First time cruising NCL with 1y/o

[deanna1178]

Dh and I have cruised plenty of times together but not yet with baby!!

Ds will be a little over 1 when we cruise in July..planning on NCL Bermuda cruise.

 

I have so many questions regarding cruising with ds that I will probably forget some, but here it goes!! if you have any other suggestions, please add, TIA!!

 

* Do you bring carseat? how do you travel while in the port? I am thinking on the excursion buses, a carseat is not needed but if we opt for taxi's or other forms of transportation while in port, we will need something safe for ds to travel in.

 

* Where does child sleep in stateroom? we will have a balcony room and I was thinking of taking the pack n play to put on the other half of the room for him to sleep him. That is assuming he still fits in it at that time, lol!! Currently at 7 months, he is 20lbs and 28inch :-P

 

* I know he won't be allowed in the pool so what sort of acitivites do you recommend on the ship? Are there any play gyms or sort of areas that we could used during certain hours?

 

* what baby gear do you bring? strollers, play things, etc.

 

* what sort of documents will ds need? passport, ID, etc.

 

What did you think of traveling with 1 y/o?

 

TIA for all your suggestions!

[eringirl79]

we just took our 13 month old son for 10 day cruise. it was a lot more exhausting that previous cruises, but that was to be expected.

 

we didn't bother with a carseat. we never took a taxi in port. we took shuttle buses, which i didn't notice even had seatbelts.

 

NCL provided a pack n play for us. we kept it the first night, but it was never even used. we had balcony room and found it would have been too tight a fit to even bother with it. we took suggestions from this board, which was to turn the little couch around and make that into a "bed" for baby. he slept there sometimes, most of the time he was in bed with us though. and we are not fans of co-sleeping, he had been in a crib since birth, but we let him in with us so we could ALL get some rest.

 

we took an umbrella stroller, a maclaren triumph and found it was quite sufficient for our needs. on the gem they had a kiddie section, so we would take him there on a daily basis to run around and play with those toys, but we had brought with us some of his own toys from home. we also brought the duck tub for baths and some snack foods, like animal crackers, crunchies, yogurt melts, and those little applesauce packs. we kept snacks, disposable bibs, diapers and wipes and a couple little cars in the stroller at all times, so we never had to run back to the cabin for anything.

 

we found that he didn't miss the pool. he was in a pool over the summer, but at 1 year, they don't know what they are missing. a lot of people will suggest a little pool to bring with you on the pool deck or on your balcony, we didn't bother. he didn't know what he was missing. he was happy just to be able to run around and explore, but every child is different.

 

we found the "leash" to be very helpful too!!! that was another thing that stayed on the stroller. when he would get fussy during dinner, we'd just put the leash on and let him wander around. it offered him more freedom and he was able to tire himself out too!

 

we got a passport for DS. it's just a good idea. if something were to happen and you had to try to come home from one of your ports, you'd have a hell of a time trying to get back into the US without a passport. i think it cost like $70, but worth it for piece of mind.

 

another thing i would highly recommend putting on your list to get is the scented diaper sacks. we got ours at walmart and they smell of baby powder. perfect for stinky diapers! that was another suggestion i found on this board!

 

another thing that was really helpful are the huggies sun sensors. we got them with our swim diapers. you basically just stick them either to baby's skin, clothing, hat, etc and when it changes color you need to reapply the sun block. we used them and it was amazing how fast they changed color. i think without them we may have had a burned baby. but he came home from a week in the tropical sun with hardly a tan! they certainly were not something i would have even ever bought, but since we got them with the diapers, i decided to give them a try, and i was quite glad.

 

oh yeah... we also packed a set of grandparents that were invaluable!!! LOL so if you can work that out, you are set!!!!

 

that's all i can think of right now.... read the boards a lot and you'll find many more tips

 

enjoy family cruising!!!

[parentsof6]

My first reaction was why in the world would they be taking a baby on a cruise.???

 

Why wouldn't they leave the baby with Grandma? And as I thought about it I realized that was the dumbest thing in the world.

 

Babies at that age are the best travelling companions. I took both my daughter and then my sons to the beach (not on a cruise) at that age (1 to 1&1/2) and it is totally memorable to me. They may have absolutely no memory, but I think it imprints them forever.

 

If you're the kind of parents who WANTS to take your baby on vacation- then by all means, do it. We oldsters LOVE to see them.

 

My 3 teenagers will be cruising again soon, with us, Because I realise our time with them is short.

 

Spending time with teenagers is Precious. Enjoy every minute.

[parentsof6]

My first reaction was why in the world would they be taking a baby on a cruise.???

 

Why wouldn't they leave the baby with Grandma? But as I thought about it I realized that was the dumbest thing I'd ever said.

 

Babies at that age are the best travelling companions. I took both my daughter and then my sons to the beach (not on a cruise) at that age (1 to 1&1/2) and it is totally memorable to me. They may have absolutely no memory, but I think it imprints them forever.

 

If you're the kind of parents who WANT to take your baby on vacation- by all means, do it. We oldsters LOVE to see them.

 

 

My 3 teenagers will be cruising again soon. (their 5th) Because I realise that our time with them is so short.

 

Spending time with teenagers is Precious. Enjoy every minute.

[European_CruiseGirl]

Hi! We are also taking our DD (then 15 months) to our first NCL cruise next summer but I have had time to do some research already. ;)

 

It seems that NCL has something called "Under 2 Zoo" available for children under the age of two. It's basically a meeting room (with lots and lots of toys) in which the little ones can play. Parents must accompany their child when s/he is using the area. The area is open approx 10AM - 5PM.

[cruisinsmoothly]

... for our 9mo, was his Grandmother! While DW and I were not ready to spend a week away from DS, we definitely needed a break! We brought an umbrella stroller for ports and occasionally onboard the huge Norway. We had a carry seat / car seat that we also brought along. I remember a heavy backpack with jars of baby food just in case, but the staff accommodated any processing we requested. He was usually well behaved and when he was not, one of us took him away from the public area so the others could enjoy themselves. I have very fond memories of sitting in the surf of NCLs private island playing with DS. Enjoy your cruise. Be flexible, be courteous and take a lot of photos.

[geegee1]

Dh and I have cruised plenty of times together but not yet with baby!!

Ds will be a little over 1 when we cruise in July..planning on NCL Bermuda cruise.

 

I have so many questions regarding cruising with ds that I will probably forget some, but here it goes!! if you have any other suggestions, please add, TIA!!

 

* Do you bring carseat? how do you travel while in the port? I am thinking on the excursion buses, a carseat is not needed but if we opt for taxi's or other forms of transportation while in port, we will need something safe for ds to travel in.

 

* Where does child sleep in stateroom? we will have a balcony room and I was thinking of taking the pack n play to put on the other half of the room for him to sleep him. That is assuming he still fits in it at that time, lol!! Currently at 7 months, he is 20lbs and 28inch :-P

 

* I know he won't be allowed in the pool so what sort of acitivites do you recommend on the ship? Are there any play gyms or sort of areas that we could used during certain hours?

 

* what baby gear do you bring? strollers, play things, etc.

 

* what sort of documents will ds need? passport, ID, etc.

 

What did you think of traveling with 1 y/o?

 

TIA for all your suggestions!

 

- When we went with our 2 yo, we bought an eddie bauer travel car seat, that folds up and fits in the bottom of a stroller.

 

- we reserved a pack n play through NCL and it worked out great

 

- we brought an umbrella stroller, some toys she likes and stuff. if your baby is watching tv already, i would recommend a portable dvd player. ours is invaluable.

 

- i think you'll still be able to use the baby's original birth certificate. but the customs website can tell you better.

 

good luck and have fun

[lamolesky]

We didn't cruise after our two little ones were born because we were afraid too. We traveled everywhere else so I figured why not and we are looking forward to our third cruise with the kids. They had more fun than we did and were the ones pushing us to go again! The first cruise they were 4 years old and 16 months. The kids club is great for the 2 and over and the under two zoo just gives them time to play with new toys and new kids. The DVD player will keep them busy when they get bored in the room. Pack-n-Play is provided by NCL, just make sure to request it in your reservation. Be sure to bring a PnP sheet, they just fold up a regular sheet and the baby ends up sleeping on the bottom when the sheet gets kicked to the corner. I bring a small blanket too. My 2 1/2 year old is technically too big for the PnP too, but it works as a safe place to sleep for the baby. You do need the scented diaper sacks, they are needed for the dirty diapers that come at night when you are too tired to walk in the hallway to find a garbage!

[deanna1178]

My first reaction was why in the world would they be taking a baby on a cruise.???

 

Why wouldn't they leave the baby with Grandma? But as I thought about it I realized that was the dumbest thing I'd ever said.

 

Babies at that age are the best travelling companions. I took both my daughter and then my sons to the beach (not on a cruise) at that age (1 to 1&1/2) and it is totally memorable to me. They may have absolutely no memory, but I think it imprints them forever.

 

If you're the kind of parents who WANT to take your baby on vacation- by all means, do it. We oldsters LOVE to see them.

 

 

My 3 teenagers will be cruising again soon. (their 5th) Because I realise that our time with them is so short.

 

Spending time with teenagers is Precious. Enjoy every minute.

 

imo spending time with any children is precious....which is why we don't want to leave ds with anyone while we travel. We aren't going on a cruise to get away from ds, we are going to enjoy ourselves as a family.

 

there are other people coming with us who can babysit while we go out to dinner a couple of nights.

 

Not everyone likes to leave their kids behind while they travel. And if we do leave him alone everytime we go somewhere, how is he supposed to learn how to behave while on vacation and traveling? otherwise ds would be a bear to ever take anywhere...that isn't fun for anyone.

[deanna1178]

thanks everyone for the great suggestions!! good to know about the ages 2 and under gym room, he will love that and seeing other kids!!!

[calikak]

Be sure to check the daily schedule each day to see when the Under 2 Zoo (that's the play room) is open. On our sailing it wasn't open all day, just a few hours a day. Good place to meet other parents with little ones too!

[lamolesky]

I have an example of an Under Two Zoo schedule on my site, it is under the Norwegian Gem. That way you can see how often they have the room open.

[DiBob]

Dh and I have cruised plenty of times together but not yet with baby!!

Ds will be a little over 1 when we cruise in July..planning on NCL Bermuda cruise.

 

I have so many questions regarding cruising with ds that I will probably forget some, but here it goes!! if you have any other suggestions, please add, TIA!!

 

* Do you bring carseat? how do you travel while in the port? I am thinking on the excursion buses, a carseat is not needed but if we opt for taxi's or other forms of transportation while in port, we will need something safe for ds to travel in.

 

* Where does child sleep in stateroom? we will have a balcony room and I was thinking of taking the pack n play to put on the other half of the room for him to sleep him. That is assuming he still fits in it at that time, lol!! Currently at 7 months, he is 20lbs and 28inch :-P

 

* I know he won't be allowed in the pool so what sort of acitivites do you recommend on the ship? Are there any play gyms or sort of areas that we could used during certain hours?

 

* what baby gear do you bring? strollers, play things, etc.

 

* what sort of documents will ds need? passport, ID, etc.

 

What did you think of traveling with 1 y/o?

 

TIA for all your suggestions!

We took our daughter when she was a little over 1 1/2 yrs...we jsut did a 3 day with a WDW trip...she did great!

* She slept in a pack in play

* We had our stroller, not a big bulky one though

*She had a passport

*We didnt get off in Nassau, stayed on ship and enjoyed it

*I think its great to travel with your child:)

*No car seat..we had used a FAA approved seat belt that is awesome and you do not need the car seat on the plane..however we never used taxi's...

Have a wonderful cruise:)

[fleeflicker]

I am so thankful someone brought up about the disposable bibs. That is a nice touch. Will I have to bring my own baby water too or do they have it own board? Thanks

[DiBob]

hi fleeflicker..love the avatar..OT..here is the link to a way earyl roll call!!!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=891150

[Livemad]

- When we went with our 2 yo, we bought an eddie bauer travel car seat, that folds up and fits in the bottom of a stroller.

 

- we reserved a pack n play through NCL and it worked out great

 

- we brought an umbrella stroller, some toys she likes and stuff. if your baby is watching tv already, i would recommend a portable dvd player. ours is invaluable.

 

- i think you'll still be able to use the baby's original birth certificate. but the customs website can tell you better.

 

good luck and have fun

 

Do you have a photo of the car seat? I didn't know there was such a thing as a fold up car seat that fits under a stroller!

 

Thanks so much!:p