by Brooklyn Sterritt
Going on a family cruise with a young baby can be a wonderful trip. We know because we just came back from a Caribbean cruise with our 10 month old daughter.
Before we left on our cruise we had do some planning, making lists, checking lists, contacting the cruise line and so on – but all of our pre-trip planning was well worth the effort. Travelling with a baby means taking lots of extra things with you – and there are a lot of things to consider – but there are some items that you just cannot be without. Here is our list of the top ten items to take with you for your baby.
1. The most valuable thing that we took with us was our stroller. Our daughter loves being in the stroller and it was also great that our stroller folds – that way it was easy to take on an airplane, and it didn’t take up much room in our cabin on the cruise ship. We used the stroller all the time. Every morning we walked our daughter on the promenade deck; we used the stroller every day to go to the ship’s pools and dining rooms; we even used in the evening so that we can all enjoy the exciting evenings on board. Every evening after dinner we bathed our daughter, then put her in pyjamas, and then placed her back into her stroller. We then walked the ship with her, went to some clubs on the ship with her and before long she would fall fast asleep.
2. Diapers. Make sure that you pack enough disposable diapers. The way that I figured out how many to take was to the week before our trip I kept track of how many diapers our girl went through each day to get an idea of how many diapers are needed per day. Based on that calculate how many are required during the vacation. We didn’t purchase the diapers at home. We had time between our flight arrival in Ft Lauderdale and the time to board the ship so we took a cab to a Target store and purchased them and some other supplies before getting another taxi to the ship. That way we didn’t have to carry them onto our airplane.
3. Even when travelling with a young baby you will want to swim during your vacation (if your cruise is a warm-weather location). All ships have kiddie/toddler pool and in order for you baby to enjoy the pool they have to wear swim diapers or be potty-trained.
4. Our baby is on formula so we brought on board with us enough formula for the cruise. We opted to bring powdered formula since it is less bulky than formula that is already mixed. Again, we didn’t bring it from home, we purchased the required formula in Florida when we bought our diapers. Keep in mind that any formula entering the ship must be sealed & in the original container.
5. Kettle – taking a kettle (with an auto shutoff) on the trip means that you can boil water and know that you have safe water to mix with the powdered formula.
6. Baby’s food is obviously very important. We brought a formula dispenser with us. We did this so that we could fill several bottles with clean water and when it was time for a bottle for our daughter we just had to pour the pre-measured formula into the water and give the bottle a shake.
7. When you check into your room on the ship let your room steward know that you will have some smelly diapers – he will come to your room more often to remove them. You can also help to control odours in your cabin by bringing with you scented bags for putting the dirty diapers (they can be purchased at a dollar store or Babies r Us). The bags were also useful on our air flight.
8. Soap for baby’s bath. Most cruise cabins don’t have a bathtub – ours did not. What we did was plug the drain on the shower and put enough water in the shower in order to give our baby her bath.
9. Sun Cabana – if your cruise is taking you to a warm climate like the Caribbean purchase a very lightweight sun cabana before your trip. You can use it when you visit the beach during the cruise. Keeps baby comfortable and protected from the sun. If you rent a cabana on the beach it will cost about $80 to $100.
10. Zip lock bags – these are great for everything – snack holders, put really dirty/soiled clothes away until you get home. Use for things that leak – (ex. medicine). Use the bags on the ship to pack bibs, spoons to go for dinner so when they are dirty you can throw in the bag & clean when you get back to your room.
These are the essentials that can’t leave home without. There are more items to consider, but start your list with these items.
