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Excursions w/baby


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Has anyone done any organized excursions with a baby less than a year old (8 months)? This will be our first trip with a baby as new parents and we have no idea what we will be able to do (or not do) with a baby in tow. We are planning to travel over thanksgiving 2017 on celebrity or princess without any nannies or grandparents. The baby isn't here yet so if he ends up being a hard baby we probably won't go but if he is easy going then we are gonna give family cruising a try. Any port excursion advice is very welcome! Haven't decided on an itinerary yet so mainly looking to get an idea of what we might be able to do in any port. Thanks!!

 

 

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We have not gone yet but are taking our 15 month old in January. Something to keep in mind is the excursions you can do will be limited, mostly just beach days. They will not allow a baby or even young child on a lot of excursions due to liability. Also on the ship the baby will not be allowed in any of the pools or hot tubs (they have to be fully potty trained and not using a swim diaper).

 

I am not trying to discourage you by any means just thought you should know about some of the limitations so you know what you will be getting into. I am so excited to be taking our son with us, especially since we haven't been on a cruise since I was pregnant with him.

 

 

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It's true that many excursions have age limits....

 

If you decide to cruise once the baby gets here, pick up a guidebook from your library....it will tell you ALL there is in your ports. Many things are very easy to DIY...and with a child, a DIY day lets YOU set the schedule!

 

Unless you book a suite, your cabin will likely only have a shower, so a blow-up tub is VERY useful. As stated before, it can be used for splashing on the pool deck since babies are NOT allowed in the pools!!!

 

Vacationing as a family is entirely different than a "couples" vacation....not better or worse...just different! Once you become a family, things change! There is no downside to bringing your children....but it will be a different experience than you are probably used to!

Edited by cb at sea
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I will be traveling in two months with my 6 month old! We are doing a 4 day trip to the Bahamas. We are not planning any excursions - usually I have plan A, B, and C outlined for everyday! Instead we are going to have late breakfasts, hang out by the splash pad (we are bringing an inflatable pool), and relax. We are only going to Nassau and GSC (NCL Epic) so if we want to get off and explore we can... or we can enjoy a ship to ourselves! I am looking forward to the Guppy activities and am holding out hope that we meet another young couple with a youngster - we always meet the best people on cruises.

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A few comment...some of the Royal Caribbean ships have nurseries, where you could drop off the baby for a few hours so you can enjoy a nice dinner. Also, Harmony has a nice play area where you can go and play with your baby if you don't want to leave him/her in nursery.

 

 

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We just went 2 weeks ago with our 10 month old and did two excursions. We did a beach day and a turtle farm day. I recommend no stroller and use a baby carrier. Watching people with strollers trying to navigate was interesting. My little one also naps wonderfully in the carrier letting us still be able to do things with our 5 year old. We didn't take a blow up tub, just put him in the shower when dad was showering and he would clean him. We had a balcony room so that when he napped on ship I wasn't stuck in a room with no view. We had a blast with him and are already trying to plan our next trip.

 

 

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We just went 2 weeks ago with our 10 month old and did two excursions. We did a beach day and a turtle farm day. I recommend no stroller and use a baby carrier. Watching people with strollers trying to navigate was interesting. My little one also naps wonderfully in the carrier letting us still be able to do things with our 5 year old. We didn't take a blow up tub, just put him in the shower when dad was showering and he would clean him. We had a balcony room so that when he napped on ship I wasn't stuck in a room with no view. We had a blast with him and are already trying to plan our next trip.

 

 

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Keep in mind your baby when it comes to a carrier or a stroller, my boy can get very hot when in a carrier so we will have both so he doesn't get overheated in the Caribbean. My husband also gets really hot so I would be the one always packing him around and at 24lbs at 15 months (not walking yet) my back can only take so much.

 

 

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I assume you have looked at age restrictions on the ship, the minimum is normally 6 months but there is a minimum age of 12 months on many cruise lines. This is typically where two or more consecutive sea days are scheduled on the itinerary and theory behind this rule is access to hospitals ashore in case of emergency.

 

I think you have got to be thinking about how long an excursion takes on a coach. The driver will put big pushchairs in the trunk along with anything else too big for inside where the seats are. Often on excursions under a certain age, no fare is payable but you do not get a coach seat unless the coach is not full. Booking excursions is also a bit tricky online as the websites sometimes only allow persons of the correct ages to book and pay for a seat. This is subtly different to booking a place on the tour.

 

Regards John

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We traveled with 16month old twins. Depends on if your baby is a good mapper. My daughter can not nap on the go she needs her crib and a quiet room. Never naps on us or in a stroller, so excursions were out of the question for us.

 

We did not book any excursions knowing we wanted to be on our own schedule. We took taxi/vans or shuttle buses and wore kids in carriers. I know we should have car seats but honestly we never went further than 10min from cruise port and didn't get on highways. St Maarten has a beach in town or little divi, Puerto Rico we booked a day room at the Hilton, and we were in labadee so just a beach day.

 

 

 

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My daughter has gone with us for 4 cruises at 6, 9 ,12 and 18 months. The best excursions were with a beach or pool we did one bus tour in Aruba with her and it was horrible, too long and to much having to sit still. She loved the actual ship though, even at 6 months she was intrigued by the music and all the commotion.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What ports are you going to? With a baby I will usually bring a jogging stroller that collapses and a carrier. I use the carrier onboard but in "walkable" ports will bring the jogging stroller (handles bad roads and sand) plus serves as a way to carry around stuff. It is a pain to get off and on the ship but worth it if your family is active. We have walked Key West, a few Alaska ports, and Puerto Rico. Many of my babies would nap in the stroller. With tours I try to book small private tours or stick to larger tours with short bus rides.

Edited by williamsk
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The problem with ship "big bus" excursions is they're not flexible and can require a lot of waiting around/shopping stops that aren't easy with a baby/toddler. I always found private tours or going to a resort/the beach the easiest with little ones.

 

Have a great time - cruising is a great way to go with a baby.

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Bermuda! Don't know where you are but Bermuda was a great place to take our 1 and 3 year old on a cruise. Unless things have changed there is a tram that runs along the dockyard-great to see some sights while baby takes a nap or "looks" too. We took a bus with our stroller and 2 kids to Hamilton to the aquarium. On the way back to port we got on at a bus terminal instead of the bus regular cruise

People take I guess...it was FILLLED with locals, well my baby needed a bottle and Hubby fell asleep with my 3 yo so I was stuck with a crying baby, stroller bags etc with a snoring husband lol. Don't you know; a local woman just took my baby boy from me and said you get the bottle together; and then she fed him! Omg it was like she was an angel! I never felt in danger or like someone was going to take my baby etc. everyone in Bermuda that we met on that trip and trips after have been nothing but welcoming.

 

 

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Suggestions learned from traveling with little ones. They are easy to entertain. My DGS loved looking through the stairs because he had never seen that before. DO NOT take a cruise bus tour. Your are torturing both your child and every person on the bus. You will NOT be their best friend. This is experience talking.

 

Since then when we travel with the young ones, we make our own travel arrangements. If there is something we want to see or do we book privately.

 

 

 

Our next cruise is going to be our 6, 7, 9 and 12 grandkids. Even with that, we will be booking privately as much as possible. Two advantages. We get to say what we want to do. Old people will not be bothering the kids. The kids will not be bothering the old folks. It is a win/win. I can make it personalized for just us.

 

For example. Next cruise is to Alaska. We will be taking the helicopter to the glacier then they will deliver us to the whale watching boat. They are going to order a pizza for us to eat on the ship since it will be an all day adventure. Instead of coffee, we will have hot chocolate.

 

Bottom line, please consider your fellow cruisers and book privately if you are going any distance from the ship/port.

Edited by notentirelynormal
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Suggestions learned from traveling with little ones. They are easy to entertain. My DGS loved looking through the stairs because he had never seen that before. DO NOT take a cruise bus tour. Your are torturing both your child and every person on the bus. You will NOT be their best friend.

 

Bottom line, please consider your fellow cruisers and book privately if you are going any distance from the ship/port.

 

 

That really depends on the child. My son goes everywhere with us, even to my grandfathers funeral and wake at 6 months old including flying there with just me (DH could not take the time off work since we had just gone on a vacation) no one could believe how good he was being and the people in front of us on the plane didn't even realize there was a baby sitting behind them. He does really well when we are out, he actually cries and has more tantrums when we are home.

 

There is an added security with doing a ship excursion especially in some of the more risky destinations and I personally feel better using them especially with my 15 month old son and I think he will do just fine!

 

 

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  • 2 months later...
Has anyone done any organized excursions with a baby less than a year old (8 months)? This will be our first trip with a baby as new parents and we have no idea what we will be able to do (or not do) with a baby in tow. We are planning to travel over thanksgiving 2017 on celebrity or princess without any nannies or grandparents. The baby isn't here yet so if he ends up being a hard baby we probably won't go but if he is easy going then we are gonna give family cruising a try. Any port excursion advice is very welcome! Haven't decided on an itinerary yet so mainly looking to get an idea of what we might be able to do in any port. Thanks!!

 

 

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We are leaving next Sunday April 2 on RCL anthem of the seas with our 6 month old baby! We are leaving out of New Jersey and going to Port canaveral, Nassau and coco cay. Being on a really awesome ship was a bigger priority than the ports with the baby. Anthem of the seas has an infant splash zone so he can play in the water and they also have a nursery that he can go to so mom and dad can enjoy some alone time!

 

 

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We are leaving next Sunday April 2 on RCL anthem of the seas with our 6 month old baby! We are leaving out of New Jersey and going to Port canaveral, Nassau and coco cay. Being on a really awesome ship was a bigger priority than the ports with the baby. Anthem of the seas has an infant splash zone so he can play in the water and they also have a nursery that he can go to so mom and dad can enjoy some alone time!

 

 

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I hope you will report back and maybe make a post about your experience with the Nursery and Splash Zone. I am taking my cousin and her ne baby on a cruise this summer and we went out of our way to make sure we were booked on a ship with the Nursery. I am curious to hear about your experience.

 

Thanks!!!

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