Cruising with baby

[jillluvsnate]

Hi everyone!

 

My DH & I LOVE cruising HAL - but now we have a newborn baby boy. We are considering cruising the caribbean on the Nieuw Amsterdam in November - he will be 10 months old at that time. Do you think this will sit well with other passengers? And does anyone have any ADVICE on how to cruise with the baby? It will be a whole new experience I'm sure!

 

Thanks in advance :)

[fatcat04]

I know some folks have done it and enjoy it and I applaud them and would never ever criticize them here or on a ship. It is hard enough being the parent with a wee one without negativity from others. I however know my limitations and I know I just couldn't do it.

 

DH and I have discussed this topic before as we are not out of the baby woods yet. After several cruises, I know I would not want the hassle of taking a baby (plus their unbelievable amount of required baby gear) on a cruise ship. We are DVC and I have a hard enough time with the idea of taking a baby to WDW, though at least there I know there is more space, legit options for those that bring babies and toddlers (2+ room suites for comfy nap times, baby and toddler pool areas, baby comfort areas in every park, many and varied food options, and babysitting options at the resorts) plus the expectation that families with babies will be a normal sight. Maybe on DCL, they might offer more options for the cruising family with small children. That may be a legit cruising option. I would not however attempt it on HAL but then again, that is me and everyones mileage may vary.

 

But whatever you guys decide to do, I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy that baby boy. They grow up way way too fast. :D

[PathfinderEss]

Hi everyone!

 

My DH & I LOVE cruising HAL - but now we have a newborn baby boy. We are considering cruising the caribbean on the Nieuw Amsterdam in November - he will be 10 months old at that time. Do you think this will sit well with other passengers? And does anyone have any ADVICE on how to cruise with the baby? It will be a whole new experience I'm sure!

 

Thanks in advance :)

I can't tell you how to cruise with a baby but we had a young one like your's next door to us a few cruise back. The young couple were very apologetic about maybe some noise with crying and all. Hey we never heard anything. He was very cute and all the passengers love seeing him on board. Don't worry have a great cruise.

[cb at sea]

Why should it matter how it "sits" with others? The ship is not designed for adults only. You will be having a family vacation.....and that's fine!

 

You will need to bring along everything you'll need...baby-specific....the ship provides nothing for babies...diapers, lotions, wipes, formula (if you're not breastfeeding, which is MUCH easier!!!)...so plan to bring all of those special items that babies need!

 

Other than that...it's no different than taking your child anywhere else! Go! Enjoy!

[cruisetraveler2]

A 10 month old is still fairly easy to travel with. Yes, you will have to pack all that extra stuff that comes with a baby. We started our boys out very early so it was never a big deal. Your child will not remember the trip but you will and hopefully have some great memories to share later. Good luck!

[djhsolara]

Do you think this will sit well with other passengers?

 

This is truly nothing for you to be concerned about. If you are booking and paying for your cruise, then it really doesn't matter how well this sits with anyone. As someone who is not a big fan of children, I greatly appreciate your concern...but just the fact that you are concerned about it makes me believe that you are a considerate person who would be a pleasure to have on any sailing with your little one.

 

Actually, on our recent Eurodam sailing we saw a Lido Cabana rented by a family with smaller children. If you have the extra resources available this might be a nice option for you...that way you will always have your own space by the pool and a nice semi-private place that your little one can play or nap and you don't have to worry about others around you interfering.

 

Happy sailing!!

 

:) :)

[jillluvsnate]

Thank you all for your input. Especially the suggestions on what to bring! As a new Mom this is all new to me :) The reason I ask if it would "sit" well is that in the past I don't recall ever seeing any babies on board! Maybe I just didn't notice them? But I have also only been on 2 HAL cruises. My husband and I enjoyed cruising HAL in the past to escape everything, especially children as I am a teacher.

 

Anyway, THANK YOU!! You have all been so helpful :)

[Sea42]

Why should it matter how it "sits" with others? The ship is not designed for adults only. You will be having a family vacation.....and that's fine!

I'm sorry but we had an infant, about six to 8 months old, in the cabin next to us on one of our cruises. I have to say that while the child was very cute and wonderful to be around during the day, that child kept us up 5 out of seven nights of our cruise. Most nights every couple hours she woke up crying for about an half hour. While the parents did every thing they could to calm her it just wasn't enough. Even though this was out of the parents control it did make for a very difficult cruise for us. Like anything else when you're traveling in close quarters you do have to consider how you are going to effect those around you.

[CTBob]

My son and his wife cruised with their 10 month old and my daughter-in-law said that it wasn't enjoyable. They had to take turns watching the baby and were always worried that they were disturbing others. She said that she thought that is was a good idea at the time but she wouldn't recommend it now.

[webzila]

We will be going on a cruise with a 10 months old in 2013. I have been on 6 cruises but never with a baby so this will be new for us too but I think its fine. One thing though, you do have to consider the line that you are going on. We did a lot of research and chose to go on Disney since they are the most baby friendly. We have several friends who went on a cruise with babies and they had a great time. So I would not take all the opinions you see very seriously but do consider the demographics of those who are on the particular cruise that you chose. If you go in with a positive attitude then you will have fun no matter what but its others who usually make the trip less enjoyable for you...

 

You have to think about things like where is the baby going to sleep. Will the cruise line provide you with a crib? Will they have high chairs? Can you bring your own if they don't provide it? Do they have a nursery and babysitters for infants? Does the cabin have a bathtub?

 

Here is what is said about HAL and babies:

"HAL has a very unique baby supply service. Supplies, including formula, diapers, baby food, and wipes, can be ordered no later than 90 days ahead of time through HAL and will be delivered to your cabin upon arrival, eliminating having to transport your own."

 

If you already booked your HAL cruise then you probably will not want to change it but if you are still just considering you may want to look into other lines that cater to infants and have other guests with infants...

[Richie2pies]

Why not eliminate any concerns by leaving the baby home with grandma?

[scottish_cruiser]

We've actually just come off the NA last weekend and we had our 10 month old with us as well as our 2 year old ( 2 yrs 10 mnths). And our older girl even went to the Mariners' lunch as it was her second cruise, we took her on the Noordam when she was 18mnths!

 

All I can say is relax and don't worry, on our NA cruise there wer at least 10 toddlers under 3 and many more slightly older kids too. As ever with kids planning is important.

 

I'm going to do a review aimed at parents with kids in a few days, when I have the time! But a few key points!

 

Everyone oohs and ahhs over the really little ones, we actually felt a little bad for our eldest who was sometimes forgotten. Remember many of the crew have kids similar ages back home in Indonesia /Phillipines and they love the chance to interact with baby's. Also the 'grandmothers' on board love the baby's too. Of course there are some who may have wanted to get away from kids by choosing HAL but they normally were few and far between and didn't ever say anything, we just got a feeling from the very few.

 

Our baby was crawling but not walking so we had a buggy with us, a simple fold down one is ideal for space saving in the cabin, depending on what grade you choose. A verandah is great as little one can sleep and you can still sit out and enjoy the sea breezes. HAL will provide a Pack and play crib, you may need to prompt the cabin stewards to set it up and give sheets for it if you need them. Also make sure you get an infant life jacket, with a wee hood on it, very sweet and make sure to get a picture of baby with it on as a keepsake. Ours was left on the door handle after the lifeboat drill, certainly get it before sailing although I'm sure after this years cruise ship "events" that won't be an issue.

 

If you have time before the cruise to find a baby's r us or even a pharmacy, stock up on baby water and milk if you're not nursing, we give our baby watered down apple juice. There is a kids menu, our girls loved the mac n cheese not too salty which was good. Again the cabin stewards should wash the bottles etc in the industrial washer in their pantry but you may need to ask. The only issue would be high chairs, sometimes really difficult to find one free depending on the number of babies on board. Several times we were told none free in the Lido. We had with us a little portable high chair, 20bucks I think out of baby's r us - it was ideal, very compact and fits into the MDR chairs just. Just saves the wait sometimes for the ships high chairs which are the grey moulded style with detachable tray. Our baby loved dinner time, we have some great memories of peeka-boo with a napkin at the table. Found open dining great as times had to be flexible but remember this is you and your family's cruise, enjoy dining as you would before baby, just a little different now, maybe coffee in your room for example and a table just for 3 :cool:

 

Actually believe it or not, MDR was easier for breakfast as the dining stewards get you everything so you can concentrate on baby. And room service is always great and on time too! But for other meals take your baby out and show him or her off! They will only be that age once!

 

Photos. Get as many photos as you can, when we were walking along to the photo gallery the day after the formal portraits everyone was saying "there she is"etc etc. Our girl was pride of place topmost in the rack and simply stunning, again great memories. We had so many taken which were good we treated ourselves and went for whole cruise package and made to most of the free photo sitting, came off with literally an inch and a half of photos! Well worth it.

 

If you are going to half moon cay then the tender will be the islands own boats. They are buggy friendly so the wee one can stay in the buggy for the trip ashore. If you rent a clamshell, not a cabana, the clamshell was quite reasonable, you can get 2 beds with shade in what can be a busy beach. The water is great and we got some great photos of baby on the floating mats. We got our beds round by the kids splash park which was easy access and only 20 feet from the path.

 

Feel free so ask anything you wish anytime you want I'll do my best to help. Yes you may think people will be annoyed etc but we had nothing of that on either cruise, we loved our experiences, yes they won't remember it but photos and video work and you will remember it of course, it's almost more for you to have time with baby than for the baby. Actually HAL is great for really young kids as their kids programme is only for over 3s and our eldest was unable to even go in the kids room. No big loss and not an issue for the baby, plenty of other spaces to roam. The crows nest was always quiet after dinner on our cruise, we even managed to grab a cocktail or 2 while little ones crawled around, it was that quiet. Oh and if you want to see the shows, there is a great space on deck 1 each side. There is a little corridor leading from essentially the rooms on that deck to the front of the showroom where you can stand and see the stage or sit with the buggy beside you and still have a quick exit if baby doesn't like the show! Access from deck 1 it was ideal for us.

 

Richie2pies	 Why not eliminate any concerns by leaving the baby home with grandma?

 

Don't even think about it! Have a great time and be confident showing everyone how gorgeous your baby is as long as you aren't taking anything away from other guests enjoyment. And as for crying in the cabin? Snoring can be just as loud so don't worry! Just remember you are on vacation and baby is only this age once.

 

In short,

 

Plan ahead, relax, enjoy.....it'll be the best cruise ever on the most beautiful ship ever!

 

Scottish Cruiser, with input from Mama Scottish Cruiser, Toddler Scottish Cruiser and Baby Scottish Cruiser who is also a Mariner now!

[gelo7]

Our 10 year old cruised when she was 12 months old. It went very well and she was a little celeb.

[fann1sh]

For "how to's", also visit this CC board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=100&f=49

 

 

About HAL babysitting:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1551252

 

 

No one knows less about babies than me :o but reliable sources say "not yet walking" is easier than "walking" .

[califgary]

Hi everyone!

 

My DH & I LOVE cruising HAL - but now we have a newborn baby boy. We are considering cruising the caribbean on the Nieuw Amsterdam in November - he will be 10 months old at that time. Do you think this will sit well with other passengers? And does anyone have any ADVICE on how to cruise with the baby? It will be a whole new experience I'm sure!

 

Thanks in advance :)

 

I can tell you there will be TONS of substitute grandparents spoiling that baby while you are on board!

[Se4deb]

Our 10 year old cruised when she was 12 months old. It went very well and she was a little celeb.

 

That is so true - the celeb status. A couple of things happen when you are cruising with a baby. First the grandparents on board that are missing their own grandbabies go crazy over your baby making faces and the rest of the annoying grandparent behaviors. Second, the hard one for me, was the crew. These men and women leave their own babies at home for 10 months at a time. WIthout exception, everytime we have traveled with one of our grandbabies, a member of the crew has cried and told us how much they miss their own babies. On our last Alaskan cruise one of the crew members on the Lido deck taught our then 13 month old grandson how to walk and do the "I'm sooo strong" movement. There are fuddy duddies on every cruise, attempt to avoid them and give the people that are on the cruise to escape from their kids a wide berth. Happy sailing.

[Yellowlily]

I just wanted to add that our DD has been cruising with us since she was a little over 6 months old. We are getting to on our first HAL cruise (overly excited!) and this will be our DD's 5th cruise. Honestly, I can't say enough good things about it.

 

As far as the "celebrity status" of your baby, this is sooo true!! :) It's great when crew and fellow passengers ooh and ahh over your little one. Our DD loves cruising and has since infancy. The motion of the ship, like rocking a baby to sleep! She always slept great, ate great and got to see and do a lot, or just sleep when she needed her naps!

 

I hope that you enjoy yourself and your baby. I think it's a wonderful thing, the family spending that great time together bonding, memories you will have for a lifetime.