Cruising With Infant

[CanadianEh!]

Just looking for some thoughts. My wife and I did a cruise with Carnival this last January and needless to say I am hooked and now i need to go again.

 

We recently just had our first little baby girl in April, we are not looking at going again till Jan/09 so she will be 9 months old.

 

So i want to share this great experience with her as i want her to see the world. We are just looking at a nice little 5 day NCL cruise on the sky from Miami to Freeport, Nassau and Great Stirup Cay nothing major no sea days.

 

What are peoples experiences with cruising with infants around 9 months. We will not be using any sort of babysitting we will look after her and out shore excursion would just be relaxing on the beach or hanging out Grandma might come to so she will look after the baby if we want to go swimming.

 

as well would a balcony room be big enough.

 

Please share your thoughts they would be greatly appreciated. If this is in the wrong place i am really sorry if you could direct me to the right place that would be great.

[cb at sea]

Aside from the fact that you'll have to bring EVERYTHING your daughter needs,--diapers, food, etc... and that she's not going to remember this at all....You shouldn't have any problems, especially if you have a "built-in" babysitter so that you get some "alone" time! People do this everyday! Good luck!

[GwenyP]

Well, when we cruised with our daughter when she was almost 2 we did have to bring almost everything that she'd need, except for some of the food, and it is something of a pain. But .... one of the good things about that is once you use the diapers, food, etc. you have a little extra space in the suitcase for souvenirs. Also, if you use a pack 'N play it does take up quite a bit of room in the cabin but it is doable.

 

It sounds like you're planning appropriate excursions with the baby, i.e. beach days.

 

Definitely get a balcony cabin, that way you can enjoy the sea on your balcony while the baby naps.

 

If you get responses here about how you shouldn't bring a baby on a cruise, most of that is due to people being tired of parents not removing babies from dining rooms or shows when they get fussy. I've experienced that myself and as a result I tried to be considerate to the other passengers when my daughter was that young.

 

Good luck -- it does take more work but I am glad we brought our daughter with us as well.

[CanadianEh!]

I am not overly concernd about that bring everything along issue, or the her not remembering i did many holidays when i was a baby that i have memory of but pictures exsit which is always a cool thing to look back on.

 

your feedback is greatly apprecaited, if anyone else has any experiences or issues they would like to share it would be greatly appreacited.

[wrp96]

I highly recommend asking this question on the Family Cruising board. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49 You'll find lots of helpful posters with practical advice about cruising with children, including infants.

[cookingchick]

I am not overly concernd about that bring everything along issue, or the her not remembering i did many holidays when i was a baby that i have memory of but pictures exsit which is always a cool thing to look back on.

 

your feedback is greatly apprecaited, if anyone else has any experiences or issues they would like to share it would be greatly appreacited.

 

We don't have children of our own but DH and I just had the most wonderful gift of being able to spend a week in Mexico (on a land vacation) with our 10 month old grand-niece and her parents. Of course, the parents brought everything that the baby would need (except for a few items we were able to pick up locally) but I cannot imagine how that trip would have been more joyous if our sweet baby grand-niece wasn't with us. She played in the pool, took lots of naps, went out to eat with us, and even floated down the river in Xel-Ha...and she had a GRAND time!

 

In my own childhood, we traveled a lot...Dad was in the Air Force. We lived in Turkey when I was still in diapers. I don't remember living there, of course, but we have plenty of pictures and home movies and when I was able to return to Turkey this past year and visit Ephesus again for the first time in 48 years, I can tell you it was quite thrilling...especially knowing that I had been there before and I had pictures of me there all those years ago.

 

Kids seem to be pretty adaptable to new things from what I've observed. I hope that you will take your daughter on the cruise (and many more adventures) so that she'll have a full and varied life experience...just because we don't remember everything doesn't mean that it doesn't affect us.

 

Bon voyage!

[GORDONCHICK]

As long as you don't expect a cruise with a 9mo baby to be like the one you took before her, you should be fine. Of course, it will help tremendously if she has the temperment for flexible schedules.

[cookingchick]

Of course, it will help tremendously if she has the temperment for flexible schedules.

 

She may not have one in the beginning but I think the more they expose her to a variety of experiences, the more easily she will adapt to new situations...at least that's been the experience of all the military brats I've ever known (myself and my siblings included).

[Andee]

Cruising with our first child at nine months old wouldn't have been fun for us--and she was an extremely laid back baby. But she went to bed at 7:30 at night, and I wouldn't want to do that on a cruise. Nor would I have expected Grandma to sit in a dark room or out on the balcony while the baby slept. And what about naps?

 

Our daughter wasn't walking at that age, so we'd have had to carry her or push her in a stroller all the time, because I wouldn't have been comfortable letting her crawl all over a cruise ship. She would have gotten tired of that in a hurry. And maybe I'm a nervous Nellie, but I'd have been anxious in a cab unless I brought a car seat.

 

When our children were small, we found a condo at a resort to be a better option for us than a cruise. We could have separate living and sleeping areas, so we weren't quite so tied to their sleep schedule. Yes, we missed the fine dining experience by eating take out or restauarnt delivery, but fine dining with a nine month old isn't always that fine.

 

I wasn't away from my daughter until after she was two years old, but, as a Grandma, I'd be thrilled to keep the baby while the parents went on a cruise.

[newbiecruiser09]

I've never cruised (w or w/o and infant) but one of my concerns would be the amount of luggage you would need to take to bring along all the infant needs. With the airlines charging for 1st & 2nd bags these days, that could add up to $100 or more to the cost. Also, how much would you be charged for your Dtr as a 3rd (or 4th) pax? Some lines charge a lot even for infants. Just somethings to consider. Good Luck with your decision.

[GORDONCHICK]

There is a family board that has a lot of great suggestions for parents traveling with children of all ages and they can even tell you which lines offer what. We didn't cruise until our DS was 3 1/2, but at the ripe old age of 7 now he has four cruises under his belt along with other travels.