Cruising with a formula fed babies, what did you do?

[Aelsantokie]

We will have a 9 month old with us on our 9/12 cruise onboard Disney Fantasy.

 

Did you bring bottled water with powder formula or premixed formula?

[mikesteg]

We brought powder, and I carried it on in a backpack (rather than in a checked bag.) Somewhat amazing that we made it through the x-ray machine with 3 large metal canisters and any number of wires in that bag. :eek:

 

I guess if we were using pre-mixed, we would not have switched for the cruise and risk a bad outcome, so that is probably a deciding factor. We used powder primarily for cost reasons and to avoid waste, and that worked really well on the ship since we could make it by the serving. (At home I'd make a day's worth for each baby (different formulas) but there is no good way to store 2 2qt containers on the ship... or at least we couldn't be sure of it.)

 

We used ship's water, and cleaned the bottles with dish soap. We had been sanitizing daily before (and after) that, but couldn't come up with a good way to do that on the ship. I think I rinsed them in the hot water from the coffee station a couple of times, but I'm not sure that is not enough to do anything.

[Prinycesa07]

We used powdered formula and the ship water. We just used dish soap and brought a bottle brush to clean. I've never sterilized bottles so that wasnt a problem.

 

If you can find the premade bottles those would be awesome. The ones where you just throw away after you use them. I know they come in a 6 pack of 8 oz bottles. We're going on a cruise in Feb and i wish we could do that but DS is on hypoallergenic formula and i've never seen that in premade bottles.

[Woodmnky]

If you currently use powdered and want to take pre-mixed (or the other way around) double check before you leave that your little one will use the other kind of formula. We took pre-mixed formula on a flight with us because we thought that would be easier. Turns out even in the same brand the formulas taste and smell very different and DS would not eat the pre-mixed. Thankfully, we had brought some powdered with us as well.

[cb at sea]

Since a child has to be at least 6 mos. to cruise, sterilizing shouldn't be an issue....once babies start to move on their own, there's no need to keep things sterile...your child certainly isn't, if they're crawling and sticking any and everything into their mouth!!!

 

Just wash the bottles as you would for anyone....or use the disposable kind. Powders is certainly easier than liquid formula...mix as needed. The ship's water is fine.

[PattyW]

We did exactly the same thing we did at home - minus the dishwasher. Brought along powdered formula in a can and gallon containers of nursery water. We used Playtex nursers which use the disposable liners, so we only brought two "shells" and then a bunch of caps, rings and nipples which we washed with dish soap in the bathroom sink. We never heated bottles, so room temp worked fine for our baby.

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Sailed with DS for the first time when he was 9 months old, and he was still on formula as well. I brought one large can of powder formula from home with me. I also brought two bottles and a small dish detergent with the bottle/nipple brush. Some cruise lines allow each passenger to carry on a 12-pack of soda or water. I didn't go this route since we flew in the day of. So we just used the bottled water in our cabin. Each bottle costed us $4 each, but lasted 2 days. I would wash the bottles in our cabin in the bathroom sink.

[Camlott]

We used ships water and used our normal powdered formula. We bought the formula in a bag which made it much easier for packing!

 

We brought three bottles and just washed them daily.

[Aelsantokie]

Thank you everyone for your replies, all my questions were answered!

 

My kids are ages 9 1/2 and 7 1/2 and it amazes me how much of baby stuff I forgot! I was mostly worried about using the ship water for the babys' formula but seeing that others have done this is reassuring that I can do so with ease. I had images of me on embarkation day with a dolly full of bottled water! LOL :o

[DALSAL]

Ship water is very good, no fear about using it or drinking it. When we took our 10 month old, the week before leaving, there was a recall on her powdered formula! :eek: The dr had just told us to start her on 2% milk, but we thought he was crazy...but, we tried her out on it before leaving, and she acted like that was what she had been drinking all along. Sure made things so much easier!

[092306]

We thought about bringing the powered, however we decided to bring the ready to feed.

 

We emailed Carnival and we found out we could just bring the ready to feed and once opened we gave it to the pursur's desk and they put it in their refridgerator. (their fridge was colder then the room's mini bar.)

 

We never once had a issue and they knew me by name by the third day of the cruise. Every time they saw me, they knew what I was there for. They wrote the cabin number on the bottle and it was available 24 hours, although we didn't need it at night.

 

I know everyone is telling you powered, but I will admit it was just easier, yes it was a little inconvenient, but there was no problem doing that.Like I said we NEVER had an issue.

 

I'm sure if you were to email Disney, they will most likely tell you the same thing.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[lds26]

I have a 9 month old grandson and we take trips with him often. I was in Walmart and found a powdered formula holder and dispenser. It holds enough formula for 3 bottles premeasured per bottle. I know I have seen these particular containers at Dollar stores too. I purchased 2 of them for my grandson and we just premeasure both containers and that is enough for the day. I throw in a few smaller bottles of water into the diaper bag and we are off!

http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Powdered-Formula-Dispenser-Colors/dp/B000RFCXIK

[Camlott]

I have a 9 month old grandson and we take trips with him often. I was in Walmart and found a powdered formula holder and dispenser. It holds enough formula for 3 bottles premeasured per bottle. I know I have seen these particular containers at Dollar stores too. I purchased 2 of them for my grandson and we just premeasure both containers and that is enough for the day. I throw in a few smaller bottles of water into the diaper bag and we are off!

http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Powdered-Formula-Dispenser-Colors/dp/B000RFCXIK

 

 

We are done with formula now... but we used these a LOT when traveling. They aren't practical for everyday use but great on the go!!!!!! Each packet makes a 4oz. bottle.

 

[rolloman]

We went on multiple cruises when my little one was on formula. Fortunately Enfamil and Similac had little 3 oz and 8 oz bottles that were pre-mixed. I would bring a case of those onboard with just as many disposable nipples. No muss no fuss, (mixing, worrying about water) little one drank the bottle, we tossed it in the trash (no dishwashing on vacation). Early in the morning wake up, no fumbling around, bottle was at the ready.

[Marksmom]

We are going on the Fantasy 9/12 also and will have a 7 month old. As others have said ships water is fine. I took several bottles of water with me when DS was 11 months and we went on Carnival. We used these for port days, I plan to do this again. I may just bring a case with me because we'll have a rental car and plan to stop and buy things that we didn't want to pack on the plane (large can of powdered formula, etc).

[tunseeker1]

We are going on NCL in a few weeks, and are bringing power and liquid, but we are driving to the port.

I am more worried about diapers for 2 little ones more then the formula :mad:

[rolloman]

We are going on NCL in a few weeks, and are bringing power and liquid, but we are driving to the port.

I am more worried about diapers for 2 little ones more then the formula :mad:

Take as many diapers as you want. Keep them in their packaging, put a luggage tag on them and check them with the porters. I usually would duck tape together a case of formula, case of diapers and a case of water and send it through. Never had an issue and I did it about 10 times on 4 different cruiselines.

[CruisinWithMySweetie]

Take as many diapers as you want. Keep them in their packaging, put a luggage tag on them and check them with the porters. I usually would duck tape together a case of formula, case of diapers and a case of water and send it through. Never had an issue and I did it about 10 times on 4 different cruiselines.

 

Thanks for the advice! I'm cruising with DD who will be 11 months old in January and had wondered about getting her food/diapers onboard. I'm planning on flying in a day early and making a trip to WalMart to buy diapers/formula/water. Once the porters took your things, were they delivered to your room just like luggage would be? Do you know if you can bring a case of pop onboard in the same way (put a luggage tag on it)?

[Julienatul]

I brought one jug of Nursery water and large can (sams size) of the powdered formula. We never ran out. I packed it in a large diaper box with one pack of diapers removed along with bottles, bottle brush, wipes etc. Also travel size dish detergent for the cabin to wash bottles with. I also packed lots of gerber snacks, puffs, fruit snacks and baby food in the plastic containers.

[tkportersat]

We did the same, no issues. Rather than bringing the cans though I packed in a large ziploc bag; for moving about the ship and port stops I carried in smaller ziplocs. Would usually have the water in the bottle already and then just add the formula when ready.

 

 

We used powdered formula and the ship water. We just used dish soap and brought a bottle brush to clean. I've never sterilized bottles so that wasnt a problem.