What did you do with your baby on the ship?

[lonnyw]

My wife and I are considering taking our baby on a cruise this winter. The baby will be between 13-15 months at the time. Obviously, we have to change our expectations from our pre-child days of cruising and we've looked at the wonderful logistical suggestions on this board that have been posted.

 

My question to all of you who have cruised with a one year old is how did you spend your days on the ship and exactly what sorts of things did you do with your child?

 

Also, for those of you familiar with Princess, we see that children younger than 3 can go in the kids club if they are supervised by a parent. What sorts of things can a one year old do there?

 

Thanks very much for your feedback!

[Kerry's Girls]

My twins had their first Princess cruise at one year and we were hooked. You can take your child into the play area, and they have an enclosed padded area with tons of toys and a playhouse. My girls loved it. There were always other parents of under-3 year olds there as well and toddlers of all ages - even babies.

 

With three meals, two naps, the play area, dancing to the music at the pool, taking walks on deck (there is so much to explore and so many people who stop to talk and play), dancing after dinner in an empty disco or lounge - we were all happy and tired by the end of the day. You can also bring a small blow up pool for a little splash time.

 

Princess was absolutely wonderful with my toddlers. I pre-ordered baby food, which was delivered to my cabin, but they never ended up eating it - there was so much they could eat at every meal, and it was a great way to try new things. We're taking our 3rd Princess cruise for the twins 3rd birthday in January (we've also done a Carnival, which was also fun, but I'm an older mom who enjoys Princess).

 

Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia

[Julienatul]

We cruised with our baby at 7,12 and 19 months. At 7 and 12 months, she wasnt as mobile, so we would play out on the deck at a table in the shade. I brought lots of toys from home and we found some new "toys" on the ship such as empty cups from the buffet or left over applesauce or yogurt containers rinced out. Anything can be a toy at this age. We also would go to the emty lounges during the day and let her crawl/toddle around with open space. Also, I would take her around the ship in the stroller and look and point out everything. It was all new and exciting to her so she was very interested in the scenery. We went on Carnival and Rccl so we would go in the playroom for under two time and use the aquababies program on RCCl. We also brought a blow up pool for her to use to play in. It also served as a "bathtub" in the cabin. At 19 months she was walking/running everywhere so we would walk around the ship and play in different areas. All the times were fun but it was more difficult at 19 months due to her being so mobile. As long as you keep to your child's home schedule(eat, naps, bedtime) and keep you expectations like they are at home, you will have a good time. If you can take turns with your spouse or other family if possible so each of you get some down time.

[lonnyw]

Thanks for the information. It was very helpful! One more question -- did anyone go on a shore excursion and/or outing with the kids? We're looking at an Eastern Caribbean cruise and noticed "Coral World" in St. Thomas, which is not walking distance from the pier. How did you handle the transportation issue (i.e. car seats, etc.)?

[crusinmama06]

Thanks for the information. It was very helpful! One more question -- did anyone go on a shore excursion and/or outing with the kids? We're looking at an Eastern Caribbean cruise and noticed "Coral World" in St. Thomas, which is not walking distance from the pier. How did you handle the transportation issue (i.e. car seats, etc.)?

 

Yes we take our kids on every excursion with us (since they were 7 months old). And we've even been to Coral World a few times

 

How much does your baby weigh? If the baby weighs under 20lbs and still can use the rear facing infant seat, then bring that. If the child weighs 22lbs - 40lbs, you can get a lightweight travel car seat called a fold n go...

http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Bauer-Portable-Bryant-Collection/dp/B000K53TFI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1755256-4226818?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1188523247&sr=8-1

 

We use this to travel in taxis and vans on excursions when we are on cruises.

 

If the excursion uses a bus, then the only thing you can do is to hold the baby on your lap. I know it sounds unsafe, but they don't allow car seats on buses because there are no seatbelts.

[momofmn00]

Michelle,

Just wondering....

 

Does your daughter still ride in a booster seat? In MO is is still required untill the age of 8, so both of my kiddos use them since they've outgrown the car seats (40lbs)...we have to smaill (just bottom seat) booster for my DH's car, but in my car we have to full boosters with the belt positioner in my car....

But my main question is do you usually bring her anything to sit in when you cruise...since you have to ride in taxis/rentals. ALSO, do those cars/taxis have just lap belts, or the shoulder harneses too??? THANKS!!!!:D

[lonnyw]

Yes we take our kids on every excursion with us (since they were 7 months old). And we've even been to Coral World a few times

 

How much does your baby weigh? If the baby weighs under 20lbs and still can use the rear facing infant seat, then bring that. If the child weighs 22lbs - 40lbs, you can get a lightweight travel car seat called a fold n go...

http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Bauer-Portable-Bryant-Collection/dp/B000K53TFI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1755256-4226818?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1188523247&sr=8-1

 

We use this to travel in taxis and vans on excursions when we are on cruises.

 

If the excursion uses a bus, then the only thing you can do is to hold the baby on your lap. I know it sounds unsafe, but they don't allow car seats on buses because there are no seatbelts.

 

Thanks for the info. . . We'll have to take a look at one locally. What are your thoughts on Coral World? Also, do you have any recommendations for St. Maarten to take the little one, other than the beach?

[crusinmama06]

Michelle,

Just wondering....

 

Does your daughter still ride in a booster seat? In MO is is still required untill the age of 8, so both of my kiddos use them since they've outgrown the car seats (40lbs)

 

Well my kiddos are tiny. Gabriella, the youngest is 27lbs and she is 3.5. So she will be in a normal carseat for a LONG time.

 

Morgan, age 7.5 weighs 47lbs. So she did outgrow her car seat, but the PA laws aren't based on weight they are based on height and the height is 54". Morgan is only 47", so I told the poor kid that she'll be in a booster till her 15th bday...lol.

 

When we travel though, we bring Gabriella's Fold N Go. We sometimes take Morgan's turbo booster with us. It's a backless booster, so it's lightweight.

 

 

All of the taxi's/vans we have run into have the shoulder harness.

 

And usually we hire a private car when we are doing long distances like Orlando airport to port Canaveral (45-50 minutes). And they bring car seats and boosters.

[crusinmama06]

Thanks for the info. . . We'll have to take a look at one locally. What are your thoughts on Coral World? Also, do you have any recommendations for St. Maarten to take the little one, other than the beach?

 

We liked Coral World but honestly, I don't know if your child is old enough to really be the age for it. Maybe in a year or older? It has an underwater observatory and a small "please Touch" area that allows the kids to play with starfish and other sealife. It also has roaming HUGE iguanas. I've seen on their site that they added more things since we've been there in 2005. Does your child like aquariums and places like that?

 

For St.Martin, we've done Orient Beach (but you said no bech) and we've done the "Under the Two Flags Tour"...mainly for us. The kids just kind of went along for the ride. ;)