Infant/Toddler Packing List

My oldest child is 9 now, so packing is much different for us now than it was several years ago. Back then, I developed a packing list with info for families sailing with infants and toddlers. I have shared it with literally hundreds of people from this board in the past eight years or so. For the past year or so, I've been very neglectful of checking that email address, so my apologies to anyone who may have emailed but not received the list.

 

At this point, my list is "dated" (Gerber Graduates meals, plastic one-serving juice bottles and Bibsters were new then!), but I'm going to post it here in case it is helpful to anyone. All I ask is that you leave a little comment when you download it, just for fun. :) Happy planning, and have a great cruise!

OK, well. I had the best of intentions, but the forum tells me that my file is too large. Let me fiddle with it a bit, and I'll try again later. Sorry!

Any luck with this?

I finally found a way to post the list online. You can download it from http://travelingtots.shutterfly.com/. At this point, my "babies" are 10 and 7, so the list is a bit dated, but I hope you will find it to be helpful nonetheless. Have a great cruise, everyone!

Thanks for the link! Lots of helpful suggestions!

 

-Katie:)

Awesome list. Thank you.

Thanks, we will be having 4 children under 3 on our trip so this list will help a lot.

-Michelle

I added many of your items to my packing list for my upcoming trip with our two year old DS. I'll be ordering the Tote N Go and portable bed rail - didn't know there were such things! Thanks a million!:)

I added many of your items to my packing list for my upcoming trip with our two year old DS. I'll be ordering the Tote N Go and portable bed rail - didn't know there were such things! Thanks a million!:)

 

The Tote N Go is a pain to install in most cars, Im a carseat tech and I have a hard time making it safe!

Same with the Sit N' Stroll, it is hard to install and requires really long seatbelts. - if you get one of these, buy it new b/c they stopped makign them for a long period, so most used ones are expired.

 

if you want another option you can use the top teather on your carseat to hook the seat to the handle of a rolling bag, then use a couple bungee cords through the forward facing belt path and around the seat. Works great for kids/seats that arent too heavy.

 

Also, they have those little carts at wal-mart that you can bungee the caseat too.

 

 

And the RideSafer vst is another good option for travel for bigger toddlers +

Edited November 29, 2009 by leighi123

Also what I used for travel -

 

-clip/string thing (dont know what its caleld, dentists put them on you, I made mine from ribbon and pacifier clips!), used to make napkins into bibs, and makes a recieving blanket into a nursing cover

- cloth wipes, good for everything and can be reused but not a big deal if they get lost.

-pool noodle, put it under the fitted sheet to make a bed rail thing, also fun in the pool, and if nessisary can help with carseat installs.

- spray n' wash stick

 

 

Nice list, I dont think I will need any of that stuff for my 2yr old though!

Is there any way someone can get the actual list on here? Apparently they didn't give me any of the windows suite when I had my computer redone. I am without a way to read the list. Grrrrr

Is there any way someone can get the actual list on here? Apparently they didn't give me any of the windows suite when I had my computer redone. I am without a way to read the list. Grrrrr

 

Here's a copy and paste (loses some nice formatting, but you'll get the idea anyway):

 

Sun hat

Make sure it covers the ears! In season, Old Navy sells great sun hats with a velcro-closure strap.

 

Sunglasses

If s/he’ll wear them…mine won’t.

 

Sweatsuit

The lounges and other public areas are usually very cool. On some evenings, the wind temperature on the deck can also be fairly chilly.

 

 

Light jacket

 

 

Pajamas

I would STRONGLY encourage you to pack a footed fleece sleeper even though you will be traveling in a warm climate. Even when we turned the air vent almost off (It’s too stuffy when it’s completely closed), Benjamin would wake up cold about 2 AM when wearing just his long pajamas. Better to take it and not need it...

 

Fleece footed sleeper

 

 

Socks (casual)

 

 

 

Socks (dinner)

 

 

 

Change of clothes

For the diaper bag…pack compactly into a ziploc bag to keep them together in the bag and to keep out moisture, dirt, sand.

 

 

Swimwear:

 

Swimwear

 

 

 

T-shirts/cover-ups for swimwear

 

 

 

Swim diapers

Take at least 2 per anticipated swim. Gallon-size Ziploc bags work well for packing these if you don’t need to pack the entire package.

 

Water shoes or sandals

 

 

 

Life jacket

The cruiseline supplies infant/toddler life jackets for use at the lifeboat drill, but you can’t take them off the ship. Taking your own offers extra peace of mind for ferry rides/water excursions.

 

 

 

Feeding (All ages):

 

Bottle brush w/ detergent OR Detergent Wipes

For washing bottles and/or sippy cups. No need to take a bottle drying rack. Just lay a fresh hand towel by the sink each time and let the items dry there.

 

 

Bottles/nipples/caps

Take enough so that you will only need to wash them once or twice a

day. Don’t want to spend your entire vacation doing dishes!

 

You might also consider taking along some disposable sippy cups (by The First Years, 4 for $2.00 at Target, Wal-Mart). They’re great for use on the island or at dinner—just use them and leave them behind. Recently, our Dollar Tree stores have begun carrying a similar disposable cup (6 for $1).However, you would still want to take along some real sippy cups so that you won’t have to pack so many of the disposables.

 

 

Sippy cups

 

 

 

 

Small collapsible cooler

For keeping milk/juice on ice in your cabin if you don’t have a refrigerator. The cabin steward will happily keep it filled with ice if you ask. The collapsible cooler seems to work better than just the ice bucket in the cabin. The one I use was $4.96 in the sporting goods section at Wal-Mart and folds up very compactly. It can also be used for carrying the child’s food and/or drinks for island excursions, just loop the shoulder strap over the handles on the stroller and off you go!

 

 

Feeding (Table food for toddlers):

 

Gerber Graduates Pasta Pick-ups or Lil Entrees Meals

These little meals are perfect for traveling. The Pasta Pickups can be served as a finger food and are packed in chicken broth, so you can just drain the broth for a mess-free meal on the go. The Lil Entrees require a spoon but offer better variety. Keep one in your diaper bag in case you don’t get back to the ship in time for a regular meal. They’re also a great option for a picky eater who won’t eat anything off the ship’s menus. I usually take one for each day scheduled ashore. I usually pack one meal in a Ziploc bag with a disposable bib (Bibsters by Pampers) and disposable spoon so that I have everything ready (and clean) when I need it.

 

Bibs (disposable)

 

 

 

Juice boxes

Take along a 10-pack of kids’ juice boxes for island excursions when the ship’s juice might spoil in the heat. If your child can’t drink from the box, just puncture the box’s straw hole with your index finger and pour into a sippy cup.

 

Take care when packing baby food, juices, or formula to prevent breakage. When packing these items, I first seal them in gallon-size Ziploc bags. Then, I pack them in the insulated diaper bags given to new moms at the hospital by the infant formula manufacturers. These not only give an added line of defense against spills, but they’re well padded for extra protection.

 

TableToppers

These disposable placemats have peel-off adhesive strips at the top and bottom to affix to the surface of a table, creating a clean surface for babies who feed themselves but can’t use a plate yet. Check out www.tabletopers.com to find a local or online merchant. Our local Dollar Tree stores have recently begun carrying a similar product.

 

Snacks

A few crackers or other favorite munchies for snacking on the islands. Make sure the snack is factory sealed in its original packaging. Some islands will confiscate any food items that are not factory sealed.

 

Child’s own fork/spoon

The ship only has adult-sized utensils. Take along a set of your child’s own utensils so that s/he doesn’t have to struggle at meal time. The First Years has new disposable toddler forks and spoons in packs of 12 for $3 or so. Very convenient!

 

 

Feeding (Formula and/or Baby food for infants):

 

Baby food:

Dinners

Fruits

 

 

Before we left home, I prepared "meal baggies" so that we could just grab one and run if we were in a hurry. Each breakfast meal bag was a quart-sized Ziploc bag containing a small plastic spoon, a small plastic (disposable) bowl, a packet of cereal (one-serving samples obtained from our pediatrician or can purchase a box of 6 at Wal-Mart), a 4-oz jar of fruit, and a disposable bib. The lunch/dinner meal bags had a bib, spoon, 6-oz dinner and 4-oz fruit. There were times when we were headed out the door when we knew that mealtime was approaching, so we just grabbed a bag instead of having to gather everything and make sure that we hadn't forgotten a spoon/bib/etc. Everything was thrown away after the meal, so there were no spoons or bowls to wash. I once took plastic bibs, but those didn't soak up the food so we had to be careful not to smear it everywhere. Bibsters by Pampers are ideal. The First Years also makes some great disposable infant spoons that are ideal for travel (12 for $2.99 at Target, Wal-Mart).

 

Whenever possible, we tried to feed him in our cabin so that we could enjoy our own meals in the dining room. Be sure to take some small toys to dinner so that he will have something with which to amuse himself.

 

Take care when packing baby food, juices, or formula to prevent breakage. When packing these items, I first sealed them in gallon-size Ziploc bags. Then, I packed them in the insulated diaper bags given to new moms at the hospital by the infant formula manufacturers. These not only give an added line of defense against spills, but they’re well padded for extra protection.

 

One cruiser has stated that Princess Cruises provides a limited selection of baby foods and juices if ordered directly from a cruise line representative (NOT the travel agent) before sailing. However, you might take along some food just in case they don’t deliver, as you cannot buy these things on most ships.

 

 

Infant cereal

 

 

Disposable bowls

 

 

Plastic spoons

 

 

 

Disposable bibs

 

 

4 oz Juice bottles

I took my own 4-oz jars of juice to carry onto the islands so that we didn’t have to worry about the ship’s juice spoiling in the heat ashore. Gerber’s 4 oz plastic bottles of juice work well for this. If you’re taking the bottles of juice rather than the boxes, don’t forget to take nipples / sport cup lids for them.

 

 

RTF Formula (8-oz)

Many cabins do not have refrigerators for keeping formula cold nor any good means for heating cold formula. The 8-oz ready-to-feed formula canisters don’t need refrigeration and therefore don’t need to be heated before serving. You can also take the unopened cans onto the islands without worrying that it will spoil. I wouldn’t suggest taking powdered formula, unless you want to pack water or buy it ($$$$) on board. Babies are usually very sensitive to changes in their formula and may not drink the formula if they don’t like the taste of the ship’s water.

 

 

 

 

 

Baby care:

 

Diapers and/or Pull-Ups

Take at least 10 per day. You’ll probably never use that many, but you don’t want to run out. The ship and most island stores don’t sell them. Don’t pack all of your diapers in one suitcase. If your luggage was lost, you can do without most things, but NOT diapers! Gallon-size Ziploc bags work great for packing diapers if you need to split a package.

 

Before leaving home, I made several “diaper baggies.” Like the meal baggies, this is just another step to simplify things by ensuring that you have everything you need for a diaper change outside of your cabin. A diaper baggy is a quart-size Ziploc bag holding one diaper (folded in half) and one disposable changing pad. When needed, simply remove the contents of the baggy (and the travel-size wipes), change the baby’s diaper, put the soiled diaper into the Ziploc & discard. This also keeps the diapers and changing pads from getting smashed out of shape in the diaper bag. I would suggest taking 2 baggies per day ashore.

 

 

Disp changing pads

 

 

Ziploc bags (quart size)

For disposing of stinky diapers.

 

Baby wipes

Take one box and several travel size packs. Pack the travel sizes in a separate suitcase from the large box of wipes in case some of your luggage is lost. Again, make sure you take plenty…you can’t count on being able to buy more.

 

Hand sanitizing gel

Travel-size bottle to keep in diaper bag. Great for diaper changes on the islands when washing your hands afterwards is not always an option.

 

Air freshener

To freshen the cabin after changing a stinky diaper. J I found trial sizes of Lysol at our local Wal-Mart.

 

 

Baby wash, baby lotion, diaper rash ointment

Trial sizes are ideal.

 

Baby sunscreen

If you can find them, the new baby sunscreen wipes work great!

Crib blanket

Carnival provides a Cosco port-a-crib with a 4" mattress. Our cabin stewardess provided a top sheet and a blanket for him, but these were adult-sized. If your baby is accustomed to sleeping with a blanket, you should probably pack a child-sized one. Benjamin liked to sleep with his head pressed against the corner of the crib and appeared to be a bit uncomfortable with his head pressed against the small, round bars on this crib. I folded his blanket and used it as a bumper pad after the first night.

 

Collapsible bed rail

(toddlers taller than 36”)

For a child taller than 36 inches, the cribs will probably be too small. A collapsible bed rail (we have the Safety 1st Portable Bed Rail) can be slipped under the mattress on the cabin’s sofa bed to ensure that your little one doesn’t roll off. The rail collapses small enough to be stored inside a large piece of luggage for transport.

 

 

 

Baby care (cont’d):

 

 

Pacifiers

With a clip-on pacifier retainer to keep baby from dropping it on the ground.

 

 

Special blankets or dolls

Those things that you dare not leave home without!

 

Toys and books

Remember to take a few small toys for dinnertime amusement.

 

Nursery monitor

If you have a balcony or friends/family in a cabin next door, consider taking a nursery monitor for naptime.

 

 

Nightlight and/or

Small flashlight

For checking on them during the night without turning on the brighter lights/lamps. I bought some small touch lights (2 for $1.00) at our local Dollar Tree that are perfect for this. Just remember not to put batteries in BEFORE you put them in the suitcase—trust me! J

Over-the-door shoe organizer

We had never needed one of these before, but I decided to take one for our recent cruise (our first with TWO children). It was such a wonderful way to organize everything. I hung it over the back of the bathroom door and filled the pockets with sippy cups, bottles, pacifiers, sunscreens, travel-size wipes packets, disposable cameras, camera battery chargers, the baby monitor (when not in use)…you get the picture. Mine was clear plastic, so it was great for keeping all of this stuff organized and easily accessible while not taking up valuable vanity or counter space. In my opinion, this is a MUST HAVE for traveling with small children and all of their extra gear!

 

 

 

On The Go:

Car safety device

(Car seat, Sit N Stroll, or Tote N Go)

A Sit N Stroll carseat/stroller combination is an excellent option. It is a 14-pound forward- or rear-facing car seat with stroller wheels/handle that collapse into the seat. It was pretty expensive (the best deal I found online was $169 with no shipping charges), but it was much better than lugging around both the large carseat and a stroller. A more economical option is the Tote N Go ($20 at Wal-Mart), a small padded backboard that converts a regular seat belt to a five-point harness. It would fit easily into a backpack or the basket on an umbrella stroller, but it can only be used forward-facing (therefore, for children 20+ pounds and 12 months or older).

 

 

Stroller

An umbrella stroller was ideal for the smaller spaces on the ship and on the island. Of course, if you choose to use a Sit N Stroll, an additional stroller will not be needed.

 

Disposable ponchos

Adult-size disposable plastic ponchos work great for keeping baby and stroller dry in the rain. Just slip the child’s head though the hood opening and drape the remainder of the poncho over the stroller, taking care to tuck the excess away from the wheels.

 

Birth certificate or passport

Babies don’t need a photo ID, although if the child’s last name is not the same as the parent or if traveling with only one parent, check to see if you will need additional documentation or authorizations!

 

 

Laundry items:

 

Laundry detergent

Those detergent samples you get in the mail from time to time pack perfectly for cruising, and you know how messy infants can be! If you don’t have samples, the tablet-type detergents are individually wrapped and travel well. Even if you pack extra clothes, you may find yourself needing to wash something. J

 

Dryer sheets

 

 

Shout wipes

This is a great packing list.

 

TANZYRAGWEED, Hopefully you can go to http://www.adobe.com and get the adobe reader, so you can read .pdf files.

 

I've attached the packing list in a pdf format for you to read. The formatting is worth it.

babypackinglist.pdf

This is a great packing list.

 

TANZYRAGWEED, Hopefully you can go to http://www.adobe.com and get the adobe reader, so you can read .pdf files.

 

I've attached the packing list in a pdf format for you to read. The formatting is worth it.

 

 

Thanks for converting it. I never thought about .pdf format! Happy cruising, everyone!

thanks guys!

Thanks for this list! We leave on Friday for our first cruise with our 10 month old, and this is a great reference :)

thanks for the list!

Also what I used for travel -

 

-clip/string thing (dont know what its caleld, dentists put them on you, I made mine from ribbon and pacifier clips!)..........quote]

 

Alligator Clips

Thanks for this! I leave in May for our first post-kid cruise. Our DS will be 1 week short of a year.

great list, thanks

good list for family traveling with kids. :)

Edited January 22, 2010 by TravelSmarty

This is a pretty good online packing list site it's pretty simple but useful. It has a section for babies as well. Which should help you out with your 10 month old.

Holy Cow, great list!!! Taking my 3 ages 2-5 years on Carnival Splendor 2/14, I can't wait!!

CabinForFour, you rock - thanks so much for sharing your wisdom with us non-seasoned baby sherpas :)

Thank you so much for this lifesaver! I usually just write what I think will be useful for a trip, spread it on my bed and my husband tells me what is in the list and I say "Got it" and then pack it. This list will make it much easier now. Thank You again.

 

V/R

Ojinaga78