Questions about cruising with an infant

[bananasforcruises]

Hi everyone. I am taking my first NCL cruise in July on the Jewel. It will be for 2 adults, 1 10-year old and 1 10-month old.

 

The only other cruise I ever took was when my nephew was 7 and it was with Princess Cruise Line. This cruise will be a totally different experience since we will have a 10-month old with us.

 

We will take turns watching my nephew in the evening so we can enjoy some shows and the casino. Has anyone ever taken an infant who is sleeping or just not crying into one of the shows?

 

My 10-year old nephew will probably join the kids clubs in the evening, but during the day he will want to be in the pool swimming. I understand by law that babies who are not potty trained can't go in any pool. Has any adult ever just walked around a pool in shallow water holding a baby in their arms and scooping up water in their hand and wetting their baby's head?

 

Do people usually bring a blow up pool and fill it and put it near their lounge chair and let an infant sit in it? Is there a place near the pool area on NCL Jewel where we can fill up a blow up pool? Is there a place to empty it also.

 

Most of our days will be sitting by the pool and taking turns swimming, but we don't want to leave my 10-month old nephew cooped up in his stroller.

 

Any suggestions will help. Thanks.

[khm1]

Do people usually bring a blow up pool and fill it and put it near their lounge chair and let an infant sit in it? Is there a place near the pool area on NCL Jewel where we can fill up a blow up pool? Is there a place to empty it also.

 

Most of our days will be sitting by the pool and taking turns swimming, but we don't want to leave my 10-month old nephew cooped up in his stroller.

 

Any suggestions will help. Thanks.

I took my DD when she was 12 months on a RCCL cruise. We did not take her anywhere near the pool itself, it is not permitted.

 

I bought a blow up bathtub at Babies R Us and used that. They have them in Target too. It also will come in handy in your cabin if you don't have a tub. We filled it up with a beer bucket from the bar. We used a shower on the pool deck that is there for rinsing off before and after swimming. I am sure it was cleaner than the pool water. I don't know if NCL has these, but you can probably find out. We dumped the water down the drains on the pool deck. Everyone that saw her in her pool said "What a great idea!" Please see the photo below!

 

Don't worry, you will have a great time!

[cb at sea]

Babies certainly can go into the shows...most are quite entertained by the lights, sound and colors! If they get antsy, you can always take them out!

 

Do not attempt to take baby into the pool....do get one of those small, blowup ones that can easily be filled, and then emptied into a floor drain. Anyone in diapers (adults, too!) are a major health issues in those small pools.

[YOWmom]

We took our 11 month old to the show one night when she had a particularly late afternoon nap and she absolutely loved it. We sat on the first row of the balcony so she could stand on the floor in front of us (don't worry - there was a plexiglass barrier!) and she bopped along to the music, which was so loud I'm sure no one would have heard her even if she did fuss... We also tried the blow up tub but she just kept crawling out of it - at that age, she was really too young to know what she was missing by not being allowed to go in the pool so it wasn't an issue for us.

[NJfoodie]

We just came off the jewel last week w/ our 14 month old. There is space on the pool deck immediately next to the pools since they are figure-8 shaped. You may be able to tuck a small blow up pool in one of the indents in the middle. There's a wood bench surrounding the pool which would likely be the middle ground where you can camp out and play w/ the baby outside the pool, and watch the older child in the pool. Alternatively, you can probably sit on the bench with the baby in your lap since it's not "in" the pool, and let the baby splash around with water in your hands or in a bucket. We were going to do that w/ ours but he dozed off in the stroller on the way to the pool deck so we ended up parking the stroller in a shady spot and enjoyed relaxing for a little while next to him w/our feet dunked in the pool. Enjoy your trip!