Infant laundry - RCI (Alaska)

[annimal]

Taking our son on his first cruise in September on RCI's Serenade of the Seas to Alaska. He will be 9 months old at the time. I've read plenty of great tips on these boards for traveling with infants, but I need some suggestions/info on laundry. I see that there are no self-service laundry facilities available on this ship, but there is laundry service available for items sent out. I've seen the price list for men and women's clothing, but what about infant clothing? Do they clean baby clothes? Do they use dye-free, fragrance-free detergent? Since we're going to Alaska, I assume we'll be packing warmer clothes which take up more space in luggage. I am hoping to not have to bring his entire fall/winter wardrobe just to make it through the 7 night cruise. :rolleyes: Do I just bring a Shout stick or a small pack of liquid detergent and hand wash his clothes, burp cloths and bibs in our cabin??... suddenly this vacation doesn't sound like it will be much of a vacation for me anymore.

 

P.S. - I'm a first time mom... can anyone tell me if I will still need to bring burp cloths for a 9 month old? (i.e. at what age does a child no longer need to be burped?)

[6rugrats]

Your first child, right?

 

Send the baby's clothes to the laundry. Do they have dye free and fragrance fee detergent? I have no idea. But, I guarantee if you have more than one child , the next baby's clothes will go right into the wash with the rest of the family's by day one with the regular detergent, and it won't hurt them!

 

I don't know if your child will need to be burbed at nine months. Probably not. Burp cloths are handy for other things, so you may want to bring a couple along, anyway.

[crusinmama06]

At that age baby clothes are so small, you *could* pack his whole wardrobe and it wouldn't take up much space. ;)

 

I've never had to use the laundry service.

 

His clothes wouldn't even take up a whole suitecase. :)

[sunrise&set]

I find burp cloths helpful for other things, like drying his behind after I use a baby wipe! Also, for our upcoming cruise I'm bringing the disposable bibs so I don't have to wash messy bibs at all! I bought a box of 32 so plenty for meals, and they have a pocket to catch any spilled food, I can't remember the brand. He still needs a drool bib though so will be bringing some and washing them out in the sink. I don't plan to do any laundry while on the cruise, we'll be too busy for that! And like pp's said, his clothes won't take up that much room. I'm making sure I don't overpack for myself too.

[IBoz]

Your first child, right?

 

Send the baby's clothes to the laundry. Do they have dye free and fragrance fee detergent? I have no idea. But, I guarantee if you have more than one child , the next baby's clothes will go right into the wash with the rest of the family's by day one with the regular detergent, and it won't hurt them!QUOTE]

 

Oh, 6Rugrats, you have hit the nail on the head! My oldest had quite the pampered life. My second one - HA!

[jgs2003]

No, your 9 month old won't need to be burped. He'll be able to do it on his own...my 8 month old certainly does :)

 

If you have a leaky diaper accident, just wash it out in the sink with shampoo. Shampoo works wonders (I learned this trick at summer camp from my counselor after getting chocolate on my clothes). Or, I believe that Oxyclean makes some sort of travel size. I swear by the Oxyclean for getting poop and urine out of my son's onesies.

 

The disposable bibs are bibsters, and they now sell them on diapers.com. I haven't used them yet but have lots of mom friends who swear by them.

 

And bring lots of ziploc bags for dirty diapers, soiled clothes, etc.

[mitsybella]

Worry about what clothes you are taking 1-2 weeks before the cruise, as far as the burp clothes you will know if you still need them closer to September, like many I used mine past the burp faze for other clean ups after eating etc. The cruise I was on with my infant they charged the same for infant clothing as they did for adult clothes, so just pack enough. I made the mistake of only packing a few sleepers when my son was 1 (at home he used one for several nights) and on the cruise he got sick the first night and went thru them all,( I decided against paying $8 to have a single one cleaned and he wore some of his big sisters for the rest of the week:D ) The other thing to take if you will be getting a pack and play would be the pack and play sheets, many cruise lines use regular flat sheets and they come off easily.

[aaklang]

I agree with what many of the others said - you shouldn't need to still burp a 9-month old. My son is 9 months and I haven't burped him in several months (maybe 6 or so). I do still use the occasional burp cloth for other things, but I am sure I can get away with packing about two for my upcoming Alaska cruise.

 

Unless your baby has super sensitive skin or allergies, you'll be ok using regular laundry detergent. We usually wash our son's clothes in "free" detergent, but have put his things in with regular Tide a couple of times. He actually does have fairly sensitive skin and eczema, but he was fine with the regular Tide.

 

Oxyclean really does work well so you can bring some along. They do make a baby version...not sure exactly how it differs from the regular one.

 

We will also be bringing disposable bibs - they are called Pocket Bibsters and I believe they are made by Pampers.