Cruising with 7 month old

Hello,

My husband and I love to cruise and have been wanting to go on one, but we now have a new baby. She will be about 7 months old when we are thinking of going on a oasis class ship. Questions:

1. Can cruising with an infant be fun?

2. Did you feel confined with not enough space in cabin? ( she won’t be crawling yet but likes to stretch out , roll around some)

3. Did you spend a lot of time napping in cabin or did your baby nap in the stroller while out doing activities ?

4. Were you able to dine in the dining room? Did you sit with others or alone ?

5. Does the cruise offer any baby type foods ( hey they should since they charge a full price fare!)

6. As for the nursery, could you drop baby off for an hour here and there to do an adult activity ? Did you need advance reservation ? Did you feel the staff were good with babies ? Was the nursery crowded and did it feel clean ?

7. Could you get a medical grade fridge \ freezer to keep breast milk frozen ?

8. What types of things did your baby seem to enjoy on cruise ?

9. Is there a cabin location / type that worked best with infant ? Can’t afford suite but want a balcony at the very least .

10. Did you feel cruise accommodated your infant ?

11. Did they need a passport?

12. What types of things to do in ports ?

Any other tips will be appreciated !

You'll probably find cruising with a 7 month old very tiring. New everything will bother her.

I cruised with a 6 month old on another line and Ive tried to be as honest as possible.

Hello,

My husband and I love to cruise and have been wanting to go on one, but we now have a new baby. She will be about 7 months old when we are thinking of going on a oasis class ship. Questions:

1. Can cruising with an infant be fun?

Sometimes, but not for me

 

2. Did you feel confined with not enough space in cabin? ( she won’t be crawling yet but likes to stretch out , roll around some).

 

Yes very tight in cabin with crib, and mine was crawling on every surface.

 

3. Did you spend a lot of time napping in cabin or did your baby nap in the stroller while out doing activities ?

Nap in cabin 1-2 hours, in at 8 pm for bedtime. Take her walking in night if she fussed so she didn't wake to other cabins.

 

4. Were you able to dine in the dining room? Did you sit with others or alone ?

We took turns eating while someone walked her as she fussed. Ate with family.

 

5. Does the cruise offer any baby type foods ( hey they should since they charge a full price fare!)

?unsure?

 

6. As for the nursery, could you drop baby off for an hour here and there to do an adult activity ? Did you need advance reservation ? Did you feel the staff were good with babies ? Was the nursery crowded and did it feel clean ?

N/A for ship we were on

 

7. Could you get a medical grade fridge \ freezer to keep breast milk frozen ?

No.

8. What types of things did your baby seem to enjoy on cruise ? Being carried and fawned over by strangers.

 

9. Is there a cabin location / type that worked best with infant ? Can’t afford suite but want a balcony at the very least .

Your choice

 

10. Did you feel cruise accommodated your infant ?

Yes

 

11. Did they need a passport?

Yes

 

12. What types of things to do in ports ?

Beach

 

Any other tips will be appreciated !

 

IMHO I would recommend waiting until your child is a little older. I found that age exhausting but 10-12 months much easier to travel with. To do it again I would wait until my child was walking and sleeping through the night (that being said my 3 year old is working on the sleep thing still). Dining room is probably a stretch, even my older children get fussy waiting through the courses, it may be that a buffet or room service dinner would suit better.

 

 

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You don’t need passports on closed looped cruises.

It’s exhausting with a baby wherever you go, but at least you don’t have to cook or clean while on a cruise. Book a suite if you can so you can get perks like priority boarding, eating dinning room meals on your stateroom, concierge, bath tub in room, etc.

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We've cruised with our kids at every age (up to 8, so far), and 7MO is one of the easiest if you go into it with the right expectations. The only part more difficult that day-to-day life is getting all the stuff transported to the ship.

However, your expectations do have to be right. You can't expect to go to late shows, or long/hot adult excursions, unless you have some sort of childcare.... just as at home.

There is no age factor to passport requirements. If the parents can cruise without a passport, the child won't need one either. If you do need a passport for whatever reason, your child will also need a passport.

I don't know about a 'medical grade' refrigerator. They most likely will have the hotel type, which don't do a great job. However, some ice would probably do well enough to lower the temp and keep it down. You might want to contact their special needs department and see what they can do.

We were able to eat in the MDR at that age. We sat alone, and the kids just slept through it.

With twins, the crew totally doted on our kids. They generally love to see infants, since they are away from their families.

We have generally done balconies since having the kids. However, that's on Carnival or MSC where the cost of the 3rd/4th passengers are only slightly higher for the more expensive cabin. I believe that on RCCL that is not typically the case.

1. Can cruising with an infant be fun? - Of course! You have to adapt and be easy-going, but we have always had fun cruising with our son (started around 11 months)

2. Did you feel confined with not enough space in cabin? ( she won’t be crawling yet but likes to stretch out , roll around some) - We co-slept (and still do) so a crib was a non-issue. but ask for a pack and play and collapse it when not using. I felt the room gave me sufficient enough space.

3. Did you spend a lot of time napping in cabin or did your baby nap in the stroller while out doing activities ? - No, My kid slept/sleeps well in his stroller (get one that can recline almost/all the way. Also, a carrier is SO helpful. Lots of sleepy time naps on my back. Did this for bedtime (stroller sleep while we took turns in the casino, used noise cancelling headphones for shows) too, but we are easy-going and don't depend on a schedule.

4. Were you able to dine in the dining room? Did you sit with others or alone ? - We did my time dining with a kid. Also used child care (royal ships with the royal babies and tots nursery, would not cruise without that option) and family for one cruise. Be prepared to take turns leaving. Sat alone/with family only.

5. Does the cruise offer any baby type foods ( hey they should since they charge a full price fare!) - you can generally find soft foods to mash up/cut up. We brought pouches too. It is what it is food-wise.

6. As for the nursery, could you drop baby off for an hour here and there to do an adult activity ? Did you need advance reservation ? Did you feel the staff were good with babies ? Was the nursery crowded and did it feel clean ? - This applies to RCCL as I don't think there is a nursery option on carnival. We loved the nursery and it fit our needs from first (11 months old) to last (at just under 3 years old) childcare needs. my kid is now 3 and can use regular kids clubs. I felt it was VERY clean with lots of handwashing and scrubbing down of surfaces and toys. Staff was good. We cruise when kids are in school, so not crowded. Needed reservations but easy to come by in our case.

7. Could you get a medical grade fridge \ freezer to keep breast milk frozen ? - Not sure. We used mix of boob, frozen BM, and formula. Frozen stayed acceptably frozen for most of cruise in fridge with ice.

8. What types of things did your baby seem to enjoy on cruise ? - Everything. They are kids, everything is new. 7 months old are amused by shapes and colors, and there is a lot of that on cruises. We liked to find empty lounges/areas to let ours run and crawl in. RCCL has toys you can borrow.

9. Is there a cabin location / type that worked best with infant ? Can’t afford suite but want a balcony at the very least . - Sandwich yourself on a deck with cabins above and below. Its quieter. Every time we have gotten a balcony I hardly use it since we are out and about so much. But its nice to have. Our upcoming is a window room as its a bonus cruise.

10. Did you feel cruise accommodated your infant ? - Sure, it seems like the staff loves kids. I am not picky though. And don't need special attention.

11. Did they need a passport? - No.

12. What types of things to do in ports ? - Walk around, go to the beach, go to close-by attractions. Let us know where you are cruising and we can give you ideas.

Hello,

 

My husband and I love to cruise and have been wanting to go on one, but we now have a new baby. She will be about 7 months old when we are thinking of going on a oasis class ship. Questions:

 

1. Can cruising with an infant be fun?

 

2. Did you feel confined with not enough space in cabin? ( she won’t be crawling yet but likes to stretch out , roll around some)

 

3. Did you spend a lot of time napping in cabin or did your baby nap in the stroller while out doing activities ?

 

4. Were you able to dine in the dining room? Did you sit with others or alone ?

 

5. Does the cruise offer any baby type foods ( hey they should since they charge a full price fare!)

 

6. As for the nursery, could you drop baby off for an hour here and there to do an adult activity ? Did you need advance reservation ? Did you feel the staff were good with babies ? Was the nursery crowded and did it feel clean ?

 

7. Could you get a medical grade fridge \ freezer to keep breast milk frozen ?

 

8. What types of things did your baby seem to enjoy on cruise ?

 

9. Is there a cabin location / type that worked best with infant ? Can’t afford suite but want a balcony at the very least .

 

10. Did you feel cruise accommodated your infant ?

 

11. Did they need a passport?

 

12. What types of things to do in ports ?

 

Any other tips will be appreciated !

I think the answers to most of your questions totally depend on you and your baby.

Is baby go with the flow? Adaptable? Do you go out and about a lot at home? If yes, y’all will have a great time!

I loved traveling with my kids at that age. They can’t move yet and everything made them excited! I don’t think you can go wrong taking baby on a cruise. It’s my favorite way to travel with kids.

The cabins provide plenty of space as long as you keep it organized and clean.

I hope you have a great time!!

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As to my previous reply, I should have mentioned- we're Canadian and always need passports.

Also, my experiences were combined with my baby being the youngest of 3. So we were travelling with a 5yo, 2yo and 6 month old- travelling with one baby may be very different (easier).

Happy travels, I've heard Royal is great for the tiny ones.

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Hello,

My husband and I love to cruise and have been wanting to go on one, but we now have a new baby. She will be about 7 months old when we are thinking of going on a oasis class ship. Questions:

1. Can cruising with an infant be fun?

 

Yes, as long as you go in with appropriate expectations. It will not be the same as cruising without an infant, but it can be fun for everyone!

 

 

2. Did you feel confined with not enough space in cabin? ( she won’t be crawling yet but likes to stretch out , roll around some)

 

We did fine, although we booked a mini suite on one cruise and a small suite on another. Once we don't need the pack n play anymore the smaller rooms will be easier than they are now.

 

 

3. Did you spend a lot of time napping in cabin or did your baby nap in the stroller while out doing activities ?

 

This one completely depends on your kid. Mine would NOT sleep in a stroller. Ever. But he would sleep in a baby carrier pretty well, so I wore him a lot. And we did spend some extra time in the cabin napping. Which frankly my husband and I also enjoyed!

 

 

4. Were you able to dine in the dining room? Did you sit with others or alone ?

 

Yes. We only sat with our family, but we cruise mostly NCL and always prefer to sit with only our family. When we did choose the buffet (mostly for breakfast or a quick lunch) again baby wearing was super helpful!

 

 

5. Does the cruise offer any baby type foods ( hey they should since they charge a full price fare!)

 

Some do and some don't. My son was 10 months on his first cruise and on a combination of breast milk, baby food, and "real" food. We brought our own baby food and they were great about providing other easy to eat foods like yogurt, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, etc.

 

 

6. As for the nursery, could you drop baby off for an hour here and there to do an adult activity ? Did you need advance reservation ? Did you feel the staff were good with babies ? Was the nursery crowded and did it feel clean ?

 

 

We did not travel on a ship with a nursery. They did have a play room you could use with your child, and we enjoyed that. The #1 most helpful thing we brought with us on both of our son's cruises so far was at least one set of his grandparents!! They will be joining us again when we take my daughter on her first cruise in May. She will be 9 months and my son will be 4 then.

 

 

7. Could you get a medical grade fridge \ freezer to keep breast milk frozen ?

 

 

I didn't ask, but I found the mini fridge plus some ice to be fine for keeping a couple of bottles cold. I only took freshly pumped milk with us, not frozen. I also took my manual pump.

 

 

8. What types of things did your baby seem to enjoy on cruise ?

 

 

Pretty much the same stuff he enjoys in day to day life! Choose the things YOU will enjoy that you think your little one will tolerate rather than trying to pick stuff that is "for" them at this age.

 

 

9. Is there a cabin location / type that worked best with infant ? Can’t afford suite but want a balcony at the very least .

 

We did a mini suite (aka slightly larger balcony room) on our baby's first cruise and it worked great because we could enjoy the balcony while he napped, and it also had a bath tub that was helpful.

 

 

10. Did you feel cruise accommodated your infant ?

 

Yes, but we didn't really ask them to do anything other than provide a pack n play for our room and a high chair for meals.

 

 

11. Did they need a passport?

 

If you need one, your child also needs one. If you don't, your child doesn't (assuming you and your child have the same citizenship). We get them for our kids even though we sail itineraries that do not require them, because we think the risks of needing to change plans or fly back from somewhere increase a lot when you have kids.

 

 

12. What types of things to do in ports ?

We have done a duck tour, taken the bus or ferry into the city (in Bermuda) and explored there, gone to museums/parks/shops/etc. within walking distance of the ship. We have also left our son on the ship with my parents at one port while we went and did stuff he couldn't do.

Any other tips will be appreciated !

My most helpful things in addition to the answers above are: taking grandparents with us, baby wearing, disposable bibs, and small trash bags for dirty diapers!

As to my previous reply, I should have mentioned- we're Canadian and always need passports.

Yep, that's why the best answer is that it's not age dependent. If the parents need a passport, the child will also... at least 99.99+% of the time.

Not getting into politics, but the recent news makes the point there there is a corner case where the child legally has US Citizenship due to having been born within US borders, but the parents are not citizens (but are here legally and hence able to cruise on their passports.) Good luck selling that to the $15/hour check in agent though...

and small trash bags for dirty diapers!

Actually, save those Walmart (or other) grocery bags. Even though they all seem to have holes, drop that diaper in and wrap it around a few times and you're golden. Much cheaper than trash bags.