Carseats or not - Port travel with kids

[Hoosier2ram]

My wife were really excited about booking our second cruise as a couple and first cruise with our 2 little boys (2 years old and 4 years old). Just as we hit the "purchase" button, reality set in about all the planning we need to do. The biggest question we have yet to resolve is that of car seats versus no car seats. Do most families bring car seats to use for travel in port cities or do they simply hang within stroller distance of the ship? We're booked on NCL and live in our deportation city so getting to the dock is not a problem. It's during our 3 stops (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. I want to be safe but at the same time I want to make the most of our vacation dollars. If travel difficulties prove to be too much, then we can always cancel and drive somewhere as a family.

 

Would very much appreciate advice and suggestions.

 

Brandon

[cb at sea]

If you are taking excursions, it's generally in a bus, so carseats won't work....it will really depend on what you are planning to do in port!

 

I think you'll find it's split about 50/50 on who brings car seats, and who doesn't.

[cadien]

We just did this itinerary with an almost-4 year old. We found plenty to do that didn't involve driving. We had the car seat on the ship with us because we flew to our port, but ended up not bothering trying to fit it into a taxi.

 

In Cabo, we did a ship excursion and that involved a standard shuttle bus.

 

In Mazatlan, we walked to Stone Island.

 

In Puerto Vallarta, we walked to a resort with day passes.

 

I'm a bit confused by you saying that there's an NCL cruise going there from New York, but we were also on NCL, so here's the review I wrote in case more detail is helpful. It's pretty kid-centric.

[Sooner-Cruisers]

We've been on two cruises with our lo and we bought a lightweight car seat to take with us. It was cheap too, it's called cosco scenera. To be honest, I haven't seen any others with a car seat, but it's important to us. Some of those cab rides are pretty terrible.

 

I imagine the prospect of taking two car seats is daunting. You could definitely search for things close to port or take a ship excursion on a large bus. Maybe if you talk to the cruise line they can point you towards the right excursions.

[Kerry's Girls]

I did that itinerary lots of times when my girls were little without car seats.

 

Cabo - you can walk to the shopping area right off the dock, take a boat tour of the area, take a water taxi to the beach (this requires getting out of the boat in the water, carrying your child if they're small). I made my girls wear floatie jackets we brought to do the water taxis here - you can't bring the one from the ship.

 

Mazatlan - We did a ship tour once and they were using local taxis. Best to do something walking distance here

 

Puerto Vallarta - easy to walk to a resort for a nice beach day

 

On the other hand, it was never a huge ordeal to bring car seats for my girls on other cruises, as long as we were on a private tour where I could leave the seats in the car/van. There was plenty of room in the closet for a couple car seats on the floor.

 

Best,

Mia

[cadien]

One reason we gave up considering some Puerto Vallarta options is people on this board were pretty consistent about saying that it was next to impossible to get a cab with seat belts. So the car seat wouldn't be usable.

[gymbomb]

I will not take DS in a cab without a car seat, but I do not want to lug it on excursions. So I make plans that will not require a car seat. Excursions with bus or boat transportation or just walking around the port.

 

 

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[Gardeneroflove]

we bought a cheap umbrella stroller for walking around port, still use it.

We don't use carseats. No place store and honestly, the vans don't really hold them, no time to correctly install, then the seat would be covered in sand, and carried back to wait in line to board the ship.

 

we've only taken busses and vans, never a cab so no need/place for a carseat.

[anonmom]

I would buy a Scenera for the 2yo (making sure he still fits properly - it is a seat that is often misused because people don't read the manual and don't realize their kid is too tall for the seat) and a ride safer travel vest for the 4 yo (assuming he is 30+ pounds, since that is the lower limit on weight).

[koalagurl]

Bubblebum also makes an inflatable booster seat you could use for the 4 year old.

[cadien]

Bubblebum also makes an inflatable booster seat you could use for the 4 year old.

 

I'm hoping DS is big enough for that by our next cruise. I've read good things.

[CanadianDee]

We really agonized over this in January when we took our 4 year-old granddaughter on her first cruise. We took into consideration the unavailability of car seat buckles on buses and shuttles, and the absence of seatbelts in taxis in some countries/ports. Bubblegum seats haven't been approved for use in Canada, so also unavailable to us.

 

In the end, we left the car seat behind and did excursions that used shuttles/buses or were within walking distance. With a great deal of anxiety we did take one taxi trip from the port to the the excursion, but the road was very much like unpaved back alleys here and so full of twists and turns that I think we hit a top speed of 10 mph. :)

 

We take her again this coming January and I will feel a little better about leaving the carseat behind. As on her last cruise, we'll focus on excursions that are within walking distance, or that include a shuttle/bus.

Edited August 10, 2015 by CanadianDee

[flhokie]

I'm hoping DS is big enough for that by our next cruise. I've read good things.

 

They are great. Tried it out with DD (4 yrs old, 45 inches tall) in a rental car & it was easy. She loved it. We took it with us on last cruise, but never took any transportation in the ports. We plan to take it on a trip to New York City in a few months since I'm sure we will use some taxis.

 

It rolls up in to a pouch you can put in a larger purse or small backpack.

[PandemoniumPrincess]

We have also had this concern with our little one. In some ports we have rented a taxi for the day and some of the companies will let you rent a seat or just provide one, I believe we've done both. This has worked out well for us, I would mention to make sure you are confident in your ability to check and secure a car seat as the driver may not know how. For the 4Y as another poster recommended there are inflatable boosters providing they are tall enough. We hope to use one of these on our next cruise.

[july72807]

I am confused - people do not feel safe not using a car seat in a taxi but ok with no car seat in a bus?

[CanadianDee]

I am confused - people do not feel safe not using a car seat in a taxi but ok with no car seat in a bus?

 

Several factors make a bus or shuttle safer:

1.) For the most part, they move more slowly than cars.

2.) They're large (and visible), less likely to be badly damaged in the event of an accident. Picture an accident in a Volkswagen beetle vs an accident in an SUV (or bus). The size and weight of the bus offers protection.

3.) They're higher off the ground than most cars, so that offers protection in the event of an accident.

4.) Their drivers are usually professional drivers who know the area.

5.) Don't know how relevant this would be with some buses/shuttles, but school buses, for example, use something called compartmentalized or passive seating ... the seats are spaced tight and covered with foam to form protection for the passenger.

 

There are probably more reasons, but I recall researching these when we struggled with the safest option for our first vaction out with our grandchild.

 

That said, we did choose one excursion in a taxi - it had no seatbelts. It comes down to a personal decision, family-by-family, with the risks evaluated and weighed.

Edited August 17, 2015 by CanadianDee

[mjkacmom]

Several factors make a bus or shuttle safer:

1.) For the most part, they move more slowly than cars.

2.) They're large (and visible), less likely to be badly damaged in the event of an accident. Picture an accident in a Volkswagen beetle vs an accident in an SUV (or bus). The size and weight of the bus offers protection.

3.) They're higher off the ground than most cars, so that offers protection in the event of an accident.

4.) Their drivers are usually professional drivers who know the area.

5.) Don't know how relevant this would be with some buses/shuttles, but school buses, for example, use something called compartmentalized or passive seating ... the seats are spaced tight and covered with foam to form protection for the passenger.

 

There are probably more reasons, but I recall researching these when we struggled with the safest option for our first vaction out with our grandchild.

 

That said, we did choose one excursion in a taxi - it had no seatbelts. It comes down to a personal decision, family-by-family, with the risks evaluated and weighed.

Yes, there are many reasons they are safer. People travel on buses with babies and kids all of the time without car seats. None of our school buses have seatbelts, and certainly none of our city buses.