Question about infants on a cruise

[andreabean0929]

Hey everyone,

 

I am currently pregnant with our first child, and I am wondering when you book a cruise do you pay 3rd person rate for an infant? Or are they free or a reduced rate? Also what have been your experiences with a baby on a cruise? Did you pack a pack and play for them to sleep in or how did that work? I know child has to be at least 6mo of age. Thanks in advance for any information you can give me.

[TheCalicoCat]

Yes you pay for a 3rd person including tips. (They make as much if not more work - towels if you bathe the baby, linens need to be laundered, diapers, baby bottles, baby cereal, & or jars food jars depending on age - using their plates/spoons/etc., spit up on floor, extra stuff they have to work around when they service your room, etc.)

Many lines have cribs - we used one & felt that it was safe.

[cb at sea]

Some ship's will offer reduced "baby" rates.....I don't think it's a standard thing, tho....sort of a "special".....I think NCL and Disney do it sometimes.

[Jake&Amanda]

We cruised when our daughter was 18 months, and just used one of Carnival's cribs. It worked well and was a nice size.

 

I found cruising with a baby/toddler was pretty easy. The hardest part was the long dinners in the evening.

 

have fun and enjoy :)

[Essiesmom]

Here is another very recent thread about this:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1512744

[globalwife]

It depends on the cruise company. We were booked for a cruise when I found out I was pregnant, too. I was able to add her to our reservation without any extra cost. Not even tips or tax!!! Oh and she is only going to be 4 months when we sail, which is less than 2 weeks away now.

[cruzinlisa]

On Carnival at least, you pay the third person rate, which is a lower rate than the first 2 pax and per their website, they do not charge grats. I will probably tip extra to the restaurant staff and room steward if they do not tip grats to cover her, but I am not sure I would say that babies are more work than adults, alot of those things you are doing yourself. But they are definitely going to cause some extra work for the staff.

As far as cruising with a baby, haven't done it yet, but I have taken a land vacation when DD was 6 months. I do not think I would take a bottle baby on a cruise. Making bottles can be a pain on the go. Even with powdered formula (which would be preferrable since refrigeration is iffy) you have to worry about the water. I know people say ship water is fine, but kids have different immune systems. And then you figure you are probably going to be washing bottles in a bathroom sink. Plus babies are germ magnets and if baby gets sick, you are relying on the ships medical care (which I am sure is fine but again, you are talking about a baby).

DD will be 14 months when we go, hopefully it will work okay for us.

[HALrunner]

We took our ten month old on a cruise. I found most of the above to be true. Many cruise line will allow you to preorder baby food, diapers etc but it is SUPER expensive, and most don't carry that normally on a ship, so be sure to pack enough! We brought a little hand held baby food grinder and used it to "puree" some of the foods/veggies. Also be sure to preorder a crib/pnp and bring your own sheet for it. We also brought an infant life jacket for tender boats & excursions.

FYI....babysitting/childcare/kids club type activites aren't included for infants.

[serene56]

It depends on the cruise company. We were booked for a cruise when I found out I was pregnant, too. I was able to add her to our reservation without any extra cost. Not even tips or tax!!! Oh and she is only going to be 4 months when we sail, which is less than 2 weeks away now.

 

 

I thought babies had to be 6 months for sailing.

 

Wow-- good for you for being able to add her for no cost.

 

What cruise line is this?

[B_Mc]

We cruised when DS was 10 months. RCI provided a very nice pack 'n play. We brought our stroller, disposable placemats, bibs and scented bags for diapers. We enjoyed it! It was a very different cruise than before kids, enjoyable in different ways!

 

We didn't get a discount but the 3rd person rate was dirt cheap ($75 for a 4 night balcony room + taxes).

[mikesteg]

It depends on the cruise company. We were booked for a cruise when I found out I was pregnant, too. I was able to add her to our reservation without any extra cost. Not even tips or tax!!! Oh and she is only going to be 4 months when we sail, which is less than 2 weeks away now.

 

Congrats! I lost track how how everything... uh... came out for you. :D Glad to hear all is well and you're proceeding on the cruise.

 

 

I thought babies had to be 6 months for sailing.

 

Wow-- good for you for being able to add her for no cost.

 

What cruise line is this?

 

I think it was Pulmatur. They don't cruise out of the US, AFAIK. Disney allows pups at 12wks I believe.

(OP: some lines and some itineraries are 12 months, so be sure to double check.)

 

I agree that pre-table-food babies create very little work for the staff, since they don't eat food and most of the mess winds up on their own clothes. As far as cleaning, with two cribs our steward had to make one swipe with the vacuum to cover the entire exposed floor. :D

 

Toddlers, OTOH, probably do create a fair amount of work... but our our much cleaner (after mommy and daddy follow up) than many adult cabins I've seen.

 

Carnival does not auto-charge gratuities until age 2. I'm not sure about other lines...

[mikesteg]

I do not think I would take a bottle baby on a cruise. Making bottles can be a pain on the go. Even with powdered formula (which would be preferrable since refrigeration is iffy) you have to worry about the water. I know people say ship water is fine, but kids have different immune systems. And then you figure you are probably going to be washing bottles in a bathroom sink. Plus babies are germ magnets and if baby gets sick, you are relying on the ships medical care (which I am sure is fine but again, you are talking about a baby).

DD will be 14 months when we go, hopefully it will work okay for us.

 

I'm not sure how you would avoid taking a bottle with a bottle-fed baby. Unless you mean skip it altogether?

 

I agree that ship's water probably isn't perfect, but I suspect it's much better (and much less variable) than ground water from various places in the U.S.

 

OP: we used the ship's cribs. They vary a bit, even on the same ship, but work fine. On Carnival they are cribs that seem to be nearly as long, but less wide than a standard US crib. PnP sheets fit well enough, and we bring our own. Don't bring white, else they might go into the ship's laundry. :D Some other lines seem to use actual PnPs. I personally like the metal ones used by CCL since they can easier be wiped with disinfectant wipes. When you pick a ship, come back and ask and you'll likely get a specific answer.

[CruisingChristians]

Just booked on NCL...baby will be six months old when we go.

 

On NCL, you pay port taxes and gratuities only...no 3rd person rate, but you must reserve a triple occupancy cabin...increases the costs overall.

 

You also do not pay service charges for a child under 2.

 

We were going to bring a Pack n' Play, but have decided to use the ship's crib, DISINFECTED WELL and inspected to make sure it is safe. Past travellers have told us that to bring one of these ourselves is a headache...heavy and cumbersome.

[notentirelynormal]

We took our ten month old on a cruise. I found most of the above to be true. Many cruise line will allow you to preorder baby food, diapers etc but it is SUPER expensive, and most don't carry that normally on a ship, so be sure to pack enough!

 

On Princess the food is free. You send them a fax request of the food you want and it will be provided for you. For example, three jars of peas, five jars of pears. They don't do formula but they for sure do baby food.

[cruzinlisa]

I'm not sure how you would avoid taking a bottle with a bottle-fed baby. Unless you mean skip it altogether?

 

I agree that ship's water probably isn't perfect, but I suspect it's much better (and much less variable) than ground water from various places in the U.S.

 

quote]

 

Lol- I meant taking a baby that is on a bottle. The water may or may not be better than ground water in some places, but I wouldn't use unknown ground water either. I always use bottled unless we are at home or someone's house where I know for sure that the water is good. But I definitely think it would be easier to wait until a baby is able to eat table food, because its easier to deal with than making or washing bottles.

[cruizinawayinva]

DS first cruise hasn't happened yet, it's in January. However he's well travelled having taken 13 flights in his first 12 months. We travel with an inflatable crib called the Guava Family GoCrib. It's fabulous!! It packs in a backpack so can be carried on an airplane and sets up quickly and easily. DS sleeps great in it and it's a familiar place for him to sleep when we travel. I highly recommend it if you'd prefer not to use the ship's crib or pack n play.

[hopesicle]

Hey everyone,

 

I am currently pregnant with our first child, and I am wondering when you book a cruise do you pay 3rd person rate for an infant? Or are they free or a reduced rate? Also what have been your experiences with a baby on a cruise? Did you pack a pack and play for them to sleep in or how did that work? I know child has to be at least 6mo of age. Thanks in advance for any information you can give me.

 

I cruised with our 14 month old on 7day Royal Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas. I figured the # of diapers and wipes I'd need, then doubled it. After much angst, I brought the big stroller, which was invaluable as it was a great place to put all our stuff and made getting around both on and off the ship easier. We brought an inflatable tub for baths but really only used it for play as she sat on the floor in the shower (we did too) and we just washer her sitting up. Bring a clip on fan for the stroller if you're going when/where it is warm. We paid full price unfortunately. I was super nervous about cruising with a baby but at 14 months it was good. I have a 6 month old now though and DH and I agree it would be much more daunting to take him with the bottle washing issue and he spits up SO much so he'd have to have his entire wardrobe and I'd still have to do laundry on the ship every 3rd day or so lol. Oh, when we cruised I used the cruise line's pack and play.

[parrotthead]

It depends on the cruise company. We were booked for a cruise when I found out I was pregnant, too. I was able to add her to our reservation without any extra cost. Not even tips or tax!!! Oh and she is only going to be 4 months when we sail, which is less than 2 weeks away now.

Which cruise line did you go on? Other then Disney (which is 12 weeks) I was under the impression that 6mo was the limit to how old they had to be?

(and usually at full rate, 3rd person rate or whatever)

so this post really really surprises me...

[Essiesmom]

Pullmantur, and I think MSC do not have any age limitations for infants. Disney is 12 weeks. All other lines it is 6 mos. Globalwife was on Pullmantur Horizon. EM

[globalwife]

Pullmantur, and I think MSC do not have any age limitations for infants. Disney is 12 weeks. All other lines it is 6 mos. Globalwife was on Pullmantur Horizon. EM

 

This. We cruised with her with Pullmantur. It was wonderful! So glad that we could.