airport questions

[MOMtoTwins]

ok this question is not specifically about my cruise but about getting to the cruise :)

 

we are traveling with my 11 month old twins for our upcoming cruise and I am a little worried about getting everything to the gate. for those of you that have traveled with young children, how did you manage all the stuff. we will have 2 adults, 2 babies

 

2 car seats

2 strollers

diaper bag

carry on

 

do they have carts? or porters that will take all the stuff to the gate(of course with large tips) any advice is appreciated

[irwins0001]

We will typically check the carseats at curbside check in. We gate check the strollers. Perhaps diaper bag can fit under stroller or hang from handles. Use a carry on with a strap not a rolling one until twins are older.

[MOMtoTwins]

can you check the car seats for free if you are not gate checking?

[irwins0001]

They count as checked bags, and have the restrictions that your airline places on checked bags. If you are renting a car, you can rent carseats from the agency for a fee. If you travel light, it is probably better to check them with the airline. I've tried to get my boys to sit on a carseat on a flight, but it didn't work well. Because of so little room, their feet were hitting the chair in front of them annoying the passenger.

[NanciRDH]

They count as checked bags, and have the restrictions that your airline places on checked bags. If you are renting a car, you can rent carseats from the agency for a fee. If you travel light, it is probably better to check them with the airline. I've tried to get my boys to sit on a carseat on a flight, but it didn't work well. Because of so little room, their feet were hitting the chair in front of them annoying the passenger.

 

Her babies are 11 months old...even if they have their own seats on the plane (which they should), that's too little to strap in with the seatbelt. Some airlines don't count carseats as luggage when checked, you'll have to check with the individual airline to be sure. Some airports have carts, MCO does, but they can't go any further than just before security.

 

When we first started flying when my oldest was 3 (now 16) I purchased an inexpensive luggage cart and bungeed the seat to it, carryons were put on top of that, and we gate claimed the stroller. Now I have one of the gogo kidz wheel things, and it works great...I don't bother with a stroller in the airport, we just check it with the luggage...still free on Southwest because she's a ticketed passenger.

[6rugrats]

ok this question is not specifically about my cruise but about getting to the cruise :)

 

we are traveling with my 11 month old twins for our upcoming cruise and I am a little worried about getting everything to the gate. for those of you that have traveled with young children, how did you manage all the stuff. we will have 2 adults, 2 babies

 

2 car seats

2 strollers

diaper bag

carry on

 

do they have carts? or porters that will take all the stuff to the gate(of course with large tips) any advice is appreciated

 

No, you cannot get any carts through security and there is no porter than may go through with you. Did you buy the twins a seat, or are they sitting on your laps? If they are lap infants, check the car seats and take them down the gate to the plane in the strollers.

 

You can gate check the strollers, but be advised most airlines will not take responsibility for damage to the strollers if they aren't packed in a box and checked in at the counter.

[Tggrtoes]

We left car seat at home... used a car service to take us from airport to cruise terminal. They had britax car seat for free. (if you are in CA, it's Golden West Express... recommended here on cruise critic. Highly recommend too.) With all the other stuff we lugged, there was no way we were bringing the car seat. Outside of US, many taxis, etc. don't even have seat belts, so there wasn't even much use for them outside of trip to port. (At least for Mex Riv where we went)

[boulders]

I travelled solo quite a bit through airports with ds from the time he was 5 months old. This is what I did - took him in a Graco Quattro, put the car seat on the canopy - hung the diaper bag from the handles, put carryon (backpack or large bag) underneath the stroller and pulled the suitcase and held onto the car seat while pushing the stroller. Of course, after the suitcase is checked, it's a lot easier, I then took the car seat off the canopy and carried it by looping one of the belts over my shoulder.

[MOMtoTwins]

thanks for opinions everyone. I had not considered checking the car seats. they are lap infants but I think that might be our last chance for that as i think they are getting too squirmy