ChBoxers800

[twopugs]

I have been watching your posts as I knew you were traveling with a baby under 1 and going to some of the same ports that we are going to. I saw that you returned from your cruise in the zipline post. Hoping that you could pass on any advice or insight.

Did you take baby off the boat in the ports, if so which excursions did you do?

Any recommendations of good baby sun block or bug repellent?

Thanks in advance for any info or opinions!

[KerCar]

I just a read a fabulous review she posted on the NCL board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=740906

 

Check it out, if you haven't already:)

[ChBoxers800]

I have been watching your posts as I knew you were traveling with a baby under 1 and going to some of the same ports that we are going to. I saw that you returned from your cruise in the zipline post. Hoping that you could pass on any advice or insight.

Did you take baby off the boat in the ports, if so which excursions did you do?

Any recommendations of good baby sun block or bug repellent?

Thanks in advance for any info or opinions!

 

Hi,

 

Sorry I didn't respond sooner but didn't see this post until someone told me it was here.

 

I will get my daughter to drop by with the specific baby details....replellant, sunscreen, etc. I do know that they took a portable pop up tent with them which worked great on the beach.

 

As far as excursions. my DH stayed on board with the baby in Roatan since he was not interested in Zip lining. DD & DSIL did the zipline and tour of Gumbalimba with us and then went back to the ship while we went horseback riding as they didn't want to make DH watch the baby all day long. They then just put the baby in his stroller and did some shopping around the town near the port.

 

In Belize, they were scheduled to do the tour of the ruins with the baby but Belize turned out to be a difficult port. The seas were really rough and everyone was waiting in the theatre of over 2 hours for the ship to position itself so that it could protect the tenders when boarding. After a 2 hour wait, and with the sea being so terribly rough (it was CRAZY boarding the tenders) they decided for safety reasons to cancel the tour. In the afternoon, when the water calmed down some, they again just went ashore and looked around the city.

 

In Cozumel, they scheduled an excursion on the Fury for snorkling and beach break. The fury had in inside area so that they baby wouldn't have to be out in the hot sun. DD & DSIL just took turns snorkling while the other stayed on board with the baby. The beach worked fine as they took their little pop up tent.

 

All in all in worked out great. However, I will give you a warning as to something you might encounter. My grandson is a really happy little guy. He's been an easy baby from birth and we expected to have no problems on this trip. Unfortunately, it was not the case. The NCL Sun changes time zones 4 times of the 7 nights. The 2nd night at sea, you go forward an hour. 2nd night at sea, forward another hour. 5th night at sea, back and hour. 6th night at sea, back another hour. And this time change played havoc with the baby's internal clock. Being a large group, we had a standing dinner reservation for 6 pm. The babies normal bed time is between 7 and 8 pm EST. So almost every night when we were having dinner, he was ready to go to bed. He would also get up much earlier in the morning. He wasn't impossible to deal with but he wasn't thrilled either and we spent a lot of time between courses at dinner, taking him out to the lobby to let him move around (this seemed to get his mind off of being tired) so that he wouldn't get cranky and disturb others.

 

We did have a wonderful trip but I won't lie and say it was a breeze with the baby and that all was perfect. You just need to be flexible and go with what works for you and your child. I saw several other parents on board with young childen and upon talking to them, some were having no problems at all and some were. It just depends on the individual child.

 

Good luck and have a wonderful trip!

[twopugs]

thanks so much for the info.

We were also looking into the ruins tour in Belize (thinking that a bus ride and walk around the ruins would be nice) but still can't decide. Hopefully the weather will work out a little better.

I can imagine the time changes are tough. From what I understand, our ship stays on our time for the entire trip. Makes it a little more confusing in ports, but hopefully won't confuse the baby's schedule. My bigger concern is that dinner on cruise ships normally takes a long time, my son typically goes to bed around 7 and I don't think we are seated until 6 or 6:30. There may be some rushing through meals, but that is something we are used to:)

[ChBoxers800]

thanks so much for the info.

We were also looking into the ruins tour in Belize (thinking that a bus ride and walk around the ruins would be nice) but still can't decide. Hopefully the weather will work out a little better.

I can imagine the time changes are tough. From what I understand, our ship stays on our time for the entire trip. Makes it a little more confusing in ports, but hopefully won't confuse the baby's schedule. My bigger concern is that dinner on cruise ships normally takes a long time, my son typically goes to bed around 7 and I don't think we are seated until 6 or 6:30. There may be some rushing through meals, but that is something we are used to:)

 

We like the fact that the ship changed to local time as it was easier to keep track of when to be back on board, etc, but I think with a baby, you will have a much easier time if the time stays consistent.

 

I also think that the ruins will be a great family trip for you to do.

 

Have a wonderful time!