Confused @ Carseats....to bring or not to bring

[emk1129]

Hi. I'm cruising Carnival next month out of Miami, but flying into FLL. My husband and I are traveling with 6 other adult family members and our 15 month old daughter. I've searched the forums, read all the threads regarding car seats, yet still do not have a clear answer. here's my transportation situations:

 

We fly into FLL and have hotel-provided shuttle service to the hotel.

 

We are utilizing SAS transportation from our hotel in FLL to the POM and then back to FLL airport after the end of the cruise.

 

The only island port we will be utilizing transportation in is Cozumel, where we will need to catch our own taxi for a 10 minute ride to our destination.

 

So, for those 3 situations, I cannot find a clear answer as to if we will need to bring a carseat or if we can even use one. Sounds to me from reading the other threads that the hotel-provide shuttle, the SAS shuttle, and the taxis in Cozumel are not even equipped with seatbelts...am i correct?

 

Thing is, is that of course I want my child to travel as safely as possible and I do not have a problem with bringing along the full carseat IF I can use if......but I do not want to lug around this carseat if it's just going to sit in the hotel or in our room on the cruiseship. Please advise

[cb at sea]

On buses and shuttles, there will be no seatbelts...a carseat will be useless. As far as a taxi at one port, I'd risk it! I know, some won't, but I grew up without carseats/seatbelts AT ALL...and here I am! Now, while I NEVER drive without my seatbelt in my car, if I were to get in a vehicle without some restraint system, I wouldn't freak out and get out.

I mean, it's up to you, but I wouldn't bring the carseat!

[Camlott]

On buses and shuttles, there will be no seatbelts...a carseat will be useless. As far as a taxi at one port, I'd risk it! I know, some won't, but I grew up without carseats/seatbelts AT ALL...and here I am! Now, while I NEVER drive without my seatbelt in my car, if I were to get in a vehicle without some restraint system, I wouldn't freak out and get out.

I mean, it's up to you, but I wouldn't bring the carseat!

 

1000% agree, while at home the kids wouldn't ever go without one. On shuttles and taxi's, it seems unrealistic! Not saying it can't or shouldn't be done. Just saying personally I won't be overly concerned about it when on a cruise or in port.

[6rugrats]

Shuttles, as you've discovered, usually have no seat belts, but yes, you can find cabs with seatbelts.

 

If you can't decide what to do, just ask yourself, "Can I live with myself if I choose to let my child ride in a car without being properly restrained, and he/she is injured or killed in an accident?"

 

Your answer should make your decision easy.

[craftycousins]

My situation was a little bit different as my family and I with our two children 4 yrs and 4 months flew to the US from Australia and then caught a cruise out of FLL. I did bring our car seats however in Barbodos let my little girl go in a taxi with my parents in law without a child seat. However I did feel pretty strongly that my new little baby was not going to go in any car without a car seat. It did affect the things we did but in saying that we still had a great time we just worked around doing activities that didn't involve a taxi basically. So that may mean taking a ship organised cruise and things like that.

 

In my opinion it is no that bigger deal taking a car seat they are not that heavy, they fly them for free on the airlines they fit into the cupboard on the ships and then you have it there if you need it. We travelled with 6 bags and two seats for five weeks around the states and had a great time.

 

If you child was maybe a bit older like 4/5 then I myself would probably not bother with the seat but seeing as they are still young IMHO I would lean towards bringing it. An extra luggage piece is not going to ruin your fabulous holiday.

[goldne]

Shuttles, as you've discovered, usually have no seat belts, but yes, you can find cabs with seatbelts.

 

If you can't decide what to do, just ask yourself, "Can I live with myself if I choose to let my child ride in a car without being properly restrained, and he/she is injured or killed in an accident?"

 

Your answer should make your decision easy.

 

This is correct - we have taken cabs in Cozumel and they usually had seatbelts. When we take airport shuttles and taxis we don't put our kids in their carseats, although they are older (7 and 4.5). However we always travel with both of our carseats when we are renting a car at our destination.

 

I think it's a decision that only you can make...a carseat is obviously the safest option. To me 15 months is too young to go without it. Why not just bring it and use it whenever it's possible?

[Mom2B&Z]

Shuttles, as you've discovered, usually have no seat belts, but yes, you can find cabs with seatbelts.

 

If you can't decide what to do, just ask yourself, "Can I live with myself if I choose to let my child ride in a car without being properly restrained, and he/she is injured or killed in an accident?"

 

Your answer should make your decision easy.

ITA. I'm a certified car seat tech (in Canada) and I would NEVER leave home without a car seat and booster seat for my boys. My DS' are 3 and 5 yrs and I will do everything in my power to keep them safe. That includes driving myself crazy finding transfers in FL with 3 point seat belts and top tether points (BTW we have arranged a shuttle from our hotel at Orlando airport to port with appropriate belts), then will have both car seat and booster for use as needed in port. It may be a pain, but to me it isn't even an option to leave them at home. Keep in mind a car seat can be installed with a lap belt, but boosters must be used with 3 point belts (again, I'm Canadian trained so these are the Canadian standards).

Other options for travel in port include walking or water taxis. It is physiologically impossible for someone to hold a child on their lap in a car during a collision. You may stay in the car, but your child will likely be ejected. It's a bit different with a bus, as they are designed (at least in Canada) with safety features to protect unrestrained passengers. However a child needs to be a certain size to benefit from these features, and I know I'm not comfortable having my 3yo unrestrained in a bus. He's just not big enough.

There are lots of ways to make carrying car seats through airports easier, I simply attach a long luggage strap to the UAS/LATCH bars on my Britax Marathon and DH slings it over his shoulder. (FYI never carry car seats by the harness or tether strap.) DS1's booster is going in his carry on.

Don't trust my word though, do your research. There are videos on YouTube from the various transportation agencies in Canada and the US that show what happens in simulations of unrestrained children in seemingly low impact collisions.

[crusinmama06]

Wait, you are confusing me. (doesn't take much :p )

 

First of all, please take some of the info you receive with a grain of salt. Unless these people have actually USED the "shuttles" you are referring to, then I wouldn't qualify them to answer this question.

 

SAS "shuttles" are vans.

http://www.ridesas.com/

 

I have used them. They most certainly DO have seatbelts in them. Unless you have asked SAS for another mode of transportation (rocket ship perhaps?), they will be sending their white van to pick you up, correct? Those white vans have seat belts, I assure you.

 

So yes, you will need a car seat.

 

Does SAS use a full sized bus? If yes, then no seat belts in a bus. But the SAS transport I have taken was a van. The ones pictured on their web site.

 

And the taxis in Cozumel, yep, they have seat belts too. Just wave it off and look for the next one if it doesn't.

 

If you use a car seat a home, then the same rules apply in other countries. The laws of physics don't take a vacation. ;)

[emk1129]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

 

Like I originally stated, I of course said I'd bring them if I could use them because that is the safest means of transportation for my daughter. To the poster who replied "could I live with myself if something happened to her" Um, obviously, of course not.....my main question was not whether my child can ride safely without a carseat while on vacation, it was simply CAN a carseat be used? I've seen countless posts about not being able to use them in shuttles and taxis and was just cursious of what other travelers do.

 

If, like one poster said, that SAS has seatbelts, then yes, I'll be bringing the carseat. At least I know I can defiantely use the carseat once. Thanks

[sargenet]

From experience, even airport shuttles can have seatbelts. Especially hotels shuttles. We have been required to use ours in some Marriott shuttles. They look like the SAS vans. Seems like a lot of hotel shuttles use more of the "vans" from the airport. Most of the car rental buses have no seat belts (which freaks me out with my son!). This is the first trip we are going on where we don't have to bring our son's booster. Old enough and tall enough in Florida to not require it! We are renting a car for a day before we cruise and are so glad we have one less thing to check onto the ship!

[matj2000]

Most of everyone here grew up without car seats, let alone seat belts.

I think it would be alright to travel a few miles holding the kid on your lap. Or at least, use an adult seat belt on the kid if you have to. That works.

[Mom2B&Z]

That's like saying they used to give people lobotomies to cure mental health issues, that was good enough back then so why don't we do it today. Yes I too survived standing in the back seat, but really we were lucky. There is a plethora of research out there saying car seats and boosters make transporting a child safer that when they are not using this equipment.

It is not physiologically possible for you to hold a child in the vehicle during a collision. In Canada, it is legal to transport a child in exceptional circumstances without a proper car/booster seat, but this is strongly discouraged.

As for using the regular seat belt, the issue is that a) the seat belt will not engage the emergency locking retractor unless the child weighs 40lbs (thus why we use car seats for all kids under 40lbs), and b) the seat belt will injure the child if it is not properly positioned in it (thus why we use booster seats).

Re the shuttle service, no I have never used one but we have reserved a ride on one which assures us there are 3 point seat belts. If we show up and there are no seat belts, we will be taking a cab.

[SusieV]

We are not bringing a carseat for our 15 month old. I have arranged for carseats to be available on our trip when they are needed. We are renting a car in Florida since we're arriving early and have reserved a RF toddler carseat which we will check is installed correctly. In the islands, we're planning on taking the bus or walking. We take the bus frequently at home (in Canada) and it is most definitely safe for children not in carseats! There would be nowhere to buckle one and if there was a safety issue I am sure they would be made available. On the way home, we've booked with a shuttle company that provides carseats free of charge to get to the airport.

 

I'm flying alone to meet my husband in Florida for this trip (he's there on business) and I don't even think I could manage luggage for me and the baby, plus the baby himself as well as a carseat on my own. I think he'll be safe with all the precautions we're taking, and cruise cabins are small enough without his beast of a carseat!

[LisaT91403]

If the hotel shuttle doesn't have a seatbelt, why not just take a cab to the hotel? You can get a minivan cab, and it will have a seatbelt. Same for the SAS situation. If they do not have seatbelts, then you can use a different option. We, too, are flying into FLL but leaving out of Port Everglades. We have arranged shuttle transportation, and they are providing the car seats for us so that we don't have to lug them across the country. My son will be 3 at the time, and I would not feel comfortable without a car seat.

[6rugrats]

SusieV - if you are traveling alone with your child between the US and Canada, make sure you have a notarized permission to travel letter signed by your husband. I have found immigration and the airlines very picky about this.

[crusinmama06]

Most of everyone here grew up without car seats, let alone seat belts.

 

Yeah but there would be more us of here if we all had car seats when we were little. ;)

[SusieV]

SusieV - if you are traveling alone with your child between the US and Canada, make sure you have a notarized permission to travel letter signed by your husband. I have found immigration and the airlines very picky about this.

 

Now that I didn't even think of, since we're meeting him there for the cruise. Thanks!