K

We are planning a Carnival cruise with our five month old. If you taken a cruise with an infant, do you have any advice on what to pack? What about taking a tour...carseat in a taxi, etc? Any info. would be helpful!

concerned

Get a sitter

Fortunate

If you really want a serious answer, try posting on Cruise Addicts, Cruise Critics or Cruise Mates. At least there you WILL get something other than a snide remark.

Z

You picked the wrong board to post your question. If you read the other threads, you will notice that the people here hate babies and kids on a cruise. Leave while you still can!

pot

Fortunate and Z,<BR><BR>You're not helping K out any either. You could actually share advice that she's looking for. If good advice is given, even amongst the jokes and attempts at jokes and general mayhem that sometimes rears its head around here, the purpose of this forum would have been served. People are smart enough to disregard wahat they deem irrelevant.<BR><BR>K, it has been my experience, albeit limited, that a toddler on board may be more trouble than its worth. It can be a radical new environment - many big strong people get motion/sea sickness and then there's the recycled air in the cabin. There was a couple across from me on my last cruise who said in retrospect they wished they's left the toddler with their parents. Obviously the child won't get anything out of the trip, it's what you feel comfortable with. Not an admonition, just something to think about.

Parrot Mom

The best present you could give your parents is letting them take care of their grandchild for a week. If you do take the baby just realize child will be off his schedule and be cranky. Frankly I think it's wonderful you want to take the baby, but as new parents.. a little romance will help when you have been going through sleepless nights and cranky times. If you insist you can always e-mail the grandparents, but the worst that can happen is that for one week you will have made a set of grandparents very happy and delighted to show off your baby and spoil it.. You deserve to have the time away for yourself.

gail

Are you the same person who posted a question a week ago or so about taking a baby on vacation? If so, I apologize for being repetitive.<BR><BR>I do not know if this kid has hatched yet, but we too had romantic ideas about travelling with our infant son 16 years ago. He was far less portable than we could have imagined, slept far less than we had hoped, and we were so exhausted after a week that we felt like we needed a vacation! <BR><BR>I imagine if your child is/will be an "easy baby", it would be possible to have a good time on a cruise if you adjusted your expectations far from pre-baby realities AND were very conscious of not annoying others with diaper changes, excessive crying, asking others to fawn over your baby.<BR><BR>I have seen couples dining out with happily sleeping babies, carrying on adult conversations, etc. - it is just that our kids never let us do this at that age.<BR><BR>Another cruise issue is child care. Many cruise lines have child care age limits above that of your child. I have always been hesitant to leave my kids with a stranger, but others have used hotel or cruise babysitting services and been very satisfied.<BR><BR>As far as what to bring. Some cabs are lucky to have seat belts at all, much less a way to secure a carseat. But if you are flying, I hope you will bring one and buy a seat for the baby for the flight, so you will have one anyway. A car seat that doubles as a baby seat, baby carrier, can also be used to prop kid up at your meal time. Obviously, if you are not nursing, formula, bottles - use bottled water, even on ship as babies are very sensitive to changes. Lots of diapers, lots of clothes - including several changes for plane trip as with delays, etc. you may be far longer in-transit than you thought. <BR><BR>I might skip the tours/excursions since they allow you little flexibility to run back to ship if baby gets loud or over-tired.<BR><BR>Hope this works for you. Our kids are now teenagers who love to travel, pack for themselves, carry their own luggage, can be trusted out of our sight, and sleep through the night!

Lois

Travelling with a baby is exhausting, even if he/she is very good. Gail and Parrot Mom are absolutely right. It is probable that baby will come down with some bug on the trip, and you will return feeling as if you are ready for a rest. If you can't leave the baby because you're nursing, it would be worthwhile to delay your vacation until a more convenient time. If there are no grandparents able to take care of him/her, just get used to the exhorbitant cost of babysitting.

Thanks

First, for the poster who suggested that the grandparents would love a week with the baby--speak for yourself. I'm a grandmom and as much as I love my grandchildren, most of us are "boomers" who work or at least have interests outside the home. The day of the 70-something grandparents baking cookies and spinning yarns are over. We 50-somethings are on the cruises! <BR><BR>As for cruising with an infant--think about sunburn, windburn, sleep problems, all the gear you have to take, etc. Might be well worth the money to postpone one year and take a 17-month old who can walk, express themselves a bit, sit at the table, play in the water, etc.

K

To those who actually offered advice other than get a sitter....thank you. I was looking for comments from people who had actually cruised with an infant....not speculations about what people thought might happen. I found helpful info at the Cruise Mates site.<BR>As for the "get a sitter" response, that defeats the purpose of a FAMILY vacation!!!!

X

Parrot - <BR><BR>I have to agree with Thanks. My 58/60 year old parents are still happily enjoying their careers (nurse and M.D.), are very active with their hobbies, friends, etc. While they love to make time for their grandchildren and have taken them for an occasional weekend, it seems presumptious to assume that every grandparent would want their kids to "let them" take the grandkids for an entire week.

Lois

A family vacation with an infant is not a vacation. It is an endurance marathon. The only reason to travel with an infant is to visit faraway relatives who are dying to see the little sweetheart. You can put up with anything to bring joy to your loved ones. Cruising with a baby will bring joy to no one--your baby, yourselves, and other travellers. It is not that I hate kids--on the contrary, I adore my kids, and before we had much experience as parents, we did the vacation schlep with each and all of our three wonderful babies. I am trying to tell you that if I had it to do over, I would leave the babies at home with a sitter, where they would be healthy and much more comfortable, and enjoy a well-deserved break with my husband. But--don't listen to our advice. Find out for yourself.

Parrot Mom

WOW!!! Sorry grandparents..yes, I realize how busy we all are and how many of us are working.. I certainly deserved all the slapping of the hand.. Even retired we are busy, but I do know many grandparents who do baby sit...lol We grand parents do have much to teach our grandchildren..and don't you forget it...

georgeb

Hi K, Take your child. Sure its a lot more work, but who said it would be easy. We travel a lot with our children and both children were on cruises by 6 months. The one thing we could not do without was a carriage with the detachable car seat top. This way when you get to your destination, you can detach it for the baby. Obviously, if your not nursing, formula and any food or cereal the baby may need. We always manage to find a box of two of Cherrios at the first breakfast buffet for snacks. <BR><BR>If you are using bottles, take the ones with the disposable liners, and pack a small travel size of dish detergent to wash the bottles and nipples. We just came back NCL Sun and they had electric tea pots in the room. This was great for heating the water to warm the milk. Otherwise I usually carry a spare plastic container with no cover to heat the milk. The disposable ones they make now are great as are spare deli containers. This way I can toss them on the way home. Its pretty easy to get hot water to warm the milk up or make food as there is almost always coffee and tea being served someplace on the ship. <BR><BR>The last suggestion we have is to get a room with a balcony. Its a little tough to keep quiet while the baby is sleeping. Atleast you can step outside and read or sip a little wine. You can also arrange to have dinner delivered to your room and you can dine on the balcony while the little one sleeps. <BR><BR>So relax, take your child, and hace a wonderful vacation. A lot of people are just jealous that your child will problably see more by the age of 20 than they will in a lifetime.<BR><BR>

thumper

george, <BR><BR>Just as to your last point, the experience will mean nothing to the child because the child is an INFANT. If we're talking even 4 and up I would accept your point as valid, but the kid will get nothing out of this trip. It's a decision for the parents - their own balance of pros and cons.

Grandma

Parrot - <BR><BR>People seemed to be taking issue with the idea of "letting" their parents take the baby for an entire week - not the concept of babysitting in general. I babysit for my grandkids a lot - and enjoy it, but I agree that expecting grandparents to take the kid for that period of time is a lot to ask. Admonishing people here with a "don't you forget it" and ignoring their actual point isn't responsive. Nobody is arguing with babysitting in and of itself.

PARROT MOM

Okay..I agree using grandparents as convenient babysitters is up to the discretion of the grandparents and we seniors are a busy lot whether working or with hobbies. After having a discussion with another grandmother of many and of a wide variety of ages.. she agrees that she has done her job and if she decides it is an emergency she will babysit, but she says she has raised her children (six) and enough. I do remember being a new parent though with two little ones and the youngest was coliky and any time away and I received maybe a day at the most was most welcome. My mother could not take care of an infant and mymother in law gave me much grief...and was very elderly.. I just know that if sombody had reached out to help me so that I could spend a couple of days away...my years of young child rearing would have been much pleasanter and five months is an easy age to care for. Oh yes...my grandchildren live in another country and I would have given my right arm to have been there for them..

Paul Therault

Can't understand all these posters that are telling a parent not to take a most wonderful bundle of joy on vacation. <BR><BR>Also telling a parent to not be able to adapt to any situation. <BR><BR>A child is to be loved and taken everywhere not that the child will or will not remember the trip but the parent will.... forever. <BR><BR>When the child gets older he/she will enjoy seeing the photos of all the exotic places visited with the family and listening to the stories being told.<BR><BR>Also the crew will dote on the child. I have been through it all.<BR><BR>FYI The new Carnival Pride has quality strollers for rent that can be taken ashore.<BR><BR>Enjoy your child. Children grow so quickly.<BR><BR>Paul