How young is too young?

[larronry]

I took my son on his first vacation at 9 mos (not a cruise). He hit all his milestones late so he wasn't mobile yet. Well he was tushy scootching. LOL We brought him everywhere. He was in the stroller and infant carrier most of the time. We didn't go back to the hotel for his naps but he still had his normal naps because at that age they are able to nap anywhere. We went out to dinner and he slept through it. He even was a perfect angel on the plane.

 

The only thing that we were limited on was leaving before the fireworks (4th of July).

 

I left my son behind at 14 mos for our cruise last year and regretted it so much. Did I get to do things that I might not have been able to do? Sure, but so what. I would have had more fun doing things I could have done with him with him.

 

6 mos is an easy age to travel with, most babies are easy at that age. (Notice I said most.) If the baby is healthy then go for it. Once they start walking and hit toddlerhood not so easy. Not stopping me this time but I'm worried.

 

However that said after reading cruisinmama/Michele's post definetly get that insurance including medical evacuation. Even if you don't need it peace of mind is terribly important.

[CaribbeanCrush]

Thanks guys! I'm getting excited!

[Desertbelle]

.....I left my son behind at 14 mos for our cruise last year and regretted it so much. Did I get to do things that I might not have been able to do? Sure, but so what. I would have had more fun doing things I could have done with him with him....

 

We have 4 children, all adults now. The first time my husband and I ever left them for more than an evening out was when we did our first cruise on our 20th wedding anniversary! They were 16. 14. 10 and 7 years old at the time. The first few days were wonderful, but then we started to miss them so much, and all I could think was how much more fun we would be having if they were with us.

 

People used to encourage us to leave our children and "make time for us" but the truth was that we loved being around our child and we knew that before too long they would be gone. Sure enough, it happened.

 

These days I wish I could afford to take my whole family, kids, spouses and grandchildren on every vacation we take. Impossible, but if I were rich, I would have my children and grandchildren around us all the time.

 

We have a 5 week vacation planned in 2009, a b2b from Sydney, Australia to New Zealand to Hawaii, and our only concern is that we don't want to be away from our kids and grandkids so long. I know we will have a wonderful time, but we will miss them.

 

I am so glad I never left them when they were babies. I am so happy that we were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy many vacations with our kids before they started leaving home.

 

I imagine most people will think we are a little weird, but we never wanted to get away from our kids for more than a few hours at a time. What I needed to get away from on vacations wasn't my children, it was housework, cooking, the telephone ringing, work, etc. What I needed most to be refreshed and able to cope with all those everyday things was some fun time with my family.

[newmexicoNita]

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.

just got off the NCL Star last Sunday and here are 3 opinions, 3 different families: 1-3 kids, 5,3 and 1: she said she would never cruise again until the little one was potty trained: 2-said just the cost or lugging diapers had discouraged her from cruising til her 1 year old was potty trained: 3-a 2 year old and 4 year old: said, they did fine cause grandma and granddad were there to help, but did interfer with night time activities. That is just the comments we heard last week. others may have other views on the subject.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

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!

totally different situation in my view. My grandkids who have parents working for airlines (or did) traveled all over from the time they were a few weeks old, but never would my daughter have considered a cruise, now will my granddaughter consider taking her 7 month old on one. Cruising can be very confining and somewhat regemented. Again, there are exceptions to all rules and all situations. At least a 6 month old isn't as mobile as a one year old.

 

Nita

[mdaviswv]

We took my boy who was 8mos at the time a few years ago. It was definitely the easiest of the 3 times he's cruised. You carry him around in the carrier and roll him in a stroller. Believe me its a heck of a lot less stressful than having a 3yr old running the decks.

 

Mike

[rebeccalouise]

My son's first cruise was when he was 3 months- easy! It was so much fun we did another when he was 6 months old- fun! I was with my extended family and took a sitter with us. If I had it to do over- I'd skip the sitter and just use the sitter on the ship.

 

In any event- 6 months is perfect. 13 months... not so great.

[arizonaperson]

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.

 

I say go for it. Bring the 6mo. old. I say life is too short, enjoy. Like the OP said,there will be plenty of helpers. We took our son everywhere with no helpers, most of the time. we survived and so did the people around us. He is and was a very good traveler. Just be very organized. Bring familar items to sleep with & play with. It is a great experience to travel.:) Happy cruising.