Toddler and shore excursion transportation

[BoozeCruiser83]

Our 1 year old has only traveled with a car seat.  Has anyone done shore excursions that require ground transportation and requested a car seat or do you just carry them on the busses?

[coevan]

most tours do not have car seats, many forms of transportation are buses. I was raised before car seats or helmets, made it through. There are no car seat laws in the Caribbean. Actually there are very little if no DWI either.

[Elaine5715]

Kids ride in laps in cars and on scooters in most of the Caribbean.  I have never seen someone take a car seat on an excursion.  

[riffatsea]

I have not seen a place on a bus to attach a car seat.

When children travel outside of the USA they don't seem to use them.

It's like in the "good " old days here!

[fiddledrum]

Curious about excursions within the USA. We are sailing on Anthem of the Seas in Feb 2020 and stopping at Port Canaveral. Our son will be almost 3 at the time. We had planned to go to the Kennedy Space Center and I hadn't even thought about car seats! Will we have trouble getting him to the Space Center without a car seat? Or are we going to have bring the seat with us so that we can get him there? Any advice is much appreciated! 

[Elaine5715]

24 minutes ago, fiddledrum said:

Curious about excursions within the USA. We are sailing on Anthem of the Seas in Feb 2020 and stopping at Port Canaveral. Our son will be almost 3 at the time. We had planned to go to the Kennedy Space Center and I hadn't even thought about car seats! Will we have trouble getting him to the Space Center without a car seat? Or are we going to have bring the seat with us so that we can get him there? Any advice is much appreciated! 

Depends on your choice of transportation.  If you are renting a car, you need to bring, buy or rent a car seat.  

[fiddledrum]

Most likely we would be booking through the cruise line (assuming they have an excursion to the space center) to save the hassle of renting a car as that would be a pain I think. I am guessing it would be on a bus? Not sure about the rules regarding toddlers and buses in the US. We are Canadian and I think you might have to have a car seat here to take them on a coach bus. I guess I have some research ahead of me! Thanks

[Schoifmom]

36 minutes ago, fiddledrum said:

Most likely we would be booking through the cruise line (assuming they have an excursion to the space center) to save the hassle of renting a car as that would be a pain I think. I am guessing it would be on a bus? Not sure about the rules regarding toddlers and buses in the US. We are Canadian and I think you might have to have a car seat here to take them on a coach bus. I guess I have some research ahead of me! Thanks

I don't know the answer, but you can probably find it here ...

 

http://bfy.tw/N9xd

Edited April 10, 2019 by Schoifmom

[fiddledrum]

5 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

I don't know the answer, but you can probably find it here ...

 

http://bfy.tw/N9xd

Thanks for your not so helpful reply. I said in my previous post that I had some research ahead of me which would in fact start with google. Not sure why you have to be sarcastic, I was just wondering if anyone had first hand experience. I thought these boards were supposed to be helpful, not mean. 

[Schoifmom]

19 minutes ago, fiddledrum said:

Thanks for your not so helpful reply. I said in my previous post that I had some research ahead of me which would in fact start with google. Not sure why you have to be sarcastic, I was just wondering if anyone had first hand experience. I thought these boards were supposed to be helpful, not mean. 

 

I was honestly trying to be helpful.  I didn't know the answer, but I knew how to find it.  Sorry that you took it the wrong way.

 

I went a little further for you and found this ... 

Motor Vehicles

According to car seat laws in Florida, the term motor vehicle does not include:

• A school bus
• A bus used for the transportation of persons for compensation (musicians, bands, etc.)
• A farm tractor or other farm equipment
• A truck having a gross vehicle weight rating more than 26,000 pounds
• A motorcycle, moped or bicycle

 

I would assume that means that buses used to transport cruise line passengers are exempt from the car seat laws.  https://cars.lovetoknow.com/Car_Seat_Laws_in_Florida

Edited April 10, 2019 by Schoifmom

[elcuchio24]

You certainly dont need one. But, we do have a inflatable car seat that we often travel with if you need a booster in a pinch!

[pyropoodle]

I'm not sure of the size of it for a 1 year old, but for our (at the time) 2 year old, we bought a Safe Rider.  we used it for transportation from the airport to hotel in Miami, then in a mini van in Cozumel...and again transport from port back to airport.  then the taxis in NYC.

 

they may have a small size for a 1 year old, it's worth checking out.  it doesn't take up a lot of space and gave me an insane peace of mind

[CruisingBeans]

I am pretty sure charter buses are exempt from car seat laws. This includes shuttles. We often travel from Portland Maine to Boston on charter buses to catch flights and no car seat required. For taxis, it depends on the state, some require them. You would have to look that up but Florida traditionally has less restrictive car seat laws. If you Uber or Lyft you can request a driver who has a car seat- it’s an extra fee but possible. 

 

Now how comfortable you you are traveling without using a car seat is a whole other debate that I am staying out of. Head over to the cruising with families board for more on that debate.

[fdwt994]

I know it's a pain, but I would bring your own car seat.  Whether or not it's required is not the issue, as I'm sure you would agree. 

 

Airlines let you check the seats for free if not using on board (although you should use them on board), and when we flew I made the ground transportation driver wait while I secured two car seats. 

 

If the car seat can't be secured to the bus seat, then you can decide whether to take the excursion or not.  The seat can always be stowed away somewhere on the bus.

 

You can also ask the cruise line about their policy regarding refunds for shore excursions.  Perhaps they would be willing to refund your money if you're not comfortable on the restraint options for a particular excursion.

 

Only you can decide what is right- but I'm convinced that a 1-year old is not safe on a moving vehicle without proper restraint.  

 

Good luck in whatever you decide.