Tips on crusing with a baby

[mommy22girls]

Hi I was wanting some tips on cruising with a baby. our youngest will be 10 months when we go on the ship. Here are a few of my main questions.

 

 

Did you bring your own travel crib (pack n play) or did you use one the ship provided?? Which would be better if you had to do it again?

 

If they were drinking formula did you find an easy way to do this?? Pre-mixed formula or powder did you bring your own bottled water or any other tips I should know?

 

We also will have a toddler with us should I stock up on fruit snacks and goldfish crackers or will be things for us to grab for her to snack on?

 

 

Where you easily able to shower with the baby or is there a trick to this i'm not remembering?

 

 

Anything you wish you had and didn't or brought and didn't use?? I've got a list going in my head of stuff I feel like we need to bring and its a mile long!

[#1TravelMom]

I see you are new - you may want to search traveling with a baby or toddler. There are lots of tips. Our youngest is 7 now, but we have cruised with her since she was a baby. I recommend the tiny blow up pool. Great for baths. You can also take it on deck, find a shady area and put in some water for splashing.

 

I think you will find plenty to eat, but I do remember taking some favorites. I usually grabbed an extra banana and cheerios at breakfast, cheese at lunch, etc. and kept in the cabin for a quick snack.

 

I'm sure you've thought of this - I recommend a high spf sunscreen and a clear zinc stick for the face.

[cruzinlisa]

We took dd when she was 15 months. We used the ship's crib. It was one of those small metal porta-cribs. We did not have any issues with it.

 

My dd was off the bottle by that time, so I can't really address the formula issue.

 

Snacks- we brought some cheeze-its for ports. We also got extra boxes of cereal at breakfast for her to snack on.

 

As far as other advice, we brought our travel system stroller, it was too big. Did not fit through the door, we had to take her out of the stroller and take it down. That was a problem if she feel asleep.

[cb at sea]

There are blow-up tubs that will fit in the shower...much easier with a baby that's not used to water beating on them! And, you can use it on the pool deck to let baby "splash", since on most ships, babies are NOT allowed in the pools at all.

 

Powdered formula will be less "weighty" to bring....by that age, heating shouldn't be an issue. Shoot...my son was eating table food by that age...smushed of course!

 

You can certainly bring snacks with you...the ship will have plenty of cereals and finger foods, tho, for your toddler.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Be sure to buy some pre-packaged (factory sealed) snacks if you decide to get off the ship in port. Some ports do not allow food to be brought up the ship (and the ship's newsletter for port days may even emphasize this), but the pre-packaged bags are usually permitted. You can find gold fish and fruit snacks as well as cookies in little packages.

 

And definitely consider coming into your embarkation port at least a day ahead (unless you live within a short drive). That way, you can do a little shopping for the necessities without flying with a lot of luggage. Don't expect the ship's stores to carry baby and toddler items.

[mommy22girls]

Thanks for the replies. I was originally going to bring our pack n play for her to sleep in. Has anyone done this or is it a waste of space?? We will be driving to the port and will be there with plenty of time to spare. We definitely wont be bringing a big stroller, I dont like those anyway. We have 2 umbrella strollers and i'm really considering only taking one. Our oldest will be 1 week away from 3 when the cruise is over but I know some of the long walking on shore will be too much for her. Thanks for the tip about the individual packaging. I had no idea that would be a problem.

[goofy810]

See my answers in RED we took our DD then 12months on Royal for 8 nights

Hi I was wanting some tips on cruising with a baby. our youngest will be 10 months when we go on the ship. Here are a few of my main questions.

 

 

Did you bring your own travel crib (pack n play) or did you use one the ship provided?? Which would be better if you had to do it again? depends on the cruise line I know for RCL and Celebrity they have pack and plays not sure about the others, however all lines will have something, the big issue is they dont have the right sheets they just use normal bed sheets and its not fitted (our DD would pull them off at night so we brought our own fitted pack and play sheet)

 

If they were drinking formula did you find an easy way to do this?? Pre-mixed formula or powder did you bring your own bottled water or any other tips I should know? our DD was drinking milk and formula at that point so on the ship we gave her milk but when in port where we could not keep it cold we just used powder formula and bottle water, if the ship has water pitchers in the room your fine using that if they dont (RCL doesnt celebrity does) then you can just check a case of bottle water

 

We also will have a toddler with us should I stock up on fruit snacks and goldfish crackers or will be things for us to grab for her to snack on?

Bring a container to put the snaks in but dont wory about bringing your own they will have plenty of fruit on the ship and cut it up for you and we just got boxes of cherrios at breakfeast to give her to snack on all day

 

Where you easily able to shower with the baby or is there a trick to this i'm not remembering? you didnt say if you were going on a hot or cold weather curise, but ither way get one of the cheap blow up pools the 2' round ones i got ours on amazon for around $8 but have been told you can get them at the dollar store, then use it to bath in the shower and also if its a hot weather cruise you can bring it out on the pool deck and let baby splash around

 

 

Anything you wish you had and didn't or brought and didn't use?? I've got a list going in my head of stuff I feel like we need to bring and its a mile long! you didnt say what cruise line but i can speak for RCL and celebrity you dont need to bring any toys (unless there is one fav for your baby) when you get on board you can go to the kids place and check out a bag of toys for there age group. also we got a nice full recline umbralle stroller as it works much better around the ship and off the ship then the big storllers and then bring a small tote bag to put just a diaper or 2 and a few wipes (slim down the diaper bag for walking around the ship)

[mommy22girls]

Thanks for the tips I need to find one of those pools. We are going to the bahamas so a warm weather cruise!

[092306]

We also cruised with our son when he was 10 months old and had a lot of fun. We did it again at 14 months and it wasn't as fun because he was then walking and didn't let us sit for a minute! Here's what we did:

Did you bring your own travel crib (pack n play) or did you use one the ship provided?? Which would be better if you had to do it again? We used the ships crib, it was fine. I wouldn't bother bringing a pack n play unless for some reason your baby is particular about sleeping in certain places.

 

If they were drinking formula did you find an easy way to do this?? Pre-mixed formula or powder did you bring your own bottled water or any other tips I should know?

Our son was drinking the pre-mixed bottle formula which we were able to store with the pursar's desk. They have an actual refrigerator as opposed to the coolers in the room which didn't really keep it sufficiently refrigerated. They loved when we brought him by to fill his bottles and fussed over him. If I had an alternative, I would use powder but unfortunately his formula didn't come that way.

 

We also will have a toddler with us should I stock up on fruit snacks and goldfish crackers or will be things for us to grab for her to snack on?

 

I would bring some snacks in baggies. They're good for port and between meals or when they just aren't interested in anything else.

Where you easily able to shower with the baby or is there a trick to this i'm not remembering?

We ordered a small inflatable tub/pool type thing from One Step Ahead. It worked in the shower or on the balcony.

 

Anything you wish you had and didn't or brought and didn't use?? I've got a list going in my head of stuff I feel like we need to bring and its a mile long!

 

I brought way more blankets and sheets than needed. We ended up needing 1 blanket and didn't even use the sheets. Bring at least 10 more diapers than you think you'll need. We were down to our final diaper the morning we left and I couldn't believe we went through all of them and cut it that close. Bring a light weight stroller that will fit through the doorway. Would have hated to wake up our son to get him out of the stroller. We hardly used toys at all. Bring a bottle brush and dishwashing soap and the tummy stuff/tylenol/benedryl etc just in case.

[dforeigner]

Additionally, bring extra diappers and baby food with you. You can purchase these items at the ports but it will cost you a bit extra.

[bks1982]

This is my first time cruising and my baby will turn 7 months at the start of our trip. They are providing the crib, we bought a blow up bathtub so she can bathe since we only have a shower in the room, that will also double as her little play pool for the balcony. As for formula we're taking the Enfamil Formula to go packets as well as regular cans of formula. I make her baby food but decided to go with Gerber Naturals for this trip only.

 

I'm considering getting an Ergo baby carrier for the trip since our stroller might be a bit big for the ship.

[queenL]

Hi I was wanting some tips on cruising with a baby. our youngest will be 10 months when we go on the ship. Here are a few of my main questions.

 

Did you bring your own travel crib (pack n play) or did you use one the ship provided?? Which would be better if you had to do it again?

 

We also will have a toddler with us should I stock up on fruit snacks and goldfish crackers or will be things for us to grab for her to snack on?

 

Where you easily able to shower with the baby or is there a trick to this i'm not remembering?

 

Anything you wish you had and didn't or brought and didn't use?? I've got a list going in my head of stuff I feel like we need to bring and its a mile long!

 

 

We bring the pack in play even if the ship has them. I prefer my baby having things of ours that I know are clean. I don't like the idea of her using community pack and plays but that's just me. We just reconfigure the room to make it fit. So far it hasn't been a problem.

 

Like others have said I used what I could find on board...grapes cut in fourths, strawberries, pineapple chunks, cheerios, banana. I did bring a box of fruit snacks cause they are her fave but that was it.

 

I got my inflatable duck tub from Target. We travelled with that until DD was old enough to take showers.

 

Not really but I always travel with childrens medications, a thermometer and extra pacifiers. We've learned the hard way and lost several port days looking for those items on previous cruises. We also take our cheap umbrella stroller instead of the full size one but getting one that reclines, has a storage basket, and cupholders was worth the extra $20.

[nickel1522]

Just got back from a Carnival cruise with my 16 month old and she LOVED it! The only thing I really wish I could have done different was to remember to bring snacks OFF the boat! Towards the end of the cruise I would take small items (cereal boxes or other snacks that could easily travel) off the boat on excursions and day trips. It is way too expensive to buy off the boat for some things. Also, she was able to drink out of sippy cups, but I wish I would have left them. We purchased one of those insulated drinking cups that are almost like an adult sippy cup (lol) and she used that the whole time! Also, if you are traveling Carnival...Camp Carnival does not allow children under two; however, they do have a time during the day when you can bring the child up there to play (my daughter LOVED this), and they have the Night Owls. Good luck! Also, remember to breathe (that may sound crazy, but little accidents and craziness is going to happen with little ones, and just remembering that is a vacation and to have a good time will help!):)

[mommy22girls]

This is my first time cruising and my baby will turn 7 months at the start of our trip. They are providing the crib, we bought a blow up bathtub so she can bathe since we only have a shower in the room, that will also double as her little play pool for the balcony. As for formula we're taking the Enfamil Formula to go packets as well as regular cans of formula. I make her baby food but decided to go with Gerber Naturals for this trip only.

 

I'm considering getting an Ergo baby carrier for the trip since our stroller might be a bit big for the ship.

 

 

You should get pouches instead of the containers from Gerber. Plum Organics makes great ones or there are tons of different selctions. In Addition plum makes a spoon that goes right onto the pouch and makes things a lot easier!! We dont own full size strollers only nice umbrella strollers and we are taking it on the trip but we are also taking a carrier. Im not sure what to do about the bed. I want to take our pnp but i'm just not sure I want to do that or use the ships.