First cruise with 6 month old and 6 yr old

[angela39]

I am looking for any and all advice for cruising with a baby. We are still on formula using only ready to feed. How on earth do you prepare for a 7 day cruise with an infant? Its a carnival cruise.

What do I pack and how do we pack all the formula etc?

TIA!!

[cb at sea]

Use powdered formula, and bring your baby food....at 6 mo., a baby should be able to eat some mashed/pureed "real" food....bananas, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, etc...

You will have to bring everything you need...don't count on being able to purchase any of the "baby stuff" on the ship.

At least Carnival has a laundry---babies go through soooooo many clothes! Some lines don't have self-laundry facilities.

Cruising with a small baby isn't the most "fun"...but it can be done. Lots of prep is required. Most cabins only have showers---will baby freak out about that? Start to prepare now!

[angela39]

we cant use powdered formula due to GI problems the baby has. We use alimentum ready to feed so that complicates. Baby will be barely 6 months when we travel so we have just started to try solids..

[lisascott207]

Hello,

You must be so excited for your upcoming cruise! My husband and I are taking our 1st post baby cruise w/our 15MO son. I am soo excited and think it will be fun. The wonderful thing about a 6MO is that they are so easily portable and entertained. I am sure that both of your kids will have a blast! Here are some ideas:

 

-I would bring a reclining stroller so that your LO can nap while you are out and about (not so easy w/a 15mo though!).

 

-I would carry on the formula, I think it is safer that putting it in your suitcase...I BF, so I am unsure how prepared formula comes. You are allowed 1 carry on per person and a diaper bag for the baby, so try to fit the formula/bottles in your husbands carry on suitcase. I would call the airline just to be sure that you are allowed to carry on such a large amount of liquids. I know you are allowed to bring formula but there might be a restriction as to how much since it is in liquid form. Being that your baby is on a special type of formula for GI issues, I would assume it shouldn't be a problem.

 

-the wonderful thing about babies is that their clothes are so small. When we traveled w/DS when he was 8MO, we fit a ton of clothes in a tiny suitcase, way more than we actually needed. I assume you cruise will be in a warm climate, so just stay organized and pack a couple of outfits for the day. 6MO's are not like newborns...the spit up and poop thing is generally under control. Someone recommended bringing a sample laundry detergent so you can rinse out bathing suits, and combat small stains. The one thing that was great w/DS was a UV T-shirt that we bought at target. It was great sun protection for the beach in addition to sunscreen.

 

Here are some obvious suggestions:

 

-diapers/wipes

-shirts/shorts/pants

-a couple of "formal" outfits

-zip up sweatshirt if it gets cool

-bathing suit/UV shirt

-sunscreen

-hat

-few favorite portable toys

-tylenol/diaper cream/lotion/travel shampoo and bodywash/toothbrush/teething rings/nail clipper

-1st aid kit

-formula

-oatmeal or rice cereal

-baby spoons/small bowls/bibs

-baby food jars

-I would highly recommend an over the door hanging organizer. I swear by this! It holds a ton of stuff.

-I hear a lot of people buy a small blow-up duck tub (available at target and walmart). They use this on the pool deck since your LO wont be allowed in the main pools. People also use it as a bath tub too. Personally, DS loves to take a shower w/us so I dont think I will buy one.

 

If I think of anything else, I will post again

 

Have a blast!

[SaySumthing]

Bringing the formula on board shouldn't be a problem. I would bring a whole case (in the original packaging). You will have less problems with it being in the original packaging and it should be fairly well packed.

 

Depending on how close to the 6 month mark your baby is, you may consider waiting until after your trip to start solids (obviously, you need to discuss this with your baby's doctor). I suggest this because MANY babies, especially those with digestive issues, can develop digestive problems (constipation being the big one) when solids are first introduced. Things you don't want to be worrying about while on vacation. At 6 months they wear more food than the swallow, anyway. Again, you need to discuss it with the pediatrician, though.

 

We're traveling soon with a 13 month old and plan on bringing a case of diapers with us. I'm going to take half the diapers out and stick other baby items (wipes, sippy cups, toddler appropriate snacks, etc) in the other half of the box and reseal it for our journey to the ship. I've read multiple posts where this has been suggested.

 

As the PPs have said, babies travel very well. They mostly need some very basic supplies and mama and they're good to go. You should request a crib (or pack and play) now from the cruise line so that it's already in your cabin when you arrive. Don't forget to pack your own sheet since they may not have something that works well on the ship. Also, babies do best with their "normal" bedding smell.

 

GL and have a great trip.

[chapichapo]

Hi!

 

We will also be traveling with a 7 mo and a 5 yo - our child's ages are close to yours. We generally take an organizer (kind of a pocket foldout expanding thing) with some of the clothes already separated. We'll also bring formula (although she is breastfed for the moment but you never know) and a box of diapers (for the all week). I'm also taking a normal avent baby bottle and the disposable kind, Travel bottle warmer, sterilising tablets, a first aid travel kit...

 

For my 5 yo I will take the PSP, books with activities, stickers, crayons and coloring book...

 

Haven't made up my mind wether we should bring the reclining lightweight stroller (umbrella kind) or the heavy one which we can use as a car seat but that the structure takes a lot of space in the taxi and sometimes doesn't fit with the bags in some cars... :confused:

[lamolesky]

Definitely bring everything you might need, there isn't much of anything in the gift shop. Remember that all the formula and diapers will be a pain to carry on but you won't have them on the way back. I have a very detailed list that you can download and print, it is under Kids Packing List. We love cruising with our kids and waited so long until we did our first "post" baby cruise - you will love it.

[cruisingram1]

Alimentum comes in 8-oz ready to feed cans. It might be a little more costly, but then you would not need to worry about keeping the unused bottle/can cold. OR.. if there is a fridge in the room, it might hold one bottle of opened formula. Amazon sells Alimentum by the case. Or perhaps if there is a Babies R Us near you, they could special order the small cans if they don't normally carry them.

[aflynn3]

With the airline restrictions I would consider going a day early and shopping before the cruise. This way you do not have to check or carry on the airline. You can just put a luggage tag on the case of diapers and formula and it will be sent right to your cabin. Less work for you. Just have enough for a day so if it does not get delivered quick you are set on the boat the first day.