One Week Until Baltic Cruise w/19 mo - Few Questions

[MsRuckus]

I am getting so excited, but getting nervous about some details. Sorry if this is long.

 

1. Jet Lag - any pointers? My little guy has traveled a ton and has had no problem going across the country and adjusting right away, but this is a 6 hour time change. (We do have 2 days in London before cruise)

 

2. Seasickness - more for me than him. i tend to get motion sickness easily. DH is an MD so can write me a script for scopalamine. What else works?

 

3. It's a 12 night cruise and ship has no laundry. I have no problem with sending it out to be done as I can't pack enough clothes for the whole cruise, but how much does typical laundry cost on NCL so I can get an idea if I need to bring him 6 shirts or 10 (he is a very messy little boy and usually wears 2 a day!)

 

4. I am trying to decide which stroller to bring. I know that we will be in some old cities with cobblestones. My son will have to nap sometimes in the stroller. We got a suite so have room in cabin. For these reasons I am thinking that our big bugaboo stroller will be best. However, it is heavy and a pain to travel with. The umbrella stroller that is light and easy to travel with but doesn't recline and naps would be uncomfortable in it. Which one?

 

5. We have butler service with our suite. Can we arrange with butler to do breakfast most days in the suite? I feel this would make things much easier in the mornings.

 

6. I am collecting toys and activities that are portable and interesting. Has anyone found anything really great for toddlers?

 

7. i have looked at lots of the packing lists in this forum. Any must have items that are really out of the ordinary ?

 

Okay, that is all I can think of. I will have to post again if there is anything else. Thanks in advance.

[maggipie]

Just got back 3 weeks ago (makes me SOOOO wish I am retired and can do this all the time!!) with 3 and 7 year old on Celebrity Century

 

1. Jet lag

Got to Amsterdam 2 days early (from CA, we had 9 hour time change), little guys tired first day and maybe a little the second but adjusted very easily; helps that if they are forced to lie in bed, they get so bored they fall asleep. You'll have it easier with one since there will be no squabbling, kicking or tickling so you won't have to threaten.

 

2. Seasickness

North Sea actually quite rough when we crossed and it wasn't even stormy; you can try those wrist bracelets that some people swear by. We are a lucky family, not much seasickness but we saw empty "barf bags" set up around the ship on those days

 

3. Laundry's tough!

On Celebrity, they had a couple days where you can stuff as much as you can into the laundry bag for $25, and if NCL does this, it will be worth it for him (can do many little shirts), otherwise it'll be a couple bucks for each item!

 

4. Stroller

The one thing I really wished I had brought - any stroller!! The cobblestones are absolutely amenable to strollers! My 7 year old wore Heely's (shoes with wheels) and was able to roll practically everywhere. My 3 year old was mostly on someone's shoulders when we walked or someons's arms when he napped. I think Bugaboo might be a bit big; you can always tilt the stroller a bit or bring a baby Boppy to support his head when he naps.

 

5. Breakfast

You can definitely have breakfast in your cabin every morning- very convenient (especially when you have excursions planned)!! All room classes have it. We were in concierge class and even got to have smoothies every morning that you couldn't get in the dining room!

 

6. Toys

Magnetic stuff works great. If he is a big Thomas fan like mine, there are a ton of those you can get. Don't forget the handy crayons, I like twistables. I let them pick out a small thing at each port too, so they have a new toy to play with each day.

 

7. Haven't checked out the packing lists, but what we forgot this time was the over the rod closet shoe organizer thing.

 

Have a great trip!!!

[Keith1010]

1. Jet Lag - any pointers? My little guy has traveled a ton and has had no problem going across the country and adjusting right away, but this is a 6 hour time change. (We do have 2 days in London before cruise)

 

Each child like each adult will not react the same way. I suspect the child may do better than the adults since children that age tend to nap more. So, see if he will sleep a bit on the plane and that should help.

 

 

2. Seasickness - more for me than him. i tend to get motion sickness easily. DH is an MD so can write me a script for scopalamine. What else works?

 

You will probably find that the little one will not get sea sick, unless they also have motion sickness in a car.

 

For you, I would recommend buying bodine which is an over the counter drug sold in most places from Walmart to Target to various pharmacies. The key to that is to take it before you get sea sick. So, at the outset of choppy seas take it or if the captain makes an announcement that the seas will be getting choppy take it. It is not meant for children at your childs age so just for you.

 

Some people get the patch which needs to be prescribed by your doctor. Many like it but some don't. The major sympton is usually a dry mouth although everyone reacts differently.

 

And, another one that works for some is a sea band. A pair is about $8.00. They work for some people but do nothing for others.

 

We usually do fine on cruises but came back from a world cruise in May. For that we brought all three items and we ended up taking the bodine a couple of times, we used the sea bands often and didn't use the patch because everything else worked. If you are concerned about it, bring all three.

 

3. It's a 12 night cruise and ship has no laundry. I have no problem with sending it out to be done as I can't pack enough clothes for the whole cruise, but how much does typical laundry cost on NCL so I can get an idea if I need to bring him 6 shirts or 10 (he is a very messy little boy and usually wears 2 a day!)

 

Sorry, I can't help you on that one.

 

4. I am trying to decide which stroller to bring. I know that we will be in some old cities with cobblestones. My son will have to nap sometimes in the stroller. We got a suite so have room in cabin. For these reasons I am thinking that our big bugaboo stroller will be best. However, it is heavy and a pain to travel with. The umbrella stroller that is light and easy to travel with but doesn't recline and naps would be uncomfortable in it. Which one?

 

You will probably do a fair amount of walking and the naps would be good for him. But you will have to decide if you want to lug the larger one with you.

 

5. We have butler service with our suite. Can we arrange with butler to do breakfast most days in the suite? I feel this would make things much easier in the mornings.

 

I have not traveled on your cruise line but have had butlers on three other cruise lines and on all of those lines the butler served us breakfast each morning that we wanted it in our suite. So, I'm sure yours will do the same thing.

 

6. I am collecting toys and activities that are portable and interesting. Has anyone found anything really great for toddlers?

 

 

7. i have looked at lots of the packing lists in this forum. Any must have items that are really out of the ordinary ?

 

For the Baltics be sure that you prepare for windy, cool and rainy weather. Some days will be very nice and other days will have one or a combination of the items I just mentioned So water proof outerwear can be very helpful. We brought fold up rain coats with us that go down to the knee which was a big help.

 

Have a wonderful time.

 

Keith