three year olds

[Mamanance]

My son and his family are going on the Atlantica in Dec. My daughter in law is now concerned she didn't think this trip through. She wants to take our grand daughter who is three, :confused: off the ship on the islands, but I told her you can't bring a car seat. The vans and the island vehicles aren't equipped for car seats and then they'd have to carry a car seat around with them. I told her that the little girl would be fine just going into town on the trams. I realize they have a program where you can leave the kids onboard while the parents do excursions, but they want her to see the islands too. Has anyone ever had to deal with this and do you have any suggestions for them? Thanks.

[cruisy]

Hey, I already replied on the RCCI board, but what are their ports? I mentioned on the other post that we brought our carseat off the ship at some ports. We rented cars in St. Thomas, and St. Martin. The rental agencies were right at the ports, and we booked them in advance on the internet. This ended up being cheaper than tours/taxis and we could do our own thing. When we were finished with the cars, DH just shlepped the carseat back aboard while I waited/browsed around in the port shops. I don't think we would rent a car in Mexico, we will have to come up with a different plan for there.

[Mamanance]

Hi, sorry, I did read your answer on the other board too. They are going to stop at Key West, Cozmel, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. I wonder if Grand Cayman has anything left after the hurricane? Have you cruised on The Atlantica with toddlers? I have cruised on her, and we enjoyed it, but we didn't have kids with us. This is the ship they are going on.

[cruisy]

We have done RCI and HAL with toddler/children. We are going on Costa in a few months. We did shore excursions when DS was 8 months without a carseat, (in Cabo, PV) and I thought I was going to have a stress attack. They drove us around recklessly in a junky van. I had thought that since we were on a ship's excursion they would have some standards. After that we decided we would do the driving on our own, so we chose the eastern carib. to allow for rental options. That worked very well.

Next month we are going to Cozumel and GC, and although we will have the carseat on the ship, I don't think we will be using it in these ports. Some people have used a padded harness type thing that turns a seatbelt into a five point restraint. I think onestepahead.com has it. It is portable, and I think it is a certified restraint. There is no way I would rent a car at these places, as I am concerned about liability issues.

Cruising with little ones has been good, otherwise we wouldn't have these future cruises booked. We have done it all with the kids in tow: excursions, formal dinners, shows, trade-offs with each other for a ten minute spree in the casino, etc. The family board has a lot of good advice about what to bring to keep kids happy. Cabinforfour has all sorts of info, as well as pack lists. Check it out, there is stuff you would never think of there.

If you or your daughter-in-law have any questions about what to bring, I'd be glad to help out.

[Mamanance]

thanks for the info. Have you been to Grand Cayman before? You have to tender into that port. And it is usually guite rough. But I saw that they were hit so hard with the hurricane they might not be up and running. It is only shopping there. Jewerly villa. We did go to the Turtle Farm but that's about it and oh a place called Hell. While in Hell you can send a post card and it will be post marked Hell. It's like this dead swamp in back of an old bar. I can skip that port no problem. Plus you money is worth less there.

[Ta421sBtrHalf]

I don't know if they travel a lot but they have these car seats that double as a stroller. I saw one a Disney a few years ago and thought what a cool idea. It looked extremly comfy and also looked as if it could contain a toddler who can get out of a regular stroller on their own. I wish they had these 8 years ago when my son was 2. Here is a link

 

http://store.yahoo.com/babyride/4001.html

[cruisy]

We haven't been to GC before. We are planning to do a stingray tour, with Grandparents there to help watch the kids. I looked up that portable carseat, it is kind of cra**y, but I figure it's better than nothing. It's called the tote n go. Really now that I think of it, I am kind of in the same boat as your Daughter in law. I can't buy the stroller/carseat combo because my family will have me committed if I bring home one more stroller.

[Mamanance]

I don't think my daughter in law would buy a stroller just for the cruise. I told her to take my little umbrella one. You know, she is just going to have to put Maddison in the tram or whatever and hang on to her. You know those island cars, God Almighty they probably don't even have brakes, never mind seat belts, so what's the difference. LOL They only have one child and she is three so to buy another stroller now is kind of worthless. :rolleyes:

[margeg]

I raised both my kids without these new car seats. We had the ones like in the Simpsons where the baby sits in the front seat with a little steering wheel. I would not worry putting the child on my lap during the excursions.

[smann]

We tried one cruise without a carseat and were really nervous in each taxi/bus. Many of the drivers are careless and FAST. We spoke up to one especially speedy driver and his comment was "It's how I make a living." Nice.

 

The next time we brought along the flat-type car seat that a previous poster mentioned. We did get it through http://www.onestepahead.com. This worked great as it only took a moment to attach and it also took up virtually no space in the suitcase.

 

Just don't let the drivers pressure you into "hurrying up." They can be pushy and make you get in and go before you're all settled. Whatever you decide, have a great time!!

[KandMGIn]

SMANN, did you like the tote n go? We are thinking about buying it, but have read some really terrible reviews.

[smann]

SMANN, did you like the tote n go? We are thinking about buying it, but have read some really terrible reviews.

 

We liked it for this situation. We did not want to lug around a regular car seat (and have to wrestle with installing it properly in each taxi), and this provided us with a better feeling of security vs. nothing at all. We have never used it again at home, but will be bringing it with us in a few weeks on the Mediterenea. I feel that it's a worthwhile purchase.

[KandMGIn]

Thanks for the info. We will either purchase the Tote N Go or the Freedom Rider by Joey Safe. I also feel that I would rather have one of those than nothing at all. With two kids in carseats, we certainly cannot bring the big ones!