Traveling with a 7 month old ...??

[LE113]

We are considering cruising with our 7 month old and have done some research on it already. We aren't concerned that we'll have to return to the cabin early for his bedtime, that we won't be able to enjoy some of the more adult options on the ship, or that he may need a nap in the middle of the day. That's all fun because we love traveling with our babe. The biggest concern we have has to do with shore excursions. We've cruised before, prior to the baby, and know that most shore excursions with the cruise lines (minus the "private" islands) require you to take a van or bus of some sort to the location. We figured we might just pick the beach days at each stop rather than an actual tour since that would be a little more baby friendly. But I'm assuming there's no way to be certain whether the cruise ship transportation two and from those beach days have a seat belt somewhere in the vehicle so we could lug a car seat with is, am I correct in assuming that?

Anyone who has travelled with littles, do you just hold them on your lap during transportation? Sounds nerve-wracking to me, but I'm sure people do it!

Thanks so much!!

[OCruisers]

What's your itinerary?  There are some ports of call -- not many but some -- where you can walk to a beach with the little one in a stroller.  

[LE113]

We haven't booked anything yet, actually. Looking for something in January - really flexible on dates, cruise lines, itinerary, etc. I personally am over Nassau - not my favorite place. We've been looking at Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity mainly. What ports would you suggest that are best with kids? THANK YOU!

[cb at sea]

Google your ports, along with "transportation".  Many places have buses, so you won't need a car seat.

[OCruisers]

2 hours ago, LE113 said:

We haven't booked anything yet, actually. Looking for something in January - really flexible on dates, cruise lines, itinerary, etc. I personally am over Nassau - not my favorite place. We've been looking at Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity mainly. What ports would you suggest that are best with kids? THANK YOU!

 

One you might want to consider is Grand Turk.  There's a nice beach where you dock.  Also, a Margaritaville with a huge pool for use at no cost within the secured cruise port complex.  

You would not need any sort of transportation.  

[MicCanberra]

For some cruises, they do not allow babies under 12 months to cruise (two sea days in a row).  Best to check and make sure.

[Extra Kim]

Our daughter will be 1 later this month. We have made three real cruises and two ferry cruises with her. Our forth cruise will be in January.

We bought a Graco stroller that can fit a baby seat and a Stokke PramPack, both are great!
We have a very similar stroller as this one, but not exactly the same:

 

[ldubs]

Huh,  I thought I had commented on this.  Turns out I did but it is on the First Timer's forum.   Not an issue but it sure had me scratching my head.  Haha

[MicCanberra]

Delete....

[pacruise804]

13 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

Our daughter will be 1 later this month. We have made three real cruises and two ferry cruises with her. Our forth cruise will be in January.

We bought a Graco stroller that can fit a baby seat and a Stokke PramPack, both are great!
We have a very similar stroller as this one, but not exactly the same:

 

Happy birthday to your little girl, Kim!

 

I had a similar Graco stroller for my littles (now 18 and 13 - not so little any more) and agree that they make a great stroller.  I hadn't heard of the PramPack before and unless I was flying doubt I would use it.

 

Thanks for the videos.  The baby in the first video was sooo cute.  Almost makes me want another, but I think I just wait a few years for the grandbabies 🙂 

[angie7911922]

We traveled with both of our boys when they were under a year. Both of them took their first cruises at about 8 - 9 months old. We didn't bring the car seat, just held them. Most of the transportation we took was of the bus/trolley type, so there wasn't really any place to seat belt anyone in. We didn't have any issues at all just holding them for the rides. 

[Extra Kim]

9 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

Happy birthday to your little girl, Kim!

 

I had a similar Graco stroller for my littles (now 18 and 13 - not so little any more) and agree that they make a great stroller.  I hadn't heard of the PramPack before and unless I was flying doubt I would use it.

 

Thanks for the videos.  The baby in the first video was sooo cute.  Almost makes me want another, but I think I just wait a few years for the grandbabies 🙂 

Thank you! She have been to 15 countries, some of them more then one time. 

The PramPack is for the stroller and baby seat when we fly, taking a stroller is free 😉

[gymbomb]

I have cruised with kids aged 9 month old and a 10 month old (and 2 and 4 years old) and we have only done one ship excursion, though mostly because I want to be able to do things on the child's schedule and go back to the ship whenever we want. We prefer to stick to walking, boats, and busses rather than vans or taxis in which I would not take a small child without a car seat.

 

We take a lightweight stroller and do use it a fair amount, but we also take a baby carrier (Ergo, Tula, or similar) and wear the baby/toddler a LOT both getting around the ship and in port. The one ship excursion we've done with a little one was a 1 hour Duck boat tour in Grand Cayman when my son was 10 months and he slept through the entire thing in the Ergo 🙂

[Extra Kim]

Our daughter was 3.5 months old on her first cruise (YES, it can be done). Italy to Germany, 11 nts. MSC Meraviglia.

 

5.5 months on a the ferry to the swedish Island Gotland, only 4 hours each way.

 

6.5 months on our ferry cruise to Tallinn in Estonia, two nights. Tallink Baltic Princess.

 

8 months on her first Caribbean cruise, 7 nts. Celebrity Equinox.

 

9 months on her second cruise in the Med. 7nts MSC Seaview.

 

The older she gets, the more effort we have had to put in to make it work. But it won't make us stop cruising..

 

She will be one when we board Harmony of the seas in January.

[Elaine5715]

52 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

Our daughter was 3.5 months old on her first cruise (YES, it can be done). Italy to Germany, 11 nts. MSC Meraviglia.

 

5.5 months on a the ferry to the swedish Island Gotland, only 4 hours each way.

 

6.5 months on our ferry cruise to Tallinn in Estonia, two nights. Tallink Baltic Princess.

 

8 months on her first Caribbean cruise, 7 nts. Celebrity Equinox.

 

9 months on her second cruise in the Med. 7nts MSC Seaview.

 

The older she gets, the more effort we have had to put in to make it work. But it won't make us stop cruising..

 

She will be one when we board Harmony of the seas in January.

Of course, it can be done, ages are determined by the cruise line not the parent's ability to manage.  Many rules are different for cruises starting the the US vs other places.  

[LE113]

Thanks everyone!! I really appreciate all the info!

[Elaine5715]

On 12/9/2018 at 4:59 PM, LE113 said:

We are considering cruising with our 7 month old and have done some research on it already. We aren't concerned that we'll have to return to the cabin early for his bedtime, that we won't be able to enjoy some of the more adult options on the ship, or that he may need a nap in the middle of the day. That's all fun because we love traveling with our babe. The biggest concern we have has to do with shore excursions. We've cruised before, prior to the baby, and know that most shore excursions with the cruise lines (minus the "private" islands) require you to take a van or bus of some sort to the location. We figured we might just pick the beach days at each stop rather than an actual tour since that would be a little more baby friendly. But I'm assuming there's no way to be certain whether the cruise ship transportation two and from those beach days have a seat belt somewhere in the vehicle so we could lug a car seat with is, am I correct in assuming that?

Anyone who has travelled with littles, do you just hold them on your lap during transportation? Sounds nerve-wracking to me, but I'm sure people do it!

Thanks so much!!

I wouldn't count on any type of infant related transportation safety measures at any port.  You will see people carrying kids in their arms riding on scooters.  Many excursions have minimum ages to exclude small children.   

[Elaine5715]

On 12/9/2018 at 9:50 PM, OCruisers said:

 

One you might want to consider is Grand Turk.  There's a nice beach where you dock.  Also, a Margaritaville with a huge pool for use at no cost within the secured cruise port complex.  

You would not need any sort of transportation.  

I would second Grand Turk,  Also Amber Cove and Roatan.

[Extra Kim]

6 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

I wouldn't count on any type of infant related transportation safety measures at any port.  You will see people carrying kids in their arms riding on scooters.  Many excursions have minimum ages to exclude small children.   

We took a taxi van on St Thomas to Magens Bay. It didn't cost us anything extra to bring our baby, the stroller and the baby seat. We did tip the driver.

[Extra Kim]

6 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Of course, it can be done, ages are determined by the cruise line not the parent's ability to manage.  Many rules are different for cruises starting the the US vs other places.  

I think that MSC is the only line that doesn't have a minimum 6 month age rule.

[Elaine5715]

5 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

We took a taxi van on St Thomas to Magens Bay. It didn't cost us anything extra to bring our baby, the stroller and the baby seat. We did tip the driver.

St Thomas is US and does have child restraint laws.  Taking a private taxi is different than a ship excursion.   

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 12/11/2018 at 10:38 PM, LE113 said:

Thanks everyone!! I really appreciate all the info!

you should check out Family Cruises subforum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/ 

and Travel with Children https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a10635/traveling-with-children boards.

Your question comes up ALL THE TIME.... :) Good luck!