Anyone Regret Bringing An Infant?

[jam82]

We cruised with DS at 11 months for the first time. It was so easy. He slept through dinner every night in his stroller. We did a four day 'test' cruise with him before we took a big cruise when he was 15 months. We had only been on seven day cruises before and the four day cruise was a totally different environment than what we thought it would be. Once we got over our initial shock we had a great time.

 

DS is now two and has been on 7 cruises. We have number 8 and 9 booked. We cruise on Carnival so there was some child care available even when he was under a year. If I had waited until now to start cruising with him, there would be no cruising. However, since we know how things work and what to expect, we go and have a great time.

[karen_cpa]

Not quite! P&O will allow you to leave your little one their night nursery from 6 months. I believe Cunard may be the same, and possibly Disney too.

 

Cunard will take your little one during the day as well from 1 year...so in this case if the OP waits another month this option would be open to them.

 

Good to know, thank you!

 

Those lines aren't even on my radar, as I honestly did not think either P&O or Cunard were "family friendly" and Disney is just too expensive, IMO.

 

For the mass-market lines, the youngest Kids Club we found was 2, with the majority being 3.

[FigmentsKiss]

I think a lot of it depends on the ship and/or cruise line and your child. We cruised with DD when she was just under 6 months old. We had a blast. It was a TOTALLY different cruising experience then any of our other cruises, but I have no regrets. I wasn't suddenly on vacation and getting to sleep in. Still had to feed her and change her diapers, BUT I had a stateroom attendant to clean out the diaper genie and make our beds in the morning. It wasn't a lets sit on the balcony for hours and do nothing, but we had so many new and different experiences that we had never had before.

We are cruising with DD again in November, and at 17 months I know it is going to be a lot harder, but DH and I love to cruise and figure if this is what we "teach" her, it will be easier as she gets older.

[jfhandel]

Good to know, thank you!

 

Those lines aren't even on my radar, as I honestly did not think either P&O or Cunard were "family friendly" and Disney is just too expensive, IMO.

 

For the mass-market lines, the youngest Kids Club we found was 2, with the majority being 3.

 

P&O has a strong presence in the family cruising marketplace, at least in the UK. We cruised with them in 2008 and found their childcare to be outstanding (and this is from wifey who is a teacher and a v. fussy mum). P&O is a Carnival brand but is generally not marketed to the US, as I guess Princess is pitched in their place, and Carnival picks up the families. From a posting on the P&O board it seems that you can book P&O with a US TA.

 

On the other hand, its fair to say that Cunard do not pitch themselves at the family market at all, which is strange as they frequently have free kids offers and have excellent childcare as well. Clearly Cunard have a much stronger US presence.

[Kerry's Girls]

We are cruising with DD again in November, and at 17 months I know it is going to be a lot harder, but DH and I love to cruise and figure if this is what we "teach" her, it will be easier as she gets older.

 

I think this is really true. My girls started at 13 months and then have cruised at least once a year. For their 4th birthday we did a 2 week cruise and because of our past travels and keeping up the manners training at home, they were great every night at dinner, had good manners at shows, etc. And they would MUCH prefer to go on a cruise than go to Disneyland - which is great for mommy!

 

Best,

Mia

[Sky616]

Our son will be 8 months in October when we cruise the Freedom of the Seas. And honestly, we never even considered taking him. We are taking our other son who is 8 years old. Now that the time is getting near we keep talking of how much we will miss him. He is such a delight to be around. But we know he will be in great hands at grandma's and grandpa's for the week. They are excited to keep him.

[beachchick]

Our son will be 8 months in October when we cruise the Freedom of the Seas. And honestly, we never even considered taking him. We are taking our other son who is 8 years old. Now that the time is getting near we keep talking of how much we will miss him. He is such a delight to be around. But we know he will be in great hands at grandma's and grandpa's for the week. They are excited to keep him.

 

No doubt you will miss him like crazy! But...This will be a wonderful opportunity to spend one-on-one time with your 8-y/o. No matter how easy going he is and no matter how much he loves his baby brother, I'd wager that he feels just a wee tad "overlooked" sometimes these days. What better way to give him (and you) what he needs from mom and dad. Plus, he'll probably enjoy some time in the children's program--which means that mom and dad can catch up a bit on "couples" time. Another plus is that your 8-m/o will get to spend quality time with grandma and grandpa. I think that's so important (when it's possible; it isn't always). I bet grandma and grandpa are looking forward to their own time spoiling their delightful grandbaby. It's a win-win-win-win all around.

 

Have a terrific cruise.

 

beachchick

[Sky616]

No doubt you will miss him like crazy! But...This will be a wonderful opportunity to spend one-on-one time with your 8-y/o. No matter how easy going he is and no matter how much he loves his baby brother, I'd wager that he feels just a wee tad "overlooked" sometimes these days. What better way to give him (and you) what he needs from mom and dad. Plus, he'll probably enjoy some time in the children's program--which means that mom and dad can catch up a bit on "couples" time. Another plus is that your 8-m/o will get to spend quality time with grandma and grandpa. I think that's so important (when it's possible; it isn't always). I bet grandma and grandpa are looking forward to their own time spoiling their delightful grandbaby. It's a win-win-win-win all around.

 

Have a terrific cruise.

 

beachchick

Everything you say beach chick is pretty much dead on. Thanks for this great post. My in laws are farmers and have a 125 acre farm so they are quite busy in spring and summer and don't get to see our kids enough so this will be some good bonding time for them with their grandson. Our oldest has never said anything but you're right, deep down he probably feels a little left out even though he is crazy about his baby bro.

[sas80]

Anyone regret bringing an infant: never

 

DS cruised when he was 5.5 months, 9 months, 15 months, 18 months and will be cursing again in one month when he is 25 months old. This will be DD's first cruise at 9 months (gosh, it goes so quickly!)

 

It does get easier as they get older and more independant, but I have never regretted bringing him.

 

He first rolled over on a cruise ship....my baby boy....<sniff>

[bicoastalbabe]

Help please! We are HAL/Princess preferring grandparents who want to take our kids (with 3 little girls who will be 2, 4, 5 1/2) on a Christmas cruise on the West Coast. I have been reading tons of postings about cruising with kids and also about reports of cruisers on the various ships and am now thoroughly confused. We want a good time for the kids, time off for mom and dad but also a good cruise for us and mom and dad who are fairly traditional and like good food, etc.

 

Our choices are: Sapphire Princess, 7 days; RCCL Radiance of the Sea, 12 days; NCL Norwegian Star, 7 days and HAL's Oosterdam, 7 days.l

 

The 12 days of Radiance is a plus, but not if one of the others will be a better cruise.

 

I know that NCL takes 2 year olds in their child care program which would be very nice, but I have just read a string of horror stories about their child care, and cruiser reports were pretty bad about their food and cruise experience.

 

I would love any experiences or comments. Thank you so much for helping a despairing grandma.

[isk8]

Help please! We are HAL/Princess preferring grandparents who want to take our kids (with 3 little girls who will be 2, 4, 5 1/2) on a Christmas cruise on the West Coast. I have been reading tons of postings about cruising with kids and also about reports of cruisers on the various ships and am now thoroughly confused. We want a good time for the kids, time off for mom and dad but also a good cruise for us and mom and dad who are fairly traditional and like good food, etc.

 

Our choices are: Sapphire Princess, 7 days; RCCL Radiance of the Sea, 12 days; NCL Norwegian Star, 7 days and HAL's Oosterdam, 7 days.l

 

The 12 days of Radiance is a plus, but not if one of the others will be a better cruise.

 

I know that NCL takes 2 year olds in their child care program which would be very nice, but I have just read a string of horror stories about their child care, and cruiser reports were pretty bad about their food and cruise experience.

 

I would love any experiences or comments. Thank you so much for helping a despairing grandma.

 

What about the Carnival Splendour? She's in LA and she's a new ship. I believe Carnival takes 2 year olds in the Camp Carnival.

[ceilidh1]

Anyone regret bringing an infant: never

 

DS cruised when he was 5.5 months, 9 months, 15 months, 18 months and will be cursing again in one month when he is 25 months old. This will be DD's first cruise at 9 months (gosh, it goes so quickly!)

 

It does get easier as they get older and more independant, but I have never regretted bringing him.

 

He first rolled over on a cruise ship....my baby boy....<sniff>

 

My daughter took her first, unassisted steps while on a cruise! Priceless memories...

[ozzie6913]

Great point that cruise ships are a step ahead in child proofing due to rough sea concerns...I never thought of that.

All of the comments have been very helpful! I think that we will be going on the cruise after all, and I'll take supplies that may not be easy to find on the ship or at the ports.

Even sleeping in a room with DS for a 2 hour nap sounds like a GREAT vacation to me! ;)

[Roatanfans]

I'm right there with ya! I'll be cruising with my DD, who will be celebrating her 1st birthday ON the cruise! I am honestly looking forward to the experience, and I'm sure it will be an experience!! This will be my 4th cruise, first with a toddler. So I already know what to expect, somewhat. You didn't mention if you have cruised before?

I can only really compare to the vaca I took recently (first with DD).. We decided to do a road trip to Atlantic City for 4 days. I was so proud of myself after packing for an infant for the first time, got all the way there, and realized I only had the 4 or 5 diapers:eek: that were in the diaper bag!!! Yep, forgot the pack of diapers I had put into our other car, so we wouldn't forget them! (We decided to take a different car last minute.) So, learn from my mistakes and make sure you anticipate everything you need, because you can't walk a few blocks to get to a Rite-Aid! (I have no idea if they have this stuff onboard, and might be hard to come by in Belize or Honduras.. Who knows!) I have been scouring the boards to find out info. and have been compiling a list. Inflatable bathtub b/c no bathtub in our cabin, (can also double as a pool b/c babies are not allowed in the pools) things like that. My husband thought I was nuts for bringing infant tylenol and a thermometer to AC.. Guess who got a fever? And I can tell you, it wouldn't have been me driving around AC in the middle of the night looking for Tylenol! Just bring stuff for every sniffle, fever, etc. and you will be all set. When we went to AC we stayed on the strip, my husband would go to the casino for an hour or so and I stayed in the room with the baby, browsed the shops, etc. and we switched off. Worked out great! Gives you some time to relax and wind down. Sure you will have to miss shows, but there is plenty of other things to do, and think of all of the fun memories you will have! I can't wait!

 

 

I took my then 3 mo old son to Roatan for a month and I can assure you that diapers (both regular and swim) are available at almost every little shop on the island! You may not have as large a selection (I never had a problem getting the pampers I liked), and prices on the premium brands are more, but if you run low you won't have a problem.

[dreaminofsun]

Personally, I would have never left my kids even over night when they were under 2 so it would either be take them with me or don't go at all. I would never turn down the opportunity to go on a cruise so therfore of course I would take the baby with me with no regrets!

[CanadianTwosome]

I didn't have the pleasure of cruising with my daughter until she was 9, but we did travel on land twice while she was still in diapers - once at 3 months and once around 14 months. Both experiences were wonderful. I had my beautiful baby with me, PLUS I was on vacation!!

 

Is it more 'work' than travelling without a baby? Of course, but I'll take changing diapers on a cruise ship over doing it at home any day! It's all about perspective, too... I never considered it 'work' to play with her, feed her, dance with her... you get the picture. :) Oh... and there's nothing like seeing your child's face as they experience things like the ocean for the first time - at any age. Wonder is wonder. :)

 

Are you able to relax with a baby along? That depends... are you able to relax with your baby around at home? If your baby never sleeps, never sits quietly, and never gives you a moment's peace, it's not going to make any difference where you are. Travelling with mine was incredibly relaxing - for one thing neither of us had to work, so it was a lot easier to take turns and rest at times when we might not otherwise have been able to.

 

As so many have said, you have to know your baby and choose accordingly. If they're not ready for travel, don't put either of you in that position. If they are, you'll have a wonderful time. :)

[cantw8togo]

We took our oldest DS on our first cruise when he was 6 mos old and it worked out great. We booked an outside room so that when he was napping, we could still see what was happening outside. We could even see flying fish from our second story port hole that were hard to spot from the upper decks. We took enough diapers for the week and I left them in the package as they are much more compressed and take up less room than when you take them out.

 

He was eating some solid food at that point and I took along a baby food mill so that I could puree food from our meals. The Happy Baby Food Grinder was easy to use and clean. Our cabin didn't have a fridge to store open baby food jars, but our cabin steward was great about keeping the ice bucket well stocked with ice.

 

I also took a well stocked toiletries bag including a thermometer. Pedialyte is available in powder form making it easier to pack.

 

We had such a good experience the first time that we did it again when DS #2 was 14 mos and DS#1 was 4 1/2yrs. Our youngest was a reluctant walker and he learned to walk while on the cruise because he didn't like the way the carpet felt. Talk about your sea legs! :D We had a balcony cabin on that trip thinking that we would sit outside during naps however you can't hear a thing coming from inside when the doors are closed due to the wind and the cruise lines don't like you to leave the door open due to the air conditioning. I don't know if baby monitors would work in this case and others may have experience with this.

 

We took a reclining folding umbrella stroller but didn't end up using that much, although I was still glad that we took it. I often used a strap-on baby carrier so that I didn't have to worry about stairs and other obstacles when off the ship.

 

You will likely have a great time but you need to do what is right for you and your family.

 

Hope this helps.

N.

[kitty9]

Help please! We are HAL/Princess preferring grandparents who want to take our kids (with 3 little girls who will be 2, 4, 5 1/2) on a Christmas cruise on the West Coast. I have been reading tons of postings about cruising with kids and also about reports of cruisers on the various ships and am now thoroughly confused. We want a good time for the kids, time off for mom and dad but also a good cruise for us and mom and dad who are fairly traditional and like good food, etc.

 

Our choices are: Sapphire Princess, 7 days; RCCL Radiance of the Sea, 12 days; NCL Norwegian Star, 7 days and HAL's Oosterdam, 7 days.l

 

The 12 days of Radiance is a plus, but not if one of the others will be a better cruise.

 

I know that NCL takes 2 year olds in their child care program which would be very nice, but I have just read a string of horror stories about their child care, and cruiser reports were pretty bad about their food and cruise experience.

 

I would love any experiences or comments. Thank you so much for helping a despairing grandma.

 

 

Personally, with a 2 year old, I would cross HAL off the list. They have no programs, not even after hours babysitting, for the under age 2 set. I would pick a line that has a program for the 2 year old.

[Kingisacruiser]

In July, I took all of my kids on their first cruise. A 12 year old (she was relatively no problem), a 4 year old, a 3 year old and a 1 year old. All in all, it was an okay cruise. After about the 2nd day, we wised up and put the 3 and 4 year old in Camp Carnival for dinner. The 12 year old would have went to Circle C if it was in session but like I mentioned above she was easy. The 1 year old, made dinner a little difficult. There was a family in the lower dining room who had a 1 year old and she was perfect. She and her mother also left half way through dinner each night. I'll tell you what was most embarrassing- the 3 youngest children were so fidgety (the nice way to describe it) during the uster drill, we were told we didn't have to stay the duration of the drill. Actually, a staff memeber said, the children seem tired you don't have to stay for the rest of the drill. How embarassing!!! We were basically asked to leave the muster drill :eek:. I walked passed everyone with my head down in shame as we left the drill. But then again, the muster drill is described as a necessary annoyance, but I didn't want to be asked to leave.

[Kerry's Girls]

We were basically asked to leave the muster drill :eek:. I walked passed everyone with my head down in shame as we left the drill. But then again, the muster drill is described as a necessary annoyance, but I didn't want to be asked to leave.

 

We are always allowed to leave muster early, so it may not have been because of your children's behavior at all. I think it's a courtesy they often allow families with children, knowing that many families have had a hard travel day already. I think they may have been trying to make you happy and more comfortable, not insult you. But it's nice that it sounds like you are very considerate of your fellow passengers and are raising well-mannered children.

 

Best,

Mia

[beachchick]

I think Mia is right on about the muster drill. We've often seen families with young children excused early, especially if the crew notice that the children are tired or getting fussy. Responsible parents aren't going to try to sneak off and will do everything possible to calm their children, but sometimes youngsters really are too excited-tired, travel-tired, heat-tired, hungry-tired, or some combination. So the crew have some discrection to allow parents to leave early.

 

Please don't be embarrassed because your young children were being, well, young children. Were you doing everything in your power to calm them and "rein in" their behavior? I'm guessing you were. In that case, you have nothing to be ashamed about. You didn't try to get a pass on the drill or simply allow your children to run wild while ignoring them. Truly, it's not unusual for parents with very young children to be excused early.

 

beachchick

[Julienatul]

We personally feel cruising is the easiest vacation with an infant. We started sailing with DD at 7months and it was so great we did it again at 12mo, 19mo, 24 mo, 27 mo and 3 yrs! We have also taken her to Disney 3 times and Hawaii once and cruising is by far the easiest since everything is right there. We are now taking DS 8mo on his first cruise this weekend. Sure it is nothing like cruising pre-kids, when you can lounge in the sun all day, wake up at noon and stay up till the wee hours of the morning but neither is ANY vacation not to mention your whole life once you have children. You have the responsibilities of the child. If you are looking to escape that, then yes leave them behind and enjoy yourselves. For my family, my husband and I both work full-time, so we like to enjoy ourselves and our children on vacation. Someone cooks, cleans and waits on me for a change. We bring grandparents along and take turns so noone gets stuck doing everything. If the baby is tired, we can go back to the cabin and the rest of the family can still enjoy themselves. Not true at Disney or a land resort..if you are out at a restaurant or sightseeing or at a themepark and baby is tired, your stuck unless everyone hops in the car to go back. We love cruising with our kids. They are growing way too fast and one day we will be back to lounging in the sun all day without a care in the world but for now we are making lasting memories together as a family.