Anyone take their baby on a cruise?

[Anonymous]

My husband is having his 30th birthday, and we'd like to take a cruise to celebrate it and our anniversary. We've been on cruises before, but I was wondering if anyone had taken one of the following and could give some insight into how it would be with a baby.

We have a 9 month old daughter who would be around a year at the time we're thinking of going.

Our first choice was Alaska, but we thought it would be really difficult with a baby. I heard it's good for children, but babies not really because you'd have to carry them everywhere.

So, we thought about Bermuda, but I've heard it's expensive on the island and there's not much to DO there. We aren't much for sitting on the beach all day.

We also are thinking of the Southern Caribbean on Carnival, which has group babysitting at night for $6/hr or something.

We would like to somewhere with few NEEDED shore excursions because we don't have a ton of money at the moment.

Just as a note: we do not want to leave the baby at home. We are looking for a family-friendly vacation.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What about a Disney cruise--I realize your child is pretty much too young to really get it but..from what I am told..they have great babysitting services and lots of adult activities--also very very clean which is super important not only for you but for baby!

[Anonymous]

We just got back a week ago from a Carnival cruise with my 17-month old DS. I'm sorry to say this, but my advice is-- DON'T DO IT! A cruise is not a good vacation for a child under 2 years old. Maybe it would be easier with a 12-month old, but for my son, there just wasn't a lot for him to do. Carnival does have a kids program, but it starts at 2 years old. There were some designated times where we could have brought him into the playroom, but on our ship it was from 12-2 pm on sea days only, which is when he is eating lunch and then takes a nap. They don't allow kids with diapers in the pool. So basically my son couldn't play or do much of anything.

The babysitting is a bit misleading too... It's called a "slumber party" and you have to bring your child to the camp room, and it's only available from 10 pm- 3 am. My son goes to sleep usually 8-8:30 pm, so we couldn't use this service. As for the stops, our cruise stopped in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. In Grand Cayman we couldn't do any excursions since everything required a bus or taxi ride somewhere. We walked around the little town for about an hour, but it was hot and my son got antsy in the stroller. Cozumel was a little better... Within walking distance of the dock there was a hotel with a pool/beach we could use and they only charged like $35/day (each person).

It was just really hard not being able to do what we wanted, eat when we wanted, and it was a bit overwhelming with lots of people and noises. By the 3rd day, my husband and I wished it were over but unfortunately still had 3 nights to go. And for those who are wondering why we even did it, my parents took us and insisted we have this "family" vacation.

If you do go, my advice is-- go for as short a time as possible (3 nights), getting a room with a balcony will make naps easier (ours was interior--- tiny and horrible... but with a balcony you can be outside reading or whatever while your child naps), and request the early dinner seating (which you might not get-- we requested the early but got assigned the late seating-- 8:30 pm-- so had to go fight with the maitre'd in the dining room so they would switch ours to early.)

[Anonymous]

OP here.
Thanks so much for the advice. I was wondering about those things on Carnival....they said "babysitting" but I wasn't sure it was for Infants. Our baby usually goes to sleep by 7:30 but she can stay up until 8:30 with no problem. I was hoping that we could take her there and she'd sleep and then we could take her back to our room. The early seating did occur to me, but not until someone mentioned it! It's the kind of thing you don't think about when you don't have kids! We were thinking maybe Norwegian would be good because you can eat whenever you want and they don't charge a fee for the child (only port fees and taxes) but there is no babysitting. Reading your post now, I think maybe we don't need the babysitting anyway.

I wonder if Bermuda would be a good place since basically, your ship is the "hotel". I also didn't think about the cabs and carseats. Ugh. I guess we should think about it more, but it does seem like a short Disney cruise would be nice since they actually have programs for small babies and are probably designed with some of these issues in mind. I had wondered why most were so short until I read this post. I don't think she'd mind that much the lack of programs because she loves just staring at people and smiling at them, but maybe by the end of this year she would need more to do so we'll have to change our plans if we don't go early in the year.

Do you think that a cruise with very few days at sea would be preferable?

Whew! Thanks so much, your post really got me thinking!

[Anonymous]

Hi OP-- 21:28 here... Yes, I think the shorter the cruise, the better. And if a Disney cruise has programs or a playroom that your 12-month old could utilize, that would be great. Just find out exactly what they offer and for what ages to make sure it'll work for you. At 9 months she's prob. content to just look at people, but the older they get, the more they just want to do stuff, at least that's how my son is.

If you're not set on a cruise, have you thought about doing a beach vacation? We did one this past summer (with a few other families but would also be fine by yourselves too) and it was nice being in a rental house and enjoying the beach/pool for a few days. We went to the Outer Banks. Just an idea...

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I heard Norwegian does not charge for babies. I have a friend from work who has taken his son on two cruises and said it was fine. I personally think it would be tough, but probably depends on the parents and the baby.

[Anonymous]

The Bermuda cruise would be nice because one leaves from Baltimore, saving you the hassle of flying with a baby ahead of time. I wouldn't worry about there not being much to "do" in Bermuda, because you're only there a couple of days and, well, what are you going to be able to "do" with a baby anyway? There's shops and restaurants and beaches and places to stroll.

We are taking our 19 month old on a cruise soon. (Famous last words --) I'm not that apprehensive about it. I posted on the DCUM list and got some fairly positive responses -- plus we are going with family who can do some babysitting and baby-care. Plus our kid is really mellow and adaptable (more famous last words, I know...)

You should REALLY double check all the babysitting policies -- when I checked, there were very few cruise lines that did babysitting anymore for the littlest kids. Most/all the daytime programs require potty training, so those are out. You also can't bring un-potty-trained kids into the pools and apparently they're pretty vigilant about this, though I hear some ships have kiddie "splash pools" where the rules are relaxed. But I would not count on babysitting -- get a room with a balcony so when you are stuck there with a sleeping kiddo, you can relax in comfort (as opposed to a tiny, darkened cabin).

And there's just lots of things to think about. Google "cruise" and "infant" or "kids" or something -- stuff like, reserving a highchair, choosing the right dinner seating for kiddo's schedule, making sure they have the food/milk you need, reserving a crib, is there a tub in the cabin to bathe them or do you need to bring an inflatable one with you, bringing diapers and other supplies with you because they cost a mint onboard if they're even for sale at all, etc....... Again, I think it's do-able and I'm optimistic about our trip, but just be sure you do your homework. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Word of warning--unless you are doing a Disney crusie-I would not go on a three night cruise esp. with Carnival. My friend did this three night cruise with hubby and two kids just to see if cruising was for them. Apparently the shorter cruises attract the partiers who are looking for a long weekend of debauchery. I am not being judgemental here since hey when I was single I would have thought that was great. But..she said it wasn't a good environment for kiddies--i.e.drunks, silly behavior etc. and she said she wanted to get off the boat the first night.

[Anonymous]

Any chance you could persuade someone else to go with you? (like a grandma, set of friends, cousin?) Two years ago, I went with a friend and her mom and my friend's then 9 month old son on a Princess 7 day caribbean cruise. All of us had a GREAT time. The baby was not old enough to do any of the official "kid" stuff, but he really enjoyed the sights and sounds of the ship - surprisingly, he really enjoyed daily bingo. People on the boat called him the "bingo baby." My friend's mom provided occasional babysitting. My friend did a second cruise this past year on NCL with her mom - and again they had a great time. This time her son was a little older and could enjoy the kid facilities. He could not participate in the official program, but he could play in the kiddie area with an adult. He REALLY enjoyed it.

If you ask around, you might be able to find someone in your circle who is interested in cruising and could help out with occasional babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Carnival is probably not the best option for a family cruise with a baby. As a PP said, lots of drunks, lots of noise, etc. Other cruise lines would probably be better.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend Bermuda. I don't know if you meant you would take a cruise there, but either way, it is a great place. I have not been there with a child, but they do have a great aquarium and the town of Hamilton is a nice place to walk around. You can also take the ferry from Hamilton to the Royal Naval Dockyards to walk around and get lunch. The bus system is also very efficient and that is what we used to get around. Plus the people there are so friendly and polite (the British influence I guess!) One thing about Bermuda is I don't think cruise ships are allowed there on weekends, so your cruise would be primarily during the week.