Questions about taking an infant onboard

[shebring02lx]

Hello!! I am booked on the March 29th, 2012 sailing on the Celebrity Millenium. I will be traveling with my mother and my 6 month old daughter. I know that everyone has their own opinion about taking babies on cruises however I have a few questions for those of you that have taken your daughter/son/grand child onboard. I have cruised before but never with an infant - so I was wondering - when it comes time for the muster drill what do I need to do with my daughter? Do I bring her along with me? Im not sure if Celebrity has any type of child care, I don't intend on using it if they do - I would prefer my daughter be with my at all times.

 

Also, am I allowed to swim with my daughter in the main pool? I would of course make sure she has the proper "swim diapers" on - this would be her first experience in a swimming pool and Im really looking forward to it myself since I will be 20 weeks pregnant at the time of sailing.

 

Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time out to answer my questions!

[debandbruce]

I don't know about the muster drill. Your baby will not be allowed in any pool even with swim diapers, they must be potty trained. Maybe you and your Mom could just take turns swimming and caring for the little one.

[jerseygirl3]

Hello!! I am booked on the March 29th, 2012 sailing on the Celebrity Millenium. I will be traveling with my mother and my 6 month old daughter. I know that everyone has their own opinion about taking babies on cruises however I have a few questions for those of you that have taken your daughter/son/grand child onboard. I have cruised before but never with an infant - so I was wondering - when it comes time for the muster drill what do I need to do with my daughter? Do I bring her along with me? Im not sure if Celebrity has any type of child care, I don't intend on using it if they do - I would prefer my daughter be with my at all times.

 

Also, am I allowed to swim with my daughter in the main pool? I would of course make sure she has the proper "swim diapers" on - this would be her first experience in a swimming pool and Im really looking forward to it myself since I will be 20 weeks pregnant at the time of sailing.

 

Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time out to answer my questions!

 

Yes you should bring your child with you to muster drill. They no longer require you to bring the lifejackets with you.

 

No, your baby will not be allowed in any of the pools, even with a swim diaper.

 

Do I understand that you are 5 months pregnant with a 6 month old? You better get lots of rest on this cruise. You are sure going to have your hands full in about 4 months! Congrats!

[shebring02lx]

Thank you ladies!

I am a little sad that she won't be allowed in the pool but I understand that it's for the health of other passengers ... I will just attempt to find a beach to take her too or see if we are allowed to use the pool at the hotel pre-cruise.

 

Yes, my daughter turns 6 months on the 12th of this month and I am currently 18 weeks pregnant. We didn't plan it to happen so soon and not to get too personal about the topic but I had to have fertility treatments to conceive my daughter and so this one was a total welcomed surprise. I plan on getting as much R&R as possible on this trip! :)

 

Another question, not celebrity related but - if we need to get somewhere at our ports of call via cab - how will that work with a baby who is in a carseat. We don't intend on bringing the carseat so we are okay if we are only limited to the areas around the dock but say we wanted to travel to a beach that is out of walking distance - how do cab drivers handle infants in their vehicles? Does anyone have experience with this!?

[RCKM43]

Do you have a balcony cabin? You can get a small blow up pool (the duck bath comes to mind. You could easily fill it with a little water on deck on your balcony and let her splash away in that. It is small and won't interfere with others space. Can your mother watch your DC while you swim on deck?

 

You bring your child to the muster drill you just sit in a lounge - and there are no life jackets involved these days.

 

I would bring the infant seat you don't need a huge carseat - that is easy to pop them in and can be strapped into a taxi without the base. You can gate check it if you are flying and don't need it on the plane.

[shebring02lx]

Do you have a balcony cabin? You can get a small blow up pool (the duck bath comes to mind. You could easily fill it with a little water on deck on your balcony and let her splash away in that. It is small and won't interfere with others space. Can your mother watch your DC while you swim on deck?

 

You bring your child to the muster drill you just sit in a lounge - and there are no life jackets involved these days.

 

I would bring the infant seat you don't need a huge carseat - that is easy to pop them in and can be strapped into a taxi without the base. You can gate check it if you are flying and don't need it on the plane.

 

OMG! I didn't think about getting a small blow up pool! We actually do have a balcony and we booked a FV so that we could have the bigger space! I will certainly be making a trip out to get her a small blow up pool. You are a genius! Thank you so much! My mother LOVE to watch her while I go topside and swim!

 

I just might bring her carseat since it attatches to her stroller - and we can just store it in our cabin since from my understanding the FV actually have a little bit more closet space - she's still at the age where she likes to nap in her carseat and this way if my mom does want to go out in town, we can do it safely!

 

Thank you so much, everyone, for all your comments!

[AlanAllyn]

Also, be sure to bring a letter from your doctor indicating how far along in your pregnancy you are. I believe the limit is 24 weeks and it may be hard to tell by looking at you.

 

From their websiote:

Celebrity Cruises cannot accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the beginning of, or at any time during the cruise or Cruisetour.

[RCKM43]

OMG! I didn't think about getting a small blow up pool! We actually do have a balcony and we booked a FV so that we could have the bigger space! I will certainly be making a trip out to get her a small blow up pool. You are a genius! Thank you so much! My mother LOVE to watch her while I go topside and swim!

 

I just might bring her carseat since it attatches to her stroller - and we can just store it in our cabin since from my understanding the FV actually have a little bit more closet space - she's still at the age where she likes to nap in her carseat and this way if my mom does want to go out in town, we can do it safely!

 

Thank you so much, everyone, for all your comments!

 

Actually with a family view you would have more than enough room to have a larger (although small) round blow up pool. You could just use a small pitcher to fill it with. The nice part of the blow up is that you won't have to have your DD roasting in the sun. There is plenty of shade in the FV rooms.

 

As far as room for the stroller. We were able to fit 2 umbrella ones in the closet. There is also plenty of room to let open a small stroller without any issues. You can leave it on the balcony when you are in port too. You will not be crowded in the FV room even if you do bring a lot of stuff with you.

 

You can also do things like get your breakfast delivered to the room and bring your lunch down from the buffet it is nice to have that huge balcony to eat meals on. Also this way if meals fall during a nap time your DC can nap while you relax on the balcony. You might want to bring a monitor this way you can let the baby sleep in the room and you can sit on the balcony with the door shut - but can hear your DC easily if she wakes. It won't work a distance but I bet it would work through the balcony door.

[shebring02lx]

Also, be sure to bring a letter from your doctor indicating how far along in your pregnancy you are. I believe the limit is 24 weeks and it may be hard to tell by looking at you.

 

From their websiote:

Celebrity Cruises cannot accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the beginning of, or at any time during the cruise or Cruisetour.

 

I have an OB appointment on Thursday and intend on having my doctor write a letter stating that I am "fit to travel" and that I am not nor will I be in my 24th week of pregnancy during the dates of the trip.

 

Which actually raises a question - do I hand carry this letter to the port with me or do I need to fax it in. The representitive that I booked this cruise through {through Celebrity} didn't clarify, just said that I needed a note from my doctor. She gave me a fax number for my "special needs" request form since I am diabetic and will need a sharps container

[shebring02lx]

Actually with a family view you would have more than enough room to have a larger (although small) round blow up pool. You could just use a small pitcher to fill it with. The nice part of the blow up is that you won't have to have your DD roasting in the sun. There is plenty of shade in the FV rooms.

 

As far as room for the stroller. We were able to fit 2 umbrella ones in the closet. There is also plenty of room to let open a small stroller without any issues. You can leave it on the balcony when you are in port too. You will not be crowded in the FV room even if you do bring a lot of stuff with you.

 

You can also do things like get your breakfast delivered to the room and bring your lunch down from the buffet it is nice to have that huge balcony to eat meals on. Also this way if meals fall during a nap time your DC can nap while you relax on the balcony. You might want to bring a monitor this way you can let the baby sleep in the room and you can sit on the balcony with the door shut - but can hear your DC easily if she wakes. It won't work a distance but I bet it would work through the balcony door.

 

 

These are all wonderful ideas - all of which I would have never of thought of on my own. We intend on spending a lot of time in our room because of Aubreigh - which is why we spent a little bit more for the FV.

[shell15]

We just sailed on the Feb 11th Summit cruise while 22 weeks pregnant. You are supposed to fax or email your fit to travel note to Celebrity prior to sailing. It should state 1) how far along you will be for the duration of the trip and 2) that you are not high risk and are fit to travel. When we sent it in we received a response quite quickly advising that our reservation had been noted and advising us to bring a hard copy of the letter with us. We did bring the letter, but was never asked for it nor did anyone mention my being pregnant or ask any questions, at embarkation or otherwise (and being my 2nd as well, I am very clearly quite pregnant:D ). Have a great time! I'm sure you'll have no issues.

[runnerandme]

They do not sell over the counter infant medicine onboard. So I would take Infant Tylenol drops or any meds you think you might need. They also do not stock diapers in all sizes. So make sure you bring enough.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi Shebring02lx,

 

First off CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming baby... and the wonderful child you have already... you are very fortunate in being able to cruise with little ones.

 

Good info here from the others... especially from RUNNERANDME (med tip)...

 

Based on past-posts from Moms of little ones, I would advise you to plan to bring (and do bring) EVERYTHING you may possibly need... DO NOT RELY on Celebrity being able to outfit your baby (even though they may tout that)... too many stories about Parents who found there was NOTHING available once they were aboard.

 

See this recent topic entitled *No Baby Food - WHAT ?* :mad: = http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1578400

 

And there are others... you can browse around the CC CELEBRITY BOARD for more info... (Board is also searchable)

 

Cheers!

[SusieV]

Keep in mind that many taxis will not even have seat belts for a carseat if you lug it along.

[CarolinaMamma]

When our kids were babies we used this for travel.

 

http://www.strollerdepot.com/items/http:www.strollerdepot.comitemssit-n-stroll-car-seat-stroller/

 

It's a car seat that can be forward or rear facing and has wheels and a handle that come out to make it a stroller. It fits in airplane seats (although we often got admonished by flight attendants that we could not bring it inboard when they saw us rolling it down the aisle. We would just say, "no, it's a car seat and the baby has his own seat." )

[Sloop-JohnB]

When our kids were babies we used this for travel.

 

http://www.strollerdepot.com/items/http:www.strollerdepot.comitemssit-n-stroll-car-seat-stroller/

 

It's a car seat that can be forward or rear facing and has wheels and a handle that come out to make it a stroller. It fits in airplane seats (although we often got admonished by flight attendants that we could not bring it inboard when they saw us rolling it down the aisle. We would just say, "no, it's a car seat and the baby has his own seat." )

 

TO CAROLINA MAMMA,

 

Wow, that is soooo cool :cool:

 

If I had kiddies, I'd certainly invest in one of those (lol, maybe when the Grand-babies come along)

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Cheers!

[RCKM43]

These are all wonderful ideas - all of which I would have never of thought of on my own. We intend on spending a lot of time in our room because of Aubreigh - which is why we spent a little bit more for the FV.

 

The FV room is perfect because you can spend a lot of time in the room/balcony - it is HUGE you can lay a blanket out on the deck and let your DC play on the balcony - it is 1/2 covered and 1/2 shade -so the baby doesn't have to be in the sun but you can still get some color and relax. Also if the baby is sleeping you can still relax and enjoy the outdoors without being cramped on a small balcony. There is definitely room to pull a pack and play out onto the balcony if you are driving and wanted to bring your own. There is plenty of room out there even with the furniture it is very spacious. You could ask - not sure if they do it or not but maybe the room steward might be able to get a high chair for your room. You could call and see if you could arrange it in advance with special needs or whoever you arrange for a crib with. This way you can feed your DC in the room and not just in the stroller.

[mommyloves2cruise]

We took our son who was 14 months at the time on the Summit last year.

 

We brought a small blow up pool which we would bring to the pool deck area. We placed it between our beach chairs and it was small enough that it did not get in the way of the other passengers. We were careful to not be too close to other people, and I do not think that most people even realized that we were there. We used a bucket to fill it up from the big pool and then emptied it down the drain when we were finished. We also used it the small duck pool in our shower for our son to take a bath.

 

We found that everyone who worked on Celebrity went above and beyond to make sure that we had a wonderful trip.

 

One other thing to keep in mind… the refrigerator in the room for the mini bar is not very cold. It does not keep formula or milk cold enough to store at a safe temperature (we did not know this ahead of time). You may be able to arrange for a different fridge ahead of time.

 

Have a great time!

[trixiegolf]

Don't forget to bring a notarized letter from your husband that you can take your daughter out of the country (or even on a simple between the states plane ride).

[cb at sea]

Don't bring TOO large of a pool....a 6 mo. old only needs a bit of water to be happy...and you will have to empty it somehow....unless your balcony has a floor drain, it will mean scooping the water OUT of the pool, and carrying it to your bathroom to pour out.

[shebring02lx]

We just sailed on the Feb 11th Summit cruise while 22 weeks pregnant. You are supposed to fax or email your fit to travel note to Celebrity prior to sailing. It should state 1) how far along you will be for the duration of the trip and 2) that you are not high risk and are fit to travel. When we sent it in we received a response quite quickly advising that our reservation had been noted and advising us to bring a hard copy of the letter with us. We did bring the letter, but was never asked for it nor did anyone mention my being pregnant or ask any questions, at embarkation or otherwise (and being my 2nd as well, I am very clearly quite pregnant:D ). Have a great time! I'm sure you'll have no issues.

 

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Thank you! I guess I will need to call Celebrity to get the fax number to mail in my fit to travel note, unless it also goes to the special needs department?

Like you, I have found that I am showing a lot more quickly this time around than I did with my first daughter {this one is also a girl}

Thank you! :)

[shebring02lx]

They do not sell over the counter infant medicine onboard. So I would take Infant Tylenol drops or any meds you think you might need. They also do not stock diapers in all sizes. So make sure you bring enough.

 

Thank you! I will certainly be bringing all her meds with me as well as a stock pile of diapers, wipes and formula and of course all her little toys that help to keep her occupied!

[shebring02lx]

Hi Shebring02lx,

 

First off CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming baby... and the wonderful child you have already... you are very fortunate in being able to cruise with little ones.

 

Good info here from the others... especially from RUNNERANDME (med tip)...

 

Based on past-posts from Moms of little ones, I would advise you to plan to bring (and do bring) EVERYTHING you may possibly need... DO NOT RELY on Celebrity being able to outfit your baby (even though they may tout that)... too many stories about Parents who found there was NOTHING available once they were aboard.

 

See this recent topic entitled *No Baby Food - WHAT ?* :mad: = http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1578400

 

And there are others... you can browse around the CC CELEBRITY BOARD for more info... (Board is also searchable)

 

Cheers!

 

Thank you! I actually did read that thread! Im not really expecting them to have/do anything for her and while I know she is young and wont remember this trip - its cheaper than finding a baby sitter and since my husband will be gearing up for a deployment soon he can't take leave due to training. Not to mention - Im not sure I could stand to be away from little miss for longer than a few hours - we've been inseperable since her birth in September

[shebring02lx]

Don't forget to bring a notarized letter from your husband that you can take your daughter out of the country (or even on a simple between the states plane ride).

 

 

Wow?! Will I really need a notarized letter from my husband stating I can take our daughter on a cruise with me? Celebrity NEVER mentioned this!!!!

 

Can ANYONE shed some light on this for me?! If I need one I have to make an appointment on base to get this done!

[shebring02lx]

To everyone - THANK YOU so much for all the wonderful ideas!!! I think taking her mini pool to the main pool would be nice to help get us all out of the cabin - after all we dont want to go on vacation to be a hermit! :) I was thinking something small like this,

 

http://www.easyfuntoys.com/product/ITX57416EP

 

because as someone stated, she is only 6 months and shes not sitting up on her own yet, so she just needs a little something to get her tummy wet and splash her tiny hands and feet around in!

 

I also like the idea of taking her PNP - we opted out of the portable crib that they offer because I was worried about space - we previously crusied Carnival and had a balcony but we didn't have a lot of room and it was just my mother and I, then. However, it sounds like this room will have more space than I anticipated so I might consider bringing her PNP!!!

 

Thank you everyone for all this wonderful advice.

 

If anyone has anymore knowledge or advice they would like to share please feel free to do it ... it might make this whole cruising with baby thing a little bit easier on me!

 

Ohhhh yes, and I LOVE the idea about the high chair! I will certainly call and see if I can arrange that!