How young is too young?

[tikcho]

While I agree that many babies travel comfortable from very young age and nothing ever goes wrong with them (my son just tunred one and we have done several international trips with him plus a cruise), there is also a real possibility of not everything going fine and with a 3 month old baby I would just not take the risk.

Plus, think about why you want to go on a cruise in the first place - to relax, get some sun, see some new places, be entertained, that's most of it. Well, when my son was 3 months old I could barely drag myself out of bed and go to work, I was so tired. Yes, some sleep thru the night at that age but most not so you'll have to still wake up every 3-4 hours to feed and will be super tired during the day (plus people next door may not be so happy with the crying). If you're breastfeeding you'll have to rush out of things (shows, dinners, shore trips) to nurse and if you're formula feeding you'll have to be super careful about getting bottled water and washing bottles, etc. At that age babies really shouldn't be exposed to the sun or wear sunscreen so someone will constantly have to be inside or in the shade with a baby. There a lot of bacteria and viruses going around on a 3000 person ship, it's unavoidable, and a 3 month old baby has very little immunity. On port days, you'll be pretty limited because you can't go to the beach and you can't really do many of the tours. Plus, god forbid, something happens with the baby haelth-wise, not all foreign countries have the medical facilities found in the US.

I understand you feel all glowing and happy now and you want to believe that you can do it all and your life will not change after the baby (I was the same) but you have all this time ahead of you to travel with your baby, why take a risk that you may regret instead of waiting a few more months until the baby is 6-8 months old and having a piece of mind. At 6-7 months babies are stringer, sleep easier, don't cry as much and are much more interactive. Just my 2 cents...

[annimal]

Hi Farler, I have to agree with most of the previous posters. My son is going to be 16 weeks in a couple of days and I honestly could not imagine taking him on a cruise a month or two ago. He has been a really good baby, only cries and mildly fusses when he's hungry, tired or too warm. Even wet or dirty diapers don't seem to bother him and gas hasn't been too much of an issue. (Guess it makes up for a difficult pregnancy!)

 

Anyway, my husband and I still try to carry on and have fun like we did before we had our son, but there are of course some changes. We are very active with our son and take him everywhere. We took him on a 1-hr flight when he was 7 weeks old to see the grandparents, but that was after getting his first set of immunization shots which could be done between 6 - 8 weeks old as our pediatrician recommended. Even with extra help and a great little one, sometimes it could be overwhelming.

 

As previous poster mentioned, there's the issue of being too young for the sun. I'm not sure where you plan to cruise, but if you plan to be outdoors to some extent, you will have to figure out how to cover up your baby from head to toe. Makes it even harder if you're hoping to cruise in warm climate where you would most likely dress your baby in onesies, shorts/dresses, etc. as most pediatricians recommend holding off on sunblock at such a young age. There's also an issue with the pool area. Most cruise lines don't allow non-potty trained babies even in the kiddie pools. Even if a baby is wearing a swim diaper, he/she still cannot go in most ship pools. And FYI, at 8 to 12 weeks old, the smallest size disposable swim diapers will be too big. They're for babies 16+ lbs.

 

I know how you feel about wanting to vacation with your baby especially while you have the time off. However, I honestly think traveling with an 8 - 12 week old baby might bring up some travel problems/inconveniences. I think you would enjoy the family bonding time even more after you've gone back to work, and with a slightly older baby, it would be a bit easier to make travel plans.

[ccartman2]

My wife and I took kind of a babymoon cruise too, and they are actually a lot cheaper then a regular one, as long as you stay away from the art auction with great Pooh pictures. :) Anyway, with here not drinking pop or alcohol, that saved a lot of money and I obviously stayed away from the booze too, to keep it fair. Yeah, I had a couple, especially the one when you first board the ship, but nothing near other cruises. Plus, we skipped shore excursions and just walked around a bit. It was a really relaxing cruise.

 

Of course now we are discussing a cruise with my parents and other siblings when she is close to 6 months, but we are not entirely sure how carnival counts their six months? The cruise we want is Sept. 18 and the baby was born March 21st. That would put her 181 days hold at the start of the cruise, but 3 days shy of 6 months if they went by date. Any one know how they do it?

[crusinmama06]

My wife and I took kind of a babymoon cruise too, and they are actually a lot cheaper then a regular one, as long as you stay away from the art auction with great Pooh pictures. :) Anyway, with here not drinking pop or alcohol, that saved a lot of money and I obviously stayed away from the booze too, to keep it fair. Yeah, I had a couple, especially the one when you first board the ship, but nothing near other cruises. Plus, we skipped shore excursions and just walked around a bit. It was a really relaxing cruise.

 

Of course now we are discussing a cruise with my parents and other siblings when she is close to 6 months, but we are not entirely sure how carnival counts their six months? The cruise we want is Sept. 18 and the baby was born March 21st. That would put her 181 days hold at the start of the cruise, but 3 days shy of 6 months if they went by date. Any one know how they do it?

 

Ya know, I never thought about it. I think I would call Carnival and confirm it. Only 3 days. But that's me and not Carnival. It may be for insurance reasons, you just never know.

[notentirelynormal]

My wife and I took kind of a babymoon cruise too, and they are actually a lot cheaper then a regular one, as long as you stay away from the art auction with great Pooh pictures. :) Anyway, with here not drinking pop or alcohol, that saved a lot of money and I obviously stayed away from the booze too, to keep it fair. Yeah, I had a couple, especially the one when you first board the ship, but nothing near other cruises. Plus, we skipped shore excursions and just walked around a bit. It was a really relaxing cruise.

 

Of course now we are discussing a cruise with my parents and other siblings when she is close to 6 months, but we are not entirely sure how carnival counts their six months? The cruise we want is Sept. 18 and the baby was born March 21st. That would put her 181 days hold at the start of the cruise, but 3 days shy of 6 months if they went by date. Any one know how they do it?

 

On Princess we were told that they had to be six months by the first day of the cruise, that the middle was acceptable.

[ccartman2]

Ya know, I never thought about it. I think I would call Carnival and confirm it. Only 3 days. But that's me and not Carnival. It may be for insurance reasons, you just never know.

 

Just an FYI, but I did find out about this, for anyone reading. They must be 6 months old by date on the date of embarkation. So my daughter born on March 21 couldn't get on a Carnival ship until September 21. Unfortunately we didn't get our family cruise.

 

Still we are looking at a November cruise right now. Anyone know if the baby is charged a full fare for being a third person?

[kitty9]

Some lines will only charge port taxes and fees while most charge the full third person fare.

 

And, since this thread was started, RCCI and Celebrity changed their rules for cruising with infants to 6 months for most itineraries and 12 months for trans-ocean and more exotic sailings.

[crusinmama06]

Just an FYI, but I did find out about this, for anyone reading. They must be 6 months old by date on the date of embarkation. So my daughter born on March 21 couldn't get on a Carnival ship until September 21. Unfortunately we didn't get our family cruise.

 

Still we are looking at a November cruise right now. Anyone know if the baby is charged a full fare for being a third person?

 

 

RCCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity - the baby is charged adult 3rd/4th person rate in the cabin. It is discounted, but still charged the same as a 3rd adult in the cabin.

 

Disney, NCL, Costa, MSC have different rates for kids. Some charge port fees and taxes only. Some charge a discounted rate.

 

And Kitty is right. Since March, the rules have changed on RCCL and Celebrity.

[ccartman2]

RCCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity - the baby is charged adult 3rd/4th person rate in the cabin. It is discounted, but still charged the same as a 3rd adult in the cabin.

 

Disney, NCL, Costa, MSC have different rates for kids. Some charge port fees and taxes only. Some charge a discounted rate.

 

And Kitty is right. Since March, the rules have changed on RCCL and Celebrity.

 

Thank you. You've been a great help.