Ports/taxis with a toddler question.....

[SandyCay]

Good evening! :)

 

I am a first time cruiser and I thought of yet another question.....go figure. LOL

I have a 2 year old and a few of the things we are looking to do at the port of calls involve traveling by taxi. Do I need to bring along my daughter's car seat with us? I am not really sure how that whole situation works.

 

Thank you in advance! :)

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Welcome to CC, SandyCay!:)

 

There are a few threads on the Family Cruise board. In case you haven't been to that one, here is the link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

 

Hope that helps.

[6rugrats]

Yes, taxis will not have car seats. Despite what some posters tell you, you should have no problem finding a cab with seatbelts.

[Hlitner]

Difficult question to answer without knowing the ports. We could be talking about St Thomas, VI or Dakar, Senegal! It's a large cruising world.

 

Hank

[SandyCay]

Welcome to CC, SandyCay!:)

 

There are a few threads on the Family Cruise board. In case you haven't been to that one, here is the link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

I'll check that out! Thank you!

[SandyCay]

Difficult question to answer without knowing the ports. We could be talking about St Thomas, VI or Dakar, Senegal! It's a large cruising world.

 

Hank

 

LOL, silly me! I guess that would help, huh? Oops!

 

Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

[Hlitner]

It St Thomas you will need to use taxis or take an excursion. Taxis do not have child car seats....most are large vehicles that carry around 20 folks. St Maarten really depends on you. You can take a water taxi from the port into Phillispburg and just spend the entire day in the town (there is a beach right in the city). If you want to go out to one of the more popular beaches or anywhere else on the island you will need to use taxis or excursions. We do not recall seeing car seats in the taxis.

 

Hank

[SandyCay]

It St Thomas you will need to use taxis or take an excursion. Taxis do not have child car seats....most are large vehicles that carry around 20 folks. St Maarten really depends on you. You can take a water taxi from the port into Phillispburg and just spend the entire day in the town (there is a beach right in the city). If you want to go out to one of the more popular beaches or anywhere else on the island you will need to use taxis or excursions. We do not recall seeing car seats in the taxis.

 

Hank

 

 

Thank you! My husband, sister, and I are probably doing the helmet dive in St. Thomas and my father is watching the baby. They might come to the observation area to watch us so I guess we would need it then.

And then in St. Maarten we are thinking about going to Maho beach to watch the planes so we would definitely need one for that. I guess I should bring it along.

 

Thanks again!

[Mom2B&Z]

Nassau has some places to walk around near the ship, we did a dolphin encounter that involved a water taxi.

In St. Thomas we went to Coki Beach and Coral world, IMNSHO you definitely need a car seat! The tour transportation was a modified F150 pickup truck with benches in the back. No seatbelts for anyone and no sides on the vehicle. It's a twisty, curvy ride up a very long hill, the thought of a child being in the back terrifies me!

In St. Maartin (Phillipsburg) we took the water taxi to town and walked around. A stroller would be fine in this port, we had the Ergo carrier which I prefer ;)

I have very polarized views on this topic, as I'm a Canadian trained car seat tech. Some people feel that car seats are not necessary because the local laws do not require them. In my opinion, whatever precautions you feel are necessary for your child's safety at home should also be taken when you are abroad. I couldn't live with myself knowing my children were injured because I felt bringing a car seat was an "inconvenience".

If you would like tips and tricks on how to make travelling with a car seat easier, there are lots of people over in the family cruises forum who have great advice.

 

LOL, silly me! I guess that would help, huh? Oops!

 

Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

[Raenstoirm]

You might want to look into those carseat stroller combos. I've seen them in the skymall catalogs. That way you wont have to carry the seat on your excursions.

[SandyCay]

You might want to look into those carseat stroller combos. I've seen them in the skymall catalogs. That way you wont have to carry the seat on your excursions.

 

 

I've decided I'm definitely bringing it. We have a Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL car seat which has a steel frame so it is slightly heavier than other seats but it folds up quite nicely and has a strap. I went ahead and bought a second strap last night so I can turn it into a backpack so it shouldn't be too bad at all carrying around.

 

Like this:

[SandyCay]

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Mom2B&Z]

Knowing which seat you're bringing...you may want to practice installing using a locking clip before you go. Some vehicles may not have UAS/LATCH bars, and you can't always count on the automatic locking retractor to work. You're right in that it is a heavier seat, but the carry strap works well.

 

Thanks for the help everyone!

[SandyCay]

Knowing which seat you're bringing...you may want to practice installing using a locking clip before you go. Some vehicles may not have UAS/LATCH bars' date=' and you can't always count on the automatic locking retractor to work. You're right in that it is a heavier seat, but the carry strap works well.[/quote']

 

 

I didn't even think of this! Thank you!

 

The locking clip is that metal square piece, right? Why would I need that? To install it with a regular seat belt?

[Mom2B&Z]

are not the easiest things to use, just to warn you. They are the "H" piece of metal usually found on the back of the car seat. If you don't have one on your seat, you can buy them at most stores selling car seats.

You need it if the seatbelt won't "lock" (aka automatic locking retractor won't engage or doesn't have a locking latch plate). In your vehicle, you're likely either using the LATCH (I think that's what they call it in the US!) or locking your seatbelt. If there's no LATCH bars, then you go to the seatbelt. If you pull out the seatbelt all the way and it starts to "click" and won't pull back out when you pull on it, the automatic locking retractor is engaged. In this case, route the seatbelt through the appropriate belt path, and tighten the belt until the seat moves less than 1" when you pull at the belt path. No locking clip required.

If neither of these options are available, then you resort to the locking clip. The simple answer on how to use it is this:

1. Position car seat on vehicle seat.

2. Route seatbelt though car seat, buckle it and pull tight. (My tip is to put your knees in the corners of the seat (where the harness comes out) and lean slightly side to side as you tighten the belt, it always gets the seat in nice and tight.)

3. One person holds the seatbelt webbing while the other undoes the buckle.

4. Attach locking clip to the seatbelt. Now the seatbelt is a fixed length.

5. Re-route the seatbelt through the belt path on the car seat, lock in the buckle. THIS IS THE REALLY HARD PART and requires at least two people. You will want to practice before you go.

Here's a You Tube videos on how to use a locking clip, this one is from Evenflo but really can apply to most forward facing seats:

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

I didn't even think of this! Thank you!

 

The locking clip is that metal square piece, right? Why would I need that? To install it with a regular seat belt?

[SandyCay]

Thank you sooooo much for the info! Now that you mention it, I am also going to have to practice how to install the seat forward facing since we do extended rear facing with my 2 year old. Unless I can fit in in rear facing but I better not count on it. I better practice just in case.

Time to Pull Out the manual! Lol

 

Thanks again! You suggested things that I hadn't really even considered or thought about!

 

 

 

 

 

 

are not the easiest things to use' date=' just to warn you. They are the "H" piece of metal usually found on the back of the car seat. If you don't have one on your seat, you can buy them at most stores selling car seats.

You need it if the seatbelt won't "lock" (aka automatic locking retractor won't engage or doesn't have a locking latch plate). In your vehicle, you're likely either using the LATCH (I think that's what they call it in the US!) or locking your seatbelt. If there's no LATCH bars, then you go to the seatbelt. If you pull out the seatbelt all the way and it starts to "click" and won't pull back out when you pull on it, the automatic locking retractor is engaged. In this case, route the seatbelt through the appropriate belt path, and tighten the belt until the seat moves less than 1" when you pull at the belt path. No locking clip required.

If neither of these options are available, then you resort to the locking clip. The simple answer on how to use it is this:

1. Position car seat on vehicle seat.

2. Route seatbelt though car seat, buckle it and pull tight. (My tip is to put your knees in the corners of the seat (where the harness comes out) and lean slightly side to side as you tighten the belt, it always gets the seat in nice and tight.)

3. One person holds the seatbelt webbing while the other undoes the buckle.

4. Attach locking clip to the seatbelt. Now the seatbelt is a fixed length.

5. Re-route the seatbelt through the belt path on the car seat, lock in the buckle. THIS IS THE REALLY HARD PART and requires at least two people. You will want to practice before you go.

Here's a You Tube videos on how to use a locking clip, this one is from Evenflo but really can apply to most forward facing seats:

Let me know if you have any other questions![/quote']

[Mom2B&Z]

I'm not 100% sure what an airline will say, knowing how tall the Radian is I imagine you'll have to go ff if you're flying.

However, there are advantages to rf in port. For one, you don't need to worry about finding a tether point! If I were you, I would practice installing it rf and ff, because the foot on the radian for rf can be tricky in some vehicles. Basically if the vehicle has a lot of padding at the base of the seat, you can't get the seat tight. If that's the case, you're better off ff. Your model isn't sold in Canada...does it have a removable foot for rf? If so, don't forget to take it off before installing ff, and I'd take it off while carrying with the carry straps.

Good luck!

 

Thank you sooooo much for the info! Now that you mention it, I am also going to have to practice how to install the seat forward facing since we do extended rear facing with my 2 year old. Unless I can fit in in rear facing but I better not count on it. I better practice just in case.

Time to Pull Out the manual! Lol

 

Thanks again! You suggested things that I hadn't really even considered or thought about!

[Hlitner]

Thank you! My husband, sister, and I are probably doing the helmet dive in St. Thomas and my father is watching the baby. They might come to the observation area to watch us so I guess we would need it then.

And then in St. Maarten we are thinking about going to Maho beach to watch the planes so we would definitely need one for that. I guess I should bring it along.

 

Thanks again!

 

It's not my style to be an alarmist, but if you are going to take a baby or very young child to Maho then it is probably wise to take some ear protection for the kids. It can get pretty noisy on that beach which is not the best thing for very young ears (or old ears).

 

Hank