Taking a taxi without car seats?

[QTMichele]

Thanks, Michele. :) I couldn't sleep last night and found some comfort in reading cruise posts. :D CC is usually such a wonderful, friendly place - thanks for the nice comments.

[zeca1000]

Folks,

 

What about the Shuttle bus/van offered by the Hotels? Do they have appropriate seat belts for car seats? I'm travelling w/ my 5yr old son and staying at a Port Canaveral hotel that offers a complimentary shuttle to/fro port.

 

Ths,

Zeca

[mgkdk]

I googled San Juan taxi and came up with a few services. One for Jose Nin , master@taxivansanjuan.com, and he quoted me a price of $9 per person, children half-price, and said they would have 2 carseats for me.

 

We'll see if he comes thru. I e-mailed him and asked for a return e-mail confirming our agreement.

 

Well this looks like a bust! I asked for a confirmation and no word back and it's been 5 days! We're back to square one. At least we found out before we got there and had nothing..no taxi or carseats.

 

So..my recommendation for this service....NOPE!

[crusinmama06]

Folks,

 

What about the Shuttle bus/van offered by the Hotels? Do they have appropriate seat belts for car seats? I'm travelling w/ my 5yr old son and staying at a Port Canaveral hotel that offers a complimentary shuttle to/fro port.

 

Ths,

Zeca

 

Yes, usually shuttles in the US have proper seat belts. :)

[PrincessYoga]

I do agree with you ...except for the word "can't". It shouldn't be refused, but it happened to me.

 

A year ago, a flight attendant (on a US airline) threatened to throw me off a plane when I objected to her refusal to allow me to install my son's car seat. It had an FAA sticker. She insisted I hold my 30+ lb son the entire flight.

 

When I got home, I complained to the airline. They did give me air miles to compensate for it.

 

I don't even try to bring a car seat on the plane anymore. I put it in checked luggage.[/quote]

 

That Flight Attendant was in the wrong. It's your RIGHT to use a car seat on a U.S. flagship if it has a FAA sticker. Please report these people! I would get the name of the F/A in question and report them. There is no excuse. We were told that in training but some people just get overwhelmed with all the information and forget. It's in their manual. Ask them to look it up.

 

Here's the quote from the FAA;

Under the provisions in parts 121, 125, and 135, no certificate holder may prohibit a child from

using an approved CRS when the parent/guardian purchases a ticket for the child.

 

Here is the advisory circular that it came from and some of you may want to print it up before your next trip;

http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/ac/AC120-87A.pdf

It's on page 7 as point "e".

 

Remember this only applies to U.S. companies. You are not necessarily protected under law elsewhere.

 

Always ask to see the purser before things get heated with incidents like these.

 

There are dimwits in every profession and F/A's are no exception. I "caught" a coworker telling parents to remove their child from a seat for take-off. Ouch! I apologized to the parents.

 

Checking car seats in the hold is risky. They can easily be lost and/or damaged. On my last flight, three of our four bags didn't make it but I had my car seat with me and my daughter was safe on the 2 hour drive home.

 

It can also be iffy using car seats provided by rental companies. They can be nasty at best, dangerous and expired at worst. So far, there isn't a good booster-replacement for travel. Someone needs to design one ("banana" adjusters put the seatbelt too high and can result in injury).

 

Two seats for toddlers I can recommend are the Radian65 which keeps kids in 5 point harnesses up to 65lbs. Much safer than boosters for 3 and 4 year olds. It folds so it's nice for travel and could fit under a bed (depends on how low). Also, the Cosco Scenera is a good standard seat which is cheap and lightweight.

http://www.amazon.com/Cosco-Scenera-Convertible-Point-Seat/dp/B000GY5OBA

Radian 65

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Radian65-Convertible-Seat/dp/B000G7YM0Q

 

Here are also some car seat transport products that some of you might find useful;

http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html

http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Attach-Rolling-Carry/dp/B000JHN3AS

http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/363756.html

I'm not promoting any of those sites, by the way.

 

In case you're wondering, yes, we have had this dilemma in our family and yes, sometimes my kids had rode in ways I was uncomfortable with but I'm not perfect and that's life. My main issue is just to keep you informed and to be aware of your choices. I'm not a judging anyone but know your risks and options before deciding.

 

...and please don't let any idiots convince you to not fly safely with your child. You were right and they were wrong. Don't let past experiences haunt you!!

 

Have good cruises everyone,

 

Eclipsepearl, Can I ask you a question about car seats on planes? How do they handle international passengers on say Contintental (the airline we are flying to the US)? My car seat is EU approved but it doesn't have a FAA stickers as it wasn't bought in America.

[beckyjohns]

can somebody tell me the brand/model of this travel car seat? somebody said they got it for $40 on amazon, then the price got jacked up to $80. which one is it??

[maritimecruiser]

We had a difficult time finding a cab at Miami port with car seats. To be honest, most of the cab drivers didn't understand what I was asking, I asked about car seats, child seats, child safety seats, seemed like I was asking a question they never heard before. Stood there for over an hour, no minivans, I was looking for those because I know with many newer models they have built in safety seat features. Ended up taking a shuttle bus, which obviously didn't have a car seat either but we chose the option. Its very frustrating. When you have a child and luggage, who wants to have to lug around a car seat as well? Next time I guess we will...

[crusinmama06]

can somebody tell me the brand/model of this travel car seat? somebody said they got it for $40 on amazon, then the price got jacked up to $80. which one is it??

 

$89 now :eek:

 

I actually paid $29 for it. And all others are now out of stock. But you can search for it. This is it on Amazon

 

http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Bauer-Portable-Bryant-Collection/dp/B000K53TFI

 

The name is Eddie Bauer Portable Car Seat Byrant Collection

 

Here it is for $57.95

http://www.thebabypros.com/edbapocarse.html

 

Here it is for $34.99

http://www.babyage.com/products/22-915byt_eddie_bauer_eddie_bauer_portable_car_seat.htm

[AJI2596]

I am not bringing one with us. On the islands we are going to one is not needed. I don't use them in NYC Taxi cabs either.

[VPIcruiser]

crusinmama06, any exprerience in Seattle with a town car/ limo service providing car seats? If so, what company did you use? I did find one or two companies searching the web.

 

Any one had experience with young kids and traveling from and to SEA-TAC?

 

Thanks

[crusinmama06]

crusinmama06, any exprerience in Seattle with a town car/ limo service providing car seats? If so, what company did you use? I did find one or two companies searching the web.

 

Any one had experience with young kids and traveling from and to SEA-TAC?

 

Thanks

 

Sorry I have never been to Seattle. Did you try to search on the West Coast Departures board?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413