Cruising with a baby?

[the cruise is on]

My husband, son and daughter-in-law were planning to cruise on Norweigian's Pride of America in June 2006. Recently, we found out we will have a new family member in December 2005! We are thrilled, but we are now trying to determine whether or not to continue with our cruising plans or to put them off for a year or two?

 

We would love to hear from those of you who have cruised with babies. How was it? Would you do it again? If it worked for you, offer some tips!

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[CaptData]

I have not cruised with one that young. Be aware that the child will not be allowed in the kids club or pools/hot tubs. Check with the line to see if they have in-room sitting (some do). If they do arrange it as soon as you board. Bring everything with you and extra diapers. They will have playpens on board for in room use as a bed (contact line asap). Good luck and congrats on the new one.

[1cruiselvr]

Some cruiselines have restrictions on the age of children allowed to cruise. Sounds like your baby will be less than six months old by August 2006. I don't think cruiselines allow children that young onboard but I could be wrong. I advise doing some research into age restrictions by cruiseline. Happy Sailing!

[Happy ks]

I, personally don't think I would care to cruise with an infant, but many people do and have a wonderful time. A few things to consider are: 1. Make sure the cruise line will allow infants this young (this is easy to investigate, their online site will have that info). 2. Understand this cruise will be a far different experience than your others, you will have some limitations. 3. Consider the health of the infant and the possibility of illness contracted during the trip (some of this will not be known until after baby is here). 4. Part of #3, an infant that young should not be exposed to sun and sunscreen is not recommended for anyone under 6 months (may be old enough by then).

 

Okay, enough of the negative, now for the positive 1. It's always wonderful to have time with your grandchildren. 2. There will be plenty of adults to share in the care and take turns with a fussy baby, so all will have some quiet time. 3. NCL is perfect for young ones with the Freestyle dining, you can eat when you need to. 4. I think NCL is one of the few lines that will not charge a 3rd person fare for baby, only taxes and port charges. 5. It will be far easier to watch a baby that is not walking than a toddler who is everywhere. 6. You will have amazing photos with your darling grandchild in a beautiful setting. 7. The onboard staff will absolutely love that baby!

 

Only you can make the final choice, do what is best for you and your family. When my kids were that young, they didn't like to be away from home, so even a weekend trip was stressful for them, but some babies love adventure! You can always cancel the reservation up to a certain point, so perhaps keep your booking and wait until after the child arrives to finalize your plans.

Congratulations on your future grandchild!

[LARGIN]

Do not know about NCL but Princess Princess minimum age requirement is 6 months for cruises of this type and you need to show the baby's birth certificate.

[Nessi]

My friend went on a cruise with an infant that was like 8-10 months old. No problems at all. She bought him this cute little tux sleeper for formal nights. I personally don't have children, but if I did have an infant: I would not be traveling without the baby; and I would not be canceling the cruise.

 

Babies are cute. They don't hog deck chairs. They don't smoke where they're not supposed to. They don't drink alcohol and get wild.

[mrg0433]

At least a baby doesn't do the "Marco Polo" routine at the pool. On the Norwegian Dawn out of NY the back of the ship is devoted to families. We went there to use the hot tubs. There are so many parts of that ship to get away from other people that I highly recommend it. I noticed alot of private areas too if the baby and Mom want to get some quiet time outdoors resting on a chaise lounge in the shade and out of the wind. That ship also has freestyle dining, so you can eat at one of 10 restaurants anytime you want. If the baby is fussy, you can always order room service and sit on your balcony. Enjoy the cruise.

[1cruiselvr]

Babies tend to cry at night and the walls of cruise ships are very thin. I don't think it's fair to the cabin neighbors to have to listen to your baby's crying. I know I wouldn't be happy about it. I go on a cruise to get some R&R and a baby crying next door would be upsetting to me. Sorry folks, but I think infants are too young to cruise. Happy Sailing!

[madelinerose]

Congratulations! I would postpone the cruise.

[springtxbill]

We went with my grandson when he was just under 6 months on the Voyager. He got a lot of attention from the staff and crew as a lot of them have small kids they have not seen in a long time. He was very good and did not cry a lot, but never has. The grandparents or other family members need to be around to share the babysitting duties.

 

There is probably no sitters from the ship for that age and check with NCL about the age requirement. Princess was hard and fast on their 6 month so we could not go on the Grand (grandson was 5-1/2 months). He will be on his 2nd cruise this next week to Alaska.

 

I would keep the cruise planned if you want to final payment date to see how the new one is as far as being fussy, etc.:)

[4boys4mom]

We took our son when he was just over one and he didn't complain about anything. I wouldn't worry about a crying baby disturbing your neighbors. The wall aren't that thin, if they were we would all know so much about our "neighbors" personal lives that I think most would be embarrased. Do check the age requirements though, and if you decide to go check with your pediatrition. You may need to juggle the baby's immunization schedule depending on the ports you'll visit. Have fun and Congratulations G-Ma.:D

[the cruise is on]

Thanks to all who have responded to my inquiry. You provided good information that I really need to consider. It is good to hear that we are not the first to consider cruising with a child this young. We usually get side-by-side rooms, so hopefully a crying baby will not disturb our neighbors. We have been on several cruises and I can't remember ever being disturbed by what was happening in the rooms on either side of ours. Of course, when I'm cruising, I try to go with the flow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yes, we are very excited about the arrival of our first grandchild.

 

Thanks, again, for your help and good wishes!!