ship.

at that age he shouldn't notice the PNP "hardness" too much. Mine slept in one for daycare every day for two years. They sleep anywhere! I wouldn't add anything to it.

2) I wouldn't go to anything beyond an umbrella stroller on the ship. Even with one that small it still gets crowded and hard to maneuver.

I agree with this poster. I live near the port and would not suggest staying as far out as Frederick or Hagerstown or in DC unless you want to visit the city. Your best bet for reasonable accomodations is at Arundel Mills or in one of the hotels at BWI airport. They usually offer free parking and free shuttle service to the port which is only about 20 minutes away. At $15 a day for parking at the port the hotel packages are a really good deal. Also there are no tolls if you want to drive and approach the port from the BWI area. You can also approach the city from I 70 via 695 south without going through the tunnels.

 

Alternatively many people choose to stay in the Inner Harbor or Fells Point sections of Baltimore and enjoy a visit to the harbor and surrounding areas. These hotels also have shuttles to the port.

If you are already eastbound on I-70 heading towards B'more, stopping in hagerstown (1.5 hours away) or Frederick (45 min away) is not a bad option. I would avoid Arundel mills area since (1) it is slightly out of the way and (2) the increased traffic and crime due to the casinos is an unnecessary headache.

You can depart at a leisurely time (getting a little bit more sleep after that long drive) and totally avoid the various rush hours while making to port in plenty of time.