Just cruised with our 13 month old on the Carnival Magic

[maritaysa]

Let me know if you have any questions! I know I did a ton of research on this site prior to this cruise, so please let me know if I can pay it forward!:)

[Mattib]

We are considering carnival magic or breeze with our baby who will be a out 8 mos old at cruise time if we book what's holding me back is not sure if we will be able to enjoy the amenities with the little one. What was your experience? Did you take the little one to the dining room for dinner? What about baby food, diapers, etc.

 

Matt

 

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[maritaysa]

We are considering carnival magic or breeze with our baby who will be a out 8 mos old at cruise time if we book what's holding me back is not sure if we will be able to enjoy the amenities with the little one. What was your experience? Did you take the little one to the dining room for dinner? What about baby food, diapers, etc.

 

Matt

 

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We did anytime dining with Baby G. We ate in our cabin the first night, the Red Frog Pub the second (Baby G was asleep in her stroller), the Italian Restaurant the third, and the dining room the rest of the week. We used the same wait staff because they knew our needs. After the first night, they knew that Baby G needed bread and ice right away. She's teething. I ordered grilled chicken and mashed potatoes for her, and they would cut up her chicken for her. She would last until dessert. One of us would stay to order dessert, then bring it up to the cabin.

 

As far as baby food and diapers, etc---I brought an average of 10 diapers per day plus an extra 10 just in case. I only brought one pack of wipes---luckily I had an extra in her diaper bag, and one in her stroller. I also brought 3 tubes of Desitin, because I'm always misplacing it. Whatever you do, pack extra diapers in your carry on because it takes awhile to get your luggage. We got onboard at 1:30pm and got our luggage at 5:45pm. I had to "get by" with her swim diapers which were useless. We were too exhausted from flying in that day from LAX to leave our cabin, so waiting for the luggage was fine. We ordered room service for dinner. I chose to feed her the chicken fajita wrap which was a big mistake because the wrap was a tomato and jalapeno wrap. She threw up that night. Luckily I brought one of her sheets. This was the only time she got sick. Our cabin didn't have the crib in it when we arrived, so we called housekeeping and they brought it the same time our luggage arrived. I also brought her bumpers because the crib is metal. I brought a case of a dozen Stage 2 Gerber assorted veggies because I knew that I would be able to feed her everything else no problem. I had a feeling that it would be a challenge to her feed her veggies, so the baby food worked out perfectly. I also brought on individually wrapped Pedialyte--this way it would be easy to bring to the ports. I never had to use it, or any of the other baby meds I brought (benadryl and tylenol) with exception of the all natural teething tablets---we used them almost every night. I also brought individually wrapped Similac, as well as a box of 8 oz bottles of Similac. The ship only had 2% milk and no whole milk. I brought a little lunch cooler that I put the Similac bottles in, which made it easy to go through airport security and Carnival security. Along with the baby food, I brought some Gerber Graduates fruit and veggies melts and Mums rice wafers. I also brought disposable spoons which were great because I could toss them and not care, or wash them towards the end if I was running low. My DH and I would also use them to eat our dessert from the dining room. I brought a TON of wet ones wipes. I found a package deal on amazon. They were great because I was able to disinfect her hands after touching things or crawling on the floor. Crawling around the small cabin got old after awhile, so I would take her to different open areas on the ship like the disco, Ocean Plaza on port days, and the aft lounge to get some major crawling in. Camp Carnival also has babysitting on Monday and Tuesday from 8am-10am and family play time around 5pm or so for an hour. During port days, they have baby sitting for a few hours---the times vary. They also have nightly babysitting from 10pm-3am. The cost is roughly $7 an hour to include tax and/or gratuity.

 

Also bring along an umbrella stroller that reclines, a sun hat that covers the ears and neck, a clip to help keep a towel covering baby in the stroller when more shade is needed. Bring a few teething rings too, and lots of gallon plastic bags. They're great to put the dirty diapers in, so the cabin doesn't smell. They're also great at port when you need to be quick. You can pack things in them individually to make things easy to find like toys, desitin, baby food and spoons, sunscreen, use them for trash, etc---you get the picture. We also brought a canopied floaty for the water in Jamaica. She loved it! We also brought water toys too---Nerf type toys. We brought a little splash pool but never used it. If you do go in the water, don't forget the waterproof camera.

 

I probably packed double the clothing that I needed, because I did laundry onboard. I bought 2 two oz bottles and filled one up with her detergent and her fabric softener. I washed all of our clothes with it. Oh yeah, a collapsible laundry bag is a must also. I had enough detergent and fabric softener for 2 loads. I hate bringing home dirty clothes.

 

As far as luggage goes, we checked in 1 large roller, 1 medium roller, and a garment bag. We checked the stroller bag at the gate---which also allows for another place to put diapers! We carried with us 1 small roller, a backpack, and diaper bag.

 

If you do go on the Magic, and need to fly in---I highly, highly recommend spending the money on Galveston Limo. This way you don't have to wait for the Carnival bus to fill up before leaving.

 

I hope this helps. If I left anything out, please ask. Happy cruising!:)

[CruisingCamper]

Can you tell me a little more about the crib? What size bumpers do you need, cradle size or full size?

[Mattib]

Wow great tips and comments. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Matt

 

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[maritaysa]

Can you tell me a little more about the crib? What size bumpers do you need, cradle size or full size?

 

I would say that the dimensions of the crib were 4ft x 2 1/2 ft. We just used the bumpers that we use on her crib at home.

[maritaysa]

Wow great tips and comments. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Matt

 

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You're welcome!

[ComeSailWithME]

Thanks for all the tips! Was this your first time flying with her? How did she handle that? How was the noise in your room? Do you use a white noise machine at home and if so, did you bring it with? How did she sleep?

 

What ports did you see? What did you do?

 

Were there diaper changing stations in all the restrooms? How did diaper changing go in port?

 

Did you see any shows? How was she for that?

[CruisingCamper]

I would say that the dimensions of the crib were 4ft x 2 1/2 ft. We just used the bumpers that we use on her crib at home.

 

Thank you!!!

[maritaysa]

Thanks for all the tips! You're welcome! Was this your first time flying with her? Yes. How did she handle that? She did great! On the flight out, she fell asleep in DH's arms while he was waiting in line to get the stroller tag, and slept for 2 1/2 hours. On the way back, she asleep about 45 minutes into the flight and slept awhile. Our flight was about a little over 3 hours. She didn't seem to have problems during ascent and descent. When she was awake during those times, I would try to give her a bottle or teething ring but would only take it if she wanted to. How was the noise in your room? Our room was fine. We had a Cloud 9 Spa Balcony on Deck 12. I like being that far away. There were times when she would lose her mind, and at least we only had one common wall. Our cabin was across from an outside door, but it was minimally used since there weren't that many cabins on our deck. Do you use a white noise machine at home and if so, did you bring it with? We use the bear that makes sounds. I didn't bring it--just had too much already. How did she sleep? As soon as we surrendered to the fact that she's on vacation too, everything went better. After no luck getting her down on the 1st and 2nd nights, I just told DH that she's on vacation too. If she goes down early, great. If she doesn't, then she'll go to Camp Carnival for the 10pm babysitting and he and I can go run around the ship for a bit.

 

What ports did you see? We went to Montego Bay, Grand Caymen, and Cozumel. What did you do? In MoBay, we went on the Carnival all inclusive beach excursion where she did great. We brought a canopied floaty and she went in the ocean. We also brought a waterproof camera. After all of that fun, she slept on a lounger under a palapa for a couple of hours. In GC, we went on the Carnival Turtle Farm excursion where she, once again, fell asleep. After that, we went to Margaritaville. In Coz, we put her in CC babysitting (offered from 9am-noon which differs per ship), and shopped at the ports.

 

Were there diaper changing stations in all the restrooms? We always changed her in our cabin. How did diaper changing go in port? No problem--used the lounger in MoBay, bench outside of the restroom at the Turtle Farm, and the seat on the bus on the way back to port. I'm not a fan of changing her in restrooms after having to use the airport changing areas.

 

Did you see any shows? We saw a show when she was in babysitting. How was she for that? We never brought her to a show, but we did bring her to the Men vs Women activity on the last night and she got bored and DH let her crawl around in the empty seats area.

 

Where will you be taking your LO cruising?

[maritaysa]

Thank you!!!

 

You're welcome. Where will you be taking your LO cruising?

[ComeSailWithME]

This is so great, I couldn't be happier that you posted this.. Thanks again! :D

 

We will go sailing to Nassau, St Thomas, Antigua and Tortola on a 8 day cruise on the Valor. I figure we will be spending most of our time shopping and at the beach!

 

We have an aft balcony on Vernadah for the large balcony, figuring I could at least get some sun and R&R outside during naps, but I was looking into the spa deck. Did you have use of the spa facilities for free? Did you use it? I hear the showers are amazing. How was the balcony? Any pics?

 

Geez, I am so sorry for 20 questions! Hope you don't mind :o

 

Is your daughter in a daycare setting at home? Right now, our 9 month old stays home while my aunt cares for him 3 days and then my mom watches him 1 day a week (I work for 4 - 10 hour days to be home with him for 3 days). I would like to utilize the babysitting at least one night, but I don't know how he will be. Obviously, we will reevaluate as the time comes, but just wondering about your situation.

 

On that same note, how did you like the daycare? Did they give you a phone or pager if they needed to reach you? How did that work when you were off the boat in Cozumel?

 

Really interested to hear about Margaritavilla... this is our kind of scene but wondered about the loud music and party atmosphere.

 

A few more, :p

 

Did you bring an inflatable pool for the lido deck? I like to lay by the pool and heard this is a good thing to bring since he won't be potty trained and can't go in the pools.

 

What were some items you packed for her that you couldn't have lived with and without?

 

Thanks!

[chrystine]

What resort did Carnival take you to in MoBay for the all-inclusive excursion? What did they charge for the excursion? Thanks!

[MrsZee]

Phew. I know it's probably not your goal, but your post was helpful to me too in the fact that I think I might wait until our next baby is a little older before going. I am sure you had a fantastic time, but I think I might wait until at least a year and half before taking my next one on a cruise just because of how much you have to take on board to keep them happy.

 

Edit: I should add that I had considered taking our next one as young as 7 or 8 months just because I don't want to go that long without a cruise. But, when I thought about how traveling with my first one was with all the gear... And then hoping that I didn't wake people next door to us and have them wanting to kill us.