formula/bottled water?

[Eeyore18]

My daughter will be nine months when we go on our cruise in May. What do you do if you are using a powdered mix formula?
Do you bring bottled water? buy bottled water? How about bottles? We use the Avent ones now, maybe the liner ones would be useful then.
I'm curious to see what other moms do for this. Thanks for your help!

 

[tvguy]

Never took our kids on a cruise as babies, but did travel extensively with them at that age. We always brought the ready to feed liquid formula to avoid problems with water. We did use the powder at home, and always used boiled tap water at home to mix it.

 

[pdarrah]

We didn't cruise when our son was an infant, but we did make several trips to WDW. We used the powdered formula and bottled water. At the time, Enfamil made single serving tubes - they cost more, but were much more convenient for travel. We would just dump a tube of formula into the bottle, add the right amount of bottled water and shake it up! (We were fortunate to have a baby who prefered his formula at room temperature - no warming or anything.)

Bottled water on board is pretty pricey, but it may be worth it for the convenience. The "Family Value Water Package" costs $27 plus a 15% "tip" for 24 bottles. If carrying it on doesn't bother you, then it is much cheaper to buy it by the gallon on your way to the port.

Pamela

 

[JennsBabySky]

The free water with the ice/soda machines should also suffice. At 9 months, I wouldn't be as stringent as I would with a newborn. Besides, with all the filtration, DCL's free water is probably close to equivalent to the bottled water anyhow.

 

[CamColt]

We sailed when DS was 8 months old. I brought those nursette bottles, like the ones you get in the hospital, with ready to go formula. Not only was it convenient to not have to mix, measure, warm up, keep cold, but we just tossed the bottles when we were done. They are a little more expensive than the mix formula, but well worth it while on vacation.

 

[aprilgail2]

By 9 months I dont even think we were boiling water anymore for her bottles...I know by 6 months the Dr said no more need to boil the bottles or nipples....There is water at the beverage station on deck or we bought a case of bottled water from room service as soon as we got into our room and they brought it up before we even had the life boat drill....took all of 10 minutes after we called to get the water!

 

[lildeb724]

Call me crazy but all I kept reading about was how the water on board was so safe and wonderful so we just used the water from the sink in our stateroom to mix with powdered formula. My son never had a problem, I don't think he could tell the difference. You are drinking the same water in the dining rooms and it was fine.I would not change bottles or nipples for the trip though. Wouldn't it be horrible to the boat and find out that your child won't use the bottles or nipples you brought.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

For a 9 month old baby, you don't need bottled water to mix formula unless you child has special needs that require it. The water on deck 9 is bottled water quality, anyway. The only downside is that it is cold.

 

[bpicard9]

My DS was 9 mo when we sailed in Sept. He uses Avent also. We packed the Avent Via Disposables.
My pump worked great with this, and when we went on excursion, we got the DCL water and cooler before we disembarked and we used Enfamil single serve formula packs.

Here's a link to Avent Via
<http://www.aventamerica.com/products/disposablefeeding/disposable_nurser.asp>

 

[tracilicious]

Ds was exclusively breastfed, so I'm not speaking from direct experience, but I have seen a tip to bring a carryon full of bottled water. Then when it's gone you have a place to put souveniers.

 

[mdvasquez]

We just got off the Magic this past Saturday. My dd is 8 months old. I use bottled water at home, so I just packed bottles of water to bring with us(we bring it for ourselves too). We put 5 bottles in each of our 6 suitcases. I brought a bottle brush and a small bottle of palmolive dish soap and washed her bottles and nipples in the bathroom sink.

 

[maryisme]

We were on the magic when our DD was 10 months old this past August. We brought along a bottle brush, a collapsible drain for placing the bottles and nipples after washing, and palmolive soap. We didn't pack any bottled water since we flew in and didn't want to deal with it. We had our driver stop at a publix before arriving at the port and we picked up a 24 pack on sale for $4.99.

That being said, the water on the ship is really good. I was just paranoid that my DD would have a bad reaction to the water somehow. I didn't want to take the chance and end up with a sick baby.

Mary

 

[Eeyore18]

Thanks everyone for the great tips! It's nice to know the water on board is good too. The Enfamil single serves are so convenient and easy to carry, I will probably buy a bunch of them before we leave.