infant and cruising

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

I've been land bound for a while now. My DD is now 5 months old, I think is time to start looking into a cruise. I've been looking at the Harmony, I sailed the Allure before so I know it will mostly be the same. My questions are

 

1)how old should I wait until my kid is ready to cruise?

2)How hard is it to cruise with an infant?

3) will there be daycare? how about night time daycare so that I can go enough dinner/show?

 

My now diamond 12 year old daughter went on her first cruise at 4 months. Does she remember it? NO Did she have a great time hanging out with mom and dad and being the center of attention at dinner, Yes. Was it harder to take care of her on a ship than at home or visiting grandma? NO She also went to Hawaii and Rome before she turned 1. She is the bonus baby and at 12 is on her 3rd pass port. She knows how to travel, is comfortable in airports, cruise terminals, the beach, museums, ruins, etc. The way you train kids to be good travelers is to travel with them, not leave them at home. We put her in her umbrella stroller and took her to dinner and the shows. I was ready to take her to the room or walk her around if she became fussy, but she didn't. She now knows how to behave at a formal dining event and we can taker her about anywhere we want and not worry about how she will act. I will never forget when we had her at Hairspray on Broadway when (Sunday afternoon show) when she was only 18 months, we were on the front row and she was fixated on the stage. After the show the actors told us they could not keep their eyes off the baby in the audience that was following their every move for the show. The kept waiting for her to cry and she just kept smiling at them and watching.

Edited December 16, 2016 by LeesSummitCruiser1

[horric29]

I'll second that it's not as hard as everyone makes it out to be to cruise with a little one. We took ours at 8 months, no problems. She was the center of attention at dinner, loved to nap on deck in the stroller, and we caught up on sleep most nights because she was out at 8. We also brought grandma and stayed in a Crown Loft which helped, so grandma watched her two of the seven nights so we could get out. Even though there is a bit of a premium, contrary to what was said, you can purchase diapers, wipes, food, etc in advance of the cruise on Royal's site. It saved us packing space, we only packed the few diapers she needed for embarkation, and a tub of dry formula among her other things. We didn't take her to the theater shows or anything but, we were on Allure so she checked out the aquatheater and did her cooing with the characters on-board. It was a great time in all honesty just to get away. The only time we were stressed the whole week was on disembarkation. She wasn't ready to get up and the lines were long which proved interesting, otherwise it was fine. Customs got us out in a hurry when we finally made it to customs, they didn't have to but, I'm sure they didn't want to hear her crying.

[alane10]

LO is almost 20 months old and will go on his 9th cruise in Feb. He was 6 months and 3 days for his first. I don't regret a single cruise with him, and couldn't imagine having left him at home. It's been so fun to watch him respond to different things on each cruise.

 

We order off the adult menus because we like LO to try a wide variety of foods.

 

Make sure to pack plenty of diapers, wipes, thermometer, and any potential meds, and you should be ok.

 

The staff absolutely adore having young ones on board and bend over backwards for them!

 

 

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[wanderlust79]

I know you have already gotten a lot of responses and good info, but I just wanted to add a little more encouragement. :) If you are anxious to cruise again, you should do it!! We cruised with our kids for the first time last year. My youngest was 1 1/2. It definitely took some work and it was less restful than we are used to when on vacation, but it was also fun and filled with great memories!! I would happily do it again!

 

Like someone else mentioned, you have to bring everything you think you could need including meds and other incidentals. We had what seemed like 100 lbs of luggage, but the nice thing was that we had plenty of space in the luggage for souvenirs on the way home since we used up the diapers, wipes, pouches, and snacks we had packed.

 

Also, like others have said, a balcony is nice so you have somewhere to be when the little ones are asleep.

 

As for Zika, I wouldn't let that deter you. We just took our kids to Costa Rica and, despite my worrying about mosquitoes and zika, we had a great time! There are some pretty decent natural bug repellents and repellent bracelets you can use. We applied it often and I don't think the kids got a single bite in a week.

[artypharty]

. There is in cabin babysitting that is available on a first come, first served basis which runs around $20 per hour.

 

I wouldn't count on the in cabin babysitting. We have taken our two grandsons on a cruise every year. We have never been able to schedule in cabin sitting.

 

The Tots nursery has an hourly cost, but was well worth it to have some adult time in the evening. The grandsons are now 5 1/2 and 2 1/2. The little one doesn't remember anything about his 2 prior cruises but the older one remembers vividly and is constantly asking when we are going on another cruise. While cruising he wakes up every morning asking to go to the kids club. He loves everything about cruising! When the little one was crawling it was awful, I was constantly cleaning his hands and toys. Pre-crawling or post-walking is best.

 

Also, the crew goes out of their way to help, no matter if its finding a table in the windjammer or getting you something you need once seated. We found it super easy to cruise with the little ones.

[alane10]

And to the Zika question...Badger has an organic spray that has seemed to work pretty well. We also use Badger for LO's sunscreen and love it.

 

 

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