Have your or would you cruise with a baby?

I hate the thought that I'm done cruising now that we have a baby, so I just wanted to ask: Have your or would you cruise with a 1-year old?

I hate the thought that I'm done cruising now that we have a baby, so I just wanted to ask: Have your or would you cruise with a 1-year old?

We have been on 2 cruises without our now almost 3 yo. We have 2 older children, 15 and 10, and have cruised with them. We feel that it just would not be a vacation for us or her if she were to go now. We will definately take her when she is older but just not now. We have some who understand and others who don't so just do what you feel is right. We are lucky enough to have family and a nanny she loves that she can stay home with when we travel.

One factor that may help you decide is Carnival will not babysit them if they are under 2 years old. That means, the child will have to go everywhere with you, even on excursions.

You have to decide if that is a problem or not. I'm sure you want to be with your child but they seem a bit young to cruise at this point.

Not that young, no. It wouldnt be much of a vacation.

Post this on the Family Cruising board. You'll get a LOT of input from those who have and then you can make a decision!

We have sailed with our 2 and 3 year old before and this time we're sailing with our 9 month old.

Is your child laidback and easygoing? It would also depend on your child's temperament.

No, not at 1 yr, maybe 4 or 5 at the earliest.

We sailed with my neice when she was 13 months and mine was just shy of three. It worked - BUT - we had seven adults to the two kids, so babysitters were plentiful. This was on RCCL, so neither kid could use the kids programs.

On our last cruise we had a wee one next door to our cabin. She cried every night, all night for 5 nights.

I sure don't have a problem with kids as I have 4 myself as well as 6

grandbabies but how crushing to save for vacation to have it ruined

by not getting an ounce of sleep.

The thing is out of their home environment you have no promise of

how they will act or what may affect them that they are unable to

vocalize in ways other than crying.

I have my 30th wedding anniversary coming up and all my kids have

been invited minus the wee ones. I'd never want to put anyone through

what we went through on our last cruise.

I have a cruise planned w/ my daughter who will be 11 mos. when we sail. I love spending time with her and I love to see her reaction to experiencing new things. Sure, it will be a different experience, but to say it won't be a vacation is crazy to me. I couldn't imagine going without her.

One of the reasons we chose Disney this time is their nursery. That way if we want an hour of "mommy & daddy"time, we can have it!

We don't have kids yet, but are planning on them next year. Hence, we're referring to our next cruise as 'the last one for awhile'.

Fortunately, my parents like cruising every other year. They're planning one for November 2009, so it looks like we may have to wait for 2011, with hopefully a 1 or 2 year old at that time (it's actually awesome thinking of that!).

The only way we're planning on cruising in the future with wee ones is if we have family with us - I know my parents will sit for us for a night or two, as they're not big nightowls, and they've volunteered for a port so we can have a break. We're not either, so that will suit us just fine. :)

And then again, we both have parents that would take care of the future 'uns should we want to get away. :D

One factor that may help you decide is Carnival will not babysit them if they are under 2 years old. That means, the child will have to go everywhere with you, even on excursions.

 

You have to decide if that is a problem or not. I'm sure you want to be with your child but they seem a bit young to cruise at this point.

Wrong, Carnival will babysit under 2 on port days from time of arrival in port until noon or later if arrival is later than 7am. They also babysit on sea days from 12-2pm and nightly from 10pm-3am. Its $6.00/hr charged directly to sail & sign.

To the OP: We have taken our DD on 5 cruises starting at 7months and she is only 2 now. We sailed when she was 7mo, 12mo, 18mo, 2yrs, 2y3mo and now again at 2y11mo. It can be a very enjoyable vaction. Sure its different than cruising pre-baby but so is the rest of your life. You still have all the responsibilities of the baby but someone else is cooking, cleaning and entertaining you. Our DD went to her first beach in Cozumel, ate ice cream for the first time on board. If you are flexible and know you may not see all the shows or may have to leave the dining room if he/she gets too fussy then you will have a great time. Carnival also tries to pair you with other cruisers with children the same age. When DD was 1 yr we sat with a nice family that also had a 1 yr old. Come over to the family cruising board under special interest cruising. You will find tons of helpful information about cruising with infants/children. For us cruising is a lot easier than a land based vacation.

Julie

My three are teens now , but when they were that young I wouldn't have even considered it.

No matter how mellow a bbay is , you can not gauruntee how they will act, and a cruise is too expensive to find out and have ruined.

polus a child that young has no recollection of what is going on.

My Mom constantly asks me if I rememeber this or that from when I was say under 3 and I don't even have an inkling.

Nope! Not my idea of a vacation. I believe there are vacations specifically for kids and I don't think a cruise (besides maybe Disney) is one of them. (Not that young anyway). I wouldn't even take them on a Disney cruise until maybe 5 or 6. Just my opinion though!

Julie has it right, it is a very enjoyable vacation!! We cruised with our baby when he was 5 months old (on HAL) and will be going in October when he is 16 months old and then a B2B Hawaii next Sept when he is 2 years old.

It is a great vacation and I couldn't imagine leaving my baby at home. It's easy as someone is cooking and cleaning for you and the staff love kids and will really help you.

Who cares if the child doesn't remember what has happened on the vacation, it's not about that! It's about spending time as a family and experiencing new things.

Check out the family board for packing tips and excursion ideas.

Have fun!

My three are teens now , but when they were that young I wouldn't have even considered it.

 

No matter how mellow a bbay is , you can not gauruntee how they will act, and a cruise is too expensive to find out and have ruined.

 

polus a child that young has no recollection of what is going on.

 

My Mom constantly asks me if I rememeber this or that from when I was say under 3 and I don't even have an inkling.

I do understand where you are coming from, but you don't know how they will react in any circumstance until you try. You might have a rough time or you might have the time of your life. In no way do I think a cruise can be ruined.

Also, she might not remember, but what about me? I will cherish the memories and will have the pictures to show her when she is older. Pkus, even if she doesn't remember, it doesn't mean she won't have fun in the moment.

My three are teens now , but when they were that young I wouldn't have even considered it.

 

No matter how mellow a bbay is , you can not gauruntee how they will act, and a cruise is too expensive to find out and have ruined.

 

polus a child that young has no recollection of what is going on.

 

My Mom constantly asks me if I rememeber this or that from when I was say under 3 and I don't even have an inkling.

Here is the part where people will start chiming in and saying that the baby wont remember it, but the parents will...OK..I am with you babyher, I wouldnt even THINK about taking a baby on a cruise.

rnnw62

On our last cruise, SOMEONE had a baby in a cabin near us that did some crying. While it wasnt nearly as bad as what you had to deal with on your last cruise, it was dang annoying sometimes.

Here is the part where people will start chiming in and saying that the baby wont remember it, but the parents will...OK..I am with you babyher, I wouldnt even THINK about taking a baby on a cruise.

 

rnnw62

On our last cruise, SOMEONE had a baby in a cabin near us that did some crying. While it wasnt nearly as bad as what you had to deal with on your last cruise, it was dang annoying sometimes.

Be as sarcastic as you wish, but it's true. I will love every moment I share with her.

Babies never bother me (even before I had one of my own), but I can see how a crying baby might bother some. (I can think of a lot of adults who annoy me though! :D I did also consider that and out of courtesy, I did pick a very baby/kid friendly cruiseline. If someone complains about it there, that's their fault for sailing Disney.

I would think in order to keep a baby safe & comfortable, you'd need to take a heck of a lot of baby stuff with you...that alone would be enough to deter me, but a lot of people cruise with infants all the time and don't mind it.

Personally for me, the health factor involved would be a MAJOR consideration. I would (and did) stop cruising or have relatives watch the baby while my DH and I cruised.

There are too many ways a baby could get sick on a ship and not sufficient medical care IMO.

No way worth the risk.

I recall doing vacations with infants and they really weren't vacations LOL!! I wouldn't spend a lot of money going away with an infant. I, perosnally would keep it simple because it's more work having them out and about than taking care of them at home for sure.

When my oldest turned one, we were on vacation (down the Jersey Shore)...she wanted to walk on the boardwalk...:eek: refused to be held because she was feeling all proud that she could get herself around. She'd take 3 steps and then sit.

Anyone who has been on the boardwalk in Wildwood NJ can imagine this was a nightmare. We lasted 1/2 hour out there.

A one year old child is MOBILE and usually this means they aren't content to sit and play...they want to be motoring around. If you have the stamina to chase a baby all day long, then go for it!! Many parents do actually enjoy this....me, not so much. :p

Here is the part where people will start chiming in and saying that the baby wont remember it, but the parents will...OK..I am with you babyher, I wouldnt even THINK about taking a baby on a cruise.

But why do they HAVE to remember it? If I believed that, I'd lock my son up in the house for three years because if he won't remember anything, why bother? Yeah, my memories of his first time in Disney are pretty dang cool, even if he doesn't remember. (He was six months old.) And I paid just as much or more to go to Disney with him as I did to go on a cruise, even though technically he was free for his first four Disney trips.

I like taking land-based vacations with him (26 states and counting, I believe) but I love cruising with him. For one thing, it solves the where-to-eat dilemma our family always seems to have.

On our last cruise we had a wee one next door to our cabin. She cried every night, all night for 5 nights.

 

I sure don't have a problem with kids as I have 4 myself as well as 6

grandbabies but how crushing to save for vacation to have it ruined

by not getting an ounce of sleep.

 

The thing is out of their home environment you have no promise of

how they will act or what may affect them that they are unable to

vocalize in ways other than crying.

 

I have my 30th wedding anniversary coming up and all my kids have

been invited minus the wee ones. I'd never want to put anyone through

what we went through on our last cruise.

I will be running to the pursers desk the first night, I like kids but I will not put up with a crying baby all night , no way .lol

I was told by someone who cruised with us last year on Glory that Carnival would not babysit the kids if they were under 2, but someone has posted that they will...for a price.

Thanks for clearing that up, but I gotta tell ya, I would not take a 1, 2, or 3 year old on a cruise.

This is obviously a touchy subject with some people. I have 2 kids who have cruised with us and they're grown now. So, I know about taking kids with you.

Bottom line: How much fun can you have if they're with you, and contrast that to how much you'll miss them if they're not (left at home).

Our baby will be nine months on our cruise in October, and I can't wait! She's an excellent traveler. I don't hesitate to take her anywhere.

We're taking a set of grandparents with us, so we'll have back-up and someone to watch her so that we can have some relaxing time to ourselves. ;)

I guess it all depends on the child, the parents, and everyone's attitude. You'll find lots of people on this board who will say "NO WAY" but lots of people on the family board who will say they recommend it.

I hate the thought that I'm done cruising now that we have a baby, so I just wanted to ask: Have your or would you cruise with a 1-year old?

Hi Taryn and Sarah :)

We have been on two cruises with our granddaughter. The first time was a Caribbean Cruise on Holland America's Westerdam with my husband, our daughter, son in law, and granddaughter, when she was seven months old. The second time was a Carnival Cruise from NYC to Canada for a family reunion cruise (16 of us) a few weeks ago when she was sixteen months old.

Both were very positive experience, and the baby had a great time, but a few adjustments were necessary to make it that way.

When a baby wakes up at 5:30 AM and sees their parents in the same room they are not likely to just roll over and go back to sleep.

A baby who stays on a schedule that is similar to home, such as nap time, is more likely to be well behaved during the cruise.

It is hard to do shore excursions with a baby and it is better to explore ports on your own.

It is also advisable to book a larger cabin/suite than you might have for just two adults to insure there is adequate room for a pack and play and other baby equipment.

However, in spite of these adjustments, everyone involved enjoyed taking a cruise with our granddaughter :)

BTW, I noticed that you live in Rochester, NY. My husband and I lived in a suburb of Rochester from 1985 until 1996, when we were raising our daughter (mother of the baby).

If you don't mind, I'd like to give my point of view as an 'senior' lady, a grandmother.

I have also had a crying baby in the cabin next to mine. I did not appreciate being awakened at odd hours of the night to the crying. It was every night. It most definitely put a damper on my vacation.

I have also listened to a crying baby, as well as an irritable baby, in the dining room on cruises. The parents did not take them out of the area, but let us all endure the child's extreme unhappiness.

My thoughts are that the child would be much happier at home in his/her own environment, with grandparents or trusted friends. Any change in a child that young's normal routine can be frustrating to the child, as well as all around the child.

You, as fairly new parents, would probably really enjoy a vacation! Even though you love that child above everything else, it sometimes is good to put a little distance between you - for your sake as well as the little one's. You can call home every day to check, y'know.

Hopefully, you'll come to the right conclusion, and do whatever you truly believe is best for all concerned. Happy cruisin'!:)

I have not cruised but I wouldn't with a baby. It was tough when we took a family beach trip with our entire family. I had to stay in a lot because we didn't want to get the baby too much sun.