Where to have baby sleep on a cruise?

Question

We're going on a cruise in january and our son will be 9 months old. where can he sleep.

we've cruised before so we know how small the cabins are and we've seen a ton of babies on the ships? no room for a portable crib? ideas?

Answer 1

I just came back from a Disney Cruise in the Mediterranean on the ship "Magic".  Disney cabins are larger than average. I've seen other infants on board but Disney normally recommends you wait a year...but again I saw infants on onboard.

Each room has fold-away bed that converts to a Sofa.  I don't know if they have special cribs (I never saw any) but I know you can request additional folding beds.  If you decide on Disney, you can call the cruise line directly to get your questions answered.

good luck.

Answer 2

Depends on the size of your cabin - they can put a crib in it if you get a JR Suite or larger.

I would think twice about taking a baby that young on a cruise though.  May not be a wise idea.

Answer 3

It depends upon your cruise line.

We took our 18-month old niece with us on a family reunion cruise on Carnival in 2005.

The "crib" we requested in advance was a roll-away bed that collapsed the first night we were on the ship.  

If you are sailing on Carnival, you might want to take along a Pack and Play type portable crib.  That way you are sure the crib is in good working order and not full of germs from previous guests or from being in storage.

If you are in a level 4 stateroom on Carnival, it will be a tight fit but you don't spend much time in your stateroom anyway.

The harder baby item to handle but is necessary is a stroller.  Avoid the heavy duty stroller and only take along a light umbrella stroller.

Answer 4

I took my 8 month old son on a weeklong cruise last year - we had a wonderful time!  We went on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody.  

It is THE way to travel with a baby.  Here's a few tips:

The ship provides a pack & play for the baby to sleep in - they will wedge it into your room.   You can make your room more comfortable by asking the staff to remove your coffee table, or put it out on your balcony if you have one.  If you can't do either, you're gonna be like sardines.  but who really cares - you're not gonna have much fun in your cabin anyway.  It's just a place to sleep.

Remember that even the smallest interior cabins are capable of sleeping FOUR ADULTS (via a hideaway bed or pullman beds) so one little baby isn't really too difficult to accommodate.

It's not a problem to give your baby a bath in the shower, especially if they can already sit up.  The shower head is one of the moveable ones.

You can't take your baby into the pool.  Even with a swimming diaper.  Only fully potty trained kids.  If you want to take your baby for a swim, you'll have to do so in the ocean when you're in port.

My son woke up earlier than usual while we were cruising.  No matter how tightly we drew the curtains, he was always up at 5 or 6am.  My husband and I took turns sleeping in.  One of us would take him to the buffet breakfast.  It wasn't too hard to find stuff he could eat.  They had apple juice, oatmeal, grits, and scrambled eggs.  I did bring a couple cans of powdered formula, but I didn;t need very much baby food.

Apple juice was only available at breakfast though - the rest of the time it was a paid item like soft drinks.  

They have a baby play time almost every day, with Fisher Price toys.  The staff wipes each toy down with disinfectant after playtime.  

Bring a small, lightweight, umbrella-style stroller.  You can easily tuck it inside your cabin closet.  The larger ones will only get in your way.  The corridors are quite narrow.

Open space to crawl around without being underfoot is available if you look for it.  I took my son to the Viking lounge (that serves as a nightclub in the evenings) every morning and made a corral out of chairs.  He could scoot around, pull himself up on chairs, and look out the windows to his heart's content, while I was admiring the ocean view, reading a book, or *cough* taking a nap on one of the little sofas.

This year I'm taking a cruise with TWO babies.  Wish me luck!

edit - I forgot  to mention the childcare options - on Royal Caribbean, the child must be 1 yr old for in-room babysitting ($10/hr).  Must be 3 and fully potty trained for the "day care"-like kid's club.

On Carnival, in-room babysitting is $6/hr ($10/hr for 2 kids) no age limit but only available for late night, from 10:30p til 2am.

Answer 5

i would bring one of the portable ones.  you might try requesting a handicapped room. the cabin is a little bigger.  if it is not being used, they would probably let you have it. we met a couple on spring break. his mom was a travel agent and booked this trip / room for them.  the room was 50 percent larger.  i wouldn't take the room if someone needs it , but if it happened to be open when you were sailing and it was available it would be great to have it.

Answer 6

You need help

or you need someone to take care of your baby in ship..?