Cruising with a 10 month old - Experiences?

[GusX]

Hello,

 

I just had a baby boy 2 months ago and my wife and I are considering if we should bring him on a cruise in October. By that time he will 10 months old. Have any first time parents (like my wife and I) brought a young child on a cruise? What was the experience like? Both grandparents suggesting that we leave him home and they will babysit ... but I think they are a little biased because they want to spend time with him :)

 

The cruise we would be taking is 10 night eastern-carribean on the NCL Dawn (New York roundtrip). There is no plane to take since we are driving distance to NYC. Also, bringing him would only cost $305 since we only have to pay for the port fees and taxes.

 

Any comments are appreciated.

 

Gus

[kitty9]

You will hear both sides of this issue. Some will say they cannot imagine leaving the baby behind and others will say that's it's just so much work that it's not a vacation. There are some things to consider. Will your baby be a good cruiser? By that I mean, will he sleep through the night and not disturb the other rooms around you. The walls on cruise ships can be very thin and it wouldn't be good to keep others awake at night because of a crying baby. There won't be any respite for you or your wife because there isn't babysitting for infants either in your room or in the group sitting program, called Kid's Crew. There's the issue of dining, and you have to decide if your baby can handle sitting for as long as two hours for dinner. There are alternate dining options, but you really are paying for all the food that's served in the main dining room and in missing that, you're missing some of the best a cruise can offer. Some babies handle the dining room just fine while others become very irritable. The same goes for the shows---some can sit through the loud music and some with delicate hearing just cannot handle the noise.

 

But, it's really all up to you. The crew won't mind at all having an infant because it sometimes reminds them of their own families. It's just all up to you and your wife whether or not your 10 month old can handle a cruise. Whatever you decide, good luck and happy cruising.

[LorettaD]

My husband and I and our then 10 month old son were on the Dawn for a 10 night this past December. We wanted to vacation, but did not want to leave our little man home. We had a great time but you need to decide what you want to do. Hubbie and I took turns at night going to the casino while baby slept. We pretty much stuck to his schedule od bedtime between 8 to 8:30pm. We only saw 2 shows while he slept in his stroller. Getting around the islands was fine and also highchairs are provided in all the restaurants. Do you have specific questions? Let me know!

[smores]

why not consider the best of both worlds. . .bring the baby and bring the grandparents (or nanny). that way if the baby is fussy/tired someone can take him back to the room and you can enjoy time with your wife (dinner/shows/dance etc.) we plan on doing this for our liberty trip 8/1/05. that way we won't miss our kids (8yr and 21 months) for 2 weeks while we are in europe. . .and we have someone we trust to keep an eye on them. this will be our best vacation ever--kids will have a blast and hubby and i will have a blast--all together!

[estherhead]

My brave dh and I took our 10 month old and our 27 month old on a cruise two years ago. We took the grandparents with us and had a fabulous time. We had cruised before and it was definately a different experience. If you choose to do this I recommend getting a balcony room as you will be spending a lot of time in your room while the little one naps. Dh and I used to go to the pool deck and lay out in the afternoon but this last time we just laid out on our own balcony.

 

There was, however, another lady with a 10 month old on the cruise who was having a miserable time (we met up several times at the baby pool.) She was embarassed every time the baby cooed at dinner and felt everyone was staring at her and felt that she wasn't really getting her fair share of vacationing done and was disappointed that there were not more babysitting services available.

 

I would say the differences between her and I were basically as follows: I took my helpful parents with me; I have a very relaxed attitude and couldn't care less what people think about me or my children; I expected to have to do a bit of laundry and mommy chores on board; I brought the right equipment (a Baby Bjorn & unbrella stroller & backpack diaper bag); and finally both my children are calm and low needs.

 

I would say if you sound like me go for it, if it sounds like the opposite of me pause and maybe still go for it but adjust your expectations. I've done other vacations with babies and the cruise was by far my favorite because someone else fed us and cleaned for us. At a hotel I feel trapped and am always having to decide what to eat and at a rented house I have to cook and clean just like home. But on a cruise when the babies were hungry I ran upstairs and Ta-Da! There was food. And in the am we would order room service and the kids could eat while I luxuriously had a long shower and got ready.

 

I LOVED it. Which is why this year I'm taking those same two babies now 3 & 4 on another one. I still will be doing laundry and being a good parent but I'd do anything to not have to vacuum and feed everyone for a whole week. By the time your 10 month old is crawling & into everything you'll know what I'm talking about.

[boatbunny]

We took our daughter when she was 8 months old and we had a great time. You have to adjust some things (which I am sure you are already doing now anyway!) such as our excursions.

 

We selected the early dining time frame and made sure that we brought some kind of activity for us to entertain her with. The wait staff catered to her every whim and made it very easy for us. Her high chair was always set up when we arrived at the table. We did select a table just for us, so in case she was having a hard time, we weren't bothering anyone. But, if she did start crying, we were prompt to leave the dining room not to bother others.

If the dining room is something you are not comfortable with, there are other dining options on board, and the food selection and quality is just as good as the dining room. Also, we had room service bring milk first thing in the am so as soon as she woke up, we were ready.

 

As for excursions, we really checked out which ones would be easy to transport to and from, as well as the length. We chose more excursions based on beach visits, glass bottom boat or submarine rides (Grand Cayman) and she loved this.

 

I highly suggest bringing with you

 

1. Your own stroller, one that folds up easily, but is sturdy (not one of those "umbrella" types) and one that preferably has a little basket underneath to store things. We used it not only for off boat times, but walking around the ship at night put her to sleep and let us experience what was going on around the ship (not the lounges or casino, but just being out on the decks)

2. Pack a small suitcase, duffel bag, etc. of diapers. Yes, it is a pain to add another piece of luggage, but the price of diapers either on the boat or any island will quickly exceed to your bar bill!

3. If still on formula, bring that too, and make sure you bring some bottled water, especially the small ones so that when you are at the pool or off the ship, you can easily bring them and mix formula.

4. If eating jar food, bring it, again kind of a pain, but it makes life a lot easier. If starting to eat finger foods, bring a few things with you too, more for snacks. The dining room is great at accomodating for a baby eating finger foods (ie: pasta, breads, etc)

5. They do give you a port a crib in the room, but they use full size sheets to make up the bedding and tuck the extra under the mattress. Given everything I've read about kids suffocating due to excess sheets, I would suggest bringing a crib sheet of your own.

6. Lastly, we spoke to our pediatrician before we went. He knew that we were not the type of parents to give antibiotics at the first sign of a sniffel, but our daughter had gotten a few ear infections. So, we asked for a prescription, which he gladly gave us. It gave me the piece of mind knowing that if she did get one (and believe me you will know the signs by 10 mos!) we had the medication to treat her. I also packed over the counter items and Pedialite. Pedialite makes small bottles you can easily carry, or the ones you make frozen pops with, just use it straight from the plastic pop container without freezing it. There is also another company that makes a powdered version you simply mix with water that is a little easier to pack.

 

Don't hesitate to go! Our daughter is now 8 years old, our second daughter is 5, both have been traveling since they were 6 and 8 mos old. Our April trip is the 8 year olds 3rd cruise, the 5 year olds second. Last year we flew from Boston to Maui, long flight, but they both did great. If you love to travel, the sooner you introduce this and the slight changes in schedules, will allow you to continue traveling with ease as the baby grows up!

 

Have a great time!

[adamsmom]

GusX -- I think it all depends on what you expect from a cruise. If you want quiet, leisurely, alone, adult time with your wife, or if your wife wants a break from the mom stresses of life, then you would be best to leave the child at home. At 2 months old, that may seem a bit unsettling, but by 10 months, it will be much easier.

 

If you take your 10-month-old on the cruise, you must expect to still have to be parents 24/7. Our kids are 5 and 9, and one of the things I look forward to on a cruise without kids, is to have a break from being a parent, and not have to worry about feeding them, clothing them, getting them to bed at a decent time, naps, etc. I enjoy the break from responsibility for a little while. We take every-other cruise without kids, and take them on the alternate ones.

 

I would suggest waiting a few months to see which you would prefer as the child grows older. Talk to your wife at that time and see which kind of vacation she is longing for.

[ccrs714]

Your suggestions were helpful. We are bringing our 10 month old in May and have never cruised with a child. Any suggestions would be helpful. We are going with another couple with a 14 month old, and two sets of granparents.

[beachwarmer]

We took our then 8 month old on an NCL cruise. We took her infant car seat with us even though it was too small for her height. It was one of the best things we had. We could rock her to sleep and then carry her to dinner asleep in the car seat. It did not take up very much room in the dining room and if she started to wake a little we could just rock her back to sleep. The only issue we had with freestyle dining was that with a baby we had to eat alone as knowone wanted to sit with a baby!

 

We also picked a cabin that was next to an open area (in our case the sitting area by the stairs). This meant that we had only one cabin beside us and if she started to cry we could easily take her out of the cabin to this open area. Some times we just walked down a flight of stair to the outside deck and walked her out there until she fell back asleep.

 

We all had a great time on the cruise. Yes it was very different from our cruises before children, but still very enjoyable. Our daughter had a wonderful time just seeing all the things around her, and we got to see/do a lot of things we were to busy doing on other cruises.

[H184A]

We took our 7 month old on the Carnival Destiny in December and had a fabulous time, my 13 month old niece was also on the trip. We all ahd a great time the young ones were so curious of all the new surroundings. Carnival has group baby sitting at night after 10:00 which is very helpful. Check to see if NCL offers it. Take your cruise and enjoy!