booster seat - worth the hassle??

[melanie1877]

Hi,

We are travelling on the Carnival Pride on May 2, and have port stops in Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport. I have a 3yo who weighs about 37lbs. I know that technically the rule is 4yo or 40lb to switch from a car seat to a booster, but I purchased a booster for this trip, because it is much smaller and lightweight for travel, and he is big for his age, and just about ready to make the switch. We plan on taking a shuttle / taxi (whichever is available) to Cocoa Beach for the day in Florida. In Nassau, we are booked for the Blue Lagoon excursion, which is by boat, but then we plan on visiting Atlantis, possibly going to dinner. In Freeport, we would like to visit Lucaya Beach for the day.

My question is this....should we bother with the booster seat? Will we be able to use it in these locations, or will these transportation vehicles not be equipped with seat belts. I know some people mentioned that some shuttles don't have car seats, but I think I also remembered someone saying that you needed it for travel in Fl. I don't want to have to remain on the boat in Fl, which is our longest stop, because I don't have a car seat. But then again, if it's not going to be used, I would hate to lug it along for no reason. Even though it is smaller than a full size car seat, it's still cumbersome!

Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks so much for all of your help!! This board has been a lifesaver in helping me to plan my family's very first cruise!:D

[tropiclvrs]

You will definitely need a booster or car seat if you plan on taking a taxi or shuttle van in Florida as it's required by law. Even if you don't use it in ports, at least you have it just in case and it can easily be stored under the bed in your cabin.

 

We are in a similar situation as you, and I decided to bring the full booster seat for my 3yo (her b-day is tomorrow :) ) Based on suggestions from this board we will simply put in a duffle bag and either gate check it or carry it on the plane with us. Even though it may be a bit cumbersome it is definitely worth it for safety reasons.

[mom2isabella05cole08]

FL law actually DOESN'T require a booster or car seat for children over 3. I know this because I live in FL and was SHOCKED when someone pointed me to a website that had carseat requirements for each state. Not that I recommend NOT using one (my 4.5 is in a booster and will be for as long as necessary...DS is 15 months and still rear-facing as it's safer and he still meets the height and weight limits for the seat)

 

This site isn't specifically for the county that Port Canaveral is in, but it still states what the state law is (it's for Broward County, but I personally have no idea where that is) http://sheriff.org/safety/carseat.cfm It does say that they SHOULD sit in a booster if the seatbelt doesn't rest where it's supposed to, but unfortunately FL is behind on the car/booster seat laws.

[Julienatul]

I wouldnt bother if its a short trip and you wont be driving far. We have taken DD on 10 cruises and only brought the carseat when she was an infant. We just hold her on our lap or put her in the seatbelt. Most taxis in the carribean dont have seat belts.

[crusinmama06]

I always cringe at some of the responses on these threads and it might be because I live in a state where the laws are more strict (the laws in PA are 80/8).

 

So I will reserve my gut reaction (yes this will be tough ;) ) and just state the facts of our experience....

--in Florida, yes there will be seat belts in the taxis

--in Nassau and Freeport, (in our experience in these ports), we have gotten into the taxis and there have been seat belts

[Cruisin' Chick]

I too live in a state with strict child restraint laws. I didn't move my girl from car seat to booster, and then from booster to regular seat belt until I checked with her pediatrician. And it drove me crazy when I was a drop off volunteer at her grade school, and saw that many of the kids weren't using booster seats.

 

We did take her car seat when she was much younger. On the plane, it was checked luggage (she did have her own seat, but apparently the car seat didn't fit), and we used it in our rental car. The girl only came off the ship in one port so we were a bit nervous using a taxi then.

 

Her booster seat did dissemble so we used a duffle bag and rope to keep the pieces together for when we traveled. Hubby would quickly put together the booster seat and place in any taxi cab we were taking, and the package would go into the closet in our cabin very easily.

[RoadTripFanatic]

Since your child is so young I'm going to assume that you have him in a high back booster. I know these are a pain to drag around. I would highly recommend that you take it with you. I know I hate dragging those things around but at least use it in FL while driving to the port. I have taken my small child in taxis in the Caribbean without a booster. I was terrified out of my mind that something would happen. I would take the booster. It will safe you some stress.

[lafdcruiser]

Its funny, we just took two boosters with us to FL and Caribbean, for my 5 and 2 1/2 year old and they never were used once. The van we rented in FL before the cruise supplied a seat for us. When we got off the ship in FL the guy threw them in the back of the bus with the luggage. We didn't even take them of the ship in any of the ports. The bus or taxi rides were too short and we were going to be on boats that had no room for them. I almost regret even bringing them to begin with cause we had to carry them and the kids everywhere. You might want to check with the excursion to see if they can provide one, then you for sure don't have to.