Toddlers in port question

My husband and I have cruised many times, but somehow I never paid any attention to families with small children. Now I'm going with my daughters and my two granddaughters on Oasis in February and all of I sudden I have a bunch of questions. Most important one being, if you go on an excursion, wether by a ship organized one or a local one or even in a cab, do the kids, toddlers just sit in the parents lap? Seems rather unsafe. Or is there some other way?

Thanks for any suggestions on this or any other small children advice on a cruise. :)

I've only done one cruise, and my kids were older (4 and 6). I chose excursions with vehicle safety in mind. In Port Canaveral, we rented a car and brought a booster for my oldest and an RSTV for my youngest. In Nassau, we chose something that was walkable from the port. I won't travel in a vehicle where my child is not safely restrained.

You will have a VERY hard time finding a can in a Caribbean island with the appropriate restraints for a car seat. Heck, your lucky to find one with a seatbelt for an adult.

We always held our kids in our laps, or on the seat next to us.

Funny thing, no one died

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I'm in the same boat, getting ready to travel with my 4 year old nieces. My daughter was a little older when we started cruising, but not by much. I never worried about bringing a car seat, she just used the adult seat belts (if there was one). BIL is bringing these cool portable travel "car seats" that basically do little more than make a seat belt fit a child. Not sure if that's just giving him a false sense of security?

Agree. About 50/50 if the vehicles even have seat belts. Either bring seat or just belt them in for min safety. my kids were 2,5,9, about 15yrs ago and not that was safest but we just belted then in the tour Vans.....

A few years ago we did a 10 day Caribbean cruise on the Celebrity Equinox. I booked private tours for our group of 7 on board the ship and requested a child seat on each stop. It was wonderful to have our own private car and guide with an appropriate child seat. I think the most expensive of the stops cost about $500. We had 5 ports and the others ranged in price from $300 to $400 for all of us.

Last August we were in a GS on HOTS and I requested similar private tours and was mortified when they were pricing them out at over $1000 a piece. To this day I still think they were charging me more because we were in a suite. Naturally, we declined. On the Equinox we were not in a suite - we were all in Concierge OV balcony rooms (Celebrity's concierge level is a waste of money but that is another topic).

If money is no object I know they can have a car seat for you in your own private vehicle with guide. They have a private tour desk on board the ships so go and ask there.

We always held our kids in our laps, or on the seat next to us.

Funny thing, no one died

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No one in YOUR family died by sheer luck, but haven't you ever read any news about people perishing in car accidents while on vacation in other countries? Laws of physics still apply when you are on vacation.

To OP: please check out the Family Cruising board on CC and Travel with Children board on www.babycenter.com for more advice.

BIL is bringing these cool portable travel "car seats" that basically do little more than make a seat belt fit a child. Not sure if that's just giving him a false sense of security?

Bubblebum which is an inflatable booster doesn't provide a FALSE sense of security. If a child is of an appropriate weight (>40# ), height, age (4+) and is mature enough to use a booster, Bubblebum provides a safe seat belt fit, just like any other booster. The same goes for Mifold travel booster, although this one may not provide as good of a seat belt fit on smaller children.

Using a booster is very unlike having a child in a car without any kind of a life saving device...

Car seats decrease the risk of, but do not prevent, serious injury or death in an accident. For toddlers the reduction is 54% per CDC.

The risk of a few trips without a car seat is exceedingly low.

If you are unwilling to accept that risk, then you should not drive your kids anywhere except for school and doctor, since a car seat does not eliminate the possibility of death or serious injury. Going out for ice cream? Why take the risk?

In other words, if you are ok going out for ice cream with risk X, why would you worry too much about a shore excursion with risk 2X? (54% risk reduction means risk is double when not using care seat.)

Or to turn it around, if driving without a car seat is completely unacceptable, then why would driving for something trivial like ice cream be ok given risk is still half of what it was without car seat?

The way people evaluate and understand risk is always interesting to me.

 

Last August we were in a GS on HOTS and I requested similar private tours and was mortified when they were pricing them out at over $1000 a piece. To this day I still think they were charging me more because we were in a suite. Naturally, we declined. On the Equinox we were not in a suite - we were all in Concierge OV balcony rooms (Celebrity's concierge level is a waste of money but that is another topic).

 

That is crazy. We have a private driver and guide all day in Naples coming up for about $650 total for 3. We didn't need a car seat though. I arranged this independently of cruise line

You will have a VERY hard time finding a can in a Caribbean island with the appropriate restraints for a car seat. Heck, your lucky to find one with a seatbelt for an adult.

We always held our kids in our laps, or on the seat next to us.

 

Funny thing, no one died

 

 

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Sorry, just NOT TRUE! You may have to wait a bit for a vehicle to come that has the seat belts you require, but there most certainly ARE ones available. Why would anyone risk finding out what medical facilities are like in a third world country? If you are looking for a private tour, just let them know what you require, or ask for a tour on a large tour bus where seatbelts are not required.

To OP: please check out the Family Cruising board on CC and Travel with Children board on www.babycenter.com for more advice.

Thank you! Didn't even know there was such a board.

Thank you everyone else as well for your input. :)

Car seats decrease the risk of, but do not prevent, serious injury or death in an accident. For toddlers the reduction is 54% per CDC.

 

The risk of a few trips without a car seat is exceedingly low.

 

If you are unwilling to accept that risk, then you should not drive your kids anywhere except for school and doctor, since a car seat does not eliminate the possibility of death or serious injury. Going out for ice cream? Why take the risk?

 

In other words, if you are ok going out for ice cream with risk X, why would you worry too much about a shore excursion with risk 2X? (54% risk reduction means risk is double when not using care seat.)

 

Or to turn it around, if driving without a car seat is completely unacceptable, then why would driving for something trivial like ice cream be ok given risk is still half of what it was without car seat?

 

The way people evaluate and understand risk is always interesting to me.

CDC stats include improper use of car seats, IIRC.

Is your argument really that unless we can reduce a risk to zero, there’s no sense in bothering at all?

CDC stats include improper use of car seats, IIRC.

 

Is your argument really that unless we can reduce a risk to zero, there’s no sense in bothering at all?

Not at all. It’s that if you think nothing of taking a toddler out for a pointless drive in a car seat, then you shouldn’t skip a shore excursion because you can’t get one. In other words, risk/benefit ratio.

It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get a car seat if you can.

Not at all. It’s that if you think nothing of taking a toddler out for a pointless drive in a car seat, then you shouldn’t skip a shore excursion because you can’t get one. In other words, risk/benefit ratio.

 

It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get a car seat if you can.

Those two things aren’t comparable. In one case, I haven’t removed or reduce the risk. In another, I have reduced the risk by at least half - although we both know there’s far more to it than that when you take into account hazards en route, proper use and installation of car seats, habits of the driver as well as those other drivers, etc. Saying that if I find a 54% reduction to be an acceptable risk then I must also be okay with a 0% reduction is silly. There are people who are okay with both those scenarios, but there is no reason why 54% isn’t a significant enough difference for some people to change how their decision as to whether to make the trip. But I suspect you know that.

We cruise often with extended family that includes young grandchildren...Do we take a shuttle (no seat belts) from ship for the quick drive into the port = Yes... Have we used a minivan taxi to get from port to Maho just using the seat belts yes. Would we lug a carseat into every port we stop at = no.

You will have a VERY hard time finding a can in a Caribbean island with the appropriate restraints for a car seat. Heck, your lucky to find one with a seatbelt for an adult.

We always held our kids in our laps, or on the seat next to us.

 

Funny thing, no one died

 

 

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IMO your last sentence is uncalled for.

40+ years ago when my son was small he sat on the armrest between the two front seats of my car and nobody wore seat belts. He is still alive and so am I but that doesn't mean that looking back it was a totally unsafe thing to do.

We are THAT family that considered plane/vehicle safety when choosing our vacations. It can make choices difficult.

We have traveled with a Bubblebum and a Mi-fold booster. We really like the mi-fold and it’s customized with and simple fold/size is fantastic. If your child is of the right age - purchasing either of these is a great idea.. I fully subscribe to the laws of physics trump laws on record, but if I was going to select to put my kid in a car at age 3 while on vacation and not being able to ensure I would have a real car seat, I would probably recommend purchasing one of these boosters and learning how to properly adjust it to use in said car instead of using nothing. Proper positioning of the lap and shoulder belt is a significant step to preventing injury from an accident.

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I'm in the same boat, getting ready to travel with my 4 year old nieces. My daughter was a little older when we started cruising, but not by much. I never worried about bringing a car seat, she just used the adult seat belts (if there was one). BIL is bringing these cool portable travel "car seats" that basically do little more than make a seat belt fit a child. Not sure if that's just giving him a false sense of security?

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Wow some 'interesting' responses on this thread. With our little ones we always picked trips/excursions where we were sure to have the correct restraints. On planes we had them in car seats until they were tall enough and have been on a few cruises where we brought car seats/boosters on board and used them at one or more ports. We invested in a cosco scenera car seat a few years ago because its light and narrow to travel with on planes or on cruises. Getting it on and off the ship is easy, we put in a garbage bag and stick a luggage tag on it. We store it in the shower or closet floor. It is a little annoying getting off the ports and bringing it but worth it IMO. And as long as the car/bus has a seat belt the car seat/booster can be correctly installed.

I grew up in an age where there were no car seats for kids, no seat belts, we drank our of the backyard hose, and there were no problems. We have cruised with my granddaughter when she was just old enough to be on board up til she was 5 and we took rides many times. I noticed that most places visited did not have the same kind of traffic you get in the states so I would book the excursions and enjoy your time with family.

I grew up in an age where there were no car seats for kids, no seat belts, we drank our of the backyard hose, and there were no problems. We have cruised with my granddaughter when she was just old enough to be on board up til she was 5 and we took rides many times. I noticed that most places visited did not have the same kind of traffic you get in the states so I would book the excursions and enjoy your time with family.

Did you also notice less adherence to road rules and fewer traffic signs and signals?

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Where and when? In the states or other port stops? Yea, there are more cars out there and with cell phones and everything else more people paying less attention. But your plane could go down on your way to your cruise, you could get killed walking across the street. I know people that have lived when they should not have and the other way around. How safe are cars vs airplanes vs ships? There have been several people die from going overboard lately, do we outlaw balconies. I know I will take hits for this but we can only do so much to protect the people we love and accidents do happen. That being said my granddaughter was always in her car seat and now always has her seat belt fastened but when she was little we still did the excursions and being those silly annoying positive people we believed there would be no problems or accidents while riding in a car without car seat or seat belts. We all do what we are comfortable with so I hope the child's seat issue is worked out to everyone's satisfaction.

I grew up in an age where there were no car seats for kids, no seat belts, we drank our of the backyard hose, and there were no problems. We have cruised with my granddaughter when she was just old enough to be on board up til she was 5 and we took rides many times. I noticed that most places visited did not have the same kind of traffic you get in the states so I would book the excursions and enjoy your time with family.

No problems for you maybe, but I’m going to guess that the concepts of seat belts and car seats came from more than just a desire to add some more plastic to the world.

A CC member lost family members recently when their tour bus crashed in Mexico and nobody was wearing seat belts.

I know it is not a perfect world and I know accidents happen. As I said everyone has to do what they feel is right. I have lost family and friends also and it breaks my heart to have anyone go thru that kind of thing. I was giving my opinion and that is what it is, my opinion. I am sure they will do what they feel is best for them