Has anyone ever taken a cruise with an infant? What were your experiences?

Question

We've never been on a cruise, but were thinking about taking a Carnival cruise in March to the Carribbean. Our daughter will be 9 months old. Will they charge anything for her? Do infants handle cruises well? We can bring her pack 'n play for her to sleep in, but I heard ship's rooms are very small. Will there be room in standard cabin for her? She's generally outgoing and content, so we think she should be OK, but we'd like to hear others' first-hand experiences.

Answer 1

I've never taken a my own child (I don't have any kids) but I have gone with other people and their children. So here is what I would say in response to your questions:

Fees: You will not have to pay anything for the actual cruise for an infant. However, any port fees or taxes will have to be paid. You will have to have a birth certificate and everything for her to get on. For most other vacations infants don't have to be listed because they are free, but cruises work differently. You need to list them on the reservation, and they are considered towards the total passenger list. Therefore, if you will be going with more people, you will need to make sure that you have a large enough room to hold that many people. Also, there has to be a spot on the life boats for the baby, even if you would hold her in such a situation, they are required to count one seat off for each person on the cruise.

Handling the cruise: Some babies do fine, others don't. It will depend a lot on the cruise, if it is a little rock, not all babies like it, some enjoy it and it rocks them to sleep (it can happen to adults too!) There are shows and things, but most won't be especially fun for a child, Disney has better shows, especially for babies. The biggest concern, in my opinion, would be health issues. Cruises, like most other places, vacations, etc. can had virus' onboard. On a cruise, it can be easier to catch that virus because you are in one place with a large group of people, even if the cruise line works hard to keep it clean. Young children, especially babies, and the elderly will be at a higher risk of getting sick and/or getting something life threatening. I hate to say it, but Carnival has been one of the worst lines recently for having outbreaks. I cruise all the time, I don't plan to stop any time soon, and I know that there is the chance of getting sick, but I don't find cruises to have a higher risk than just flying in a plane or going to work. But, when you say Carnival that does signal a little red flag for me.

Room size: It will depend on what ship and category you get. The regular rooms can be pretty small, suites are very roomy, not sure if that is an option. Check with the cruise line to see if they have a crib available, it would be one less thing for you to have to carry, if you don't want to. The crib will fit in the room, it may just give you a little less room, with luggage and everything else.

Most ships offer babysitting onboard, in case you would like to go to dinner a lone or something one night. There usually is a fee for this, but it does give you more options. For older children, there are actual kids clubs that are included, but that isn't until they are abotu 3 or 4.

It is hard to give you information about certain things since I'm not sure of what ship you are looking at. If you go online, to either Carnivals website or a site like Cruise Critic, you can get most of the info you need.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I took a cruise with my girl when she was 2 years ald 3 months old. And my wife was pregnant. It was a great time, but because we took my inlaw too, i had time to enjoy all the things in the cruise. It was a Royal Caribbean ship to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, and it was really great. So, if you have anyone to hepl you, i said.... take your baby!

Answer 3

We brought our son on a Trans-Atlantic sailing at 13 months.

I strongly recommend against an inside cabin, you will not have enough room for a pack 'n play.  At the very least you need the extra space that an outside cabin will provide.  The area that is the "sitting area" will be where you will set up the pack 'n play.  Talk with your travel agent, they may have pack 'n plays on board thereby saving you the trouble of bringing yours.

Be aware though that babysitting will not be available and your daughter is too young for the children's program, she'll need to be  at least 3 and potty trained for Carnival's children's program.  

Royal Caribbean does have a Fisher Price play program for children your daughter's age, however it's not a drop off program but instead a program with cruise staff, parents, and children.

Cunard has a drop off program that starts at 12 months.

Disney offers babysitting for children 12 weeks to 3 years old in Flounder's Reef Nursery, located on Deck 5, Midship. Guests may book babysitting times online in advance of embarkation or may sign up their children on embarkation day. The facility is open for select hours every day. Rates and times are subject to change, and space is limited.

Answer 4

Carnival front what i have heard have the largest rooms in the industry and I would personally recommend that you dont take your daughter as she wont remember it and she could throw fits and everything which could cause others to have a horrible time or something and I think that you should take her once she is a bit older so she could actually remember the experience and I think that you should let someone like an inlaw take care of her and you and your spouse should spend the time together and relaxing as you don't usually get that kind of time to spend together. I would say probably not but its your decision.