Cruising while pregnant...

[juniper627]

My husband & I will be taking a Disney cruise with our 4 and 1/2 year old, 22 month old and my in-laws. I will be around 20 weeks pregnant at the time & would love any tips you can offer about cruising while pregnant!

[B_Mc]

Hopefully I'll have some soon! We're also cruising right at 20 weeks.

 

The only thing I can recommend so far is check Disney's requirements - RCI requires I fax in a letter from my Dr. I also plan to carry the letter with me!

[juniper627]

Hopefully I'll have some soon! We're also cruising right at 20 weeks.

 

The only thing I can recommend so far is check Disney's requirements - RCI requires I fax in a letter from my Dr. I also plan to carry the letter with me!

 

I'm definately within Disney's guidelines... we planned it with their regulations in mind :)

 

I hope you'll respond to this post after your cruise! Enjoy!

[B_Mc]

I'm definately within Disney's guidelines... we planned it with their regulations in mind :)

 

I hope you'll respond to this post after your cruise! Enjoy!

 

I meant more along the documentation line! As in, do they require you to bring a Dr's note the way RCI does? I'll definitely let you know how it goes!

[Ggdean]

I cruised when I was pregnant with my third (around 24 weeks) with my husband and our other 2 children who were 17 months and 3 at the time. Really nothing that I couldn't do that I normally would do with the exception of drinking. We cruised Carnival and they allow each passenger to bring a 12 pack of a non alcoholic drink so I brought a 24 pack of water and a 12 pack of sprite. I found that I got very thirsty between the heat and all the activities. At what the cruise ships charge for a bottle of water I was glad to have my own. My cabin steward kept it well iced for me.

 

The only other "problem" was my lack of warm weather maternity clothes as my kids are all born in the early spring and of course I didn't want to buy for a vacation so I did send out some laundry mid week. I did buy a swimsuit and a dress for the formal night.

[cb at sea]

Same as cruising when not pregnant...only you shouldn't drink!

[BLAMBKY]

Same as cruising when not pregnant...only you shouldn't drink!

 

:o And no hot tub either....

[just_us]

Are you flying? I cruised around that time too and started bleeding during the flight, so had to call my doc while out at sea. So make sure you have your #s all available! Also, you can drink the pina coladas virgin - yum!!!! They did a cute pose with us, me and hubby sitting on the ground with one knee bent, back to back and it was super cute. Everyone made a big deal of my bump on the cruise. =)

 

Definitely take comfortable shoes and forgo the pretty ones! You will need the support and you may swell (heat + pregnancy stuff).

 

Good luck!

[lrowe70]

Well you've been pregnant twice before, so you know what to expect, it will probably be the same.

 

I cruised last year at about 20 weeks. No big deal, I was a little more tired and tried to drink more water. I did have a few sips of drinks and enjoyed the hot tub for brief periods.

 

Excpet for bringing a letter from my midwife(which they didn't even look at or seem to care about) there was nothing different at all.

 

Have fun!

[mymollysue]

I just came back Saturday from a 5 night cruise. I am almost 20 weeks pregnant. I did bring a note with me from my doctor but no one asked for it. I drank plenty of water and did notify the wait staff because some of the desserts had alcohol in them.

 

Also just a warning....I had asked for a non alcoholic specialty drink and they gave me one with alcohol in it. My DH took it back and said that I was pregnant and they apologized but I had already had a few sips of the alcoholic one. We reported the incident to guest services. So just be careful with the drinks. :D

[chipmaster]

I agree having done it ( the wife that is :o ) you'd think with two under the belt the third is well controlled. That wasn't the case for us, and we were cruising, nothing bad, but she was surprised by a combo of less than perfect weather and a very different third pregnancy. It is naive to think everyone is the same, or because you are experienced the next will be a snap...

 

Well you've been pregnant twice before, so you know what to expect, it will probably be the same.

 

I cruised last year at about 20 weeks. No big deal, I was a little more tired and tried to drink more water. I did have a few sips of drinks and enjoyed the hot tub for brief periods.

 

Excpet for bringing a letter from my midwife(which they didn't even look at or seem to care about) there was nothing different at all.

 

Have fun!

[SnappySuzy]

Sounds like everyone else has good suggestions already. That being said, I leave next week for our first cruise and I'll be 21 weeks going in to it (and 22 weeks coming off). We're going with Carnival. I already had the health form signed off by my doctor and Carnival has it on file. The majority of the excursions through Carnival don't seem to let pregnant women do much of anything, so I've booked our excursions through outside vendors.

 

As for clothes, I have a friend who had a summer baby, so she's letting me borrow pretty much her entire maternity wardrobe (I won't have to buy any clothes, really) and includes swimsuits, shorts, and a bunch of tank tops. That saved me big time since they definitely don't have summer maternity clothes in stores when it's below freezing and I didn't want to have to buy anything. For more formal nights, I have a couple dressy maternity tops that I'm going to pair with a black non-maternity skirt.

 

I am also planning to bring a water bottle with me as well as one that has a built in water filter (meant for backpacking). I know I need to drink a ton of water as it is never mind when it's hot out.

[momma4anna]

The majority of the excursions through Carnival don't seem to let pregnant women do much of anything, so I've booked our excursions through outside vendors.

 

Suzy - I was wondering where you were going to be? I am cruising RC next month and like CC, most of them prohibit pregnant women. My problem is that most of the outside vendors that I have contacted also prohibit pregnat women for the activities other than the island tours. No snorkeling, etc. Would you be willing to share which vendors you have found that do not have the restrictions that the cruiselines do? I will be about 25 weeks at the time of the cruise, but in excellent health and able to do most things. Thank you so much!

[mymollysue]

The majority of the excursions through Carnival don't seem to let pregnant women do much of anything, so I've booked our excursions through outside vendors.

 

Suzy - I was wondering where you were going to be? I am cruising RC next month and like CC, most of them prohibit pregnant women. My problem is that most of the outside vendors that I have contacted also prohibit pregnat women for the activities other than the island tours. No snorkeling, etc. Would you be willing to share which vendors you have found that do not have the restrictions that the cruiselines do? I will be about 25 weeks at the time of the cruise, but in excellent health and able to do most things. Thank you so much!

 

I used outside vendors. For Falmouth Jamaica, we spent the day at the Hilton Rose Hall which was a lovely resort. I didn't snorkel, but they had a pool, water slides, lazy river, etc. The resort route might be the best way to go for your islands....often less money than a ship excursion and gives you more flexibility.

 

Also for Royal Caribbean, if you are in your 2nd trimester, you can have a Swedish Massage at the spa. I was surprised, I had expected them to say no.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was about 4-1/2 months pregnant on one cruise. My doctor gave me a giant thumbs up (he's into cruising too). It was a short cruise (just 3 days) and we had only one stop and did a city tour. If we didn't do that, we would have just gotten off to do a little shopping and be back on board.

 

My only problem was a dental one. The crown on my back molar came off a week or so before the cruise. My dentist put a temp on while the new crown was being made, but warned me that during pregnancy the gums get loose. And the temp did keep popping off, so it made eating difficult. Had to avoid anything chewy.

 

One thing to add to your list of don'ts: no soft cheese.

[flhokie]

Last year I cruised at the beginning of my 2nd trimester. We flew to London (from FL) and cruised to the Baltic (so my clothes issue was the opposite--needed cooler weather clothes). It was fantastic.

 

I did have to fax a letter from my doctor to Princess in advance. He had to give my estimated delivery date (because there is a cutoff of around 24 weeks with most cruiselines) and state that I was healthy to travel. I carried a copy with me, but never needed it.

 

My only concern/issue was with some rough seas. I tried to get by with just Sprite, Ginger Ale and sea bands during our really, really rough night, but ended up having to take a dramamine (dr said it was ok if needed and it ended up being needed that 1 time). I normally used the patches, but did not that cruise. I took the pill, sipped sprite and went to bed. The cool air really helped too so I made my husband leave the balcony door open as we sailed the North Sea :) In the morning I was fine and was fine the rest of the cruise.