Baby's First Cruise ???s

[wanderlust1026]

My hubby and I are thinking of taking a Carribean cruise in early November of this year. We have been on cruises before but this will be the 1st for our little son who will then turn 13 months.

 

We are looking to return to our favorite cruise line - Princess and I think it's the Grand Princess that will do a sailing around the Southern Carribean. We will be flying from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico maybe stay there for a day then board the ship.

 

Any tips/advice? Specifically...

 

- Little one goes to bed around 8:30p...any tips/advice of what hubby and I could do...probably not the movies or show? We will probably book a balcony room.

- Where should he sleep? We have a Kidco Peapod and he slept ok in it on our little getaway to the snow.

- Bring a kiddie sized pool since he won't be able to go into the pool?

 

Any hints/advice/tips will be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[barbface1]

we are cruising in may with our then 12 month old.....will let you know how it goes

[Blackrobe]

Family togetherness is great but you might want to think twice about taking infants that young on a cruise. Perhaps you have heard of the norovirus. Without getting into why it is reported more frequently on cruise ships, the fact of the matter is that there have been repeated serious occurrences on cruise ships. It can get serious for adults but it is even more problematic for infants and young children. Why would you want to take the chance of exposing your young precious to such a disease?

 

No matter how you answer that question, think about medical assistance in the event that the disease is contracted by your infant. Ships do not have hospitals; they do not have pediatricians; and they have very limited supplies of medications suitable for children. Additionally, there is no hospital in close proximity. I have no idea of where your cruise is taking you but are you and your infant ready to be put off at a hospital on an island such as Bonaire because the medical situation is such that it cannot be treated on the ship? This is a much more likely scenario with an infant than an adult due to the nature of childhood diseases; limited experience of the ship's medical staff; and the limited supply of pediatric medications.

[ldoc31]

Many families travel with children--try to ignore those who only focus on the negative.

[jadejay2]

We took our daughter on her first cruise when she was 1 year old (12 month and 1 day, to be exact). Everybody had a great time, including the baby!

 

A few tips that may or may not apply to your situation:

1) You can request a baby crib in your cabin. But do it early as there is limited availability. We brought her own crib sheets and little blanket. Not only for sanitary reasons, but also having familiar sheets can help calm a baby in new settings.

 

2) We had a balcony cabin and brought along the portable baby monitor. Our baby was taking 2 naps during the day at the time. So I read books on the balcony with the baby monitor next to me while she naps.

 

3) The parents took turn checking out the shows while the other takes the baby back to the cabin at night.

 

4) We paid for our sister and her husband to come along with us so we were able to do a couple excursions in 2 of the ports while daughter stayed onboard with our sister.

 

That's just some of our experience and not all would apply in your situation. There is some sacrifice in terms of excursions and activities at night but it was a great family vacation for all of us. Given a chance, I wouldn't want to do it any differently.

 

Oh, we also brought a lot of hand sanitizers and wipes and wash our hands regularly. It's just common sense, traveling with or without a baby.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[jadejay2]

And don't get discouraged about cruising with a 1-year old. With a little more preparation, common sense, realistic expectation, and a sense of responsibility, as you would on land, you will have a great time! Most crews and fellow passengers are great with well-behaved babies.

[Mbouck1]

If you have any food request for the baby you should contact Princess and let them know. We bought our family and granddaughter who was 11 months at the time. The Matre D' come to the table each night to see what we would like for the baby the following night.

Also if you can, get a table in the corner so the baby can get down and walk around a bit there and play in the corner without disturbing other diners. She did get a bit fussy a couple of times so we would take turns bringing her outside the dining room for a bit as to also not disturb diners.

The room steward also did a great job setting up the crib for her and all.

I wholeheartedly reccomend bringing the baby on the cruise. You can get the nurovirus anywhere at any time on land also.

Enjoy:)

[Toto2Kansas]

Family togetherness is great but you might want to think twice about taking infants that young on a cruise. Perhaps you have heard of the norovirus. Without getting into why it is reported more frequently on cruise ships, the fact of the matter is that there have been repeated serious occurrences on cruise ships. It can get serious for adults but it is even more problematic for infants and young children. Why would you want to take the chance of exposing your young precious to such a disease?

 

No matter how you answer that question, think about medical assistance in the event that the disease is contracted by your infant. Ships do not have hospitals; they do not have pediatricians; and they have very limited supplies of medications suitable for children. Additionally, there is no hospital in close proximity. I have no idea of where your cruise is taking you but are you and your infant ready to be put off at a hospital on an island such as Bonaire because the medical situation is such that it cannot be treated on the ship? This is a much more likely scenario with an infant than an adult due to the nature of childhood diseases; limited experience of the ship's medical staff; and the limited supply of pediatric medications.

 

I think this is definitely food for thought. Very well worded and I don't feel it is anything above reminding those traveling with infants that these illnesses onboard can also be caught by their little ones, and that the medical centers do not staff peds doctors or excess medications specifically for infants.

A very well thought out response I feel.

[jckvpa0]

Obviously it's a personal choice, for me I wouldn't do it! Have you not spent a night away from the baby, maybe this is the time to leave the baby with grandma & grandpa & take a shorter cruise.

 

If you do go I would suggest what another poster did & bring a family member along to help out!

 

Either way have a great vacation & enjoy :) !!!

[dosi]

I say go for it!!! Just go with the expectation that you and your DH will be not spending alot of evening time together. We took our first cruise when my little son was 2 1/2. We booked early assigned dining, and I would advise you to do the same. After dinner the three of us would stroll around the ship, exploring and enjoying each others company. Then daddy and Timmy would go to bed while I went to the casino, or a show, or to visit with other grownups. I would return to the cabin around 9:30 or so and then DH would go out to check things out or to the gym. We had a great time. I didn't have to do any cooking for a whole week!! It was fabulous. We would heat our son's bottle up by filling the ice bucket with hot water, or we would use our son's sand pail filled with hot water. Takes the chill off the milk very quickly. Bring lots of little snacks like cheerios, teddy grahams and gold fish, but make sure you pack them in Tupperware containers....other wise you end up with crumb confetti!!! The staff in the dining room will dote on your child, many of them have kids that they haven't seen in months!!! Bring a bunch of little cars, small toys, Mc Donalds-type toys. I gift wrapped mine each individually so that my son would be busy unwrapping, then playing with some new and exciting every night at dinner.

 

As far as sleeping goes, I slept with our son in the two twin beds that we had pushed together and daddy slept in the drop down third bed. It was a lot easier than dragging around a porta crib. The only big item we brought with us was our umbrella stroller.

 

Oh yes, bring diapers, lots and lots of diapers. The disposables that I have seen in other countries are not the same type that we are used to. And bring a lot of plastic grocery bags. We would "empty" the diaper into the toilet and then bag it up in a plastic grocery bag before putting it into the trash bin. It makes it a lot easier for the room steward.

 

You may also want to check out the Family Cruising section of this forum. There are a lot of nice folks over there who have gobs of experience travelling with little ones. I know you will have a great trip!!

[senatorgirth]

You might check out this recent thread for advice on traveling with a young child:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=515474

[sbmizzou]

We are taking our 8 month old baby boy on the Grand this Saturday. We are going with our friends who have 10 month old baby girl.

 

As to leaving your kids at home, that is a choice for you and the spouse. As a husband that works alot, I am really looking forward to having my son with me on vacation. I wouldn't want to leave him at home. My sister on the otherhand, leaves her kids with my parents when she goes on vacation. Either is fine, just different strokes for different folks.

 

Not sure why the baby can't go in the pool. We purchased this little floating disc for him, which has a little canapy to protect him from the sun. His little girlfirend will also have one.

 

The only bummer about bringing him was the cost, as they charge you as if he was a full paying adult. Princess did arrange to have a bunch of gerber food waiting for him. You have to arrange this.

 

Also, my wife and I purchased a bunch of anti bacterial wipes that will be used to clean the room we move into. Not a sure thing, but I figure it doesn't hurt. Also, I make a point of watching the boards to see if the any virus has broken out on the ship. My wife has said, and I agree, that if we get there and they tell us that there is an outbreak before the boat leaves, we will not get on. This happened to her sister but they got on the ship. Then my little niece and sister in law got sick.

 

You might also see if you could take someone to join you. What you will notice is that when you try and book a third person, the price gets a lot more expensive. For example, when we looked at a cabin for 2, it was one price. When we tried to add the baby, Princess makes you bump up to a cabin that can hold three, which is more expensive. So what we did, was put one spouse from each famility in an inside cabin that will never be used. It's cheaper to put them in there, than have them be the third person in the room, despite the fact that they will stay in the nicer room with the family. Since you are a family of three, you might think of a family member who couldn't take a cruise as easy as they are single travelor, and can't afford getting a room by themself. This way, the only pay their share, you pay for the other space, in the much cheaper second room. This assumes you are getting a nicer room, such as a balcony. Just a thought.

 

sbmizzou

[lchavez]

Last month we did a 10 day on the Coral Princess with our 10 month old and 10 year old. It was GREAT! We all had a terrific time being together as a family.

 

Be prepared, read the family cruising board, and go with the flow - that was the most important.

 

Get a balcony room - to hang out on while baby naps. That was nice.

 

Our baby is very easy going and a good traveler - the passengers/crew were always commenting on how good he was. :)

 

He slept great - the ship rocked him all night!! LOL ;)

 

Our baby sleeps well in his stroller (reclined) - so going to a show, dinner, or strolling around in the evenings was never a problem. We did the anytime dinning.

 

In the ports we did the beach or a resort - family friendy and easy with the little one.

 

Princess will provide you with a crib if you request one.

 

Have FUN - we can't wait to go again!

Lisa

[Cruisin' Chick]

We took our little one on her first cruise at 23 months. Just takes a bit of planning. But we were pleasantly surprised (hubby was initially apprehensive) and had no problems. We talked to our cabin steward right off the bat about the diaper/pullup question and he kept us supplied with bags for the disposal.

 

If you're flying into your port, try going a day ahead and then shop for whatever you need for your child. That way, you won't have to pack everything.

[tvaud]

Not sure why the baby can't go in the pool. We purchased this little floating disc for him, which has a little canapy to protect him from the sun. His little girlfirend will also have one.

 

 

sbmizzou

 

It's basically a sanitary issue. Diapered babies are not allowed in the pools....not sure about naked ones.:D