Question on traveling with infant

[GaTechCruiser]

My dh and I are traveling with our dd in April on the Majesty of the Seas. I was just looking for some sugesstions that I might not have thought about for traveling with her.

I have been on lots of cruises but this is the first one I will be going on as a mom.

She will be 13 months at the time of the cruise. My first thought is how to get whole milk for her when I need it and how to keep it cold.

We have a crib reserved and I plan to make baby sitting arrangements as soon as we board. We are traveling with my in-laws and they have reserved an "owners suite" that has a bathtub - lucky for me...I can give her a bath.

I have heard that no swim diapers are allowed in the pool - is this really enforced? -

We went with the early seating because she gets so cranky by 8 pm.

I have 3 months before the cruise, but I can't wait and want to make sure I have all my bases covered for my baby.

[Sue L]

You might be better off asking you questions on the family board.

 

The ones I know are no swimmies and/or diapers and the ships I have been on very strictly enforced as the consequences of not is not pretty.

 

You should have been asked upon booking what dinner time you want, so double check that.

[redshoe]

I always found it easy to find milk in the breakfast buffet and would take an extra carton back and keep in mini fridge or you could call room service and ask for some when she needs it. Can she also drink juice or water?

 

I also took a super small stroller- the umbrella kind and I would use that when I walked the outside decks. I never took him in the pools when he wasn't potty trained but I know that on the last cruise they had a small kiddie pool and swim diapers were not allowed even in that so I guess they just figured little babies would probably pee in there? (NCL Pearl)

 

We had a great time despite have a small child with us and we made sure he didn't disrupt dinner meals when we did eat in the main dining room by bringing some small toys to the table. We took most of our meals in the buffet just because it was easier.

[SusieV]

I have heard that no swim diapers are allowed in the pool - is this really enforced? -

 

Absolutely. I am very surprised you're asking because it's CDC regulation. Feces can seriously contaminate pool water and swim diapers are not leakproof.

 

It's not like they're out to ruin your child's cruise experience. The health of the other passengers is more important. Bring a small blow up pool for the child to use; don't put him/her in the main pool.

[katiel53]

The no non-potty trained children in the pool is enforced as mentioned previously.

 

The family board has lots of suggestions as to enjoy your trip to the max with a young child. Hopefully, you will be able to get a babysitter for your cruise. I saw posted a couple of times that RCI was no longer doing the babysitting other than that through AO because the employees were too tired the next day. I don't know if in fact that is true, but it is something to think about. What if you can't get a babysitter? Will your in-laws babysit so you and DH can get out a night or two?

 

Traveling with a baby is a lot of work, but also enjoyable. My family has done so several times. Enjoy your cruise.

[lisiamc]

On the milk idea, sometimes I've seen the ships run out of one kind of milk or another near the end of the cruise. It might be an idea to try her on 2% beforehand to see if it upsets her tummy. If it doesn't, then if you had to, you could substitute 2% for whole milk for a day or two if they run short.

[GaTechCruiser]

I saw the smiley face and knew the comment about the breastfeeding was sarcastic.:)

I did not realize there was a family board, since this is the first time I am traveling on a cruise as a mom. I have turned to cruisecritic for several other cruises and only visited the boards based on my cruise ship company. Thanks for the suggestion to turn to that board - I will post there to avoid other sarcastic comments about how I should not bring a baby on a cruise.

Believe me my baby is much better behaved than the drunks I have seen on cruises :mad:

Thanks for the help. Happy cruising!!

[supernanny]

Here's an idea: If all the obnoxious people stayed home, all of us kid-friendly people could have a great time!

 

To the OP: As a nanny, I would suggest trying a couple of options before you leave home such as: 2% milk, and possibly even powdered milk? Most of the time babies do not have much trouble with these options, but may not like the difference in taste. Whole milk may be hard to come by and you might want to call the cruiseline directly and inquire to be sure. If they do offer it I am sure you could get it at any time by calling room service and take along a small collapsible cooler to carry it in when you go ashore.

 

I think the idea about the blow-up swimming pool is a great idea also.

[porsche9five1]

Having cruise with my daughter 4 times (7weeks, 7 months, 2 yrs and 4 yrs) planning another cruise in Sept at 4yrs and a newborn that will be 7 weeks, I have some exprience with this. For this middle of the night and early morning feedings ask your room steward for some extra ice buckets to be filled each evening. You can get a couple of cartons of milk late in the evening and place them into the ice buckets surrounded by the ice and close the lid. Tight fit, but it does keep the milk cold for the morning.

[Rala]

To the OP...Do not worry about getting whole milk. If you ask for a glass of milk on the ship, you get whole milk....it is what they have. My husband gets a glass or two every night with dinner. You have to specify if you want skim or lowfat milk and on several occasions, they have NOT had low-fat, only skim or whole milk. This has been true on almost every RCL ship we have sailed. Hope you and your baby have a wonderful cruise!

[GaTechCruiser]

Thanks for the help regarding the milk and the pool. I am going to buy a blow-up pool - I did not even think of that idea. I found the family board and will make future posts there.

[boaterette]

Having cruise with my daughter 4 times (7weeks, 7 months, 2 yrs and 4 yrs) planning another cruise in Sept at 4yrs and a newborn that will be 7 weeks, I have some exprience with this. For this middle of the night and early morning feedings ask your room steward for some extra ice buckets to be filled each evening. You can get a couple of cartons of milk late in the evening and place them into the ice buckets surrounded by the ice and close the lid. Tight fit, but it does keep the milk cold for the morning.

 

I do believe they changed the rules and babies have to be 6 months old on most cruises. Even older on some of them. I don't think you will be able to cruise with a seven week old.

[Rockiesfan]

If you still have middle-of-the-night feedings, try the bottle warmer/cooler. We brought our 6-month-old on Explorer in 2001 (free cruise as a sales award for DH) and brought this appliance that has a cold side/hot side. You fill the bottle ahead of time and put in in the cold side. When baby wakens, you move bottle to the warmer side and in about 1 minute it is warm. It was great - minimal fumbling in the middle of the night.

 

When he was older, we brought a small dishpan and filled it halfway with water. We put it on our balcony and let him splash his hands in it while we sat out there. He loved it!

[porsche9five1]

I do believe they changed the rules and babies have to be 6 months old on most cruises. Even older on some of them. I don't think you will be able to cruise with a seven week old.

 

Where have you seen this rule change? We were just on a ship this past Oct with newborns less than 6 months. Please advise.

[cb at sea]

How does one empty a baby pool? The blowup kind are impossible to pick up when they have water in them!

At any rate, I doubt a 13 month old will even KNOW there is a pool that they are missing!

[SissasMomE]

I was on the Rhapsody on August 2006, and a 3-year old boy wearing a swim diaper was in the pool every day .... so, I think it is hit or miss as to whether it is truly enforced or not.

[PhoenixCruiser]

I was on the Rhapsody on August 2006, and a 3-year old boy wearing a swim diaper was in the pool every day .... so, I think it is hit or miss as to whether it is truly enforced or not.

 

Yikes, that is just gross, did you report them :eek: :eek:

 

Wait MomE, how do you know he was a 3 year old :rolleyes:

 

###

[katerkat]

How about stupid questions? "Do they enforce the no tots in swimming diapers rule?" Why do you think there is such a rule in the first place?

 

Just hang a "kick me" sign on your back.

 

I dunno - a while back, I had heard that they allow kids close to their third birthday to join the AO activities. (My son will be two years, ten months on our cruise.) I've since learned that no, they don't, but not before asking the "stupid question." Luckily on the family board.

 

I'm hoping there will be whole milk available, as my son still prefers it at his age. He will begrudgingly drink 2% and won't touch 1%. I believe there's a juice dispenser somewhere around the Windjammer that might also have milk available on a regular basis?

[SissasMomE]

Yikes, that is just gross, did you report them :eek: :eek:

 

Wait MomE, how do you know he was a 3 year old :rolleyes:

 

###

 

I asked the parents - really not a hard thing to do :rolleyes:

[NoelsCat]

To the OP --

 

Sorry if I am repeating any answers... I stopped reading as soon as they became offensive which was right at the beginning.

 

We have traveled all over with my now 2 year old son. He has always been a joy and we have millions of lovely memories from our travels. How wonderful that your family will be building the same sorts of memories!

 

Recently we went on a family cruise with a 13 yr old, my 2 yr old and an 11 month old. It was the easiest and most accomadating trip imaginable.

To answer your questions:

 

1. Whole milk - it is available on RCCI but we also brought Horizon organic milk boxes with us. They require no refrideration (we use them often when out and about) -- so we just put a couple in our mini fridge and took them out as needed. We only took about 8 or 9. They are very solid and if your daughter can drink from a straw by then (our son did at that age) you won't even need a sippy cup.

 

2. Swim diapers aren't allowed in the pools. And, there is actually pretty good reason. We had great luck bringing a very small blow up pool. We could use it on the verandah and the pool deck -- we just used a pitcher or two to fill it and emptied it into the drain holes. However, we also had so many port days that we didn't really even need it much -- the ocean doesn't have swim diaper rules. :)

 

3. Come ask your questions on the Family Board... you will get a lot less nasty comments. Also, just so you know, less you are afraid you be greated with nasty looks, comments and the like on your cruise -- we had nothing but smiles and nice coments about our babies on ours.

 

HTH -- you all will have a wonderful time!

[dan and becky]

Hello,

We are new to cruising but will be traveling with our grandson. He will be 16 monthes at the time of the trip. We are going on Liberty in April. Are diapers availble for purchase or do we need to bring a weeks supply? I appreciate the helpful info.

[CruisinMermaid]

Seriously, how ignorant is that? She asked about cruising. Second the baby is over a year old, and third, mind your own business. I cannot believe how rude some people on this board are.

 

I agree. Babies may not be able to control their moods but adults should be able to mind their manners.

 

A piece of advice from someone who took their first cruise with a 13 month old. . . make sure you bring extra packs of baby wipes. We took a 7-day cruise and one pack was not enough. Luckily there was a Wal-mart across from our dock in Mazatlan! We used it for what it was intended for and everything else! It came in handy on our excursions when soap and water wasn't readily available. Very useful for wiping up messy fingers after a snack :)

[Sue L]

Hello,

We are new to cruising but will be traveling with our grandson. He will be 16 monthes at the time of the trip. We are going on Liberty in April. Are diapers availble for purchase or do we need to bring a weeks supply? I appreciate the helpful info.

 

 

You have to bring everything they don't have anything on the ship. If you are flying in early I would shop once you land at port to save room in the luggage.

[PINEVIEW01]

Having cruise with my daughter 4 times (7weeks, 7 months, 2 yrs and 4 yrs) planning another cruise in Sept at 4yrs and a newborn that will be 7 weeks, I have some exprience with this. For this middle of the night and early morning feedings ask your room steward for some extra ice buckets to be filled each evening. You can get a couple of cartons of milk late in the evening and place them into the ice buckets surrounded by the ice and close the lid. Tight fit, but it does keep the milk cold for the morning.

Just woundering, which cruise line allows 7 week old babies?

 

 

Carnival Cruise Lines - Frequently Asked Questions Can I sail with my infant? Infants must be at least four (4) months old to be eligible to travel, ...

 

Does RCCL?

[nrdsb4]

I always found it easy to find milk in the breakfast buffet and would take an extra carton back and keep in mini fridge or you could call room service and ask for some when she needs it. Can she also drink juice or water?

 

I also took a super small stroller- the umbrella kind and I would use that when I walked the outside decks. I never took him in the pools when he wasn't potty trained but I know that on the last cruise they had a small kiddie pool and swim diapers were not allowed even in that so I guess they just figured little babies would probably pee in there? (NCL Pearl)

 

We had a great time despite have a small child with us and we made sure he didn't disrupt dinner meals when we did eat in the main dining room by bringing some small toys to the table. We took most of our meals in the buffet just because it was easier.

 

 

No, it's got nothing to do with pee.:)