Packing LIGHT with 4 yo and 9 mo old - possible?!

[ArchMom]

Hey all!

We are headed on an extended-family vacation on Carnival Magic in June with our nearly 5 yo and our 9 month old. We have only been on one cruise before, but just the two of us about 6 years ago. We do travel now, and prefer to pack light, but are used to being able to stop and restock our necessities at grocery shops as needed. Are there any experienced family light packers out there with tips? I understand the diapers and wipes we'll need to take on in spades. Our 9 mo will be partly table food and partly nursing at that point, but as we have family members who have not seen the kids in a while and are begging to babysit, I'd almost like to pump? Or try formula? In order to allow for a 'date' or two for my partner and I :) But dread bringing all of the bottles and cleaning supplies necessary. Guess that answers that question ;)

Anyways, any tips appreciated.

Ooh, also, we'll be flying into port city, so I'm thinking of purchasing on amazon or target a box of items (diapers, wipes, inflatable small baby splash/wash tub) to have shipped to my in laws ahead of time - good or bad idea?

 

Thanks for the help.

(And yes, I have read other posts where people don't like kids on cruises. We will be watching our children, and taking them to an unoccupied area of the ship or our cabin if they are disturbing others :)

[CarnivalGirl3]

Hey all!

We are headed on an extended-family vacation on Carnival Magic in June with our nearly 5 yo and our 9 month old. We have only been on one cruise before, but just the two of us about 6 years ago. We do travel now, and prefer to pack light, but are used to being able to stop and restock our necessities at grocery shops as needed. Are there any experienced family light packers out there with tips? I understand the diapers and wipes we'll need to take on in spades. Our 9 mo will be partly table food and partly nursing at that point, but as we have family members who have not seen the kids in a while and are begging to babysit, I'd almost like to pump? Or try formula? In order to allow for a 'date' or two for my partner and I :) But dread bringing all of the bottles and cleaning supplies necessary. Guess that answers that question ;)

Anyways, any tips appreciated.

Ooh, also, we'll be flying into port city, so I'm thinking of purchasing on amazon or target a box of items (diapers, wipes, inflatable small baby splash/wash tub) to have shipped to my in laws ahead of time - good or bad idea?

 

Thanks for the help.

(And yes, I have read other posts where people don't like kids on cruises. We will be watching our children, and taking them to an unoccupied area of the ship or our cabin if they are disturbing others :)

 

Plan the time away after you've nursed/when she can eat table food. I wouldn't give her formula or bother pumping. You won't really be 'far' away. Or you can leave after you put her to bed for the night or nap time. (keep in mind, dd is 14 months, I've NEVER pumped or given her formula/a bottle or left her with a babysitter...so).

 

Dh and I had lots of time together after I put her to bed. It was great and she wasn't left with a stranger. We did book a balcony. 1-2 nights dh left to go watch a movie, I attempted one night, but dd woke up and freaked when I wasn't there. (go figure, she slept fine the first 4 nights!)

 

You don't need the tub. Just let baby sit/stand on a towel or hold while you shower. Most of the showers have the handle that come off, you can wash lo that way.

 

On Disney, you can have diapers and stuff sent to your room, I'm not sure about with carnival. Since you're flying, will you have time to run to target to pick up what you need (unless you have Prime).

 

I over packed with dd. How messy is your kid? DD could wear the same outfit all day. So on sea days, just put her in a dress/skirt and she can wear that to dinner. I brought her blanket and doll and monkey so the place would be more 'home' like. She didn't care one bit.

 

Room service is your friend!

 

teethers and teething gel-don't forget!

 

Toys-not really needed. We didn't need/use most of what I packed! I'd suggest a small/soft ball that can thrown/rolled/used in the splash area. Something small for the 5 year old and 1-2 favorites for the 9 month old.

 

What ports do you have? Can you go to a store there? We had to stop at a store in Grand Caymen because I forgot teethers (dd likes to chew when she's cutting a tooth).

 

Is the 9 month old walking? That would be my one concern. Once we booked we taught dd to hold our hand when walking (she gave up crawling by 9 months, but still had a wobble at that age).

[CarnivalGirl3]

clothes- they can rewear swimsuits and pj's and/or you can plan to do a load of wash. Boys can get away with the same shorts/pants/jeans, if you want to wash.

 

Dh can rewear pants for dinner no problem.

 

On sea days, unless it's formal night, you/kids can wear what you plan to wear for dinner all day or swim suits with cover if you're pool people.

 

Btw-I over packed on diapers and wipes, but I'd rather have more!

 

Oh, and small thing of dish soap to wash teething toys and sippy cups!

 

If you go to target once you arrive, then you can pick up a few dollar books/toys/color packs/sippy cups and then leave/throw them after the trip.

[calikak]

I am going to brag: I am now elite with princess, which means free laundry service. Booyah! Seriously, that is party why we went with Princess for this upcoming cruise, to help deal with the problem of overpacking and kids and messes. That said, the Carnival ship we were on had a lovely self laundromat. If you are willing to spend some time there, you can bring a lot less clothes.

 

With our wee one (she will be 18 months, so, done nursing, onto whole milk), we will be buying diapers after we get off the plane, so we don't have to pack them. We also will be picking up the sip and toss cups instead of bring sippy cups. I try to be all environmental at home, we even cloth diaper, but I throw that all out the window when traveling with kids. It's hard enough without spending half your day hand washing dishes.

 

I did bring a pump on a short cruise a couple of times. Pros: other people can feed your kid; you can pump and dump if you are inclined to an adult beverage. Cons: more stuff to lug on the plane, and washing to do. I brought a little container of dish soap for washing pump parts in the bathroom sink, worked out just fine. A suggestion: see if you can pick up some of those little disposable bottles that they give out at the hospital, the little 2 oz ones, so you can pump directly into them, and toss out when you are done with them. Or maybe the bottles with the drop-ins? Again, to minimize the washing.

 

We overpacked on toys when we cruised with DS at 11 months. He just wanted to run around exploring the ship. A few small toys were plenty for him. But, YMMV. Definitely pack any special lovies your wee ones have, although we had a rule that special lovies can't leave the cabin, so they don't get lost!

 

We also packed snacks, which was dumb, because, hello, it's a cruise, there is so much food onboard! Do your kids like fruit, cheese and bread? Then you will find everything you need at the buffet.

[FMZ]

Best tip I ever got on these boards - pack babies clothes by outfits and put in individual ziplocs. Dual purpose, ease of grabbing clothes of course (especially handy for packing bag for shore days) and the ziplocs came in super handy for other stuff throughout the cruise. I also packed ziplocs with babyfood "meals", again grab and go. Bag contained food of course plus throw away spoon and throw away bib, very handy. Black marker on the outside for which meal, and viola! As for the shower we bought rubber ducky tub from target, fits nicely in bottom of shower, DD loved to play and splash around in there for a while. Also it went onto the balcany a few times and served as her personal pool! If you do want to bottle feed the water is amazingly hot, we brought travel bottle of dish soap and washed in scalding water, worked well. Dont skip eating in dining room with kids, the wait staff LOVE to see them and treat them like royalty! Good luck and feel free to ask any specific questions - DD is now 3 yrs and been on 4 cruises, DD is 1 and has been on 1. :D