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. Princess seem to be reasonably priced compared to other lines in this area.

 

Any pros and cons would be helpful.

[HJH]

The length of the flights to New Zealand and Australia just from Los Angeles would be a problem for an infant of that age. 14+ hours each way.

[DevonianCruiser]

The length of the flights to New Zealand and Australia just from Los Angeles would be a problem for an infant of that age. 14+ hours each way.

 

From the UK we're talking about a 24 - 26 hour flight with a stop off. We're aware of that, it's more about the suitability of young children on the ships I'm after. I've done a lot of cruises with mine from 1 yr and up but only in Europe and the Caribbean so was hoping someone has done this in Oz.

[Bemidji Ty]

A year and a half ago, we enjoyed a one week Alaskan cruise with our 7 month old granddaughter, 3 year old and 5 year old grandsons and their two sets of parents, our married kids. We had a ball.

 

Our granddaughter took to the cruising experience with a visible joy. She was known as "Smiley Riley" by many of our fellow cruisers. Our two boys both wanted to know if we were all living on a cruise ship now. They were both sad when we disembarked and will still ask when we will cruise again.

 

Both boys got dressed up for formal nights (Target children's dept). They told told these were special occasions. They accepted this, enjoyed being waited on and the many kind comments they received from their fellow passengers. Our 3 year old looked in a mirror and commented, "I'm a stud!"

[DevonianCruiser]

A year and a half ago, we enjoyed a one week Alaskan cruise with our 7 month old granddaughter, 3 year old and 5 year old grandsons and their two sets of parents, our married kids. We had a ball.

 

Our granddaughter took to the cruising experience with a visible joy. She was known as "Smiley Riley" by many of our fellow cruisers. Our two boys both wanted to know if we were all living on a cruise ship now. They were both sad when we disembarked and will still ask when we will cruise again.

 

Both boys got dressed up for formal nights (Target children's dept). They told told these were special occasions. They accepted this, enjoyed being waited on and the many kind comments they received from their fellow passengers. Our 3 year old looked in a mirror and commented, "I'm a stud!"

 

Sounds like you had a great holiday. I took my eldest when he was 9 months old but there was no flying involved then so that's the only consideration.

[Bemidji Ty]

We just had a short flight from San Diego to Seattle. As we were climbing into the clouds, our 5 year old who was enjoying his first flight, asked if this was where heaven was.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Bemidji Ty
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[kitkat343]

We did the partial transit Panama Canal cruise with our son when he was 2. Princess allowed him into the kids clubs with parental supervision. The kids club staff did a great job helping him make arts and crafts (which were designed for older kids) and playing with their toys. But Princess is redesigning their kids club programs, and I don't see anything on their webpage that still says kids under 3 are allowed in the kids clubs with parental supervision. So I'd contact them to see if they have changed this rule - there's nothing specifically saying kids under 3 are banned either - but the previous webpage made it clear that they were allowed. Supervising a 2 year old in the kids club didn't give us a complete break, but it was much easier watching our son in the kid zone where he had access to unlimited arts and crafts supplies and toys.

 

As for whether or not you can handle this, it honestly is a very individual question. On my honeymoon, I met a family with a 4 and 6 year old climbing the ruins in Angkor Wat, and was very impressed to learn they were traveling the world with their children for a year. My family could never handle that. Other people told me they could never handle my last trip - taking my 3 year old on a Baltic cruise. My son loved St. Petersburg, and we all had a wonderful time.

 

 

My family would never be able to handle the trip you are proposing but you might be totally fine with it. Good luck and have a great time if you go!

[two_black_dogs]

If you are talking about travelling in the December - January period, be aware that this is school holidays period for all Australian states. Any cruise you choose will have large numbers of children on it (although possibly fewer on a cruise to NZ than to the Pacific Islands), and definitely fewer on Princess than say Carnival for example.

 

Also be aware that this is peak holiday period on land, and that therefore land-based accommodation is heavily booked and also much more expensive.

 

Finally, think about the climate of where you are intending to go. Summer can be the wet season in parts of northern Australia, which could mean that you encounter wet, humid, steamy weather with less than perfect beach conditions (and possibly closed beaches due to stingers etc). We tend to experience either bushfires or severe storms/cyclones and floods at this time too which could also affect your plans, although of course Australia is a very big country and your plans might have you nowhere near any of these factors. Although having said that, taking two weeks out of a 4-6 week holiday for a cruise doesn't leave you with all that much time to see much of what this country is famous for (especially if you are planning to drive around).

 

I recommend thinking a bit more about exactly what you are looking for from your holiday on land to see if it is viable at that time of the year, as well as thinking about a cruise component.

[geocruiser]

We just had a short flight from San Diego to Seattle. As we were climbing into the clouds, our 5 year old who was enjoying his first flight, asked if this was where heaven was.

 

 

So cute. This made me smile. Thank you for posting it.

[lolane1]

We just had a short flight from San Diego to Seattle. As we were climbing into the clouds, our 5 year old who was enjoying his first flight, asked if this was where heaven was.

 

How absolutely adorable!!

My cynical internal answer would have been, "Close but no darling, in a few hours when we board the ship, Mommy will be in her own heaven":halo: