traveling w/ infant

[ekelly4200]

About a month ago we found out I am expecting next Jan. We already had our first cruise booked for next May. After talking about it we decided to still go and take baby along (we also have a 5 & 6 year old at time of cruise) I am very nervous as I have never flown before let alone with an infant!! I am an over planner so I now am looking into all infant related issues. Does anyone know what kind of strollers are supplied on the ship?(flimsy umbrella or something more sturdy) I am not too keen on lugging around my own carriage or stroller so will probably use a snugli most of the time. (baby will be about 3 months old when we cruise) I am hoping to make some use of flounders reef once or twice. I just had to upgrade today from a cat 6 to cat 4 for an additional $700. Are there porta cribs available upon request? Any other tips or advice will be appreciated.

 

[the4nitz's]

Congratulations! Yes they have pack 'n' plays for the rooms. I don't know about strollers , I brought my own.

 

[hydster]

First off~~~~~~~

C~O~N~G~R~A~T~U~L~A~T~I~O~N~S!!!!!!!!!!!! That is awesome! We've traveled on several trips with infants (none on DCL but on other vacations and other cruise lines) and the one thing I'd tell you is to bring your own stroller! As big of a pain as it can be you can gate check it at the airport, pick it up right after they let people walk off the airplane, use it for extra storage and then you can use it for a place for the baby to nap if you want to do some shopping in port or anything else. I think cruising with an infant is one of the easiest times really because they sleep so much and are pretty easy to manipulate for different things! It gets MUCH harder when they get mobile! I'd definitely get a stroller that you can use the infant seat in (that way the stroller part folds down fairly small) and you don't have to wake up the baby. Another thing I'd do is get a seat for the infant on the airplane so that you can put them in the seat and buckle them in. MUCH safer that way (and you get a drink for them and then you have 2 LOL). If you gate check your stroller you just walk up to the gate you board on, get a pass to put on it, and they will put it in a special compartment in the bottom of the airplane so that when you get off it will be waiting for you right outside the airplane door and you can push the baby through the airport and to baggage claim.

Another thing is if you are going to rent a car or do a car service have them do a grocery stop for you so you don't have to lug around a ton of diapers from home or formula if you breast feed. You can buy water bottles if you want to use that to make formula but it will make leaving home much lighter and easier. The ship has VERY limited quantities of these things and they are VERY expensive! If you are going to do DCL transfers you may have to pack just a suitcase for diapers, wipes, formula or whatever and it could be a real pain in the butt! Also for us (I couldn't ever breastfeed) but we used the Playtex bottles so we could just toss the liners..made cleaning SO MUCH easier!!!

Um..that's all I can think of for now though!
Heidi

Ps congrats again!

 

[ekelly4200]

Originally posted by hydster
First off~~~~~~~

C~O~N~G~R~A~T~U~L~A~T~I~O~N~S!!!!!!!!!!!! That is awesome! We've traveled on several trips with infants (none on DCL but on other vacations and other cruise lines) and the one thing I'd tell you is to bring your own stroller! As big of a pain as it can be you can gate check it at the airport, pick it up right after they let people walk off the airplane, use it for extra storage and then you can use it for a place for the baby to nap if you want to do some shopping in port or anything else. I think cruising with an infant is one of the easiest times really because they sleep so much and are pretty easy to manipulate for different things! It gets MUCH harder when they get mobile! I'd definitely get a stroller that you can use the infant seat in (that way the stroller part folds down fairly small) and you don't have to wake up the baby. Another thing I'd do is get a seat for the infant on the airplane so that you can put them in the seat and buckle them in. MUCH safer that way (and you get a drink for them and then you have 2 LOL). If you gate check your stroller you just walk up to the gate you board on, get a pass to put on it, and they will put it in a special compartment in the bottom of the airplane so that when you get off it will be waiting for you right outside the airplane door and you can push the baby through the airport and to baggage claim.

Another thing is if you are going to rent a car or do a car service have them do a grocery stop for you so you don't have to lug around a ton of diapers from home or formula if you breast feed. You can buy water bottles if you want to use that to make formula but it will make leaving home much lighter and easier. The ship has VERY limited quantities of these things and they are VERY expensive! If you are going to do DCL transfers you may have to pack just a suitcase for diapers, wipes, formula or whatever and it could be a real pain in the butt! Also for us (I couldn't ever breastfeed) but we used the Playtex bottles so we could just toss the liners..made cleaning SO MUCH easier!!!

Um..that's all I can think of for now though!
Heidi

Ps congrats again!

Thank you so much! I did not know about checking the stroller at the gate. Will certainly do that as it is looking like I will be bringing one lol.
I hope to be BF but if not I will have to pack as light as possible as we will be using DCL transfers. And the disposable bottles with the liners are a great idea for when traveling.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Just wanted to second BRING A STROLLER!!!!!!!!! You will be so glad to have one that you can use at the airport and off the ship. Although it is expensive we traveled with the single serve cans of formula when DD was a baby. Just pop the top, use and toss, much easier! I also carried some pedialite just in case it was really hot. One thing about carrying on dipers is the extra room to bring stuff home! They really are pretty easy at that age since they can't move yet! Enjoy and congratulations.

 

[talicskai]

We traveled Jan 03 and Jan04 and "rented" a stroller from DCL both years. They were very sturdy - Graco - navy blue strollers. They had a cup holder/tray on the handle and a large basket underneath. They were nicer than the one I have at home! We had to pay a deposit of $100 US on our stateroom but it was refunded the last morning when we returned the stroller. We were lucky and had a large doorway across the hall from our cabin that we were able to park the stroller in so we never had to deal with it being in the cabin. Cabin #2024/2026 were our cabin numbers and we purposely chose the same one the second time around so we could park our stroller there. Check the deck plan and see if you have that option. If not, you may want to change your cabin number. It was wonderful leaving it in the hallway.

 

[CM_Mom]

Traveling with an infant is really easy if your Breast Feeding. The main issue then is to keep MOM fed.

Even if you bring your own stroller, be sure to get one from DCL for Castaway Cay so you don't have to worry about getting yours dirty/sandy, etc. FYI, they are fanatics about cleaning them between people. The ones we saw on CC were really nice and sturdy.

 

[debm]

Yes! We parked our stroller outside the room too. That was an extra bonus. We were in 2020 and 2018. We loved the wide hallways. We took our 4th cruising when he was just 12 weeks---minimum age. It was great. Easiest cruise because he just slept and nursed. I find it much easier to use a sling though because they can lay down in it, nurse in it, see out, infinite number of positions. Plus it is much easier to get on and off and doesn't pull on your back and shoulders. If the baby is breastfeeding you will find it SO much easier. I can't stress that enough. Plus you won't have to worry about sickness as much because they are getting your antibodies---especially being so little and in such close quarters. You don't have to worry about washing bottles, warming up formula, or even Pedialyte as someone mentioned. Breastmilk is a far better "hydrater". I just find it so much easier. Can you tell? So all we needed to pack was some extra little clothes and diapers. The hardest cruise with him was just recently when he was 20 months. He did not always want to do what we were doing!?!?! More like an imature 2 year old. I used Flounders every night for a short time and was very pleased. I didn't do that when he was younger but felt he would like playing now and getting to run around. We cruise again in October when he just turns 2 so I'm sure it will be hard then too but it is just a 3 nighter. Congratulations and have a great time on your cruise!!

 

[fcrouch]

We took our 8 week old - we were bottle feeding infamil. They sell (by the case) premixed 4 ounce bottles of formula - just pop off the lid and pop on a nipple - had it shipped ahead to the hotel where we spent the night before - and then had it in the room anytime we wanted it - our daughter never really cared if formula was warm or not

safeline - "sit'n'stroll" - a car seat which converts to a stroller - is FAA certified so can use on the plane (definitely buy the baby a seat - sure you might have an empty seat next to you - but maybe not). Or a car seat which "pops" in and out of the stroller -(that might be better for an infant) just make sure the car seat is FAA approved.

Ships stuff ahead or stop at grocery on the way to the ship. Infants are easy to travel with (in our limited experience). Definitely use a babysitting service on board. We've done it on a couple of cruises and no problems (I mean consider the bad publicity/word of mouth if Disney did a poor job taking care of kids!)

 

[dis4me]

Make sure you ask for an infant rate on the plane trip. Some carriers discount as much as 50% for a child under 1. It will make your trip so much easier to have the extra seat.Especially when you have 2 young ones to tend to. My dds are 10 months apart too( just shy of irish twins) so I know what a handful they can be especially coupled in with a little new sibling rivalry.
If you are breastfeding you should be fine. I monitored my diaper use the weeks before and vrought 10 over that amount and was fine. I was formula feeding so I brought bottled water and the powdred formula. I bought the sterilized disposal nipples and had enough for the entire trip so it worked out well.
Congrats un your upcoming arrival. have a great trip.

 

[scrappermcl]

This is a great thread with lots of great advice! I am having a baby in November, which I found out about just after booking a cruise for April 2005. I just changed my reservation to include the baby and we are assigned to room #2026- so thanks for the tip about the stroller "parking." My husband wants to cancel the cruise because he is worried about being able to enjoy the trip with an infant. I am less worried, because I agree with the poster above who said that generally it is an easy age-- just eating and sleeping and not wanting to wander (like a toddler!!) Plus I plan on breastfeeding (I did with my first child) which definitely lightens the load as far as packing goes!

My only concern is excursions. It seems that there are not to many options as far as the DCL excursions for an infant to be able to tag along on. We are going on the Western and I was really hoping to carry the baby in a snuggli to see the ruins in Cozumel. Did anyone else take any excursions with an infant? If not, did you feel like you were missing out? Any other advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

The Ruins would not be my first choice to take a small baby. They are pretty far away from everything and at least when we were there pretty primitive.