Cruising with a Baby

[LadyNia]

My husband and I have cruised on Royal Caribbean various times. However, we are considering a cruise on the Dream to Castaway Cay and Nassau with our baby who would be around 7/8 months at the time of travel. It seems that Disney is very accommodating to families traveling with babies and are hoping that this would be a fun travel experience. We usually pack our vacations with lots to do but because we'd be traveling with a baby would be willing to scale down and focus mostly on ship activities and castaway cay. We may not get off the ship at Nassau. We are also hoping to use the nursery to have some time to ourselves. If you have cruised with a baby, what has been your experience? Would you recommend?
Also, we are on the fence about whether to fly in a day early to go to Galaxy's Edge. We wouldn't bring our child on a full blown Disney World trip until they were around 4 or 5 but would like to experience Galaxy's Edge before that. If anyone has experience juggling both a park day and cruise with a baby, I'd love to hear it.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

Hi! We took our daughter on a Royal Caribbean cruise in August at 11 months and are going on a Disney cruise next month The biggest thing I would say is know your baby's schedule but also go with the flow! Our daughter was refusing to sit still and eat the food we brought at meals, so we just had to improvise a lot. She feel slept through dinner one night! Know what your baby likes and likes to play with and have it on hand or know how to get it! Find somewhere on the ship where you can sit down and let the baby crawl around (if they are crawling!). Try to bring things to make them comfortable at bed time. Our daughter normally sleeps with a noise machine so we brought a portable one. Don't be nervous but understand that everything might not exactly happen as you want it to! We also did WDW at 5 months with her. HATED the stroller. Did not want to be put down and slept on me (in the carrier) at dinner every night. I'd say it'll be fine! Just go with the flow

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Just keep in mind that travelling with a baby isn’t really a vacation, it’s just parenting in a different location. Your baby may not sleep through the night at that age, they may get fussy and want to crawl around at inconvenient times, and you’ll need to bring a ton of stuff. Diapers, extra clothes, bibs, food, bottles (if bottle fed or going to the nursery for a while), stroller, car seat, etc.

We traveled with both our kids as babies and it’s do-able. But it’s way more complicated than pre-kids.

 

[Chemist]

Traveling with a baby all depends on how your baby is at that moment!

I have many less than fond memories of traveling with child #1. We found pediatricians everywhere we went--skiing, Omaha on Christmas Eve, should have found one at my college reunion...) He was also an even worse sleeper when we traveled.

Some kids are good travelers, some aren't.

Pros of cruises with small people:
1. Nursery
2. I was very happy with our health care experience. (Child #2 came down with pink eye mid trip). When you need a doctor for the sick kids its just there! And they are good with kids.
3. Someone to clean up after you! And make all your food!

Cons:
1. They may not sleep well. A kid crying in the night is MUCH WORSE in a hotel than at home.
2. You are still parenting your child, just doing it somewhere else.

 

[LadyNia]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. Right now my son is 2 months old and sleeps through the night. He is generally pretty happy. Can get fussy about an hour in the evening before bed. I know sleep regressions can happen but would not even consider this trip if I was dealing with an overly fussy baby or a baby that didn't sleep. It sounds like this trip is doable as long as we go into it with realistic expectations.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

We've done multiple Disney trips to include a Disney Cruise with our little one. All of our Disney trips involve flights too, since we live in the middle of the USA. She's 2.5 now and has been to Disneyland in CA multiple times, WDW in FL multiple times, and a Disney Cruise last year at 18 months old. Our next cruise is in 2 weeks, and it'll be our first trip after potty training her, so we'll see how that goes.

Pack enough diapers, pack enough clothes, and just roll with the punches. Before the kid, my wife and I were vacation commandos, up early and out late to get the most bang for the buck. Now on vacations we let the kid be the alarm, and we go at the kid's pace. That means a nap or two in the middle of the day, and early to bed. If your kid is mostly agreeable and flexible with sleep and with travel, you'll have a good time. Just realize that it may be a "different" vacation than what you're used to.

 

[SamFaniam]

Things that can be provided in your stateroom - pack and play, diaper genie, bottle warmer.

 

[jenmsmith]

We took our baby on a cruise last March as part of a big family trip. Like other posters have said, traveling with a baby is different than traveling without kids. But it can be really fun, too. We made use of the nursery on the ship, and also had to visit the ship’s doctor. Our youngest is pretty go-with-the-flow, so she doesn’t get too bent out of shape about anything. Traveling at 7/9 months is most likely going to be easier than when baby starts walking. So I think you’re choosing a good age for that. Also, we’ve taken baby several times to WDW. You should be good for a day trip to Galaxy’s Edge. You’ll have to use Rider Switch for the rides, but most of the interesting parts of GE are just exploring. I do recommend bringing both a carrier and a stroller. One trip our baby only wanted the carrier. Next trip, she only wanted the stroller. On that note, don’t bring a big stroller on the ship. The halls are narrow and not easy to navigate with a bigger one. Enjoy!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I learned one of my favorite phrases ever years ago on these boards when I was trying to make the same decision. Someone said, "you're gonna be in baby jail anyway, so might as well be in baby jail on a Disney cruise!"

Agree with previous poster that it will be easier now before baby starts walking. All bets are off once that starts!

 

[LadyNia]

We took our baby on a cruise last March as part of a big family trip. Like other posters have said, traveling with a baby is different than traveling without kids. But it can be really fun, too. We made use of the nursery on the ship, and also had to visit the ship’s doctor. Our youngest is pretty go-with-the-flow, so she doesn’t get too bent out of shape about anything. Traveling at 7/9 months is most likely going to be easier than when baby starts walking. So I think you’re choosing a good age for that. Also, we’ve taken baby several times to WDW. You should be good for a day trip to Galaxy’s Edge. You’ll have to use Rider Switch for the rides, but most of the interesting parts of GE are just exploring. I do recommend bringing both a carrier and a stroller. One trip our baby only wanted the carrier. Next trip, she only wanted the stroller. On that note, don’t bring a big stroller on the ship. The halls are narrow and not easy to navigate with a bigger one. Enjoy!

Thanks for the tips! I was definitely thinking about whether I should get an umbrella stroller for the trip. Will definitely get one!

 

[LadyNia]

I learned one of my favorite phrases ever years ago on these boards when I was trying to make the same decision. Someone said, "you're gonna be in baby jail anyway, so might as well be in baby jail on a Disney cruise!"

Agree with previous poster that it will be easier now before baby starts walking. All bets are off once that starts!

Love this way of thinking! Haha

 

[deliela999]

Thanks for the tips! I was definitely thinking about whether I should get an umbrella stroller for the trip. Will definitely get one!

Choose your stroller carefully. I didn't know there were nicer umbrella strollers and bought a cheap one. It's hardly been used and we ended up buying a Chicco one we LOVE. When I was pregnant someone told me I'd end up with 5 different strollers and I said no, I'm going to do my research and pick a good one. We ended up with 5 at different points because they served different purposes and the cheap one was awful.

 

[LadyNia]

Choose your stroller carefully. I didn't know there were nicer umbrella strollers and bought a cheap one. It's hardly been used and we ended up buying a Chicco one we LOVE. When I was pregnant someone told me I'd end up with 5 different strollers and I said no, I'm going to do my research and pick a good one. We ended up with 5 at different points because they served different purposes and the cheap one was awful.

Good to know!