Baby Facilities

[Fixit2010]

Hello

Its been a while since I posted.

 

Last time DW and I cruised it was just us 2. Now we are 3.

We are thinking about our next cruise.

What if an experience does anyone have in regards to sterilising and warming

bottles? and for storing at 4 degrees pre made bottles?

 

Does Celebrity have any facilities?

[Clydesmom7865]

Hello

Its been a while since I posted.

 

Last time DW and I cruised it was just us 2. Now we are 3.

We are thinking about our next cruise.

What if an experience does anyone have in regards to sterilising and warming

bottles? and for storing at 4 degrees pre made bottles?

 

Does Celebrity have any facilities?

 

There is no facility for sterilizing bottles. I believe there is a microwave that you can ask your steward to warm a bottle in.

 

The only place you can store pre-made bottles is in the refrigerator in your state room. For health reasons Celebrity does not store personal food with the general provisions and food on board. The in room refrigerator is cold but not 4 degrees cold.

[lisiamc]

It sounds like your baby might be quite young (congratulations, by the way!) Some cruises have minimum age requirements, so you might want to check that too.

[cb at sea]

Kids have to be 6 months to cruise the Caribbean....older on some other itineraries. At 6 months, you shouldn't need to do the sterilization things....kids are crawling and sticking hands/feet in their mouths....by that time, their immune systems should be up and running!

 

As far as formula....the powdered kind is the easiest to carry on trips....all you need is water! Breast feeding is even easier...no bottles or anything needed!

 

You will need to bring any and all baby stuff....diapers/wipes, meds, etc.....the ship sells very little pediatric anything...and if they happen to have something, it's not likely to be the brand/size you use!

Edited January 18, 2014 by cb at sea

[Clydesmom7865]

Kids have to be 6 months to cruise the Caribbean....older on some other itineraries. At 6 months, you shouldn't need to do the sterilization things....kids are crawling and sticking hands/feet in their mouths....by that time, their immune systems should be up and running!

 

My mother used to say with the first baby you sterilize EVERYTHING that comes within 10 feet of the baby for the first year out of caution. With the second baby you rinse the pacifier off if it hits the floor for the first six months. By the third baby the kid can be kissing the dog on the mouth and your only thought is "What am I going to cook for dinner." :D

[Fouremco]

My mother used to say with the first baby you sterilize EVERYTHING that comes within 10 feet of the baby for the first year out of caution. With the second baby you rinse the pacifier off if it hits the floor for the first six months. By the third baby the kid can be kissing the dog on the mouth and your only thought is "What am I going to cook for dinner." :D

LOL. So true!

[Lsimon]

My mother used to say with the first baby you sterilize EVERYTHING that comes within 10 feet of the baby for the first year out of caution. With the second baby you rinse the pacifier off if it hits the floor for the first six months. By the third baby the kid can be kissing the dog on the mouth and your only thought is "What am I going to cook for dinner." :D

 

When our first was born I remember asking the doctor or nurse how long we needed to sterilize the bottles. He told us that one day we'd see our son chewing a shoe or something he pulled out from under the sofa and realize that it no longer made sense to bother with the sterilization.

[WestLakeGirl]

Head over to the Family Cruising board for more info and advice

[Lerin]

We had our room steward fill the ice bucket for storing breast milk, it was quite simple and some of those bags were frozen solid by the end of the cruise.

 

Never bothered with sterilizing things, so can't help you there. Soap and water work great.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Lerin

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Hello

Its been a while since I posted.

 

Last time DW and I cruised it was just us 2. Now we are 3.

We are thinking about our next cruise.

What if an experience does anyone have in regards to sterilising and warming

bottles? and for storing at 4 degrees pre made bottles?

 

Does Celebrity have any facilities?

 

If you are sterilizing bottles then your baby is too young to travel. The baby has to six months old. No one is sterilizing bottles by this point. I took my baby on Celebrity when he was seven months old and all I brought were some bottles, dish soap and a bottle brush. I brought powdered Enfamil in single packets. I used tap water from the ship when I needed to prepare the bottle for feeding. No refrigeration was necessary because I only prepared it right before I used it. By six months your child will be eating mashed table foods as well and I didn't bring or need any baby food either. There is such a huge variety of food in the buffet and they are happy to puree foods for you in the dining room.

Edited January 18, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Clydesmom7865]

When our first was born I remember asking the doctor or nurse how long we needed to sterilize the bottles. He told us that one day we'd see our son chewing a shoe or something he pulled out from under the sofa and realize that it no longer made sense to bother with the sterilization.

 

THIS. LOL With the fourth child in our family we could hear him making this slurping noise quite frequently during the day. For weeks we could not figure out why until one day we saw him spit out the dog's food and grab a new handful of Gravy Train to suck on. At that point we wondered what else he had been snacking on that we had no clue about. :eek:

[Clydesmom7865]

If you are sterilizing bottles then your baby is too young to travel. The baby has to six months old. No one is sterilizing bottles by this point. I took my baby on Celebrity when he was seven months old and all I brought were some bottles, dish soap and a bottle brush. I brought powdered Enfamil in single packets. I used tap water from the ship when I needed to prepare the bottle for feeding. No refrigeration was necessary because I only prepared it right before I used it. By six months your child will be eating mashed table foods as well and I didn't bring or need any baby food either. There is such a huge variety of food in the buffet and they are happy to puree foods for you in the dining room.

 

To be fair the baby may not be too young but have a medical reason for sterilizing the bottles.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Ok to answer the question regarding the facilities- no there are no facilities that will sterilize for you. Iif a child's immune system is at all compromised-not sure a ship with 3000 plus passengers and crew is ideal.

Edited January 19, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[DebbieMacG]

If you are sterilizing bottles then your baby is too young to travel. The baby has to six months old. No one is sterilizing bottles by this point. I took my baby on Celebrity when he was seven months old and all I brought were some bottles, dish soap and a bottle brush. I brought powdered Enfamil in single packets. I used tap water from the ship when I needed to prepare the bottle for feeding. No refrigeration was necessary because I only prepared it right before I used it. By six months your child will be eating mashed table foods as well and I didn't bring or need any baby food either. There is such a huge variety of food in the buffet and they are happy to puree foods for you in the dining room.

 

 

In the UK it's advised to sterilise bottles for the first year, medically advised. You wouldn't use tap water until it's boiled and cooled.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

It's 6 months in the US and I didn't even do it for three months. I traveled with my son on NCL in Dec. of 2000 when he was only three months old. He was bottle fed using breast milk and formula and I can tell you that all I used was soap and water. Now the important part of this issue is that you must use a bottle brush on the bottle and the nipple and rinse thoroughly. You don't want soap or old milk in the bottles and that would be any time you feed a child from a bottle. I have raised two boys this way. So can only speak for my own experience but boiling water is only necessary in areas where the water is suspect. Municipal water supplies are fine and ship water supplies are probably even better.

 

For more advice on the subject- go to the special interest section and post your questions under "Families".

Edited January 19, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Clydesmom7865]

In the UK it's advised to sterilise bottles for the first year, medically advised. You wouldn't use tap water until it's boiled and cooled.

 

Then the solution on board would be to bring the type of bottles with disposable inserts and use bottled water so that sterilization isn't necessary. The cabin steward or wait staff could heat water in the microwave when a bottle is needed and the parents can add powdered formula to it.

 

The nipples and bottles themselves can be cleaned with regular dish soap if disposable inserts and bottled water are used.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Clydesmom7865

[Fixit2010]

Thanks for your answers and for the congrats.

 

Cruising has just got a bit more complicated. A lot more logistics to plan.

 

Looks like I will have to put back my cruise until my lil'n is a bit older say a year and we don't need to sterilize. Is there anything about dumping dirty nappies (diapers) at sea? lol only joking. Seriously what do you do with the dirty ones when its changing time? Now I know of the advantage of having a butler. "Hey Jeeves, my daughter has dropped a big one. I think its all this fine dining. Please change her for me".

 

(admin - If you let this post stay, I promise to put all the rest of the family discussions in the family board).

[DebbieMacG]

It's 6 months in the US and I didn't even do it for three months. I traveled with my son on NCL in Dec. of 2000 when he was only three months old. He was bottle fed using breast milk and formula and I can tell you that all I used was soap and water. Now the important part of this issue is that you must use a bottle brush on the bottle and the nipple and rinse thoroughly. You don't want soap or old milk in the bottles and that would be any time you feed a child from a bottle. I have raised two boys this way. So can only speak for my own experience but boiling water is only necessary in areas where the water is suspect. Municipal water supplies are fine and ship water supplies are probably even better.

 

For more advice on the subject- go to the special interest section and post your questions under "Families".

 

 

I'll stick with the year and the boiled cooled water, I've brought four children and two Grandchildren up this way and it's medical advice in the UK where NO water is suspect. There are a whole host of reasons why.

 

OP that maybe best to wait a while if worried about sterilising but you can get disposable bottles it think? I know in the family bathroom near kids club they have a nappy disposal unit.

Edited January 19, 2014 by DebbieMacG

[Clydesmom7865]

Is there anything about dumping dirty nappies (diapers) at sea? lol only joking. Seriously what do you do with the dirty ones when its changing time?

 

It is a maritime violation to dump them at sea (the Humpback whales filed a lawsuit about 10 years ago and now it is banned) so that isn't an option.

 

Last time I checked there is no prohibition against tossing them to the balcony below yours or on to a neighboring one as long as you are not smoking a cigarette while you do it. I recommend that you do your tossing after lights out though so that no one catches you. :D

Edited January 19, 2014 by Clydesmom7865

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thanks for your answers and for the congrats.

 

Cruising has just got a bit more complicated. A lot more logistics to plan.

 

Looks like I will have to put back my cruise until my lil'n is a bit older say a year and we don't need to sterilize. Is there anything about dumping dirty nappies (diapers) at sea? lol only joking. Seriously what do you do with the dirty ones when its changing time? Now I know of the advantage of having a butler. "Hey Jeeves, my daughter has dropped a big one. I think its all this fine dining. Please change her for me".

 

(admin - If you let this post stay, I promise to put all the rest of the family discussions in the family board).

 

The room gets cleaned twice a day thankfully and you just have to wrap those dirty diapers up good! You definitely want a cabin with a balcony to get some fresh air!

 

I hope I didn't deter you from cruising because cruising with an infant is actually easier than a toddler or crawler. The point was not to worry about all this sterilization. If you read about it- you will see that nothing is really sterile anyway. As soon as you put it on a drying rack- bacteria is all over it again. But this is a good thing- the baby has to build up immunities. The world is full of bacteria! You better be avoiding pacifiers then! They are totally filthy when you think about how they fall on the floor etc. My sons used them and I never sanitized them. I'd replace them if they had holes in them but they weren't sick as a result. Think of what kids put in their mouth- their feet, their fists, anything they can suck and knaw on- what about pets that lick them and that they pet... it's ok! They will live. And kids do get colds too to build up their immune system. The thing that mother's do that's wrong is keeping the house hot for the baby because it dries out their sinuses etc.

 

Probably the worst time to travel with kids is from 10 months to three years of age. The reason being that as soon as they are mobile then it is difficult to contain them and you have teething issues, ear aches, they throw tantrums and have separation anxiety. Three is perfect- they are out of diapers and can use the pools and youth programs on all the mainstream lines.

Edited January 19, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Clydesmom7865]

The point was not to worry about all this sterilization. If you read about it- you will see that nothing is really sterile anyway. As soon as you put it on a drying rack- bacteria is all over it again. But this is a good thing- the baby has to build up immunities. The world is full of bacteria!

 

Think of what kids put in their mouth- their feet, their fists, anything they can suck and knaw on- what about pets that lick them and that they pet... it's ok! They will live.

 

I have to agree with all of this. I know it is the recommendation in the UK but it really is outdated and I am in the medical field. By 6-7 months they are crawling and think about everything they touch as they explore their world and that is the oral stage where it promptly goes in their mouth. It seems rather silly to be sterilizing bottles and nipples when the kid is dragging their blankie behind them on the floor across the house and yard then sucking on it!

 

Can you sterilize until they are a year old? Sure but there really is no health advantage in a healthy baby and if you don't do it they will turn out just fine.

 

If you are that concerned there are sterile disposable diaper inserts and bottled water which eliminate the need for boiling water. (which you don't have to do on board ship anyway. Don't let this one issue stand in your way.

[Fixit2010]

Great, thanks

[Niclia]

We travelled with a 7 month old and took a cold water steriliser. Boots and Mothercare sell sterilising bags (basically plastic bags with sterilising tablets) which hold up to 5 bottles each and last for 24 hours. Might be worth looking at. We managed to get a kettle in our stateroom so boiled water and then cooled to the right temperature but this will depend on which ship you are on (we were on Infinity from Harwich).

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[cheeseontoast]

Have you looked at Tommee Tippee Steri bottles? They sell them in Boots and on Amazon. I couldn't stop the pre-sterilised liner bottles from leaking, and the bottles were really easy and leak proof.

[waterbug123]

Is there anything about dumping dirty nappies (diapers) at sea? lol only joking. Seriously what do you do with the dirty ones when its changing time?

 

Your trash will be emptied as necessary twice a day, when the room steward makes the room up. I'd bring a supply of plastic grocery bags or similar, to tie up particularly smelly diapers before putting them in the trash; that will keep the whole room from beginning to stink, in the event that the diaper sits in the trash for a few hours before the steward arrives to clean.