Pregnant and cruising: Tips and Advice?

[Mybearsbaby]

Hi fellow cruisers! My DH and I are expecting (yay!) and want to take one more cruise for our "babymoon" before I get too far along. (We usually cruise on our anniversary in November, but I will be past the allowed # of weeks, so we are looking at late Sept or early Oct.) I will be either 20 or 22 weeks depending on which week we sail, and it is looking like it will probably be onboard Carnival Destiny to Grand Turk, Nassau, and HMC.

 

 

We will be most likely not doing shore excursions, just laying on the beach or walking around since I cant do most of them anyway, but I would like input on any yall have done that were good, pregnancy friendly, and not too overwhelming.

My questions are:

1) For those of you who have cruised while pregnant, and how was it, and would you do it again?

2) Do you have any tips for cruising while expecting?

3) What type of excursions did you do, and were they good or bad?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I cruised when I was 32 weeks pregnant (yep- got special permission/long story) and it was a breeze. I loved it- especially swimming in the pools. It was relaxing.

 

Really until you reach the end of the pregnancy (like 7-9 months) you will feel pretty much like normal- just a little wider and have a baby starting to kick.

 

My son was born in September and so I survived a summer pregnancy with no troubles whatsoever.

 

You'll be just fine.

 

Only thing that happened to me is that I have a lot of skin damage from so much time in the sun while I was pregnant. I guess you produce more melanin and my skin is now really blotchy. I did spend every day at the pool though without sunblock- so shame on me!

 

On Grand Turk they have a pool and beach area right at the dock. That's your best bet. In Nassau we rented a room at the Comfort Suites across from the Atlantis which gave us pool privileges at the Atlantis- which is really like an super nice water park. Cheaper than a room at the Atlantis for the day. But also call the Atlantis to see if you can get guest passes to use the pool. I don't think you can but worth a try and cheaper than a room at the Comfort Suites.

[flhokie]

I cruised at the beginning of 2nd trimester and it was great. I'd definitely do it again (probably not Caribbean or anywhere hot, but that's just my preference). We flew to Europe and cruised Northern Europe so the weather was not an issue. I did 1 shore excursion that was a city tour and lunch. We walked all around the other ports.

 

Check with your Dr. about options for sea sickness. We had 1 very rough night. My doctor told me to try to stick with the sea bands, but if I really started to get sick to take up to 1 dramamine (which I did have to do that 1 night).

 

I would suggest investing in travel insurance. Make sure to do your research to make sure they'd cover pregnancy or pregnancy related issues (many do not).

 

Make sure to get the required documentation from your doctor and provide it to the cruise line in advance (and carry a copy with you).

[cb at sea]

I was always VERY tired in the 1st trimester....but the 2nd trimester was a breeze! As long as you're healthy and have no restrictions by your doctor, it shouldn't be any different than doing anything else!

[092306]

I cruised at 21 weeks and had a great time. I did get swollen feet/ankles here and there after walking around ports. I did a couple of land tour excursions which were fine but make sure you have good opportunities to cool off and get shade. Keep very hydrated. Even if you think you are drinking enough drink more. Dehydration can cause premature labor. It happened to me at 32 weeks from a day at a baseball game.

[Julienatul]

I cruised at 23 weeks and 22 weeks with both my kids. It was great both times and the second time we were smack in the middle of a hurricaine with very rough seas. Just take it easy, drink plenty of fluids-you can get dehydrated faster. Wear plenty of sunscreen-pregnancy hormones make your skin more prone to burning. Stay away from sushi and mexican cheeses-otherwise most food you can eat just fine. Dont go in the hot tubs too much-the heat isnt good for the baby. Any leisure excursion is fine. Talk to your OB about bringing Zofran (anti-nausea) just in case you need it. Have a great cruise, we did !!

[ozysanj]

We had to cancel our cruise with rccl as I was gonna hit 24 weeks during the cuise.so before everything,make sure your cruise line accepts you.we almost found out last minute,it would be dreadful to be refused at the terminal,ending up with no refund and no other plans or money for an alternative holiday!!

[christygobar]

I cruised early in my 1st trimester and was miserable. That's about the point I was always feeling sick. I actually did get sick on the ship. I was also much more prone to feeling every movement the ship made. I was still able to do shore excursions - snorkeling, sailing. Very relaxing and easy (still sea-sick though!)

 

By the time I was 20 weeks, DH and I went to Hawaii and I was much better off. People could tell I was pregnant and they loved asking us about it. I was STILL sea-sick (snorkeling trips), which I never have been prone to. The bands did not help me. So definitely check with your doctor between now and then.

 

Bottom line, it was much easier to travel around 20-22 weeks. Sounds like you're well within the 24 week mark, just make sure you have your paperwork signed by your Dr.

 

:)

[cruisergirl79]

First of all Congratulations!!!

 

I was 23 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child, last September, we went on the Serenade of the Seas to the S. Caribbean and to be honestly, not one person asked to see a letter from my Dr or asked how far along I was.

I would take the note with you either way, but don't expect people to ask you how far along you are, since you may not be showing that much with you first anyway :)

But to answer your question, I would do it again, we had a great time, we went to lots of beach excursions and rented cars on some islands, so nothing too crazy, since we did have our 2.5 yr old with us.

The only thing that I wasn't fond of was the weather, it was hot and sticky, plus being pregnant it added a few more degrees to me LOL, but we did go to the Caribbean so I can't complain too much, it usually is hot :)

Go and enjoy your babymoon, you'll have a great time!!!

[B_Mc]

I cruised at 20 weeks and it was great! We didn't do any excursions (partly because of the limitations for pregnant women and partly because of the weather) but I still really enjoyed the cruise. Because I wasn't spending any money at the bar I splurged on a spa treatment and a behind the scenes tour - way better way to spend money than drinks, IMO!

 

Congratulations and Enjoy!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was almost 20 weeks on my preggers cruise. It was only a three-day cruise, not because of my condition but because hubby couldn't get away for many days at that particular time. I wasn't showing; in fact, my tablemates didn't know until I turned down a glass of wine at dinner and patted my tummy.

 

I followed the usual common sense of not eating any soft cheese (to avoid listeria), I don't eat fish so no worries about possible mercury poisoning; drink plenty of water; try to do sensible exercise. I couldn't go whole hog on eating as I had a temporary crown on my wisdom tooth, which wouldn't stay on. We actually did a city tour of Ensenada (yawn).

 

It was our last vacation of more than a day for some time (just day trips to Sea World, etc.) until our repeat Baja cruise when the girl was 23 months of age. Amazingly she didn't inherit my tendency to motion sickness -- sea travel doesn't bother her at all. Maybe it was cruising when she was minus five months of age.:)