Tips / Advice Wanted for cruising w/ infant!

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site.. I was wondering if anyone who has had experience with cruising with infants minded sharing their experiences, advice & tips??!! I am sailing on the Carnival Dream this month on the 26th with my 9 month old son. I am also going with my fiance, my mom, my aunt, my brother & his girlfriend so there will be plenty of helping hands! I was more concerned about how much baby food I should bring?? I know Carnival will puree fresh fruit & veggies in the dining room, but I want to bring my own baby food just incase! Any information will be appreciated. I am really looking forward to sharing this experience with my son! :)

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

May I add that I am not just concerned about baby food.. I am willing to hear any sort of advice or tip! Especially anything I should know about packing for him. I have made a check-list but I would hate to forget something and realize it when its too late!!

[cb at sea]

As long as your son will be able to eat "smushy" adult foods, there should be plenty. There's applesauce, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, bananas, peas, etc....all good and can be mashed with a fork, if needed.

I would bring any meats that he'll be eating...that's a bit trickier to smash!

Bring all the diapers, wipes, lotions, powders, etc... that he'll need, too!

[above sea level cruiser]

As long as your son will be able to eat "smushy" adult foods, there should be plenty. There's applesauce, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, bananas, peas, etc....all good and can be mashed with a fork, if needed.

I would bring any meats that he'll be eating...that's a bit trickier to smash!

Bring all the diapers, wipes, lotions, powders, etc... that he'll need, too![/quote

 

 

 

Make sure your diapers are in your carry on bag! You can't buy diapers on the ship if your luggage gets lost:eek:

[2CuteKiddies]

For the bus rides on any shore excursions you book through Carnival, your son will be riding in your lap. On the plus side, he'll be free. That might not be a big deal depending on your son's size.

 

Our 2 year old daughter still fell into the "infant" category for shore excursions. She's big for her age, so we wanted to book her, and pay for, a seat on one of the excursions (Montego Bay Highlights and Shopping). We called Carnival and they wouldn't let us do it. She was an "infant" and rode in our lap, end of story. She wound up with a seat when my wife got sick and didn't go. The short bus ride to Playa Mia in Cozumel with her squirming in my lap was rough, though!

[Tggrtoes]

don't forget the baby tylenol, teething tablets, saline drops, etc. Other than the meats perhaps, I would not worry about bringing baby food unless your infant is super picky or limited. There will be tons of mushy options and Cheerios.

 

You'll want to bring your stroller. Car Seat if you need it for taxis, etc. We have never done the car seat... way too much hassle lugging it, so we work around it. But many do bring theirs successfully.

 

Bring babies blankie, a few special toys, bottles, a little dish soap to wash them with. I liked the disposable bibs (I think they were Pampers?) so I could just bring a bib to dinner and toss it.

 

Small inflatable bath tub (like the duck kind at Target, walmart, etc.) if you only have a shower in your room. Fits right in the bottom of shower. Also works on deck to let baby splash in.

 

I'm a planner and DH and I learned after the first cruise that we needed to think ahead about what we wanted to do (if you can get capers/fun times ahead on this site, even better) and communicate in advance with other family members on board. In addition, DH and I learned to schedule time for shifts so that we both got full relaxation time by ourselves. This was a good strategy and worked well for us our 2nd cruise.

 

That's all I can think of now... I'm sure others will chime in.

 

Stacey

[YOWmom]

Although your little one is officially too young for Camp Carnival, be sure to stop by and find out when they are open for "Playtime for Under 2s" - this is when camp is closed to the older kids and babies under 2 can go either accompanied by a parent or for babysitting at $6/hr. The hours are usually quite limited - on our cruise is was from noon to 2 on sea days, and I think from 9 to 11 a.m. on port days, so you'll want to plan for it. When we cruised, our DD was a very, very active 11 month old, just learning to walk and it was a great place for her to burn off some energy and move around freely in a relatively safe environment. If they need some time and space to move around during the day, you can also check out the disco or one of the lounges, which are usually completely empty and provide some nice wide open spaces.

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Thanks everyone for the tips & advice! I really do appreciate it. :)

[RoadTripFanatic]

As long as your son will be able to eat "smushy" adult foods, there should be plenty. There's applesauce, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, bananas, peas, etc....all good and can be mashed with a fork, if needed.

I would bring any meats that he'll be eating...that's a bit trickier to smash!

Bring all the diapers, wipes, lotions, powders, etc... that he'll need, too![/quote

 

 

 

Make sure your diapers are in your carry on bag! You can't buy diapers on the ship if your luggage gets lost:eek:

 

Yes, carry at least a two day supply with you onto the ship just to be safe!

Also take any medications such as infant tylenol, gas drops, etc you might need. It's impossible to find it in the gift shop and infirmary might not carry it. Plus it's always in the middle of the night that you need that stuff!

Disposable bibs are a must too!

As someone else posted a small thing of detergent so you can rinse out his bottles at night and a bottle drying rack. :)

Also bring a large supply of zip lock bags! This makes the room less smelly from the diapers! Also when you go out on an excursion always bring a change of clothes in a zip lock bag for just in case!

[jam82]

The best tip I got from this board was to pack each complete outfit in a ziplock and label the zip locks by day. Include sock, shoes, outfit, bows, hats ect. That way when it comes time to dress you don't have to remember where you put everything. It takes time to pack, but it is so worth it. I used this method for my son for both land and sea trips. It worked great and having extra zip locks is always a good thing.

[Julienatul]

When DS was 7 mo we brought the little Gerber plastic ones, a few for each meal based on what he would eat at home. Also little cheerios or puffs at that age. Cheerios you can get off the breakfast buffet and keep in the room. Bring sunscreen, baby hats, stroller, blow up bathtub, any infant meds-tylenol, motrin, benadryl, diaper rash cream, plenty of diapers and wipes.

[A&Jfamily]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site.. I was wondering if anyone who has had experience with cruising with infants minded sharing their experiences, advice & tips??!! I am sailing on the Carnival Dream this month on the 26th with my 9 month old son. I am also going with my fiance, my mom, my aunt, my brother & his girlfriend so there will be plenty of helping hands! I was more concerned about how much baby food I should bring?? I know Carnival will puree fresh fruit & veggies in the dining room, but I want to bring my own baby food just incase! Any information will be appreciated. I am really looking forward to sharing this experience with my son! :)

 

Do you have a balcony? If not, if an upgrade comes your way, I highly recommend it. You can have private time at night, and when baby is napping during the day, you have your own little slice of heaven.

 

Bring clothes pins in case you want to wash something out in the sink and hang it up to dry.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[FMZ]

We took our then 6 mo old DD on her first cruise in April. The staff onboard LOVED her as they are missing their own kids. My suggestion is to bring hand sanitizer as you'll want to sanitize often.

Have a BLAST!:D

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Thanks everyone - all the advice & tips are making me feel more comfortable and looking forward to my trip on the 26th! And yes, I do in fact have a balcony room, I was upgraded a month ago from oceanview to balcony. :)

[A&Jfamily]

Thanks everyone - all the advice & tips are making me feel more comfortable and looking forward to my trip on the 26th! And yes, I do in fact have a balcony room, I was upgraded a month ago from oceanview to balcony. :)

 

 

Also, we have learned to take advantage of the laundry special - its like $10-15 for a bag, but it comes back washed and folded. When you add the cost of the washing machines, soap and time, it's not half bad.

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Really appreciate all the tips - Thanks everyone!! :rolleyes:

[pepsiwoman4711]

When you get back, please post about how your cruise went! I'd love to learn from another experienced cruising mommy!

[shellito1012]

For formula, we took the sticks. No measuring needed except for the water. We took the small four pack of Pedialyte just in case the baby were to get diarrhea or stomach virus. And the virus is why it is super important to bring the hand sanitizer. We use it a lot on the cruise as it would be rough to have a sick baby on a cruise. My six month old enjoyed her playmat on the cruise :-). We brought baby spoons and bowls as well. We brough a small bottle of dish liquid and bottle brush to clean her bottles in the room. We ordered room serverice (hot pitcher of water) to sterilize the best we could. Disposable bibs are a must. Beaudreaux's (or whatever you use) in case a diaper rash breaks out. And we always pack a thermometer and Aquafor (for heat rash, etc.). We probably tend to overdo it. Oh yeah, we brough a small blow up bathtub so we could bath our daughter.

 

Enjoy your trip! I'l be doing the ziploc bag thing for my next cruise for sure!

[lamolesky]

I have a baby packing list on my site and I also want to add that you should bring some extra food and diapers. Just take one large duffel bag (can be collapsed later and put in a suitcase) to hold all the food and diapers. You can always leave the extra on the ship but don't want to run out. Are you sailing in the family rooms on the Dream, they are great with 2 bathrooms!

[tamsocal]

As long as your son will be able to eat "smushy" adult foods, there should be plenty. There's applesauce, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, bananas, peas, etc....all good and can be mashed with a fork, if needed.

I would bring any meats that he'll be eating...that's a bit trickier to smash!

Bring all the diapers, wipes, lotions, powders, etc... that he'll need, too!

 

When DS was 7 mo we brought the little Gerber plastic ones, a few for each meal based on what he would eat at home. Also little cheerios or puffs at that age. Cheerios you can get off the breakfast buffet and keep in the room. Bring sunscreen, baby hats, stroller, blow up bathtub, any infant meds-tylenol, motrin, benadryl, diaper rash cream, plenty of diapers and wipes.

 

Would agree with other posts that there are alot of options available for tablefood onboard the ship. But I would stick w/ what you are doing at home & not change babys diet while on the ship. I would guess the majority of food you are feeding as tablefoods are available on the ship but if you primarily feed jarred foods- take them along-- for some posters this might not be the simple way for them but I personally would not want to deal w/ a crabby hungry baby that didn't care for the new foods I was trying to feed him while on vacation.

Also regarding Cheerios-- yes it's only happened once on our 8 or 9 cruises but once they did run out of cheerios :)

 

We took an activity mat too for an infant & were happy we did. since room was a little squishy & floor space was limited-- worked out well too to place the mat in the Pak n Play and let baby play in there

[curlymom]

I see you've sailed already, but here are my two cents anyway...

 

I agree with what everyone else above says about food, diapers & meds. Also, we bought a small UV ray tent for the beach for our 4 month old when we cruised. She was able to nap inside while we were at the beach, out of direct sunlight.

 

Also, I brought a folding shoe rack & hung it on the back of the bathroom door. It helped me keep all of the baby things organized--diaper cream, meds, extra diapers, formula, etc... I was a little insane when my DD was an infant & brought all of my own bottled water to mix her formula. That was nice to have on hand at all times, though it made for heavy baggage.

 

Finally, I totally agree with the poster who recommended laundry service. TOTALLY worth it. One day, there was a $20 for all you can stuff in the bag-offer. It was fabulous! I did SO much laundry!!

 

Hope you are enjoying your trip!