Australia/ NZ with a baby?

[DevonianCruiser]

Just wondering if anyone has had an experience of this.

 

We would like to take our 9 month old down under maybe at the end of the year, early next year. She will be 1 1/2 or so by then. Would probably go for 4 to 6 weeks and like the idea of a cruise from Sydney to NZ for a couple of weeks. Not sure if Princess cruises are more geared up for this, but Ovation is out there then. Could even do a b2b up to Singapore and fly back from there.

 

Any pros and cons would be helpful.

[MrYellowDuck]

There are children of those ages in both countries and the locals all believe that both countries are the best on the planet for raising families; objectively all of these people are right.

 

We started cruising with a just-turned-two year-old and there were absolutely no issues. In our case we had travelled from the majesty of NZ up to Alaska and while we were thus is a much less safe country we were careful and had no issues. The staff on the ship (Princess in this case) could not have been more helpful.

 

Being more serious for a moment you will not have a problem bringing a child of that age onto a cruise down in this part of the world.

[cb at sea]

If you want a "nursery", then you will need to book Ovation....I don't think Princess has anything except "parent/child" time for anyone under 3.

[DevonianCruiser]

There are children of those ages in both countries and the locals all believe that both countries are the best on the planet for raising families; objectively all of these people are right.

 

We started cruising with a just-turned-two year-old and there were absolutely no issues. In our case we had travelled from the majesty of NZ up to Alaska and while we were thus is a much less safe country we were careful and had no issues. The staff on the ship (Princess in this case) could not have been more helpful.

 

Being more serious for a moment you will not have a problem bringing a child of that age onto a cruise down in this part of the world.

 

I've done a lot of European and Caribbean cruises with my children from 1 year upwards, just wasn't sure how geared up the ships are down there. I think I was just guessing that the majority of cruisers flying from Europe and the US wouldn't have young children with them - totally forgetting that a lot of people in NZ and Australia would also cruise.

 

We plan to spend a few weeks travelling around Australia and also seeing family but would love to see NZ as well.

[TiiiSailor]

Traveling in Australia/NZ will be the same as at home. RCL has onboard facilities if you want some time to yourselves. The only issue I'd see, is how does the baby do during long flights? Our flight home, the shorter of our trip to Australia was a 13 hour flight to San Francisco, a 3 hour layover, followed by another 5 hour flight to New York.

[DevonianCruiser]

Traveling in Australia/NZ will be the same as at home. RCL has onboard facilities if you want some time to yourselves. The only issue I'd see, is how does the baby do during long flights? Our flight home, the shorter of our trip to Australia was a 13 hour flight to San Francisco, a 3 hour layover, followed by another 5 hour flight to New York.

 

The flight is our main concern, but if we do this it will be a long trip to make it worthwhile and we would split the flights. Quite a few people do this especially as so many Brits have family over there. Good to know it will be similar.

[Opua Kiwi]

Could even do a b2b up to Singapore and fly back from there.

That would be high on my options list as a good idea.

 

Also, if it were me, I'd be planning on a 2 night stopover in Singapore or Hong Kong on the flight out to Aussie.

 

Edit: I see you have already mentioned splitting the flights.

[DevonianCruiser]

That would be high on my options list as a good idea.

 

Also, if it were me, I'd be planning on a 2 night stopover in Singapore or Hong Kong on the flight out to Aussie.

 

Sounds a good idea thanks. Will look at that :-)

[Desert Cruizers]

We did the 13 day NZ cruise on the Radiance in March of 2014 and although we didn't see really young children, we did see children. Keep in mind when flying to Sydney from the States, to allow a couple extra days in flying due to the time difference. An example, flying from LAX and wanting to arrive on the 17th, we booked our flights for departing on the 15th. More needed if flying from Mid West States or the East Coast. I believe it is a 7 hour flight from Honolulu if you decide to break up the flight. We went non stop from LAX and it was 15 hours.

[Merion_Mom]

We did the 13 day NZ cruise on the Radiance in March of 2014 and although we didn't see really young children, we did see children. Keep in mind when flying to Sydney from the States, to allow a couple extra days in flying due to the time difference. An example, flying from LAX and wanting to arrive on the 17th, we booked our flights for departing on the 15th. More needed if flying from Mid West States or the East Coast. I believe it is a 7 hour flight from Honolulu if you decide to break up the flight. We went non stop from LAX and it was 15 hours.

The OP is in England.

[SuiteTraveler]

Schools are out in Australia for winter break until around Jan. 28 so lots of Aussie families will be vacationing through the end of January. The price on the cruise might be cheaper in February. The other thing to keep in mind is that there can be high seas between Australia and New Zealand - there is one area that can be particularly bad, so you need to go prepared with anti-seasickness meds.

 

I think I would be more concerned about the long, long flights than anything else for your child's sake.

 

I did notice an interesting itinerary from Mauritius to Perth - where you might fly from the UK to Mauritius and then sail to Perth in 14 days, then you could have a short flight to Sydney to board a cruise to New Zealand - but don't know if you have that kind of time off. It's on the Crystal Symphony on Jan 22. The flight to Mauritius is 12 hours from London compared to the 22+ hours from London to Sydney. Perth to Sydney is around 4 hours. Just a thought about another way you could do this and it would be really interesting to see Mauritius.

[Desert Cruizers]

Coming from the UK you would definitely want to break up your flights. Depending on your route, keep in mind, the time difference and booking your departure to Sydney and planned arrival dates. An example, we left on the 15th of March from LAX to arrive on the 17th.

[lucymorgan]

It takes more than 24 hours to fly from Europe to Sydney - a trip I have done many times.

 

I agree with the suggestion that you break your journey. In some ways a child of 1 1/2 might cope more easily than one in the 2-4 years old category. Choose a good airline and make sure you get the best seats you can find/afford and I think you will find that you will be well looked after - the flight crew on these long haul flights are very used to dealing with small children/babies. With the entertainment options, there are usually lots of children's shows/games etc available. Lots of people do laps of walking around the plane with their little ones to tire them out.

 

The only time I have ever had a problem with a baby/toddler on one of these flights was not the baby's fault (good noise cancelling headphones easily block out crying) but the father jumping up and down every few minutes in the middle of the night and shaking my seat :)