Host Faith

Thanks for posting information about the products you used to make travelling with an infant easier! I am taking advantage of your research and recommendations and sharing this with my son and his wife, who live in Arizona and have to fly here to visit us. After their last flight with our granddaughter--during which she travelled as an infant in her Mom's lap, he said that they were going to book a seat for her in the future. She was apparently pretty cranky and they ended up having to walk her up and down the aisle so he thinks that having the extra seat will make it easier. Your product recommendations will make it even easier (and, hopefully, more likely to keep visiting Nanny and Papa)!

 

I'm so happy to hear that the list might make travel easier for your son's family! Really, with the carseat bag and stroller, travel was waaaaay easier than I though it would be. :)

Thank you SO MUCH for posting the info from Royal Babies and Tots. DH is still not convinced about cruising with a toddler (partly because our LO is still an infant, and that's what he is comparing it to!), and this info will go in my folder!

 

My pleasure! I can totally relate. It was user bionicman's review of his first cruise with his son that made us consider taking Isaac on a cruise this young. We were going to wait a little longer but his review showed us that cruising with a baby is doable and can be a lot of fun. Excellent review, check it out when you have a chance. Here's the link: Freedom Review.

What a great cabin steward!!!

 

I like that "medicine" you have in your refrigerator!!

 

That is SOME breakfast!! Girl.....that would be my caloric intake for the entire day!!

 

Next time.....try the sticky bread pudding for dessert......it is excellent!!

 

Hi max'smom! Haha! I used the fridge for Isaac's milk too...didn't want to show that since I thought it would be TMI :D

 

Collin truly was an excellent steward!

 

I'll try the bread pudding next time, thanks for the suggestion!

Two bites, and he was done, lol.

 

 

We hung out a little longer until Wes woke up.

 

The following day was Wesley's birthday, so we did some of his favorite things that day.

 

Isaac and I are early risers, but Wes likes to sleep in. I took advantage of some time alone with my boy, and we enjoyed the sunrise from the balcony.

 

 

Isaac was still a little wired, so we hung out with him on the balcony for a bit. I also filled out our room service breakfast order, to place on the door handle before going to bed. Wes and I have a tradition of having breakfast on our balcony when we cruise :)

 

[quote name='CamaCama']I love this review!! Going on Liberty in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait for more (please post more today so i can pass the time at work lol). :)[/quote]

LOL! I'm jealous! :)

[quote name='CruiserTB']Hey Chrystal, how did MTD workout for you with Isaac? I'm debating between that and early dining. Late dining is too close to DS bedtime so that's out. Thanks.[/quote]

MTD worked out really well since we were able to go to dinner at 5:30, instead of 6:00 (early dining time). We saw a couple other families that had the same idea that we did. We were able to have our dinner before the bulk of MTD guests arrived. That way, we felt much more comfortable with our little guy, and we could still get him to bed around his regular bedtime.

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]We went back to the room after dinner. I have to say- Collin, our stateroom attendant, was the best we've ever had. He went out of his way to make sure our stay was comfortable. By the time we came back from dinner, he had fulfilled every single request we listed on the note we left him.

The Pack and Play had very little padding in the bottom, and the surface was a little too hard for Isaac to be comfortable. I had asked for the extra blankets because I wanted to use one in the crib. I explained that to Collin before we left for dinner. We came back to discover that he remade our beds, and made Isaac's bed too. He used the soft blanket we brought from home as well. So sweet:

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Our fridge was also there. It would take a few hours for it to get cold, but it worked. It was placed under the vanity.

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Collin left us an infant-sized life vest too:

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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]There was a Royal Babies and Tots program on the bed: [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]In my opinion, Royal's desserts in the main dining room are just "okay." The desserts in the Specialty Restaurants are fantastic! I apologize for the shakiness of the image- Isaac was a little fidgety around this time:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]


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[LEFT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]I had the BBB Creme Brulee....didn't like it. I'm a huge fan of creme brulee. The texture underneath was so strange since there were bananas mixed into it. I ate the topping and left the rest. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[quote name='Laurba99']Chrystal wow I get more excited to go with each thing you write. I also realized we have the exact same category cabin when we go (D1) so great to see the extra space and I saw the menu before I saw what you ordered and I would have picked the same appetizer salad and entree :) when I think of my son's face ) will be 7) when I saw the parade photos oh my goodness. This is like nothing I have ever seen and it will be our fifth cruise since 2002 and my son's second.
I told my husband how you had all these followers and how excited we get for the next segment. They are always worth the wait[/quote]

Hi Laura! So happy to hear that you're enjoying the review and it's helpful to you as you plan your cruise! You're going to enjoy the cruise even more. There's so much to do, or if you want to do nothing at all there are plenty of spaces for you to relax.

[quote name='BecciBoo'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]OMG Chrystal, what huge changes since your Freedom review!!!!!!!!!!

And how cute can a kid get!!!!!!!!! I bet you barely had time to yourself from the attention he got!
Enjoying the review as always...congrats on such a cutie![/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

Hi BecciBoo! Yup, life is totally different now! :p Thank you for the congrats!

He was pretty popular on board. For example, people loved his fro-hawk hairdo. I don't know what else to do with it so I just go with however it's growing. Someone onboard said, "Hey! It's the baby with all that hair!!" He recognized Isaac around the ship because of that hair. :D

[quote name='ILUVCRUIZN']I just LOVE your reviews. I cannot wait for the rest... I think that it is great that you are letting your son experience all of this with you. Great family memories are being made... He is such a cutie pie!!! :)[/quote]

Aww thank you so much! I envy you, sailing the Adventure so soon! We love the Southern Caribbean. Enjoy your cruise :)

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]Normally, Isaac is pretty well-behaved when we eat in restaurants. I think there was so much happening the first day, so many new people and experiences that he was totally over it by 6:00. I think he was overstimulated. When he's tired, he either gets really cranky or really silly. "Silly Isaac" showed up that night (preferable to Cranky Isaac). I apologize because we don't have that many photos of dinner- we were trying to keep our little guy quiet, and hurry through dinner. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]My caprese salad- I got halfway through the appetizer before I realized I hadn't taken a photo! :eek:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]Garlic Tiger Shrimp- one of my favorites when sailing Royal. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]I'm one of those parents that tries to be mindful of the other guests in regard to Isaac. The first time he makes some noise, we try to quiet him down. The second time, I take him outside to let off some steam. I had to take him out for a little bit. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]Since we had My Time Dining, we went to dinner right after the parade. MTD was on Deck 5, so we literally walked to the end of the Promenade and into the dining room. Perfect!

We arrived at about 5:30 PM. It was pretty quiet. There were a couple families with children already there. We were given a table by the window- what a beautiful view! The staff gave us a high chair for him, and put our stroller in the corner.

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[LEFT][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="Indigo"]The servers were wonderful with Isaac. They asked if we wanted a special meal for him, but since he's not a fan of food I didn't want a whole meal to go to waste. In his normal fashion, he tried two bites of my food and refused the rest. I gave him his bottle and he was content with that. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/LEFT]


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[LEFT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]Gloria came to give Isaac a hug. I don't think he liked that too much. Hahahaha![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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[CENTER][LEFT][FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]Photos of the parade. Isaac's not impressed. Ha![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]We met my Mom and Aunt Avis in the Royal Promenade. I have to say, we got there about 15 minutes before the parade and the Promenade was still pretty empty. Wes kept asking me if I was sure the parade was tonight, lol! Sure enough, they started roping off the parade route and the crowds appeared about 5 minutes before it began. If you want to catch the parade, the first night is perfect.

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I'm going to call a couple parts of this review the "Isaac is Not Impressed," episodes. Throughout the parade, his face didn't change. In general, he's not one to squeal with excitenement or smile when he meets someone new or is in a new environment. I'm sure you could see that in my review so far. He takes everything in, observes for a while to size things up, then responds. In this case, either he wasn't impressed, or he was wondering what in the world his parents have gotten him into. Hilarious!
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[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]We came back from sailaway to discover that our luggage was at our door. Being type-A, I had to unpack everything before I could finally relax. There was plenty of space for everything; the bag for our car seat and the stroller fit inside the closet, side-by-side.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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We headed to the Royal Promenade to catch the Dreamworks Parade before dinner. Before we left, I wrote a note to our stateroom attendant:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]


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[quote name='Sinduf']Hi Chrystal, firstly congrats on your new arrival, Isaac he's such a cutie. I loved your Babymoon cruise review, so was delighted when I came accross this review. Making think back to our last cruise on Liberty last year. And feeling sadder with every comment I read as its looking like we wont get to cruise this year will have to wait for 2015. Can't wait for the rest of the review.[/QUOTE]

Thank you Sinduf! I totally understand how you feel when you have to skip cruising for a year. What ship are you sailing next year? I know you're counting down the days!

[quote name='Lionesss']Your son Isaac is so cute!!!!

Love your thread so far..........

Keep it coming, even if you have to put the little one down for a nap:D

Sea Ya[/QUOTE]

Haha! Thanks Sue! This is certainly taking me longer than normal...Isaac is wearing me out ;):D

[quote name='dreamer976']So glad to see you back to posting your wonderful reviews and photos, Chrystal!

I'm sure this was a much different experience for you and Wes with Isaac aboard. Making memories!!

I'm in for the duration. . .:)[/QUOTE]


Thank you so much for reading! It sure is a different experience with Isaac, still a whole lot of fun though. :)