Our daughter is 9 months old, and we just came back from a fabulous week-long cruise on the Crown Princess ship. We will be going again and when we do we will do some things different, but for the most part we did a lot of things very well. Our pre-planning for the trip really helped to make the trip very successful.
I thought it would be beneficial to other travellers planning a cruise with a young baby to read about our typical day on a cruise ship.
Princess Cruise Line was wonderful to us. They provided us with a very sturdy, clean and safe playpen for our daughter to sleep in. We positioned the playpen out of the way in the small hallway in our cabin near to the cabin's washroom. Our daughter sleeps very well - her normally waking time is 7 am. When she woke up during the vacation we would give her a quick change of clothes and then the three of us (baby, dad and me) would snuggle in our bed for a while waking up and playing.
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.
Our family would then head off for breakfast. We did not go to the dining room for breakfast - instead we thought it was easier to eat at the buffet area. The Princess ship had high chairs throughout the dining areas - so it was always easy to get one. My husband would get a high chair and get our daughter set up in it while I went to the buffet to get some food for the three of us to start on. The buffet line was never very busy so it just took a minute or so to get the food.
Our daughter loves the water - so most days after breakfast we would head back to our cabin - change into our swim suits and head off for the kiddie swimming pool. On the ship that we were on babies that wear swim diapers are allowed in the kid's pool (so make sure you pack some on your trip).
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.
For dinner we always went to the formal dining room. It was the highlight of the day. We would all get dressed up for dinner, and would head off for a pre-dinner cocktail at about 5:30 and then go for dinner at about 6:00 p.m. Every dinner was spectacular and the service from the dining room staff was excellent. All the staff loved talking to our daughter.
On our way to dinner we would do a quick detour to the buffet area and pick up some melon pieces to take to the dining room for our daughter to snack on during dinner.
When we were seated at our table in the dining room (again there are plenty of high chairs available) my husband and I would look over the menu, place our dinner order (we loved the food on the ship) and our daughter would munch on her fruit, some pieces of bread and on some other snack food that I brought with us.
At some point during dinner our daughter would be ready for her dinner. Before we left to go on the cruise (about a month before) I had pre-ordered baby food from Princess. At dinner when she was ready to eat I fed her a jar of baby food and some cereal mixed with water. When we were all finished eating our little family would sit and relax and enjoy being together as our daughter had her bottle.
When we left the dining room we would head back to our room. It was time for her evening bath - since our room did not have a bathtub (it only had a shower) - we plugged the shower drain and ran some water into the shower making it plenty deep enough for our daughter's bath.
Being out and about during the evening is one of the great fun things to do on a cruise ship - and we didn`t want to miss out. So, every evening after our daughter`s bath time we put her in her sleepers and settled her into her stroller and off we would go to a show, to see a comedian, listen to some music, or just walk the ship. It was fantastic.
Our daughter would laugh and smile at all the people and the excitement that surrounded her - but it wasn`t long - maybe 30 or 40 minutes before she would fall asleep in her stroller. We adjusted the stroller seat so that she was reclining as she slept.
With our daughter now fast asleep in her stroller my husband and I would continue doing things until we 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.
Cruising with a young baby is wonderful (at least in our experience) - it does take some advanced planning. It is a wonderful way to have a stress-free vacation, enjoy our daughter and enjoy being a family.
I thought it would be beneficial to other travellers planning a cruise with a young baby to read about our typical day on a cruise ship.
Princess Cruise Line was wonderful to us. They provided us with a very sturdy, clean and safe playpen for our daughter to sleep in. We positioned the playpen out of the way in the small hallway in our cabin near to the cabin's washroom. Our daughter sleeps very well - her normally waking time is 7 am. When she woke up during the vacation we would give her a quick change of clothes and then the three of us (baby, dad and me) would snuggle in our bed for a while waking up and playing.
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.
Our family would then head off for breakfast. We did not go to the dining room for breakfast - instead we thought it was easier to eat at the buffet area. The Princess ship had high chairs throughout the dining areas - so it was always easy to get one. My husband would get a high chair and get our daughter set up in it while I went to the buffet to get some food for the three of us to start on. The buffet line was never very busy so it just took a minute or so to get the food.
Our daughter loves the water - so most days after breakfast we would head back to our cabin - change into our swim suits and head off for the kiddie swimming pool. On the ship that we were on babies that wear swim diapers are allowed in the kid's pool (so make sure you pack some on your trip).
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.
For dinner we always went to the formal dining room. It was the highlight of the day. We would all get dressed up for dinner, and would head off for a pre-dinner cocktail at about 5:30 and then go for dinner at about 6:00 p.m. Every dinner was spectacular and the service from the dining room staff was excellent. All the staff loved talking to our daughter.
On our way to dinner we would do a quick detour to the buffet area and pick up some melon pieces to take to the dining room for our daughter to snack on during dinner.
When we were seated at our table in the dining room (again there are plenty of high chairs available) my husband and I would look over the menu, place our dinner order (we loved the food on the ship) and our daughter would munch on her fruit, some pieces of bread and on some other snack food that I brought with us.
At some point during dinner our daughter would be ready for her dinner. Before we left to go on the cruise (about a month before) I had pre-ordered baby food from Princess. At dinner when she was ready to eat I fed her a jar of baby food and some cereal mixed with water. When we were all finished eating our little family would sit and relax and enjoy being together as our daughter had her bottle.
When we left the dining room we would head back to our room. It was time for her evening bath - since our room did not have a bathtub (it only had a shower) - we plugged the shower drain and ran some water into the shower making it plenty deep enough for our daughter's bath.
Being out and about during the evening is one of the great fun things to do on a cruise ship - and we didn`t want to miss out. So, every evening after our daughter`s bath time we put her in her sleepers and settled her into her stroller and off we would go to a show, to see a comedian, listen to some music, or just walk the ship. It was fantastic.
Our daughter would laugh and smile at all the people and the excitement that surrounded her - but it wasn`t long - maybe 30 or 40 minutes before she would fall asleep in her stroller. We adjusted the stroller seat so that she was reclining as she slept.
With our daughter now fast asleep in her stroller my husband and I would continue doing things until we 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.
Cruising with a young baby is wonderful (at least in our experience) - it does take some advanced planning. It is a wonderful way to have a stress-free vacation, enjoy our daughter and enjoy being a family.
About the Author:
BabyTravelPlanet is located in Canada and they offer Dreamer Design Jogging Strollers to customers 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.
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