Traveling with a 10-month-old

[Surbie]

We may be taking a family cruise in May and our son will have a 10-month-old at that time. I was wondering if anyone knew about the shore excursions and how that would work with a child? For example, we all like to parasail. Will we be allowed to take him out on the boat and take turns holding him while each couple parasails, and if so, is there an extra charge? Also, will he need a passport?

[Woodmnky]

Assuming that it is a closed loop cruise (begining and ending in the same port within the US) a passport is not necessary for anyone. However, should there be a need to fly home (such as for a medical emergency) a passport is needed.

Here's some good info from RCI:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/passportGuidelines.do

 

You may have better luck with private excursions for something like parasailing as most cruiseline excursions have a minimum age and they will often not let you bring someone just to watch. That being said, you will have to check with the specific cruiseline about a specific excursion as they all have their own policies.

 

Just my opinion - I would try to make sure that any excursions that you book early can be cancelled for a refund up to some point. It sounds like your little one is about 3 months now and a lot will change before you sail. We booked our cruise when DS was 7 months and he is 10 mo now and he and his schedule have changed dramatically just in the last couple of months. The biggest change is that he is walking and often will not allow us to hold him. Each baby is different, but at this point I would not take him on a small boat excursion for fear that I wouldn't be able to keep a hand on him and/or that if I could he would throw a big ol' fit.

 

Enjoy your cruise and let us know who you sail with and how it goes. More info is always appreciated about cruising with infants.

[Surbie]

Thank you for the information! I will keep that in mind :)

[Spiralshell]

I haven't cruised with my little boy (taking our first cruise in April when he'll be 2.5) but I'll second Woodmnky about being very flexible with an infant. Don't make any plans you wouldn't be afraid to break depending on his mood that day.

And be aware of squirmy baby syndrome: My little guy was running around at 10 months and would not be content to be held for a long period. Oh, the screaming! Even if yours isn't walking yet at that age (and I hope for your sake he isn't -- it's exhausting!) he's likely to be very into crawling around, pulling up on stuff, and generally wanting to explore.

Also for anything involving a boat, I wouldn't assume that they have lifejackets sized for a little babe, so you would want to bring your own if you did do something like this.

Alternatives would be to have more relaxed beach days, or to leave the babe on the ship in the day care services while you take an excursion. Not the whole day necessarily, just for a few hours to snorkel, parasail, etc. then head back to the ship, pick up the little one, and do family stuff for the rest of the day. A 10 month old (wearing gobs of sunscreen and a big hat) would really enjoy scooping sand, crawling or stomping at the water's edge, pouring cups of water in/out of buckets, and all that fun stuff. Meantime you and your DH relax on beach chairs. Oh, who am I kidding... you and your DH run all over the beach keeping up with your little one!

Life with a toddler is a grand adventure. Enjoy!

[B_Mc]

I can't answer your question, but I want to chime in and agree with Spiralshell. We cruised with a 10 month old and with nap schedule and other baby routine needs parasailing or any other big excursion was out of the question. I realize all babies and families are different but from experience, I wouldn't recommend it...

[tunseeker1]

We just got back with a 9 month and 2 yr old.

 

Excursions were interesting because of strollers and nap times.

One excursion got back to the ship later in the evening and mealtime was affected.

 

I believe in being prepared for ANYTHING when traveling so I would recommend a passport for everyone that is out of the country because you never know what may happen that would cause you to have to fly home.

Passports are cheap insurance.