Any recent experience with children under 1?

[ucsbgirl]

Any recent experience cruising with children under one? We will be taking our son who will be 10 months to Mexico on the Sapphire. I am looking for specific experiences on Princess, which is why I am posting on this board vs. the family section. Does princess provide baby food? What kind? Do you get it all at once, or restocked throughout the cruise? What type of crib?

 

ANy other tips? Btw...I am not bringing an inflatable pool.

Thanks!

[Toto2Kansas]

Any recent experience cruising with children under one? We will be taking our son who will be 10 months to Mexico on the Sapphire. I am looking for specific experiences on Princess, which is why I am posting on this board vs. the family section. Does princess provide baby food? What kind? Do you get it all at once, or restocked throughout the cruise? What type of crib?

 

ANy other tips? Btw...I am not bringing an inflatable pool.

Thanks!

 

I know the crib provided is a pack and play. And if I am not mistaken, baby food must be pre-ordered by contacting Princess before your cruise (how long before I am not sure).

 

Just an FYI (although I am sure you already know this). Princess does not have any type of child care onboard for kids under 3 (and they must be totally potty trained even for the 3 year olds), they also don't provide any private babysitting. ;)

 

Hopefully someone else can alert you to how to contact Princess for the types of baby foods you will need and the brands or types they provide.

 

Enjoy!

[caribill]

Per "Cruise Answer Book": Baby food is available upon advance written request. Please ask your travel agent to advise Princess in writing at least four weeks before you sail...

[ceilidh1]

You do have to order the baby food in advance - we emailed the customer service people and they sent us a form to fill out and fax back. The only food they have is the jars and the baby rice. I think it was only stage 1 and 2 - nothing suitable for our baby who was 14 months. Having said that, there was more than enough available at the buffet for her so we didn't need any "baby" food. Also, when we sailed on the Tahitian the crib (which you also need to pre-order) was not a pack n play but a very rickety wooden model that the baby refused to go in. We had requested a highchair beforehand, but everytime we went to eat the highchair was nowhere to be found (again, on the Tahitian where there is not a lot of call for highchairs). We will be on the Sapphire with our now 2 year old in 3 weeks....we can accompany her to the kids club but she cannot be left there (not that I would, anyways). As someone else mentioned, babies are not permitted in the pool unless potty trained, regardless of age. The other biggie for us was the lack of a bathtub (unless you have a mini suite or suite). Our 14 month old was terrfiied of the shower, so you may want to practice beforehand! Other than that, we had a great time with the little one - good enough to make us repeat it (2 years old and ready for her 3rd cruise....)

[cacruiserjen]

We'll be sailing this summer for the first time with a baby (been many times with our older kids...). Anyway, since we aren't flying I am seriously considering bringing her pack n play from home instead of using the ship's crib. This way I KNOW it's clean and can pack a few different sheets and blankets and I'll do a few loads of laundry anyway as with a family of 5 I don't really want to come home to 11 days of laundry too!!!

 

As for the baby food, mine is already eating several regular foods, but know that a jar is just easier to take and feed to the baby off ship if need be. So would love to find out the brand/types people have found on Princess cruises.

 

Someone else commented on the shower. We already shower with our baby at least a few times a week, but for those who don't, toss a small inflatable baby pool (one of the cheap tiny ones) into your suitcase. Use it in the shower as a makeshift bathtub. You can also use it with a little bit of water up by the pool.

[Whitewings2]

We went on the Sapphire in October with our daughter and her 8 month old. Her husband wasn't able to get any more vacation for 2008. We had a mini suite so were glad to have a bathtub to bathe baby - a real plus.

They did supply a crib, but it was small and quite flimsy. The thin mattress didn't fit all the way to the bottom, so we had to roll a towel underneath the mattress in order for baby not to get her face in the area between end of mattress and the rail, as that was just hard wood. I think her own pack and play would have been better.

We did not get any baby food as she was eating table foods at home. We found plenty for her to eat and the staff in the restaurants immediately bought her something - breadsticks, fruit, abc soup. We ate in the restaurants every evening, but got there early - by 6:30pm, so baby wouldn't be tired during the meal. This worked out well. Baby had her own portable seat which fits on a chair. This was the best thing, as we saw people waiting for highchairs, which had to be searched for.

Of course we didn't use the child room, but did go in there with her and played with a few things.

As far as the pool, our daughter played with baby around the edge and dangled her feet in the water.

We are leaving for a CB cruise out of Puerto Rico with both our daughters, their husbands and babies next week and looking forward to it. They are both taking the small dining chairs, but will use the cribs as they can't transport pack and plays on this trip. Crib wasn't ideal, but baby slept ok.