Portable tub

[JenAndDan]

I keep seeing people recommend bringing a portable tub/pool - especially the duck kind you can get at target. My 14 month old son has that at his grandmother's house and he's almost too big for it already. We are going on the SOS in 3 months - any suggestions on something else that will fit him but still fit on our balcony?

[cb at sea]

Any small "blow up" pool will work...it's just the emptying of it from your balcony I'd worry about....it's not like you can pick it up and carry it thru your room! And you certainly don't want to spill it onto the balconies below you!

It's best to use the pool on the pool deck, where there are floor drains to pour it out.

As far as using it as a bathtub, the "duck" kind are elongated, so they'll fit into the shower. Or, get him used to a hand-held shower now!

[DALSAL]

It doesnt take that much water to make a baby happy, so a few bucket fulls on the balcony would not be too hard to empty. You can scoop it out the same way you put it in and then carry the rest to the shower when your done. We are taking a little small round pool you buy from Walmart/Target. And, use the duck at bath time.

[JenAndDan]

CB - I just didn't know if there was a specific kind that people used. Do they allow people to use the pool by the pool deck? I was only planning on using the pool on the balcony to let him "play" around - not much water at all like Dasal said but if he can use it on the pool deck that would be great. We only have 1 sea day so I am mostly going to be using it for baths anyway.

[mikesteg]

We just used a blow up pool on Conquest with no problems. This was on a port day. I don't think traffic would have been a major problem on a sea day because we were in a sort of corner between the pool and the fountain: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2832764810101336718eABZQr On Conquest this area was also covered by the deck above so it had shade all day, which was a big win.

 

As a tip: try to placethe pool so the edge is right on top of a drain. When you're done you can just squash down the edge of the pool and dump it directly into the drain. No fuss, no muss. ;)

 

Oh, the pool we used was about $7 at Walmart. Can't beat that!

[DALSAL]

Mikesteg, those are adorable pictures!!! But, she can find a pool a little smaller than that...your baby could have had 4 other friends in that pool!! LOL...

[DALSAL]

Mikesteg, I just went back and looked at the rest of your pictures! They are all so cute! How old are your little ones? Our baby could be a sister to them, shes a little red head too! It looks like they really enjoyed themselves, and we are hoping Lilly does too.She will be 10 1/2 months old when we cruise the Conquest in September. So far she has no fears,so we are hoping she will like it as much as we do! Any pointers? Anything you are glad you took? I noticed they had the cribs...we requested pack and play only because at the time we thought that was all they had..but, I guess either would work. Thanks for any tips that you might have! Dot

[qqmelodia]

Hi,

 

I constantly read that people bring these inflatable pool for bath/play, I am just wondering if you bring any sort of pump? Sorry for the silly question.

Thanks,

qq

[DALSAL]

I dont think these small pools take too many puffs of air,but I believe they have something onboard to help you out...just ask your room stewart.

[CruiserInMD]

We just ordered this- http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=8275 for use on the ship. Will try it out at home first, might not need a pump. They say it also hangs up to dry which would be convenient. Our son will be 19 months when we cruise in Dec.

[mikesteg]

Mikesteg, those are adorable pictures!!! But, she can find a pool a little smaller than that...your baby could have had 4 other friends in that pool!! LOL...

 

Her brother would most definitely disagree. We have a dozen pictures of her splashing and him turning away. :D

 

Mikesteg, I just went back and looked at the rest of your pictures! They are all so cute! How old are your little ones? Our baby could be a sister to them, shes a little red head too! It looks like they really enjoyed themselves, and we are hoping Lilly does too.She will be 10 1/2 months old when we cruise the Conquest in September. So far she has no fears,so we are hoping she will like it as much as we do! Any pointers? Anything you are glad you took? I noticed they had the cribs...we requested pack and play only because at the time we thought that was all they had..but, I guess either would work. Thanks for any tips that you might have! Dot

 

Thank you!

 

Well, we took everything so that's tough to answer! We were very glad to have the pool, for pool time and baths. We were also glad we took the umbrella strollers, but that's a matter of opinion (and a different question with twins.)

 

I'm sure our kids never realized they were even on a ship, but we all had a nice week together. My DD was not happy about daddy going back to work. :(

 

Take sheets. We used PnP sheets in the cribs and they worked well. I suspect you'll get cribs also. I can't imagine they have both types on the ship. FYI, I don't think our request even got passed along. The room stewart saw two babies and asked. Do wipe down the crib before using. The ones we got were plenty dirty. It was uniform coverage, so I'm sure it was from being stored (not from being used) but still not something you'd want your baby to get her hands on.

 

We spent quite a bit of time outside on deck 4(?) Very little traffic, no loud music, and plenty of deck chairs in the shade because one side or the other is always in shade.

 

Other than that, I don't know. Ours were 6 months on the cruise, so they weren't mobile. Very little chance they would crawl away on us.

 

Oh yeah, don't miss "sur mer"... it's seafood up above the regular buffet. I didn't go up until late in the week and it was fantastic. Oysters, fish, etc. Lots of deep fried, but it is vacation...

[JenAndDan]

Thanks for the advice! Such cuties!!!

 

I usually gain weight on cruises but I have a feeling on this one I will lose weight chasing after my DS! That will be you on your "2nd Annual" family cruise!

[DALSAL]

Thanks for the info! I had heard that most of the cribs were pretty nasty, so we always have wipes of some sort with us to wipe everything down. She had RSV, as an baby, so she gets sick easily. She just had tubes put in her ears last week, but is doing very well. The guy I use at VTG, is very good about taking care of me, so, Im sure we will have what we need. I heard Carnival doesnt use pack and plays, but cribs..so guess we will get whatever they give us! If its too crowded, she might end up in bed with us..between mom and dad, and me (Meme), she will sleep where she wants! Shes trying to crawl all over the place now, so Im sure by the time we cruise, she will be trying to walk. I really wish we could take her exersaucer, as she LOVES that!!

 

We bought a Maclaren umbrella stroller, and love it, so that is what we will take on the cruise. It have 5 positions and rolls in anything! We cant wait, this will be a different cruise for sure!!

[JenAndDan]

which maclaren do you have? we have a techno and found it really hard to go in the sand. other than that, it is awesome (and is what we are bringing on our cruise).

[mrs.mobster]

We brought a 4 foot wide blow up pool for DD to use on our large aft balcony last Jan. She really enjoyed it. I got it on end of season clearence at Target for about $7. we asked our room attendent for a large bucket, and he brought us a 10 gal pail to bring water from the shower to the pool. we filled it all the way up and DD had a blast. At the end of the cruise we scooped the water back out and put it into the drian at the end of the balcony. The pool went into the trash, we didnt bring it home with us. Everytime we ended up being parked aft to aft with another ship we could hear people ooing and ahhing over the blow up pool ;) I think it was a great idea, and would do it again on our next cruise, but our balcony will be smaller, so a pool wouldnt fit.

[mikesteg]

Thanks for the advice! Such cuties!!!

 

I usually gain weight on cruises but I have a feeling on this one I will lose weight chasing after my DS! That will be you on your "2nd Annual" family cruise!

 

Well, I need to take off those pregnancy pounds at some point! :eek: ;)

 

I think we're actually planning to get those lease things and tie them together. I think it'll work like a charm... until they learn to work together.

 

Thanks for the info! I had heard that most of the cribs were pretty nasty, so we always have wipes of some sort with us to wipe everything down. She had RSV, as an baby, so she gets sick easily. She just had tubes put in her ears last week, but is doing very well.

 

That sucks. We've been very lucky so far. Christopher has problems with lactose so we have 2 formulas, but otherwise they've been very healthy. I'm sure between the 2 of them we'll have ear tubes, or at least ear infections, in their future. RSV is a bad thing though. Sorry to hear about that.

 

We brought a 4 foot wide blow up pool for DD to use on our large aft balcony last Jan. She really enjoyed it. I got it on end of season clearence at Target for about $7. we asked our room attendent for a large bucket, and he brought us a 10 gal pail to bring water from the shower to the pool. we filled it all the way up and DD had a blast. At the end of the cruise we scooped the water back out and put it into the drian at the end of the balcony. The pool went into the trash, we didnt bring it home with us. Everytime we ended up being parked aft to aft with another ship we could hear people ooing and ahhing over the blow up pool ;) I think it was a great idea, and would do it again on our next cruise, but our balcony will be smaller, so a pool wouldnt fit.

 

10 gallons?!?!? So you filled the pool with one bucketful? :D

 

Anyway, a blow up pool will fit on any balcony. May run up the wall, but it'll make itself fit whatever space. If it happens to develop a leak... it wasn't coming home anyway, right? ;) Then you can arrange the chairs so you can stick your feet in it also! Cramped for sure, but probably workable.

[DALSAL]

which maclaren do you have? we have a techno and found it really hard to go in the sand. other than that, it is awesome (and is what we are bringing on our cruise).

 

 

Its the Maclaren Sport Quest..Got it at TRUS..pricy but a good stroller. And, I would think it depends on the sand...there is sand and then there is SAND :)