How do you travel with your framed carrier?

[wintersmybaby]

Ok - I admit if I could, I would bring EVERYTHING I might need as we are cruising with our 23 month old for the first time. But, I need some help being practical.

 

Normally when we travel we always bring our BOB jogging stroller and gate check it. I really want to bring our framed Kelty Pathfinder carrier, too, as it would be better for our Mayan ruins tour (but it is NOT small). However, I can't imagine being on a ship as large as Independence of the Seas without some sort of stroller. Even if we bought a smaller stroller, how do we handle that at the airport? Can we gate check both? Don't know how practical it would be to pack either one. If we decide to only bring the Kelty, would we gate check it like a stroller?

 

We do have an Ergo carrier, but feel that it would just be way to hot and feel we need a sunshade, so if you have any comments on that vs. Kelty feel free. Just having a hard time wrapping my brain around all this! Thank you so much!

[cb at sea]

Bring only 1 stroller...you don't need an assortment for 1 week. You will need something tho, so bring the smallest you can..the cabins aren't huge and neither are the hallways!

Remember, you can "make do" for alot of things...there's no need to bring every piece of baby equipment that you own!

[wintersmybaby]

I should clarify - I would only bring one stroller. By "both", I mean a stroller and the framed carrier (would I be allowed to gate check both). Thanks for pointing out my confusing grammer!

[twinmommy08]

We are bringing two umbrella strollers and both car seats (I think that is what you mean by framed carrier). I have two kids...

 

We bought a bag to fit both carseats and we plan to check them as a piece of luggage and gate check the strollers. I was told we can't gate check both on our carrier. Our car seats are high back type that fit together so it will fit nicely into the luggage.

 

This is what we bought

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Radian-Travel-Black/dp/B000EDH4FC/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1264521921&sr=1-18

[cruise cruise cruise]

By framed carrier I think OP means a backpack that the kid rides in on parents back-- think Baby Bejorn but heaftier, with metal frame, not just cloth.

Yes, I would bring both. I would bring an umbrealla type stroller that can easily fold and store. Your carrier I agree would be pricless at the ruins.

At the airport I would either gate check both or bag check one (check with the airline- but I would think it would be free to bag check as it would fall under the same rules as strollers and carseats) and gate check the other

[wintersmybaby]

Hi Twin Mommy. The Kelty carrier is a framed backpack carrier, not a carseat, so it is quite tall (31") and even though it collapses, it is still bulky. This is why I am wondering how people transport it if they also have a stroller, it wouldn't pack easily. And it's an aluminum frame so I can't check it in a soft carrier like luggage. Can't imagine having to buy another piece of luggage just to fit it in!

 

I'm guessing you have the Radian carseat, they look really nice and must work well for twins because of their width. We have only flown twice so far, but were able to gate check both the stroller and the carseat with no question the one time she was a lap child. That was booked through ATA. I couldn't find that info on their website, so I emailed them and recieved a very thourough and prompt response. When it was time to go I printed it out 'just in case'. Are both your twins traveling as lap children? Maybe it's different because you have two, but you could always ask and save yourself the baggage fees. Hope you have a great trip!

[poppan]

I guess I'm a super minimalist... I like to travel light... and my kids were a little bit older than yours -- they were 2.5 y.o. at the time of the cruise. And I have twins so that's probably why I want to go light -- I already have to schlep so much stuff around.

 

Anyway -- I did not bring a stroller. I brought a soft carrier -- my Beco which is like an Ergo. I only brought the one carrier, not even two.

 

On board the ship (Celebrity Constellation which admittedly is smaller than Indy) I did not miss the stroller at all. My kids walked or we carried them or a bit of both. Yes it is a little slower going but I didn't mind... I'm on vacation! And it was nice not to have to find space to park the stroller and not have to go around the stairs and find an elevator etc.

 

The one place we did a lot of walking was Acapulco. It was hot but probably less hot than you would be at the ruins. I have both the Kelty and various soft carriers that are Ergo-like. I will caveat that I personally prefer the soft carriers because I find the Kelty so heavy, bulky and just plain unwieldy. Anyway the soft carrier served me well. My kids wear large-brimmed sun hats (I bought them at REI) and that's what we do for shade.

 

Bottom line, I guess if your child is used to being carried/strollered places then you probably need to bring a stroller. I would consider bringing the Ergo with a sun hat for shade instead of schlepping the Kelty with you -- but that's just because I value carrying less with me over having the exactly perfect-for-the-occasion piece of equipment.

[MyMoses]

If it were me, I'd ditch the bulky BOB stroller and opt for a lightweight umbrella stroller. I can't imagine having to lug that heavy thing around. I also have nicer, heavy duty stroller for walking/running the neighborhood, but I have used a light umbrella stroller everywhere else (keep this one in my car) since my dd turned 1. I guess I would use the Ergo over the Kelty carrier too. It seems like it would be much more compact and comfortable for you. Will your child wear a sunhat? I would suggest using that over needing the bulky Kelty with the sunshade. Just my .02.

[Citizen Jane]

I'd go with a lightweight stroller on the ship. I have a BOB and no way (at any age) I would take it on the ship. At most I'd use my MacLaren umbrella stroller.

 

Even though I used a Bjorn until the kiddo was about 15 months, I then switched to something like this: http://www.bumpto3.com/outdoors/on_the_go/hipseat

for Disney, etc. Of course, if you are planning on doing Mayan Temples and hiking up, then you definitely need a framed carrier that is very close riding to your back (and need to lean your center of gravity far forward) to go up. If just sightseeing, I can't tell you how much a hip carrier with a hard seat under padding helps. Shoot, I think my DD is over the weight limit on hers by at least 7 or 8 pounds, but I'll still take it with me on the trip for when we hike around (and she's almost 7!). Yes, I DID use it last summer at Disney when she was 6.5! (Of course, she only weighs 43 pounds now and was about 37 last summer).DH and I are both short!

[codypaints]

when we cruised with our 20 month old some years back we took our umbr ella stroller and our backpack. we packed the backpack in our biggest suitcase and just packed stuff around it. Since it was an aluminum frame one, it was fairly lightweight so we didnt worry much about being overweight. We used it in San Juan and on St thomas,. more so than our stroller. We didnt have to worry about uneven footing and paths to the beach! Now, granted our lil one was really little for her age, but it sure made getting around the islands much easier for us!

[wintersmybaby]

Thank you all for your comments! Sorry I am a little late on a reply. Our cruise leaves this weekend so I thought I'd comment on what I plan on doing.

 

I did buy an umbrella stroller (Kolcraft Tour Sport), if nothing else we will use it in the airport and it will be so much easier than the BOB - although the BOB could easily handle all our carry-ons and so we'll have to carry them (give and take:)). We found a workable solution for the Kelty, we bought a 32" expandable duffel at Wal-mart for $14 and although soft sided, if I pack it full enough it should give the aluminum frame enough padding/protection (I hope). Codypaints - you must have a BIG suitcase or a smaller backpack. Of course I will probably still want to bring the Ergo - sorry I have to overpack just a little ;).

 

Oh, and I totally want a hipseat now!! Thanks Citizen Jane!! Bid on a used one on eBay and lost out being too cheap. In the end it is just another baby item I would use, but don't really need. Gotta have something to buy for the next one, right!!

 

Take care all!