Question about Carseats

[MyGirlLovesMickey]

This thought just now occurred to me. We are going to have to bring our DD's carseat with us when we go on our land/sea vacation in October. She will have just turned 3 years old. I know we need to bring it because after our land/sea days, we will be visiting Dh's brother and fam near Orlando for a few days. While we're on land, we can just store her seat in our hotel room, but what about when we're on the ship??? We booked a Cat 12, so I'm sure there's not much extra space, and her carseat is one of those huge Britax ones. Is there someplace on the ship that they could store it for us? Anybody know?

 

[bigAWL]

I was wondering this same thing. Does anyone know of a place to store things at the port? Maybe a bank of lockers that include oversize lockers?

 

[tink11]

When we cruised last year, we put 2 booster seats in the closet. had plenty of room, but we were in a cat.9, don't know if this would make a difference.

 

[mjkacmom]

How much does she weigh? You could purchase a Graco booster (I'm forgetting the name right now, but it's very popular, and can be used at 30 pounds, backless and 40). It can be easily broken down into 2 pieces. It's a piece of equipment you will eventually need anyway.

 

[Minniemouse07]

When we cruised (on Carnival and Celebrity) the room steward was able to store large items for the length of the cruise. I mostly hear of this for luggage, but I'm sure they could store a carseat as well.

When we cruised w/ dd on Carnival, we stored her car seat in my dad's stateroom because he was traveling alone and had TONS of extra room.

I would call DCL and ask them if they can store the seat for you during the cruise.

 

[Minniemouse07]

How much does she weigh? You could purchase a Graco booster (I'm forgetting the name right now, but it's very popular, and can be used at 30 pounds, backless and 40). It can be easily broken down into 2 pieces. It's a piece of equipment you will eventually need anyway.

Even though Graco says 30lbs on the booster, I wouldn't put a 2yo in one...even if they were super mature. No 2yo I know would sit in a seat belt w/ a booster w/o getting out of position... actually I don't know many 3 year olds that could!

I'm a car seat technician and we always recommend keeping a child in a 5pt harness at least until they hit the 40lb mark or outgrow their harness, whichever comes first... no matter what their age!

 

[TnRobin]

As for the storage space between catagories, it is the same from Cat 12 to Cat 4. You have one large closet, possible one steamer trunk and under the bed. I am not sure that the extra large car seat will fit in any of those. Call DCL and ask about storage.

Robin

 

[NHdisneylover]

When we cruised (on Carnival and Celebrity) the room steward was able to store large items for the length of the cruise. I mostly hear of this for luggage, but I'm sure they could store a carseat as well.

When we cruised w/ dd on Carnival, we stored her car seat in my dad's stateroom because he was traveling along and had TONS of extra room.

I would call DCL and ask them if they can store the seat for you during the cruise.

DCL does not generally store luggage like hte other lines do (sometimes if the ship is pretty empty they will take it and use a stateroom). You could ask about a carseat but I think that will fall into the luggage category. Could your brother pick it from you at the resort before the crusie?

 

[becka]

My understanding was that they would not store it for you. If it will not fit in the closet then I have heard of people storing it in the bathtub. When you need the shower you can just put it on the bed for a while until you are done then store it back in the bathroom. Maybe not the best solution but it should work.

 

[tinytink]

My understanding was that they would not store it for you. If it will not fit in the closet then I have heard of people storing it in the bathtub. When you need the shower you can just put it on the bed for a while until you are done then store it back in the bathroom. Maybe not the best solution but it should work.

We've put our Britax car seats in the closet the last two times we cruised with Disney. This should not be a problem, although we stayed in a Cat 4 and 5there is tons of space to put your stuff.

 

[mjkacmom]

Even though Graco says 30lbs on the booster, I wouldn't put a 2yo in one...even if they were super mature. No 2yo I know would sit in a seat belt w/ a booster w/o getting out of position... actually I don't know many 3 year olds that could!

I'm a car seat technician and we always recommend keeping a child in a 5pt harness at least until they hit the 40lb mark or outgrow their harness, whichever comes first... no matter what their age!

Actually, the child is 3, and the booster would be temporary. Even when my children were in 5 point harnesses (Britax), they would use boosters when they were 3 in DH's car (twins, with an older sister not much bigger). They would sit properly - from day one, my children were taught not to mess with the seatbelts, and not to mess with the carseat harnesses (I'm pretty strict here - my oldest was in a booster until age 10).

 

[Minniemouse07]

Actually, the child is 3, and the booster would be temporary. Even when my children were in 5 point harnesses (Britax), they would use boosters when they were 3 in DH's car (twins, with an older sister not much bigger). They would sit properly - from day one, my children were taught not to mess with the seatbelts, and not to mess with the carseat harnesses (I'm pretty strict here - my oldest was in a booster until age 10).

My dd is in a 5pt harness at 6yo. I only allowed occasional use of a booster seat at 4.5yo, not before. She outgrew her convertible seats (by height) at just barely 3yo and we replaced both seats w/ seats that had higher harness slots. She now sits in a booster in dh's car which is our secondary vehicle. She rides in it less than 2x a week for short trips. Dd sits great in the booster seat but the 5pt is much safer and she'll stay harnessed in it until she outgrows the seat... no matter what her age!

I still stand by the recommendation we give to all parents... all children under 4yrs/40lbs should be in a harnessed seat.

 

[MyGirlLovesMickey]

Even though Graco says 30lbs on the booster, I wouldn't put a 2yo in one...even if they were super mature. No 2yo I know would sit in a seat belt w/ a booster w/o getting out of position... actually I don't know many 3 year olds that could!

I'm a car seat technician and we always recommend keeping a child in a 5pt harness at least until they hit the 40lb mark or outgrow their harness, whichever comes first... no matter what their age!

She is 38 pounds, and very close to 40 inches (yes, very tall for her age), but I'm not comfortable with the idea of a booster seat. I don't think she'd be capable of leaving the seatbelt alone - she'd just want to play with it and think it was funny. Her Britax Marathon will hold her til she's 60 pounds, I believe. I guess I'll have to call DCL and ask about this! Thanks, and I appreciate any other input!

 

[Minniemouse07]

She is 38 pounds, and very close to 40 inches (yes, very tall for her age), but I'm not comfortable with the idea of a booster seat. I don't think she'd be capable of leaving the seatbelt alone - she'd just want to play with it and think it was funny. Her Britax Marathon will hold her til she's 60 pounds, I believe. I guess I'll have to call DCL and ask about this! Thanks, and I appreciate any other input!

The Marathon is good until 65lbs so you have some time until she outgrows it!

 

[tvguy]

Disney has no storage space so anything you bring on has to fit in your cabin.
Most folks use the bathtub for carseats.

 

[Laurabearz]

Actually TVGUY I think MOST folks use the bottom of the closet...

Anyway... Since your BIL lives near the orlando area, is there anyway to get the seat to him? (Maybe talk him into dropping you all at the port or coming to wave goodbye?)


Just a thought

 

[MyGirlLovesMickey]

Anyway... Since your BIL lives near the orlando area, is there anyway to get the seat to him? (Maybe talk him into dropping you all at the port or coming to wave goodbye?)

Well, it's a good 45 minute drive each way for BIL, so I think I'd opt for the bath tub or the closet before asking him to make that drive. As long as there is *somewhere* to put the thing without us tripping over it, I'm fine. Here's hoping we get upgraded to a slightly bigger room (yeah, right).

 

[jonesing]

You should be okay with the closet.

I have noticed a new crop of boosters that have an internal 5-point harness (thus making them FAA approved for aircraft use) but the seat and back can still come apart thus making the unit small enough to slide under the bed.

Perhaps one of the child gear rental/sales companies would work? They ship things (crib, car seat, formula etc) to your hotel before you arrive and then either come back to pick up the gear or you ship it back.

 

[vpalmer]

Hi Monique!

We are in the exact same position! My DD is 38 pounds and 42 inches tall although she turned four in June. We have to have a carseat for this year's cruise because we are renting a car for a week before the cruise to go to Disney World. My DD is also in a Britax Marathon and will be for at least another year so I was at a loss for what to do.

We cruised last year and used DCL transfers and could not use a carseat so it was not an issue. Having stayed on DCL in a Cat 7 room, I really would not consider trying to store a Marathon in the room. I promise it would be a nightmare unless you stored it in the bathtub which would really be a pain.

We also flew to San Antonio this May and needed a carseat then so I decided to find a carseat that we could use for traveling and as an extra carseat. After much research, we settled on the Compass seat. While technically it is a booster, it has a back and a notch for the seatbelt. Here is a link to their site: http://www.compassbaby.com/product_B510.html. We bought the B510 Booster from Amazon. I love that it folds and has a bag that makes it great for travel. You can not use it in the plane so I gate checked it to ensure it would not get lost. Here is a picture of my DD using the seat in a rental car in May:

 

[vpalmer]

The Marathon is good until 65lbs so you have some time until she outgrows it!

Right, but most kids will outgrow the Marathon in height before they are anywhere near the weight limit. If their shoulders are over the top strap opening, then they have outgrown the seat.