Hoping for your opinion on a few things

[pepsiwoman4711]

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help. My husband and I are seasoned cruisers for our age and are ready for a vacation! We would like to bring our (now) 7 month old son on a cruise, but we have not decided the when and where yet. We have a few things we need help on though:

 

1- We're thinking about doing a 5 day, out of Tampa on the Carnival Inspiration which goes to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. We live in Florida so the commute is easy. How is this cruise for families?

 

2- I know we will want to do a tour or something that may involve transporation. However, I have concerns. (I don't mean to start the "bring your car seat" debate) but I just want to know other's experiences are with the types of vehicles used, and the option to use a car seat or something. However, I can honestly say I've never seen a car seat be carried off/on a ship.

 

I'm still searching threads all over this board, but any personal insight on this is appreciated.

[tamsocal]

can't address Florida specific cruises-- but re: cruising with infant-- definitely much easier cruising for us out of our home port vs traveling/flying to alternate port & swayed our cruise choices a few times.

car seats- we have carried them off multiple times (but they are in travel bag/backpack- so might just look like we are carrying off luggage on a port day ;)

Personal choice for us-- but if the shore excursion involved riding in any type of vehicle that we would normally use a car seat for at home-- we do the same on vacation or we dont go on that excursion-- little bit of a hassle to take the carseat but worth the peace of mind for us

[shellito1012]

In Cozumel we took our carseat and our stroller. It was a pain and in the end, though my daughter was in her car seat....the cab had no seatbelts! So her carseat was not buckled in. I think we are opting to NOT take the car seat on our next cruise. We are only doing one excursion where we are taking a bus and she will be in our lap.

[cb at sea]

In GC, they have cheap buses, so no carseat will be needed. No need for cabs!

Any cruise will be fine for families....or anyone, for that matter!

[jtm22372]

we did east carr. this past jan w/18 month old and did not bring a car seat . we mainly did beach days at ports with some shopping and sightseeing.it was very fun did not miss doing excursions at all and keeps our sns bill down .

[onthelake]

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help. My husband and I are seasoned cruisers for our age and are ready for a vacation! We would like to bring our (now) 7 month old son on a cruise, but we have not decided the when and where yet. We have a few things we need help on though:

 

1- We're thinking about doing a 5 day, out of Tampa on the Carnival Inspiration which goes to Cozumel and Grand Cayman. We live in Florida so the commute is easy. How is this cruise for families?

 

2- I know we will want to do a tour or something that may involve transporation. However, I have concerns. (I don't mean to start the "bring your car seat" debate) but I just want to know other's experiences are with the types of vehicles used, and the option to use a car seat or something. However, I can honestly say I've never seen a car seat be carried off/on a ship.

 

I'm still searching threads all over this board, but any personal insight on this is appreciated.

 

Carnival cruises are always family oriented so don't worry about that. As for the car seat, I must admit that when my son was young (now 16) we did not worry about that. We usually walked or used public transportation. There are the stroller to carseat combo use contraptions to consider - might pick one up at a resale shop. I have seen folks with a light-weight, almost foam type of child seat. It was one of those things that I wish I had.

 

Think ahead about what you want to do in each port. In Grand Cayman, you will be right in Georgetown. Seven-mile beach is 10 minutes away. In Cozumel, pretty much the same, the beaches are 10 - 15 minutes in most cases. Or if you are just sight-seeing/shopping, no need for transportation. Or, maybe you want to pay for babysitting on board and go snorkeling with your spouse. Plan the excursions and then pick the best option for the little one. We also lived in Orlando for years and enjoyed many, many cruises out of Florida ports. We miss those days!

 

Since you are driving to the port anyway, taking the carseat along is the easiest option.