Pregnant while on board

[Prinycesa07]

Thank you for starting this thread. I just found out that I'm pregnant, and have 3 cruises booked. I think I'll decide if I'm still going when final payment is due. I'll be 17 weeks for the first cruise, 22 weeks for second cruise, and the third will happen after I give birth.

 

Congrats! I'm going on a cruise next month and will be 16 weeks. I'll let you know how it goes :D

[maritaysa]

Do remember with the third one (after you have your baby) that an infant under 6 months is not able to travel with you. Just a thought to keep in mind, after that we will be fine. :)

 

I think we're going to be canceling that one, and wait until the next Carnival Transatlantic.

[maritaysa]

Congrats! I'm going on a cruise next month and will be 16 weeks. I'll let you know how it goes :D

 

Have a wonderful time! I can't wait to read about how everything went. I'm sure all will be great!

[justschuttme]

Well, it is official...I will be 21 weeks when we go in January! We are really excited, but I also wanted to be as prepared as possible since I have never cruised pregnant before. So, if there is anyone else that has helpful tips to share it would be appreciated. Thanks :)

[Julie Jean]

Hi

 

I'm recently back from a fantastic cruise on Celebrity Equinox.

I was 24 weeks pregnant the day after the cruise ended - so only just allowed!! Celebrity advised that I needed a note from my doctor - although when I gave it to the lady at check-in she didn't know what to do with it!

 

I had no problem with my travel insurance - with my policy it only becomes an issue after 28 weeks.

 

I agree that the main difference was a hugely reduced drinks bill - although the bar staff were brilliant at devising new non alcoholic cocktails for me!

 

We had some very long excursions booked in Egypt and Israel and I was worried about how I would manage in the heat but it was fine.

 

In fact, we had such a great cruise that we have booked one with our baby when he will be 7 months old next year.

 

Julie Jean

[CDN81Cruiser]

Thanks to the OP and all the great responses. I am going on my very first cruise and I will be 20 weeks pregnant, 21 at debarktation. I came across a thread that was less than encouraging for a pregnant woman on a cruise. I feel much better after coming across this thread.

 

So again A BIG THANKS! :D

[milton333]

My last cruise, I was 22 weeks pregnant. I booked a midship cabin to minimize motion, but as it turned out I had no morning sickness at all, and really wasn't queasy at all on the ship (we did sail Eastern Caribbean during hurricane season, and it was a bit rougher with thunderstorms the first couple of days, but I mostly just noticed it when lying down at night, and when on the toilet).

 

Our MDR waiters were really nice to me. We had just found out we were having a boy, and they kept calling me "little mama" and saying how great it was to have a boy (many of the crew are parents without their children).

 

I didn't drink, but will admit to having some sushi while onboard, with no ill effects.

 

One thing I will say is that air travel still sucks while pregnant, and other flyers are really jerks. I traveled for work throughout my pregnancy, and even early 3rd tri, no one offered to help me lift my carry on into the overhead bin, people barged past me in the aisle, I had my "bump" jostled and elbowed by people. It was very obnoxious. It was refreshing to be traveling by ship, much nicer.

 

Oh, also, I sailed on Carnival, and they are so relentless about hawking alcoholic drinks that I was constantly having to explain "I can't drink, I'm pregnant" to blank stares.

 

Enjoy your cruise. DH and I had a great "babymoon" and loved just floating in the ocean at each port. Oh, I would definitely plan to bring good walking/athletic shoes, you need more cushioning for your pregnant feet, and you'll be miserable if you try to walk all over the ship and ports in flip-flops or sandals.

[cantwaitforoasis]

i just cancelled my Epic cruise for April. DH and I were planning to go but we got the best news ever back in October, that we were having a baby! I'll be 28 weeks pregnant by the cruise time. We rebooked the same cruise for when the baby is 2.5 years old. It's great that NCL puts out their itineraries that far.

 

One thing i didnt even realize until reading this thread is that i wouldnt be able to wear the sea sick patch. I get motion sick pretty easily... but i doubt i would need it on the Oasis b/c i could not tell we were moving, ever! Disney's Wonder was bad for me and i felt terrible on the first night, but i just had dramamine and then also took the ships' sea sick med too.. still not good but the rest of the trip was fine. We are going on the Epic, not sure how that stacks up on motion sickness but i bet it's in between since it's not as big as Oasis. If i couldnt have the patch i wouldnt want to go anyway, so i'm glad i read this.

 

I also didnt realize i wouldnt be able to use the hot tubs. I understand why, but just didnt think of it. On the Oasis that would have been a bummer with the huge adult solarium being mostly whirlpools and hot tubs.

 

I think it wouldnt be a good idea for another reason. If you shouldnt get your heart rate over 140 b/c you dont want to get too hot, you shouldnt go walking around the ports or walking on the beach in the hot caribbean weather b/c you would surely sweat. I noticed on my indoor bike w/ a heart rate monitor that it's easy to get to 140 and rather boring to keep it under and that means i barely sweat, if any.

 

Can you take the patch when breast feeding? I was thinking of going on a disney cruise/disney world combo for a week when the baby is still breast feeding but not if i cant wear the sea sick patch.

[justschuttme]

i just cancelled my Epic cruise for April. DH and I were planning to go but we got the best news ever back in October, that we were having a baby! I'll be 28 weeks pregnant by the cruise time. We rebooked the same cruise for when the baby is 2.5 years old. It's great that NCL puts out their itineraries that far.

 

Can you take the patch when breast feeding? I was thinking of going on a disney cruise/disney world combo for a week when the baby is still breast feeding but not if i cant wear the sea sick patch.

 

I think waiting until your little one is 2 1/2 was a great idea, as that is how old our son is and we said that we can't wait until our unborn son is that old so we can go again. You can go after the baby is 6 months, but having just been on a cruise, I can say for us I wouldn't want to go before he was that old.

 

As for movement, the Epic is pretty stable although I can't say that you can't feel it moving during normal conditions. I didn't take anything (due to being pregnant) and didn't use the wrist bands and was fine the entire time and we even had one night where we were REALLY rocking and rolling (however we were traveling like 70 mph according to the Captain trying to outrun a low pressure system).

 

I am not sure about using the patch or taking the pills while nursing, of course I would just check with your doctor. However, I found that there wasn't much they said I couldn't take while I was nursing my son (still only took what was absolutely necessary, but there are NO WHERE NEAR as many restrictions as when you are pregnant).

 

Have a blast when you do get to go, the Epic is great! :)

[justschuttme]

Thanks to the OP and all the great responses. I am going on my very first cruise and I will be 20 weeks pregnant, 21 at debarktation. I came across a thread that was less than encouraging for a pregnant woman on a cruise. I feel much better after coming across this thread.

 

So again A BIG THANKS! :D

 

I felt the same way before asking the original question. I just got back and can assure you, that is was just fine and in fact wonderful being pregnant on the ship. You could do as much or as little as you wanted. I was 21 1/2 when I went and it was great. The only thing I missed was the sushi! Have a great time and don't listen to the other folks. Just be as safe as you would be at home, stay out of the hot tubs and remember not to take any of the pills (stick to the band, if needed). :)

[Mrs.C05]

I know this is an old thread but I'd like to read up on those who have cruised while pregnant. I'm currently 9weeks but will be 14weeks when we cruise. So far no morning sickness or nausea. Seems as though I'm following in both of my sisters footsteps; they only had morning sickness from 10-13 weeks, only 2 weeks! I'll certainly take that! Lol! We shall see though.

 

I'll definitely be reporting back on how it was while pregnant.

[Woodmnky]

I was around 14 weeks on our last cruise. It never really had the first trimester exhaustion, so it wasn't bad. I just avoided the foods you are not supposed to eat, didn't do the hot tubs and we only did mild shore excursions. The only thing that wasn't so good was that althought I am not a margarita drinker I craved these while pregnant and would often order virgin margaritas at restaurants which usually elicited some stares and being in Mexico and not being able to have a margarita was killer.

[092306]

I went on 2 cruises while pregnant...one at 14 wks (5 day cruise) and another at 21 weeks (8 day) and flew to ports both times. I had a great time on both and since I'm not a big drinker I didn't miss not being able to have a drink. When I was 14 wks I felt great. At 21 weeks the only thing that really bothered me was swollen feet/ankles. I would definitely cruise again pregnant and it's fun to say your little one has already been on a cruise!

[patti226]

My niece went on a cruise with the family and the day after we returned she started her 24th week. Talk about cutting it close. Everything went fine she relaxed on the beach and saw shows did pretty much everything except drink and go in the hottubs. She said she felt like she relaxed more on the cruise than she would have at home.

[Prinycesa07]

Aw, i never gave an update after my cruise. It was okay, no major problems and i had a good time. However, i wouldnt do it again. I was exhausted and unable to enjoy a lot of the nighttime activities because i was ready for bed by 9 pm every night. The no drinking wasnt a huge problem for me becuase i dont drink, but i do like to do things at night and i missed the deck party (my favorite thing of the whole cruise) because i was exhausted. However, i also was taking care of my 10 month old and anemic so that definitley played into it. If it were my first baby and i didn't have another baby to take care of i probably would have enjoyed it more.

 

BUT, something awesome did happen on the cruise. I felt him kick for the first time! I'll always remember that cruise now :D

 

I was 16 weeks pregnant at the time and now my son is laying next to me as i plan out our cruise for next year, his first!