Back from Cruise with 11 month old (Voyager of the Seas)

[familycruise2009]

Just back from a cruise with our 11 month old on the Voyager. The trip went better than expected...although a few 5 am mornings were hard! Thought I would see if anyone has any questions.

 

Some tips we had:

-laundry bag (mesh) for drying sippy cups, spoons, etc. was very helpful as there is limited counter space in the room for drying.

-we took our own playpen for sleeping. There was one set up in the room when we arrived and it looked fairly clean but decided we would use our own since we had brought it.

-didn't take an inflatable pool as we didn't have room for it, but not sure if we would have used anyway. We did put our little guy's feet in the big pool the day that it was quite hot. He got his "swimming" in when we stopped at the beaches at the ports.

-we lucked out by having our dining room suppers in the "overflow" room. Although didn't have the grand staircase to look at, it worked better for us as much less crowded and we had room for him to crawl around while we ate. (may be able to ask for this)

-we had switched our little guy to table food prior to the trip which was very helpful. At suppers, we asked for his meal as soon as we arrived (usually chicken breast and rice or potatoes and a vegetable if it was something he would eat).

-we did take a few graduate type meals for the days we were in port. This way we knew the food he was eating was safe - asked them to microwave.

-also took diced peach and pear fruit cups. These were helpful for days at port as well as suppers when there wasn't a fruit/vegetable that they had handy for him to eat.

-had access to bananas and cheerios throughout the trip but had also taken some baby cookies/crackers to occupy him when we were out and about.

-took a peg perego aria stroller and it was fine in the hallways, etc. It was helpful to have.

-we tried to go to shows with him sleeping in his stroller or the baby bjjorn but the music/etc. was too loud so some days we tried to go quickly after our supper to at least catch part of it.

-did the Captain Marvins stingray and snorkel tour in Caymans. They allowed the infant on board and we just brought our own life jacket so that we knew we had one that would fit.

 

The staff on RCL was amazing! With a baby we found we got excellent service, helping wherever they could. So many employees have little ones at home.

 

FYI - the disembarkation at Galveston was very slow so a suggestion is to pick an early time as everything gets backed up from customs, to picking up luggage and the vehicle.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Julienatul]

Im glad you had a good cruise! Sorry about the shows, next time should be better. Starting around 18mo my dd could stay up a bit later and was mezmerized by all the music and costumes. Thats when we could really start enjoying the shows again before that its hit or miss. We have an Aria too and have brought it on all 6 of our cruises with no problem. Its great to have a compact stroller with full size features.

[SimplyAddicted]

Thanks for your post! I am leaving on Sunday for my cruise with my 11 month old and will certainly use some of these tips! Our little girl wakes up at around 5 am everyday - so I am used to that - lets hope it isn't earlier! :eek:

[barriekins]

Thank you for your post! I am planning a trip in August to the western Caribbean, my baby will be 9 months. You mentioned you did a sting ray excursion in Grand Cayman. Any suggestions on what to do at any other ports? Did you bring your own carseat when you got off the ship?

Thanks!

[fleeflicker]

What type room did you have?

[RENMama]

Thank you for your post! I am planning a trip in August to the western Caribbean, my baby will be 9 months. You mentioned you did a sting ray excursion in Grand Cayman. Any suggestions on what to do at any other ports? Did you bring your own carseat when you got off the ship?

Thanks!

 

We did NativeWay Watersports tour in Cayman with our then 15month old and 5yo. It was our first non ship tour but I felt relatively safe because Cayman isnt exactly a huge island and if something were to break down you arent hours away from the ship. Plus we felt its a relatively safe island in general. :)

I liked the smaller tour because they only allowed so many people on the boat and it was less crowded obviously.

My parents were with us and my mom wont snorkel off a boat so she stayed on the boat with the kids while hubby and I snorkeled. All of us hopped into the water to feed the stingrays.Rum Point Beach was perfect for our family. Not busy, clean and had shady areas. Plus the water was very shallow which was perfect for our 5yo.

 

In Jamaica they had fun splashing in the falls even though we couldnt "climb" them. We took a tour where they got to see birds and such too.

[AgVball]

Thanks for the review! We are going on the Voyager this Sunday with TWO 10.5 month olds ;)

 

Good suggestion about the mesh bags - didn't think about that!

We are hoping to put our girls down @ 7 and get in room sitting. Should be an easy job watching two sleeping babies. Our get cranky about 6.30, so I don't think we could take them to a dining room. who knows - they might be entertained by being in the dining room.

 

we are depending on the ship pack-n-plays

 

I'm curious what type of room you had as well. We will have a D1 Balcony.

 

Thanks for mentioning the microwave - i wondered if they would do that or not since i've not seen microwaves onboard.

[familycruise2009]

Hi, I can't remember what type of room we had...will have to look but on the 6th floor quite close to the elevators in the middle which was so convenient with a balcony.

 

Just to clarify - we used the microwave when we were off of the boat (days in port), never did ask on the cruise so not sure if they can microwave. I figured worst case we would just try and warm in some hot water.

 

In the Caymans, we did the Captain Marvin's stingray and snorkel tour. We were late getting onto the island as the tendering process was very slow (took almost 2 hours and we were on tender ticket #4). It worked out well in the end as we did the afternoon tour so I think it was less crowded. My parents were with us and my mom didn't go in the water so she watched my son. We also had taken our own lifejacket so that we knew we had one that would fit. I know that Moby Dick's also would let us take our infant on. One thing I did note is that My sister, mom and I all felt sick on this little boat so I would probably take gravol next time.

 

In Jamaica, we took a bus taxi to the Doctor's Cave Beach. We had stayed on the ship longer for him to have his morning nap and decided this would be the cheapest/easiest option. It was a nice beach (about $5US each), no waves so our son really liked being in the water. We did rent an umbrella on the beach so that he had good shade.

 

In Cozumel, on our way out to find a taxi, we were offered a shopping and beach group tour from a taxi stand guy. Anyway, ended up being a limo - about $25 US each and he let our family shop for 1.5 hours (as long as we wanted) and then took us to Club Caribe Cozumel. It was great for our needs. The $25 had included entry to this place as well as transportation all day. Not a huge beach but good, a pool, area for snorkelling and a restaurant. I thought it was decent for the price paid.

 

One thing to note is once you are on the ship, it is hard to do any research on what you want to do. The ship crew can only really give suggestions of their excursions so if you want to do anything else you need to determine on your own. Internet is .55/min US so don't want to leave for there!

[familycruise2009]

We didn't bring our carseat at the ports. Our son is still in the bucket carseat which is a bit smaller. We had brought onto the boat and stored under one of the cabinets but decided we would play it by ear if we would use it. At all 3 ports, we tried to use a van/bus/limo where possible where there wouldn't have been seatbelts anyway.

[familycruise2009]

There is a Fischer Price program onboard...if you can't make the time that child is supposed to attend, see about going to the other time as it is good for the little ones to have time to play with new toys. Also, you can ask to sign out the toys to take to your room. Take advantage - a way to try out a toy before buying!

[barriekins]

Thanks so much, it sounds like your family had a great time!