Just back from Alaska, car seat review

[nothriver]

I wanted to thank all of you on this board for every little tidbit about cruising with children that enhanced my first ever cruise! I'm a single parent, so everything helps!

 

My daughter turned 4 the week before our cruise. We have never flown without a carseat and I didn't want to chance the long flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage as a trial run without one. I collect car seats, and eventually decided to take our Radian (sunshine kids). It folds in half and came with one carry strap and I purchased a second strap in order to carry it like a backpack. This car seat has a steel frame and it is HEAVY, and it can sometimes be difficult to install, so this is the first time I've travelled with it. With the two backpack straps, it was surprisingly easy to transport. Unlike the Britax seats I normally fly with, it was incrediably easy to install/uninstall in the plane. Also, because it folds, it is much easier to transport than a regular carseat. Finally, because it has a low profile, kids can use the tray table, making it more comfortable to use a portable DVD player and even work in activity books.

 

Because we were doing lots of shore excursions, I also brought along a Ride Safer Travel Vest (here after refered to as "RSTV"). My daughter barely meets the minimum requirements for this vest and it is a bit big on her. However, it fits nicely in my backpack and is no trouble to carry around all day and it is also much quicker to step into and fasten than installing a carseat. It requires a lap/shoulder belt combination, cannot be used with lap belt only. Many of the shuttle vans we encountered were lap belt only and we were not able to use the RSTV.

 

Lap belts are not safe for kids or adults, they cause serious internal injuries. New vehicles have only lap/shoulder belt combinations but older vehicles often have lap belts only. Busses are pretty safe vehicles, seat belts are not required and usually not present. In small busses/shuttle vans, I really don't know if it is safer to use a lap belt only or to remain unbuckled.

 

Here is a log of our transportation:

 

Travel days:

Flights - Radian car seat

Shuttle from airport to hotel - RSTV

 

Embarkation in Seward:

Shuttle from hotel to train station - RSTV

Shuttle from rr station to small boat dock for Kenai Fjords tour - nothing, no seatbelts

Shuttle from small boat dock to cruise ship dock - nothing

 

Juneau:

Bus to Mendenhall Glacier - nothing no seatbelts (hiked 3 hours with the RSTV and all my other "stuff" in my backpack!)

Shuttle van (9 passanger) from Mendenhall to Auke Bay - RSTV

Shuttle (20 passanger?) from Auke bay back to Juneau - nothing lap belt only

 

*in Juneau, I suffered a touch of food poisining in the afternoon. That day and the next, I was still feeling "off" not so much sick as completly exhausted. I *meant* to take the Radian with me in Skagway, but I wan't thinking clearly and simply forgot - I had the RSTV in my backpack but was unable to use it because our tour bus was lap belt only. I really regretted NOT having the Radian ALL day!

 

Skagway:

Shuttle from pier to rr station, nothing

Train, nothing no seatbelts

Shuttle van for 4 hour tour with Chilkoot Charters - nothing, lap belt only (!) I desperatly wished for the Radian that I had left in my stateroom!

 

Icy Straight:

walked

 

Ketchikan:

walked

 

Vancouver:

Towncar from pier to airport - RSTV

 

My family thought I was NUTS for bringing both an actual carseat and the RSTV but actually it worked out really well for me. I was really glad to have had them both. It wasn't too much trouble to bring either along and I'd do it again given the choice.

 

On our last flight home, there was a miserable two yr old a few rows ahead of us. There was a lot of turbulance and they never turned off the seat belt sign, meaning the 2 yr old had to sit in her own seat on the plane, buckeled into the lap belt. I think the poor thing was so tired and wanted to curl up on mommy's lap and sleep. Plane seats are not comfortable for small kids, there is not way to get cozy. FAA regulations do not allow kids 2 and up to be held on adults laps, they must sit in their own seat with the seat belt fastened for take-off, landing, and when the seat belt sign is illuminated. Because of this, I think flying with car seats is GREAT for toddlers and small preschoolers. They are so much more comfortable in their own car seats. Not to mention safer, but mostly more comfortable. I mention this because so many cruisers do not need a car seat for the cruise itself, but I would encourage people to consider the comfort of your child on the plane and think about the logistics of flying with a carseat. Personally, I think it is worth the hassle.

 

Hope this helps!

[calikak]

Thanks, that's really helpful information!