need help with crusing with an infant

[carlson82704]

hi this will be our second cruise, this time with our 4 month old dd. anyone have any comments or info they can share ? how is the staff with infants ? what about pic's with character's ? any info would be great. leaving in 8 day's
thanks

 

[CM_Mom]

Can't speak from personal experience since my "baby" is a CM on the Wonder. That said, summarizing what I've read on the boards

1. Take plenty (more than you think you need) diapers - they are very expensive on the ship
2. Take plenty of formula if you're not nursing....same reason as 1.
3. Plan to go with the flow...be prepared for baby to set the pace
4. CM's are great with all ages...but then I'm prejudiced.
5. It's easier to travel with a 4 month old than with a 4 year old...they don't dart off without warning.
6. Be sure to either nurse or give the baby a bottle during take off and landing on the plane to help keep ears unstopped.

Lastly, have a fantastic time.

 

[LoveMyBaby]

For pictures, we typically posed in the pictures with the characters and our baby. There were a few characters willing to hold our son, but most would not. I don't think they are supposed to.

Ditto on taking more than plenty of diapers. You do NOT want to buy them on the ship. You can use the extra space on the trip home for hauling souvenirs. Take along a little dish soap for washing out dirty bottles.

We packed a tiny, fold-up portable tent that we carried onto Castaway Cay. It kept our son out of the sand and sun, giving him a shady spot for sleeping and playing while we enjoyed the beach.

Take advantage of Flounder's Nursery. They are fantastic! We left our baby there several times, and felt completely comfortable. They will label everything (including your child) and give bottles as needed.

 

[virginiamama]

You will have a great time. We just cruised with DS 8 months and DS 4 years earlier this month on the Wonder. If you plan to make spa and/or Palo ressies, get to those lines first and sign up, and then go directly to Flounders and select 3 times that you would like for your DS to be watched. Also note on the reservation form that you have spa/Palo ressies for that time. Even if you're not making spa/Palo ressies - go reserve some time at Flounders. Be aware that Flounders is not open all the time. We also reserved Flounders for about 3 hours for CC day so that we could be at the beach with just the 4-year-old for a while. We had a really good experience with Flounders, and since we had the beeper we felt very comfortable that if we were needed, we'd be paged. We took a small stroller (Carter's Very Hungry Caterpillar from Burlington Coat Factory). It is bigger than an umbrella stroller. I saw folks fighting with their big strollers - space is at a premium in the staterooms and moving around on the ship.
You are also going at a great time of the year. I greased everyone up with tons of sunscreen because I was worried about the Caribbean sun, but it was not as I thought. I had on SPF15 and didn't get burned - that was for a beach day at Atlantis and CC. I put 45 on the kids though. I had been concerned about the sun because I didn't want to spend my cruise time burned up.
Also - check in Mickey's Mates - they had some cute little girl's clothes on sale in there.

Have fun!

Caribbean Beach Oct 2003
Wonder Dec 2004
We're going again! Dec 2006