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14 month old grandson... first cruise for him and his mom. Need tips and tricks


mitchpam
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We will be sailing RC Freedom of the Seas, February 2017. Our party will be hubby and I (3 Carnival cruises under our belt) along with our son (1 Carnival cruise), daughter in law and grandson (both newbies). He will be 14 months when we cruise, he is already walking!

 

We will have connecting balcony rooms and plan to ask to have the divider open between the balconies. Our hope is that will give us open space to be if the baby is napping, but also allow for some free movement for him as well by creating a circle he can run around.

 

I am curious about a few things I have read and hoping for further clarification:

 

1. The couch can be turned around to face the wall to form a “crib”?

 

Our cabins are deluxe balcony category and it looks feasible in the drawing but I wonder if anyone can share if this has worked for them. I wonder if this is a better space saving option than having a pack n play to fight around. Do we need to bring sheets?

 

2. There is distilled water available for making bottles of formula from powder?

 

Someone on another post said that bringing a 24 pack of water isn’t allowed so just wondering if there is a good option for this.

 

3. I’m assuming that there are high chairs scattered around the open dining area like they are at a mall food court?

 

4. Still hoping to figure out the best car seat/stroller option...

 

Please share anything you think would be helpful, I hope to glean some good tips on what might work best for us [emoji4]

Getting excited!!

 

 

 

 

Mitchpam

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I don't know about the others (I've never sailed on RC) but concerning #2.. most babies don't really need formula after they turn 1. After that it's generally ok to switch to whole milk. Regular cow's milk would be a lot easier to deal with than mixing up formula.

 

Bring along a very light weight umbrella stroller. They fold up and take up hardly any space. Car seat will just depend on your transportation situation.

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Thank you Apsalar... it’s funny about the formula thing, all of my kids were different ages when I switched them over to milk. We just want to think ahead in case he’s still using formula at that poin... though he seems to be ahead of most “firsts” so maybe he will be done with it by then [emoji4]

I have an umbrella stroller here in FL but no car seat. They are flying down from Maine... last time they brought the car seat that clicks into the stroller, but he’s growing so fast that he probably will be too big for it by February. That only leaves the options of them bringing the large car seat [emoji575] .or is purchasing something to have here in FL to use when they arrive. Just not sure what to get so we don’t drag around a big ole clunky thing.

 

We have two excursions with outside companies in Costa Maya and Grand Cayman! I guess I should see if the have car seats available?! I never thought about asking them until just now... I swear life was NOT this complicated traveling when our babies were little....

 

 

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Kids are done with formula and bottles when their parents say so. By the time I got to #4 and #5, we were done with formula and puréed food by 11 months. He can drink the tap water, and it can be used for formula.

 

Also, definitely use a pack and play, so that if you are on the balcony or in the other cabin, you know he is contained. Maybe choose excursions that have buses so you need to worry about the car seat.

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We took my 15 month old in January, it was carnival though. However we did not bring a car seat. We used bus type transportation for getting to the cruise and in Port. I'm guessing you are driving to the port? You could look into renting a seat and just leave it in your car if it's cheaper then buying one. All seats are tested the same way so you could just get a cheap seat to have on hand for whenever they come to visit, a convertible seat should last many years. At 14 months technically even if the child still fits into the infant seat it is not considered safe anymore and it is suggested to move to the convertible style ones.

We bought an umbrella style stroller (regular strollers are just too bulky in the ship and even in Port) but we did get a bigger and more beefed up one that reclined almost completely flat so he could nap in Port and for diaper changes (can be hard to find a place to change them, it also had a small basket which was very handy. We used a pack n play, not sure about royal but in carnival the couch doors not have an arm rest and my son is a crazy sleeper so I thought the opening in the end would be a problem. We just put the pack n play in front of the couch, it took up a bit of space but worked just fine. Feel free to ask other questions!

 

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Mjkacmom... thanks for the tip on the pack n play! I assume we don’t need to bring sheets for it? I never thought about the bus thing!

 

Horsegal good input on the stroller being able to lay down!

 

 

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I have no idea where this idea of the couches turning backwards came from but we planned to use it on the Allure last fall after reading it on here and the stateroom attendant and her boss tried and they just couldn't. The couch is too long the room is too narrow and roof too low to flip it around. It was not physically possible. I can't see it working on other ships unless in a suite with wider rooms, or unless maybe some rooms have love seats instead of actual couches.

 

We just kept the couch as is and lined the coffee table and suitcases along the side of the couch to keep our daughter from falling off. But, she was 3.5yrs old. I am not sure that would work quite the same with a 14month old. So, I would plan on using a pack and play.

 

We used my daughters car seat on the plane and just stored it at the bottom of the closet. It wasn't in the way at all. It was a large seat. If he is still small enough (height and weight) I would definitely aim to use the old baby carrier seat rather than the older kid seat as it is just easier to lug around.

 

I really wouldn't fuss with distilled water at 14months old but if it brings peace of mind you can likely get permission to bring a case of water on, there should be a department to email for that, would be something to do with 'special needs requests'.

 

One key tip I would recommend is to bring a white noise machine. We brought ours and it worked wonders for naps and even in the night to drown out hall noises etc. We will be cruising again in Feb with our then 5yr old and still plan to bring it. We don't use it at home but do still bring it for travel. It works to also drown my husband and I out while she naps in the room with us. Some people use their cell phones but That only works if you aren't planning to read on your phone while they nap (it is annoying to hold the phone when it's making the noise)!

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They will provide sheets for the pack n play (they might be regular bed sheets folded around), but we always brought our own sheets. One year they didn't have sheets in the crib at the time we boarded, and our son needed to nap at that time. So bedding and some diapers and wipes are always in our carry on. Plus they are used to the familiar scent and feel of their bedding, so we did always bring that on trips when our kids were young.

 

We also bought a car seat that was FAA approved for the plane and for excursions, and didn't have a problem storing it in the closet of our room. We did all private excursions so we'd be able to go back if there were any problems (thankfully we never needed to do this) but it was a lifesaver being able to completely control the itinerary.

 

At 14 months, I wouldn't use the backwards couch and would just use a pack n play.

 

Go to breakfast on the first day and get a bunch of boxed cereals, yoghurt and fruit to store in your room so there's always a snack on hand. You can bring the sealed cereal boxes off ship with you for snacks on the excursion (not sure about yogurt and definitely not fruit, due to concerns about bringing bugs along that could hurt local vegetation).

Edited by kitkat343
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Smiles... great feedback. I think I may still have a white noise machine from when my husband did nights... I think we are set in our decision to just go with the pack and play.

My next question is can you preorder it for the room so it’s there upon arrival?

 

Kitkat343... good tip on the cereal for in the room and taking with us! I think we are good with the water situation and feel less concerned about it now. These boards really do help ease the anxious “what if’s”!!

 

 

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You may also want to bring an inflatable tub...cabins have only showers and most tots don't like that!

 

Yes...have it notated in your booking that you will need a P&P. If it's not in the cabin when you 1st get to the room, simply ask the cabin attendant to bring it. You can get high chairs in the eating venues. The dining room is much easier with a toddler...you're served, so you don't have to juggle both food AND baby!!

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Ty cb at sea... we have early dining and are excited about that! Glad to know they’ll have a high chair there. I’ll let my DIL know to request a pack n play.

He loves any kind of water so showers are fine, but nice tip about the tub [emoji1303]

 

 

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one more thing I forgot - please tell her to check to make sure there are 3 life jackets in the room, including 1 child size one. They've not had the kids ones most of the time when we boarded, and brought them immediately when I made a request to the room steward (they might have been scheduled to arrive later that day but I'll forget to check once I start focusing on my tours

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