Crusing with 8 month old - Tips?

[scottshell]

We are taking baby Chase on his first cruise September 12 - Freedom of the Seas. Any suggestions on what to bring / not to bring?

[cb at sea]

Bring all that you need to make baby comfortable....any special foods that can't be gotten or pureed onboard...all the diapers and wipes...something to bathe baby in.... (unless you book a suite with a tub)..all "comfort" toys, blankets, etc...stroller....whatever you use at home, bring it.

[jam82]

Ziplocks and more ziplocks. Pack all outfits in a ziplocks and then use the empty ones for diapers.

[RoadTripFanatic]

Also any infant meds that your child might need like infant tylenol, gas med, diaper cream. Also take a thermometer just in case!

[Blissful12]

Whenever I travel with baby I bring along some detergent to wash small items in the sink and also a bottle of dish soap to clean nipples, bottles, sippy cups, etc.

 

Bring an electric kettle to boil water for bottles if you are formula feeding.

 

Bring a UV shield for the stroller and pack diapers and wipes in separate ziplocs so that you don't have to tote along a ton of them at once.

 

Invest in a Mally Bib. They are expensive but so worth it. It's the only bib I've used for almost 6 months. Because it's leather it wipes clean...no need to wash it and it always stays fresh and clean looking.

 

Of course, lots of sunblock, hats, new toys to keep him/her amused, medicines, thermometer, tempra, etc.

 

Wetbags are great (google it). You can store wet swimsuits and clothing in here while you are on the go. I use them for cloth diapering but they are also great for swim suits and towels.

 

I always pack enough for about 10 or 11 days to be safe.

[beffiegirl]

I don't know what size cabin you got but I was on the independence when my son was 8mos. We had an ov and we took our big stroller, what a mistake. We had no room to walk. Bring the smallest stroller you can. We also brought bottled water for the formula. Have fun , our baby loved the baby pool!

[ifiteverstopsraining]

This summer we took our 8 month old on an 8 night cruise.

 

We brought all his diapers, wipes, food, and formula. We also bought Mylicon, Tylenol, Saline Nose Drops, and Pedialyte just in case (fortunately we did not use them!).

Disposable bibs were handy - I didn't know they existed before reading about them on this message board.

We invested in an umbrella stroller that fully reclined, which was great as my son took most of his afternoon naps in it. The stroller took up minimal space in our cabin. We actually stored it in our shower when not in use.

Our blow up pool was used quite frequently as Carnival was pretty strict with the no diaper rule (even in the baby pool) and we had 4 sea days.

One thing we brought too much of - blankets and crib sheets. Our room attendent changed the crib sheet daily (sometimes twice if needed) so we didn't use our sheets from home at all. Also, I brought 5 blankets and certainly did not need that many. They took up alot of room too!

Have fun!!! We were lucky, our son did not start crawling until the week we returned. If he were fully mobile on the cruise it would've been a different trip!

[lamolesky]

There are a lot of things kids need, I have a list on my site which includes everything you might need. Not that you need to bring it all, but just personalize it for you and your family.

[deniuh]

The only thing I can add is to bring a good attitude and have fun. We took our daughter around the same age and didn't know what to expect. We napped when she napped and didn't worry about missing out on stuff on the ship. We also didn't overplan in terms of excursions. It was a wonderful trip!! I am sure you will have fun as well.

[Julienatul]

Its the perfect age to cruise!! I sailed with both my kids at that age. Bring jarred baby food, formula bottles, bottle brush and travel size dish soap, any favorite blankies, pacifiers, toys, a reclineable stroller, plenty of diapers, wipes, infant tylenol etc.

[ashley8384]

Relax and have fun!! We cruised (and got married before we left port) when our daughter was 8 months old. I was so nervous that I was going to forget something.

 

I think all of the previous posters covered everything. We did purchase a special stroller for cruises. Smaller like and umbrella stroller but it reclines and has a small basket underneath. 4 years and 2 kids later we are using it in September when we take our 2 year old DS on his first cruise.:)

[scottshell]

Thanks to everyone for the great tips! We are bringing individual bottles of premade formula with disposable nipples so we don't have to warm or wash bottles. Expensive, but totally worth it for a week in my opinion! :)

 

Today, Chase crawled for the first time! yikes! we leave in a week, wouldn't you know? :)

[kfinfam]

I am curious if any of you families did an excursions or got out and about off the ship with your babies....did you find taxi services that had carseats? Did you bring your own for the jitneys or taxis? This is probably my top concern as we also have teenagers and we'll be on the go when in port :)

[leedsmum]

I am curious if any of you families did an excursions or got out and about off the ship with your babies....did you find taxi services that had carseats? Did you bring your own for the jitneys or taxis? This is probably my top concern as we also have teenagers and we'll be on the go when in port :)

 

Hi, I'm wondering about this too as we are cruising with our 6 month old grandson in October and are worrying about the taxis etc. Wonder if it's worth submitting it as a new post?

[sherry7]

Subscribing to this thread...we are considering taking a cruise when our baby is either 6 1/2 months or 8 months old.

 

Another question (perhaps one for the pediatrician)...are there any particular countries that should be avoided with a baby due to disease, etc? I'm assuming the Panama Canal region would be bad due to the risk of malaria, but any other than that?

[Essiesmom]

The Panama Canal does not need to be avoided...Mosquitoes that carry malaria are active at dusk and in early evening...You are well out of the canal by then. And a little insect repellent goes a long way. EM

[sherry7]

The Panama Canal does not need to be avoided...Mosquitoes that carry malaria are active at dusk and in early evening...You are well out of the canal by then. And a little insect repellent goes a long way. EM

 

Good to know, even though a PC cruise isn't in the plans this time around.