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Cruising With a Baby


MammaWhoLovesToCruise
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Hi there! My hubby and I have a substantial cruise credit amount (given to us by corporate since we had an exceptionally horrendous honeymoon experience in 2016) that expires in March 2019. We have sailed NCL prior to our honeymoon and LOVED it, so we are hopeful for a positive experience this time around.

 

So, we got married and just a little bit of time passed...and now we have our family of 3! Our baby boy will be 1 in October. We are considering redeeming our cruise credits for the week before Thanksgiving: 11/11-11/18 on the Norwegian Escape. Our little boy will be about 13.5 months old at that time.

 

We will be bringing a portable crib (pack n play) and will need enough space to set up, so we will be booking a balcony. (Think that will be sufficient? What about upgrading for low cost to a Haven?!?!? :cool:)

 

We have never cruised with a baby before and are feeling super nervous about it. Would love to hear from those of you who have sailed with little ones about how it went, how you managed, and any advice you'd like to offer. Any chance of our little one getting sea sick (I get motion sickness and it is managed by dramamine)--he does not get carsick. TIA for all the help!

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You will have room for the P&P....lots of folks use them....but it will make the cabin feel tighter!

You will need to bring all "baby" specific stuff...the ship doesn't sell diapers, wipes, etc. And bring any and all pediatric medications that you MIGHT need...they don't have that for sale on the ship. Better to have it, than not!

 

A balcony is great when you have kids who will nap or go down early at night...it gives you a place "to be"....without sitting in a dark room!

 

Be aware that pools do NOT allow non-pottytrained people. I don't know if this ship has a "splash pad"....not all ships do. A blow up tub is great, not only for bathing a child in a shower, but for splashing on deck, too!

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LOL.. you sounds like us. I have been scouring CC for info on cruising with a little one. Ours will be 16 mos when we board. (We are also doing a Disney vacation prior to this... kind of a warm up for packing and planning.) We do have the advantage of traveling with our 17 year old (can anyone say "surprise baby!?") and both grandmas so lots of hands to make it easier.

 

Our cruise consultant with Holland America already put a pack n play on hold for us and said it will be in the cabin when we get there.

 

Also, I have read that many folks prefer dining in the MDR when you have littles and fixed time dining is nice. Their reasoning, which I totally get, is you get served as opposed to the buffet where mom gets all the food together and by the time she gets to hers, it's cold or baby is fussy or w/e. Fixed time also allows the servers to always have a high chair waiting and some fruit and milk at the table for baby immediately. Might be more rushed than you like but hey, you can juggle baby and both get to eat good food.

 

We got balcony cabins too. We are bringing a baby monitor so we can sit outside on the balcony while she naps or in the evening. Also, we will ask for some extra towels to place over the side of the pack n play to block any light while she is going to sleep. Once asleep we will take them off. I know random light can distract her. Oh and we are also bringing some pack n play sheets as it seems common that they do not supply the actual fitted sheet.

 

Another recommendation someone had for any travel with baby was get some new to them toys, never seen before. Little cheap things. And introduce a new toy every so often on your trip, like one on the plane, one at first nights dinner, etc. Nothing loud obviously but you know how they like "new to them" stuff but then who doesn't :D

 

Diapers, I read that you can just take a diaper box, leave in the number you need, and fill the rest of the box with other disposable necessities, tape it up and you are good. End of cruise, leave the box on the ship to be thrown away. One less thing to fool with.

 

We are doing ship's unlimited laundry package. It's like less than $100 for a week on HAL, cause I so do not want 5 loads of laundry when I get home nor do I think I can carry that much luggage.

 

I already got the duckie tub for baby girl which is super cute and also will get some doggie poop picker upper bags to put individual diapers in and seal up for disposal to reduce the potential mess for the cabin stewards and stink for us.

 

I had read that maybe a baby sized life vest is a good idea. They aren't expensive and can be used in the at home or for us Disney pool too. We will be bringing her baby floaty for beach time along with some cheapo sand beach toys we can buy down in FL before we board.

 

Our now teen, never got motion or sea sick no matter what. Even teeny bouncy plane trips that make my tummy do flip flops or that one horrible night we had on a Carnival cruise when our son was 7 years old, the bow was crashing and creaking and it was impossible to walk a straight line. Dh turned 5 shades of green.. kid was happy as a lark.

I keep researching.

 

It will be great. I know it!! :D

Edited by fatcat04
spacing went all weird
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DH and I will be cruising on RC this October with our daughter who will be 10.5mo at the time! I have been researching everything possible and still have so many worries haha.

One thing I'm not sure of is what to do for onboard shows. The Allure has a ton of shows we'd love to see, and I know our daughter would love the shorter shows as well (we've taken her to Busch Gardens and she watched 2 different 45-minute shows with rapt attention the entire time), but almost all of the shows take place after our daughter would normally go to sleep.

Royal Caribbean does have a nursery where they will take care of baby for $8/hr after 6pm, but I'm worried she won't sleep at all there unless it's super quiet (she's not a great sleeper to begin with). And if we bring her with, I'm worried she'll stay up late and wake up just as early as if she had gone to sleep at her normal time, leaving her tired and cranky all day. I also have little baby noise-canceling earmuffs, so I've considered putting those on her and letting her sleep on me in a carrier until we get back to the room and then transition her to the crib.

Worst case, I figure DH and I will have to take turns going out at night if she doesn't do well in the carrier or the nursery, or spend some nights on the balcony and pop a bottle of champagne under the stars.

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@happily Sound like some good options there. Bubbly on the balcony(y)

 

We are kinda resigned that save for maybe a couple night when the grannies can stay with baby after bedtime, we will have some early nights. Baby girl is 10 mos now and FINALLY has a schedule which means bed by 9-10. We had thought of even using the rare earth magnet hooks and dark shower curtain trick to section off her pack n play to reduce light and noise.

 

It will be good no matter what, just a different kind of good.:D:D

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We often took turns staying with napping baby too. Some days we were both very ready for a rest! When there was just one we sometimes all napped, or DH and I hung out on the balcony at nap time. Now that there are two, one of us will chase the 4 year old around while the other naps with baby :)

 

 

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Browsing on Amazon, I found this book about cruising with children. Only $2.99 for Kindle. Haven't read it, but it has good reviews:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071K9HXY9/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1

 

Published in 2017, which means probably written in 2016, so probably a little bit out of date with the latest ships. EM

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  • 4 weeks later...

You should be able to request a pack and play (and, if you like, a high chair) for your cabin, so you don't have to bring your own. If you can afford a little extra space, I'd say go for it. We found NCL to be super accommodating with our son when he was 10 mos and then again at 20 mos. We were on the same ship, and a number of he staff remembered him from our first cruise!

 

 

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Make sure you bring plenty of straws and/or a handful of reusable ones (unless your LO is still on bottles only). New straw policy, and not sure if they've started with the paper ones yet, but even if they have, those aren't great, especially for small kids.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 8/10/2018 at 12:12 AM, MammaWhoLovesToCruise said:

Hi there! My hubby and I have a substantial cruise credit amount (given to us by corporate since we had an exceptionally horrendous honeymoon experience in 2016) that expires in March 2019. We have sailed NCL prior to our honeymoon and LOVED it, so we are hopeful for a positive experience this time around.

 

So, we got married and just a little bit of time passed...and now we have our family of 3! Our baby boy will be 1 in October. We are considering redeeming our cruise credits for the week before Thanksgiving: 11/11-11/18 on the Norwegian Escape. Our little boy will be about 13.5 months old at that time.

 

We will be bringing a portable crib (pack n play) and will need enough space to set up, so we will be booking a balcony. (Think that will be sufficient? What about upgrading for low cost to a Haven?!?!? 🆒)

 

We have never cruised with a baby before and are feeling super nervous about it. Would love to hear from those of you who have sailed with little ones about how it went, how you managed, and any advice you'd like to offer. Any chance of our little one getting sea sick (I get motion sickness and it is managed by dramamine)--he does not get carsick. TIA for all the help!

 

Hey, any update on how the pack and play worked out?  We are going on the Escape in December with our 14 month old.  I was wondering how the pack and play fit in the room. 

 

Thanks!

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13 hours ago, acesnjacks06 said:

 

Hey, any update on how the pack and play worked out?  We are going on the Escape in December with our 14 month old.  I was wondering how the pack and play fit in the room. 

 

Thanks!

Yes, we are taking 14 month and 3 y/o old (grand Babies) in Jan, so we are curious too. We have connecting mini suites with my DD and SIL, but we will be babysitting 4 nights and the children will sleep with us :). I never took my children on cruises this young, so it will be a new experience. Please report back 🙂

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Probably not helpful for the OP, but for others who are asking - 

 

We sailed with NCL (Getaway) in Feb with our 6-month old (6 months on the day of embarkation!!) and had requested and pack n play. We had a balcony cabin, and so to save some space, we took the seat cushion on the sofa and stood it up on its long edge at the back of the sofa area, and then there was just enough room to put the pack n play on the sofa wooden platform. it had quite a lip so we weren't afraid of the pack n play slipping off or anything (note - being that kiddo was only 6 months at the time, we also weren't afraid of him tipping the pack n play or anything since he wasn't even pulling to standing yet. Not sure if we'd feel differently now). The backrest cushion we stood up on its short end in the corner by the balcony curtain. Then the remainder of the sofa platform we used as a changing area. It really worked great!!

 

They did not provide a fitted sheet, but folded over some regular sheets. Honestly, it was totally fine for us - I had actually brought our pack n play mattress (seen in the photo, repurposed as a giant changing pad) and a fitted sheet, and I didn't bother with them for him sleeping.

 

As others have said, bring lots of diapers, wipes, clothes, etc. Bring any medications you can possibly imagine needing (pediatric Advil/Tylenol, kid's Claritin, kid's Polysporin) because there's basically a near-zero chance of you finding any of that stuff on the ship or in port, depending on the itinerary. The crew loved him and doted on him and were always happy to go find us a high chair, especially one of the few that actually had a full chair to it rather than one of the wooden restaurant types, which were not great for him at that stage only just learning to sit.

 

We actually found the buffet to be far easier and less stressful than the MDR. But, of course, every kid and every family is different, so do whatever works for you!

 

We also borrowed some Dr Seuss books from the ship library, which was wonderful for bedtime and not having to truck books around with us 🙂

IMG_4921.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/31/2018 at 5:03 PM, Kerry's Girls said:

For shows I used to bring my girls in their stroller and stand in the back, or get there early for aisle seats in the back for a quick escape if necessary.   The lights and music usually kept their attention though.  

I had wondered about shows and little ones. We just did Walt Disney with the one year old and man, can you say sensory overload!? She adapted well and by day 3 she was cool and back on a semi schedule (WDW is the place baby schedules go to die!) but I know it was crazy for her. I think she will enjoy the smaller music venues and the ship in general as she loves music and lights and new people but the shows will definitely be an in the back or on the aisle experience just in case we have to make a quick escape. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/29/2018 at 12:50 PM, justme665 said:

Probably not helpful for the OP, but for others who are asking - 

 

We sailed with NCL (Getaway) in Feb with our 6-month old (6 months on the day of embarkation!!) and had requested and pack n play. We had a balcony cabin, and so to save some space, we took the seat cushion on the sofa and stood it up on its long edge at the back of the sofa area, and then there was just enough room to put the pack n play on the sofa wooden platform. it had quite a lip so we weren't afraid of the pack n play slipping off or anything (note - being that kiddo was only 6 months at the time, we also weren't afraid of him tipping the pack n play or anything since he wasn't even pulling to standing yet. Not sure if we'd feel differently now). The backrest cushion we stood up on its short end in the corner by the balcony curtain. Then the remainder of the sofa platform we used as a changing area. It really worked great!!

 

They did not provide a fitted sheet, but folded over some regular sheets. Honestly, it was totally fine for us - I had actually brought our pack n play mattress (seen in the photo, repurposed as a giant changing pad) and a fitted sheet, and I didn't bother with them for him sleeping.

 

As others have said, bring lots of diapers, wipes, clothes, etc. Bring any medications you can possibly imagine needing (pediatric Advil/Tylenol, kid's Claritin, kid's Polysporin) because there's basically a near-zero chance of you finding any of that stuff on the ship or in port, depending on the itinerary. The crew loved him and doted on him and were always happy to go find us a high chair, especially one of the few that actually had a full chair to it rather than one of the wooden restaurant types, which were not great for him at that stage only just learning to sit.

 

We actually found the buffet to be far easier and less stressful than the MDR. But, of course, every kid and every family is different, so do whatever works for you!

 

We also borrowed some Dr Seuss books from the ship library, which was wonderful for bedtime and not having to truck books around with us 🙂

IMG_4921.JPG

Love what you did with the pack and play. We have connecting mini suites, so hopefully we can do what you guys did. We are bringing our pack and play from home, so we won't have the extra mattress, but we can use towels for a changing station, great idea thanks

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