My husband and our 10 month old daughter and I just returned from a wonderful one week cruise in the Caribbean on the Crown Princess cruise ship. We wondered how difficult it would be to cruise with a young baby - it turned out that it was actually quite easy. Sure there are some things that we would do differently, but for the most part we did a lot of things very, very well. We are now planning our next cruise.
If you or someone you know is planning a cruise vacation with a young baby you might be interested in reading what our days were like on the cruise ship.
Our typical day started at 7:00 a.m. when our daughter woke up. We would take her out of the playpen that was provided to us by the cruise company and bring her into bed with us for a few minutes to play with her as we all woke up.
After changing her out of her wet diaper and into some dry clothes my husband would put our daughter into her stroller and he would go for a 30 minute walk on the promenade deck of the cruise ship. While they were gone I would have a shower and organize our cabin and pack the diaper bag for the day. When they returned my husband would have his shower and get ready for the morning.
We would then all head off for breakfast. Before leaving on our trip I called Princess Cruise Line inquiring about the availability of high chairs in the dining areas. There is absolutely no problem with their high chairs. They are very sturdy, clean and safe - and they are available in all the dining areas. I would go to the buffet to get food for all of us to start on, and while I was doing that my hubby would get a high chair and get our daughter comfortable in it. It was all quite easy since there was never a very long line up at the buffet during the breakfast period.
When we finished our breakfast we went back to our cabin and changed into our swim gear. Our daughter wears swim diapers under her bathing suit. Off to the kid's pool where on the Crown Princess children are allowed if they are wearing a swim diaper.
Our daughter needs and I think actually enjoys napping - so after swimming we would go back to the cabin and put her down for her nap. Before we left on our vacation my husband and I talked about how important it was for us to share the child-care duties during the trip. So when our daughter napped we would take turns staying with her. If it was my turn to stay with her while she napped - hubby would head of for some time on his own, and then the next time we would swap - he would stay with her and I would head off. It worked out great.
When our daughter woke up for her nap we would put her into the stroller and the three of us would walk around the ship together. Back to the buffet for lunch together - more exploring - maybe some more swimming - and eventually it was afternoon nap time.
The best part of the day was getting all dressed up for dinner and then having dinner in one of the formal dining rooms. We would leave our cabin and go to one of the bars on the ship (there are lots of them) and have a cocktail before dinner. After our drink we would go to the dining room around 6 pm. Every dinner was spectacular and the service from the dining room staff was excellent. All the staff loved talking to our daughter.
Before going to the dining room we would make a quick trip to the buffet area and pick up a few pieces of fruit to take with us to the dining room for our daughter to eat during dinner.
Once in the dining room my husband and I would order our dinner (the food on Princess is soooo good) and our little girl would eat some of her fruit. We also gave her some small pieces of bread and some other snacks like Yum Yums (that we brought with us).
Our daughter would eventually be ready for her real food. I fed her a jar of baby food and some cereal mixed with water. We pre-ordered the baby food from Princess about a month before the cruise. After dinner the three of us would sit and relax and enjoy being together as our daughter had her bottle.
After we had our dinner and our daughter finished her bottle we went back to our room. Our daughter has a bath every evening - it is part of her getting ready for bed ritual. Most cabins on cruise ships don't have bathtubs they only have showers and ours was no different. So what we did was plug the drain in the shower and run some water into the shower and it was plenty deep enough for our daughter's bath.
We decided before our trip that we didn`t want to miss out the evening fun on the cruise ship. So, after bath time we put our daughter into her pyjamas and placed her into her stroller. We then headed off to see a show, or to see a comedian, or listen to some music, or just walk the ship. It was a great time of the day for all of us.
Our daughter would enjoy watching all that was going on around her. After 30 minutes or so she would fall asleep in her stroller. We adjusted the stroller seat so that she was reclining as she slept.
We would continue doing things until my husband and I were ready to call it a day. We would back to our cabin, tuck our daughter into her playpen for the night, and then tuck ourselves into bed as well.
Going on a successful cruise vacation takes some advanced planning. For us cruising is a wonderful way to have a stress-free vacation, enjoy our daughter and enjoy being a family. - 16732
If you or someone you know is planning a cruise vacation with a young baby you might be interested in reading what our days were like on the cruise ship.
Our typical day started at 7:00 a.m. when our daughter woke up. We would take her out of the playpen that was provided to us by the cruise company and bring her into bed with us for a few minutes to play with her as we all woke up.
After changing her out of her wet diaper and into some dry clothes my husband would put our daughter into her stroller and he would go for a 30 minute walk on the promenade deck of the cruise ship. While they were gone I would have a shower and organize our cabin and pack the diaper bag for the day. When they returned my husband would have his shower and get ready for the morning.
We would then all head off for breakfast. Before leaving on our trip I called Princess Cruise Line inquiring about the availability of high chairs in the dining areas. There is absolutely no problem with their high chairs. They are very sturdy, clean and safe - and they are available in all the dining areas. I would go to the buffet to get food for all of us to start on, and while I was doing that my hubby would get a high chair and get our daughter comfortable in it. It was all quite easy since there was never a very long line up at the buffet during the breakfast period.
When we finished our breakfast we went back to our cabin and changed into our swim gear. Our daughter wears swim diapers under her bathing suit. Off to the kid's pool where on the Crown Princess children are allowed if they are wearing a swim diaper.
Our daughter needs and I think actually enjoys napping - so after swimming we would go back to the cabin and put her down for her nap. Before we left on our vacation my husband and I talked about how important it was for us to share the child-care duties during the trip. So when our daughter napped we would take turns staying with her. If it was my turn to stay with her while she napped - hubby would head of for some time on his own, and then the next time we would swap - he would stay with her and I would head off. It worked out great.
When our daughter woke up for her nap we would put her into the stroller and the three of us would walk around the ship together. Back to the buffet for lunch together - more exploring - maybe some more swimming - and eventually it was afternoon nap time.
The best part of the day was getting all dressed up for dinner and then having dinner in one of the formal dining rooms. We would leave our cabin and go to one of the bars on the ship (there are lots of them) and have a cocktail before dinner. After our drink we would go to the dining room around 6 pm. Every dinner was spectacular and the service from the dining room staff was excellent. All the staff loved talking to our daughter.
Before going to the dining room we would make a quick trip to the buffet area and pick up a few pieces of fruit to take with us to the dining room for our daughter to eat during dinner.
Once in the dining room my husband and I would order our dinner (the food on Princess is soooo good) and our little girl would eat some of her fruit. We also gave her some small pieces of bread and some other snacks like Yum Yums (that we brought with us).
Our daughter would eventually be ready for her real food. I fed her a jar of baby food and some cereal mixed with water. We pre-ordered the baby food from Princess about a month before the cruise. After dinner the three of us would sit and relax and enjoy being together as our daughter had her bottle.
After we had our dinner and our daughter finished her bottle we went back to our room. Our daughter has a bath every evening - it is part of her getting ready for bed ritual. Most cabins on cruise ships don't have bathtubs they only have showers and ours was no different. So what we did was plug the drain in the shower and run some water into the shower and it was plenty deep enough for our daughter's bath.
We decided before our trip that we didn`t want to miss out the evening fun on the cruise ship. So, after bath time we put our daughter into her pyjamas and placed her into her stroller. We then headed off to see a show, or to see a comedian, or listen to some music, or just walk the ship. It was a great time of the day for all of us.
Our daughter would enjoy watching all that was going on around her. After 30 minutes or so she would fall asleep in her stroller. We adjusted the stroller seat so that she was reclining as she slept.
We would continue doing things until my husband and I were ready to call it a day. We would back to our cabin, tuck our daughter into her playpen for the night, and then tuck ourselves into bed as well.
Going on a successful cruise vacation takes some advanced planning. For us cruising is a wonderful way to have a stress-free vacation, enjoy our daughter and enjoy being a family. - 16732
About the Author:
BabyTravelPlanet is in Canada and they sell Dreamer Design Jogging Strollers to people in Canada and USA. Visit their site to get their no cost ebook checklist Packing for a Cruise Vacation with Your Baby that is full of things to consider when planning a cruise vacation.
