Baby on Board ~ Our Cruise Review

[cryce]

We (myself, DH and DS age 6 months) just returned from our Christmas cruise on RCI Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera. We had a great time! We were a large extended family with people of all ages and kids ranging in age from 6 months to 6 years. Every family is different, but here is some family specific info and tips that worked for us...

 

I can't take credit for most of the ideas as I got them from others on this board :D

Things we totally needed and couldn't have lived without:

- blow up pool

- Maclaren umbrella stroller

- Small, easily washable toys like links, stacking rings, etc. which I washed each night

- Mesh laundry bag which we hung from the towel rack and used to dry bottle parts, toys, etc

- "No Zone" UV suit for baby...the sun was MUCH hotter than we were used to

- Playtex drop in disposable bottle system. We use Born Free at home but bought a starter pack of the Playtex and brought those as we thought they would be easier...and they were SO easy. I brought 10 bottles, could have easily gotten away with 5 as I washed each night

- Ready to feed formula in both jars and cans...expensive, but SO worth it to have it ready to feed and not to have to mix powder

- Small "white noise" machine which helped baby sleep through any onboard announcements or noise. We just brought the one from his room at home which runs on batteries.

 

Things we wished we had:

- small bottle dishsoap...we actually DID have one but accidently left in the hotel in LA

- disposable baggies for diapers...we had meant to bring them but forgot and ended up using various plastic bags instead

 

Other tips:

- We did bring a car seat as we needed it from the airport to the port. We lucked out because both there and back we were able to use it on the plane too...most airlines will allow you to bring the car seat to the gate and if there is an empty seat on the plane, priority goes to lap infants. They (Alaska airlines) even switched around our seats and moved other passengers so that my son could have an empty seat beside us. And this was traveling at Christmas! So my advice is to always bring your car seat and ask nicely for an empty seat. If they truly don't have one, the airline will gate check your car seat for free. As a result of having his own seat, DS slept the entire flight down to LA!

- We were not given an infant life vest in our stateroom and after days of asking for one, I just gave up. We had brought our own (Salus brand, size 20-30lbs) to use on tenders so I didn't worry too much.

- We did not have to wear life vests for the muster drill. I wore my son in our Ergo carrier and had to cover his ears when they rang the alarm. They let us go early from the drill (seemed to let all the families with babies and kids sneak away early) and we were able to beat the elevator rush and get back to our room.

- I had no concerns about the quality of the drinking water on the ship. We all (including baby) drank it without concerns.

- Larger strollers would have easily fit through our ship's corridors and in every area we went (pool, dining room, etc.) The only problem would be elevators which seemed to always be packed and we could barely squeeze in with our Maclaren. IF it was a busy time of day, we just used our Ergo carrier instead and took the stairs. I did see families with double wide strollers though and they were getting around no problem.

- Our son was easily overwhelmed and became overstimulated quite quickly on the ship. We didn't expect this, especially considering he got in all of his naps and slept straight through each night. We underestimated how the noise, the people, and all the activity would affect him. We had a few meltdowns on the first day and learned quickly that he could handle about an hour of time out and about and then needed to come back to the room for some quiet play. We would read a book, cuddle on the bed, and wind down to nap time....and then we'd do it all again!

 

RCI Specific:

- All of the staff were so helpful whenever we needed anything for the baby. At dinner, his highchair and steamed veggies were always ready and waiting and at the Windjammer (buffet) at breakfast and lunch there were always staff who wanted to hold him and play with him...not that we expected them to, they just geniunely seemed to love babies

- Our ship had plastic, restaurant style highchairs with an added bonus....trays! I was not expecting this and it was so great to be able to let my son play/eat with some finger foods to keep him occupied without messing up the dining table.

- We (group of 12 extended family) had the 6pm seating in the main dining room. We asked our waitress to expedite dinner as best should could each night. With kids of various ages (one who was dying to get back to kids club each evening) we didn't have time to linger. My husband and I were done with our main course each night by 7pm and our waitress always packaged up dessert to go for us...we would leave with the baby and let the rest of the family enjoy a more leisurely dessert. DH and I would go back to room, settle baby, and then sit and have dessert and a glass of wine on our balcony.

- We had a junior suite which had both a bathtub (so helpful) and a walk in closet. We took our baby bjorn travel crib and it fit perfectly in the closet with room to spare. The closet had it's own air vents and was not stuffy. It was dark, quiet and allowed us to still move around in our cabin, use the washroom, order room service, etc. while DS was napping. Some may think it strange to put a baby in a closet but ours is used to sleeping in his own room and it worked perfectly for us.

- The ship's Pack n Play was immaculate and was all set up in our stateroom on arrival. It looked brand new. There was a proper cotton fitted playard sheet over the mattress. I felt bad that they had set it all up and had to take it away as we had our own. If I hadn't brought ours (we needed it for the hotel precruise as they did not have cribs available) I would have had no problems using the ship's...and I'm germ-o-phobic.

- There was Royal Babies playtimes each day in the morning and afternoon and was split between 6-18months and 18-36 months. It was just set up in an empty lounge and included a bunch of different Fisher Price toys. They played music, had crafts, and let the babies and parents interact. Although I was worried there would be nothing for us to do with baby on the ship, we found these playtimes plus pool time, pushing him around the deck in the stroller, quiet play in the room, etc to fill our days just fine.

- RCI has a partnership with Fisher Price and we were given an awesome toy (all wrapped up with his name on it!) for our son on Christmas morning and they also had free toys and DVDs being given away in the baby play time!

- there were NO baby change stations in ANY washroom on board. This meant we had to go back to the room whenever DS needed a diaper change. A bit of a hassle but we made it work. I am very surprised though that a cruise line that is actively marketing to families would overlook this.

Overall, a great trip and I have no regrets bringing a baby on the cruise. DH and I did miss out on some things (nightlife, excursions, etc.) but the family time together was so worth it.

 

Any questions, please feel free to ask!

[calikak]

Great review, thank you!

[sandytoes03]

Thanks for the review! What did you do with your son while in ports? Do you go to any beaches?

[crusinmama06]

Welcome back. Thanks for the review. When's the next cruise? :D

[QTMichele]

This is perfect timing for me - we're leaving on the Freedom this Sunday with my girls and 14 month old son. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to write about your experience with your baby. Although our kids are in different stages, it's great to read your suggestions as many do apply to us! :) Thanks again!!!

[Carolin]

Thank you for the wonderful review. :D I never thought about the trash bags. Excellent tip.

[leighuf]

Yay for you and taking baby along! It requires a bit more packing and planning, but it's so worth it! Great review. :)