Car seats in Ports

[MNmomof4]

I am researching my January cruise on the NCL Dawn and I'm trying to figure out the car seat situation in the ports and I can't seem to find much. We have a very port intensive itinerary. Has anyone done Barbados, Antigua, ST. Kitts, Samana and Tortolla with toddlers? What are your experiences in those ports. Unfortunately some ports we can't walk to a beach so I have to figure out my alternatives. Any help would be appreciated!

[Lady_Jag]

How old and how big is your toddler? When we cruised in May with our 3-yo, we bought a cheap light booster seat that had min. weight/height below what my daughter weighed/measured. We then secured it to the handle of her stroller with bungee cords.

 

However, we never used the car seat in ports. We took a tour bus in one port (no seatbelts) and a water taxi in another (no seatbelts). Did I mention there were no seatbelts? ;)

 

I've not travelled to the ports you mentioned, but you might want to check out the taxi and public transportation system in each to see if seatbelts are standard. If they are not, consider booking a private tour that can accommodate a car seat, or see if there is alternative mode of transportation like a ferry.

[MNmomof4]

My DD will be nearly 3 and is currently 26lbs while my then 4 yr old is currently 35 lbs. I'm trying to figure out which ports have seat belts and which dont.

[crusinmama06]

When you ask which ports have "seat belts" - the answer is ALL of them. ;)

 

Lady Jag is referring to a excursion bus and a water taxi. So obviously those things don't require a car seat.

 

All taxis have seatbelts. If you get into a mini van taxi, it has a seatbelt. If it doesn't, wave it on and go to the next one. But generally, the cars are made with belts.

 

If you take an excursion with NCL, they may not even know if the company is planning on bringing a bus or a small van until the day of the tour. So this is what we do....we always bring the car seats to the excursion. If we needed it, then great. If we get to the excursion and it was a bus, then it went under the bus in storage until after the tour. No problems at all doing that.

 

Are the kids big enough yet for a "backless booster"? Those backless turbo boosters can be purchased for as little as $17.88 at places like walmart or kmart. And sometimes less. If you could grab two of those, then it wouldn't be "lugging around" full sized car seats.