first cruise with a 16 month old....

[auntiegoose04]

My whole entire family and I are going on a cruise (NCL Dawn), including a 16 month old girl. I have a few questions...

 

1. Do normal sized strollers- the ones with baskets and trays- fit in doorways and stuff on the ship?

 

2. Are there highchairs in all of the resturants on the ship?

 

3. I am all for my childs safety, but would a carseat be necessary on the ship, or on any rides for shore excursions? The carseat is so big, and I hear that on most of the taxi's or other transportation on the islands there are no seat belts.

 

If anyone has any other tips to make this trip easier for me and safe for my baby, or just any tips at all please feel free to leave them.

 

Thanks bunches :)

[Lily's Mom]

We took our daughter on her first cruise when she was 15 months old. You're going to have a blast. It's different...more of a trip than a vacation but totally worth it! We were on RC but I'm sure our experiences with the baby stuff will be similar regardless of the line you cruise on.

 

As for the strollers, we just brough an umbrella stroller. We have the one by Chicco. It reclines a little bit but our daughter isn't big on any strollers so we didn't want to waste the space and bring our "big" one. I'm pretty sure your stroller will fit through all the doorways. I doubt a side-by-side stroller would though. Just remember that if you tender anywhere you'll have to fold the stroller up and carry it...you'll also be folding it for taxis, buses, etc.

 

From what I remember, they had a highchair at our table every night for dinner. There were always plenty of highchairs at the buffet every morning. We never ate at a specialty restaurant but I'm sure they'll have them.

 

The carseat was a HUGE issue for me. We were flying to Florida and didn't purchase a seat. I didn't really want to lug the carseat across the US for one taxi ride to the port. What we ended up doing was reserving a shuttle with a carseat in it. That got us to and from the port. We didn't have a carseat on the cruise at all and honestly, if we did, we never would have used it. Can you just imagine carrying that thing around all day in port? We did a ferry to St. Bart one day, rode in an open air bus with no seatbelts at another port and for the life of me, can't remember where our third port was. So, we never needed a carseat. I'm not sure where you'll be cruising to but even if you had one, you probably wouldn't be able to use it. We're headed to Mexico in a few days and won't be bringing it again.

 

Good luck and have FUN!!!!

[evy123]

When we took our 8 month old on a cruise, we bought a nice umbrella stroller. I think his regular, larger stroller would have been a hassle to navigate through the tight hallways, doorways and public areas. Also, when we were in certain ports, we could see the plus in having the smaller umbrella stroller. You do give up storage but gain mobility.

 

As far as the carseat goes, there is a portable carseat called the Tote n Go. If you search the internet, you should find it. I think it is also available at One Step Ahead. Anyway, our son was a little too small, so we stuck to walking and boats.

 

We were on Princess that time and there were always plenty of highchairs.

 

We had a really nice time and I am sure you guys will, too. :)

[Kerry's Girls]

I took my twin girls who were 13 months on a cruise last month and one of the greatest pleasures was not dealing with car seats for an entire week. We didn't do shore excursions though - since I was alone with them, I couldn't hold both of them on my lap, so we just tooks walks in the ports or went to a nearby resort to enjoy the pool and amenities (we got great information on resorts from the ports area of this board).

 

I needed two high chairs at every meal, but they were always brought quickly whenever we showed up, in whichever restaurant we were in. For dinner, the high chairs were always set up already at our table.

 

I just stuck luggage labels on a big box of diapers and checked it through. Bring more than you think you need because they're not always available on board.

 

I had a front/back double stroller that did not fit throught the doorway of the cabin, but the room steward told me to just leave it in the hall (I had been folding it up and bringing it in each time, but he pointed out that his cart was always in the hallway too, so the stroller wouldn't be getting in anyone's way).

 

I brought a blow up pool at the suggestion of someone here to use in the shower for bath time, but I ended up just sticking a wash cloth in the drain and using the two inches of water that filled in the shower. One other tip I have is that after dinner I took the girls to the disco, which wasn't open yet, but had the dance floor and spinning lights. They would run around and blow off energy so they were always ready for bed.

 

I think cruising is the ultimate way to travel with toddlers. All I had to do each day was get them dressed and go play. Anytime we wanted to take a walk, there were places to go and people around. No sharp edges on furniture on ships to fall into. They tried all kinds of food, and if they didn't like something, they could have something else. If one of them got cranky, I could leave a meal and try again later.

 

Have a great time! Bring plenty of sunscreen and hats.

 

Best,

Mia

[mnmmom]

I was so happy to see these posts! I am traveling with my 9 year old and 18 month old in May on a cruise and was still obsessing about how the trip was going to go. My SIL is bringing her 18 month old, too. It is a family wedding on board the ship (Princess), so there will be a lot of people aroung, but everyone will be very busy the first 2 days because of the wedding.

 

Originally, I had planned on booking a seat for my youngest and use his car seat, but I ended up booking him as a lap child and will not bring his car seat. It is kind of out of character for me, but I figured we will not be in cars for very long, except the rides to and from the airport. Which shuttle lines offer car seats?

 

I was able to pre-request a highchair on the Princess Personalizer, so that was good.