Car Seat Question - beaches/excursions?

[carpeperdiem]

Yet another car seat thread? Can't you search the forum first? (I did, otherwise I wouldn't be typing...)

 

* My DW and I are in full agreement that the laws of physics apply equally on vacation as it does at home -- there is no way we will allow our 3-1/2yo DD to ride in a car (anywhere) without her Britax Marathon. It also makes the plane ride more comfortable for her and easier on us (she will sleep in the car seat, but annoy everyone if she's not strapped in on the plane). As new yorkers, we break our rules occasionally when we have to do a taxi/bus/train -- but then we still make sure she's belted in when possible. DD is 39" and 35lbs

 

* We are also travelling with DD8 - who is borderline tall enough to lose the booster... but this post is really about the car seat...

 

We are on Carnival Magic Aug 26 -- in a balcony (8C) for the 4 of us... my questions:

 

1. Will the closet in the cabin hold the Marathon? Will there be room for anything else in the closet? Will Carnival store our carseat somewhere for us?
   
2. We are thinking of either getting the BRICA Roll ‘n Go - video:
   or buying a Sit 'n Stroll on craigslist for $50 (then sell it when we get home)
   
3. SO far so good -- but then we are concerned about port days -- WHAT DO WE DO with the car seat when we go to the beach? In Montego Bay we are thinking Doctor's Cave... we have a travel bag (canvas duffel) that we put it in -- but the thought of lugging it in the sand is not a pleasant one. I know we can get a real taxi in Jamaica for the car seat. Has anyone done this? I can contact Doctor's Cave too... just looking for experienced family cruisers?
   
4. Grand Cayman is still up in the air for us... we don't even know if we will be able to tender -- but I am hoping to do a snorkel/beach excursion -- I am NOT going to take the carseat on a small excursion boat - so this going to require some planning (which I don't really want t do).
   
5. Cozumel - we're thinking paradise beach - but possibly Chankanaab and some kind of Dolphin encounter -- the DD8's jaw dropped when I told her there was a *possibility* of a dolphin encounter... but if there is no place for carseat storage, it's not gonna be possible.
   

 

DD3 is gonna be 4 in november, and she's essentially dropped the stroller for around town and neighborhood excursions... but airports and beach days may wipe her out and the ability to roll her on something makes the sit-n-stroll or the Roll ‘n Go attractive (and worth the investment).

 

We will only travel in real cars/vans and we will not be doing bus or organized tours. And forget about the "Safari Buses" - BC (before children) we spent considerable time in the Virgin Islands and I was almost thrown out of a safari bus on St. John a day before my wedding. Ouch. My children are not going to ride in these, period.

 

Hoping to get some first-hand local knowledge from parents with kids this age who have done that/been there. WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR CARSEAT on beach and water excursions?

PS -- if anyone says that car seats aren't needed -- please keep it to yourself. You can do anything you want with your kids, but my DD3 will sit in a car seat if she's in a car. No other discussion needed. Thanks.

[cello56]

First of all - YEAH!!! Parents with common sense!! I applaud you for your sensible attitude towards child safety!

 

I went on Amazon and searched car seat travel bags and several came up that look to be both protective and have straps for carrying like a backpack. Would that work for your needs?

[ComeSailWithME]

I can only answer your one question.. and that is yes, Carnival will store your car seat. Ask your room steward on embarkation day.

[carpeperdiem]

I can only answer your one question.. and that is yes, Carnival will store your car seat. Ask your room steward on embarkation day.

 

Awesome. Hopefully, it will not be a big deal to retrieve it for the port days. Thanks for the reply.

[Kerry's Girls]

I always cruised with two car seats and never had a problem fitting both of them in the cabin.

 

The only thing about the car seat on the plane is you will have to tell your daughter to be careful of not pushing on the seat in front of her. At two years old, my daughters feet were pushed up against the chair in front of her when in a car seat on a plane. You may want to try to arrange the seating so you are two and two with one of you in front of your daughter so it isn't an issue the whole flight. I felt bad for my daughter because I had to keep reminding her, but it wasn't really her fault.

 

The thing I don't like about the stroll and go is there is no sun coverage, so you may want to have a hat for her.

 

The backpack option is the best for the beach.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Best,

Mia

[Showtune]

I don't have first hand experience with any of those ports, but if it were me I might see if car rental or private tours were a possibility. I know you said you didn't want organized tours, but if a private tour could guarantee you a safe car and somewhere to leave the car seat installed while you enjoy the beach or excursion, it might be worth looking in to.

[Mom2B&Z]

Congrats on using the car seat! The marathon is my favourite car seat for travel ;)

I haven't used my seats in any of those ports, we were in Cozumel last January but opted to walk around port. I have had success storing my MA in the bottom of the closet of two NCL ships, but I don't know about any other lines. Personally I don't let my seats out of my sight, but that's me.

ITA about the comment that the MA elevates a child to the perfect height for seat kicking in an airplane. Our 4yo is sternly warned before flight, he's just happy he can see out the window since he always gets the window seat with his car seat :) You also can't lower the food tray on the plane, so eating and drinking is a little tricky. I tend to sit in the middle, with our oldest on the outside so I can easily manage food and drink for both. As for transporting it through the airport, there is a device you can use to hook it onto your rolling carry on, where the child can still sit in the seat. Could solve your stroller needs. I also used our Ergo carrier (back pack style) for airports, you child is still under the 40lb weight limit so that could work.

My only advice about seat storage on the islands is to email ahead to wherever you plan to visit and ask if they will store the car seat. I did that for Costa Maya and found the restaurant was more than willing to store the seats inside, out of the sun, in an office. No bag needed.

Please do post what you finally decide to do, we're developing a good database of information on how to use car seats successfully in many of the ports!

[carpeperdiem]

Montego Bay, Jamaica: Doctor's Cave -- they said "We don't have storage areas, however if it is not too large a seat maybe we could find someplace to store it." -- I replied asking for a personal contact, and they said, "we will try to store this for you". It sounds like this request is not common. Not 100% committed to this beach club. Still have 2 weeks.

[Julienatul]

My DS is the same age he will be 4 in Dec. and My DD is 7. We have a marathon too.We havent been on the Magic but have cruised Carnival alot and the closets tend to be the same. Yes it will fit in the closet. It will not take up much room especially if you put it in the hanging clothes closet. It should also fit underneath the bed. I dont beleive Carnival can store it for you but I have never asked so this may be possible. We have taken ours to the beach and just put it in the stroller seat while there. We always take his stroller and even if he chooses to walk holding one of our hands we can still lug the bags in the stroller. We dont really use it much onboard anymore. Also we have a Pac back which is a strappy thing that turns a car seat into a backpack. We bought ours years ago when DD was a baby,here is a decsription.

http://www.babyant.com/bv550180.html

[ComeSailWithME]

Awesome. Hopefully, it will not be a big deal to retrieve it for the port days. Thanks for the reply.

 

I'd ask your steward to bring it the night before and store it in the shower to get it out of the way and not have to worry about it the morning of so you aren't stuck waiting and risk being late to an excursion.

[crusinmama06]

I just wanted to applaud you as well :D

 

And yes - I fit everything in that closet.

[carpeperdiem]

Thanks all.

 

We bought the the

- it's amazing! It turns your quality car seat into a Sit-n-Stroll (which is a not very good car seat). The Brica product is obviously designed by a parent. They thought of everything. It's not the cheapest solution, but we found a 20% discount coupon from Buy Buy Baby.

 

We also have a canvas carseat bag that we had previously used to check the carseats -- this will protect it if needed on excursions.

 

Still trying to figure out where to put this at various beaches and destinations... I'll report back as I get confirmations.

[dseeman]

We have the go-go babyz car seat roller cart, but the Brica looks like an improvement since it has the flat fold down ledge to sit the car seat on (rather than two small 1 inch tabs on the go go). We've used the go-go on a dozen trips and couldn't travel without something similar to this product!!