All things baby--sailing Freedom of the Seas with 13 month old

[khaisma2]

Sailing away on freedom of the seas for a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise. Stops at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Coco Cay. Will be sailing with my son 13 months old, sister and brother in law, mom and dad. 3 rooms, my parents have a balcony across from my room and sister and brother in law are next to me with adjoining rooms that both have window to promenade. I have a few questions.. This will be first time vacationing on cruise with son.

 

Car seat?? Bring it or don't? No shore excursions really planned but don't want to set group back if I don't bring it or do. Any suggestions??

 

Stroller?? I love my jogger but it's big and bulky. I have a cheap umbrella but umbrella is not big enough to cover the sun and shade my baby.

 

Outfits per day?? I planned 2-3 a day for my son plus formal wear and such and lounge clothes. Too much, or not enough?

 

Any tips on packing? Anything I absolutely need to bring or anything you found as a life saver?

 

Royal babies and tots program for watching son at adventure ocean? $6-$8 an hour I believe. My son goes to day care 3 days a week so he's well exposed to other kids and loves going. Sometimes will fuss when I leave but maybe just once a month. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, looking for opinions on if it is a good program. Was planning on using it maybe 2 times.

 

My son is a whole milk drinker 2 bottles a day and juice. Do I need to purchase a drink package for him? Do I bring milk and juice? I am very confused on this because I don't see a package with milk.

 

Any help/hints will be appreciated. :) Very excited to set sail in a few months!

 

 

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[imjoyful2]

Sailing away on freedom of the seas for a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise. Stops at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Coco Cay. Will be sailing with my son 13 months old, sister and brother in law, mom and dad. 3 rooms, my parents have a balcony across from my room and sister and brother in law are next to me with adjoining rooms that both have window to promenade. I have a few questions.. This will be first time vacationing on cruise with son.

 

Car seat?? Bring it or don't? No shore excursions really planned but don't want to set group back if I don't bring it or do. Any suggestions??

 

Stroller?? I love my jogger but it's big and bulky. I have a cheap umbrella but umbrella is not big enough to cover the sun and shade my baby.

 

Outfits per day?? I planned 2-3 a day for my son plus formal wear and such and lounge clothes. Too much, or not enough?

 

Any tips on packing? Anything I absolutely need to bring or anything you found as a life saver?

 

Royal babies and tots program for watching son at adventure ocean? $6-$8 an hour I believe. My son goes to day care 3 days a week so he's well exposed to other kids and loves going. Sometimes will fuss when I leave but maybe just once a month. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, looking for opinions on if it is a good program. Was planning on using it maybe 2 times.

 

My son is a whole milk drinker 2 bottles a day and juice. Do I need to purchase a drink package for him? Do I bring milk and juice? I am very confused on this because I don't see a package with milk.

 

Any help/hints will be appreciated. :) Very excited to set sail in a few months!

 

 

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We've sailed several times as a family with many different ages. We've been to St Thomas & St Maarten numerous times. The carseat thing is a personal choice but we have never brought ours. Not all the taxis even have seatbelts to secure them with. Typically, my little ones on are me in my sling in the vehicle (and my experience has been the vans do not move very fast due to all the traffic). My suggestions of beaches for those 2 islands are Emerald Beach on St Thomas (not far from the port) and Le Galion in St Maarten (perfect for little ones as there is no waves).

 

I have brought a small, compact stroller with us but I only use that occasionally on the ship (walking around on deck to put little ones to sleep, etc). When in port, I have never brought our stroller and use my ring sling, moby wrap, etc. Much easier to navigate with (and I even did this on the ship depending on what we were doing).

 

On our last trip, I packed our consumables in a box (granted we were on a 14 night cruise so I had a lot of diapers/wipes, etc) but that cut down on luggage for the trip home.

 

I brought along my own sippy cups & small spoons & forks which was nice for my littles ones to self feed. Disposable bibs would come in handy as well if your little one is messy.

 

2-3 outfits a day is good. You could also pack one of those travel packs of Tide in case you would need to hand wash something (or treat a stain).

 

You should have no problem getting milk wherever you dine at, just simply ask. My older kids got chocolate milk at every breakfast & dinner. ;) Juice is served at breakfast no charge. If he'd want for later in the day, you could always get a glass or 2 at breakfast & put it into a cup to store in your fridge for later in the day. ;)

 

At breakfast time, you can grab a box or 2 of cheerios to take with you for a quick snack for your little ones.

 

I don't have any experience on the Royal Tots as the ship we've sailed on didn't have this so my littles under 3 just stayed with me.

 

Have fun!!!:)

Edited December 28, 2014 by imjoyful2

[Grandma Dazzles]

Sailing away on freedom of the seas for a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise. Stops at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Coco Cay. Will be sailing with my son 13 months old, sister and brother in law, mom and dad. 3 rooms, my parents have a balcony across from my room and sister and brother in law are next to me with adjoining rooms that both have window to promenade. I have a few questions.. This will be first time vacationing on cruise with son.

 

Car seat?? Bring it or don't? No shore excursions really planned but don't want to set group back if I don't bring it or do. Any suggestions??

 

Stroller?? I love my jogger but it's big and bulky. I have a cheap umbrella but umbrella is not big enough to cover the sun and shade my baby.

 

Outfits per day?? I planned 2-3 a day for my son plus formal wear and such and lounge clothes. Too much, or not enough?

 

Any tips on packing? Anything I absolutely need to bring or anything you found as a life saver?

 

Royal babies and tots program for watching son at adventure ocean? $6-$8 an hour I believe. My son goes to day care 3 days a week so he's well exposed to other kids and loves going. Sometimes will fuss when I leave but maybe just once a month. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, looking for opinions on if it is a good program. Was planning on using it maybe 2 times.

 

My son is a whole milk drinker 2 bottles a day and juice. Do I need to purchase a drink package for him? Do I bring milk and juice? I am very confused on this because I don't see a package with milk.

 

Any help/hints will be appreciated. :) Very excited to set sail in a few months!

 

 

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Car seat is a safety issue - your choice - do you plan to use on plane, cabs, etc.

 

Jogger strollers as you say are big and bulky. Definitely think you need a stroller - umbrella would work - just park it in the shade! Or, perhaps you can borrow something smaller than the jogger from friend/family.

 

No washers or dryers on board. Bring what clothes you think you will need plus extra! You can wash quick dry things in the sink and hang to dry. Also there is usually a bulk mid-week laundry bag special for around $30 - you could do a lot of kid's clothes in the bag. A few clothes pins can be handy.

 

You can order a diaper package, but expensive; plan to bring what you need. Also bring all "baby" items; wipes, shampoo, meds, sunscreen etc. There is a very limited selection on board and very pricey.

 

Whole milk is free ...... that's why you don't see it in a package. Milk is available in the Windjammer at breakfast in cartons. They don't have it out at other times during the day, but just ask, it is available. Also in the MDR - just ask. Juice is available at breakfast also free ..... you do have to pay for fresh squeezed. Not sure about the rest of the day; probably available if you ask (thinking bars must have juice for mixers). Some people recommend picking up extra milk and keeping it in the fridge in the cabin. Would not recommend as the fridge is more of a cooler; might not keep milk cold enough. Room steward will bring ice and you can keep it on ice if you want.

 

Babies are not allowed in the pools unless you are on a ship with a specific baby area. No swim diapers in any pool.

 

Some people like to bring a small blow-up type tub for the shower to wash baby in, unless you have a suite or cabin with a bathtub.

 

Hope that answers some questions - I am sure you will get lots of help. Check the family boards.

[theatrebabe]

We are traveling on Freedom with our 4yo and 2.5 yo for 2 nights next week, before she does into dry-dock.

 

We plan to leave our 2.5you at the Nursery a fair amount. We did so this summer on Grandeur of the Seas, and they were excellent with her. We found the hourly rate to be well worth the relaxing adult-time that we got to enjoy, and we had no problem booking her for the hours we wanted throughout the trip. I'll try to remember to report back about the Nursery on Freedom after our trip!

 

You will have no problem getting milk at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Definitely bring a little bottle of dish washing soap so you can really clean out bottles/sippies in between uses. We forgot this over the summer, and had a hard time getting them really clean!

 

Freedom has a Baby Splash Zone that little ones in swim diapers are allowed to use - it's one of the things I'm looking forward to most, since our daughter couldn't go in the pool at all on Grandeur.

 

We did not bring carseats with us on the ship, and just planned accordingly - no excursions that required a transportation. Though as others have said, many of the vehicles don't have seatbelts anyway. Not sure how I'd feel with my child unsecured in the car/van/bus.

 

I would definitely suggest bringing a baby monitor with you since you have multiple rooms. Baby can nap in one room while you relax in the other room with the monitor on. Our crappy video monitor worked just fine in our adjoining rooms on Grandeur. Another option, if your parents don't mind, is to have the baby nap in their room, and you can enjoy the balcony while he naps. We found it very relaxing out there the few times we were actual successful at getting our kiddos to nap on board!

 

One more thing you might've read about - the ships have a toy lending program where you can check out a bag of Fisher Price toys from the Nursery to use in your stateroom/on the ship. We didn't do this for our daughter, but I think it is a great service so you don't have to pack as many toys!

 

Please feel free to ask any other questions and I will respond with my experiences from Grandeur, or try to find out additional info on Freedom next week!

[LuvWilliam]

Click on my name and go to my post in the family section. We went on Indy with our then 12.5 month old!

 

 

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[LuvWilliam]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1948399

 

 

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[skagen]

We went on Freedom with our three girls, one of whom was 10 months old.

 

The Babies & Tots program was worth every penny. We used it a couple of hours each day largely to enjoy the concierge lounge each night :)

 

We packed diapers and wipes - we were definitely running low, but we were able to restock while we were in a port - so think of that opportunity too.

 

We brought our big stroller - the one that has the snap in car-seat, etc - we were very happy to have brought the big stroller versus a small one - the big one obviously has the tray in front as well and that was often helpful when dinner was served a-la-stroller.

 

Room service, especially if you happen to have a suite, was a total saving grace - it was great to get the full MDR menu ordered on in to our room and enjoy a peaceful dinner without worrying about unruly children.

 

Anyway, just a few thoughts when I saw your post!

[cb at sea]

You don't have a baby...you have a toddler! Yes..bring the smaller stroller. I wouldn't bring a car seat...but some are fanatic about it...are you?

 

You will need to bring any and all "kid stuff"...diapers, wipes, etc....and children's meds....they do NOT sell anything for kids medicine-wise..bring pain/fever stuff...nose drops, ear drops, whatever you think you might need.

 

The dining room is the easiest way to dine....they will serve you....no lugging the child around while you try to find food for them!

[theatrebabe]

Nor sure if you've seen it already, but here is a great review of a Freedom trip posted by a mom with kids who were 9, 6, and 14 months. It's a few years old (2010), so there have obviously been updates since then, including the addition of the Nursery, but it gives a really great perspective on traveling with a little one!

 

In particular, she addresses bringing her bigger stroller instead of the umbrella stroller, and was very happy with her choice!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1120792

Edited December 30, 2014 by theatrebabe

[Ciardasully]

Very useful post. We are bringing our baby on Freedom of the Seas in Jan 2016 when she will be 16 months old. Thanks for all the great info.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Ciardasully

[nivek82]

The nursery is the best. I don't believe on FR they are open night 1 but the rest they are. Go on day 1 early to book times though. It is cheaper during the day than night. I didn't see posted but they do provide (or at least used to) phones when you drop off the kid so if anything comes up they can call. They will feed a bottle if you have one and give some normal food too if desired. They used to also give you a bag with the kids name on it so you can pack anything they might need (bottles,food,diapers,etc)

 

For us we ate early and took our kid to the nursery before we ate. It was so nice to have an adult meal and know our kid was fed and sleeping early. We would then pick her up about 4 hours later. One note if you can get a cabin on the same side of the ship as the nursery another bonus. We one too many times took a sleeping kid from aft to fwd and that can be a long walk with a sleeping kid.

[lakings39]

Not sure what your travel plans are prior to your cruise, but when we flew to Fort Lauderdale, we only packed enough diapers for a couple of days and then bought a big box at Target and just brought that onto the ship. Saved us a ton of room in our suitcases and a lot of money compared to ordering it in advance through the cruise line.

 

Royal Babies & Tots is great...staff is terrific.

 

We brought an umbrella stroller, First Years Ignite, which was great because it's much higher quality than your typical umbrella stroller but still quite affordable and compact enough to travel with.

 

Highly recommend an inflatable bath tub for bathing your child.

 

Any other questions, feel free to ask. I definitely think a cruise is a great vacation to take a little one along and the staff goes out of their way to make sure they are happy.

[JDaly818]

I think other covered most tips. I just traveled with my 9 month old. I brought travel Lysol wipes and wiped the floor transitions and low stuff off since my baby is a crawler. A travel bottle of dish soap helped me keep the couple of bottles clean so I didn't need to bring a ton. We used the nursery at night (fantastic) so he didn't do too many dinners but 2 outfits is good. I really can't say enough about royal babies I dropped my son off with what he needed in his diaper bag and he did awesome. He really loved the staff. I bought a nice umbrella stroller and it was a lifesaver. We are still on formula but we did get milk everyday with room service and didn't get charged.