cruise with my little cruiser?

[mam615]

This year is our 10th wedding anniversary (wow!), and I'd like to do something special, and we really want to bring Dorothy along. I think we'll still be breastfeeding through the summer, and I just don't think we'd have any fun if we had to leave her behind. We're not big into cruises, but I started looking into them because I thought they'd be the most convenient way to travel -- we could focus on having fun and minding Dorothy while someone else took care of getting us from place to place. And the northern Europe cruises (Scandanavia & Russia) seem just gorgeous.

But we're a little concerned about the size of the cabins. A decent, expensive cabin is about the size of a small bedroom. This means if we wanted to spend an evening in our cabin, we'd have to do it quietly while she sleeps right there with us. And what if we hate the onboard babysitters? Are we destined to spend 14 nights quietly in our cabin, twiddling our thumbs? She doesn't get a free ticket, either, as I thought she would. Her ticket would cost about $1100 (a third the cost of an adult). And her plane ticket would cost another $650 or so -- the recent thread about plane seats for babies is making me seriously consider this added expense.

So, I'd love to get your advice on whether a cruise is a good idea with a 10-month old. (I strongly suspect she may be starting to walk by then -- yikes!).

Or, I'd love to hear your other suggestions for a summer vacation. Thanks!

[lukkykatt]

I have not done a cruise yet, with children, but it is on my short list of "easy family vacations". One of my close friends did go on a cruise with her daughter, who was about one at the time, and said it was great. They ended up meeting another couple with a child about the same age, and doing alot of things together with them. My friend said that some cruise lines are more family-oriented than others, and that is one thing to be sure to check on.

[mamahill]

I've been on several cruises (never with children of my own), and I will say the smaller cabins (and even some of the larger ones) are pretty tight. Unless you plan on getting a balcony, you probably won't have a lot of extra room. That being said, there are a few things you could do to have your cake and eat it too;). Is there a set of grandparents who would be willing to pay their own way and spend some quality time with Dorothy? There are a lot of 7-day cruises that are wonderful and very family friendly. When we go to the caribbean, we stay on West Coast time so the transition to and from isn't so bad. Yeah, we get up a little later, but we eat at the later dining times, and are up for the later shows (and midnight buffet!). I'm not sure what Dorothy's schedule is like, but that might help with not staying in your room every night. And, I'm guessing there are a couple babysitters, so if you don't like one then you move on to the next? I never met any of the babysitters, but I did meet the youth leaders and childcare group and they were a fantastic bunch. Oh, and I've been on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise lines. HTH!

oh, and I think a cruise is a WONDERFUL way for the family to vacation!

[brubeck]

My husband and I have done quite a few cruises (we love it) and actually did Northern Europe while I was pregnant with Amy. Although there are family friendly cruise lines, I would say that in Europe there are many fewer children and it is NOT a place where they will be expecting to cater to young babies.

If you want to bring your baby with you, I suspect you'd be better off on a Carribean itinerary, perhaps even a Disney Cruise.

One exception to this: I know that Cunard usually has fully certified English Nannies on board available for babysitting, however they are somewhat expensive.

[Kimberly H]

We cruised in February with Royal Caribbean on one of the Voyager-class ships (the Explorer of the Seas) to the Western Caribbean and there were at least 20 families with children under the age of one -- one family had a 10-week old, another a 16-week old. I couldn't even begin to count the toddlers and young preschool children.

They had their own waterslide/pool at the back of the ship with LOTS of shade, as opposed to the sunny other pools.

We had the early seating at dinner and saw a fair number of families there, as well as at Johnny Rocket's when we ate there one night. There were always little ones at the shows though I don't think many of the ones who weren't asleep actually made it through.

Oh, and some great looking strollers and slings on board too, though I didn't look too closely as DH was already freaking because we were waiting for some word from the adoption agency to find out if our paperwork was in China yet.

Now we're scheduled for a cruise in January to the Eastern Caribbean and we may have our baby with us...we'll see.

[JustMare]

DH and I went on the Disney cruise back in 2001 for our 2nd anniversary (no kids, we just love Disney :)). The rooms were HUGE. We had a deluxe verranda room that had a king size bed, sofa, table chairs plus two bathrooms and a nice size verranda. It was the same size as our room at the Contemporary hotel (we did the land/sea package). We were shocked how spacious it was. Disney claims their rooms are 35% larger than other ships. You would be very comfortable in it with a baby. I believe it accommodated 4 adults.

We actually got a great deal through American Express travel since they're the "official" credit card of Walt Disney World. Disney was quoting $4,900 for the package, we actually paid $2,600 with AMEX.

My inlaws are booked on the Voyager of the Seas in July, which is supposed to be an amazing ship! DH is so jealous :)

If you decide your interested, or in anything Disney, you (or anyone else) can email me with any questions [email protected] DH and I go every year and have done tons of behind the ears tours, breakfast w/characters, dinner shows, etc... We always stay on the property so any hotel questions I can help with too. Let me stop. Once I start talking Disney I can't stop :)

[LD92599]

We just booked a 4 day Disney Cruise for September...this will be our 4th Disney Cruise (honeymoon..anniversary..another anniversary, etc!). But this will be the first w/ a child! We're definitely looking forward to it and yes, their rooms are HUGE. We've done the 7 day, 3 day and now 4 day. We've also been on both the Magic and Wonder.

Since this is regarding DC now....I agree w/ Mare to book w/ an Amex Card but we also like to book with AAA and pay with Amex. You get AAA deals (free soda mug/unlimited refills entire time) and Amex Deals together.

Also feel free to email me at [email protected] for more DCL info.

Mare...are you going again this year? Congrats to you and DH! We went when I was 20 weeks pregnant and it was GREAT!

Laura
mom to William 3.5.2003

[JustMare]

Like Laura says AAA and Amex travel both have great cruise deals. That free soda mug comes in handy - it costs $35 for unlimited refills for one cup!

We would have went again this May (we usually go every anniversary in May) but I just can't deal with that hot weather anymore. DH actually is sad we didn't go. He's Disney Depressed :)

We're thinking of going in October for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, but we'll have to see. We actually had started to fill a 5-gallon water bottle with coins to save for next year's trip which will be our 5 year anniversary. We'd like to stay at the Grand Floridian on the concierge floor - therefore we need the coin jar :) Since the baby will be only 3 months next May, we're thinking of postponing our anniversary to October - nicer weather.

[COElizabeth]

I went on a Caribbean cruise with my 9-month-old nephew, my sister, and my BIL. We all shared a fairly roomy cabin with a dividing screen (baby and I on one side, sister and her DH on the other side - yes, my sister owes me -in fact I am out of town baby-sitting her daughter now!). Anyway, we all had a great time. He wasn't walking yet, so that helped. But the staff (Celebrity) loved him and were very accommodating. Our waiter had a glass of apple juice waiting at his place every night, and the sommelier came to stand at our table and let Andrew play with her tasting cup while we ate! He went to some of the shows and slept through them in his stroller, but he has always been a really sound sleeper. I don't know that I could do the same with my baby, because he wakes more easily. But I would definitely cruise again with a baby. I would definitely inquire about the specific line and ship, though.
Elizabeth
Mom to James
9-20-02

[Sarah1]

Hi Michelle,

I have no experience cruising w/baby, but we have stayed at a hotel with Audrey (in Santa Monica) for 8 nights. We had a GREAT time--I recommend kicking back at a hotel or a rented condo vs. a cruise. The staff at the hotel was wonderful and very accommodating. I'm not sure how they'd be on a cruise. We had a suite, and even that was fairly tight quarters! It was basically a large bedroom and a sitting room separated by shutter-like doors (not a major sound barrier). I cannot FATHOM being in a tiny cabin with a baby...not quite conducive to a romantic evening...although maybe she is a heavy sleeper :-)

Have you considered going to a resort, where you can get a bigger room? You can get babysitters through the hotel (we did that through our hotel, and it worked out great). Also, at some smaller resorts, you can eat downstairs and just take a monitor with you, and you don't even have to pay a babysitter to have dinner alone together (a few years ago in Europe, we were at a small resort where a couple was with their baby and they came down every night for dinner w/their monitor--seemed like a great setup!)

Good luck!

[egoldber]

If you want to do Europe, I personally think it would be much less stressful and more fun to rent a house in your country of choice for a week. I think you'll be pleasantly surpised at how inexpensive it is. That way Dorothy can have her own room at night and you'll still have the run of the house (just be sure to bring your monitor).

Personally, DH and I are always a bit miserable sharing a hotel room with DD, so I can't imagine sharing a boat cabin.

HTH,