Cruising with Twin infants

[allycatt]

Can anyone give some advice with cruising with twin infants? I will be going on the Carnival Legend in Nov. My girls will be a week away from being 11 months and was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice that will be helpful. I'm cruising with my Mom and Grandmother plus one of my grandmother's friends. Daddy has to stay home and babysit the dogs.:p

[Kerry's Girls]

I took my twins on their first cruise at 13 months. I drove to the port, which made things very easy as far as bringing everything I needed.

 

Full size tandem stroller.

Bouncie Chairs were helpful as a place to put the babies while I showered or dressed - I just put luggage tags on them and checked with our luggage at the port. They showed up in the cabin just fine.

Toys that clip to the stroller and high chairs.

Bring more than enough bottles, nipples, etc. I used podees (podees were the only reason I survived the first year) and when we lost one the first night, I was REALLY glad I'd brought a bunch of backups. Podees are nice on a cruise because they can eat while you're on the go, or while you're eating your meals.

Bring more than enough diapers - you do NOT want to run out. I just pasted a luggage tag to a super-size box of diapers.

Diposable bibs.

Powdered formula - I mixed it with the ship's tap water with no problem.

 

We had such a great time on our first cruise. I know some people find it to be a lot of work, but as a mom of twins, our time on a cruise ship is always the easiest and least stressful time of my life.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

Best,

Mia

[allycatt]

I'm driving down to Florida from VA a 12 hr drive:eek: but was the best choice for us since we wouldn't have to figure a way to get everything on the plane. Luckily my grandmother lives in Fl so we have somewhere to stay and take us to the port so we don't have to leave the car there too.

 

I'm glad you told me about just putting a tag on the diapers box cause I was planning on doing that and was hoping it would work.

 

Never heard of podees so I looked it up I am going to look into purchasing some before we go. I wish I knew about them earlier. My girls are so lazy they don't like holding their bottle up they would rather have us do it.

 

A tandum stroller is out since my hubby would kill me if I suggested buying another stroller:D . The combi was the second one we bought for a trip to TX so I don't think I would get away with buying another. I might purchase two umbrella strollers for the ship and bring the Combi for when we are off the ship.

 

Did you bring their car seats with you?

 

Bouncey seats are out since the don't care for them that much anymore. I was thinking of bringing my Bumbo seats with us but one of the girls already figured out how to get out of it.

[Kerry's Girls]

If you have Craig's List in your area, you could pick up a used tandem for next-to-nothing, but your plan sounds workable. The umbrella strollers could also be used the way I used the bouncie seats - when I need to put them into something in the cabin (when I'm in the shower) and for when I'm feeding them in the cabin.

 

You'll love the podees. That way you don't have to stop what you're doing to feed the babies. I just got the inserts at Babies R Us - I didn't buy the whole system (the inserts just twist on to your regular bottles).

 

I did not bring car seats and just planned to go to resorts that were either walkable or were part of a ship's excursion that included a bus. Go to the ports of call board and ask what people suggest - and also if you post your ports here, people will have great ideas.

 

Best,

Mia

[allycatt]

We are doing a Western Carriabean cruise and our ports of calls are Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan Island.

I have two private excursions booked for Cozumel and Belize to see some ruins since my mother wanted to see them but can't do crowds real well.

[AgVball]

alleycat: I too will have twin infants just shy of 11 months old - but in March. I would love to hear about your trip and how everything turns out. What type of room do you have? Are you doing pack-n-plays or peapods? Wish we could do Podees - my girls just don't like them - but I hear lots of MOMs who say they couldn't live without them!

[allycatt]

We have tried the podee's now but won't be using them since my girls don't like them. They would have been great if they worked for us.

 

We are using the crib from the cruise line and have a balcony.

[AgVball]

I just started reviewing the board for "family/twin" type info - but I'm wondering if the (balcony) room will be able to fit two pack-n-plays? We are getting a balcony too. I bet once you get both set up, you won't be able to move. I'm thinking about getting a Peapod Plus (or two) - would be good to use on the beach - but will probably be big in a room too. We usually scuba, but with kiddos, I imagine we will not dive (from a cruise) for a while. I have two umbrella strollers (we aren't using just yet at 5 months old), but I assume we'll probably use those to maneuver. I haven't even thought about car seats just yet (for taxi's.)

 

Mia - thanks for posting those tips earlier - the boards are always so helpful in making your life easier on a cruise ;)

[thewolffs]

I'm going to be cruising in Jan. with 7 month old twins. We had a balcony, but upgraded to a mini-suite. I'm going to be bringing 2 travel lite cribs, since they are smaller than a pack n' play. I'm not sure what to do about carseats yet. I'll have to see if they are still in their infant carriers or not. I'm going to get a used Duoglider stroller to bring and maybe 2 umbrellas. My parents are going with us, so they can bring those with them. It's crazy how much stuff you need to bring with kids. It will be a different cruise, but I'm sure it will be fun.