Cruising with a 13 month old!

Cruising with a 13 month old!! 

We went on a Holland America New England Cruise in August where we flew to Boston, Ma then left 2 days later out of the port for 7 days. The cruise left us in Montreal and we flew home from there. Thankfully we had "Bryson's Village" of people to travel with and help with luggage/managing & entertaining Bryson/ and dealing with travel logistics.. but it was a lot, ESPECIALLY since he was walking now!!

Tip about carseats:

I wanted to travel as light as possible, especially since we would be on a cruise for the majority of the time. I wanted to avoid the carseat.. I did a lot of research before leaving about the carseat thing- didn't want to get stuck somewhere and have no transportation because I didn't have a carseat. They have an option in NYC where you can ask for an Uber with a carseat, but it's only in NYC.. alas.

I found that it was basically up to the Uber driver whether they would take you.. We did 2 Uber rides in Boston and 2 in Montreal : I never had an issue in Boston, any cruise port, or Montreal without a carseat - which is great! In Boston and Montreal - to go to and from the airport/hotel- we basically called an Uber and the drivers explained to me as long as I was holding him in my lap or strapped in, he was fine. I mostly just carried him in my carrier on things like the Big Bus tour

and we used the subway in Boston: 

and city buses in Montreal. 

My main tips when looking back are below: 

--> Travel Gear to take with you: 

1) Take a travel stroller- we have a regular nice one and then a smaller, cheaper one. The airlines messed up the handles on my nice one on one of the flights and it's never been the same.. so ever since then we take the travel stroller when traveling. Unfortunately, we found ours at Babies R Us and it was Babies R Us brand, but it's really handy- has small storage below, a tray for Bryson to snack from, it reclines for "napping" on the go (lol, yea right!), and it's very light!! 

I personally liked having the stroller for inside the airport, on the cruise ship (just going to meals and back to the stateroom and walking around the ship in general), and on land for excursions that would be feasible to bring it. 

SIDENOTE: Excursions: There's lots of options for excursions when you're on the cruise. The descriptions will tell you age range so you know if it's feasible for the baby and you to navigate the terrain. There was one walking on old cobblestone streets- we did not do that one, of course. I chose the ones that were more family friendly /sight seeing ones that would be easy for handicapped people and therefore strollers and carriers wouldn't be an issue. The front desk  people usually know also..  One of 2 of the excursions, Dad stayed back with Bryson because he wasn't interested in the particular excursion that day and he likes to nap a lot! 

Also- surprisingly- there are some excursions where they charge for the baby (if they are not clear in the age description, you will need to ask) .. we opted out of those as well.. I don't feel that paying for my baby is realistic, especially when he will have no recollection of this trip.. 

2) I also took along a carrier for the excursions that wouldn't allow strollers. Sadly, Bryson had grown out of the Bjorn carrier on the last flight so I did lots of research and found one that would be comfortable for Mom, Dad (one that Dad would actually wear..) , and baby- AND didn't break the bank! :) 

 Here's the one we chose! (link) 

It came in handy on several bus rides that we took while on excursions (I would just fold the stroller up and put it near the driver on the bus.. which - SIDENOTE: - DID cause an issue once: We were doing a Big bus tour in Montreal and my husband gave the stroller to the driver. When we went to get off it turns out the driver was on a different bus all along!! He had to stand at the bus stand waiting for the buses to cycle through and get our stroller back.. so lesson to learn here: YOU place the stroller on the bus, don't let someone do it for you!) 

I also like the carrier for in the airport when going through security and getting onto the plane when you can't have the stroller with you and I don't want my now mobile, exploratory baby wandering into cockpits and such.. 

3) Inflatable baby bath tub! If you've ever tried to shower with a baby, you'll know how slippery and nervewracking it can get. This inflatable tub is cheap, easy and small to pack, and saves you a bunch of slippery messes: Link to Amazon duck tub

It fit right inside our shower area - we left it there for storage other than when the adults were showering

--> Stuff to leave at home because they will have it: 

1) Pack N Play! Thankfully the cruise ship had a pack N play ready to go when we got to our stateroom (we had requested one in advance, of course!) I would recommend you bring your own pack N play sheet, though. 

It did take up all the extra space in the room, so there wasn't much room for me to put on makeup, do my hair, or watch tv (like I had time for that!) 

Also, it did prove a little tricky when we got to Boston the first 2 nights before the cruise and the Airbnb we were staying in did not have something for him to sleep in.. the first night was rough- he was all over the place and would not settle down- but when we skipped nap on that next day, he didn't fight as much when sleeping in the bed with us on the 2nd night. We dealt with the struggle in order to avoid bringing a pack N play with us- it was not too bad! 

2) Highchair! The cruise ship will have a high chair at all the dining locations for you. You will have to go and get it if you're on the Lido deck, but after the 1st night in the nice sit down dining room, the waiter will know (if you have the same waiter) and they will have the chair there waiting for you. 

I recommend purchasing a cup bungee string (link) so that cups don't go flying all over the dining room! 

SIDENOTE: Dining room on the cruise: 

A. Attention for this dinner will not last long despite snacks, food, and all the fancy spoons. Before going on the cruise, I downloaded a lot of baby music videos and shows on Amazon Prime for these exact moments.  (Super Simple Learning has been his all time Fave!!) You're out in the middle of the sea with no reception and you have a cranky baby who wants out of the high chair- so we would turn on the magic video on the phone (the only time we would do this) and the rest of us could finish dinner in peace and even stay until the very end of the dessert! 

B. They have kid food that is not on the menu that you need to ask for- Bryson wanted nothing to do with all the fancy food, despite eating whatever we eat at home.. His go to every night was the hot dog and french fries. Kept him busy, happy, and hey- he was eating. 

C. If you're taking a baby that still drinks milk, ask for and get milk every time you go to eat- put it in the fridge in your room for when you need it (You can rent one at the front desk for about $15) . That way you're not having to call room service at random times and wait for milk for who knows how long. Also, when you go to the buffet- take food back with you and put in the fridge for those random times you need to have food on hand. 

Important essentials to bring: 

1. Diapers and Wipes! - they have these on the ship but they are $3 per diaper! So make sure you bring a whole sleeve of those Pampers and voila- when you've used them you have souvenir space. 

2. Swim diapers- the ship we went on did not allow babies in the pool, so this is the closest we got because we are rule followers: 

But other ships may allow swim diaper babies or you'll be going to a port with swim adventures. 

3. Passport AND birth certificate! - they will check and they are very strict about getting on and off with the baby. (there's a big alarm that sounds when the baby's keycard is swiped) Bryson also had an ankle bracelet on the entire time that connected him to Mom, Dad, and the muster drill location in case there was an emergency. 

4. A few favorite books and toys, favorite comfort items (Blankie and Paci), and bottles/sippy cups

5. We also got this travel leash backback so I could keep a hand on his newly mobile self.. I wish I had invested a little more in one because this one was very cute and cruise ship/ shark themed BUT the cord came out very easily which defeated the purpose of having a leash on him while on deck running around. 

There were a few things for Bryson to do on board but unfortunately since it was Holland America, they didn't have childcare or a child center for someone as young as him. So we did a lot of roaming the decks, 

finding lounges that were enclosed for him to run around in, and there was a space for the Catholic church mass- we played around in there a lot! He did meet a little friend towards the end, but there were not many little ones on this New England cruise. 

We DID take him to see the live music performances every night because he was entranced by it and LOVED the Piano and Violin! 

Nap times were sporadic and happened on most days after the excursions. Dad and I basically switched off nap and night time and who would stay in the room. So we didn't have time to go gamble together like on pre-baby cruises but I honestly was quite tired and was good with my book.. reading by a small light so I didn't keep Bryson awake- since he is King FOMO and doesn't like to miss a second of fun. 

Next time I will leave the baby monitor at home because unless you have another state room directly next to the baby sleeping room, it's useless. 

Until next time ~ Safe Baby travels!