To bring carseat or not to bring is the question?

[melsdt]

Just traveled last month to Bermuda with our 14-month old. We brought our car seat on our trip but didn't end up using it because we stuck to ferries and public busses. However we wanted to have it just in case we planned to travel by cab. It was easy to check it and have it delivered to the stateroom. PS it was a cheap convertible seat (evenflo) which is very lightweight. We use it in our secondary car and for traveling.

 

We used our ergo baby carrier a lot. I use it often at home too. Its a great carrier that is worth the money.

 

We also brought a joovy groove umbrella stroller and had no problem fitting anywhere.

 

Lastly, here is a CDC travel report on Injuries. You will notice road crashes are the number one cause of injuries and fatalities for travelers. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2014/chapter-2-the-pre-travel-consultation/injuries-and-safety

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

[flhokie]

As far as only needing 2-3 minutes to install a seat---for a lot of people, including me, that would be amazing. If you've done it many times in different types of vehicles I could see 2-3 minutes, but many people haven't had a lot of experience this way.

 

The person who said 15-20 would definitely been more like me when we had a regular convertible car seat. The seat in my husbands car stayed put for nearly 2 years & mine was moved 1 time---not a lot of practice taking them in or out.

 

I will say that now, with our convertible booster from evenflo with their secure latch, I can do it in about 5 minutes:)

[FLCruiser25]

We just ordered a white Boba Air carrier for $60 on amazon. Can't beat the price and it packs in a small bag that you can place in a diaper bag or purse. Just what we needed to wear baby for short period of times while traveling at port in Cozumel and Falmouth.

 

The boba air carrier will go great with our Ignite umbrella stroller that we love!

[NurseBPS]

Check out the baby hawk carrier! Its great for all ages and can be used on the front or back. Its light weight and can easily fold up to fit in the diaper bag for easy access. It doesn't have an buckles/clips it just ties but it super easy. My husband and I went to a local store and tried multiple carriers ergo, moby, baby hawk and boba. http://www.babyhawk.com Boba would be my second choice if you want one with all the clips etc.

 

We also are looking into this stroller which is basically an umbrella stroller but has some added features. lays back etc. Best of all it folds from a standing position. Its on sale right now at babies r us. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=28881976&cp=2255957.2273447.35373216&parentPage=family

 

Watch the video to see all the aspects.

 

We have decided not to take our car seat. I plan on wearing our DD while in any moving vehicles and take cruise sponsored tours when possible!

Good luck with everything!

[cbsmama]

I have not cruised with an infant, but here is my take based on my experience flying with an infant and cruising with a preschooler.

 

I forget if you said if you were flying to your port, but if you are, I would highly recommend flying with the car seat. Even when DD was under 2, we always purchased her a seat and installed her car seat on the plane. This past year in May, when she was 4.5 was the first time we had her sit in the plane seat without a child restraint because she was over 40 lbs.

 

For our first cruise in 2013 when DD was 3.5, we drove to our port, so we just kept the car seat in our car while we were at sea. I did not plan on any excursions that involved car/taxi ground transportation. In general, we either stayed within walking distance of the ship or we did something that we just walked to a boat or coach bus. It was a significant amount of research (on CC and calling places) to determine what the ground transportation would be like at the ports.

 

This year, I picked an itinerary that would not involve ground transportation. We purchased a Bubble Bum booster to use to get to and from the airport/hotel/port before and after the cruise, but we did not need it all on our cruise. We were on a bus once in San Juan for a tour, but other than that, we either walked to the beach, or walked to where we were doing our excursion (St. Thomas).

 

Anyway, for us it has been best to think about ground transportation before booking the cruise. Child passenger safety is my personal "hot point" issue, so those logistics are considered for every trip we take. It's certainly getting easier as my DD gets older, but I second the sentiment of PPs who state that the laws of physics do not cease to exist on vacation. Whatever your practices are at home, there is not any reason to think you can have lower standards away from home. And if that means missing out on a few things, you'll just have to do take another cruise to catch them when kiddos are older, IMHO.

[cello56]

Here is a video showing just how well a baby will do when in a baby sling with a parent seat belted in. Video is for air travel, but the physics are the same. The baby carrier is in no way made to withstand that kind of pressures and simply tears apart.

 

[FLCruiser25]

We have decided not to take our car seat. I plan on wearing our DD while in any moving vehicles and take cruise sponsored tours when possible!

Good luck with everything!

 

 

We just got our Boba Air Carrier in the mail yesterday and tried it around the house and already like it better than our baby bjorn.

 

We aren't flying and will be driving to the port and parking at the terminal so won't have to worry about flying with baby and his car seat on a plane. We are just going to take the umbrella stroller and the new baby carrier as of right now. We will have his infant car seat that is kept in our vehicle that he rides in while we are driving so if we decide to bring it last minute at the port we could but it only fits in our huge jogging stroller and he may be too big for it by than since it only goes up to 30 pounds. Every baby grows at different rates so we will just have to wait and see.

 

I know 50% of travelers don't even bring a car seat with them because you can't even take them on some of the tenders and buses when doing excursions, so what good are they going to be just sitting in a cabin. Us parents with young children love our babies and want them to be safe but we also want to enjoy ourselves as well.

We just have to plan ahead and do family friendly excursions that can include just walking around shopping at the ports with the babies and enjoy a great meal and explore the ship.

 

I just wish other people on here wouldn't make others feel bad about not dragging a car seat on board with them just because they have a infant. Doesn't mean they are bad parents and don't love our children if they don't drag car seats and booster seats with them on every cruise. I would just ignore those that make negative comments about those who decide not to bring a car seat for whatever personal reason!

Edited July 4, 2014 by FLCruiser25

[dsrdsrdsr]

Here is a video showing just how well a baby will do when in a baby sling with a parent seat belted in. Video is for air travel, but the physics are the same. The baby carrier is in no way made to withstand that kind of pressures and simply tears apart.

 

If a plane comes to a stop like that, it doesn't matter how well you're belted in! :eek:

 

How fast was that thing going? And what would have happened if the parent had had time to wrap his/her arms round the baby?

[6rugrats]

If a plane comes to a stop like that, it doesn't matter how well you're belted in! :eek:

 

How fast was that thing going? And what would have happened if the parent had had time to wrap his/her arms round the baby?

 

Speed was 21 miles per hour. So much I guess for another poster's suggestion to pay a cab driver to keep the speed under 20MPH. If the parent had their arms around the baby, the same thing would have happened, or the child would be crushed by the parent's body.

 

Better copy of this video:

 

http://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/taxis/baby-bjorn-is-not-a-car-seat/

 

More info about using child carriers in a car. Anyone who thinks this is safe is quite simply delusional.

 

http://thecarseatlady.com/will-a-babybjorn-or-other-soft-infant-carrier-protect-a-child-in-a-taxi/

 

There are some truly amazing comments in this thread.

Edited July 5, 2014 by 6rugrats

[Lerin]

The problem with car seats, vests or other carriers is that often there is nothing to strap those items into(seat belts).

Without the proper attachment they become nothing more than a cumbersome item for you to lug around all day.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Speed was 21 miles per hour. So much I guess for another poster's suggestion to pay a cab driver to keep the speed under 20MPH. If the parent had their arms around the baby, the same thing would have happened, or the child would be crushed by the parent's body.

It was my suggestion to keep the speed below 20mph, actually. And are you suggesting that a parent's arms might snap in pieces like an inadequate safety strap? :)

 

But more seriously, the chances that a car travelling at 20mph comes to a dead stop from that speed is negligible. How often does a driver go straight into a brick wall without even slowing down a fraction? The only way you would decelerate that fast is if you have a head-on, and that's pretty much as likely to happen if you're on foot, not in a car.

 

No, it's got to be the crash helmet. Statistically, making a child wear a crash helmet at all times when outside the house is more likely to prolong his or her life than anything you do in a car travelling at 20mph. Wearing a crash helmet is not a fashionable approach to child safety, and wearing a seat belt is, but the helmet is the more logical way to go.

[6rugrats]

It was my suggestion to keep the speed below 20mph, actually. And are you suggesting that a parent's arms might snap in pieces like an inadequate safety strap? :)

 

But more seriously, the chances that a car travelling at 20mph comes to a dead stop from that speed is negligible. How often does a driver go straight into a brick wall without even slowing down a fraction? The only way you would decelerate that fast is if you have a head-on, and that's pretty much as likely to happen if you're on foot, not in a car.

 

No, it's got to be the crash helmet. Statistically, making a child wear a crash helmet at all times when outside the house is more likely to prolong his or her life than anything you do in a car travelling at 20mph. Wearing a crash helmet is not a fashionable approach to child safety, and wearing a seat belt is, but the helmet is the more logical way to go.

 

Not sure if you are trying to be funny or if you are serious. No one suggested sealing a child in a plastic bubble until adulthood.

 

I can't argue physics or statistics with you. I don't understand your references to crash helmets. What does that have to do with placing your child in an appropriate child restraint in a car? This thread isn't a discussion about everything one could do to protect a child. And, all injuries that an unrestrained child may receive would not just be to their head, so your comments are even more perplexing.

 

Probably natural arms are not going to snap off in a crash, but the forces that are at work at a 20 MPH crash are far greater then just 20 MPH, and you don't have to come to a "dead stop" to have some significant movement. You aren't going to be able to hold onto the child. If one can't understand this, there's nothing I can do.

 

All parents can make their own choices. It's just too bad that some parents seem to put their own convenience above the safety of their children.

Edited July 6, 2014 by 6rugrats

[dsrdsrdsr]

I can't argue physics or statistics with you. I don't understand your references to crash helmets. What does that have to do with placing your child in an appropriate child restraint in a car? This thread isn't a discussion about everything one could do to protect a child.

The point of the crash helmets is that there is no logical reason to go to a great deal of inconvenience carrying a car seat for thousands of miles to protect against a tiny risk for just a few minutes, while failing to take the small inconvenience of carrying a crash helmet to protect against a vastly higher 24-hours -a-day risk.

 

I see why it's not done. Helmets look silly. But I don't see that parents who allow their children to run on a concrete surface while not wearing a helmet, should have any moral high ground over parents who allow their children to ride unrestrained in a slow-moving vehicle. The dangers of riding in a slow-moving vehicle are absolutely tiny, in fact too small IMO to let them interfere with normal living.

 

PS - in a 20mph crash, what are the forces (apart from gravity) that work at more than 20mph?

Edited July 6, 2014 by dsrdsrdsr

[xcell]

I don't think it matters how fast you are going but how fast the other vehicle is going when it hits your car...

 

With that being said, we took a car seat for our first cruise...found out that (maybe my bad luck) the excursion cars didn't have working seat belts, so we skipped those. We then just took excursions that we could take a Bus (literally a BUS) or just walk around the town so we didn't have to worry about the car seats. Yes it limited us to where we could go...no worries, safety first...

 

Quick poll...how many put on seat belts (adults) when doing excursion? I'd would think 50:50

[FLCruiser25]

 

Quick poll...how many put on seat belts (adults) when doing excursion? I'd would think 50:50

 

I don't because they don't have seat belts on the taxi buses and tenders that I have been on. Probably not even 50% since the big buses don't have seat belts and some taxi's don't either. The water taxi's/tender's don't have seat belts either that I have been on in Mexico. Seat belts and car seats are just not as common in some places like they are legally required here in the United States.

 

So I guess those that have infants have to hold them in arms while getting into those tenders to get on to Grand Cayman and other places by boat or you just stay on the cruise ship since those boats don't have seat belts for children 5 and under. I have never been on a boat that has seat belts. A accident can happen in a tender boat as much as it could if you had a 5 year old in a vehicle while on a excursion without a car seat or walking and crossing the street in another country.

 

So parents have three options when going on cruises.

1. Leave children 5 years old and younger at home.

2. Just stay on the cruise ship and don't do any excursions at all.

3. Take your infants and toddlers with you and do excursions with them and have fun like most cruisers do and ignore the negativity.

 

Just a few weeks ago the Governor of Florida just signed a law that requires all children 5 and under must be in a car seat. It use to be 4 but now is 5.

 

Unless the cruise companies mandate a law that requires American citizens to bring one car seat for each child 5 and under to take with them on the cruises to use in other countries, I just personally don't see cruise parents hauling around a car seat for a five year old. I'm not sure what the laws are in every country but if the cruise companies made a law like that, you would see a big decline in family friendly cruise trips and the cruise companies would lose alot of money. Those companies are just not going to do that and even if they did I would seriously doubt they would enforce a law like that when on excursions. No one with kids under 5 would want to take a cruise, they would just stick with Disney world!

Edited July 7, 2014 by FLCruiser25

[FLCruiser25]

The problem with car seats, vests or other carriers is that often there is nothing to strap those items into(seat belts).

Without the proper attachment they become nothing more than a cumbersome item for you to lug around all day.

 

I completely agree. What good are they when tenders and most buses and taxi's don't have seat belts in them. So unless there is a seat belt to secure the safety vest or car seat to in the tenders and buses your only option is to leave the car seat behind in the cabin. It's dangerous to have a infant or toddler in a car seat that isn't secure in a bus or boat as it would be be moving around sliding and could fall over possibly injuring the child.

 

You would be safer choosing another option in the case of no seat belts.

[cruzinlisa]

Our DD was 15 months on her first cruise and could still fit in her infant seat. We brought it and only used it in Cozumel. Second cruise I had planned on taking the lighter convertible seat (even brought the one from the other car so that we did not have to uninstall the one from the car we drove to port) but as we were getting on the shuttle to port, I changed my mind. This cruise she is 3 1/2 and I don't plan on taking it. I kind of chuckled about putting your baby on a diet so he is under 30 pounds since my little bug turned 3 in January and she still has not cracked 30 pounds. She is a petite child as you may imagine. So I have never been on that side of the spectrum. My father in law was asking when she can move to a booster seat and I said she will probably be 10 before she meets the weight requirement. :D

[Carebear86]

I may have missed a response to this already...

 

Did you bring a car seat just to get from airplane to ship and back again? I'm happy to walk at ports or not get off at all but I need to get to and from the airport. Seems like a huge waist of space to have the car seat just sit on the ship all week.

 

Never done this before so I'm looking for advice :)

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[gymbomb]

DS will be 10 months on his first cruise. We are flying to Florida for the cruise then he and I will fly with my parents to their place for a week before coming back home, so we definitely have to have his seat for that! But we would have brought it anyway for getting between airport, hotel and port. At our port stops we will probably just walk around or maybe take a bus, but it will be good to know we have the option of putting it in a taxi should we decide to take one.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[FLCruiser25]

Our DD was 15 months on her first cruise and could still fit in her infant seat. We brought it and only used it in Cozumel. Second cruise I had planned on taking the lighter convertible seat (even brought the one from the other car so that we did not have to uninstall the one from the car we drove to port) but as we were getting on the shuttle to port, I changed my mind. This cruise she is 3 1/2 and I don't plan on taking it. I kind of chuckled about putting your baby on a diet so he is under 30 pounds since my little bug turned 3 in January and she still has not cracked 30 pounds. She is a petite child as you may imagine. So I have never been on that side of the spectrum. My father in law was asking when she can move to a booster seat and I said she will probably be 10 before she meets the weight requirement. :D

 

We just took our lo to his 9 month appointment and he is 29 inches and 20 pounds. I don't think we have to worry much about the weight, now it's his height. lol My dh looked at our graco car seat that goes up to 30 pounds and it's for babies only up to 30 inches long. SMH.... so it looks like we will be sticking with a umbrella stroller and baby carrier for the cruise next year. Time to go shopping for a convertible car seat for the vehicle!

[Waterloomarc]

Lol. Yeah our DD has always been very tall. (98th percentile) we had to get 'real' car seats when she was 9 months too. Oh well at least we should be done with it for a while ;)

 

PS - we bought 3 Britax Marathons and really like them. They're not nearly as bulky as most and are easy to adjust. Most others are just so ridiculously big IMO.

 

 

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[DriftinAlong]

We travel quite a bit with our kids. My oldest is in a Britax Advocate 70 CS....they don't make convertible car seats any bigger than hers, but it's never stopped us from following a "safety first" standard. We use the go-go wheels for the Britax and the snap and go for the infant seat to transport from lodging to the cabs/vans. We almost always install with LATCH and rarely even have to use seatbelts. The wheels on the seats act like the stroller for the short transport, they both come off fast and go in the trunks. We can install both seats and girls in 2 or so minutes. We hop cabs in Chicago with carseats and I'd never get in a car with my girls without their seats...wouldn't do it on vacation either.

[AlluraUni]

We're heading to Bermuda with our 2.75 year old soon. We're driving to the port, and the car seat will be staying in the parking lot. I anticipate primarily using busses and ferries to get around, partly because we're not bringing a carseat and partly because it's an easy way to get around Bermuda. And the train at dockyard because toddler + train = duh. :)

[springystormycoral]

We are heading to Aruba and Curacao in October. Both of them mandate car seats for kids under the age of 5, we will bring ours along in case we use a taxi.

 

We don't book excursions on the ship, so it'll be hard to tell what uses a bus and what uses a taxi.