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debarkation taxi plan ?


ugagal07
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We are debarking in Miami off the Allure in April.  We will be picking up a rental car.  Can my DH debark alone, go get the rental car, and then the kids and I debark and meet him?  Kids are 4 & 5 and I'm trying to help keep everyone's sanity.  We will not be taking car seats on the ship, they will be included with the rental car.  He would do self-assist with his suitcase and we would do zone debarkation with the other 2 pieces of luggage so the timing would work out.  

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I am all for minimizing the stress,  but  I would recommend you stick together for debarkation.

 

Going through customs together seems like a better plan than trying to explain why you split up and you are coming through with your kids but without your spouse.  Plus you would then have to navigate 2 bags and 2 toddlers though the maze.

 

Once you are all through,  if you can find a nice place to hunker down for a while, and he can go get the car....I think would be a better plan.  He would also know where to find you then as he comes back with the vehicle.

 

just my 2cents..

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I'm going to go the other way and say that your plan sounds fine to me!

 

I've split a group before - my siblings and I cruised together and one of us had to catch an early flight so they did self assist, and the rest of us had breakfast. 

 

You know your kids, if you think they can handle the long debarkation line and luggage without it being a nightmare, I think you'll be fine through customs. Like all interactions with authority, don't volunteer information they don't ask for. Treat what you're doing like a perfectly normal logistical choice (it is) and customs will probably be fine. Debarkation day customs agents want to get everyone processed without trouble.

 

If you both have cell phones, you'll be close enough to shore to use them, stay in touch, coordinate as needed. 

 

I'd do it, but I'm comfortable traveling solo with small people. If hubby can wrangle one of the big bags on his way out, that could be helpful. 4 & 5 is big enough to be moderately reliable though.

 

The biggest risks I see are line wrangling meltdowns and the possibility of a slightly longer chat at customs. Both sound like manageable risks to me. (May be different if you have mobility issues, squirmier than average kids, or another reason why customs could be tetchy - non US citizen, etc)

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14 hours ago, ugagal07 said:

We will not be taking car seats on the ship, they will be included with the rental car

I would reconsider renting car seats... You don't know their history. They may have been in an accident and never replaced. They may have been improperly cleaned with harsh chemicals after other kids pooped and vomited into them. Improper cleaning compromises the safety of the seat. They also may be inappropriate for your kids' sizes. The seats that are usually provided are the cheapest possible, like Evenflo Tribute and Cosco High back booster, which an average child outgrows around 3 years of age by harness height.

 

If the 5 yo is over 40# and at least 43" tall and mature enough to be in a booster, I'd recommend bringing a $13 Harmony Youth booster. We've been using this no back booster for cruise traveling since DS was 4 (43", 42#).

Depending on how tall and heavy the 4 yo, and especially on his/her maturity level, I'd go with a light and great to travel with Evenflo Maestro (a harnessed seat) or a high back booster, like Graco Turbobooster which fits small kids very well. You could pack the back part with your luggage and bring the bottom part with you on the plane (store it under the seat or in the overhead compartment).

 

A harnessed seat can be easily attached to a magna cart like this with bungee cords, so you don't have to lug it around in your hands.

 

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are you renting a car in ATL, dropping it off in MIA, then renting a car in MIA and driving it back to ATL?

I would definitely bring your seats in this case.

 

I thought you may be driving from POM to an airport, and that's why I suggested a no back booster for the 5 yo. If you are driving from home anyway, just use your regular seats in the rental car. Your kids will be more comfortable in their own seats anyway, and you already know how to install them, and you know their history and that they will definitely fit your kids.

 

I've traveled with a 5 yo DS and his Britax Frontier plane-to-cruise, because we rented a car on the way back. Here is my story (included a plane ride, so mine was more cumbersome than just driving a rental car from home all the way to the port and simply stashing the car seats in the closet).

 

https://community.babycenter.com/post/a62126569

 

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5 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

 

I've traveled with a 5 yo DS and his Britax Frontier plane-to-cruise, because we rented a car on the way back. Here is my story (included a plane ride, so mine was more cumbersome than just driving a rental car from home all the way to the port and simply stashing the car seats in the closet).

 

https://community.babycenter.com/post/a62126569

 

Holy cats! I feel like the Frontier is super heavy to travel with - thank you so much for the blow by blow of how it worked for you! I wouldn't have thought of hauling it with me, but its nice to know it can be done.

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We are renting a car for the day.  We have a 5:00 flight out of FLL.  We plan to grab lunch, see/do something interesting, and head to the airport.  We can get a one day car rental for $90 with car seats just for a few hours.  We are flying down and back.  I don't have room for a carseat in the cruise cabin with 2 kids already, so we are going to rent for a few hours.  Not ideal, but when the Oasis sailing got cancelled, this was our only option that week of Spring Break. 😞  Royal has one excursion to the Everglades, but I can rent a car on my own, go to lunch (not included in excursion), see the Everglades, and still come out almost $200 ahead. 

 

I can entertain the kids for a little while with a little tablet time while waiting to disembark.  They are good cruisers, this will be #5 for the youngest and #6 for the oldest, so I'm not worried about the luggage either.  My biggest concern was would RCCL let one member of the party off without the other 3 and getting through customs without the other parent.  I'll bring a notarized letter from my husband for customs, just in case, that's an easy emergency back up.  

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11 hours ago, TheLadyK said:

I'm going to go the other way and say that your plan sounds fine to me!

 

I've split a group before - my siblings and I cruised together and one of us had to catch an early flight so they did self assist, and the rest of us had breakfast. 

 

You know your kids, if you think they can handle the long debarkation line and luggage without it being a nightmare, I think you'll be fine through customs. Like all interactions with authority, don't volunteer information they don't ask for. Treat what you're doing like a perfectly normal logistical choice (it is) and customs will probably be fine. Debarkation day customs agents want to get everyone processed without trouble.

 

If you both have cell phones, you'll be close enough to shore to use them, stay in touch, coordinate as needed. 

 

I'd do it, but I'm comfortable traveling solo with small people. If hubby can wrangle one of the big bags on his way out, that could be helpful. 4 & 5 is big enough to be moderately reliable though.

 

The biggest risks I see are line wrangling meltdowns and the possibility of a slightly longer chat at customs. Both sound like manageable risks to me. (May be different if you have mobility issues, squirmier than average kids, or another reason why customs could be tetchy - non US citizen, etc)

I have faith in my kids.  They can just as easily meltdown with both of us standing in line as with one...  They're veteran cruisers.  I love my DH, but he couldn't wrangle them like this.  Why he will be delegated to rental car duty. 🙂 

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11 hours ago, TheLadyK said:

Holy cats! I feel like the Frontier is super heavy to travel with - thank you so much for the blow by blow of how it worked for you! I wouldn't have thought of hauling it with me, but its nice to know it can be done.

if the kid is small enough, Evenflo Maestro is so much better to travel with. But since my kid is tall and heavy, he was within months of outgrowing the Maestro by weight, so buying for one trip only was out of the question anyway. Plus, Frontier's 30 second installation is the best thing ever - great for taxis and rental cars.

 

When we didn't rent cars, we have been using a Harmony Youth booster (it's a no back booster). Like I said - the kid is tall and heavy, and had just enough maturity to stay properly seated during a short taxi ride with me by his side.

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11 hours ago, ugagal07 said:

We are renting a car for the day.  We have a 5:00 flight out of FLL. 

 

I'll bring a notarized letter from my husband for customs, just in case, that's an easy emergency back up.  

oh, cool. Well, in that case, I'd still consider bringing a $13 Harmony Youth no back booster for the 5 yo if he is big and mature enough for one, because you'll know the history of at least one car seat. I'd also consider a Graco Turbobooster for the 4 yo. People usually bring the no back part with them on the plane and pack the high back part into luggage.

 

We usually take a 5 pm Spirit flight back as well, but we just hang out at the airport, though. :) We eat a leisurely breakfast onboard the ship, then we are about the last ones to leave the ship which is a breeze because there is no line, then we uber/taxi over to the airport (we got there at 12:30 pm in December), and by the time we get through luggage drop off and security, that leaves just about 3 hours to hang out and have lunch. :)  DS is usually on his tablet playing or watching something. 

 

But this time I am going to try to get the 12:30 pm flight and leave the ship early. In December, after a very relaxed and late debarkation, we actually got to the gate when the 12:30 flight was leaving. If we don't dilly dally, we should make it this time. :) If not - see you at the airport!

 

Oh, and the immigration officer won't know whether you are traveling with your husband or not. The notarized letter is usually needed when exiting the US, because the US doesn't want any of its little citizens to be kidnapped and taken out of the country against the US parent's will. Most of the time, though, it's not needed upon exiting anyway, because passports for minors can only be obtained with BOTH parents' permissions, and if one parent doesn't want the child to leave the US, he/she can revoke a minor's passport. Which, essentially, precludes the child from leaving the US.

Just an FYI.

 

P.S. I do apologize if I sound condescending. Not my intention, but I understand that I sometimes come off as such, especially in print. Happy cruising!

 

 

Edited by Itchy&Scratchy
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23 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

if the kid is small enough, Evenflo Maestro is so much better to travel with. But since my kid is tall and heavy, he was within months of outgrowing the Maestro by weight, so buying for one trip only was out of the question anyway. Plus, Frontier's 30 second installation is the best thing ever - great for taxis and rental cars.

 

When we didn't rent cars, we have been using a Harmony Youth booster (it's a no back booster). Like I said - the kid is tall and heavy, and had just enough maturity to stay properly seated during a short taxi ride with me by his side.

 

My 3 yo is 44# 46". We have a Frontier because she outgrew the carseat in my husband's car and I wanted to find something she could stay in harness mode for as long as possible. For travel, we're looking forward to the booster options, but mostly we just minimize car travel - take the train to a ship, or airplane to a bus to a ship.

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18 minutes ago, TheLadyK said:

 

My 3 yo is 44# 46". We have a Frontier because she outgrew the carseat in my husband's car and I wanted to find something she could stay in harness mode for as long as possible. For travel, we're looking forward to the booster options, but mostly we just minimize car travel - take the train to a ship, or airplane to a bus to a ship.

that's exactly why we got the Frontier, but my kid is tiny compared to your kid. :)

Maturity matters a lot more than the size, however, when switching to a booster full time.

 

While we used a no back booster for cruise travel (that is, a short taxi ride once or twice a year) since DS was 4, at home he stayed harnessed till 6 years and 7 months (thank goodness for Frontier's generous limits!), because he was not mature enough to be in a booster. I still have to remind him to sit properly all the time. But on short taxi rides, even at 4, he listened well and obeyed the rules, and that's why we could use the nbb. Which, admittedly, made the travel so much easier.

 

When our Jade cruise was suddenly interrupted last November and we were sent home on day 4, I must admit, I was happy that we weren't lugging the Frontier with us on the bus to the charter plane, waiting on said bus for hours, then waiting on the plane for hours, then running through the MIA airport and still being late for the connecting flight, then taking the shuttle to the hotel and back to the airport the next morning, etc. But this was an abnormal situation... It doesn't usually go this bad. If it had been Evenflo Maestro instead of a Frontier, it would have been much easier to travel.

 

For your huge kiddo, if you want a harnessed seat for travel, I'd consider a Harmony Defender. However, even though the Frontier is so dang heavy, the easy-breezy installation make it a great seat to travel with. Especially, if you strap it to the hand truck with bungee cords instead of lugging it around.

If not investing into a separate harnessed seat, I'd use the Frontier for now, and when she is mature enough to use a no back booster for travel, I'd get a Harmony Youth nbb or bubblebum.

 

P.S. I knew nothing of car seats when I had DS... I became interested in car seat safety when DS turned 2, and I have been following the Car Seat board on babycenter.com ever since.

Edited by Itchy&Scratchy
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