Getting to the port with a baby?

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Yeah, I was just an actuary for over 20 years, so I wouldn't know anything about these things.

 

 

I think I understand what your are saying regarding treatment of the subject matter.   I don't think you are saying your science supports that car seats are not effective.  

[Kerry's Girls]

If you don't want to bring a car seat, parents here have gone so far as to rent a car with car seat at the airport, drop one parent, baby and luggage at port, then return the car and taxi back.  I do remember there having been an issue at least once with the wrong size car seat being provided.  But the easiest thing would be to just bring your own little bucket seat or car seat, install it in the cab with the seat belt, then keep it on the floor of the closet in your cabin until you need it for the return.    The added benefit to this is if there happens to be an empty seat near you on the plane, they'll let your child have it if you have a car seat (must be installed at the window).  

 

My favorite thing is when people on a family cruise board talk smack about someone bringing a kid on a cruise, like we should stop traveling because we have kids.  My profile picture is my twins on their first cruise at 1.  It's a great way to vacation with little ones.  Have fun! 

 

 

[spincycle]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Our plan was to rent a car seat as we're on Florida 4 days before the cruise - but we couldn't solve getting to and from the airport the day of the cruise. Sounds like there are lots of options, but the best sounds like for us to take our own car seat and just strap it in. It's another major thing to carry around, but no biggy. 

 

We actually picked a cruise, because it's one of the easiest vacations, that isn't a complete yawn, to bring a baby. Our itinerary has walkable ports and no real need for excursions. We also picked a big ship (Allure), so if it's too much trouble, we can stay on the ship and have tons to do. The wife and I have done some pretty extensive travelling in the past and when the baby came along, it wasn't as much about  us wanting to continue our travels, but now wanting to give her experiences. I know she's too young to remember it, but I can't wait to see her expression when she puts her feet in the sand for the first time, or sees the huge ship for the first time - that's why we want to travel as a family. 🙂

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

21 hours ago, spincycle said:

Our plan was to rent a car seat as we're on Florida 4 days before the cruise - but we couldn't solve getting to and from the airport the day of the cruise. Sounds like there are lots of options, but the best sounds like for us to take our own car seat and just strap it in.

please don't rent car seats. They may have been in an accident and not replaced, improperly cleaned with harsh chemicals, not cleaned at all after poop or puke accidents, the harness may have been washed or submerged in water, the seats may have been dropped.... The unknown history makes it unsafe.

 

 I can't wait to see her expression when she puts her feet in the sand for the first time

more like putting sand in her mouth. :) LOL 

 

We traveled to a FL beach with DS at 5 months. Aside from sleepless nights due to breastfeeding every hour, it was great. Oh, and we loved using a floatie similar to this for DS:

 

 

You'll love the Allure. It's a wonderful ship.

 

 

 

[DadPerson]

On 10/20/2019 at 4:10 PM, spincycle said:

Thanks everyone for the replies! Our plan was to rent a car seat as we're on Florida 4 days before the cruise - but we couldn't solve getting to and from the airport the day of the cruise. Sounds like there are lots of options, but the best sounds like for us to take our own car seat and just strap it in. It's another major thing to carry around, but no biggy. 

 

Some people do buy a lightweight car seat for travel. The Cosco Scenera Next is a favorite - lightweight, does great in crash tests, cheap enough (about $40) that it won’t break your heart if something happens to it. A 1 year old should fit perfectly. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 hours ago, DadPerson said:

 

Some people do buy a lightweight car seat for travel. The Cosco Scenera Next is a favorite - lightweight, does great in crash tests, cheap enough (about $40) that it won’t break your heart if something happens to it. A 1 year old should fit perfectly. 

OP is in Canada, and Scenera NEXT is about $99 there ($69 at walmart.ca today, though). Their car seats are usually about 1.5-2 times more expensive than in the US.

 

However, OP could buy a US version of Cosco Scenera NEXT at any walmart in the US for $40 and use it for travel/cruising. By the way, it is easier to install NEXT with the seatbelt, not latch. If you do use it in other countries (other than US/Canada), make sure to bring a locking clip with you to use with the seat belt.

 

Edited since the kid will be 1 yo at the time of travel. 

Edited October 22, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

locking clip like this: https://smile.amazon.com/Diono-Super-Lock-Secures-Shoulder-Place/dp/B005PK1D1A/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=locking+clip+diono&qid=1571748930&sr=8-1

 

some seats come with a locking clip attached to the back of the seat.

[ed01106]

On 10/20/2019 at 4:10 PM, spincycle said:

Thanks everyone for the replies! Our plan was to rent a car seat as we're on Florida 4 days before the cruise - but we couldn't solve getting to and from the airport the day of the cruise. Sounds like there are lots of options, but the best sounds like for us to take our own car seat and just strap it in. It's another major thing to carry around, but no biggy. 

 

We actually picked a cruise, because it's one of the easiest vacations, that isn't a complete yawn, to bring a baby. Our itinerary has walkable ports and no real need for excursions. We also picked a big ship (Allure), so if it's too much trouble, we can stay on the ship and have tons to do. The wife and I have done some pretty extensive travelling in the past and when the baby came along, it wasn't as much about  us wanting to continue our travels, but now wanting to give her experiences. I know she's too young to remember it, but I can't wait to see her expression when she puts her feet in the sand for the first time, or sees the huge ship for the first time - that's why we want to travel as a family. 🙂

 

 

If you are renting a car and car seat...... One option would be driver drops everyone else  off at the pier before returning car.  Yes this means splitting up and reuniting on board.

[ducklite]

On 10/18/2019 at 12:18 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I am so glad to hear that actuaries get extensive training through National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Program. Or do they?

 

 

 

https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/Pages/schoolbuses.aspx

School buses, transit buses, and shuttle buses are all different with different safety requirements and different standards for passing Altoona testing.  I wouldn't put my child on a shuttle bus without a car seat as they are the least safe and frankly are not well built.  Your chances of surviving a rollover accident without significant injury in one of those are not good.   The ones made by Girardin are about the best of the pack in terms of structural stability (they can pass Altoona for school buses) but they are also about 30% more expensive than the typical Champion, Starcraft, or TurtleTop.

 

School buses offer an incredible amount of safety for children, not as much for adults.  It has to do with seat height, placement, and the weight and height of the passengers. 

In terms of surviving a crash with non-life threatening injuries, a mass transit bus or a coach will typically be the safest as they are built like tanks to the point that a car can hit a bus and be totaled while the passengers barely feel the bump--depending on where the hit occurs.  Yes, you'll possibly get tossed around and maybe even break a couple fingers, but over all your odds of surviving with nothing more than minor injury are high on these.  Coaches typically have seat belts as they are designed for highway speeds, while transit buses don't.  Although they can easily maintain a speed of 65 for a long distance (with a cool down period for the transmission every 3-4 hours), they typically go above 35-45 mph, and the average speed is about 20 mph.  Even in a car it's rare for serious injury to occur at that speed.