Traveling with an infant...

[Miso5oup]

Hello everyone, I am new over here and trying to book a last min. cruise on the Fantasy this Dec. Will be going with my 14 month old and I am thinking to rent a car since we will arrive on Dec 12th by plane to hop on the Fantasy on the 14th. I am from Canada and we are not allowed to travel without a car seat here... just wondering... do you guys bring your car seat from home? Or can I ... *cough* travel without one in Florida?

thanks

 

[michellekcm]

Not sure what the actual answer is, but when we travel in the US and rent a car we just rent the car seat from them too. We've always had decent car seats when we've done that.

We don't have an option, as Australian car seat standards are different from the US, and our seats are not compatible with the US system. You may have better luck just bringing yours from Canada - most airlines check them for free don't they?

 

[slzer0]

Bring yours. Airlines check for free.

 

[lilbuddy88]

All 50 states and the District of Columbia require the use of infant car seats. I usually bring my own car seat...for my older (4) child I sometimes use the rental car company's booster

 

[dsneygirl]

Hello everyone, I am new over here and trying to book a last min. cruise on the Fantasy this Dec. Will be going with my 14 month old and I am thinking to rent a car since we will arrive on Dec 12th by plane to hop on the Fantasy on the 14th. I am from Canada and we are not allowed to travel without a car seat here... just wondering... do you guys bring your car seat from home? Or can I ... *cough* travel without one in Florida?

thanks

Where would you put him if not in a car seat?

A taxi or other car for hire has different laws. A car you rent from Alamo and drive yourself would require a car seat.

 

[wendyoconnor]

Bring your car seat if you are planning on renting a car or using a limo service. I would check the seat at the gate for the airline, unless you have purchased a seat for your LO. I wouldn't check the car seat when you check your luggage.

Do some research to make sure your car seat will work in a rental car in case the car seats sold in Canada are different from the ones sold here in the U.S.

If you are planning on using Disney bus transportation during your stay, car seats can't be used on them, there is no way to install a seat on the busses.

 

[Miso5oup]

thank you for the replies.

do the car rental companies rent car seat as well? Sorry to sound like a noob, Ive never travelled with a infant before, it is our first DCL and 1st time trip for my baby too.

our car seat is heavy, if we bring it, it means we will have to carry it on the cruise as well... I am trying to minimize stuff to bring...

 

[olenalt]

I bring my own-make sure it is FAA approved. I bought the britax car seat thing on wheels and I buckle her in and use it as a stroller through the airport. It is awesome! Then we "borrowed" one on board. They required a deposit, but it was returned. No way I would check a car seat... Never know how it is handled and many experts say it could be damaged if checked with other baggage. Gate check isn't as bad, they say, but still a risk.

I know some people buy a cheaper, lighter one for travel.

 

[Brooklyne3]

We recently booked that same cruise and are travelling with our 12month old from Canada too LOL!

We did not book a seat for him on the plane so we are not bringing our car seat.

We booked a car service (limo - rules may differ if you are renting a car) from the hotel to the port and they will provide us with a car seat. At first they said it was not legal to have him in a car seat but I insisted and will confirm that there is a car seat just before because it's about an hour drive from the hotel to the port.

I don't plan to get off at St. Maarten and in the Virgin Islands because you need to board a bus to go anywhere and I don't feel comfortable having the baby not in a car seat. DH will explore with the older kids.

Not sure if this answers your question. Happy there will be other babies on the same cruise!

 

[Miso5oup]

We booked a car service (limo - rules may differ if you are renting a car) from the hotel to the port and they will provide us with a car seat. At first they said it was not legal to have him in a car seat but I insisted and will confirm that there is a car seat just before because it's about an hour drive from the hotel to the port.

may know how much it cost you the limo?

I have a britax too and I agree that I dont feel comfortable to bring it in and out... will need to check if the car rental has some car seats to provide.

I wanted to take the magic express ... less hassle.. but since we are like 5 ppl, it seems it is more economical to rent a car....

 

[PrincessShmoo]

may know how much it cost you the limo?

I have a britax too and I agree that I dont feel comfortable to bring it in and out... will need to check if the car rental has some car seats to provide.

I wanted to take the magic express ... less hassle.. but since we are like 5 ppl, it seems it is more economical to rent a car....

One note - Magical Express is the free bus service between MCO and WDW resorts. For transportation between MCO and port (as well as WDW resorts and port) it's DCL transportation ($35.00 per person each way).

 

[Brooklyne3]

may know how much it cost you the limo?

I have a britax too and I agree that I dont feel comfortable to bring it in and out... will need to check if the car rental has some car seats to provide.

I wanted to take the magic express ... less hassle.. but since we are like 5 ppl, it seems it is more economical to rent a car....

The limo is $176 for 5 people. The car seat rental is $5.00 extra. Travelling from hotel in airport to port.

 

[Runnergal]

I am not bringing carseats for either my 2yo or 7mo. We are booking a car service for our transfers and I will request carseats. I have enough stuff to schlep with 4 dc, so I try to minimize where possible. Plus, I don't want to have to store them in our stateroom on the ship.

 

[minniemouse1]

We have always traveled with our carseats. all Britax seats and we would put them in hockey bags and check them at the airport. Never had an issue with damage or anything. We have brought boosters, a marathon and a roundabout before. in the room we put it outside on the verandah once and the other times we put it in the closet. We just left the seat tagged with the luggage at the port. IMO it takes quite a bit to damage a carseat, as far as I know the manufacturers state to discard them if they are ever involved in an MVA not if they have been dropped or handled roughly. Anyway, renting a seat does seem a lot easier esp if it is just for a day or two. We have always stayed in FL for a week or so after our cruise so we didn't want to add on the $5/day charge for the seat times how many kids we had that needed them at the time. For us lugging them with us was a necessity so I never considered not bringing one. Enjoy your first cruise and have a great time.

 

[Julz226]

First of all, yes, if you rent a car in FL you will need an infant seat. No exceptions. (As others have stated hiring a limo/cab has different rules).

Almost all of the car rental companies DO rent car seats around here, however it typically runs $9-12 per day and you never know what you're getting. Given the length of your trip, you may be better served (since you don't have to rush straight to the ship) to have one driver get the car, drive <3 miles to the WalMart near MCO and pick up a cheap car seat that you can either dispose of once you're done with it, or just check for the trip home. Airlines are required to check car seats for free anyhow.

Are you renting the car for the duration of the cruise, or turning it in and getting a new rental for your return trip to MCO? If you're parking the car, just leave the seat there for the duration of the cruise. If you're turning it in and doing a second return rental, call the Port Canaveral car rental office (not the national answering/booking service) and see if it would be possible for you to store the seat there while on your cruise, or call your disney vacation planner and see if they have any way to store an infant seat for the duration of the cruise.

My own personal preference though (from LOTS of traveling) - I got a device called a Brica Roll N Go when I was travelling with my infant son a lot. It was a lifesaver. It was $70 and it strapped onto the back of my infant seat allowing it to cart seat & child through airports with ease, and then folded up flat. It's not really functional as a stroller (not enough ground clearance for the great outdoors) but it will get you around an airport/cruise terminal letting your child ride in the comfort of it's own car seat. Both can be gate checked at the plane (free of charge). I took a small umbrella stroller when I was cruising with my son, but he rode through security at the cruise terminal in his car seat/roll-n-go combo and then I was able to have my car seat with me on the ship and we could take cabs without me being a panicky mom.

 

[MommytoCaitlyn]

The limo is $176 for 5 people. The car seat rental is $5.00 extra. Travelling from hotel in airport to port.

Where are you renting your limo from? And is the $176 one way or round trip pricing?

 

[Miso5oup]

Thank you for the inputs... the idea to buy one at walmart was good, but since I am from Canada, we dont have the same rules... car seats .. strollers.. etc have to be approved by canada ... we wanted to buy a car seat from the states and bring it back since it was cheaper on our last car trip to USA .. it didnt work...

the "hick" here is just that since we are staying from 12th-14th in orlando... i was clueless what we can do... besides renting a car and visit around... if not going straight to Disney world and park hoping???

Sorry for the bad vacation planning ideas....

 

[KLK622]

Thank you for the inputs... the idea to buy one at walmart was good, but since I am from Canada, we dont have the same rules... car seats .. strollers.. etc have to be approved by canada ... we wanted to buy a car seat from the states and bring it back since it was cheaper on our last car trip to USA .. it didnt work...

the "hick" here is just that since we are staying from 12th-14th in orlando... i was clueless what we can do... besides renting a car and visit around... if not going straight to Disney world and park hoping???

Sorry for the bad vacation planning ideas....

We traveled with our 13 month old on our last cruise..he was a lap infant for our flight and didn't require a car seat for that. We stayed at Disney for 3 nights before our cruise and took Disney's Magical Express which also didn't require a car seat (it was a bus, so I don't think you could even attach one if you wanted to). From our Disney resort we hired private transport that provided a car seat for $5. We also could have used Disney cruise transport from our resort to a cruise and that wouldn't have required a car seat. From the cruise ship back to the airport we also hired private transport that provided a car seat. So if you visit Disney or somewhere else in Orlando that doesn't require transportation you can easily do your trip without a car seat.

 

[lesabrowning]

I just did the Nov 2nd sailing of the Fantasy with my 14 month old, I am also a certified car seat tech in the US. I know there is great debate, but we always buy our babies a seat on the plane. If that is not possible and you will be traveling with a "lap child" you are better off gate checking your seat than checking it with your luggage. Your seat can be seriously damaged when checked with luggage, less so at the gate. We do not fly with our huge Britax as it weighs a ton. We fly with a Combi Cocoro that I plop on top of my Inglisina Tripp stroller in the airport and I wear the baby. Then I gate check stroller, strap seat in plane and baby is comfy. (Combi seat is crazy light but not cheap. We fly a few times a month. If we flew less I would buy a cheaper travel seat) Many Canadian seats work fine in US cars, but you must do your own research on what is technically legal. All US rental companies will rent you a seat. In my experience, Enterprise does the best with child seats. Keep in mind that while the law does allow some forms of mass transportation to not require a car seat, this does not make it safe. The DCL bus I just rode from the port to Orlando airport had seatbelts and any typical childseat could have been installed. Everyone has to decide their own comfort level and I know my job makes me more safety obsessed than most. But it is not hard to get your kiddo properly restrained if that is your goal : )

 

[Miso5oup]

I just booked the cruise for dec 14th, wohoo! Now Ill have to figure out if i should arrive the 12th or the 13th .... i never liked the fact to fly on friday 13th so I wanted to come to MCO on the 12th, but then I dont know what to do for the next two days till the cruise...my daughter hates the stroller... so we dont want to do any parks... kinda tireing carrying a toddler the whole day...

was thinking for:
-outlet malls... and.. yea.. malls... but 2 days of malls....

any other suggestions for those two days?
Ill prolly rent a car and a car seat if ill have to...