Prima on med and an infant

[kenzie]

On 7/28/2023 at 10:14 PM, RD64 said:

If you plan on staying on the ship it is one thing - but excursions and independent touring are another. Good luck in a city such as Lisbon (among others) where everything is uphill in both directions on cobblestones.

they can use a baby carrier- its wonderful travelling with babies, so many memories to make. 

[kenzie]

On 7/28/2023 at 4:35 PM, COcruise said:

We have been on quite a few cruises and our infant has travelled a lot already, but looking for any tips or tricks from those that have been on NCL (Or the Prima or a Mediterranean with an infant!). She will be a little over 10 months when we board and we already requested a pack and play. Yes we know we are crazy 😂

Please let me know what a pack and play is, we will be travelling with our grandaughter in February, she was born yesterday. We have not travelled on a cruise with a baby but I always travelled to the USA everyyear when my own children were babies 25-30 years ago. We have cruised over 30 times before but not with a baby before. The baby will be Sapphire before she reaches her teenage years. 

[Monica887]

Honestly, a baby is way easier than a toddler for travel. If they sleep through the night, and like being carried in a carrier, it's fine.

 

It's the toddler years that will leave you looking at Notre Dame, unable to go inside, with a kid flailing around on the gravel ground outside, who does not give one F about how pretty it is in inside or how they can look at the gargoyles if they go to the top, becuase they are jet lagged and over tired and just want some routine.  It will be made slightly better when they fall asleep in the stroller with banana and Nutella crepe on their face and you can stroll for a brief while. YMMV.

[COcruise]

55 minutes ago, kenzie said:

Please let me know what a pack and play is, we will be travelling with our grandaughter in February, she was born yesterday. We have not travelled on a cruise with a baby but I always travelled to the USA everyyear when my own children were babies 25-30 years ago. We have cruised over 30 times before but not with a baby before. The baby will be Sapphire before she reaches her teenage years. 

Lucky baby!!!! 

 

A pack and play is a pop up portable crib 😊 you’ve probably seen them if you google it! the ship can provide, just call in advance to confirm. It saves you having to lug a pack and play on the trip. Most hotels (some Airbnb’s) have them too so call before booking.  

[COcruise]

12 minutes ago, Monica887 said:

Honestly, a baby is way easier than a toddler for travel. If they sleep through the night, and like being carried in a carrier, it's fine.

 

It's the toddler years that will leave you looking at Notre Dame, unable to go inside, with a kid flailing around on the gravel ground outside, who does not give one F about how pretty it is in inside or how they can look at the gargoyles if they go to the top, becuase they are jet lagged and over tired and just want some routine.  It will be made slightly better when they fall asleep in the stroller with banana and Nutella crepe on their face and you can stroll for a brief while. YMMV.

LOL. This was actually our exact thought.  A baby is the best chance to travel Europe and see sights because anything and everything interests her and once we have a toddler things will change. 

[Albinroo]

On 8/1/2023 at 1:55 PM, COcruise said:

LOL. This was actually our exact thought.  A baby is the best chance to travel Europe and see sights because anything and everything interests her and once we have a toddler things will change. 

Just wanted to say you are not crazy for doing this. We have cruised with all our kids, starting from when the youngest was 8 months old on a Transatlantic. We've since done Caribbean, Panama Canal, Alaska, and Baltics - all with at least one baby/toddler and at most three. Hardest one was definitely Alaska on Celebrity as they had absolutely nothing for those under three. Still, even that was a great week!

No it will not be as relaxing as it would without children, but it's still fantastic plus someone else has to cook and clean. Saying everyone will be miserable is just plain wrong (not to say there won'tbe difficult moments but you get those at home with kids too). Pep talk concluded, you have a great holiday! We had actually booked this one for late October with our 4 kids aged from one to ten, but then changed to ncl breakaway out of NYC instead. 

[SoloAlaska]

My friend did a month in Europe with her 9 month old and loved it. Now that he is older travel has became very difficult so she’s glad she snuck a trip in while it was easier. One thing don’t forget to bring medication for your little one for a variety of potential illnesses. The last thing you need to deal with when you have a sick kid is finding medication that is different than you are use to with different dosages marked in another language.

 

Civitavechia to Rome is a 47 minute train ride away (plus a shuttle from the port to the train station) so not a huge deal. Trains are such a way of life in Europe and don’t require a car seat. Make sure you pack smart and as hands free as possible however because you have to carry your stuff up and down a few stairs though which will be harder when carrying a child.

[Girr]

Having travelled with tweens and teenagers who were supposed to "appreciate it", I'd take an infant anytime.  

 

Just my opinion:

 

Leave the stroller at home.  I believe you're travelling in the off season, but it can be crowded-very crowded.  Plus, cobblestones make the going miserable.  Between the crowds and cobblestones my husband packed up his wheelchair after the second day.  Besides he just ached all over from the jostling.  Since you're hikers, I'm sure you already have a backpack.  This will make it much easier, plus as mentioned above it keeps your hands available.  This January in Brugge I was on a tour with a couple with two-year-old twins and she had a backpack that allowed her to carry both children, and she could rotate it from her back/front or to her hips (don't even get me started on where dad was in this process!).  This woman was a super-hero!  After watching her I believe a stroller would have been an impediment.  Europe isn't the most accessible: lack of elevators, lots of stairs, sidewalks without cutouts, etc.  However, Europeans have managed very well without!  And yes, they have children!🤨

 

Research your ports - you don't say what ports are involved but many require an hour+ travel to get to the main historical sites.  Just about all offer public transportation, but you need to do your homework.  As most med cruises are port intensive, I wouldn't worry so much about activities on board the ship for the baby.  Most first timers are so exhausted after a long day sightseeing trying to see it all they get back to the ship, dine and off to bed.  I wouldn't worry about packing portable swimming pools.  Do as my mother did, dip their toes in the Med (unless it's too cold).  

 

Pack extra baby stuff.  (Okay, this goes against my usual recommendation to remove about half of what you've laid out.)  Everything we have in the states is available in Europe; however, you don't have the option to pop out just at any time.  The ships store has very limited basic supplies.  Even in port it may be difficult to find (brand names different, what we consider over-the-counter medications only available in pharmacies, etc.).  For years I travelled with a roll-up make-up bag (goes over the door so you can open real easy) filled with "what if medications" for the young ones.  They're now in the 20/30s, and just this year I decided to forgo to save some space in my suitcase.  Guess who needed cold medicine mid-way thru the cruise?  Yep-me. The medicine bag is going back in the suitcase (okay, a smaller version).  😁

 

[COcruise]

On 7/29/2023 at 1:59 AM, RD64 said:

North America is very user friendly for infants in strollers, people in scooters, people with walkers, people with wheel chairs, etc. Europeans prefer to deny that people with disabilities exist. I will use Italy - where my relatives are from as an example. You will not see locals in wheel chairs - scooters out on the streets. In many cases, streets are not designed to accommodate these forms of transportation, let alone the lips on sidewalks. And with all due respect, you may hike with your child in high altitudes - but Lisbon - one of my favourite European cities, will give you a workout that you cannot even imagine - not to mention the extremely narrow sidewalks and hordes of tourists jostling for space.

Coming full circle in this for anyone that stumbles upon this post.
 

We’re in London now after 3 weeks in Europe including our 10 day med cruise on NCL. If you want to take your baby on a cruise - do it! The staff on NCL were amazing and there was so much to do even with a baby. They provided a pack and play which was great. Every restaurant had high chairs. They offered to bring whatever our baby needed and even made her baby food from blended veggies at dinner without us asking. We were in the haven and our butler noticed our baby loved bananas and made sure we had fresh fruit every afternoon for her. babies can’t go in the pool since they are not potty trained, bummer but fine. We switched off. 
 

We got off at every port except one day; the overnight in Livorno we only got off one day. We had no issues finding baby supplies in every port to replenish. We did all excursions on our own and used a variety of transportation methods (bus, train, Uber, taxi). Very easy to navigate and it was nice not to be stuck on a 12 hour NCL excursion with a baby. We also found we did the same excursions but for a fraction of the price. We had zero issues getting around ant any of the ports or in Lisbon. Walked 15k to 30k steps and beyond a day each day with the Zoe Travel stroller (Lisbon and all the cruise ports) or used a carrier (Sintra). The travel was great for the cruise ship, we took it everywhere. We used a combination of stroller and carrier for places such as the catacombs and underground tour in Naples and also at the Vatican. The only port where the stroller struggled a tad was at the Roman Forum; we wheeled it backwards up and down the hill and it worked fine. It performed great

at all other ports and at Palatine Hill and Colosseum. We’re in fairly decent shape and had to carry the stroller up sets of stairs here or there but never found it to be troublesome. Did break a sweat a few times but that’s okay - earned another beer? We actually found thar Europe is far more family friendly than the US. Only caveat is there are not many changing tables in public so make sure you have a travel changing pad and use practice using stroller for a change when in port. 
 

Do it!!! 

[Catchum]

Lovely to hear you had a great time, enjoy travel with your kid before teenage hits, I had a lovely toddler and a grumpy teen. Agree Europe is much more child friendly than US the only issue I ever had was persuading a waiter in Paris that he should not give my three year old a drink with fruit in it (it was Sangria!). 

[davencl]

51 minutes ago, Catchum said:

a grumpy teen

Yes that would have been me as a teenager.  🙂 

Edited October 26, 2023 by davencl