Car seats and stroller for one year old - any cruising with baby tips

[marlinrj]

Hi guys! I'll be going in my first Disney cruise in April. We're going with a bunch of family. My sisters and I will have our kids with us. She has three that are 5,4 and 1. Mine is also one. What do we do about car seats and strollers? Do the babies need car seats when we go on excursions?

Also any other tips you could share with me would be great! Thanks in advance for all your help and knowledge.

 

[rwthompson82]

I think a lot of this will depend on your logistics. What are your plans pre/post cruise and how are you getting to the terminal.

Our first cruise, I brought a car seat with travel cart that turned the car seat into a stroller, which worked quite well for us. In this case, it was just for transport around the airports as we flew in and stayed at the Hyatt MCO before the cruise before renting a car and driving to the port. My daughter was 2 at the tiem

This cruise, my son will be 15 months, and we are bringing a stroller, since we are staying at WDW pre-cruise and taking disney transportation.

 

[DLgeeks]

We generally bring a stroller and try as much as possible to avoid bringing a car seat. The stroller (as long as it's not huge) will fit under the bed when you're not using it and is handy especially for port days and embarkation/disembarkation. It's a bit harder to store the car seat (and you have to lug it around). Like PP said it really depends on your logistics for the trip; do you want it on the plane, or are they lap sitting, are you taking the DCL bus to the port or private transportation etc.

I find with excursions you are going to be pretty limited in choices just due to the age restrictions, and most of the ones that allow the littles are going to transport you by bus/shuttle etc where you still wouldn't be able to bring a seat along. If you plan on renting a car in port and exploring that way it might be worthwhile. Though you can usually get a rental seat with the car (and yes I know there are a whole other set of issues with rental car seats).

 

[marlinrj]

We generally bring a stroller and try as much as possible to avoid bringing a car seat. The stroller (as long as it's not huge) will fit under the bed when you're not using it and is handy especially for port days and embarkation/disembarkation. It's a bit harder to store the car seat (and you have to lug it around). Like PP said it really depends on your logistics for the trip; do you want it on the plane, or are they lap sitting, are you taking the DCL bus to the port or private transportation etc.

I find with excursions you are going to be pretty limited in choices just due to the age restrictions, and most of the ones that allow the littles are going to transport you by bus/shuttle etc where you still wouldn't be able to bring a seat along. If you plan on renting a car in port and exploring that way it might be worthwhile. Though you can usually get a rental seat with the car (and yes I know there are a whole other set of issues with rental car seats).

Thanks for the reply. We may stay an extra few days after the cruise so we will bring the car seat. Do you bring your stroller on excursions? I also use a carrier so I'm planning on using that too.

 

[ayz75]

Thanks for the reply. We may stay an extra few days after the cruise so we will bring the car seat. Do you bring your stroller on excursions? I also use a carrier so I'm planning on using that too.

We didn't bring a carseat because we didn't require one (stayed at a Disney Resort beforehand and used all Disney transportation). But we did bring a stroller and used it on daily basis, including on land during port days. My daughter needs her stroller to nap, so unless we were just checking out the port during non-nap time, I always brought the stroller along! Having said that, we didn't do any excursions because it just wasn't worth it (IMO, since she was only 2) we did go to the beach once on our own in Grand Caymen (and brought the stroller).

p.s. we are one of those parents who have to stroll for like an hour on deck 4 (? the one with the jogging trail) for an hour at 10 or 11pm to get her to sleep!

 

[DLgeeks]

We brought both a carrier and a stroller and used both at different times. DS was 19 mo on our last cruise so he was running around quite a bit, but got tired easily. I found using the carrier (I love my Ergo!) was super convenient for the beach trips where we were getting on and off shuttles, busses, etc and navigating folding and unfolding and lugging around a stroller would have been difficult. For the days that we just explored around the port the stroller was much easier (there was no way my back would handle porting around the little guy all day in the heat!), and it gave us a place to stash diapers and shopping bags, etc. I didn't use either much on board, but you may find that different with a 1yo, it's nice to have either option.

 

[Mandlz]

Our first cruise was when our daughter was 18 months old, and while we brought the stroller, she wasn't one to sit in it all the time - she likes to MOVE! We weren't comfortable with letting her just walk anywhere either, and she was too short to really hold hands. So we bought one of those backpacks with a leash on them. Never did I think I'd ever put one of those on my child (she's a child, not a dog!)...but it was the BEST thing we brought. She was able to feel like she was in control, and moving on her own, and we just kept up - it really just ensured that she didn't get away from us or head into some place she wasn't supposed to go. They aren't for everyone, and if she'd been happy sitting in the stroller that would have been preferable, but something to consider if your little one is a mover.

 

[fab1976]

Bring a small narrow stroller. Our baby jogger City Mini didn't fit through the door of our stateroom. We just used it for travel days though, so it stayed folded under the bed. Baby carrier would be the best on board option. Also keep your kids attached to something or someone during busy times, our daughter is a tall 2.5 yr old and a man tripped over and almost fell on her while she was sitting RIGHT in front of us in the atrium one night.

 

[moremouse]

Just keep in mind that you can't store them outside your stateroom in the halls. I think the little umbrella strollers work a LOT better in the confines of the ship.

Maybe keep the "grand pooba" for port?

 

[Mousemommy1]

Is it bad that I chose the Diono Rainier car seat specifically because it folds flat and will store under the bed on the cruise, lol?

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

The family sized staterooms usually have a little cubbie that will fit the car seat. There was an extra chair in our room once that we just had the room Stewart take away for the week. We use a nice umbrella stroller for our cruises one that reclines. We also bring our car seat (and we use a car seat cart to lug it through the airport.)