britchicknyc Posted August 9, 2006 #1 Share Posted August 9, 2006 From what age can you take your baby on a cruise? Would anyone who has done this recommend it, or is it better to wait until they are older? We are responsible parents, who would not let their baby cry and effect others' vacation. We have a very good little girl.... I've only been on one cruise last year with RCCL, but heard NCL don't charge for infants... Is this true? All opinions, hints and tips welcome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browniegirl Posted August 9, 2006 #2 Share Posted August 9, 2006 HI, we are cruising with our baby next January on the Jewel. She will be 10 months old then. We are also taking our other four kids aged 12, 12, 10 and 7, so it should be fun! NCL is great as far as babies, we only paid port and taxes, so it's a big savings. They have portable beds for the baby, so that is great and a highchair as well. I am not worried about it at all, it should be lots of fun! We are also taking our own kiddie pool for her because babies are not allowed in the main pool. It should be lots of fun!!! Leah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistybaby Posted August 9, 2006 #3 Share Posted August 9, 2006 We took our 2 month old on the Jewel and it was great. It was much cheaper than other lines (we are platinum on RCL - but they wanted to charge almost full fare for him in a suite - which we thought was insane). We are returning on the Jewel with our son this month (now 8 mos) and expect it to be just as good. Please feel free to ask any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingbug Posted August 10, 2006 #4 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Misty: I thought the minimum age for NCL was four months - did they lower it? Most cruise lines the min. age is 6 months. Just FYI, I've read on the boards here that min. age for Australia is a year, not that I'd fly to Australia with a baby! We're taking our then-11 month old on NCL in October - we didn't have to pay a fare, just port and taxes but to Bermuda it was pricey. It would have been around $100 if we did the Bahamas/Fla. cruise. We're bringing her pack n play instead of using the crib they'd provide. We're also bringing her own little pool, as non potty trained aren't allowed in pools. The only other vacation we've taken so far with her was 4 nights long - and it was supposed to be 5 nights, when she was 4 months old, so we're taking a "practice" vacation in September to get her used to the idea. We can drive home if things go bad (which you can't do on a cruise!). Last year we cruised with a couple who had a 9 month old. To save space, they left their Graco stroller in the hallway (in their doorway, not where you walk) whenever they were in their room. No one bothered it. This was on Princess and they said they had to pay full fare for her. I laughed though when you said you would "not let your baby cry". What choice do you have when they're off in a fit??? We definitely try to appease her but sometimes she just wants to fuss. Oh well. Most cruisers are parents and know you can't do anything about crying sometimes. We did book the foremost cabin so at least we'll only be disturbing the people to our left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baxter Posted August 10, 2006 #5 Share Posted August 10, 2006 There is no age limit on RCCL. On Carnival, it is 4 months. On Princess it is 6 months for mainstream itineraries, and 12 months for the more "exotic" itineraries. We've been doing our research, but those are the only lines we've explored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellie100 Posted August 10, 2006 #6 Share Posted August 10, 2006 From what age can you take your baby on a cruise? Would anyone who has done this recommend it, or is it better to wait until they are older? We are responsible parents, who would not let their baby cry and effect others' vacation. We have a very good little girl.... I've only been on one cruise last year with RCCL, but heard NCL don't charge for infants... Is this true? All opinions, hints and tips welcome... Taking the baby before they become too mobile is nice, they're alittle easier to take care of. On my son's first cruise he was 20-months old and running everywhere. That was alot of work but we still had fun. He was 3 on our most recent cruise and it was much easier. We've also done several land-based trips. That time kind of between 1-1/2 and 2-1/2-yrs-old they are really a handful while traveling. But, for me leaving him wasn't something I'd consider or even have the option to do. And nothing's better than being able to focus completely on your baby while someone else is doing the cooking and the cleaning! Definitely get a balcony so you can continue to enjoy the cruise during naptimes and after baby bedtime. It's so nice to read and relax on the balcony while baby is sleeping. Also, there's something about being outside that calms babies down, too. On our next cruise we will have our 3-1/2-yr-old and our newborn (who should be here any day now). Traveling with a 3-mo-old is such a breeze. All they do is nurse and sleep. I wear one of those sling-type carriers for the baby and go about my business. I am sooooo excited! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julienatul Posted August 10, 2006 #7 Share Posted August 10, 2006 We cruised with out baby who was 7 months old this past spring. She did fantastic. The ship provided a pack n play (bring your own sheets) and they had high chairs on deck and in the dining room. We had late seating (only one available when we booked) but it worked out great. We did her bedtime routine and then put her to sleep in her stroller reclined (we put the rayshade canopy extender over it to make it dark). She slept through dinner every night! She rarely cried at night (the gentle rocking of the ship helped) and when she did we attended to her right away. In ports we did the beach, she loved it. We are planning a short cruise again this fall with her at a year. She is mobile now crawling and by then will be walking so we'll see how that goes. Good luck, have fun on your cruise Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britchicknyc Posted August 10, 2006 Author #8 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Thank you all so much for this. My daughter is 2 months right now and I was thinking about cruising in Sept/Oct... I have realistic expectations and don't expect it to be how it was pre-baby... I just don't want to pay through the nose for her... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellie100 Posted August 10, 2006 #9 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Thank you all so much for this. My daughter is 2 months right now and I was thinking about cruising in Sept/Oct... I have realistic expectations and don't expect it to be how it was pre-baby... I just don't want to pay through the nose for her... Even on the cruiselines that charge for babies, it's the normal 3rd person rate, which is sometimes alot less than the 1st and 2nd passanger rates, but sometimes not that much less. Just look for a good deal. For example, on some RCCL cruises the 3rd person rate for a 7-nighter is as low as $339 including port fees and taxes, but somtimes a couple of hundred more. Also, early Nov and early Dec sometimes have some great deals. Just look around. Good luck. Shellie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitlyn20 Posted August 10, 2006 #10 Share Posted August 10, 2006 We are planning on taking my granddaughter (who will be 15 months old then) on her first cruise. We do have to pay 3rd/4th person rate for her. I didn't realize there are cruise lines that don't make you pay for a baby, since the story we got from RCCL is that it is REQUIRED by some law and there is nothing they can do about it. We thought it was ridiculous to have a baby pay full fare since they get no service at all. However, it's either pay, or not go. Every cruise I've ever been on has had many children of all ages. As someone said, most cruisers are parents and understand that kids sometimes fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingbug Posted August 11, 2006 #11 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Misty: I thought the minimum age for NCL was four months - did they lower it?. Hi I realize I misunderstood when you said you were on the Jewel - I thought it was the new Norwegian Jewel, but I see that RCL has a Jewel...you'd think they'd have to give each ship some kind of unique name! We're going on the NCL Crown and I keep looking at posts about the Crown Princess by mistake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britchicknyc Posted August 13, 2006 Author #12 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Does RCL charge the third person rate even for babies under 6months? Just curious.... Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merela Posted August 13, 2006 #13 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Does RCL charge the third person rate even for babies under 6months? Just curious.... Thanks RCL charges the 3rd/4th person rate for babies. Princess also charges 3rd/4th person rate for babies during off peak sailings. During holiday sailings, 3rd/4th person rates do not apply. Also, for some sailings, 3- or 4-person cabins sell quickly and you may not be able to book a cabin if you want more than 2 people in your cabin. But for most Princess 7-day sailings, the 3rd/4th person rates are $199+tax/fees inside cabins and $299plus+tax/fees for outside cabins. Princess offer 2nd stage Gerber's Baby Food and rice/oatmeal cereals for infants (tell your TA to put in the request for baby food ahead of time). So you just need to bring formula and diapers/wipes with you. My take on bringing infant on board is that although you can't drop off the infant at the kids' club (for 3 and up), cruising is the still the easiest way to vacation for parents with infants. It's not easy to have a nice vacation with an infant, but cruising makes it easier. It helps if the couple has someone else helping with the baby (like grandparents or other friends/family members) along so the parents can enjoy some alone time without having to take the baby everywhere. But even without additional help, during baby's nap time, the parents can take turns watching the baby so the other person can do some stuff on his/her own. The other parent will stay in the cabin and catch up on some newly released (on DVD) movies. I remembered enjoying lots of movies in my cabin while my son napped. It wasn't a bad way to vacation either. I would bring lots of over-the-counter medication (and a forehead thermometer) for infants in case of fever, cough, diarrhea, or other remedy-able symptoms. Another must-have is hand sanitizer. Babies crawl and touch everything. I know they don't shampoo the carpet in the cabin after each sailing and you just don't know where other people's shoes have been. So use hand sanitizers liberally on your toddler/baby, otherwise, they will always have explosive diapers after they crawl on the floor--which you don't really want to deal with during your vacation. For Princess cruises, you can choose PC/anytime dining when you cruise with children. I would still reserve a table ahead of time based on my kids' nap time schedule. We are from the west coast, so for east coast cruises, we would book for the later seating because kids don't get hungry until it's close to 9pm EST. Do a search ("baby", "infant", "toddlers") on this board and you'll find a wealth of information from how to pack for children to where to go at different ports of call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyGirl Posted August 13, 2006 #14 Share Posted August 13, 2006 This CruiseCritic article might also be of interest... http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisestyles/articles.cfm?ID=11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califonria cruiser Posted September 16, 2006 #15 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I just went on NCLA's Pride of Hawaii with a 3.5 month old and a 3.5 year old. I had to get a letter from our pediatrician for the 3.5 month old that he was up to date on shots and had no apparent reason why he couldn't travel. It was VERY easy to travel with him, he is still in the sleeping stage, my 3.5 year old is another story, but they have kids club for her. NCL did have a time in the kids room for under 2's although you have to stay there with them. Go with whatever you feel comfy with and I'm sure it'll work out fine. Jenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Cruise4Ever Posted September 16, 2006 #16 Share Posted September 16, 2006 On all NCL ships, children under the age of 2 are only charged the taxes and government fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry's Girls Posted September 18, 2006 #17 Share Posted September 18, 2006 When pricing cruises with babies/toddlers, I suggest checking the total cost of any cruise line you'd consider. When I did this for a Mexican Riviera cruise, I found that even though NCL didn't charge for babies, Princess was still a better deal because the per person charge for the first two passengers was less. I'm sure it all depends on who is having specials for the time period. Best, Mia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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