pregnancy during cruise??

Has anyone ever cruised pregnant or know anyone that has? If so can you give any advice or tips or anything.... thanks:p

The cruise lines generally have regulations about how far along the pregnancy can be ... please be sure your TA checks into this before you enter any cancellation fee period ...

And congratulations on the new little one ...

Cruise lines have regulations that don't allow women who are anywhere from 24 to 27 weeks pregnant to cruise. It depends on the cruise line, but generally speaking, you cannot be in the third trimester.

It's been a long (very long) time since I cruised while pregnant with my DD, but I do remember some "issues." In addition to the advice above, I suggest talking to your OB about which drugs would be safe to take for sea sickness. And definitely buy a trip insurance policy that permits pre-existing conditions! Also, is this your first pregnancy? Actually, each one could be different, but here's some hints: somewhere around 3 months, many women just get tired easily- I don't know why, but you can just feel exhausted- for no good reason other than you're pregnant. (This also happens at the end and sometimes continues until your baby enters college LOL). Also, your ankles may swell, especially if you aren't used to salty foods (most cruiseline food is very salty compared to my normal diet). For these two reasons, I'd suggest that you do not sign up for any shore excursions before the cruise. See how you are feeling at sailing time and then choose excursions according to how you feel at that time. You may just want to sit in the sun, sip virgin pina coladas, and relax for the whole cruise (which is a very good idea, since your days of being pampered will soon end.)

Congrats on the pregnancy and have a wonderful cruise!

You can absolutely cruise pregnant. However, there are some things to do first. You must speak with your doctor. Depending upon where you are in your pregnancy will make a big difference (first trimester versus third). Second, there are restrictions on airline and cruise travel. You need to check on that as well. Then stay hydrated (difficult to do when not in humid or hot weather) and remember to strech your legs often (every one to two hours)when traveling by air or car. Congratulations to you.

I'll let you know after I get back from the Liberty of the Seas in 2 weeks.

I'll only be 9 weeks along at sailing, not showing yet, but I do have an OK to travel from my OB. She's also OK'd the regular Dramamine in limited amounts if I really need it.

I went back in 2003 when I was 4 1/2 months pregnant. Actualy I had morning sickness MY ENTIRE pregancy (yes you read that correctly). I was scared to even go on the ship but I was NEVER sick on the ship (Carnival) not once. Apparently the rocking helped me even out my morning sickness :D !

I did take Zofran with me since I already had it prescribed but didn't need it. I also ate gingersnaps or crackers before my feet hit the floor in the morning (maybe that helped too).

GOOD LUCK!

My sister took a week-long Caribbean cruise on RCCL during her 23rd week. It was, in her words, "a waste". She couldn't drink, couldn't do the majority of shore excursions she would otherwise have been drawn to (scuba, horseback riding, etc.) and missed a lot of the nighttime entertainment because she was tired and went to bed early. The hot caribbean in summer can be pretty stifling if you're big - and she was at that point - my niece ended up being 11 pounds, 4 oz at birth so even at 23 weeks my sis was pretty big.

Despite that, my husband and I had booked a cruise while I was pregnant, I would've been about 19 weeks but we had to cancel. Because of unexpected complications, even at that early time in the pregnancy I was unable to travel.

Sorry I can't share more positive experiences with you! I know lots of women do cruise uneventfully and happily while pregnant, but I can only speak from my experience.

Yeah I think will enjoy it more this time around since I can drink :p

The people we are going with is a good crowd minus a few overly drunk times I'm sure we all will encounter. I think for the most part we all will have an awesome time.

I haven't met two of the other traveling with us so I can't wait to meet them and have a good time with new people :)

My husband and I were about to book a cruise when I got pregnant with my son and my OB was highly against it. Basically he felt that if you ran into some sort of trouble, you had a Dr. on the ship taking care of you that you didn't know anything about. He described it as basically a Dr. on vacation.

thank you ladies for replying... to answer u all it is my first pregnancy and i will be 20 weeks at the time of sailing...i've been one of the lucky few that didnt get morning sickness (yet...im on my 13th week) and im not expecting anything weird during my sailing... yes i agree i wont b able to do all the excursions i would have liked but i thought it would still b a nice vacation and eventhough you never know what could happen im praying for the best... my ob says she wouldnt cruise cause of the fear of food poisoning and getting dehydrated but besides that she's fine with it... im just a bit nervous it being my first time and all n then not being in control of my body i just wondered if anyone else had positive experiences...and thank you again...

My DD has cruised twice while pregnant with her first. She had absolutely no problems. She still went on excursions, didn't get sea sick and basically except for being a little larger and having to borrow dressier clothes it didn't affect her cruise at all. Well, except for drinking... I think you should go for it if you feel fine. Everybody handles pregnancy differently and as long as you're comfortable, that's all that matters.

We are leaving Friday for our Cruise. We chose a "cooler" itin. Canada/new England.

My wife will be in her 24th week and her Dr. said GO FOR IT. We have cruised 7 time's before and know that she will not be able to do all she was able to, but look forward to relaxing vs. all day excursions, laying in the shade napping vs. BAKING in the sun, going to bed early vs. getting back to the room at 2am.

We are excited, she is not nervous at all and we are looking forward to a "different" cruise experience. JUST get me on the water!!!!

that's what i thought... vacation in the shade n those little umbrella drinks...lol...it'll b interesting to see all the funny looks ill get when people c me with one and think it has alcohol...jaja i think im gonna smile inside... its all part of the fun... and besides im almost sure its going to be the last vacation for some time....so i just didnt want to cancel it... im beginning to feel much better about my choice to go for it...thank you all for the positive reinforcement... and i just cant wait its only 7 more weeks...yay

do any of you have any idea what kind of excursions im limited to... i mean can i snorkel? or ride in a jeep to sight see? or anything?:confused:

I bet many have gotten pregnant while on a cruise................

ha ha - I DID. It was our first cruise on Explorer of the Seas in June 2003. Anyway to answer the first posters question - I was preggers on my second child last year on Voyager - 8 weeks gone just. Dont forget you cant go into the whirlpools when pregnant! I wasnt drinking and felt very tired as the med cruise involved a LOT of travelling once in ports. But apart from that I had a ball. Heading off on Liberty in 4 weeks but dont worry "I'm WELL prepared this time:D :D :D "

I would consult the Dr. for the excursion's. We are staying with bus tour's and tour's with low/moderate walking.

Right, no hot tub's (for her at least!!)

The other thing I did was make my cabin very accessable to the stair's and elevator's. We normally always do Aft, but that is a LONG walk to and from. Now, we are just a few rooms from the centrum.

THe other thing we will be doing is trying to get to the muster station before the alarm as to not be in that large heard of people. The way my wife has been lately, she may beat someone up if they crowd her!!!!! I am doing this for their safty!

I'm back from the Liberty and had no problems whatsoever. Just a couple of bouts of morning sickness, but you can't help that. I enjoyed my virgin frou-frou drinks, sitting next to the pool reading a book, and just relaxing.

But then again, DH and I aren't the stay out all night types anyway, so it was good for us.

There have been pregnant women on every cruise I've been on. While they didn't do zip-lining, they did alot of the other excursions. There were pregnant women on the snorkeling excursion I did on Belize once - they swam a bit, they relaxed alot, and seemed to be having a good time. Have a wonderful RELAXING cruise.....:D

lol.....yea i know how it feels with the hormones.. we did get a room close to the elevators but that was totally by chance and its on the hump... rm9620 on Adventure of the seas... from what i've read uts a fab room so im glad for that... i think ill probably do the snorkeling and try some sightseeing but we'll c...

Well, I am sure that some who arn't when the cruise starts are by the time it is over..... :D

As a neonatal nurse, please check out this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=619830&highlight=pregnancy

While I'm sure plenty of women cruise and never have a problem, the possibility for something to go terribly wrong AND not have access to the equipment and expertise that could save the baby is a huge consideration.

MY PERSONAL opinion is that if I was having a "normal" pregnancy, I would only cruise (or go on vacation) before 20 weeks. Once you get close to that "age of viability" where a baby COULD POSSIBLY live outside the womb, I wouldn't risk it.

It's a conversation and decision to be made on an individual basis with the OB-GYN who is FAMILIAR with the cruise ship medical care available.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Just wanted to update you all on this as we are back from our cruise.

My wife was in her 25th week and we had a GREAT time. Did a lot of walking (rested when needed), took afternoon nap's (she needed it, I was not going to argue), drank plenty of water and at frequently.

On thing we made sure we had with us was water, fruit and other snack's as IF she got hungry, we had it.

She/We had NO issue's and the cruise staff was SOOO accomidating and helpful.

We had a great time!

Our' was a 9 day Canada/New England cruise.

Just wanted to update you all on this as we are back from our cruise.

 

My wife was in her 25th week and we had a GREAT time. Did a lot of walking (rested when needed), took afternoon nap's (she needed it, I was not going to argue), drank plenty of water and at frequently.

 

On thing we made sure we had with us was water, fruit and other snack's as IF she got hungry, we had it.

 

She/We had NO issue's and the cruise staff was SOOO accomidating and helpful.

 

We had a great time!

 

Our' was a 9 day Canada/New England cruise.

Glad you had a safe & wonderful time!