So….6 months ago, my life changed forever. I had a beautiful baby girl! My life has changed and I couldn’t be happier. Most folks that know me assumed that I would slow down from traveling. As you know, my husband and I LOVE to travel. We’re either doing quick weekend getaways, elaborate cruises or taking some fabulous land based trips. When we found out that we were pregnant this time last year, we made a pact. We said that we wouldn’t slow down and that we wanted our baby to be well traveled. I will say that it sounded easier than it actually is. However with some proper planning and some research, we’ve been able to take a few road trips with our baby and most recently a 7 day Caribbean cruise.

We had the cruise planned before she was even born….before we even knew about her. Initially, we were going to take a Christmas Panama Canal cruise. However, the cruise lines are pretty strict when it comes to the minimum age requirements. Princess cruise line was definitely a stickler to this rule. Our girl would have been a few days shy of the 6 months but the cruise line wouldn’t let us add her to our room. So we changed itineraries to accommodate her age and found a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean.

Although the cruise line has this age minimum, I’ve heard it’s because if there is a medical need that they really don’t have the equipment to assist a baby under the age of 6 months if needed. Here’s what I do know. They don’t have much of anything for babies that young. For instance if you think your baby will need baby Tylenol then bring it. The cruise line will not have it. So bring whatever you think that your baby will need….within limits of course.

Here are a few tips.

Practice, Practice, Practice

First get in a few trips, even short road trips, to see how your baby does and what you need while traveling. We started traveling with our girl at 3 months. We did a couple of long weekends in Jekyll Island, Rosemary Beach and Tampa before we took the cruise. So we had a good idea of what we needed to pack and take with us for the bigger trip.

Getting There

Our baby is on a pretty strict sleep schedule. We follow the Moms on Call method. It works for us. Our girl has been sleeping through the night since she was 3 months. So the first time we traveled, we traveled when she had her longest stretches of sleep….at night! This was probably our easiest trip as far as she was concerned. We bathed her before we left, put her in the car seat, fed her and she was out. Once we got to our destination, we put her in the pack and play and she continued to sleep through the night. Now traveling by night wasn’t necessarily easiest on us physically. However, we have tried driving through the day and it’s a lot more work. She requires more feedings, diaper changes, entertainment and more stops. So if you are on a sleep schedule, try to stick with it as much as possible. Travel during the longest sleep stretches.

Type of Cabin

The only thing that I can recommend is to get the largest cabin that you can afford. Most cabins on the cruise lines are barely 200 sq ft. So adding a 3^rd person plus a crib or pack and play will make it really tight. For our cruise, we opted to get a mini-suite. We asked our state room attendant to remove 1 chair and that’s where our pack and play went. We still had plenty of room.

One nice touch that we really liked is that we had curtains to separate our space from the baby’s space while she slept. This was helpful in putting her down for the night. That portion of the room was dark and we could keep the lights on in our portion without disturbing her

Sleeping

Most hotels and cruise lines will provide a pack and play. You just have to request it. We’ve used the hotel pack and play and taken our own. For us, we prefer to take our own. If you do decide to use a hotel or cruise line pack and play, make sure to take your own bedding. The one time we used one at a hotel, we got the pack and play but no sheets. Thankfully, we had already brought our own. The cruise line will offer to provide sheets. However if your baby has sensitive skin like ours, then you may run the risk of a rash developing if you use their sheets.

We also brought extra sleeping attire and sleep sacks. She normally sleeps in both. So we tried to keep her routine the same as much as we could.

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Bathing

At home we have a couple of different options to bathe our girl. However, neither are great for traveling. So we found a packable, inflatable travel tub and it works great! You just blow it up once and it’s good for your entire trip. We purchased this at 4 months. It was a little advanced for her then but by 6 months, she’s a pro in this bath tub. Loves to splash and play with toys. Our mini-suite came with a bathtub. So this inflatable tub fit right in. We stored it under the sink in our bathroom.

If you opt for a cabin without a full bathroom, this can still work. You may just have to use the tub on the bathroom floor versus the shower. You should still be able to store it under the sink.

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Eating

I have been exclusively pumping. However, we’ve started to introduce formula for our baby. If you pump like I do, make sure to bring your pump, extra parts, bottles, bottle rack, dish soap, bottle brush, etc. I also brought Lysol sanitizing wipes so that I could sanitize the sink area prior to using. It’s a lot of extra work but necessary if you pump.

If your baby is on formula, make sure to bring a sealed canister. Our cruise line didn’t check, but we were told that it was at the discretion of the security personnel at the time of check in. The cruise ship won’t have formula onboard. So bring what you need.

Our girl has started solids. So check with the cruise line. They may offer commercial baby food or may puree the food in the restaurants.

On our cruise, they did both. I was able to pre-order some commercial food. We used this in our room or when we were on shore. In the restaurants, they pureed fruit and veggies for our girl. She ate very well on the trip. We did also bring our own baby spoon. The staff was helpful in bringing spoons but they were adult sized.

Our mini-suite came with a small refrigerator. This was helpful in preparing extra bottles and keeping them cold. Not every cabin has this nor does every cruise line provide. So make sure to bring a small cooler. Your stateroom attendant can fill with ice. While we had a refrigerator, when we went on shore, we took the cooler with a couple of bottles. Each day our fantastic attendant would grab the cooler in the morning and fill with ice so that baby girl had her food!

While on board we also requested use of a high chair. If we ate in the buffett restaurant, it took a while for the staff to locate a chair. However they always did. During dinner in the main dining room, the high chair was always waiting for us. This was a nice touch by the staff!

Play Time

Most of the major cruise lines have a separate play section for the kiddos. Most will let you drop the kids off for the day or even during the evenings so that you can have adult time. Unfortunately, our girl is too young to drop off…However we did take advantage of the facilities to allow her to play w/the toys and have something new and different to see.

Because there were a lot of kids onboard for our cruise, they did have a separate play time dedicated for the babies (those under the age of 3). So make sure to confirm timing at the start of your cruise.

Out & About and Around the Ship

We brought a stroller and an infant front carrier. The stroller was primarily used onshore. However we did occasionally put the baby in the stroller and maneuvered her around the ship.

I found the front carrier a little easier to use…less bulky. She loved being in the carrier. Lots for her to see. Plus when we went to the beach, carrying the baby across the sand was much easier than trying to push the stroller in the sand. We saw a few parents try this and let’s just say it didn’t work out so well.

Here are a few more basic things to bring:

• Plenty of diapers
• Plenty of wipes
• Any medicines like tylenol, gripe water, gas drops, etc.
• Weather appropriate clothing
• Sleeping blankets
• Towels
• Baby wash cloths
• Toys
• Bibs
• Burb cloths

It seems like a lot to bring, but I was able to get everything in a small suit case except for the big items like the pack and play or stoller obviously.

We are planning another cruise in a year. Next time we will take some family with us. She will still be too young for drop off in the kids room. However family can help watch her and allow hubby and I to have some much needed adult alone time.