Car seats? How? Which ones?

[FOURunderFOUR]

OK, cruise gurus, help me out. We just booked a 8 day Caribbean cruise on the MSC Orchestra. My mom and dad are coming, and we will have all 5 kids - a 4 month old, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds. Needless to say, we will need car seats. I am not sure if we will be able to have all 4 of the older kids in car seats on the plane, but we WILL need them to get from the airport to the hotel (we are flying in the day before) and to the port. We currently have a Chicco keyfit for the baby and an assortment of Britax marathons and roundabouts for the older ones. I am fairly certain we are going to be getting a Sunshine radian (slightly smaller than the Britax seats) or a booster (as much as I want to keep him in a harnassed seat) for C - my 5yo, because I have no clue what else we can fit in our minivan. But I can not imagine lugging 4 Britax seats on the plane, in taxis (installing and uninstalling) and then finding a place to store in our cabin. Any advice?? How do you do the excursions or port days with car seats? Do you just let your older kids ride without and hope for the best? My kids are all pretty small. My 5yo is only 38 pounds (although he is tall for his age) and my now 2 1/2 yo is about 22 pounds (she was a 25 week preemie). Also, for those of you with larger groups (there will be 9 of us with the kids) how do you get from the airport/hotel to the port. It seems crazy to pay the $17 for the cruiseline transfers, but we would need 3 cabs, so would that be any cheaper?

 

Thanks so much! This will be our 4th cruise, but our first with ANY kids! DH and I would love to make cruising an annual event, but we thought it would be impossible on so many levels. Leaving 4 kids last Jan was hard enough...who would be crazy to watch all 5 for us? But PAYING for and finding accommodations for 5 kids we thought would be next to impossible. This MSC deal makes it amazingly cheap, so I hope we love the line!

 

J

 

J

[Citizen Jane]

We're heading to the W. Caribbean next week so I just today ordered a Safe Rider Car Seat. I'll let you guys know if it works. It is certified by the U.S., and seems kind of too good to be true, but others have said it works. If you google Safe Rider Car Seat you'll find it easily.

[aaklang]

Wow, I am really impressed that you are going to travel with all those young kids. You are going to have some really fantastic memories!

 

I can't offer too much advice, but I do know that many cruise lines will store carseats for you in other storage areas outside your room. I'm sure you can have your cabin steward take care of them for you and you don't have to cram them all in.

 

Also, I think your 4 and 5 year olds, maybe even the 3 year old, would be ok on the airplane without a carseat. That way, you don't have to lug them all through the airport. For the others, they do sell bags on wheels, as well as backpacks, that are made for traveling with carseats.

 

Good luck and have a great trip!

[All4fun1]

We're heading to the W. Caribbean next week so I just today ordered a Safe Rider Car Seat. I'll let you guys know if it works. It is certified by the U.S., and seems kind of too good to be true, but others have said it works. If you google Safe Rider Car Seat you'll find it easily.

 

If you're talking about the Ride Safer Travel Vest, I have one! It is rated for kids 35-50lbs for the small, and 50-80lbs for the large size. It requires the use of a top tether when using it with just a lap seatbelt, OR if the child is under 6yrs of age. We have been using it as a secondary seat in grandma's car since ds(5) outgrew his other seats by height. He rides in a Regent in our car though. It is fairly easy to use and I love that it only weighs about 3lbs so it will be super easy to travel with. I saw this vest recommended by a cpst who is a regular on a car safety board I post on. OP, I recommend that you click on the link to their site above, and watch the crash test videos, which show how great they perfomr in a crash. This vest is actually safer than a booster seat, as it restrains the child more like a 5pt harness will. The only down side is the lack of side impact protection. In our case, we just put ds in the middle seat since he's an only child. Also, this vest is NOT FAA approved for use on airplanes (but your 5yr old s/b fine w/out one on the plane). Btw, he was our 28-wkr miracle baby (born at 1lb 5oz), and I don't take his safety in vehicles lightly. :)

 

For your 2 &3yr olds, I'd recommend the Roundabouts unless they are too tall for them (shoulders past the top slots) since they are smaller seats. If your baby still fits in the Keyfit at trip time, then I'd recommend just using that. For toting convertible car seats around (ie through the airport) you can buy a metal luggage cart for about $20 to sit them on and roll them thru the airport. I would use them on the plane since you risk them being damaged or lost if you check them, plus your kids are safer and will probably be more comfortable in their car seats anyway. Other options for toting them thru the airport are the gogokidztravelmate, which may be too expensive, but if you're going to travel a lot with young kids, they could be a wise investment. You can also bungie the seats to the metal luggage cart and do a makeshift car seat/stroller combo like the travelmate to save a little money. I know some do this and it does work. Another option would be to buy a car seat travel bag. You might even be able to fit two seats in one bag by puzzling them together, face to face. OR if your kids will walk or can be carried, then you could put your car seats on the stroller (stacked). Our stroller has always been our little workhorse in airports. :)

 

I am not saying this will be easy and I can't speak from experience having only traveled with one child that used a car seat... but I do know others who have done it and it can be done! Never fear. I think the main thing is just having a plan when traveling with kids, that is half the battle IMO. Another thing I almost always do is make my carry on a back pack, that way my hands are free for other things.

 

As far as transfers to the airport, I'm not familiar w/your cruise line. We are cruising out of Port Canaveral and have a van reserved through FL Tours for a one way transfer from the airport to the hotel in PC (there are 7 of us traveling together). I think it's going to cost us about $130. We are renting a car for the return trip. I'm not sure what the 2way cost would be.

 

hth!

[FOURunderFOUR]

Thanks for the replies. I am not as worried about the airport. We have travelled extensively with 2-3 kids, never with all four yet, and obviously not with all 5 since I am still pregnant with that one. HOPEFULLY my mom and dad will be able to fly with us. Otherwise, we will just plan plenty of time at the airport and pray for no delays! We will have at least one stroller - a Phil and Teds e2 double, which we have used before for travel - and possibly our umbrella too. I am mostly worried about the logistics of using car seats in the caribbean. DH would rather stay on the boat than struggle with installing 4-5 seats, especially since we will either require multiple taxis or a van to accommodate all of us. I am a car seat fanatic, and kept my kids rear facing almost to the limits of their seats, instead of turing around at 1yo. My 5yo is not quite 40 pounds (but tall for his age) and still in a 5pt harness too, and I will keep him in that as long as we can. I have a preemie too - my 2yo was a 1lb 25 weeker, and she is barely 25 pounds now. So obviously she, the 1 1/2yo and the baby will need to be in traditional car seats.

 

I will definitely look into the Travel Vest. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

If anyone else has any advice on shore excursions, airport transfers, other seats, etc, please share!

 

Thanks so much!

 

J

[All4fun1]

I am a "car seat fanatic" too. My ds was r/fing until he hit 33lbs at 3.75yrs old. :) I did a quick search and found this thread here. Posters on that thread said that there are taxis that have seat belts, so you should be able to use car seats. I would be a little more concerned with the logistics of carrying the seats around once the taxi got you to your destination. With so many LO's in car seats, I might be tempted to just book the excursions thru the cruise line that included bus transportation. Busses use compartmentalization and have sheer size on their side, so they are safer. They don't have seat belts so you wouldn't be able to use your car seats on board anyway.

 

hth!

[KandMGIn]

You can also try Joey-safe.com

[GOLDENBONNY]

OK, cruise gurus, help me out. We just booked a 8 day Caribbean cruise on the MSC Orchestra. My mom and dad are coming, and we will have all 5 kids - a 4 month old, 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds. Needless to say, we will need car seats. I am not sure if we will be able to have all 4 of the older kids in car seats on the plane, but we WILL need them to get from the airport to the hotel (we are flying in the day before) and to the port. We currently have a Chicco keyfit for the baby and an assortment of Britax marathons and roundabouts for the older ones. I am fairly certain we are going to be getting a Sunshine radian (slightly smaller than the Britax seats) or a booster (as much as I want to keep him in a harnassed seat) for C - my 5yo, because I have no clue what else we can fit in our minivan. But I can not imagine lugging 4 Britax seats on the plane, in taxis (installing and uninstalling) and then finding a place to store in our cabin. Any advice?? How do you do the excursions or port days with car seats? Do you just let your older kids ride without and hope for the best? My kids are all pretty small. My 5yo is only 38 pounds (although he is tall for his age) and my now 2 1/2 yo is about 22 pounds (she was a 25 week preemie). Also, for those of you with larger groups (there will be 9 of us with the kids) how do you get from the airport/hotel to the port. It seems crazy to pay the $17 for the cruiseline transfers, but we would need 3 cabs, so would that be any cheaper?

 

Thanks so much! This will be our 4th cruise, but our first with ANY kids! DH and I would love to make cruising an annual event, but we thought it would be impossible on so many levels. Leaving 4 kids last Jan was hard enough...who would be crazy to watch all 5 for us? But PAYING for and finding accommodations for 5 kids we thought would be next to impossible. This MSC deal makes it amazingly cheap, so I hope we love the line!

 

J

this is what I did.From airport to hotel and from hotel to port we will use hotel bus ,so no need for seats.After cruise we rent car with seat.

[Kerry's Girls]

Thanks for the replies. I am not as worried about the airport. We have travelled extensively with 2-3 kids, never with all four yet, and obviously not with all 5 since I am still pregnant with that one. HOPEFULLY my mom and dad will be able to fly with us. Otherwise, we will just plan plenty of time at the airport and pray for no delays! We will have at least one stroller - a Phil and Teds e2 double, which we have used before for travel - and possibly our umbrella too. I am mostly worried about the logistics of using car seats in the caribbean. DH would rather stay on the boat than struggle with installing 4-5 seats, especially since we will either require multiple taxis or a van to accommodate all of us. I am a car seat fanatic, and kept my kids rear facing almost to the limits of their seats, instead of turing around at 1yo. My 5yo is not quite 40 pounds (but tall for his age) and still in a 5pt harness too, and I will keep him in that as long as we can. I have a preemie too - my 2yo was a 1lb 25 weeker, and she is barely 25 pounds now. So obviously she, the 1 1/2yo and the baby will need to be in traditional car seats.

 

I will definitely look into the Travel Vest. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

If anyone else has any advice on shore excursions, airport transfers, other seats, etc, please share!

 

Thanks so much!

 

J

 

Since there are so many of you, I would go to the ports of call board and see if anyone recommends a tour guide in each port who has a van or bus who could take you where you want to go (sightseeing or to a beach/resort). It would probably cost less than paying for a ship's excursion for each of you, and you could leave your seats in the van/bus all day. Just leave yourself more than plenty of time to get back to the ship since the ship doesn't wait for those who are out on their own. You could also find out on the ports of call board if there is anything walking distance in each port.

 

Best,

Mia

[nothriver]

I'm so glad I found this thread. I'm planing my first cruise, not going for a whole year and I'm already worried about the carseat!

 

I normally travel with my Roundabout but DD is about to outgrow it by height, she is newly 3. I ordered a Radian but it is backordered, so I haven't had time to play with it. My understanding is that it is hard to install in many vehicles, so I'm really worried about taking it in and out of cabs and shuttle vans, etc. Also hauling it on and off the ship, the Radian is heavy.

 

I use my Mac Volo to transport my Britax seats. Last trip DD was not quite 3, and through the airport she pushed the stroller with the carseat while I pulled the luggage. The seat is most secure upside down in the stroller. Two Britax seats usually nest really well to be transported in a stroller on on a luggage cart but they are not very stable, so you need to bungie them together.

 

Remember, never carry a Britax seat by the harness straps. You can however use the top tether as a carrying strap or to secrure the seat to a luggage cart. The harness straps however are easily damaged and Britax prohibits using them to carry the seat.

 

Here is a pic of a Roundabout in a Volo, it is surprising secrure just sitting in there.