Cruising with a baby???????

[guk]

We in the last 2 years become addicted to cruising and have been getting excited about trying the Oasis, however I am now pregnant which we are really pleased with but wondering about whether cruising with a baby is worth it from a financial point of view? We just wondered what other people views and experiances were as whether its best to give cruising a miss until they are aged 3 and can get more from a cruise. I am asking this as we really would love to try out the oasis or allure when our baby is old enough but from past experiance travelling on a cruise when our DD was aged 2 and then again aged 3 there was such a massive difference in what she got out of it but not in the price? Also if anyone has any advice about other cruiselines that we may be better trying in the meantime, I have only tried RCI and love them but realise they may or may not be the best cruise line to use ith a baby? Any help and advice would be gratefully appreciated.

[cb at sea]

Oasis has childcare for kids under 3...it's not the same as AO, but still, it's something!

Whether it's worth it....I guess that depends what you want from a cruise!

[boulders]

My personal preference when the kids were younger was staying in a timeshare. We had a kitchen and tons of space, plus the amenities of the resort including restaurants for when we wanted to eat out. The one cruise I took my youngest on before he was old enough for the kids clubs, was not much fun for him. He was 2 1/2. He pretty much stayed in the cabin with me or the babysitter, except for dinner and the couple of shore excursions we went on. The ship we were on did not have great amenities for 2 year olds. Oasis or one of the Freedom class ships or perhaps a Disney ship would have been better.

 

Many people take their infants cruising. I personally am glad I didn't. ;)

[MyMoses]

I would wait and see what kind of baby you end up with. I had an extremely fussy infant that hardly ever napped and didn't sleep well at night either. This was until she was about 7 mos. old or so. Trying to vacation with her would have been a nightmare. I can just envision how overtired she would have been and probably would have spent much of the day crying. With that said, some babies seem to just go with the flow and nap anywhere. If you have that kind of baby, taking a vacation might be easier than with an older child. I mean if the baby will sleep in the stroller during dinners and shows, etc. that would be great. That was not my situation at all. Just wait and see how it goes for you.

[Rand0mTh0ughts]

Some cruise lines, NCL, for example, do not charge for infants, with the exception of port fees (and possibly taxes?).

 

We loved our cruise with our son when he was 6 months, however, it is a very different experience so you need to decide if it is worth it for you and your family. We will be taking our son on a cruise in April (14 mnths) and again in August (18 months). We're pretty laid back and we were content to hang by the pool with a little inflatable pool for our DS, and he was great on excursions.

 

Read through some of the threads that include tips for cruising with babies to get an idea of what cruising will be like with them, and then decide if that is the type of vacation you want!

 

Good luck!

[siebelqueen]

We cruised with our son when he was 8 months old. Most of the cruise, he was absolutely perfect. He wasn't mobile yet, which made it a lot easier to plop him down somewhere in our cabin and not worry about him getting into trouble. My parents were on the cruise with us, and they often took him in his stroller for long walks in the afternoon giving him a chance to see the sights as it were and us some time alone.

 

I said "most of the cruise" earlier because that also happened to be the same week that our little one cut his first teeth. We had a couple of really tought nights in the middle of the week and I felt awful for anybody staying in the cabins on either side of us. Just what happened to us. That doesn't mean it'll happen to you.

 

The other thing you may want to consider is the cruise line and their infant policy. Some cruise lines have age restrictions that vary from one type of itinerary to the next. Some don't permit children under 12 months. So read the fine print carefully when deciding what to book.

 

HTH!

[crusinmama06]

I would have missed out on a whole lot of cruises in the past few years if I would have waited until my kids were 3. ;) On the flip side, I know I wouldn't even begin to consider paying Oasis prices for an infant - what, at least $899? Yeahhhhh, no ;):)

 

So, look to NCL or even a Disney cruise. I couldn't give up cruising for 3 years. :D And my kids thank me for it. :D

[Rand0mTh0ughts]

Siebel Queen - My DS cut his first tooth on the cruise, too! Poor guy - We had our parents on one side of us, which helped a lot. :D

[prints]

However, because we chose a family-friendly line and took time to plan ahead, we had a fun and memorable cruise with both baby and big sister in tow