Managing Infants on excursions - car seats

[Mr Astro]

We will be travelling with a 10 month old to Mexico this February. We are planning to book and excursion or two at some of the ports we'll be visiting and would like to hear from people who have done the same. Our big question is: do any of the excursion companies provide car seats for a child of this age?

 

Thank you in advance for the advice we are about to receive.

 

Mr. Astro

[Homosassa]

I have never seen car seats for an infant on a shore excursion as there are lower age limits on many excursions. If there aren't age limits, many people will not pay the excursion price for an infant (a ticket will be needed for the infant) and therefore, once again, there is no demand for the car seat.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Although we have not done Mexico Riviera cruise, we have done numerous Caribbean cruises, some of which were with DD with her little girls. She brought her own car seat their they were little and later she brought a type of blow up booster when the kids were more like 4 and up. If you are flying are you bringing a car seat with you?

 

Have never seen tour operators or taxis out of the country have any type of children's seat available

[Colo Cruiser]

For peace of mind I would bring your own car seat, that way you know its not defective/cracked/etc etc. You are trusting a life in someone elses equiptment. I would not count on all the places having one either. ;)

[epcopres]

I agree with bringing own. The car seats also are date coded and can only be safely used a certain amount of years. I wouldn't trust their seat if they had one.

[CI66774]

I've never seen any seatbelts. Good luck!

[paul929207]

You may have trouble attaching the seat in either a taxi or a bus.

[ChiefSealthCruz]

When my daughters were infants, they stayed with Grandma while we cruised. They are now 7, 8 and 15 so we are bringing them with us this summer. However, if we would have brought them along as infants we would have packed carseats for all of the reasons listed above.

 

However you decide to play it, enjoy your cruise!

[akins58442]

The tour operators on buses on Mexican Riviera and in the Med just told us to hold our infant. We let her in her ergo baby or baby Bjorn.

[Pam in CA]

Seat belts and infant seats are not common nor a priority in many parts of the world. :(

[Colo Cruiser]

Better to be buckled in a good car seat than strangled by a set belt or thrown out of the vehicle with no protection at all.

[MarKay525]

We will be travelling with a 10 month old to Mexico this February. We are planning to book and excursion or two at some of the ports we'll be visiting and would like to hear from people who have done the same. Our big question is: do any of the excursion companies provide car seats for a child of this age?

 

Thank you in advance for the advice we are about to receive.

 

Mr. Astro

 

 

Hi - if you haven't already, you may also want to post on the Family Cruises board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

 

The Mexican Ports of Call board may be helpful also.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=203

 

Happy sailing with your wee one.

[MissMouthy]

If you can find one, we loved using a Sit n Stroll when our girls were little. It's a car seat that easily converts to a stroller. Fantastic on airplanes. It's neither a great car seat nor a great stroller, but as a combo it can't be beat. As a side note, the sidewalks in much of Mexico are pretty ""rustic" with lots of bumps and potholes. Have fun!

[cb at sea]

If your excursion is on a bus, there's no need for a carseat...no way to attach it. Many excursions have age limits....so check that before you book!

[sassyredhat]

In April, we had our 10 month old GD with us on ship excursions.

We had no car seat, and there were no seatbelts on the buses.

Couldn't attach a car seat even if we had one.

 

Patti

[dsrdsrdsr]

The law in Mexico is that children under 5 must sit in a child seat secured by a seat belt in the back of the car. Therefore it won't be a surprise to any tour company if they need to provide a car seat. Make sure you get written confirmation from the tour company before you book - any company that won't provide written confirmation that they have a car seat, is probably a cowboy company anyway and best avoided, child or no child.

[Lerin]

Better to be buckled in a good car seat than strangled by a set belt or thrown out of the vehicle with no protection at all.

 

Except that carseats are useless (and dangerous to others) if not attached to something.

 

We've traveled with many young children and are able to find transportation with seat belts in about 5% of foreign countries. We only bring carseats in the US or Canada now, everywhere else they just become a cumbersome waste of space.

 

Most cruise excursions aren't in cars anyway. Usually busses, vans or even trains.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Lerin

[katiedidthat]

We've never done Mexico, but our 13 month old went with us to the Bahamas. We took him on three different excursions. One was a tour bus- no way to install a car seat and he slept in our arms. Second was a smaller bus. Again- no way to install a car seat. I wore him in a wrap. The third was on a boat and again, would have had no way to install a car seat. He sat in his stroller the whole time.

 

Basically- if you are booking an excursion and not a car service- there will likely be no way to use a car seat. Your best bet is to just ask and be prepared to either forgo the seat or forgo the excursion.

[Kerry's Girls]

Except that carseats are useless (and dangerous to others) if not attached to something.

 

We've traveled with many young children and are able to find transportation with seat belts in about 5% of foreign countries. We only bring carseats in the US or Canada now, everywhere else they just become a cumbersome waste of space.

 

Most cruise excursions aren't in cars anyway. Usually busses, vans or even trains.

 

I haven't done the Carib, but Mexico, Europe, Turkey, Egypt and have always had cabs with seatbelts for car seats. Sometimes I have to let the first couple go, but it never takes long. I'll agree the seats are cumbersome!

 

Best,

Mia

[mconthehighseas]

I am guessing that you are cruising on the west coast, but I know one company in Cozumel that will rent a carseat For $10 if you reserve it. In case you are cruising the Caribbean, it's Toursplaza. http://www.toursplaza.com/eng/hiring-driver.cfm

 

I preferred having private excursions with our toddler, so that we could return to the ship early if necessary.