so to continue the car seat dilemma, do you bring boosters?

[youngestof9]

My daughter will be 5 on our cruise. We'll be traveling to hotel, then to port, then on the islands. Do I need a booster?

 

Also, does anyone know if this counts toward "1st piece of luggage" costs?

 

Ack - never thought of this!

[cb at sea]

That won't count as "luggage", but will you really need it for the short amount of time you might be in a vehicle? If you can take shuttles/buses, you won't need it at all.

[rjm11]

I'm struggling with the same question... we are driving to port, so won't need it there, so I'd only be bringing them for transfers on islands... two of the five we have NCL planned excursions (in shuttles I'm assuming), so it'd be for the other three (Antigua, St. Kitts, Tortola) to get to the beach....

does anyone know if there are walking options in any of these ports? Or a beach shuttle type thing (public transportation) that might work?

 

I'd really hate to drag along booster seats for that little time... and deal with them on the beach too!

[redbirdhouse]

When we went on our last cruise my kids were only 6m and 2 years old. We took a cab to Atlantis and I don't even remember the van having seat belts. We also shared a ride with another couple so there was no extra room.

 

I was worried about the same thing, especially going from the airport to the port. But we did find a transportation company to take us providing carseats free of charge.

[Colorado Kat]

I wouldn't fuss about boosters just for the quick trips. But if a regular taxi, I would seat-belt the child in the center of the back-seat, traditionally the safest spot in the car. With two kids, one in center back, and the other behind the driver, probably. Definitely no child in front seat.

 

Have a great trip!

[crusinmama06]

It depends. :D

 

How big is your 5 year old? I've seen some 5 year olds that would comfortably fit into a seat belt.

 

With my 6 year old, she's a peanut. So yes, I took a booster up until this year. Then, this cruise we left the booster at home because we weren't planning any taxis (took two tender boats). We were taking a backless turbo booster that I bought REAL cheap just for traveling. You can get them at WalMart, KMart, etc for like $17.88 - $19.98

[youngestof9]

It depends. :D

 

How big is your 5 year old? I've seen some 5 year olds that would comfortably fit into a seat belt.

 

With my 6 year old, she's a peanut. So yes, I took a booster up until this year. Then, this cruise we left the booster at home because we weren't planning any taxis (took two tender boats). We were taking a backless turbo booster that I bought REAL cheap just for traveling. You can get them at WalMart, KMart, etc for like $17.88 - $19.98

 

yeah Michele - that's my problem. She actually turns 5 on embarkation day (she thinks this is her birthday cruise. Ha!) and she's a peanut - she's not even 40 pounds. We will be in a taxi from the airport to our hotel and then the next morning to the port and then from port to airport. On the islands, it's all open air taxis (at least in St. Thomas and St. Maarten as was my experience in 2009) so I couldn't even use a booster. I have a backless one from my older daughter so I could bring that but I'm torn. Funny, I never had to think about this since the only other time I flew with the kids was to Disney and she was 1 so I absolutely had a carseat.

 

It's always something to think about LOL!

[alj1208]

We're not bringing a booster for our DS, 4.5. However, he is big. 43 pounds and 43.5 inches. We are looking at one taxi ride from the airport to the hotel and shuttles after that. We don't expect the taxis in ports to have seatbelts. We would probably choose cruise line excursions and expect buses or vans on those.

[Petrunka]

I actually just called Carnival about this the other day. They said that on shore excursions boosters and car seats are not required. Any child under three is considered a lap-child for the excursion as they are free :p. Children three and over will have their own seats, but are not required to use a booster seat. I would imagine that it would be up to your own discretion, go with what you are comfortable with.

[Mom2B&Z]

We just got back early this morning, and DS1 who is almost 6 had his booster. We used it everywhere we could, and I'm glad we brought it. I chose to bring a low-back model with a belt positioner, it was an easy carry-on piece of luggage and is more adjustable to get a good fit on the shoulder belt.

As for luggage limits, we flew US Air and they allowed it as part of his carry on (in addition to his back pack) as he was a ticketed passenger. I had no problems having it included as a carry on once I explained it was a child restraint, although I did have to emphasize that I did not intend on using it on the aircraft!

Personally, I always bring the same level of child restraint used at home when we travel. I'm more comfortable knowing they are safe and not taking chances. Others will disagree.

ETA There are different standards for boosters across Canada and the US. Some places in the US allow boosters at 30lbs, although here in Canada they are strongly discouraged until at least 5 yrs and the child must be 40 lbs. Best practice is to keep kids in 5 point harnesses for as long as possible, for a multitude of reasons but the most important one being they are safer than 3 point belts.