For those of you who cruise with infants...HOW?

[Disneycruisers]

DH's and my DD is 16 now. I've just read a few threads about traveling with infants. I'm in AWE! Seriously. I have to hand it to all of you. I just remember what life was like when our DD was 9 mos. old, and 15 mos, etc. and I get exhausted just remembering those ages! ROFL! I couldn't fathom taking her on a cruise then. She was a bundle of energy. But, every baby, infant, and toddler is different.

 

I think it's wonderful though, for all of you who do cruise with infants. You are truly making it a family vacation!:)

[nytonowhere]

i dont even have kids and i already told my BF when we have kids we arent going on any vacations that involve a plane until our kids can handle their own small roll suitcases...i see those parents at the airport with all that crap and i say NO thanks!

[MyMoses]

Actually, many would say that traveling with an infant is easier than older kids. I'm not in that category, because I had an extremely difficult infant. One that barely ever slept, could not handle schedule changes at all, very fussy, very high needs, etc. We did take her on a cruise at 2 and while it was a lot of work it was much better than her infant days. She slept pretty well and really enjoyed Camp Carnival. A lot of infants will sleep on the go and are pretty easygoing, but I did not have a baby like that.

[PCHENG]

If you think cruising with an infant is bad, trying taking her on a long car trip or plane flight. With cruising, at least you will always have a room available if your baby needs a nap, you never have to worry about looking for a clean restroom for a diaper change, and your baby doesn't have to deal with the uncomfortable ear popping of flying or being confined to her infant car seat for hours on long car rides.

[raylene5]

We've done lots of traveling with our 4 children when they were infants. Flying when they were only weeks old, Disneyland and Disney World many times when they were only about 2 months old, cruising when one was only 2 months old, camping with small infants, etc...

 

And for us, the infant stage has NEVER been easier than the toddler stage! :) All of our babies were terrible sleepers at night which always made MY vacation hard (DH seems to never remember waking up in the middle of the night with the babies...hmmm, I wonder why?!)

 

We just got back from a 9 day cruise with all 4 kids, ages 7, 5, 2 and 10 months and I won't lie...it was very hard. It was definitely worth it and we had a great time but it was not at all what I would call relaxing. The baby did great during the day and was always in a great mood but woke up a lot at night and was very difficult to put back to sleep. The 2 year old and 5 year old fight like cats and dogs so that was an issue at times. The 7 year old was very easy :)

 

Even though it's hard, I love traveling with my kids when they're young. They've done a lot more and have seen a lot more than I ever did when I was a kid (I only flew once in 6th grade and not again until college) and I think that will help to instill a love of travel later on in their lives.

[raylene5]

By the way, I just booked my first solo cruise and I am SOOOO looking forward to it! :)

[5waldos]

I was lucky- my son was a wonderful traveler. We began crossing the Pacific once a month when he was 6 weeks old. By the time he was 3 years old he had been around the world. Still is a great traveling companion.

[H82seaUgo]

we've been travelling internationally with our dd since she was 7 months old.

 

one thing i've noticed is those that think of travelling with kids seem to write that it is a chore.

 

i've never considered it a chore. and taking her anywhere was always fun and an adventure.

 

so far, she' spanned the globe from hawaii to the uk, and even iceland.

 

and more important, she's platinum!

[Name Of The Game]

I wouldn't take a child on a cruise until they were 5.

[HKBetty]

My 9 month old will take his 22nd flight next friday. He is awesome. As far as extra stuff to haul around - diapers, food and a couple toys - that's it. Smart people CHECK THEIR BAGS!

 

I am going on a cruise May 1st - he will be almost 10 months....and taking his 7 & 8 yr old half sisters....I'm hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

 

It's not easy - but it's worth it :)

[H82seaUgo]

actually, smart people ship the diapers and food ahead of the plane ride.

[bigfig63]

More importantly, WHY?

[hubofhockey]

I wouldn't take a child on a cruise until they were 5.

 

Agree, we waited until our youngest was 7 and that was only a 5-day cruise.

 

Because kids are so young, it makes nightlife next to impossible and you would be cooped up in a very small room. You would also be very limited to activities during the day.

[Tapi]

We traveled with our 12 month old in December. There was nothing exhausting about it. In fact, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing vacation! :)

 

And we have two more cruises planned for this year, one of them going to Alaska! Our son will have THREE cruises under his belt before he turns two! :D

 

We did A LOT of research in advance. From the itinerary and ship we selected, ports of call, what we'd bring (and not bring), everything was done to make it as easy as possible.

 

The cruise was a different experience than traveling without a baby. Less participation in structured activities, and more time doing our own thing.

[nrs377]

We're driving from NE Ohio to Mobile, AL with our 2yr old & 3yr old. It'll be our first vacation besides staying over night in WV. I have it planned to stop every 2 1/2hrs. for some play time and snacks so it's going to take us 3 days to get there and 3 days to get back. Hopefully all goes well.

[Redsfan]

we travelled with our 3 girls in November and do NOT regret so. Our 9 year old will likely be the only one to remember it but nothing changes the time spend with everybody. We took 200 pics or so, and can share these with the kids when older and get a laugh. Nothing replaces this. I didn't have the chance to travel much with my parents when I was my kids age so if we can gather together the money somehow I want to do so.

 

Sure the nightlife was tough as we travelled with an under 2 infants, but big deal. She slept during a couple of shows and during dinner. The older 2 were in camp until 10pm and we paid for a couple of hours of babysitting a few nights. If we cruise this year all 3 can be in camp and we can get the best of both worlds!

[Boatingmom]

I started flying with my children as infants and cruising when they were toddlers. The trick is to buy formula and diapers once you arrive. Keep the children up before so they sleep on the plane. As they get older, fill little back packs with coloring stuff. Then graduate to bringing video games, and then flying Jet Blue for onboard TV & movies. They're ace travelers now. We dont use the kids club alot, but they know if they don't behave, we'll stick them in there. If you waiting for it to be easy, that will never happen. With training though, it will be "easier"

[5waldos]

More importantly, WHY?

 

Because I waited many years to have children- adopted 3 at a grand old age. Why would I leave them behind when I went off on adventures? These are the things that help to shape their lives- I loved having my kids with me. Not every moment no but for them to expand their horizons to encompass the world? As the ad says- priceless.

[I cruise 4 cheap]

When we cruise next month it will be our 2yr olds 4th cruise. 3rd on the outside plus her first was in the womb!

 

to top all that off, the last 3 cruise's all come with a 24 hour straight drive either too the port or home from the port!

 

the younger the better as they sleep more!

 

this time we are looking to take advantage of camp carnival!

[kr8z]

We only took our infants with us because we had no choice LOL Our youngest son took his first cruise at 6 month, and our daughter celebrated her first birthday on a cruise. We used to fly with our two oldest from the time they were weeks old. Then it simply became too expensive to fly especially when you add two more kids to it although the little ones have each flown twice. We have driven cross country so many times with them. We are in the military and so far each new duty station has resulted in a 2000 mile drive. Fun times, fun times! We are never close to a port, so we have to drive 12-22 hours to get to one. More than 12 hours and we break up the trip and stay overnight a day or two. Infants are portable, so it was really easy with them. I wore my babies all over the ship; they were literally attached to me. While it wasn't a "true" vacation for me, it was still a vacation. My kids have more memories of different countries than most adults do. My MIL is going with us on this trip. It will be her first time out of the country, but our kids have each been to about a dozen different countries. I have to admit that I am positively giddy that I won't have an entire suitcase of diapers this time. Our youngest is 3 and she is finally trained! Woot! It's the little things in life that make me happy LOL

[Tapi]

More importantly, WHY?

 

I can share our reasons! :)

 

• First, my wife and I travel for work quite a bit. We spend enough time as it is away from our son. The last thing we want to do is to spend even more time away from him while on vacation.
  
• My wife and I have been together for 10 years, but didn't make the decision to have kids until 2 years ago. Before then, we traveled extensively as a couple and had loads of fun without kids. That was then. This is now. At this stage of our lives, enjoyment comes from traveling as a family.
  
• One thing that we learned from sailing with our 12 month old back in December is that having the opportunity of spending time together as a family, was worth MUCH more than any time spent drinking at a bar, watching an R-rated comedy show, gambling at the casino, or enjoying a Vegas style show. Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy all of these things, but at this point in time, I enjoy MORE the family related activities...:)
  

 

Another big reason for wanting to travel with our kids, even while they are infants, is because of the way that I was brought up. My parents ALWAYS traveled with my sisters and I. They never left us behind. We literally traveled the world since the moment that we were babies, and I truly believe that all that time together as a family set a foundation for the solid, stable family that they provided. They are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year, and I can only hope that my wife and I can provide the same type of loving, stable environment to our kids. I know that traveling together will not be the only thing that we'll need to do, but I do consider it to be a very important ingredient in achieving this goal...:)

[JP4GA]

Traveling with little ones is hard. But we do it most of the time. However our last cruise was child free because we needed adult alone time. Our kids will go on the next cruise we take that we are planning for next summer.

 

My take on infants on a cruise is if they sleep through the night great, but if they wake up at home crying every few hours you know they are going to do the same on the cruise. On our first cruise we were miserable because the family next to us had a newborn that woke up screaming every few hours in the night. We also could not enjoy quite time in our cabin in the afternoon because the baby would "nap", scream for an hour or more and then go to sleep. I get it.... parents don't want to leave their kids behind but the walls are thin.

 

I do enjoy seeing kids and parents have a great time on cruises, its just not for everyone.

[misguidedangel]

Two of the cruises I have been on we did meet and greets. Both had familes with little kids and both agreed that they would leave the kids behind with gradnparents next time. One family had a 18 month old and he wore them out well before dinner each day. The mom comments how she wasn't have as much fun and she wanted cuz she is too tired and said their next cruise was going to be Mommy and Daddy time only...

 

The other couple had two kids under five and wanted to be able to stay up later and do more, so agreed that their next (and only 2nd) cruise would be Mom and Dad only.

 

Those that do travel with very young children are brave. If I had kids I would do what my parents and aunts/uncle did with their kids...granny came to stay while the parents had adult time.....they would get nice vacations and the kids stayed behind....

[Tapi]

My take on infants on a cruise is if they sleep through the night great, but if they wake up at home crying every few hours you know they are going to do the same on the cruise...

 

I agree. I think that our cruise with our infant would've been completely different if he didn't sleep through the night. That would've been pretty miserable.

 

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that our little guy has been sleeping through the night since he was 2 months old....

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

I brought my son on his first cruise last summer when he was 9 months old. We had a fantastic time. We have done weekend trips before hand & he goes out to restaurants pretty often so he's a little experienced when it comes to being in new environments. He was already sleeping through the night, only napped once a day, wasn't a big crier & adapted nicely to ship life. I had more fun on that cruise than any other cruise I've been on. We have a cruise coming up this June & he will be 15 months at the time. He's walking, talking & full of energy now so I'm prepared for a lot of work, but he will also be able to do more & enjoy more than the last cruise. We take early, early flights so he will sleep during the flight. We plan accordingly so it works out for all of us. We manage to fit all of his things in my suitcase without going over the weight limit so there is no extra luggage to lug around & pay for.

 

We chose to cruise with him because it's what we want - a family vacation. I'm a stay at home mom so it's a real treat to be able to take a break from home life, cleaning, cooking & school work (nursing student as well). My fiancé works third shift so we don't spend much time together as a family at all, so it's nice to have a week together as a family. We also cruise with my mom, aunt & brother. They help out with my son occasionally so my fiancé & I can see a show or something.

 

All in all, we manage to make it work & still have a blast! It's the ideal family vacation for us.