Suggestions for cruising with an infant (5 months)?

[kdn hawaii]

Considering cruising on the Wonder on the California Coast cruise in an month or so. We have cruised on other cruiselines pre baby. This is our first time on Disney. We will not be using any of the child care services. We just want to take a vacation and this was the only cruise line that allows infants under 6 months. Suggestions as to what to bring/ what not to bring would be appreciated. Any feedback on experience cruising with an infant is also welcomed.

Is there a pediatrician on board and has anyone had to utilize services?

 

Thanks!

[Shmoo here]

Considering cruising on the Wonder on the California Coast cruise in an month or so. We have cruised on other cruiselines pre baby. This is our first time on Disney. We will not be using any of the child care services. We just want to take a vacation and this was the only cruise line that allows infants under 6 months. Suggestions as to what to bring/ what not to bring would be appreciated. Any feedback on experience cruising with an infant is also welcomed.

Is there a pediatrician on board and has anyone had to utilize services?

 

Thanks!

 

No pediatrician. The doctor onboard is a general practice/family practice doctor.

 

There's, most likely, a reason most cruiselines won't take babies under 6 months.

 

:)

[CC Help Jenn]

Considering cruising on the Wonder on the California Coast cruise in an month or so. We have cruised on other cruiselines pre baby. This is our first time on Disney. We will not be using any of the child care services. We just want to take a vacation and this was the only cruise line that allows infants under 6 months. Suggestions as to what to bring/ what not to bring would be appreciated. Any feedback on experience cruising with an infant is also welcomed.

Is there a pediatrician on board and has anyone had to utilize services?

 

Thanks!

 

We first cruised when our son was 2, so can't comment on the infant specifics.

I did want to note that We did have to see the doctor on board, and they did really well with my son. They treated him for a double ear infection that seemed to pop up out of the blue. They had the proper medication to get him feeling better fast, and even gave us a follow up call to make sure he was doing okay. Glad we had travel insurance to cover the doctor visit and meds :)

[kdn hawaii]

No pediatrician. The doctor onboard is a general practice/family practice doctor.

 

There's, most likely, a reason most cruiselines won't take babies under 6 months.

 

:)

 

thanks!

[kdn hawaii]

We first cruised when our son was 2, so can't comment on the infant specifics.

I did want to note that We did have to see the doctor on board, and they did really well with my son. They treated him for a double ear infection that seemed to pop up out of the blue. They had the proper medication to get him feeling better fast, and even gave us a follow up call to make sure he was doing okay. Glad we had travel insurance to cover the doctor visit and meds :)

 

thanks! is the travel insurance through your personal medical insurance or bought through the cruiseline?

[Shmoo here]

thanks! is the travel insurance through your personal medical insurance or bought through the cruiseline?

 

Most personal medical insurance doesn't cover out of the country (and once you board the ship, you're considered out of the country). We purchase insurance through insuremytrip.com.

 

Generally, insurance through the cruiseline isn't all that great.

 

:)

[kdn hawaii]

Most personal medical insurance doesn't cover out of the country (and once you board the ship, you're considered out of the country). We purchase insurance through insuremytrip.com.

 

Generally, insurance through the cruiseline isn't all that great.

 

:)

 

Thanks so much!

[gina2edu]

We have cruised with infants several times (9 months, 10 months, 12 months) with my son and daughter and have had a great experience all around. The staff usually loves seeing the little ones since they don't come on the ship that often. Spaces can be a little tight with a stroller but not usually a problem. Just wouldn't bring one that is really big and heavy.

 

Each of them has visited the medical center once. They are able to do some medications for young children (nebulizer treatment and antibiotics) but not others (nausea medications). The doctors have always been nice but not necessarily have a lot of experience with really little kids.

 

To save a little money we usually shop for diapers/wipes (I guess formula and water if you are bottle feeding) before we get to the cruise terminal. It takes too much room in your luggage to pack a lot of that stuff and we try to check as few bags as possible when flying. It is also a great time to pick up a few new toys as well.

 

The rooms get tight once you add the crib in but you can manage. They don't have hangers that will hold infant clothing so might want to bring a few of your own. If you have a son, you can get a tux on ebay that is pretty inexpensive. Really good for pictures.

 

Happy sailing

[Shmoo here]

We have cruised with infants several times (9 months, 10 months, 12 months) with my son and daughter and have had a great experience all around. The staff usually loves seeing the little ones since they don't come on the ship that often. Spaces can be a little tight with a stroller but not usually a problem. Just wouldn't bring one that is really big and heavy.

 

Each of them has visited the medical center once. They are able to do some medications for young children (nebulizer treatment and antibiotics) but not others (nausea medications). The doctors have always been nice but not necessarily have a lot of experience with really little kids.

 

To save a little money we usually shop for diapers/wipes (I guess formula and water if you are bottle feeding) before we get to the cruise terminal. It takes too much room in your luggage to pack a lot of that stuff and we try to check as few bags as possible when flying. It is also a great time to pick up a few new toys as well.

 

The rooms get tight once you add the crib in but you can manage. They don't have hangers that will hold infant clothing so might want to bring a few of your own. If you have a son, you can get a tux on ebay that is pretty inexpensive. Really good for pictures.

 

Happy sailing

 

If you use Babies Travel Lite:

 

http://www.babiestravellite.com/

 

you won't need to make that stop for stuff. They deliver directly to the ship. I haven't use them myself, but I read many reports as to how handy they are to use.

 

:)

[kdn hawaii]

We have cruised with infants several times (9 months, 10 months, 12 months) with my son and daughter and have had a great experience all around. The staff usually loves seeing the little ones since they don't come on the ship that often. Spaces can be a little tight with a stroller but not usually a problem. Just wouldn't bring one that is really big and heavy.

 

Each of them has visited the medical center once. They are able to do some medications for young children (nebulizer treatment and antibiotics) but not others (nausea medications). The doctors have always been nice but not necessarily have a lot of experience with really little kids.

 

To save a little money we usually shop for diapers/wipes (I guess formula and water if you are bottle feeding) before we get to the cruise terminal. It takes too much room in your luggage to pack a lot of that stuff and we try to check as few bags as possible when flying. It is also a great time to pick up a few new toys as well.

 

The rooms get tight once you add the crib in but you can manage. They don't have hangers that will hold infant clothing so might want to bring a few of your own. If you have a son, you can get a tux on ebay that is pretty inexpensive. Really good for pictures.

 

Happy sailing

 

thanks for the tips!!

[kdn hawaii]

If you use Babies Travel Lite:

 

http://www.babiestravellite.com/

 

you won't need to make that stop for stuff. They deliver directly to the ship. I haven't use them myself, but I read many reports as to how handy they are to use.

 

:)

 

thanks for the tip!!

[MBprincess]

Children are so different. I would think about what makes yours comfy. For example one of ours at that age loved the bucket car seat and slept in it. I would also bring stuff to help at bath time. Depending on your cabin you may want an inflatable bath pillow to help since at five months baby's usually cant sit up well. I would also bring DVDs for you. With an infant you may be in the room more than you were before baby.

[Shmoo here]

Children are so different. I would think about what makes yours comfy. For example one of ours at that age loved the bucket car seat and slept in it. I would also bring stuff to help at bath time. Depending on your cabin you may want an inflatable bath pillow to help since at five months baby's usually cant sit up well. I would also bring DVDs for you. With an infant you may be in the room more than you were before baby.

 

The rooms onboard don't have DVD players.

 

:)

[Gary from PA]

If you are confident of self medicating your baby, you can happily bring her. If you run to the doctor for every sneeze and cold, then better not bring it. my wife is a doctor and packs a dozen baby medications on every holiday :)

 

Insure my trip is the best website for buying travel insurance. Never ever travel or cruise without insurance with a generous medical evacuation benefits.

[gina2edu]

Another post reminded me of a few other things... giving baths to kids on the ship can be very tricky (not sure if Disney has tubs in all the rooms). We brought a blow up pool toy on our first cruise to help out. Easy to pack and it was cheap so we just threw it out at the end of the cruise.

 

As for bringing DVDs we have a solution for that. For the flight we have a bunch of cartoons on our IPad. We have large headphones that either a baby can wear or you can hold them up next to her ear for her to hear. My husband has bought some cables and we use them to connect to the tv on several different cruise lines.

 

One last suggestion would be to buy a portable power strip. The rooms don't usually have many plugs and if you have to charge anything (IPad or DVD player) it is nice to have a way to charge more than one thing.

[Shmoo here]

Another post reminded me of a few other things... giving baths to kids on the ship can be very tricky (not sure if Disney has tubs in all the rooms). We brought a blow up pool toy on our first cruise to help out. Easy to pack and it was cheap so we just threw it out at the end of the cruise.

 

As for bringing DVDs we have a solution for that. For the flight we have a bunch of cartoons on our IPad. We have large headphones that either a baby can wear or you can hold them up next to her ear for her to hear. My husband has bought some cables and we use them to connect to the tv on several different cruise lines.

 

One last suggestion would be to buy a portable power strip. The rooms don't usually have many plugs and if you have to charge anything (IPad or DVD player) it is nice to have a way to charge more than one thing.

 

I will point this out, from the DCL website:

 

Question What items are not permitted on board? Answer In order to maintain a safe and secure environment for our Guests and crew, the following are examples of items that Guests are not allowed to bring on board. These and other similar items will be confiscated upon being found.

• Weapons and firearms (including ammunition, knives—including dive knives—swords, daggers or any other types of weapons) are not allowed onboard under any circumstances
  
• Realistic replicas of firearms and weapons
  
• Highly flammable liquids and combustible substances
  
• Non prescribed controlled substances, illegal drugs, medically prescribed and synthetic marijuana
  
• Power Tools and Tool boxes (except those tools of the trade utilized by vendors providing services)
  
• Sporting equipment (i.e., baseball and cricket bats, hockey and lacrosse sticks, pool cues, ski poles, fishing gear and archery equipment.)
  
• SCUBA equipment (i.e., tanks, spears guns /slings, dive knives, pry bar, and underwater scooter)
  
• Kites, balloons, surfboards, wave boards, inflatable floats/pools (including pool noodles), and wagons
  
• Bicycles, Segways, skateboards, inline & roller skates, any footwear with wheels, (i.e. Heely's type shoes)
  
• Electrical appliances such as rice cookers, hot plates, coffee makers, electric irons, bottle sterilizer and bottle warmers, etc. Please note: A limited number of approved bottle warmers and bottle sterilizers are available upon request through Guest Services. Also all ships offer laundry facilities with irons and ironing boards. Valet laundry service is also available for a nominal fee.
  
• Candles & Incense
  
• DVD, VCR, or Blu ray players or, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Wii gaming systems are not allowed because of compatibility issues with the stateroom TVs
  

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/prohibited-items/prohibited-items/

 

I second the power strip, we have a Belkin one that expands one socket to 3 and has 2 USB ports on it.

 

:)

[gigi1313]

It's my experience that DCL offers many movies and shows on demand on the television in your stateroom... I am sure one can find something to watch during nap time if not napping also!

[jenseib]

Are you sure? I swore when i asked they told me that children under 6 months could not sail. That was last year when I looked into it, so we waited so my cousins little one could sail with us.

 

Edit...oh wait...now that I think about it...I beleive it's 3 months....Having brain issues this morning

[Shmoo here]

It's my experience that DCL offers many movies and shows on demand on the television in your stateroom... I am sure one can find something to watch during nap time if not napping also!

 

 

I believe the on demand movies are only available on the Dream and Fantasy. The Magic & Wonder do run movies (usually on about 4 or 5 different channels) but it's what they want to show, you don't get to choose.

 

:)

[kdn hawaii]

thanks for all the tips, everyone!