Infant and Cruising

[butrflynlambie]

My wife and I had our babymoon in august right before the storms brewed up. We had a wonderful time and again my wife commented it was better than our honeymoon.

 

In addition we played the win a cruise bingo and turned up lucky!

 

We did not pay much attention during the restrictions. When we read the literature provided we realized we had a year to redeem. We absolutely would love to take the cruise but didn't think about our "situation" until after winning.

 

We had asked the onboard booking guide, she had indicated that she knew of people with newborns 3wks old, and that it was up to the comfort level of the family. I looked up the policy on infants and see that they must be at least 6months of age to attend which is a contradiction to the sales agent. Given our due day and the blackouts we can do a late may or sometime in august. So it looks like we are a go with two possible months to bring a baby with us.

 

I have two other couples that have new or will have newborns in the next month who have expressed interest in going with us if I could provide more information as to what to expect on a cruise with a baby. I have asked my parents if they would want to go as well, again I had to provide additional detail, but the thought is maybe we could bring the grands for sitters.

 

Oh yes, most likely three couples all in our mid 30s and all with a first child.

 

I need to lock in everyone early if I am realistically going to get my friends and family as a group on a cruise. So any comments, suggestions, room consideration or room sizes and/or success stories with babies will assist me in scheduling our next adventure with Royal Caribbean.

__________________

[NoelsCat]

Just to let you know that I answered you on the RCI board. ;) Glad you found us over here. Sometimes the main boards can get a little unfriendly...

:D

[butrflynlambie]

I actually didn't know there was a special interest until it was pointed out to me.

 

Thanks!!

[NoelsCat]

You are very welcome!

[sas80]

My wife and I had our babymoon in august right before the storms brewed up. We had a wonderful time and again my wife commented it was better than our honeymoon.

 

In addition we played the win a cruise bingo and turned up lucky!

 

We did not pay much attention during the restrictions. When we read the literature provided we realized we had a year to redeem. We absolutely would love to take the cruise but didn't think about our "situation" until after winning.

 

We had asked the onboard booking guide, she had indicated that she knew of people with newborns 3wks old, and that it was up to the comfort level of the family. I looked up the policy on infants and see that they must be at least 6months of age to attend which is a contradiction to the sales agent. Given our due day and the blackouts we can do a late may or sometime in august. So it looks like we are a go with two possible months to bring a baby with us.

 

I have two other couples that have new or will have newborns in the next month who have expressed interest in going with us if I could provide more information as to what to expect on a cruise with a baby. I have asked my parents if they would want to go as well, again I had to provide additional detail, but the thought is maybe we could bring the grands for sitters.

 

Oh yes, most likely three couples all in our mid 30s and all with a first child.

 

I need to lock in everyone early if I am realistically going to get my friends and family as a group on a cruise. So any comments, suggestions, room consideration or room sizes and/or success stories with babies will assist me in scheduling our next adventure with Royal Caribbean.

__________________

 

I'm a bit confused as to what your actual question is.

 

I'm hoping not to be a "debbie downer" when I mention that I believe that most cruiselines infant policies state that you may not travel with an infant under 6 months old. If the cruse you are considering is an RCCL transatlantic cruise, the child needs to be 12 months old.

 

You may have an argument because you won your RCCL cruise under the old booking "rules". I could see either them grandfathering you in and allowing you to travel OR extending the "lifetime" of your voucher so that you can sail as soon as your child turns 6 months old.

 

Exactly what is your question, tho?

[cb at sea]

When you cruise with an infant or very small toddler, you will have to bring everything needed for said baby--the ship doesn't provide anything. Diapers, and all those "hygiene" things, food, formula....

Some ships will puree adult food--check in advance about that.

Lots of folks do bring their small children successfully. Some prefer to leave them with the grandparents and have some adult time!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[tania7424]

We leave in 11 days, I'll come back and let you know. LOL. DS will be almost 8 months.

[lang138]

I travelled with my son when he was 7 months. We booked a cruise that we had done before - this time when everyone was at port - we stayed and enjoyed having the swimming pool to ourselves. We had a balcony room - I would book minisuite...the extra space for the crib is helpful, plus we did actually spend time in the room (for naps, to hang out). We were on Princess - I pre-ordered baby food and brought my own hand blender as well. From room service and the buffet I found food for him to eat as well. I brought my own cutlery for him. Princess has cribs - but only a limited amount, so if all the cribs have been assigned you have to bring your own playpen. Originally we had early dinning - thinking it would be nice to all eat together - then after two meals, switched to late - we fed him first, got him already for bed and then put him to sleep in the stroller and went to dinner (we were/are fortunate that once asleep noise does not bother him). We walked around the ship alot, we did go to the gym - he would play around on the floor while I did abs and free weights. He entertained himself in the stroller while I was on the treadmil - lasted maybe 10 minutes. We didn't really watch any shows, get to the casino, or go to the club. What I didn't expect - he was sleeping through the night at home, but on the cruise he would wake up - I ended having him sleep in our bed just so that I could get some sleep. More recently we went with family - we got rooms next to each other and took turns babysitting at nights so that we didn't miss out on all the late night activities.

[AmMom]

We went on RCI Freedom of the seas in July with our then 8 month old. Everything everyone else has said goes in line -

 

Baby must be 6 months old, they provide a pack n play but not baby food. I would recommend definitely bring along someone to babysit. The ship offers in room babysitting but they are very strict on the age policy of 1 year. My husband and I did very little together on the trip - we took turns sitting in the room for naps and bedtime. We had a standard inside - we pushed the bed into one back corner and there was just enough room to fit the pack n play beside the bed - behind the curtain.

 

However, we too got lucky on the win a cruise bingo! We are going in 3 weeks on liberty of the seas. Since our trip was free, we are paying for a babysitter to go along so we can enjoy all the ship has to offer for adults together. Also, we were able to book a family oceanview stateroom - it is ~340 sq feet (our inside room was 152, a balcony is only 214). You have to have a minimum of 5 people (the baby counts as a person). There isn't an upgrade fee like with a balcony, but there is a cost for the 3rd/4th/5th persons. The baby counts as a person, so you will have to pay the 3rd/4th person rate for him/her.

 

Don't know when you little one is due, but if he/she won't be old enough by the time the trip runs out, call RCI and ask if you can have the voucher extended. I can give you the number to call - there isn't one on the voucher - email me brittany.surveys@gmail.com if you need the direct number to the cruise redemption department.

 

Good luck... oh wait you already have that ;-)

[6rugrats]

OP - I find your post confusing also. When is your baby due? As already pointed out, RCCL requires infants to be at least six months old at time of sailing, and they must be 12 months old for longer cruises (I think two weeks).

 

I have no idea what the booking person was thinking to tell you cruising with a three week old was allowed, because it's not. It appears that you are aware of these policies and are looking at dates when your baby will be old enough to cruise. If you are asking what to expect when bringing a baby on a cruise, just look through the posts on this board as there are many of them. By scrolling through them, you can find them, even if the search function is down.

[butrflynlambie]

We went on RCI Freedom of the seas in July with our then 8 month old. Everything everyone else has said goes in line -

 

Baby must be 6 months old, they provide a pack n play but not baby food. I would recommend definitely bring along someone to babysit. The ship offers in room babysitting but they are very strict on the age policy of 1 year. My husband and I did very little together on the trip - we took turns sitting in the room for naps and bedtime. We had a standard inside - we pushed the bed into one back corner and there was just enough room to fit the pack n play beside the bed - behind the curtain.

 

However, we too got lucky on the win a cruise bingo! We are going in 3 weeks on liberty of the seas. Since our trip was free, we are paying for a babysitter to go along so we can enjoy all the ship has to offer for adults together. Also, we were able to book a family oceanview stateroom - it is ~340 sq feet (our inside room was 152, a balcony is only 214). You have to have a minimum of 5 people (the baby counts as a person). There isn't an upgrade fee like with a balcony, but there is a cost for the 3rd/4th/5th persons. The baby counts as a person, so you will have to pay the 3rd/4th person rate for him/her.

 

Don't know when you little one is due, but if he/she won't be old enough by the time the trip runs out, call RCI and ask if you can have the voucher extended. I can give you the number to call - there isn't one on the voucher - email me brittany.surveys@gmail.com if you need the direct number to the cruise redemption department.

 

Good luck... oh wait you already have that ;-)

 

Thank you for the wonderful post. The voucher looks only good for up to a balcony room. I will have to see if we can "upgrade" from there for something larger should I be able to entice others on our trip.

[Julienatul]

They are pretty strict on the age policy of 6mo and 12 mo for transatalantic. They have denied boarding to people because of this. Also, your wife will not want to be cruising with a 3wk old, first of all the baby could come late, second if she has a c-sect she will still most likely have stitches or just removed stitches and will be recovering from major surgery. At 3wks I was still having difficulty walking up stairs, getting into cars etc. You are still not allowed to hold anything heavier than the baby until 6-8wks after birth. The baby is up every hr to two hrs all day and night. Those first few weeks are a whirlwind of exhaustion and recovering that it would not be enjoyable to cruise.

 

Your best bet would be to extend the voucher until your infant was 6mo, then they are just starting to sleep through the night and your are more settled into a routine. I would hate for your to "waste" a good cruise do to timing. Im sure they could extend it if you explain your circumstances. Our baby started cruising at 7 months and has just completed her 6th cruise at almost 3yrs of age. Its a great way to travel and if you can go with a group of other's with infants, its even more enjoyable.

 

Hope it works out for you.