Anyone cruising with a 7 month old?

[momtoSam]

Is it a bad idea? We've been cruising many times. We started taking our 8 year old since she was 3 years old. She loves cruises. Now we have an infant who will be 7 month old on a cruise we are planning to take.

[donaldsc]

I certainly would not cruise w a 7 month old. It would not be a vacation for either my wife or me.

 

DON

[cb at sea]

Depends what you want from your vacation! Obviously, you'll already have your other child with you, and while you will have to do pretty much what you do at home, as far as baby is concerned...why not?

It's a FAMILY vacation, right? Baby is part of the family! The only downside is having to pay for such a little one!

[B_Mc]

Depends so much on your kid, I think! We're about to leave for our first cruise with our 10 month old, so I'll let you know how it goes. I know at 7 months it would have been awful because he was still napping 3x per day and needed to be in his crib. Now he's a little more flexible so hopefully we won't be too "stuck" in the cabin for naps.

[jnncooke]

It really does depend on what you want out of a family vacation. My son is 3 1/2 and he has been on two cruises and we are about to go on his third with our 7 month old daughter! Our first cruise with him was when he was 10 months old and he did great! He was entertained by all the excitement going on and my husband and I would take turns in the cabin with him during nap time. I was even still nursing and would go back to the cabin several times a day to feed him and it will be the same this time with our 7 month old. But I love to travel and I look at it this way...you are going to be changing diapers, feeding the baby, bathing the baby, etc every day, why not enjoy doing it on a cruise. Also, because we have traveled with him since such a young age he is a great traveler.

[momtoSam]

Thank you for all of your replies. We love cruising and so is our 8 year old. We've been on 10+ cruises, and our 8 year old on 5 or so. These days we try to take cruise from our area so we don't have to fly. We've pretty much been and all of the islands the ships from our area go to. We know the ship very well as well as entertainment on the ship (they typically don 't change shows or games, etc.) . So we're hoping just to relax and not run around the ship trying to participate in all activities like we used to. I made a deposit for this cruise a long time ago, and now that the time period of getting our deposit back is about to expire I just wanted to make sure we're going to be ok traveling with the little one.

[sandytoes03]

That age would be hard for me. My babies are about that age now and they breastfeed 4 times a day, which would be hard on a cruise (for me personally) and they have very early bedtimes, which would also be hard. BUT, it could also be fun b/c you could strap him/her in the stroller and off you go. I think I would wait until the baby is a little older, but hey, if you want to go, do it!:)

[Julienatul]

We sailed with both my kids when they were 7months!! It was by far one of the easiest cruises at that age. They arent really mobile yet but for the most part are sleeping well at night. I say go for it!! We loved it both times.

[pepper]

My husband and I love cruising and will be going on our first one with our 9-month-old son. We figure, we knew life would change having a child, so our vacations will change too. We booked a balcony cabin so even if we are there for his naps or if I want to nurse on the balcony, we will not feel "stuck" in our room.. We used to always book inside cabins. We also chose Carnival because they generally have larger cabins (have to store the stroller, carseat, crib will be set up).

 

If you travel expecting/wanting it to be exactly like it was without children - you'll be in for a disappointment. If you are fine that things will be different, absolutely travel with baby/children.

 

Paying for the baby is ridiculous, but shop around for a deal on that 3rd person fare. Our sailing had such a good deal for totaly price on balcony that we are paying the same per day that we usually pay, just for the hubby and me.

[Chicky2181]

Is it a bad idea? We've been cruising many times. We started taking our 8 year old since she was 3 years old. She loves cruises. Now we have an infant who will be 7 month old on a cruise we are planning to take.

 

 

I will be in about 4 months. I am very excited about it. My husband and I travel a lot and we can't wait to start experiencing travel as a family. :D

 

we figured a cruise would be a great way to start her off. A short flight followed by a whole week of having every accommodation at our fingertips. She also sleeps well in anything that is moving, so when she naps I can just walk her around in her stroller. Plus Allure has a great nursery if I need an hour or 2 off.

[RizzoLee]

We'll also be taking DS on his first cruise in 2012... he'll be 8.5mo by then. :) (still baking him!)

 

I agree with the pp - as long as you're not expecting the 'same' vacation, all will be okay.

 

I'm planning on BFing, but will probably start weaning before then. We're planning on cloth diapering, but will switch to disposables for vacations and when he's with grandparents. We'll bring a Snugli so we can carry him through ports, etc. (hopefully he adjusts well to it, lol).

 

It's a more laid back vacation, for sure, which DH is looking forward to in a way, though I'm getting better with the 'GO GO GO' of trying to fit everything in, lol.

 

We're going on Carnival, so will use their babysitting service for a few hours off for 'adult time' when we need it. :)

[SummerW]

We're going on a family reunion cruise in a few weeks. My son will be 6 months old then. At 5.5 months now he's over 22 lbs, so he eats a lot and will still be exclusively breastfed on the cruise. He also doesn't sleep through the night yet. (He cosleeps and nurses a few times during the night.)

 

All that being said, I'm looking forward to it. He has been traveling over 20% of his life by this point, as my husband travels for business, and my son and I have been tagging along. Here are some things we'e learned from our trips:

 

- Having extra space is really nice. A separate space where you can get away so you don't have to be quiet when the baby is asleep is particularly useful. Plus, some additional room for a portable crib/pack-and-play and all the other baby gadgets comes in handy. For this reason, we have booked a suite. This will also enable us to order anything from the dining rooms to be eaten in our cabin. If the baby is fussy or for whatever reason we'd prefer to eat in, we'll have that as an option. Oh- and we get free laundry service, too!

 

- We've discovered several gadgets along the way that we like to take along:

* Graco Snuglider: This is a swing that our Snugride infant seat snaps into. It vibrates and swings. Runs on batteries. Assembles without tools. Fits in our rolling duffel. Our son naps in a swing a lot of the time, and this device really works fabulously for swing naps.

* Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light: This is a terriffic crib when you're on the go. It's really light-weight and assembles is literally seconds. I've heard mixed reviews of the pack-and-plays the ships provide, so if you'd prefer to use your own portable crib, this is a good one to consider.

* Reusable Chux Pads: These are great for playtime on the floor. Any spitups, leaks or explosions will be contained on the pad. It's also good for changing diapers. Amazon sells them for around $10.

* Baby Monitor: We have a video monitor that is great for keeping an eye on the baby while in another room (or, as the case may be, out on the balcony).

* Puj Tub: This is a foam bath tub that unfolds to be flat for storage and folds together (held in place with magnets) to be used for baths in the sink. It is wonderful for babies who can't yet sit up. Our chunk is about at its size limit. Probably by about 20-ish lbs you'd need another option (the duck tub is recommended a lot on here). I'm not sure if the bathroom sinks are large enough for the Puj Tub.

* My Brest Friend Inflatable Travel Pillow: If you are used to using a My Brest Friend or Boppy pillow when nursing the inflatable version of the MBF is very handy. I have used it on flights and for several weeks' worth of travel, and it has held up okay. It's a little bit smaller than a regular MBF pillow but works exactly the same.

* Exercise ball: We use an exercise ball to bounce the baby to sleep for naps or bedtime. If you can't have a rocking chair or glider, an exercise ball can be a great option to help calm a fussy baby or lull one to sleep. $10 from Amazon with an inflater included.

* iPod Speakers/iPod loaded with a white noise track: We play an ocean waves white noise track on repeat. It really helps to mask out any noise outside of the room where the baby is sleeping. When it's playing I often dream about beaches! lol!

* Baby Sling/Carrier: I have an Ergo, a Baby K'Tan and a ring sling. I'll probably bring the Ergo. Not sure if they'll allow it on a cruise, but when traveling I've worn the baby while walking on the treadmill in the fitness centers of our hotels and corporate apartments. When the weather is inclement, this has been a good way to get a "walk" in.

* Nursing Shirts: I have several shirts that allow me to nurse discreetly.

* Udder Covers/Hooter Hiders/etc: We call it the Boob Tent. Another device for nursing in public. These days I use it more to cut down on distractions when feeding my baby, as he has just reached the stage where he likes to check everything out and look around all the time, including when he is having his breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, second lunch.... etc. On a cruse there may be some people not used to seeing someone nurse in public, so the boob tent may come in handy to allay their concerns, also.

* LillyPadz: Nursing pads that can be worn under bathing suit tops. Haven't tried these yet, but they seem to be pretty popular.

 

Other things we've learned along the way:

* I pack the baby's things in gallon zip-locks. Each type of clothing goes in a different bag: PJs, Onesies, Bibs, Socks, etc.

* We bring along some laundry detergent so that we can wash his things with the type of detergent he's used to that we know won't irritate his skin or whatever. (We use Country Save. Love it.) Even with laundry service included we'll still probably bring some along just in case.

* We learned the hard way to keep his med/first aid kit in our carry-on.

* We plan to have diapers shipped to our in-laws who live driving distance to the port and are going on the cruise with us. We order ours from (you guessed it) Amazon. (We get 30% off with Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom.)

* I try to set some toys and books aside that don't get played with for a week or two before we travel. This way they're fresh for the trip. I also often bring along a new toy or two.

* Traveling with extended family can be great! They love to spend time with the baby and play with him, and we take advantage of this to have a little mommy or daddy time to do some of our own things -- or catch up on sleep -- or get a shower.

* Nothing gets you through TSA security faster than a baby with an exploded diaper in a white outfit.

 

Sure, we probably won't be able to do the zipline excursion or have as many fruity adult drinks as we would otherwise, but we're still really looking forward to our cruise. It'll be nice to not have to worry about cooking or laundry and to get to spend some time catching up with our extended family. We may even get off the ship a few times to hang out at the beach or explore a market. We don't have superhigh expectations for activities this time around, but that's alright with us. It's still an adventure -- but then what day isn't an adventure with kids in tow? :)

[sharktums]

My daughter was nine months old on her first cruise. It was GREAT! Except for dinner in the dining room. She was just starting to walk and was an expert crawler so she basically had no desire to sit in a high chair for more than about 40 minutes. We would take turns leaving the dining room and letting her walk/crawl around empty areas of the ship.

 

She slept through the night, loved the ship, loved looking at all the people, got tons of attention, seriously the only negative was trying to sit down because she just wanted to move!

 

As long as you're prepared for not having the 'normal' cruise experience it will be fine!

[prekteacher1]

We just got back from a cruise and in our party of 14 were 2 babies, a 6 month old and a 10 month old. They did remarkably well. The crew loved them. My great niece was a star on the ship. She was captured at the captain's party on the dvd they make of all the activities. Everyone knew Natalie! We had a great time and they were great cruisers!;) I would do it again in a heartbeat!