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May 2006
We'll be taking our five month old on a Regent/Radisson Seven
Seas Cruise to Alaska in July to celebrate my mother-in-law's
sixtieth. Does anyone have any advice for what to bring and how
to manage it so that everyone stays happy & sane? Previous
posts dealt with much older kids & I'm curious to see if anyone
has experience doing this with an infant. It sounds like a
particularly formal cruise line and I'm worried that it will be
like eight days of flying business class & dealing with the
other passengers' angry looks...Do we need to bring everything
baby or will some items be sold on board (like diapers?) Thanks
in advance for your advice!
Laura
My advice is never take a baby on a cruise. I would recommend
getting a family member to watch the child. I was on a Mexico
cruise on Carnival which is great for kids however, babies are
your responsibility. The Cruise line you are on is extremely
formal and it would not be fun for you or the baby. I would
bring everything baby including diapers and also find out if
that cruise line has a baby sitting service or a place for kids
and at what age do they start. Alaska is beautiful at this time
of year. if you have questions just e-mail me. Nicole
nicole
February 2006
We are planning on going on a Scandinavian cruise this June
with our 5 1/2 year-old. The ports are Stockholm, Gdansk,
Tallin, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Oslo, and Copenhagen. I have
a friend in Denmark, so the question relates to the other
ports, mostly. Keeping in mind the child age and laziness
factor, what are one or two things you must see. Generally, we
stay in port for one full day in each city. Any other pearls
of wisdom for a cruise with a child?
Anon
Hi
i lived in Stockholm for 13years and i can recommend to go with
your child to a place called ''Junibacken'' it,s on Djurgarden
right next to the ''Vasamuseum''which you should visit as well if
you have the time and patience with a child....Junibacken is a
kind of interactive museum of Astrid Lindgrens most popular
childrensbook characters...i have never been to the museum part
itself ,,,i,ve only vicited their wonderful bookstore a couple
of times but that is definetely a place to see with a
child....you might dock with the cruiseship at old town which is
amazing in itself and from there you can take a ferry right
across to djurgarden where it is....
i love Stockholm ...it is for me the most beautiful city...
enjoy your trip...Scandinavien as always worth to visit...i wish
more people would
Astrid
I went on a similar cruise this past summer. We mostly booked
tours that the cruise line offered, so I didn't really roam the
cities much on my own. For copenhagen and st. petersburg, there
are good harbour cruises. The Vasa Museum in Stockholm is a
museum built physically around a sailing ship that sank on its
maiden voyage. If you like boats, its pretty neat. Lots of
palaces and beautiful churches in St Petersburg. A shopping
excursion to get some russian nesting dolls, may also be of interest.
fellow traveler
Hi! I am a Norwegian living in Berkeley. If I had one day in Oslo
with a five-year-old, I would probably go and see the Kings
Castle, on the top of the main street, Karl Johan, or to
Vigelands Park, a park with lots of statues of people. Both has
lots of space to run around for kids, and things to see for adults.
Synnove
Sounds like a great cruise. In general the Scandinavians have
given a great deal of thought to the needs and perspectives of
children, so it is unusually easy to travel with children in
the Nordic region. Stockholm is the city I know best of the
ones on your itinerary -- it's a beautiful place and fun for
kids. You can get what is called The Stockholm Card, which
gives you use of public transportation (inc. ferries) and free
entry to attractions for a day (or more than one day). It
costs about $35 per adult per 24 hours and $15 per child.
Probably your best bet is to head out by brief ferry from
Stromkajen or Nybrohamn (subway stop Kungstradgarden) to the
large island called Djurgarden (yoor-gorden, approx. meaning
Animal Park). It was once the royal hunting preserve and is
now mostly a park area with a number of attractions. The best
of these for adults is probably the Vasa Museum, which is
actually a battle-ship that sank in the 1600s on its maiden
voyage and remained in Stockholm's harbor until the 1970s, when
it was raised and restored. The entire ship, repainted and
refurbished with cannons, etc. is now under a roof and you can
walk through it. It is a fascinating museum and not bad for
kids, as they can run around in the huge space. My son liked
it when he was five. Also on Djurgarden is Skansen, an outdoor
museum to which Swedish houses and farm structures were brought
in from the country and rebuilt. There are re-creations of old
Swedish farming life (cheesemaking and the like) as well as
native animals (reindeer, etc.) The amusement park, Grona
Lund, would also be worth a visit; all of these attractions are
within walking distance of one another on the island.
Kungstradgarden (The Royal Park) often has activities set up
for kids (my son loved a giant slide there), and Sweden House
(Sverigehuset) is located at the corner of the park, with lots
of tourist info, souvenirs, books on Sweden, handicrafts, etc.
etc. Certainly you should take the subway to Gamla Stan (Old
City) and stroll around the medieval part of Stockholm -- it's
very small and very charming, and the Royal Palace (Kungliga
Slottet) is there, with the changing of the guard at times
posted. (It's a pretty modest changing of the guard, not like
Buckingham Palace, but therefore much more personal.) If you
have more time, a trip out to Lidingo (a fancy part of
Stockholm) to the Milles Gard sculpture park is beautiful. A
sculpture garden is easier for a kid than a traditional museum,
and the soaring stone sculptures and tranquil park are well
worth a visit. The subway ride out there is also quite
interesting (Stockholm's stations are hewn out of the rock and
left rough, though painted.)
If you have more time a trip out to Drottingsholm is also fun --
there is a park and an 18th-century theater with fun tours.
And if it rains... well, the Swedes have a saying ''There's no
such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.'' But if you are
not of that conviction, you can retreat to the Stockholm City
Museum, which is an historical museum of the City of Stockholm,
but it is designed to entertain kids as well as adults and is
quite fun. The Vasa ship would still be great under rainy
circumstances.
Trevlig resa!
Linda
August 2005
My husband and I have our first vacation coming up since our
daughter was born, and were thinking about going on a cruise.
Neither of us have ever been on a cruise, and were wondering if
anyone has been with a baby. Our daughter will be 11 months at
the time. I've heard Carnival caters to families the most- has
anyone gone on one of their cruises? Also, we were wondering
what the babysitting is like. The Carnival website
mentions ''slumber-party'' style group babysitting in the
evenings, and although they will take babies as young as 6
months, I'm not sure this would be great for younger children.
Any advice would be most welcome- Thanks!
Laura
Hi, we just got back from an Alaska cruise with our 14 month
old. This was our first real vacation since having our baby,
we choose Alaska because we were going to be in Seattle for a
wedding. This was my fifth cruise and my husbands second. We
went on the NCL line, the Norwegian Star. We used Kristin at
cruises for families (www.cruisesforfamilies.com) She was VERY
helpful in deciding what line we would use. They don't have
any baby sitting for children under two. So we had our guy
with us the entire time. We didn't mind, we enjoyed the week!
The entire cruise for us was a lot different then when we
cruised before(we got engaged on the last one :) My husband
made the comment that there didn't seem to be as much going on,
on this boat. I alerted him that it was us who weren't going
on. Between naps and early bedtime, you don't do nearly as
much on the boat if you didn't have a little one. We didn't
see any shows or anything like that. I was surprised at the
number of families on the boat, I expected us to be the
miniority. That wasn't the case. The only bad thing was the
crib they provided, it reminded me of a cage. The pad was only
one inch thick. The little guy wasn't very comfortable and
ended up in bed with us every night. But overall I would do it
again. We really enjoyed what they call ''freestyle dining''
Back in the old days, dinner was served at two different times,
like 6 and 8. Now, you have a lot more options. You can go
between 5-9:30 and there are a lot more restaurants to choose
from! Good luck and have fun!
debbie
I can't comment on Carnival specifically, but re: taking a baby
on a cruise... we went on a cruise with our son when he was about
16 months old. We didn't take advantage of childcare since we
had family with us that were happy to give us a break sometimes,
but we did look in on it, and it seemed fairly basic, not too
exciting. The cruise itself wasn't geared at all to toddlers -
there were no activities planned for them - so we made our own
fun with him... mostly wandering the boat. He actually spent
much of the time feeling seasick, as did I, so we didn't have too
much fun. Aside from that, the complete display of wanton
privilege and ignorance of the poverty of the places we docked
was pretty sickening... I mean, the whole thing was about eating
eating eating 5 courses per meal with half of that food getting
thrown out, and if we didn't want dessert or something the staff
looked at us like we were nuts -- and in the same day, going out
into Nassau and seeing sick, malnourished people... Okay, I'm
ranting now, sorry.
not going on another cruise
February 2005
In May we will be guests on a cruise going to Mazatlan, Puerto
Vallarta, Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas. Can anyone recommend any
good family activities for 2 parents and a 5-year-old in these
ports - either through the cruise ship's shore excursions
(Celebrity) if you're familiar with them, specifically, or just
on our own while we're in town. Thanks!
Valerie
I have a Mexican friend, Luis Jorge, who has an excursion
business in and around Manzanillo.
www.excursioneslujo.com
I've done several of his trips as I have a condo down there.
I'm also on the Manzanillo/San Pablo Sister Cities board
and have gone with Excursiones Lujo on a trip to a turtle
sanctuary that is part of our project.
Sydney
Lucky you! They all have great swimming. I was just in Cabo
with my 6 and 11 year old and there is a small beach about 10
miles east of town - Santa Maria - that has great snorkeling
and easy swimming. If your 5 year old is nervous about
snorkeling he/she can just put on goggles, stand in the water
and look down and there are lots of colorful fish. You can
also get a double sea kayak from there and take off - our 6
year old loved both activities.
In PV you can also get a sea kayak and get out to the rocks off
the Banderas Bay and snorkel. A fun beach area and place to
rent kayaks from is south of town, at Mismaloya (big family
resort there - La Jolla de Mismaloya - that is very kid
friendly). You can walk south of La Jolla de Mismaloya to one
of the palapas on the beach and eat delicious fresh fish and
have a (beer? Margarits? Pepsi lite?) and sit for as long as
you like while your child plays in the sand. Also, you can take
a trip into the ''jungle'' a few miles east from Mismaloya to
this wonderful swim hole in the rocks where you can slide down
the rocks into the water and/or use ropes (branches?) to jump
in. They serve a good fish lunch as well. Two hours there is
plenty. You could combine this with time on Mismaloya beach -
unless you want to see the town, which is very nice.
PV's center of town is very lively, with lots of shops, music
and a historic area. If you like to shop, there is good
shopping with some stores that have good quality Mexican folk
art. Just walking along the Malecon and looking at the
sculptures and people is alot of fun.
Mazatlan has an active beach scene. When my son was 4 we
rented a boogie board on the beach and he spent hours playing
in the surf. You could also get horses and go along the beach
(also available at more secluded beach areas around Mazatlan.)
My daughter, since she has been 5, always gets her hair braided
on the beach. She looks forward to this whenever we are in
Mexico.
If you have more quesitons, feel free to email or call.
Amy
February 2002
My in-laws want us (2 families with kids 4-8) to take a
cruise with them. Has anyone had experience with the
various cruise lines to advise which ones have good
kids' programs, nicer rooms, tips about choosing a
cruise, getting good discounts, and whether one can
feel the ocean movement? Do you get claustrophobic or
is there lots to do? How to avoid "old lady" cruises?
We are clue-less!
We recently went on a Royal Carribean cruise to Mexico
with our then 18 m.o. daughter. It was a great way to
travel with a toddler: a lot of structure (you eat
dinner with the same group every night and have the
same servers), only unpack once, don't have to ever
worry about meals, etc. It will be even better for
you, as your children are over three and can join in
with some of the structured activities on the ship.
(We, on the other hand, were not even allowed to
supervise our daughter in the children's room. Something
farfetched about her diaper potentially leaking and
posing a health hazard.) It's not a great way to see
a place you've never been, however, as you typically
only dock from 8 to 5, give or take a little bit of
time. Plus, the entire town knew we came from
"el barco" and we were told by some locals that the
flea markets automatically double their prices when the
ships are in.
While we were on the cruise (our first, incidentally),
we had a chance to talk to the serious cruisers on board.
We found Royal Carribean to be family friendly, and
this observation was confirmed by others who had tried
numerous cruise lines. There seemed to be some partying
going on, no doubt, but we were on a separate schedule
from that crowd. We were told by numerous people that
Carnival is over the top with the partying scene and
that the food isn't as good. (You didn't ask, but I
thought the food was consistently okay, but I'm spoiled
by living in the Bay Area. The aesthetic seemed to be
"mass quantities": 24 hour room service, ostentatious
midnight buffets. There are also plenty of kid-friendly
options)
You do feel the rocking of the ship. I have strong sea
legs, so it never bothered me, but it took my husband
a day to adjust. The water only got rough at the end
of our trip, which apparently bothered some folks. The
rocking ultimately worked to our advantage. Our normally
wakeful daughter would be lulled back to sleep quickly
when she stirred. We were on an upper deck, so we didn't
hear too much engine noise, but apparently that's an
issue lower down. Because we had to hang out during
naps, etc, we reserved a stateroom with a balcony.
Actually, the fresh air was really nice too. If you
can afford it, I would definitely say it's worthwhile,
especially if you are worried about clausterphobia.
We thought we were clever by bringing high powered
walkie-talkies on the ship. As it turned out, others
had the same clever idea. Even though we had to switch
channels occasionally, it was nice to have a way to
communicate if one of us wanted to go off and do
something.
As for deals, I would talk to a travel agent who has
experience in booking cruises. Ours was able to
upgrade our stateroom for a teensy more than we would
have paid for the non-balcony one because she received
a fax about a cancellation at the last minute and
notified us that the room had become available. We went
to Dorothy Purdie at Travel Service Montclair. She has
a little bit of a bossy edge to her, but she knows her
stuff and was good at following through with things.
Her number is 339-7000
Hope this helps!
-- Ilana
Sorry, I don't have any advise on which cruises cater
to families with kids, however I can tell you which
ones to avoid. We took a cruise in January a few years
ago on the NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) to the Carribean
and it was packed full of retired folks. I think NCL
might cater to the older crowd, plus it was after the
holidays so the younger people already had their holiday
in December. Also, we took a Princess Cruise to Alaska
in June 2001. There weren't many families with kids
on the ship. As for feeling the ocean movement, the
lower the cabin is, the less movement there is. Also,
if you are in an inside cabin, there is less movement
too.
-Anonymous
February 2000
Advice needed on cruises:
My inlaws are planning to take us all on a cruise of the inland passage
in Alaska. I am worried we will all be sick from the movement of the
boat or plain old cabin fever. Has anyone gone on a cruise there? What
cruise lines are better (i.e., larger ships, good athletic facilities,
large pool, kids' activities)? Thanks!
I've been on 2 cruises when I was in my mid-20's a few years back. Each
time we stayed in the cabins on the lowest level because the lower points
don't have as much movement as the upper points. Carnival was more fun
for us since they had a younger crowd. When we went on NCL, it was in
January, and we found it catered to an older crowd. Maybe it was because
January is off-season with young adults back in school after the holidays.
I know your email said Alaksa, but I'll throw this in anyways. The 7 day
cruise we took in the Caribbean visited about 6 or 7 ports. That was too
many. When I look back on it all, I can't remember which port was which
and it gets all meshed together. Also, we flew on a red-eye flight from
SF to Chicago to San Juan Puerto Rico. We arrived in Puerto Rico during
the afternoon, their time. By the time we got to bed that night, I was
pooped out from being up way too many hours without any sleep, plus the
time difference. I was like a zomby. Even so, it was a great trip and
that shouldn't stop a person from taking a cruise in the Caribbean.
After our cruises, when we got back home and on land, we had
'shore-sickness.' I think all my friends did too. Legs are a bit wobbly
and sometimes you feel like things are swaying, but it doesn't stop you
from going about. It goes away in a few days.
I went on a 12-day Princess Cruise which went from San Francisco to
Alaska
(Inland Passage) with my grandparents about 15 years ago as a freebie
tagalong for their 50th wedding anniversary. I was sick as a dog on the
first day/night! It was really rough and my grandparents (the 75 year
old troupers!) were amoung the few at dinner that night. I survived by
staying in bed. One of the stewards brought me a sandwich which really helped
settle my stomach: white lightly toasted bread, tomato, swiss cheese and
turkey (no mayo/mustand/onions/pickles).
Other people have told me that that first day out from SF is the
roughest--I think I hit a real bad day. We were lucky to be in an
(expensive) room on one of the upper decks with a window that opened,
and the fresh air really helped, too. The rest of the trip I was fine, even
coming back to SF. I'm sure you'll get better advice, but be prepared
for seasickness!
(BTW: If your trip offers an option of flying over a glacier in a small
plane--go for it! I remember it was expensive, but it's a truly awesome
sight--a river of incredible aqua-colored ice and water-- and one of my
best all-time visual memories.)
I haven't done a family cruise to Alaska (though I'd love to -- you're
lucky to have such generous in-laws!), but I did take a two-week cruise
there just with my mother a number of years ago. Unless you're going on
one of the smaller "adventure" type cruises, you don't have to worry
about cabin fever. The boats are huge, endlessly entertaining in themselves,
and the scenery is spell-binding. Passengers generally spend very little
time in their cabins. Most cruise lines now have lots of programs for kids,
even all-day, staffed play areas and activities. The inside passage is
protected from heavy seas and anyway, the boats are so big, that unless
you are prone to motion sickness, I doubt that you'll notice the motion much
until you get OFF the boat! (If you are prone to motion sickness, you'd
better take plenty of whatever gets you through long car rides.) We
went in early summer and were fascinated by the 20-hour long days. In terms
of which cruise lines are better, my guess is the big ones (Princess,
Holland America, Norwegian. etc.) are all pretty similar (for example, all
will have large work-out facilities, running/walking tracks around the deck,
multiple smallish pools) but you should be able to check their websites
and brochures for more details on activities for children. Also, the
Chronicle travel section does an edition on cruising once or twice a year that
gives good summaries and comparisons. You should be able to get that from
SFGate, the paper's website. Have fun!!
Nov. 2001
Has anyone ever taken a cruise with their toddler? We've heard from
some colleagues with families that it's a nice easy way to travel
together. We were wondering, in particular, what people have done
after the little one's bedtime. Have you had a sitter so that mom &
dad can go out? Have you rigged some kind of long-range baby monitor
so you can hear if your little one wakens without you (or is that a
horrible idea)?
Thanks in advance.
I loved our cruise with our toddler! I would do it again in a New York
minute. We took our son, 13 months at the time, on a seven day cruise to
Alaska a few years ago. It was wonderful. There were lots of things for all
of us to do, particularly during the shore time, which was daily. We hiked,
ran around local parks and so on. On the ship we explored all the different
decks and observation areas. And our son loved running up and down the
narrow halls.
The ship was a huge floating hotel. It had a special area for children, and
although it was for older kids, there was a huge ballpit and other things for
our son to do, which he loved. The staff was fantastic. Many of the people
who work on cruise ships are foreigners who have left their family behind to
spend months out of the year on these ships. They LOVE children. Our son
was treated like a prince. They had a special place set for him during our
dinner seating, complete with his own yogurt and everything they learned that
he loved. He felt very special, as he was constantly attended to by everyone
on the ship.
My husband and I tag-teamed for things like working out and stuff like that.
We did go out at night a few times. The concierge helped us find a sitter --
one of the crew members who was off duty. Again, she had children of her own
at home so she had a terrific time hanging out with our son. We felt very
comfortable with her.
If you can swing it, I would try for a room with a balcony. They are solid
plexiglass and completely safe. These rooms are a bit bigger, too. Of
course they provide a portacrib if you need one.
Enjoy your trip!
CWilson
We did the Disney cruise when our kid was 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 and it was great--a
younger toddler might be a bit young. Cruises are a good way to be together
with family and friends but also independent. The Disney cruises are
expensive but totally geared to parent confidence and kid fun. They give you a
beeper when your kid is in the kid club--she didn't want to leave when we went
back an hour later to get her--disney everything from costumes to stories to
crewmembers dressed up like the characters giving out autographs and hugs.
They have a computer lab and lots of crafts. We didn't really think of
ourselves as members of the cult of Disney, but we're still very favorably
impressed. If your're going alone and not with other folks, I'd wait a year or
two. If there are grandparents or aunts or someone else to help check in on
your little darling to make sure she's happy in the kid club (or if you want an
in room babysitter which is available) then you'd probably enjoy it but not get
full benefit out of the disney specialty which is entertaining kids and letting
the grownups have a break and vacation too. There are adult only areas as
well, such as a remarkably sophisticated Italian restaurant, pool, deluxe spa,
and nightclubby areas. It's an elegant deco looking ship that really keeps all
ages happy. One weird thing is the lack of a casino--usually a feature of
cruises. Lots of liquor, though. We'd go again. Chris
(We took our daughter to Disneyland when she was 3 and her idea of a great
time was playing with a wood box on Tom Sawyer's island. )
"D L
We have taken our son on two cruise ships. The first time he was 1 1/2 and
the second time he was 2 1/2. Depending upon the age of your child, you
should find out at what age they allow the child to participate in the play
room activities. When our son was under 2 years, he was not allowed in the
child play area and we had him the entire time, without any time for
ourselves. The second time, he would not stay in the play area and wanted to
be with us. Luckily, we were with friends and took turns watching the
children. Also, with a child, most cruise ships will not give a balcony
cabin and will restrict you to an indoor cabin. I found both cruises to be
very confining. Finally, both cruise lines that we were on did not provide
individual baby-sitting. They only had group baby-sitting in the play area.
Personally, our trips involving planes and hotels have been much more
enjoyable.
TABN
Taking 14-month-old on a cruise
May 2002
we are thinking of taking our 14 month old baby with us to a
4-day cruise to Mexico. We usually prepare fresh food for her,
which is almost not possible to do during crusing. Any
suggestion? Also, any precaution we need to take?
Thanks.
bobee
We took our 2 year old twins on an Alaskan Cruise on one of the
Princess cruise ships. It was the best vacation since having
the kids who are now 4. They have a great child care facility
with lots of activities for little ones. Food was not really a
problem. There is always fresh fruit, breads, yogurt, eggs,
pancakes, hotdogs, spaghetti on so on. At the sit down dinners
our waiters had apple juice waiting for our twins when we sat
down. They were very attentative to our needs. We will
definitely do a Princess cruise again in the future. You will
have a great time!
Karen
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