Baby Food Caution

Cruised recently with a baby. We ordered baby food through the cruise line to be delivered to our cabin. We felt that this would simplify our packing.

When we got to our cabin on embarkation day, we discovered that the baby food had not been delivered. Called Guest Services and found that "oops" the ordered baby food was not on board. Cruise line very sorry and offered to deliver pureed food from the dining room to our cabin. Unfortunately, we discovered that the baby would not eat that food. :eek:

My advice -- Bring enough of you own baby food for your entire cruise.

Thats so terrible! I would've been so stressed! :(\

I had a very different experience with Princess. I also ordered baby food from the cruise line when my daughter was 1 and luckily we didn't have a problem. They were very accomodating, even with baby juice. I had to put in the formal request about 1 month prior to sailing and I just wasn't guaranteed any specific variety. But they had most things to her liking and it was much easier for us then packing all of those jars.

Can I ask which Cruise line you took?

Oh my, what a bad experience! I understand that RCCL's baby supply service is handled by an outside company, so mistakes can definitely happen.

Gerber makes baby food in plastic containers, which are definitely easier to pack than glass. Even though my baby will happily eat regular food that I puree at home, I plan on taking along a full weeks supply of the Gerber food as well.

How terrible and stressful that must have been for you. What did your baby end up eating?? Were you able to get some baby food in any of the ports. As if you don't already have enough to pack for an infant, now you need to pack backup food too.

How terrible and stressful that must have been for you. What did your baby end up eating?? Were you able to get some baby food in any of the ports. As if you don't already have enough to pack for an infant, now you need to pack backup food too.

Luckily, we had packed some cereal. The baby ate cereal and mashed bananas. When we docked in St. Thomas, our excursion was to K Mart for baby food. RCI paid for that baby food and taxi fare. Also credited for pre-cruise ordered baby food. Somehow, all of that did not make up for the anxiety and inconvenience.

In a word, what you experienced "sucked". At least you were in an area where you could get to a KMart or Walmart. On some cruises, there isn't such a thing.

How do I go about ordering Baby Food on Princess?

How do I go about ordering Baby Food on Princess?

Here's what the website says:

Princess is happy to meet your request for low-sodium, low-fat, low-sugar and vegetarian diets. Visit Cruise Personalizer® to indicate your dietary preferences.

In addition, kosher meals (frozen entrées only) and baby food are available upon advance written request. Any other special diet requests must be authorized in advance by the Princess corporate office.

My daughter called them in advance and they asked her what food she wanted, meats - how many, veggies - types, how many, fruits.... type, how many etc. We had no problem at all.

"notentirelynorma" has it right!

We had to write a letter to Princess that detailed the list of my preferences on the baby food and juice. The specific varieties aren't guaranteed but it certainly helped us to pack less. After all, who wants to deal with tons of glass jars. I believe I sent the letter a couple of months in advance.

In the end, most varieties she liked were available. It worked out so great!

Good luck!:D

I had to send a written request (email of fax) in advance. Princess sent me a form requesting my preferences (fruit, veggies, meat, cereal). They said I will get an email confirmation 30 days before sailing and will be able to "request" but not guarantee flavors. Crossing my fingers all goes well! Now to figure out the diapers!

That must have been frustrating. We just got back from a cruise w/ our 8 mos old and I found it was just easier to improvise than to rely on the cruise line. I brought a few sample packs of infant cereal that I had at home and a couple of jars of food, but for the most part our daughter just ate off the buffet or off our plates in the dining room. I mashed fruit and veggies for her, gave very small bits of meat, small pieces of cheese, etc.

That must have been frustrating. We just got back from a cruise w/ our 8 mos old and I found it was just easier to improvise than to rely on the cruise line. I brought a few sample packs of infant cereal that I had at home and a couple of jars of food, but for the most part our daughter just ate off the buffet or off our plates in the dining room. I mashed fruit and veggies for her, gave very small bits of meat, small pieces of cheese, etc.

I think that improvising was a good thing to do.

Most babies do well on fresh-cooked food, mashed or pureed. By the time a baby is a year old, he/ she can easily manage with the sort of food their parents are eating.

Although the baby-food firms will hate me for saying so, the pre-prepared tins and jars are a convenience, not a necessity. ;)

(Former paediatric nurse, mother to 3 and grandmother to 2, so I do have some experience!)

I think that improvising was a good thing to do.

 

Most babies do well on fresh-cooked food, mashed or pureed. By the time a baby is a year old, he/ she can easily manage with the sort of food their parents are eating.

 

Although the baby-food firms will hate me for saying so, the pre-prepared tins and jars are a convenience, not a necessity. ;)

 

(Former paediatric nurse, mother to 3 and grandmother to 2, so I do have some experience!)

I absolutely agree about baby food just being for convenience. I like to have a jar or two just in case I need it, especially in certain ports where I'm even anxious about the food. Otherwise, just like at home, once the baby is old enough to actually need the food, he/she is old enough to eat whatever the rest of the family is eating just mashed or broken into very small pieces. I think it gets easier to be more daring about giving baby adult food after the first child. I'm on my 4th now and I've relaxed a lot since the first.

I agree about not needing baby food. I recommend that other parents look into baby-led solids: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyledweaning.htm http://nourishedkitchen.com/baby-led-weaning/

We've really never fed our DS baby food, other than some of those pouches of pureed organic fruits and veggies (such as Plum Organics), which DS likes to squeeze out himself. Veggies cooked slightly soft, everything else cut into small pieces.

I agree about not needing baby food. I recommend that other parents look into baby-led solids: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyledweaning.htm http://nourishedkitchen.com/baby-led-weaning/

 

We've really never fed our DS baby food, other than some of those pouches of pureed organic fruits and veggies (such as Plum Organics), which DS likes to squeeze out himself. Veggies cooked slightly soft, everything else cut into small pieces.

I make most of my own baby food now. My oldest still loves the Plum Organics style now. She calls them her "juice". I am sure my daughter who will be 8 months by the time we sail will be sampling regular soft solids by then.

I thought it was interesting that Princess asked me if I wanted jar food for the 2 year old. When she was 13 months we took her on her first cruise and she never even ate off the kids menu. The waiters thought it was great that she ate roast lamb and lentil bean soup with dinner instead of chicken nuggets and fries!:)