Baby on a cruise?

[JessicaT]

Hi moms,

This is sort of a random topic, but I was wondering if anyone has taken their baby on a cruise and could tell me about your experience. We are considering an alaska cruise in late summer to celebrate with my parents for their 40th anniversary - the baby will be about 8 months old at that point.

Has anyone tried this and had a good experience? Or a bad experience? Any tips?

I've thought of some of the obvious cons (baby might be crawling by then, lots of germs on cruise ships) and they don't seem insurmountable, but I can't decide if this is a good idea or a terrible one.

Thanks!!!

[PalmBch2002]

I have a crawling, drooling 8 month old and I would definitely take her on a cruise. She's still at the age where she's baby cute so she can get away with things :) But she can also play and have fun. Yes she's crawling and into EVERYTHING - esp if it can go in her mouth. But if you're ok with her crawling on the ground then you'll be fine. I let my daughter crawl any and everywhere (except bathroom floors!) there's really no escaping germs at this age since they are into everything. I mean, think about how many germs are on the remote control and she puts that in her mouth all.the.time. Plus you'll have the grandparents there and if they're anything like ours they'll be all over her! Go for it - and have fun!!

[Jenyfer9]

We went on a cruise when ds#1 was just shy of 10 months old and I'm pretty sure that dh and I agree that we would not do it again (but then again, we were pretty much told we were going in the first place, so that was part of the problem, but that's a whole other story). Our son was crawling, which really was the least of our worries... because at that age they can still be held relatively easily and will tolerate strollers.

What was awful was the sleeping arrangements. Someone had to be in the room with ds for bedtime. Tell me how much fun you can have on a cruise when bedtime is at 7:30 or 8 o'clock? We did have the services of my MIL as a babysitter for one (maybe 2, I'm having a hard time remembering now) night (it was only a 3 night cruise, thank goodness), but the room was really tiny and we all slept pretty poorly. Once ds was up for the day, we were all up for the day... so that also limited what we could do at night, because who wants to stay up late and party if your little alarm clock wakes up at 6:30am and you can't press snooze?

It also pretty much sucked that we couldn't use the pool at all on board (not so much an issue with an Alaska cruise, but definitely an issue for a cruise to the Bahamas in AUGUST) because no swim diapers are allowed in the pool. Kids have to be potty trained to use it. It just seemed like there were very limited options of things for us to do, both on the ship and on-shore.

I hope I haven't put too much of a wet blanket on your idea, but I'm just telling you my experience. I hope someone else has a better story to tell.

[lil_geek]

Not a cruise - but we did an AI resort and I wouldn't have hesitated to take a cruise with DD at 10 months.

Jenyfer9 problem with being in the room for bedtime - we were lucky and DD would fall asleep in her stroller in the restaurants, at the show, etc. So she was fine in there and we would carry her to the room when we were ready to go. The pool issue would stink - but we were allowed to use the pool at the hotel with no probs.

[Jenyfer9]

The stroller thing worked fine for naps but for bedtime just couldn't be done.

[jesseybell]

I would do it because you are celebrating an event, but under normal circumstances I wouldn't do it just because. We went on a cruise when DD was 9 months old (without her) and we were constantly talking about how we were glad she wasn't there, mainly for the reasons already stated

-They can't go in the pool
-You most likely need to be in the room early - I've had friends who have brought 2-4 year olds and they were able to adjust and go to bed later - no way our 9 month old would have adjusted (or had a ton of interest in the shows/evening activities which kept my friends' young kids awake)
-Honestly, I constantly cursed the people with young kids because the dining area (mainly where you eat breakfast and lunch) and the pool decks were crowded and people were trying to push through with their big ol' strollers and it was a royal PITA.

But that being said, it is your parents 40th, I would go. If the economy wasn't so bad, I was hoping/thinking of doing something with my parents next year for their 50th and we'd have a 1 year old and I wouldn't hesitate to go.

[boilermaker]

There is a lot of info over on www.cruisecritic.com about cruising with young ones. They have a message board/forum very similar to here. I have found it to be very useful in planning our summer cruise. A word of advice, many people are very anti young kids cruising. But there is a section over there just for parents that tends to be 90% helpful and 10% mean. ;) Also, be sure to check out http://cruisingwithchildren.blogspot.com/. She gives good tips for cruising with young ones, incl which ships are better for them.

That all being said, we are doing an Alaskan cruise this summer with our (will be) 28m old. A bit different than an infant for sure. We booked with a travel agent who handled all the arrangements for kid friendly stuff...like a crib in the room and a booster seat for meal times. Our kid can stay up until 10:00 or so, but just in case, we booked an adjoining room with my parents (interior door) so that if she does need to go down early, and for her nap, we can hang out in the other room.

We're cruising in early June, so I'll be sure to come back with any tips after our trip!

[jennylou]

We did a cruise with DD when she was 6 months old. In some ways, it was super easy. As long as she had her boobie (aka ME) she was fine at that age. We'd push her around in the stroller at night, but yeah, there were some things that we couldn't do at night because of having a young one. We did take her to a few shows (she slept) and we walked around at night a lot. The stroller was great for storing her stuff in (I did carry her a lot in the MT) during the day and was good when she would sleep, but it didn't fit through the doorway to our room, so she almost always woke up when we transferred her to bed.

We were on Carnival and the staff loves babies (we traveled with BIL/evilSIL who had a year old) - they were always coo-ing and talking to them. I got the feeling they liked them much better than the teenager crowd. ;)

She was too young to be put in the daycare, so we weren't able to go and just hang out in the hot tub and things like that. I think I'd like that if we went on another cruise. :)

[BTB]

We cruised with DD when she was 33 months old and I have to say, while it was pleasant enough (how bad could a cruise be?) it's definitely the youngest it would have worked out for us. Cruises, IMO, just aren't the greatest of vacations for kids younger than about school-age. It was my fourth, but DH's first and I have to convince him to go again when the kids are older to show him how much fun a cruise can really be. :)

[Ohana]

Do not go NCL.

We took a Hawaiin cruise on NCL when DD1 was about 14 months. She contracted Norwalk virus on the first day thanks to the horrifically unsanitary conditions on the ship. We had to deal with a sick baby, food that was incompable with a sick baby, and staff that wouldn't change diarrhea sheets or comprehend the simplest of instructions (please fix the lock on our cabin door and please do not enter the cabin without knocking). Our experience was so bad we actually got comp'ed a future cruise.

The sleeping arrangements mentioned by a PP were also a challenge, and even though we had family members who could pitch in and watch DD, most of us with little ones just went to bed early.

I'd love to take a cruise again, because I think they're really fun. But DH and I are in agreement that we won't do it until our youngest is old enough to participate in the kids'
programs and are more flexible about sleep. I'll still stay far, far away from NCL, though. They suck.

[cr8zyforaf]

I also think it depends on the personality of the child. With DD#1 - no way, no how. You couldn't have paid me to go on a cruise - she was/is a very structured child and the slightest deviation (later bed time, unfamiliar sleeping conditions) would send her into a tailspin. I took her to the Outerbanks at 8 months and we all got about 15 minutes of sleep the whole week – it was awful and I didn’t even get to spend that much time at the beach.

With DD#2 who is a much more laid back child, I would consider it. However, with a cruise, if things go bad you are stuck. It isn’t like you can get in your car and drive home.

[sparkle&shine]

We took our DS1 when he was 6mo and we had a blast! It was a great vacation! I like to think he had a great time also. We went on a 3 night cruise which was just perfect. We did have to turn in early but we knew that going in and didn't have expectations of staying up all night long.

Think about your baby's temperament. DS1 was an easy going baby that could stay up a bit later sometimes without melting down. He was happy people watching and it didn't take much to please him so he was always content on the cruise since there is so much to see! With DS2 I would still do it again and he is a high needs baby. We might not be able to do full dinner with him since he isn't so happy to just people watch , but, I would know that going in and set my expectations accordingly.

[JessicaT]

Just wanted to say thank you all for your feedback! This was really helpful.

We're not really night owls, so going to bed early is probably not the end of the world, although that is a good point that I hadn't thought of. If the trip happens I think we might try to get a balcony room so that my husband and I have somewhere else to hang out while she sleeps.

My mom is super excited about it though, so I think we will probably be cruising - hopefully it turns out totally fine! Thank you all again!

[steelcitymama]

just wanted to contribute, too. i agree with the PP's who said i think it really depends on your child & their personality. DD is very easy going & pleasant, but has always been a stickler for her sleep /routines. she went to bed very early for a LONG time and just simply could NOT stretch her bedtime. so unless DH and i would have wanted to be stuck in our room after oh, 6 PM, i would never do it! but if you have a kiddo who can snooze in the stroller / sling / etc in the evenings, then it wouldn't be as big of a deal.

good info about the swim diaper / pool situation ---i had no idea!

[BTB]

FWIW, our cruise was on NCL and we had none of the pp's issues. I liked them better than Royal Caribbean, but not as much as Carnival.

[Can't_Wait]

We went on a cruise when DD was around 10 months I think. It was fine. We had to really adjust our expectations & know that it wouldn't be the same cruise we'd been on before b/c we'd have to be back in the room earlier & be in the room for naps. But even with all that, it was still nice. DD enjoyed herself immensely, even at that young age. She loved trying to climb up the stairs & just seeing all the ppl. DD is fairly structured & sleeps with a certain routine.... we just pushed her bed time back a little bit (not much, I think we were in our room by 9p most nights) & then stuck to our home routine as much as possible. We brought an inflatable bath tub that we could stick in our shower to take nightly baths, they had a crib for us, we brought the ipod w/ her bedtime music on it & really tried to do everything the same as at home. It worked. DH & I brought along our portable DVD player & a bunch of movies & watched movies together w/ earphones after she was in bed so we didn't have to go to sleep so early.