Packing for 3 kids, carseats, vests, oh my...

[Momto3cuties]

I have just begun looking at all I have to pack for my 3 children on our upcoming (and first, with them) cruise. Oh my...

 

The boys, 6 and 4, usually share a suitcase when we go anywhere on vacation. I usually pack my daughters (age 2) clothes with mine, but not sure if that is going to work this time. Hopefully having a garmet bag will alleviate some things in the suitcase though.

 

We also planned on a large duffel for two boosters, swim vests, beach related items, etc. I am thinking of only bringing a swim vest for my 6 year old. My 4 year old is not a huge swimmer/water kid and I would be holding my 2 year old in a pool, ocean, etc. Do people commonly bring swim vests? especially wondering as we are taking ferry to Water island. We NEVER let the kids get in our boat at home without a life vest on.

 

As for carseats - can easily bring two backless boosters for the boys. Now my daughter..what to do? We rented one from the Hertz while in Cape Canaveral.

What about St Thomas and St Maarten? Is there a way to install a carseat in a taxi? We plan to take a taxi from Havensight to Crown Bay and take the ferry to Water Island. In St Maarten we plan to go to Le Galion beach. I am also thinking perhaps I can rent a carseat for a week once we get to Cape Canaveral. We've rented baby equipment from a company while renting a house for 2 weeks, thinking they must have something like this locally in Orlando???

 

My children's safety is of the utmost importance to me, I am just trying to figure out the easiest way to handle having a carseat for my daughter. And I want to be sure that I can install it and boosters in whatever mode of transportation is available at the ports.

 

My husband and I will have my parents along with us (at the airport and getting on the ship), so we do have a few extra hands.

 

Any help or advice would be great!

[Pat&Liz]

I came across this yesterday when looking at being able to leave my stroller at home for our upcoming cruise...

 

http://www.trunki.co.uk/products/boostapak_9/boostapak_21

 

It's basically a booster-seat/back pack, suitable for 4-12 year olds, with enough space for them to store their belongings etc for any flights or day-trips you go on. If you could get your two elder children to carry those seats, it would free you up to put a normal car seat in a duffle bag for your daughter.

[AandBmom]

I could be wrong, but I believe all ferries have lifejackets available on them. As for swimming, would water wings work? They are much easier to pack. We found our kids used the splash pad and waterslides more than the pools anyway so they never needed any flotation device. At the beach they didn't go out past about knee deep. They splashed around and played in the sand but didn't go out into deeper water. Depending on what type of excursions you're doing you can often rent lifejackets at the places you visit. I haven't been to the ports you're visiting so I don't know, but maybe this would be an option. As for the booster car seats, they are optional by law over age 4 in Florida so it's parents' choice. For our 5 and 7 year olds we use them religiously at home, but for the limited driving done on vacation we just use the regular seatbelts. We did the same last year when they were 4 and 6. As for renting equipment. I know I saw some postings about renting baby gear in Orlando on the Disboards.com, Maybe check that site out.

[crusinmama06]

I actually do the reverse, I bring the swim vest for the younger one because it only takes a second for the waves to sweep my feet and away the baby goes. :(

 

On the tenders/ferries, no I didn't put vests on the kids. But in the ocean I do.

 

I know, its a huge amount of things to pack. How tall is your 6 year old? If you wanted to cut back, he is getting to the age where his booster could stay at home and he could possibly safely fit in a seat belt. I live in a state where its 8/80 (age 8 and 80 lbs) -- but Florida is age 4. I tend to be on the more cautious side. ;)

[rebeccalizzie]

I really didn't want to pack my car seat so we are doing excursions that don't require car/taxi rides. So no advice there, sorry!

 

We are taking life jackets for both the 1 year old and 4 year old. Since we are doing so much boating and beach trips I feel better knowing we'll have life jackets that fit them correctly and are already adjusted for them. I'm already taking SO much stuff, I figured what's another two life jackets! ;) I'll be holding the 1 year old in the water but what if he's crawling around on the beach and a big wave comes in? My 4 year old can't swim, so it's the same thing--if he wants to go in the ocean, even at the edge, I'm going to feel better with a life jacket.

 

It's our first cruise with them too, so I'd rather err on the side of overcautious overpacking, LOL. I can always decide not to bring them next time.

[jac1976]

In St. Thomas we rode in an open air taxi- there were no seat belts available. In St. Maarten we did a bus tour of the island and the bus did not have seat belts that were compatible with installing a car seat (no way to lock them off.) I just let my LOs go without their seats for the few trips we took.

 

If you want to bring a car seat no matter what, one option is to buy a Scenera at Walmart. It's a pretty lightweight inexpensive car seat and is probably less expensive than renting one for a week in Florida and you know the history of the seat, which is always a risk you take when you rent one.

 

I did not see many swim vests, and I did not use any for my kids. The older one knows how to swim, the younger one does not.

[Mom2B&Z]

but I sure will about the car seats :)

We were in St Maartin and St Thomas in January, 2011. We used a taxi with a car seat for DS2 and booster for DS1. It did take a little while to make sure there were enough 3 point seatbelts in the vehicle, but it wasn't impossible. DS2 travels with a Britax Marathon which has built-in lock offs, so I can install it anywhere. (BTW for the poster that said they couldn't install the seat in the bus because the seatbelts didn't lock, the way to do it is with a locking clip.) I would hesistate using a booster for a 4yo, but considering you're only taking short trips they are likely more apt to sit properly in the seatbelt than if you were going a long distance. Honestly the "tourist" transportation in St. Thomas was downright frightening. In St. Maartin we took the water taxi to town and walked around, we had a great day and no car seats were needed.

I'm a huge fan of Britax child seats for their built-in lock offs, especially for travelling. I know you can get some seats very inexpensively in the US, but I would then strongly suggest you know how to use a locking clip properly (and FYI there are a lot of You Tube videos that are giving outright wrong installation demonstrations...be careful of your source!).

So, if your 6 and 4 year olds can sit properly positioned in boosters at home, bring them for the trip. Definitely bring your own car seat on the cruise, I can't tell you how many times I have been told by shuttle and rental companies that they would have seats for my boys and either they were "out", expired or so filthy I wouldn't even consider placing my child in it. Installation is up to you, so you're taking the risk of trying to install a seat that you may/may not know, into a vehicle you may/may not know without either manual to help. Put it this way, I'm a certified car seat tech and I only travel with seats I know.

Of course now this thread has me considering bringing lifejackets for both boys lol! I could probably sneak them into the bag with the booster seat ;)

[khm1]

Maybe these will solve a little of your packing issues:

http://www.amazon.com/Intex-Fish-Childrens-Swim-Vest/dp/B0034FENUG/ref=pd_sbs_t_1

And

http://www.amazon.com/Intex-58660EU-POOL-SCHOOL-SWIM/dp/B000FJS8GY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303692308&sr=8-2

 

If your DD still fits in her infant car seat, I would consider taking it. We did this when DD was 12 months old on her first cruise. In St. Thomas, I sit up front with the driver so that I could secure her seat. The weight limit for this seat was 33 lbs. Recently (DD now is 3 1/2), we took a backless booster and it worked great.

 

No way would I take little kids on those open-air taxis. Sorry, that's just me..... You CAN find van taxis just about anywhere in the Caribbean. You just may need to wait for the right one. Don't let the drivers "herd" you into one that you are not comfortable with.

 

Good luck, I feel your pain. I have 3 kids too!