Car Seats on Cruise

[Xalthon]

My wife and I have been on many cruises, but those were all before we had our 4-year old son and 2-year old daughter. We are taking our first Disney cruise in April. My wife wants to bring our own car seats for ground transportation before/after the cruise.

My question is, is there practically enough room in a DCL room to contain two car seats (in addition to all the other *stuff* we need)? We are in one of the bigger balcony rooms (4A) though.

Thanks in advance!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Personally, I would find a way to safely get to and from the port without the car seats. Even if you find a place to keep them in the room without stumbling over them, you will have to lug them on and off the ship, both of which will be a huge pain.

Which port? How are you getting to and from there?

 

[starvenger]

There should be enough if you put them on the floor of the closet. If your 4yo is big enough you may want to consider using a high-backed booster seat (one of mine was at 4. The other... not so much). Still bulky to carry around, but can lie flat and slide under the bed along with your suitcases.

As mentioned in the post above, they are a pain to lug around, but I don't trust the baggage handlers to, well, handle them properly.

 

[Xalthon]

Which port? How are you getting to and from there?

Port Canaveral. We are taking some private transportation.

 

[LYSE]

Easiest for us was to rent a car and park it .leaving the seat in there....lol believe it or not it was actually the same price as some of the transfers we were looking at.

 

[pezgirlroy]

I would not bring the car seats. If you are taking private transportation, ask if they have car seats.

 

[SailingScout]

I would agree about trying not to bring the car seats. We have cruised several times with two kids in seats. Once we rented a car and left the seats in for the cruise, a second used private transport that provided seats, and the remainder of the cruises used busses where seats weren’t required. You will feel like you are tripping over the seats in the room no matter where you put them.

 

[eva2015]

Assuming you are flying into MCO, I would not be comfortable with that drive without car seats. We cruised out of Miami when our kids were those ages. Our 4 yr old used a no back booster. She is still harnessed at home but I was ok using the booster with me sitting next to her making sure her stayed in position. We had a dedicated travel seat for our youngest.

We used these.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Harmony-Juvenile-Youth-Backless-Booster-Car-Seat-Granite/48859727

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-NEXT-Convertible-Car-Seat-Otto/41126739

We strapped the NEXT to Go Go Babyz Mini Travelmate. We wrapped a luggage strap around the booster and slipped it over the handle of the GoGo Babyz. The 2 yr got a ride through the airport. We installed the NEXT on the plane and put the booster in the over head bin. When we got to the Port of Miami, we put the seats in a red car seat travel bag and tagged with the rest of our luggage. These are inexpensive seats used only for travel so I was willing to take the risk. We put them under the bed in our room with the rest of our luggage.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

With 4 of you in the stateroom, I wouldn't want to have 2 car seats taking up spcae. i would either rent them from the transport company or take the DCL bus.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

With 4 people, the DCL shuttle from MCO (assuming that's where you are coming from) won't cost much more than private transport, and no car seats needed on busses. This is what I would choose if I were you. The small extra cost is easily worth the convenience of leaving the car seats home.

I know many people don't like using rental car company car seats. But, if you feel comfortable with that, they have shuttles from the rental place to the port. Little ones wouldn't need a car seat on those shuttles. Or, you can drop 1 parent and children off at the terminal, then go return the car and take the shuttle back to the port.

 

[starvenger]

Or, you can drop 1 parent and children off at the terminal, then go return the car and take the shuttle back to the port.

This was our M.O. back when the kids needed the car seats. Just have them go in the terminal and check in if allowed, and I'd catch up. Dragging the car seats with me. Short term pain but it's what we wanted to do.

 

[xQuizx]

I've been able to store our car seats under the bed, as well as our suite cases.

If you take private transport they can normally supply car seats. FL Tours provides car seats free of charge, we normally use them.

I always bring a car seat for the plane ride and car ride. If you take a bus you do not need a carseat, but travel by car is required in Florida.

We have a 2, 4 and 7 year old.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If you're going to take them, figure out ahead of time how you will wrangle them on and off the ship. Are you going to let the porters take them? (you don't know if they'll be thrown around) If not, you and your DW will have two toddlers to hold on to and luggage, perhaps strapped one to another. Maybe there's a place you can put a strap through the car seat so you can strap it to your luggage? Or can you bring a stroller that at least one car seat will strap into? (don't know if that's a thing for toddler seats)

I'm with others that said you should rent (there are really good rates out there, if you watch prices) and park the rental. Keep your car seats in the rental.

 

[cadien]

When our son was 3, we took the car seat along on the cruise. Like others have said, it fits on the floor of the closet. We were used to schlepping it through airports (he always sat in it on the plane) so carrying it on/off the ship wasn't any different.

 

[ryankski]

For our AK cruise last summer we took the MiFold Grab and Go Travel booster seat for our son. It is awesome and the YouTube videos explain it well. For $30 it easily fits in luggage or small book bag. We also use it when he's going to be or might be in a car he normally wouldn't be in and does not have a booster.

 

[lklgoodman]

Keep in mind you can't get in your cabin until 1:30. If you get on the ship earlier than that you'll have to carry them wherever you go.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We took carseats, didn't really have a good alternative choice as we had a rental car for a week in Orlando before the cruise. We took Diono Radians, they fold, but are ridiculously heavy. We had a carseat bag for each carseat and yes we did put them in checked baggage. They fit in the closets just fine and would also have slid under the bed (due to the folding).

 

[Dug720]

We took carseats, didn't really have a good alternative choice as we had a rental car for a week in Orlando before the cruise. We took Diono Radians, they fold, but are ridiculously heavy. We had a carseat bag for each carseat and yes we did put them in checked baggage. They fit in the closets just fine and would also have slid under the bed (due to the folding).

Just be aware that checking them is not the best option as they could end up tossed at the bottom of a very heavy pile of luggage and get damaged.

 

[lorenni]

I would look into travel car seats. We also have a mifold. When DS was too small for the mifold we had a harness type travel seat that also folds down to fit in a backpack and was lightweight (not the same as the airplane one but similar idea.)

As for space in the stateroom - god forbid you are involved in an accident without appropriate car seats would you ever be saying, well thank goodness we saved that closet space for clothes?

 

[cheermom2four]

We are taking some private transportation.

If you are taking private transportation to/from the port, why dont you just reserve car seats through the private transportation company? We have always done that when we go places.