We went on a 14 night cruise with our 12 month old and it was the greatest decision we ever made. Cruises are very baby friendly, take away the element of transportation, and your little one’s room is never to far away. If you follow these tips you will be setting yourself up for an amazing vacation!
1. Order wipes, diapers, and food through the ship.
- We were going two weeks so we didn’t have room and it really wasn’t much more expensive at all! We ordered more than enough diapers and wipes and a bunch of Gerber veggies and fruits. Mags was eating solids already, but I wanted the veggies and fruits so I knew she was getting the nutrients she needed at dinner. This was worth every single penny. You can contact your cruise line directly, either through the phone or on the website.
2. Bring collapsible cubes.
- We bought a bunch of collapsible bins at Walmart and packed them in the front of our luggage. This was an amazing help on the ship. We used one as our diapers and wipes bin, one for baby accessories, one for socks and underwear. It was nice to have the extra easy access storage space.
3. Make your own DIY shoe rack storage.
- We pulled our shoe rack off our closet door ahead of time and labeled each section with masking tape. Medicine, bath toiletries, vitamins, sunscreen, toothpastes and toothbrushes, Baby bows, mommy hair ties, shaving toiletries. Our shoe rack had 20 compartments so those were 20 pouches to keep us organized in our tiny room. It was so much easier at night to ask Easy E to grab something and have it already labeled where to find it. If I had to do it all again, I’d label it in alphabetical order!
4. Request Pack N Play ahead of time. And bring your sheets!
- We called and called to check and double check one would be in the room for us. When we got to the room it was not yet there, but one check in with our stateroom attendant and we had it no problem. We brought Mag’s sheets with us but not freshly clean. We had let her sleep on it a day or two before packing it so that their was a familiar smell in that unfamiliar room.
5. Pack whiteboards!
- What you don’t want is someone knocking on your door to see if you want to meet for Bingo when your baby is asleep. You also don’t want to play Hide n Seek on the ship. For an easy buck at your local dollar store you can buy whiteboards and attach it to your door. We were able to write “DO NOT KNOCK BABY SLEEPING” or “TOOK BABY TO POOL” so that we didn’t have to go on a 12 floor hike to find each other.
6. Bring a small blow up pool.
- Again, we bought it cheap on amazon and it was awesome. Cruises only have showers so these little pools fit perfectly in the shower space and serve as a little bath, and it was so small we’d just stand it up and leave it there the whole trip. Sadly, your sweet baby will not be able to swim in the pools due to diaper regulations. So we just would bring it up to the pool deck, fill it with some water, and Mags had her own little pool to swim in on the hot days.
7. Don’t bring toys. Bring junk.
- Yes we brought ducky and a few board books. But not much more. However, what I did do was bring 20 dollars to my local Party City and buy 100 little toys ranging from 10-25 cents. Little balls, monsters, slinkies, pipe cleaners, junk, junk, junk! Best part of this junk? If it fell on the floor of the plane, I left it. If it fell at dinner, it stayed. And every night there was something new at dinner for Mags to pull apart and explore. And all of it fit in one small toiletry bag in my luggage. Major win.
8. Cruise staterooms are surprisingly very baby friendly. Keep it that way.
- It’s true. Due to the nature of a cruise everything is bolted to the wall. We could really let Mags roam as she pleased which was nice when I wanted to blow dry my hair or sit and have a cup of coffee. Use those bottom drawers though and fill them with items that you don’t care if the baby pulls out. Do your socks really need to be neat? Nah. Put them in the bottom drawer and let your baby pull them in or out to their heart’s content. It may allot you a full blowout.
9. Bring the smallest, lightest stroller you can.
- We brought (actually we left it at home so rebought) an umbrella stroller. I’m a huge runner so wanted to bring the jogging stroller but thank goodness we didn’t. The rooms are small and you want a stroller that folds up easy and small to throw in the closet, but also can be thrown in the bottom of busses, tours, and can fit through the door of your stateroom easily. Save the jogging stroller for home and use it as an excuse to get out on your own for a run at the beautiful gym or running track!
10. Rehearse dinner ahead of time!!!
- Call me crazy. Do it all you want. BUT I call you crazy if you bring a baby on a 14 night cruise and don’t rehearse ahead of time. Easy E and I love to dress up and dine. And we did from 6-7:30 every single night of our cruise with a baby who never, ever cried or fussed once. How did we do the impossible? We went out the three of us for dinner once a week leading up to the cruise to see how it would all work. We realized quickly that feeding Mags her veggies at the beginning would be best, and that she could gnaw away at the bread basket while we ate our own delicious entrees. Then we’d feed Mags her dinner during our after dinner cordial. And we’d pull out the ever popular puffs at the very end. We went out once a week not only to find out the order that worked for us, but to train our baby how to sit for a long period of time at dinner. Without technology.
11. If you go with family, get adjoining rooms.
- Cruises have particular blocks of rooms that are adjoining and we made sure to book one with our grammy. When Mags went down for her naps it was nice to be able to sneak into the next room over and watch TV or read a book. And if Grammy was up there reading or going to take a shower she’d tell us to get out and grab a drink since she was there anyway. Which we did! And did it guilt free since the baby was asleep anyway!
12. Bring Puffs.
- I don’t give Mags Puffs at home, but I’ve learned the incredible power of Puffs on the go. We booked tours in almost every location, we also had long transfers at times, and roamed and explored beautiful but quiet churches. A slowly paced Puff handing out session can buy you that time you need.
13. Keep bedtime routine.
- The bath may have been blow up, the books may not have had the usual variety, and the milk might have been warmed by an espresso machine instead of our usual microwave, but, boy did bedtime stay the same on the ship as it was at home. Our only thing we found was that Mags went to bed a little later due to our days, but then slept later as well. We were consistent on bedtime routine and we had a baby that slept 12 hours each night without a peep.
14. Use the main dining room. And reserve an early meal time.
- We spoke to many people who said to avoid the main dining room with a baby. They go to the buffets and cafes more on the ship. I advise the opposite. The service is the main dining room is so incredible that they make it so easy. After day one every day we arrived they had a high chair waiting with a goblet of fruit that Mags just loved. I knew she got fruit daily and it took her about 20 minutes to eat it all. We also couldn’t have asked the staff to be more friendly and welcoming to her. They made our baby girl feel like a big shot, not a big problem.
15. Discuss Expectations Daily.
- Easy E and I always discussed our daily plan while we enjoyed our coffee. I like Bingo, he doesn’t. He likes to work out in the afternoons, but I like to run after breakfast. Each morning we’d look at our cruise compass and kind of get an idea of what the other wanted to do to make them feel like they were on vacation and we’d make sure it happened. The rest of the time we’d all spend together. If you don’t do this, you’ll find it’s 5 PM and you’re both burnt out and haven’t done anything you truly wanted to.
16. Use room service!
- On our ship, the Navigator of the Seas, they allowed you to put your breakfast order on your door in the evening prior at no additional charge. This proved to be amazing for many reasons. First of all, it gave us a morning wake up each day. Second, we would have coffee delivered to the room each day for us and milk for Maggie’s second bottle. I’m still nursing in the mornings only so it was nice to have a cup of coffee available before heading to breakfast.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to BE ON VACATION. The more happy and calm you are the more your baby will be also. Anyone who has raised a baby for a year needs a vacation. And, after all the planning you do, deserves to relax and enjoy it! Please feel free to comment below with any tips or tricks, or questions you may have.
I was a part of this cruise and was so impressed! Every hint worked and made trip stress free. Most of all, you did not have to break the bank for anything, just go to dollar store and after use, juat throw away!!! Guilt free!!