Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

We're trying to plan a vacation for Nov and thinking about taking G on a cruise...please let me know about your experiences and about the more baby friendly ones..also, do they provide cribs or pack n plays? Thanks!

Re: Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

We took DS on one when he was 8 months old. We sailed Royal Caribbean and they were great. We always sail them. This trip had been planned for a year, as it was for my mom's 60th birthday and a lot of our extended family came.

We did have a great time. But it was a lot of work. I think a lot of MY issue was that we went the week between Christmas and New Year's, so the ship was at capacity and we got screwed over with a crib (we were supposed to have one and ended up with a broken pack and play--but I don't think that is common).

You have to bring everything-diapers, formula, baby food, etc. We brought a booster seat for dinner too

DS did wonderfully, he is a happy and fun loving kid, we honestly had him in bars some nights.

But it was hard on ME, there isn't a ton to do on the ship with a baby.

I am not saying NOT to do it, but IMO, I think it would be better when DC is 2ish and can enjoy more (and eat real food) b/c preparing a bottle in a tiny room in the middle of the night is a PITA

Re: Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

We took my DS on his 1st cruise when he was 9 months old ( to Canada, 5 nights)

I will be very honest...It was a lot of work...Mainly because he wasn't quite yet walking, yet doing more than crawiling....We sailed RC and they did have a kids room but it was only open to babies for 1 hour a day for free play and this really was the only time ( aside from in our tiny cabin) that I could actually put him down to let him get some energy out...He spent a whole lot of time in a stroller or a hi-chair...

We had fun, but I wouldn't do a cruise with my DD at that age this time around...We opted for a land vacation

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time !!!!

ETA- RC had portable cribs, but my monster of a DS didn't fit in them- LOL, so he slept with us !

Message edited 9/11/2009 10:30:16 PM.

Re: Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

I'm not *positive* but I recall on our cruise a few weeks ago people were talking about more baby friendly services like day care. I don't know if this is for ALL ships or the new Oasis that they have coming out in December.

ETA: Here is a good link with great info. It is the Oasis that is offering baby daycare, but that ships first sail date is in December. The ship is HUGE!

Message edited 9/11/2009 10:44:09 PM.

Re: Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

we just got back from a cruise with our 9 month old DD. we had a great time and she LOVED it. it is also definitely a lot of work, but very well worth it, IMO.

We brought everything! that was a pain, but we were glad we did. we had lots of her toys, her car seat, pack and play, sound machine, formula, bottles, food--you name it, we brought it. that part sucked for FH mostly because he had to carry everything.

the 2 most difficult parts were 1) that she couldn't go in any of the pools and 2) a lot of the excursions didnt allow children under a certain age. But we found good excursions that we could all go on, and could go to a beach there where we could bring her swimming (she really loves the water.)

dinner was rough if she was awake for it, but after the first night, we would get her to sleep and then go to dinner and she would sleep through it. worked out great. her other meals, i gave her table food (eggs, cottage cheese, bread, yogurt, fruit) the night she was awake at dinner they made her a special dish. the staff was great with her.

i recommend getting a suite. we had a junior suite. there was much more room and we had a great balcony. she loved crawling around the room, and we did not feel cramped with all the stuff in there.

as far as night activities go, at first we were bummed because we thought we could get a sitter for after she went to bed for 2-3 hours and go out to the casino or a bar, etc. but it turned out that they do not offer sitters for babies under 1. BUT, we ended up not caring at all. we would be exhausted after dinner, would go for a stroll on the deck with DD, head back to the room, relax on the terrace and be very ready for bed.

have fun!!!

Re: Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

Re: Carribean cruise with 9 month old? Suggestions, experiences, warning...

We recently got back from a cruise on Carnival with our DD. We had no problems with her. We brought a booster seat which worked out REALLY well in the buffet dining room and at dinner. At the time my DD was eating cut up pieces of table food so she loved the variety of food. I am not a fan of the pools so we didn't visit them anyway. We made sure to bring lots of sunblock hats etc for the beach and rented umbrellas when we got there.
At night you don't have too much freedom. We would bring her in the umbrella stroller but she wouldn't sit through the shows or anything. Carnival did offer a babysitting service that we could have brought her to for a charge but we didn't. Hope you have a great trip!