How young is too young?

[CaribbeanCrush]

I need some advice. We have been planning a family cruise for Dec. 2008. We just found out that our daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first child. The baby will be 6 months old at the time we are planning for.

Grandma-to-be thinks this is too young for a cruise. Grandpa-to-be says lets go for it! We will have plenty of helpers to take care of the baby. So give me the good and the bad.

[Paleochick]

I need some advice. We have been planning a family cruise for Dec. 2008. We just found out that our daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first child. The baby will be 6 months old at the time we are planning for.

Grandma-to-be thinks this is too young for a cruise. Grandpa-to-be says lets go for it! We will have plenty of helpers to take care of the baby. So give me the good and the bad.

 

People do it all the time. If the baby is premature or sick in any way, I wouldn't bring it. I think it's best to get the pediatrician's approval before traveling with a baby so young. If they decide to do it, I'd also make sure they bring lots of Purell and Clorox the cabin. Since it's winter, I also wouldn't let anyone touch or hold the baby...just to be on the safe side. It should be fine.

[NoelsCat]

I wouldn't hesitate to bring a six-month old (providing he/she was healthy, etc) on a cruise. Heck, by the time my son was that age, he had enough sky miles to get a free flight to Europe!

 

Grandpa is RIGHT!

[celtic_beauty]

Thats not too young at all :) How is going on a cruise any different then going anywhere else ? I know there are more convienances at home and all but I cant imagine not being able to take or want to take my kids places with me. I have always been a stay at home mom and homeschooled up until this school year( and a little of last year) so my kids went with me everywhere and we have even went on many vacations by ourself ( me with just my kids) its very doable.....I think I got a little off topic but no its not too young :) They wont remember it but it is very special family time/activity :)

 

Mom of 4 ages 10,9,8 & 7

[hooked-on-travel]

Ditto to the go for it if healthy, but since you're booking now, think cruise insurance.

[sandy toes]

Insurance now is a good point. Also, by shopping now you can find the date and itinerary that please the most people. I have seen several 4 mo olds on recent cruises. We took a 10 mo old and had no problem. Others in our family/friends group tppk 5 1/2 mo old that was OK. Had a bit of an issue on the flight take off/landing ear pain (get baby to suck at that time) but like you said, everyone helps out and the others (grams) have a good time bonding with Moms and Dads have some romance

[sandy toes]

Check out this review. You can find others also...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=615327

Have a great cruise.

[crusinmama06]

OK I'll play devils advocate for Grandma. ;)

 

BEFORE 2005 I would have said "Sure go ahead and have a great time" :D

 

I booked Disney Magic when I was pregnant with our youngest daughter. On the reservations it said "Baby TBD" lol

 

Gabriella was 8 months old when we boarded the ship in February 05. It seemed like the entire ship was coughing (cold/flu season) We didn't take her to the nursery. We didn't want her exposed to the germs on the ship.

 

On the morning of the 5th day of the cruise, my husband found Gabriella not breathing, blue and seizing in the cabin's Pack/Play. :eek: He ran the whole way to the ship's medical center. She was intebated, shot up with valium, spent two days in the ship's hospital before she was medically evacuated from the ship. This was ALL from a virus she caught on the ship.

 

She was a healthy little baby before the cruise. :(

 

So, if this baby to be is premature in any way. Or has any health conditions. Then cruising in Winter with the baby may not be the best thing to do.

 

Gabriella is now 3.5. She is active and healthy...but her speech is behind those of her peers. She does go to speech therapy once a week. We don't know if the seizure had any effect on her development. :(

[boulders]

I've found that 6 months is just about the easiest age to travel with before 4 years old. They are old enough to be able to look around and be amused by what they see - and there's plenty of that on a cruise! But, they are not yet mobile - so they can't get into too much trouble yet.

 

I say bring the baby.

 

Think of it this way. If your daughter and SIL have one baby - maybe they'll have a second or third. If you have other children who get married, maybe they'll have one or two as well. Maybe someone else will have failing health or be ill.....etc etc. There is no perfect time.

[amandachit]

I have done this twice. Once with a 6 month old, once with a 7 month old. The bummer (I think) is that it costs the full 3 or 4 person cost for an infant on most cruise lines. Once I got over that, I just made sure that I was prepared as much as possible. Get the insurance, talk to your pediatrician, and pack appropriately.

 

As for the cruise itself... It could not have gone better or smoother. My kids traveled great and were very easy to please. They loved being pushed in their strollers, watching the ocean, listening to the music and being with the extended family. It was a priceless time for us. My boys were obviously to young to have too many memories of this, but their grandparents, aunts, uncles and great grandparents got to spend so much special time with them.

 

Meals in the dining room were fabulous and I think that the babies got us better service each time. The waiters and staff were very helpful and took the best care of us. My boys both slept in the dining room (during meals). Waiters would push 2 armed chairs together and line them with tablecloths and let them have a place to sleep. It could not have gone better.

 

As with ANY vacation they need to be ready to deal with schedule changes. Try to stick to as much of a schedule as possible, but things happen.

[melika091900]

OK I'll play devils advocate for Grandma. ;)

 

BEFORE 2005 I would have said "Sure go ahead and have a great time" :D

 

I booked Disney Magic when I was pregnant with our youngest daughter. On the reservations it said "Baby TBD" lol

 

Gabriella was 8 months old when we boarded the ship in February 05. It seemed like the entire ship was coughing (cold/flu season) We didn't take her to the nursery. We didn't want her exposed to the germs on the ship.

 

On the morning of the 5th day of the cruise, my husband found Gabriella not breathing, blue and seizing in the cabin's Pack/Play. :eek: He ran the whole way to the ship's medical center. She was intebated, shot up with valium, spent two days in the ship's hospital before she was medically evacuated from the ship. This was ALL from a virus she caught on the ship.

 

She was a healthy little baby before the cruise. :(

 

So, if this baby to be is premature in any way. Or has any health conditions. Then cruising in Winter with the baby may not be the best thing to do.

 

Gabriella is now 3.5. She is active and healthy...but her speech is behind those of her peers. She does go to speech therapy once a week. We don't know if the seizure had any effect on her development. :(

 

 

OMG how scary !!!!!! im glad she was ok.... i would have been a nervous wreck.......

 

take care

Melissa

[melika091900]

OK I'll play devils advocate for Grandma. ;)

 

BEFORE 2005 I would have said "Sure go ahead and have a great time" :D

 

I booked Disney Magic when I was pregnant with our youngest daughter. On the reservations it said "Baby TBD" lol

 

Gabriella was 8 months old when we boarded the ship in February 05. It seemed like the entire ship was coughing (cold/flu season) We didn't take her to the nursery. We didn't want her exposed to the germs on the ship.

 

On the morning of the 5th day of the cruise, my husband found Gabriella not breathing, blue and seizing in the cabin's Pack/Play. :eek: He ran the whole way to the ship's medical center. She was intebated, shot up with valium, spent two days in the ship's hospital before she was medically evacuated from the ship. This was ALL from a virus she caught on the ship.

 

She was a healthy little baby before the cruise. :(

 

So, if this baby to be is premature in any way. Or has any health conditions. Then cruising in Winter with the baby may not be the best thing to do.

 

Gabriella is now 3.5. She is active and healthy...but her speech is behind those of her peers. She does go to speech therapy once a week. We don't know if the seizure had any effect on her development. :(

 

 

OMG how scary !!!!!! im glad she was ok.... i would have been a nervous wreck.......

 

take care

Melissa

[quagmire0]

DW and I are going on the Carnival Valor on Sunday with our DD who is almost 6 months old. We're both nervous and anxious about how it will go, but we also know that this may be the last time for a while that we'll cruise (not sure how much I want to have a more active child in those in between years on the ship - who knows, maybe I'll change my mind). So I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Based on my research on the topic, the vast majority of people report that it goes alot better than they thought it would. It's definitely an adjusment and you wont have the freedom of movement and itinerary that you've had in the past. One tip we've followed is to get her out and about more before the cruise. Get her used to being in different (and loud) places and sleeping in the carrier as opposed to her own crib. Thus far, it's gone pretty well. She definitely likes seeing new people and trying to win them over with her smile. :p

[SunniLicious]

Based on my experience and opinion, I'd answer the OP's question with "too young to go into the kids' club is too young to cruise." Prior to that, I don't know how I'd occupy DD, I can see myself schlepping an entire extra suitcase filled with toys, books, and games. And then of course there are health and safety considerations as well with a couple thousand people in a confined environment, open decks notwithstanding. Personally, I'm iffy on taking a toddler, who will be nearing 3 when we go, but decided to take the plunge. IMO, a 6-month-old would be out of the question. However, clearly it's not impossible, as many people do it, but it's just not something I would do.

[mcfam5]

OK I'll play devils advocate for Grandma. ;)

 

BEFORE 2005 I would have said "Sure go ahead and have a great time" :D

 

I booked Disney Magic when I was pregnant with our youngest daughter. On the reservations it said "Baby TBD" lol

 

Gabriella was 8 months old when we boarded the ship in February 05. It seemed like the entire ship was coughing (cold/flu season) We didn't take her to the nursery. We didn't want her exposed to the germs on the ship.

 

On the morning of the 5th day of the cruise, my husband found Gabriella not breathing, blue and seizing in the cabin's Pack/Play. :eek: He ran the whole way to the ship's medical center. She was intebated, shot up with valium, spent two days in the ship's hospital before she was medically evacuated from the ship. This was ALL from a virus she caught on the ship.

 

She was a healthy little baby before the cruise. :(

 

So, if this baby to be is premature in any way. Or has any health conditions. Then cruising in Winter with the baby may not be the best thing to do.

 

Gabriella is now 3.5. She is active and healthy...but her speech is behind those of her peers. She does go to speech therapy once a week. We don't know if the seizure had any effect on her development. :(

 

Michele,

 

That had to be the most terrifying experience of your life! Thank God she is okay!

 

Not that you need my reassurance, but I felt compelled to share with you. . . My youngest (who turned 4 last week) also sees a speech therapist. He started seeing her once a week when he was 3 years/4 months and now sees her twice a week. He was a late talker ~ honestly he sounded like a little caveman until her was over three! Also, for a while he had some disfluency issues (stuttering). He has made great progress with his therapist, the disfluency is completely gone and he continues to work on his other issues. His speech therapist says it is always better to catch speech problems as early as possible, before they train themselves too much. She says many times parents do not realize there is a speech concern until they begin Kindergarten or even later and then it is more difficult to correct. So, ANYWAY, you should feel good that you were able to pick up on the deficiency and are doing something about it!

 

Hug that little girl once for me ~ I am still shaken from your story!

 

Jen

[CaribbeanCrush]

Thanks for all the advice. I will pass it on to parents, grandma and aunts and uncles.

I definitely think it's a decision that the whole family should make. We would all have to work together to make it an enjoyable time for everyone.

[sas80]

I need some advice. We have been planning a family cruise for Dec. 2008. We just found out that our daughter and son-in-law are expecting their first child. The baby will be 6 months old at the time we are planning for.

Grandma-to-be thinks this is too young for a cruise. Grandpa-to-be says lets go for it! We will have plenty of helpers to take care of the baby. So give me the good and the bad.

 

We cruised with our 5.5 month old and had no problems. LOL, he was already sick with a case of "daycare" when we boarded. We cruised again when he was 10 months old and, again, no problems. Again, tho, he still had (the same) case of daycare going on... He's been living with a case of daycare since about a month after he started daycare.

 

Maybe if the baby is in daycare, and/or has been exposed to germs, etc., it might be more feasible to bring him along.

[Desertbelle]

Last November we had a family cruise and our daughter's baby was 3 months old. She was a joy to have along. She was certainly easier to care for than her older brother when he cruised for the first time at 15 months old!

[CaribbeanCrush]

thanks again for all the help. We are definitely leaning in favor of the cruise. We have four kids, two that are married, so there may never be a perfect time to do a family cruise. I'm sure we'll make the best of it, afterall it is a cruise!

[Keurigirl]

My baby just turned 7 months and I think it's actually the perfect time to do a cruise. They are just sitting up on their own, interested in things, but usually aren't crawling yet and still enjoy sitting in laps. I say go for it!

 

We're taking our daughter on a cruise in November when she will be nearly 9 months old, and I'm thinking she is going to be a zooming crawler and I'm not too keen on her crawling all over the dirty floors... so 6 months is a great cruising age!

[Manatee Mom]

One of my sons 1st cruise was at 4 months, we had a lot of hands to help and had a great time.

 

2nd son was 6 months, and then I knew how to work the system. I don't know about other cruise lines but i gave princess advance notice and they stocked all of his favorite baby jar foods (you specify) and they even made stuff up special for him at dinner every night (fresh from the blender) We just packed a whole bag just with diapers and stuff for him.

 

The 2nd thing I still do now (boys ages 6 & 8) is i bring a medicine bag with ear therometer. with full first aide.

 

Good Luck and have fun!

[Dengail]

I guess I wouldn't take baby if you can go without her. Don't get me wrong, I think you COULD with no problems and some times it might be fun BUT you are tied to your room a lot more, and going on shore excursions would be a real hassle. We USUALLY have taken our kids on many vacations, cruise and other, but opted to get a sitter for our 2 yr. old this Dec. because the other kids and us want to snorkel, etc at ports and one of us would always have to stay behind. And because we have an awesome sitter at home for her. Now, if the choice is don't go or go with baby, I would probably still go and bring her, just planning a lot less things. I would DEFINATELY get a balcony room so I could sit out there while she sleeps. Usually we cruise with inside cabins so we can afford another vacation that year too, but that would really be hard to be in an inside all the time with a baby. I would probably choose (and have) to do Disney World instead until baby is older.

[CaribbeanCrush]

One of my sons 1st cruise was at 4 months, we had a lot of hands to help and had a great time.

 

2nd son was 6 months, and then I knew how to work the system. I don't know about other cruise lines but i gave princess advance notice and they stocked all of his favorite baby jar foods (you specify) and they even made stuff up special for him at dinner every night (fresh from the blender) We just packed a whole bag just with diapers and stuff for him.

 

The 2nd thing I still do now (boys ages 6 & 8) is i bring a medicine bag with ear therometer. with full first aide.

 

Good Luck and have fun!

 

Thanks for the advice. It looks like we'll have plenty of hands. So far one set of grandparents, a greatgrandmother, a great-aunt, three uncles and an aunt.

I think we are going to have a great time.

[PINKY&THE BRAIN]

Have You Thought About A Ne/canada Cruise?

 

Our Son Was 8 Mo When We Took Him Last Fall On His 1st Cruise. He Had A Great Time!!!!! And The Proximity To The Us Shoreline/hospitals Made Us A Lot Easier Re: A Cruisinmama Type Scenario.

 

Ruth,

 

Ps-at 20 Mo Old He Still Ussually Has A Case Of The "day Care" (what A Great Phrase!!!!) I Had To Laugh When He Got On A Ncl Cruise Last Spring And The Woman At The Dock Was Sanitizing Everbody Else's Hands, And Said She Didn't Need To Worry About His. (don't Worry I Still Made Sure He Had Some Off Of My Hands :) )

[sunflower girl]

took my DD at 10 months with my ILs. It was great. She even sat through dinner EVERY night. The staff was wonderful to her. We went on NCL 3 years ago and there was no charge for her because of her age.