6 month old...Cruise good idea?

[Mr Wes]

I have a few questions. My wife is 5 months pregnant, and were discussing our vacation for the year. We decided that Disney World would not be a good idea for an infant, just because either my wife or I would have to ride with our 7 year old and the other would have to wait with the the baby, we wouldnt be spending all that time together. So my 7 year old recommended the Disney Cruise....

What a great idea! We could all be together, no rides, no lines, we will always be close to room if we had to go with the baby, and we can still experience the magic of Disney....

But what do you think? Is a cruise a good idea with a 6 month old?

Our baby is due in May so we would like to take the Caribbean cruise in Nov which means we would have to take our 7yo out of school for at least a week, bad idea?

Sorry so long, but this will be our first cruise and I have so many questions...so thanks for the help and expect more questions! LOL

 

[cseca]

...

What a great idea! We could all be together, no rides, no lines, we will always be close to room if we had to go with the baby, and we can still experience the magic of Disney....

But what do you think? Is a cruise a good idea with a 6 month old?

...

Hehehe... that's the reason why we're taking our DD (8.5mo) on a cruise this month.
Mommy needs a break and her disney fix. Since she's still napping quite often and I'm still bfing we figure a cruise is the best compromise.

We are about 10min away from our room at all times (well except while we are on the ports of course). And I don't have to worry about where to eat, what time to eat, blah blah blah... Oh and having someone else clean out the diaper pail for once...

And if I'm lucky there's a spa I could hop over to and still make it back in time for feeding.

But again, this is all "my" plan. How DD is going to enjoy the vacation is a different story...

I think my biggest concern is keeping her on her usual routine without depriving DH and I of the cruise experience.

My suggestion would be to get a verandah if you can afford it. If your baby naps a lot you could still enjoy sitting outside and not feel like you're stuck in a dark room.

Congrats!!!!!

Oh and one more thing. Make sure you have a reasonable expectation of what you can experience while you have your new baby on board. Just so you won't be too disappointed. You won't be able to make it to everything and that's just an excuse to come back the second time around (or third, fourth, and so on... ).

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

We just did the 4 night with our 26m and 7m old and it was a lot of fun. I was worried about them sleeping side by side since the baby still wakes up on occasion or gets up really early to eat. But they both slept like little rocks.

The only thing we found difficult was dinner time. We had the early seating and the baby was done about half way through dinner. I didn't remember it taking so long, but we did have 18 in our party at 2 different tables. Our server noticed when the baby had fallen asleep and cut our meals up for us. It was a nice little extra that he noticed.

We also put them both on the verandah side to sleep and closed the curtains around the tv so we could stay up a little later and watch the shows or movies they were running. I exclusively BF so my nursing cover really came in handy. DH and DS swam while we sat in the sun and enjoyed the day at sea. It was easier than I thought it would be, and the worries I had didn't come true.

 

[mousecruzer]

We did our first cruise in 2008 (7day) with our then 10 yo and 9 mo daughters. Our children in general never nap. I spent most of the time on deck 4 walking the youngest in her stroller and then I would read in the comfy deck chairs. My DH did excursions w/the oldest child. It was a good vacaction but alot of work. You are not alone though on the cruise! Disney caters to families and it shows! If you have the personality that is easy going and can handle EXTRA PACKING and planning. Then you will be fine.
I LOVED the cruise but our next one (in 24 days) we are taking a Gma with us so we can see the ADULT areas of the boat this time.
We also used the Nursery three times so we could enjoy our dinner.

We had a cat 11 room and only was in the room to sleep.

Good luck!

 

[NYhorsefarm-mom]

I have cruised with babies and always had a wonderful time. I spent a lot of time walking with a stroller. I would take the baby out early in the morning when she woke up so the rest of the family could sleep in. We would go get a muffin and coffee (for me) and walk around and sit by a window etc. I much prefer verandah rooms because I can chill while baby slept. Dinner was the biggest challenge and usually meant my husband or I would switch off eating. Honestly I think a 6 month old to be easier to travel with than a 15 month old...

 

[Mr Wes]

Thanks for the info everyone. Were really looking forward to our first cruise. I think just being a few minutes walk from our room is great! Im sure we'll be using the nursery a few times as well as the other clubs for our 7yo so that the wife and I can enjoy a little time alone!

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

Does anyone know if the kids clubs are open during the days ashore?

DH and I were thinking about a cruise but wanted to expirence some of the excursions on Castaway Cay, would we be able to have our daughter 15mos in the daycare for a few hours to do this?

Thanks for the help!