5/18 Freedom of the Seas Review- Baby Cruise!

[leahlovescruising]

Hello everyone! I am new to the boards but wanted to write a review from the prospective of traveling with a 10 month old. I hope it'll be helpful to those traveling in the future with a young child.

 

ABOUT US:

 

I'm Leah, 28, self employed. My husband, Matt , 32 does something with computers (I probably will never really understand what he does). And of course our wonderful son Miles who was 10 months at sailing. This was my 4th RCCL cruise and my husbands first cruise ever. We are very comfortable traveling with our son as this isn't our first big trip with him however it was definitely a bit different- but FUN! We booked this cruise a month out as a Anniversary trip/having another baby and it'll be forever since we do big trips, vacation.

 

My little family :)

 

Because he's so cute

 

Port Canaveral Transportation and Hotel

 

Because we were traveling with our son I knew the best option for our travel from MCO to the hotel would be by private car as I could request a infant car seat. We booked with Orlando Chauffeured Services. I could not find a ton of reviews on them but what I did find was great. I would highly recommend them and use them again. They were waiting for us in baggage when we arrived and helped us with all of our luggage and there was a lot. We also used them on the back back to MCO and we did have to wait a little bit here but it wasn't more than 10 minutes. Roundtrip was $200 and we tipped $20 each way to our driver.

 

For our hotel we ended up booking Four Points Sheraton Cocoa Beach. We booked our cruise a month out and at this point the inventory was pretty low. However, I wanted to take Miles to the beach for the first time and this hotel was only a block away. We also had a grocery store and Walgreens across the street, if needed. The hotel itself is nice, our room was spacious and just fine for 1 night where all we'd be doing is sleeping. We ate at the hotel restaurant which was actually awesome and quick despite being very busy. There is a surf shop with plenty to blow your money on. They also sell a lot of drug store items for the same price which was great- no running to Walgreens. The only complaint was we asked for a crib 3x and it never got delivered. In the end, no biggie, I'll never complain about baby snuggles :)

 

Hotel Shuttle: Awesome! We had maybe 10 people on ours so there was no lobby congestion, no confusion, nothing. We got to the lobby 5 minutes before boarding and easy peasy. Much different than the zoo when I cruised out of Miami. Glad that wasn't the case.

 

 

**random packing tip: Ziploc for the kids. This was a lifesaver and so easy!

[leahlovescruising]

BABY PACKING LIST

 

I did a lot of research on what to pack and went also by what I thought we would definitely need and stuff that was just that, stuff. These are the things I took beyond the normal baby stuff needed.

 

STROLLER: First Years Jet Stroller. Would I take again? NO. While it was lightweight that that was really the only good for us. I think there is not enough storage on the bottom and I really do wish we bought something that reclined a bit more. It did work for us but I could have been fine with a big stroller because we had the storage (we stayed in a family interior)

http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-Stroller-City/dp/B002WB2G9I

 

STOLLER FAN: This was GREAT to have. It kept Miles cool and kept him entertained when he was fussy. For as much playing and chewing on it the thing is still in great shape. Never had to replace the batteries either and it was on a lot!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043IS18I/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

SHADE TENT: We bought this for CocoCay and that port was cancelled so this never got used. However we just returned from a weekend away and got to use it. LOVE IT. It's big enough to fit all of us in comfortably and very easy to set up. I'd def. take this again on a cruise...and hope to get to use it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009PUTIE/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

WATER FLOAT: LOVED THIS! We used it in ST Martin and Thomas and it def. got it's use. It was so nice to have my arms somewhat free.

http://www.target.com/p/swimways-baby-spring-float-animal-friends-with-sun-canopy-giraffe/-/A-15125662#prodSlot=large_1_15

 

For the normal baby stuff: 2 weeks worth of diapers, 2 weeks worth of formula (which we actually JUST had enough) I am sure it was the heat that called for the extra fluids. 2 outfits per day (didn't use 6 outfits), 2 bathing suits with top/bottom/swim diaper. Medicines, wipes, etc etc. I did not bring many toys because you can rent out toys for the week which was great.

Edited June 12, 2014 by leahlovescruising

[leahlovescruising]

ROYAL TOTS - A++++

 

We booked our Royal Tots hours the first night of the cruise. You can prebook 16 hours and on Wednesday if there are openings you can book more.

 

We did 11-1 on Sea Days and 5:30-8 for dinner expect for 1 formal night (you can only book 1). We picked the times based on his naps. We wanted to take him into it well rested and happy. (very much the opposite of what most babies looked like). We figured the happier the baby the happier the sitter and US!

 

I must say, I was hesitant. Miles is only watched at home by a nanny. We do playdates but he is not in a regular daycare setting so I was not sure how well he would do. Because of the times we took him, he was great and they loved them. I would truly bring these girls back to Ohio with me if I could. \

 

This also helped us relax some on vacation. We enjoyed 5 nights of dinner having adult conversation and not jugging puffs around. But by the end of dinner we were ready for our baby again. Funny how that works. I'd def. recommend taking advantage though. I think it's very important to have alone time with our spouses :)

 

 

H20 ZONE: BABY SPLASH ZONE

 

Splash Zone is all the way to the left right above the circular pool. Blink and you may miss it.

 

the depth

 

He loved tasting the water, ew!

[leahlovescruising]

PORTS

 

 

Cococay canceled = sad Leah. This was the one place I was so excited about because it was easy travel with a baby. I do have to say though, I would not book this itinerary again. With CC cancelled it was just too many sea days (4). By the last day I had enough sun and water and was a bit over it. Western next time.

 

St Thomas: Last minute shore excursion booked through RCCL to Magens Bay. What a wonderful time this was! It was not long but with a 10 month old you really do not need that much beach time. We had 2.5 or 3 hours there, I forget. The drive though was definitely a good 20+ minutes each way but on th way back we did make some stops to see the views. I believe the excursion was just Magens Beach excursion. I also do not remember price :/ Maybe $25 each?

 

 

 

When we got there it wasn't too crowded and by the end it had even less people. We were able to find a good spot in the shade and eventually move to a picnic table. Had we gone down the beach even further it would have been less people. The water was wonderful, so refreshing! They also do have a changing area here and girls walking around taking drink orders. (S-L-O-W).

 

We also got to stop for some gorgeous views which was a nice surprise.

 

Selfies are not my kids strong suit ;)

[leahlovescruising]

ST MARTIN

 

St. Martin was a pretty decent day besides the fact I was pregnant and hot which means I was cranky and hormonal. I told my husband to just have some beers, ignore me and let me buy something I probably didn't need before I got over myself. Ahh, the joys of being pregnant. Once I was done acting like a 14 year old girl, life was better.

 

So, we had no plans here but I wanted to go to the beach and I didn't want to take a cab anywhere so we just took the water taxi over and went from there.

 

 

We did some shopping and walking around and then decided to eat at Blue Bitch (I think that is the name). It was taking forever and now my child was turning into the crabby pants so I took him for a walk before we settled on some beach chairs. I did NO research on my ports and just winged it. I am not sure if you can just use some of the beach chairs or if they are all paid only. Eitherway we settled on $20 for 2 beach chairs, wifi (what a joke) and some drinks. Our chairs were right by the water, I was full and my kid was starting to cheer up. Life is good.

 

View from the water

 

Further down the beach

 

life is rough

[MaryL31]

Hi! We were on the same cruise, and also stayed at the Sheraton in Cocoa Beach. This was our second cruise on Freedom...we did the same itinerary 4 years ago. Interested to see what else you have to say...we had no complaints...

[Sunkissed Mommy]

BABY PACKING LIST

 

 

 

STROLLER: First Years Jet Stroller. Would I take again? NO. While it was lightweight that that was really the only good for us. I think there is not enough storage on the bottom and I really do wish we bought something that reclined a bit more. It did work for us but I could have been fine with a big stroller because we had the storage (we stayed in a family interior)

http://www.amazon.com/The-First-Years-Stroller-City/dp/B002WB2G9I

 

I really liked the Ignite for our first cruise with a baby. Slightly upgraded model from the Jet. I completely agree with the storage issue on those strollers though. The space is hard to get to. However, a few months after- we sold it and bought the Chicco Liteway. Slightly more expensive, but I bought it when Babies R Us had a trade in event. This stroller is magnificent for travel. About the same size as the Jet/Ignite. It fits in a standard cruise closet. Better storage space and it fully reclines :) I prefer to use the Liteway over my regular stroller now back home.

 

 

I love the ziplock bag idea! Thanks for your review, I'll continue to read the rest now. From a fellow traveling mommy :)

Edited June 13, 2014 by smileyperry