Cruising with Infants

[Peaseblossom36]

Hello! We are hoping to have an infant when we go on our next cruise (Alaska 2021) and I was hoping to hear from some parents about their experience traveling and cruising.

I work with infants so know that they are all different, but would like to hear about experiences regardless. What was difficult that you didn’t expect to be, what was easier than you thought, is there anything you wish you had thought of? Things like that.

 

[SamFaniam]

Hello! We are hoping to have an infant when we go on our next cruise (Alaska 2021) and I was hoping to hear from some parents about their experience traveling and cruising.

I work with infants so know that they are all different, but would like to hear about experiences regardless. What was difficult that you didn’t expect to be, what was easier than you thought, is there anything you wish you had thought of? Things like that.

it’s been a Long time since we’ve sailed with a little. First off be aware that your baby has to be at least six months old to sail.

You can request a pack and play, a diaper genie, and a bottle warmer for your Stateroom. If your baby is eating solid foods, these can be puréed in the MDRs. The nursery is well-equipped, and can be reserved ahead of time. There is an extra cost, but this will allow mom and dad to have some alone time. A veranda room is nice, although those are extra pricey in Alaska, because it allows you to enjoy the balcony while baby is napping. Nonwalkers can be really easy since you can just carry them everywhere. However if your baby is old enough to be crawling, they should participate in the diaper dash!

 

[MomOTwins]

I guess the one thing I wasn’t prepared for was despite being a good sleeper at home, he did NOT want to sleep in a strange place and would cry the entire night—dozing off after we soothed him to sleep in our arms and then waking up screaming bloody murder 30 mins later. And of course, with others trying to sleep in the room next door you can’t just let him cry it out. Those trips were the most exhausting vacations we ever took. We also felt horribly embarrassed and know our neighbors must have hated us no matter how fast we got to him. So maybe have him try out sleeping in pack and play in different rooms at home to see how he adapts.

Also, not sure if you were aware but since so many people seem to be unaware on every cruise we’ve been on, infants are not permitted in the ship’s pools even with swim diapers. They are only allowed in splash areas until potty trained.

A last tip was that for us to still enjoy the ship despite our little one’s midday naps and early bedtime, DH and I would read the navigator and pick which naptimes/evenings would be his turn to go out while I stayed with little guy and vice versa.

 

[Chemist]

I'm always the negative one.

HATED traveling with my babies. They ALWAYS got sick. It wasn't until my kid hit 5 that we started having vacations that didn't include a trip to urgent care. (We went to urgent care Christmas Eve at Grandmas, skiing in Colorado, my college reunion in Omaha, two different trips to Hawaii, our first cruise... God I wish I were joking.)

The kids NEVER sleep as well outside their own house either.

The GOOD thing about Disney cruises is that doctor's are ALWAYS there, the waiters are great with helping with food for your difficult eater, and if your child cooperates, you can drop them at the nursery for a nap.

 

[Chemist]

I guess the one thing I wasn’t prepared for was despite being a good sleeper at home, he did NOT want to sleep in a strange place and would cry the entire night—dozing off after we soothed him to sleep in our arms and then waking up screaming bloody murder 30 mins later. And of course, with others trying to sleep in the room next door you can’t just let him cry it out. Those trips were the most exhausting vacations we ever took. We also felt horribly embarrassed and know our neighbors must have hated us no matter how fast we got to him. So maybe have him try out sleeping in pack and play in different rooms at home to see how he adapts.

Also, not sure if you were aware but since so many people seem to be unaware on every cruise we’ve been on, infants are not permitted in the ship’s pools even with swim diapers. They are only allowed in splash areas until potty trained.

A last tip was that for us to still enjoy the ship despite our little one’s midday naps and early bedtime, DH and I would read the navigator and pick which naptimes/evenings would be his turn to go out while I stayed with little guy and vice versa.

Thank you!

Everyone talks about how easy it was traveling with babies. Mine didn't sleep well traveling for YEARS! And its so hard in a hotel room, you can't just let them cry.

I remember one morning in San Diego. At 4 am, my then 2 year old wanted: pancakes, waffles, banana, a movie, not that movie... What he wanted was about 10 more hours of sleep! And if I'd let him fuss, he might have self soothed. But since I was awake trying to sooth him, he just got worse.

 

[lanejudy]

I just wanted to mention thst you should have the baby listed on your reservation now. You can list as “Baby Smith” and use the due date as DOB, this can be updated later. Baby counts towards occupancy so if not added from the start you do run the risk of not being able to add him/her later. Babies must be at least 6 months old for most cruises, and 12 months for a TA or PC itinery.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Peaseblossom36]

I just wanted to mention thst you should have the baby listed on your reservation now. You can list as “Baby Smith” and use the due date as DOB, this can be updated later. Baby counts towards occupancy so if not added from the start you do run the risk of not being able to add him/her later. Babies must be at least 6 months old for most cruises, and 12 months for a TA or PC itinery.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you! We do have them listed, the agent on the phone was very helpful with that.

 

[gdrj]

Thank you!

Everyone talks about how easy it was traveling with babies. Mine didn't sleep well traveling for YEARS! And its so hard in a hotel room, you can't just let them cry.

We had good travelers, but we also did try to be careful with their schedules. A trip to Disney World vs. an infant across the Country (for us), not sure we would have done That. Add to that the potential need for medical care (not speaking of COVID19), not sure I would want to be on a ship, but I know many do and enjoy it.

 

[gotomu212]

What age will they be when you cruises? In the ”baby” stage we’ve done it at 6 months, 16 months, 24 months. Each one had different pluses and minuses, it it might help if we can speak to your specific age since what worked at almost 2 or 6 month would be very different (at least for us).

 

[Peaseblossom36]

What age will they be when you cruises? In the ”baby” stage we’ve done it at 6 months, 16 months, 24 months. Each one had different pluses and minuses, it it might help if we can speak to your specific age since what worked at almost 2 or 6 month would be very different (at least for us).

They would be 6 months.

 

[o&smom]

We cruised with our daughter before they changed the rules when she was three months old. She travelled and adjusted well with travel to Europe from the West Coast. My tip is to use the nursery during dinner time. The baby will get to be a baby and play with baby toys and maybe even get to visit with a princess. Our daughter was just starting to use her exersaucer at home, and they had one in the nursery. When she was with us she was either being carried or in a stroller. She really seemed to enjoy time to play and explore. You also get a nice dinner with your husband.

 

[coloradocutie]

We liked booking a veranda and bringing a monitor so that our little one could keep their nap time. While they slept, we could sit on the verandah, with the verandah door cracked plus use a baby monitor and enjoy the outside fresh air (or sometimes we napped too!)

 

[Quellman]

Diapers. For some reason our kid didn't adjust well and by the 3rd day we were off the boat to restock diapers in port. This goes with previous posters about sickness or just feeling ill. The onboard doctor is likely ill prepared to be a general practitioner to an infant. Luckily, being in Alaska you have close access to the US Health system and easily transferrable back to the lower 48 vs being in a foreign port.

We used a stroller off the ship only as there just isn't need for it onboard, especially for baby wearing. We tossed in an extra nap and enjoyed late dining. We spent a lot of time in the room for naps instead of paying for nursery time for naps.

Take advantage of the nursery open house times. Its a safe place for them to explore if they are able to sit up or crawl.

 

[gotomu212]

They would be 6 months.

For us, 6 months was the easiest of the baby/toddler stage! They have no real idea what’s going on and very few opinions. So a few things that made it easy for us (and again all kids/parenting is different so it’s in no way gospel.)
-Wearing the baby was by far the easiest way to move around the ship and let me keep arms free. Strollers are a pain with the hallways and crowds, so when they’re still light and not mobile wearing was the best.
-Sleep for us wasn’t much different. We originally reserved a pack in play, but it made the room so cramped we opted to put her in the bed with us and that worked perfectly. Naps we found that the open air was crazy soothing so I did nap time on a lounger watching funnelvision with her laying on my chest and a blanket covering her. The servers all got used to me and even brought me drinks and ice cream so i didn’t have to move (but that was pixie dust).
-After the first dinner we used the nursery going forward. The meals are on the long side and it was hard to juggle her, entertain her, and eat. They gave me small veggie purées at each meal that I fed her afterwards.
-Nursing and express bottle feeding went well, and the nursery can handle either nursing or bottle feeding and can safely warm milk. Just allow a few minutes for drop off.
-Staff LOVED her at this stage. Many of them are missing their own families and at the cuddly 6 month stage we got a lot of extra attention and CMs wanting to play with her. Tianna ended up holding her in a quiet corner and singing to her for 5 minutes and our serving staff at lunch sang her a lullaby one day. (we did not get the same reaction when she was a mobile loud toddler).

We approached the whole thing flexibly and didn’t get hung up on schedule or have any expectations on how it should go which saved us. We took the approach that if she was happy we’d go with whatever.

 

[MomOTwins]

I just noticed OP mentioned the cruise would be Alaska. Unless money is no object, I might gently suggest a less expensive and/or shorter cruise for a first cruise with baby. That way if it is a total bust, you won't feel like a once-in-a-lifetime cruise was wasted. Sure some babies are good with travel, but you won't know that until it is too late. The vacation I mentioned where our little one cried all at night was just a few days at a beachside resort and I was a weeping mess at the end of it. Not to mention the risk that if baby can't travel for whatever reason, you're forfeited deposit on an Alaskan cruise would be a lot higher than most others (e.g., born 3 weeks late and you miss the 6 month mark, baby or mom has unforeseen medical needs in the first few months, you end up having to take more leave from work than anticipated and no longer have the vacation days to spend, or everything is all according to plan but you find you are just too burnt out from early parenthood to want to take a vacation then).