Question about cruising with 18 month old

[AZBeachBum]

My family (DH, DS, DD, DSIL, DGD, and myself) are booked for a 7 Day Southern Caribbean Cruise in October. We are trying to plan excursions but have a question about transportation on excursions. So I am asking parents of babies/toddlers~ When going on shore excursions, do you stay near port to avoid traveling in vehicles, bring along a car seat, or go on excursions with no car seat? My youngest child is 13 and we have been on 6 cruises but have never travelled out of the country with a toddler. Any responses are welcome!!:)

[Cruise life]

When our boys just turned two we took them to Atlantis off the ship in Nassau. We took a cab and carried umbrella strollers. They did not use a car seat, but we did try to strap them in for what it's worth. If we had used a tour bus, there would have been no straps of any kind. I would avoid traveling long distances simply because some of these vehicles are hot, lacking a/c, with torn up scratchy fabric, etc. One cab in Cozumel this past year had a video playing up by the rearview mirror...you never know what you are going to get.

[Gardeneroflove]

dd has been on three cruises, we've never taken her carseat. We drive to port. We take the shuttle the two/three blocks to the terminal.

 

We've taken vans, and boats, most don't have seatbelts. I wouldn't want to lug the carseat around, or make others wait for me to instal/uninstall, it.

 

Keep in mind that you're mostly going very slow, maybe 20 mph max? I'm not sure we ever went faster...

 

as far as excursions, any of them with a boat tend to be walk to the pier, board the boat. Trollies and such don't have seatbelts.

 

We tend to walk, and we do bring our umbrella stroller. At 18 months, my main worry would be if she's potty trained being close to bathrooms and if the kid will use them.

 

at 14 months, we did a beach day, and shopping. In key west we did the butterfly and aquairum.

 

last cruise, we didn't do any exusions. We're planning glass bottom boat, beach day and whatever for our next cruise.

 

(keep in mind, my 3 year old is still rearfacing, so carseat safety IS important).

[cb at sea]

You know...folks older than you survived without being in bubble wrap...safety is great...but humanity has survived without it, for millions of years!

 

If you use buses...no car seat is needed!

Edited April 15, 2015 by cb at sea

[CruiseBuni]

With my 16 month old we did not bring a car seat. At one port we hired a van for our group which she rode in w/o a car seat. At another port we walked around. I used a baby carrier because it was easier to get around with than with a stroller.

 

 

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[flhokie]

We've sailed with DD at 2, 3 & 4 and we've never sailed with a car seat. We've either enjoyed an un crowded ship, walked around the port complex, used a water taxi or walked around the city (Old San Juan).

 

Keep in mind that some excursions require participants to be a minimum age.

[BlondeNSgirl]

We took ours and never used it! It was such a waste to bring and we will not be bringing it next time. I wouldn't bother bringing it.

[gymbomb]

I will not let my son travel in a taxi without a car seat until he is an age at which I would be willing to do that at home (so probably at least 5 -- when he gets to booster seat age I might be more flexible on vacation). On our cruise this year when he was 10 months we stayed close to the port and walked at one stop, went on a bus tour at another, and left him on the ship with my parents at the third.

 

Next year we will cruise when he is 2, and we will do a combination of walking, buses, and ferries for transportation.

Edited April 16, 2015 by gymbomb