*** bisous3 ***

[Pshkbb]

You mentioned the site www.cruisemates.com for good advice for crusing with kids - what area of the site discusses this as I only saw areas for teen and the general message boards etc...

 

also, any suggestions on what meds I should ask my ped for in advance?

 

Thank,

Karen

[suzw]

Karen,

I am planning on bringing Benadryl and motrin for my daughter.

Suzanne

[kimba_99]

Pshkbb

 

Under the heading Message Boards there is a drop down with different sections...

 

Cruise Lines

Destinations

People

Practical Advice

 

Go to People, then Family Cruising

 

Cheers,

Kim

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/kimba_99

[Bisous3]

You have the correct info for the website....

The meds I bring are

Amoxicillin (antibiotic)

Phenergan (to stop vomiting)

Immodium (anti diarrea)

Motrin

Cough and Cold medicine

An "ear" thermometer

Antibiotic cream (neosporin)

Hopefully you won't need ANY of them!!

 

Suzanne

Oceanic '82

Oceanic '83

Century '01

Century '03

Millennium '03

Island Princess '04

Thanksgiving on the Millie '04

[Pshkbb]

thanks for the tips - I will make a note of those. Always good to be prepared. How has your experience been traveling with your kids? I have gotten differing thougths about it in every aspect - from pool, to dining choices, to safety etc...

[Bisous3]

No one knows your child like you do. If you think they'll be adaptable and happy on vacation, they most likely will be. I just had a bad experience because my daughter got so sick on that first cruise. It was scary. It wasn't like we were in Disneyworld with an urgent care center there. The medical care was expensive and they actually initially misdiagnosed her. The dr. said she was seasick but it was that virus. I had to call my pediatrician for $8 a minute and tell him what was happening and HE told me which medicine to ask for.

If she hadn't been sick, it would have been a lot better. It seems you have a lot of family member travelling with you to help out- thats great.

It gets easier as they gets older. We take our daughter on every vacation (starting with Paris when she was 4 months old!)

 

Just be prepared for anything.....

 

Have you checked out Club Med? There are 2 with "baby clubs" in Ixtapa and Port St Lucie Florida. It was our favorite vacation place when she was a baby.

 

Suzanne

Oceanic '82

Oceanic '83

Century '01

Century '03

Millennium '03

Island Princess '04

Thanksgiving on the Millie '04

[AmyBeth68]

Bisous3....I understand what you're saying about the kids getting sick. That is my biggest concern on the cruise! We've been lucky twice...but it always worries me . My youngest got sea-sick one night on this past cruise and I thought for sure she had the dreaded Norwalk. I breathed a sigh of relief when she awoke the next morning saying she was starving and running around like her normal crazy self!! LOL!

 

Question to you about Ixtapa...we were thinking of doing an all-inclusive resort next year instead of a cruise. I'm just worried about Montezuma's Revenge with the kids. How old was your child when you took her to Mexico? The most reasonable all-inclusives seem to be in Mexico but I've never stayed there with children. Thanks!

 

PSHKBB...Please don't get offended about the pool thread. They are really nice posters...most of what they say is tongue-in-cheek . Just understand that with the Norwalk Virus being such a prevalent concern on cruise ships everyone is sensitive to the infamous pool issues. I truly believe that a swim diaper covered by plastic diaper would surely do the trick! Best of luck and have a wonderful cruise!!! The positives far outweigh the negatives .

[Sunny AZ Girl]

My daughter was 10 when we took her on The Big Red Boat in 1993. We had saved for 2 years for our first big family vacation. On our 2nd day out we had reserved a snorkel tour. She complained of not feeling well and only snorkeled a few minutes. Afterwards I felt her head and she was burning up! We headed straight back to the ship and to the ship's doctor. He examined her and said she had strep throat. We thought our vacation was ruined! The Dr. loaded her up with a Huge dose of antibiodics and gave her enough for 10 more days. That evening at dinner our room steward told us we should go to our dinner seating. (Room service was not available) We were concerned, but he said to go and he would watch her. Since our cabin was close to the dining room we went, but took turns every 15 minutes going back to check on her. The room steward was always standing outside our cabin like a sentry and was quite concerned that we would wake her after she fell asleep. He had her propped up on about 10 pillows and watching Disney movies. When our waiter asked where she was at dinner and we told him she was sick he sent down a tray to her with a full coffee pot of chicken noodle soup (she had told him the night before that was her favorite), a swan shaped cream puff and a flower. The next morning the doctor came to our cabin to check her and declared her "fit to leave the room". Her fever was gone and she was ready to go! I never saw her recover that fast. We took a low-keyed glass bottom boat tour in Nassau that day and while all the other kids who had been up at a kid's party were falling asleep she was excited and happy. 2 days later we were at Disneyland for 6 days with no problems.

 

Now she 21 and to this day when asked what her favorite vacation experience ever was she will say "being sick on The Big Red Boat"! I hope your kids stay well on your cruise as it caused about 24 hours of extreme distress for me,if not for her. Needless to say we gave an extra big tip to the room stewad and the waiter!