CruiserRev Posted October 2, 2006 #1 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Hey all! My wife and I are taking our 9 month old with us on the 11/8 Maasdam sailing. I know HAL offers in-room sitting.....anyone know what the minimum age is? I read on this board that RCCL changed from 6 to 12 months on this. As far as food--I'd read on this board (I think) about cruises providing baby food, and even formula for you. Is this the case with HAL? If so, what's the procedure for making all of the appropriate requests, foodwise? We normally cruise Celebrity (though this is our first cruise with baby), so I may have seen that on a Celebrity post. A lot of folks seem worried about formal nights and baby--is that due to worrying about baby messing up their formal clothes? Surely no one is expecting that an infant be in formal attire? Truthfully, any HAL-related suggestions or tips would be welcomed! One last thing--we're going to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Dominica. Which of these are the safest/most pleasant to visit just walking around the port? Any of these you'd feel uncomfortable encountering with children? Any excursions in these ports that 1) are worth doing and 2) are conducive to bringing baby along? All help is appreciated! Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmgaritty Posted October 2, 2006 #2 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Hey all! My wife and I are taking our 9 month old with us on the 11/8 Maasdam sailing. I know HAL offers in-room sitting.....anyone know what the minimum age is? I read on this board that RCCL changed from 6 to 12 months on this. I believe it is 6 months on HAL. I was wary when I did it with my 10 month old but our sitter was wonderful! As far as food--I'd read on this board (I think) about cruises providing baby food, and even formula for you. Is this the case with HAL? If so, what's the procedure for making all of the appropriate requests, foodwise? We normally cruise Celebrity (though this is our first cruise with baby), so I may have seen that on a Celebrity post. Contact your travel agent - there is a list to choose from that you fax back to HAL. You want to do it well in advance A lot of folks seem worried about formal nights and baby--is that due to worrying about baby messing up their formal clothes? Surely no one is expecting that an infant be in formal attire? Why not? A pretty dress or an infant tux is so cute! Try ebay! Truthfully, any HAL-related suggestions or tips would be welcomed! One last thing--we're going to San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Dominica. Which of these are the safest/most pleasant to visit just walking around the port? Any of these you'd feel uncomfortable encountering with children? Any excursions in these ports that 1) are worth doing and 2) are conducive to bringing baby along? All of these ports requuire car seats in taxi's. At 10 months we just used my daughters carrier and strapped it into the taxi to get to the beach. I had a sun tent for the baby, plenty of hats and sunscreen. I wouldn't reccomend formal tours. Also bring a stroller that she can lay down in to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich&Natalia Posted October 2, 2006 #3 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Check with your cruiseline ASAP about ordering baby food. We are taking our 7 month old on a Celebrity cruise at the end of the month (which we booked last week.) We were told that we need to request baby food 40 days in advance because that's when they start the packing and shipping process to deliver it to the ship. It was too late to get an order in, but they said that the dining room should be able to puree fruits and vegetables for us, which I think is just as good. I'm not sure what HAL's policies are like, but it would be better to find out right away. Good luck. -Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingbug Posted October 3, 2006 #4 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I don't know HAL's policy, but I know Princess provides baby food but no formula, and NCL provides neither. But whatever HAL does I'm sure you need to ask far in advance! I am bringing our stick (immersion) blender in case we need to puree something in the room - 10-1/2 month old DD's still working on handling bits and chunks. We're also taking stage 2 baby food - as she eats it up, it'll be more room for souvenirs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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