Cruising w/ a Baby on Carnival

[MistyRo76]

Hubby and I are taking a break from cruising to have our first baby this fall....but we are already thinking about baby's first cruise! :p I was thinking of waiting until the little one is over a year old, so we would be looking at next fall to cruise. We were also thinking of trying to make it an extended big family cruise.

 

Just curious about everyone's experiences traveling with an infant. What do we need to know, need to bring, tips, hints etc. Is one year old too young?? Are there better cruises/ports for travel with a small one?

 

I know it's early...but we'd like to book this summer and just want to start making some plans!

 

Thanks!

Misty

[klfrodo]

Never too early to cruise with a little one.

I'm sure you know there is a "Family" board here on CC.

 

My daughter and her hubby brought our grandson on our last cruise. He was about 1 1/2 at the time.

One of the best things they did was they pre ordered diapers and such to be delivered to the hotel pre cruise so they wouldn't have to pack all that stuff for their flights.

 

The grandson received personalized attention from the servers in the MDR.

 

Side Note: Whenever he would start to get tired or fussy, mom or dad would excuse themselves and take him to a more private area.

[swalton85]

We sailed when our son was 10 months old and had a good time. I definitely think going with family is your best bet though so you can have someone to watch your lil one while you and dh get some alone time :)

 

the best advice is to just go with the flow and try not to make plans because you are on baby's schedule. We brought a blow up tub for baths and just put it right in the bottom of the shower. I would also recommend a balcony room so you can have somewhere to go while the baby naps:)

 

as far as ports, it would be easier to go places that have things to do within walking distance so you dont have to worry about transportation and carseats.

 

if you have any specific questions I'll be happy to answer them! :)

[MistyRo76]

Great tips so far! The blow up tub sounds great...not sure I would've thought of that!

 

Definitely thinking the extended family cruise is the way to go. I'm sure we'd have no shortage of babysitting volunteers to give hubby and I some alone time. And it's a good excuse to get the whole clan together for some fun.

 

Thanks!

Misty

[Aoumd]

GREAT tips and a great thread to start! DW and I already know we'll want our first vacation as a family to be a cruise (DW's first vacation was a cruise when she was a toddler) once we have kids, and I'm a planner type, so this is interesting.

 

Great idea about the balcony, didn't think of that but a great idea for naptime. Also a great reminder about carseat logistics in ports!

Edited February 22, 2014 by Aoumd

[MistyRo76]

We would always book a balcony anyway...but definitely a great place for us to hang out while baby naps. Maybe it would even be worth it to splurge for an aft wrap! :D

 

Question - Does Carnival provide a crib or do we need to bring a pack n' play or something like that?

 

Also, what are everyone's experiences with Camp Canival for the wee little ones?? My only experience with Camp Carnival was when we took my husband's 7year old and 10 year old on a four day cruise last fall. They seemed to enjoy it!

 

Thanks!

 

Misty

[klfrodo]

Carnivals cribs that they provide is a pac-n-play

 

Your's will be too young for Camp Carnival. They don't take kids that young.

[MistyRo76]

Carnivals cribs that they provide is a pac-n-play

 

Your's will be too young for Camp Carnival. They don't take kids that young.

 

My PVP sent me some info about the Under 2 policies for Camp Carnival. It says that they do take kids under 2...but they do not put them in the scheduled activities like the other age groups. They have scheduled under 2 time on both sea days and port days and also will take them during Night Owls time.

 

I didn't think initially that Camp Carnival would be an option for a one year old.

 

Thanks,

Misty

[Tapi]

I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend that you look at cruise lines that offer more than Carnival for infants (which is basically nothing). Unfortunately the "Under 2's" is an age group greatly neglected on Carnival.

 

Royal, Disney (and to a lesser degree NCL and Celebrity) offer kids programs and activities starting at 6 months of age.

 

The Royal Babies and Tots program on Royal Caribbean is absolutely phenomenal, with a nursery available from 8am until midnight, Crayola and Fisher Price sponsored activities (both for just the babies and infants as well as for them and their parents), free play areas available all day, and even an in-cabin TV channel specially for small children (believe me, having "Little People" episodes playing on your TV can be a life saver)!

 

One of the BIGGEST differences between Royal and Carnival is the Baby H2O Zone. On some Royal ships, there's an area on the pool deck exclusively dedicated for babies and infants still in diapers. Water is temperature controlled and separately filtered so that your little one can actually go in the water. There are even infant sized loungers surrounding the area!

 

Another thing that Royal offers is the ability to pre-purchase baby food and diapers and have these items waiting for you when you arrive in your cabin. It's not cost effective, but it's very convenient not having to haul that stuff in your luggage, which can normally take A LOT of space. It's just another way to make your cruise with a baby a little bit easier.

 

Unfortunately, none of the things mentioned above are available on Carnival which is why I encourage you to look at Royal. We did Carnival twice and Royal once before our son turned 2, the difference was HUGE. You won't fully understand how huge until your little bundle of joy is here. :)

 

 

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Edited February 22, 2014 by Tapi

[Tapi]

It says that they do take kids under 2...but they do not put them in the scheduled activities like the other age groups. They have scheduled under 2 time on both sea days and port days.

 

 

Misty

 

 

The hours are ridiculous and basically useless. For 2 hours on sea days (8am until 10am), and from port arrival (usually from 9-10am until noon). The charge is $6.75 per hour plus 15% gratuity.

 

 

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[TheCalicoCat]

"we" waited until our son was 2 so that he could enjoy Camp Carnival - he loved it!

 

We chose carnival because the Pride leaves out of Baltimore & we could pack all the diapers, etc. without worrying about a flight. (Also at 2 he was eating regular food - one less thing to pack/worry about.)

 

The crib was not a pack & play - it was metal.

 

He is now 5 & has been on RCCL & HAL & enjoyed their clubs too.

 

We don't have a TV or buy licensed products so - we never thought about Disney or any line/ship that has any of those extras. If you are into that kind of stuff then that might be something to consider.

Edited February 22, 2014 by TheCalicoCat

[stargate fan]

Hubby and I are taking a break from cruising to have our first baby this fall....but we are already thinking about baby's first cruise! :p I was thinking of waiting until the little one is over a year old, so we would be looking at next fall to cruise. We were also thinking of trying to make it an extended big family cruise.

 

Just curious about everyone's experiences traveling with an infant. What do we need to know, need to bring, tips, hints etc. Is one year old too young?? Are there better cruises/ports for travel with a small one?

 

I know it's early...but we'd like to book this summer and just want to start making some plans!

 

Thanks!

Misty

 

Please know that babies and children who are not potty trained are not allowed in the pools nor hot tubs, not even with swim diapers.

[swalton85]

The carnival crib is a white metal one that they just put a regular sheet on. I brought one of my sons sheets to put on it instead. I think you can take your child to the camp carnival area when it's not in use and let them run around and play with the toys. They do offer babysitting at night, we didnt use it so I dont know much about it :)

 

the staff is amazing with babies and they give them special attention! Our steward would always call our son by name and would stop to talk to him (so sweet!) :)

[SadieN]

Bring everything with you, including meds.

 

Look on the Family boards for more info on traveling with a baby.

[kyleandjenna]

Just a personal opinion here, but I would avoid ports that tender until baby is two or older. We just finished a trip that included Grand Cayman and Belize and I can't imagine having taken our daughter (two year old now) when we was an infant. The Belize tender in particular was a pretty lengthy boat ride in a very enclosed space.

 

 

 

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[Beckyv]

My daughter is 19 months and has been on 3 Carnival and 1 RC cruise and i would say go for it! Her first cruise she was 8 months and her last she 16 months. We had a great time on each.

 

We always travel as a large family. Me and O/H, mum and dad and my brother and his g/f. Like has been said you have babysitters on hand so it makes everything so much easier.

 

I enjoyed both cruise lines but RC did seem have to have much more going on, however as we don't use the baby sitting service and only briefly used the free play it didn't matter to us. To be honest i didn't want to leave my baby with people i didn't know and having family there meant we got a break without having to.

 

Plan lots and you will be fine.

[MegnJoe]

You sound like me. DH and I are having our first baby (in 3 weeks? any day now?), and we have already started talking about our next cruise. We are looking to book one for next year, when she is about a year old. We realize it will be very different from our previous cruises, but we are excited for it.

[pebblesjns]

I am going to go against the crowd and say from our experiences, traveling with an infant has been so much easier than traveling with a toddler.

 

We cruised last April on the Magic with our three year old and our barely six month old (he was 3 days over six months...pretty much timed out to when he would be old enough to cruise). My in-laws did come along with us, which was great to have the help, especially since we live 12 hours from all of our family so we don't get a lot of date nights or alone time throughout the year. Our six month old was pretty happy just to hang out wherever we were. He liked to sit and look around and would fall asleep during the evening shows. He even slept through the magician and all the noise. It was pretty easy after dinner because we could just hold him or put him in his stroller and go watch the shows or go to karaoke or whatever else and he would just sleep through it all.

 

We stopped at Grand Cayman, which is a tender port, and had no issues with the whole process. We were able to keep him in the stroller getting on. On the way back it was pretty rough seas so the crew actually carried both our kids off the tender and handed them over to my husband. No problems whatsoever.

 

We are taking a cruise in April this year as well, and the boys will be 4 and almost 18 months. My mom is coming with us this time. I am more concerned about how it will be with the little one this trip because now he is mobile and curious. Last year he had just learned to sit up but wasn't mobile so we could sit him down or carry him and he was content. Not so much now.

 

Good luck with your decision. We are expecting our third in August and are planning a cruise next spring!

 

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Edited February 23, 2014 by pebblesjns

[bosoxfan23061]

just out of curiosity....what, if any, cost is there for a toddler (approx. 2 1/2)? Is it an extra "person" in the room?

[soulsistah007]

just out of curiosity....what, if any, cost is there for a toddler (approx. 2 1/2)? Is it an extra "person" in the room?

 

Apparently, it's the same cost as a 3rd adult. There isn't a discount for kids of any ages.

 

I most likely will be taking my 10 month old with me next year with our extended family. I've read some reviews here of cruising with infants and toddlers and they have been extremely helpful!

[mousecrazy]

My advice would be to travel when your child is either not mobile, or wait until they are fully mobile. In other words, avoid the crawling phase. It's very difficult to find safe, clean places for a baby to crawl on a ship. For this reason, I think the best age to start cruising would be around 18 months. At this time, your baby will be steady of his/her feet and will have an established routine. Maybe even 2 years, if you can wait that long...then you and your baby can take advantage of Camp.

[092306]

We took our son on his first cruise at 11 months and again at 14 months. The one at 11 months was way easier since he wasnt walking yet. Its way easier in my opinion to take them when under a year versus a toddler. My advice is to bring all meds you could possibly need and more diapers than you think you will need. We were down to 1 by the last morning and I thought I brought too many! Also bring snacks he/she is used to eating. DS barely ate anything from the ship and we were glad we had food for him. Family boards have a lot of good info.

 

 

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[Princess Ariel]

We just got off a cruise with our 16 month old. We had also cruised when he was 10 months old. I have to say it was much easier when he was younger and not fully walking. He wanted to walk and get into everything especially the elevators! When he was younger he was much more content to be in arms and not want to do things for himself yet. Both were great cruises and I can't wait for our next one!

 

Definitely bring plenty of diapers and meds. since you can't get these easily on board. We also brought diaper disposal bags so that the steward didn't have to touch a bare diaper and any smells were contained.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Princess Ariel

[Crusin Hogs]

Remember any crying from the baby can be heard thru the walls into the next cabin . Last cruise we had a crying baby next door to us .....EVERY day and at night . Carnival gave us 15% off our next cruise.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Crusin Hogs

[missy428]

My baby brother went on his first cruise the month he turned 6 months old, and he's going on his second this August (he just turned 1 last month). He's also been to Atlantic city and New Orleans this year. The little bugger is going to be more well traveled at 3 then I am at 26.

 

My dad and step mom always pack plenty of clothes in case of accidents, he has a lighter stroller he travels with, heavier then an umbrella with storage underneath but much lighter then the all in one car seat thing. Lots of wipes and diapers on cruises were there is no stop on Florida, (they pick up extras in port)They always stay in a suite and sail out of New York (where we live). They bring and use bottled water for his bottles and the powder although I know you can get premixed formula in individual packets. The baby is a wild sleeper so they don't take the pack and play anymore cause it's hard to crush a baby that keeps kicking you in the face...

 

 

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Edited March 20, 2014 by missy428