transporting infants

[oatmeal]

Does anyone have a suggestion for transporting an infant from the airport to the pier? A car seat isn't a problem to bring, but the time it takes to put into the taxi or van will be significant as the baby is still rear facing. Has anyone ever used a transportation service that already has a car seat installed? Thanks.

[bububr]

for looking for the right thing to do and the safety of your baby:) .

 

However bringing a baby on a cruise will restrict many of the things you can do and see,and you will mostlikely spend the majority of your time comforting and quieting the baby.

 

Good luck with your dilemma.

 

Dave:eek:

[rjg41]

Just be aware, like the first reply you can expect some judgemental posts about your taking the baby. Remember, it's your choice, not anyone elses.

 

As for the car seat, we took our entire family with the youngest at the time was 18 months and of the 8 grandchildren, 4 were still in car seats.

 

Depending on the state, the size of the vehicle dictates requirements for a car seat. In Florida, for example for vehicles designed to carry 12 or more passengers, car seats are not required. Therefore a bus requires no car seat.

 

In our case we transported each family, as it arrived, from the airport to the pre-cruise hotel in the hotels large van. For 18 of us to go to the pier we hired a bus, thus in those two cases no car seats were required.

 

However, since three of the four that needed car seats, had seats on the airplanes, their parents brought them for all 4.

 

For the trip from the pier to the airport each of the four families used taxis and installed the car seats as necessary. Not a problem.

 

For storage on the ship your steward will handle for you.

[dkjretired]

You might also want to take into consideration what you are going to do on the cruise. If you are going to take excursions with driving, you might want to consider taking the car seat anyway. If you not planning anything, you might be able to get by without the car seat.

[Lisa63]

We brought our son's rear-facing car seat with us when he was an infant, and it never took long to buckle it into a taxi. We used the same car seat on the plane, as it was FAA approved. Granted, this was about 10 years ago, yet we never had a problem finding a taxi at the airport or embarkation pier that could easily accommodate the seat.

[Alaskaboundfamily]

Was the Summit the ship you cruised with your grandchildren? We are booked on this ship for an Alaska trip in June with an extended family group including 5 children ranging from 10 months to 8 years. I'd love any advice you have regarding logistics with this particular ship and small children. And do I understand correctly that the steward was able to store car seats on the ship?

 

Thank you!

[flagger]

You might want to consider a Sit-N-Stroll stroller/car seat. The wheels and handle fold into the FAA approved car seat.

[Danno]

Just be aware, like the first reply you can expect some judgemental posts about your taking the baby.

 

I must have seen a different first reply...a clear statement of facts...when my son was an infant I don't recall being so defensive...maybe it's a memory problem.

[dspencer]

We travelled longhaul when our daughter was 4 months but to a villa. the downside of cruising with an under two is you miss the couple time kids club allows.

Lots of nice sea air and things to look at though.

[snoogiejul]

I am dealing with the car seat issue myself. We are taking our 5 month old on a cruise very soon. Luckily we are booked on a cruise that leaves from our home port, so we are going to pay for parking near the port. I tried to find transportation with carseats and was unsucessful. You probably have a car seat that you can use witout the base, most of them work this way. I have the peg perego primo viaggio, I think the only one you can't use w/ out the base. bummer. I am also struggling with shore exsursions. I guess most of them are done in buses that don't have seatbelts. Infants are held on the lap. I am not comfortable with this.

 

Don't let others make you feel bad or guilty about taking your baby on a cruise. I got a little of that from other posters. My husband and I are taking a cruise to relax, be waited on a little bit and to spend some quality time with our daughter without the distractions of everyday life. Sounds like a great idea to me. Enjoy your cruise. We will too!