Would you take an infant on Mediterranean Cruise ?

[Heartfruit]

No cruises but we did do a fair bit of traveling when my daughter was an infant and toddler. I'd highly recommend that if this trip does go ahead, that a baby backpack might make an excellent shower gift. It would be a lot easier to get a 7 month old around ports or even the ship in a backpack then a stroller. They have a place for the diaper bag etc. Some designs can double as a high chair in a pinch too.

[COLLEYBERRY]

No cruises but we did do a fair bit of traveling when my daughter was an infant and toddler. I'd highly recommend that if this trip does go ahead, that a baby backpack might make an excellent shower gift. It would be a lot easier to get a 7 month old around ports or even the ship in a backpack then a stroller. They have a place for the diaper bag etc. Some designs can double as a high chair in a pinch too.

 

Great idea....even for an outing ..back pack makes a lot of sense. Thanks:)

 

[sammiedawg]

Our younger set will be taking a nonstop flight to the beach and will stay in a condos with a set of grandparents. Their infant will be ten months old.

This seems to be a reasonable getaway stateside, they will have a rental car for any emergent issues or runs to Walmart.

Flying overseas seems fraught with issues and concerns. Planes are delayed, connections are missed everyday.

When the carnival triumph was stranded at seas, the news kept reporting there were several infants on board. I truly cannot imagine the horror.

[world~citizen]

A lot of cruise lines have a six month minimum for infants, others 12 - others 6 and 12 depending on the cruise.

 

There are good reasons not to book a cruise with an infant but they will fall on deaf ears to those bound and determined to do it, or will receive excoriating rebuke from those that have done it or have seen it done.

 

Infants gets seasick as well as mom and dad. There are a lot of viruses the child could encounter they might not otherwise have until much later when their immune system is better prepared. Getting sick on a ship is nooooo fun. Yes its all about choices. Welcome to parenthood. Now the child's welfare comes first.

 

In my opinion, and my opinion only, the whole notion is 14 carrot dumb.

Edited May 3, 2013 by world~citizen

[Rowsby]

Now the child's welfare comes first.

 

Absolutely......

[DizzyDallasDi]

Just packing for an infant on this trip would be a nightmare. :eek: I don't know how many days they'd be away from home but they'd likely need a very large suitcase for just the diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, clothes, toys, etc. I'm not sure how available disposable diapers and other infant needs are in the Med ports but who would want to spend a good portion of their port time traveling to a store that sold them?

 

I think the new parents will have an eye opening experience once the baby arrives and they realize how much time and energy they require. :)

Edited May 4, 2013 by DizzyDallasDi

[Richie2pies]

Leave the baby at home. You will appreciate the cruise.

[cruisinjudy]

I am with those who think a Med cruise would be a bit much with a seven month old! However I did take an almost six month old to Hawaii to meet up with my husband on R&R from Vietnam. There were a few problems, but with a Hawaii visit we didn't have any agenda, just enjoy Oahu and not even attempt to go to the other islands on that trip. I packed enough disposable diapers to last the week as I had been told at that time they were not available in Hawaii, or at least hard to find. I didn't need any more so I never found out.

[fatcat04]

Dh and I are pretty adventurous parents. Our son has been traveling since he was 2 months old. All road trips or short flights then roads trips until he was 4, then Mexico and then his first cruise at 6. He is 11 now. He is a seasoned hand at that travel thing.

 

All that said, no I would not take any cruise anywhere with a child under 1, even 2 I think is still rough. Too many things can go wrong, they get ill at the drop of a hat, their schedule gets so messed up, the nightmare that is teething, you have to pack the whole house, sleep deprivation still probably hasn't quite been resolved for mom and dad. Much better to do something closer to home with good facilities and a laid back itinerary, the beach in a popular family area in a nice condo is what we did first. Means less packing and more relaxing. THAT can be done fairly easily, with or without Granny and PawPaw. :)

[room010]

Like many first time parents we were totally unprepared for how much having a baby would completely change our outlook, routine and life generally and it was all good! HOWEVER we had to accept that some things we took for granted BC (Before Children) would no longer be practical or enjoyable for the time being at least. A port intensive, crowded, hot Mediterranean cruise would come under that category IMO and I don't suppose anyone will benefit much from the experience. Wait until junior is old enough to enjoy it too.

[mudscraper]

I agree ...baby at home with Grandparents would be less stressfull...my problem would be leaving my baby for at least two weeks (I wouldn't have been able to do it).:o

 

Just curious ..what would be the cost of over seas travel insurance for an infant.

Young children travelling with the insured adults are usually covered by the travel insurance policy at no additional charge.

[Czech Precision Forge]

We have done this and it was enjoyable, but we had grandmother along and this allowed us a certain degree of flexibility. Also, we did this in August and for the most part the baby never left the ship. As well, we traveled from a European base, so there was no jet lag involved.

 

I agree with the other comments here about heat and crowds. The only "excursions" we did with our son were to the public beach one afternoon and to visit friends at their Tel Aviv home one evening. Any bus tours or walking in summer heat would be out of the question, at least for us.

 

I would not do this without another set of hands to help manage or with jet lag from a transatlantic trip. Otherwise, a 7 month old and a cruise can be thoroughly enjoyed as long as the main objective is to spend time together on board as a family.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

"Would you take an infant on a Mediterranean cruise?"

In a single word: No.

It would be no vacation for the adults, and no vacation for the infant either.

[COLLEYBERRY]

Thanks everyone for all your input....I will "carefully" ;) pass on all your insights to Grandmamma.

 

You have brought up many things I hadn't even considered..from cobblestones to life vests...jet lag to the chronic sleep deprivation of new parents...hot, crowded and port intensive...sea sickness.

 

I do know this is the first Mediterranean Cruise for all concerned. Perhaps a lot will be reconsidered...once peanut gets here.

We parents know...your life is never quite the same once little ones come along...no one can ever really prepare you for the change.

 

Wee ones are masters at throwing curve balls...just when everything is going smoothly ...up pops a fever or bundled up with scraf ,mitts and snowsuit you hear a little voice say " Pee pee Momma ":D

 

I am enjoying my children as adults....but I wouldn't mind going back for a day ...for a cuddle and the sweet smell of a baby (just a day mind you) :D

 

[COLLEYBERRY]

Young children travelling with the insured adults are usually covered by the travel insurance policy at no additional charge.

 

 

Thanks Mudscraper for the info.:)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I would not ...

[1stcruise_Alaska]

I'm a pretty adventurous traveller, but I'd opt for a Caribbean cruise instead. We actually took a short Caribbean cruise with my youngest when he was 10 months old. I earned a free trip with my company, and refused to leave my nursing baby at home. (His 3 year old brother stayed at home with my sister.) It was fine, and we had a good time. But I wouldn't have wanted to take lots of shore excursions with him. We did get off and wander at one port, but nothing organized. It was just a relaxed, enjoyable trip. Very different from the cruise you're describing!

 

Laura

[summersigh]

All of the chores of caring for a helpless infant go along with you on any trip, no matter if don't it's a day trip or an extended trip. Babies don't take vacations from their needs. :)

 

Also, this thread gave me pause to remember a flight home from Calgary Canada to Dulles airport. There were 2 pre-toddlers that cried from the time we took off until we landed. It was miserable for everyone concerned. I overheard the mom say afterwards that her baby never cries ... that didn't make my multi-hour long torment any better - or any of the 100 other passengers either.

[Infi]

As wonderful and beautiful as the Med is, it is far from relaxing or even easy for older travelers. I can't imagine a baby faring well in that environment, from the trip over on the plane to the long, hot days in crowded cities.

 

For what it's worth, I say this as someone who has been there, done that - I took DD on her first cruise (Caribbean) at 18 months and even that was a challenge with many hot days and mishaps along the way. I can't imagine doing it in the Med.

[sjgertz]

We took our daughter on her first cruise at 11months to Alaska from the east coast (almost the same flying time as Europe). Did she know where she was or will she remember - of course not. Did we have a great time? yes and she knew she was with both parents for an uninturrupted perios and that was vacation for her. She was still nursing, she ate fruit and cereals and what not in the dining room. She loved the fruit soups every night for dinner. We bought diapers in port when we got to Vancouver. Wipes didn't take up a lot of space. Her clothes were small. Disposable diapers are now readily available all over the world. Frankly the worst part was she would wake up in the middle of the night - see up in the bed and scream bloody murder until we would let her into bed with us (she was used to sleeping in a room alone). We kept trying to figure out how to "hide" not really possible in a cruise ship room! If we had gone at 7 months she would have been much easier on that front becasue she had just stopped sleeping in our room at that age.

That being said it really dpeends on the indivudual kid's personality and the families. We are lucky and have always had a very laid back kid who goes with the flow. As for the transatlantic flight there are always babies on a flight and sometimes they are fine and sometimes they scream (she was "that" baby on a flight home from Florida at 8 months). Having just flown transatlantically with my now 2 1/2 year old it was much easier when she was an infant in arms.

As for costs etc - Holland America doesn't allow children under 12 months on their european itineraries. Frequently a kid under 2 is free. They are free on the plane if they sit in your lap - so it usualyl doens't cost anything extra to bring as kid that age.

We didn't have anyone with us (grandparents, siblings etc) and no crew offered to babysit but we did not seek it out either. She spent a lot of naps in her stroller (we live in a large urban city and have a durable and quickly foldable stroller that handles NYC and european cobblestones just fine). and I also wore her in my ergo carrier a lot (baby strapped ot the front of you).

I think there are a lot of naysayer's here beacuse they perceive children on cruises negatively. Hop over to the kids and families board for more advice.

[world~citizen]

...I think there are a lot of naysayer's here beacuse they perceive children on cruises negatively. Hop over to the kids and families board for more advice.

 

None of the above were "naysayer" observations. You note that HAL does not allow children under 12 months on their European itineraries - and they should know.

Edited May 4, 2013 by world~citizen

[Cruising-along]

No naysayer here, I don't mind children on cruises at all. :) I'm thinking of how much enjoyment the parents and grandparents will get out of this Med cruise.

 

JMO, but you can't compare an Alaska cruise with a port-intensive, exhausting and expensive Med cruise. We usually need a vacation after our vacation, and it's just the two of us! :D We like to make the most of every minute at every port, but that's just us. If the family goes with the understanding upfront that they may not be able to do as much as they would like, and they're ok with that, then that's different.

[world~citizen]

No naysayer here, I don't mind children on cruises at all. :) I'm thinking of how much enjoyment the parents and grandparents will get out of this Med cruise.

 

JMO, but you can't compare an Alaska cruise with a port-intensive, exhausting and expensive Med cruise. We usually need a vacation after our vacation, and it's just the two of us! :D We like to make the most of every minute at every port, but that's just us. If the family goes with the understanding upfront that they may not be able to do as much as they would like, and they're ok with that, then that's different.

 

Well if it is true that HAL doesn't allow children under 1 year on European cruises it is a moot point.

[COLLEYBERRY]

I am not sure which cruise line they are considering...Royal Caribbean I am thinking..clearly if this is Hal's policy it won't be them.:)

[Cruising-along]

and there are at least two infants in strollers that I've seen. I won't comment on whether or not it's a good idea to do it; just stating that it is being done.

 

Well if it is true that HAL doesn't allow children under 1 year on European cruises it is a moot point.

 

Alberta Quilter is on the Eurodam in the Med right now. I don't know how old the "infants" are that she saw, I always think of under one year when I hear the word infant but others may not...it would be interesting to read HAL's policy. I couldn't find anything on their website stating any minimum. Just interested to know. We're expecting our first grandchild any day now (not that we plan to take him on a Med cruise) :D