Travel with Children - Some first time baby travel q's

We are taking a cruise in dec and our newborn will be 6 months at the time. This is going to be the first time we fly with him.

Is the bulkhead preferred? I remember as a kid my mom would always book the bulkhead not sure if it had anything to do with us kids though. He going to be riding on one of our laps, probably moms.

We are planning on bringing his car seat and gate checking because we cant figure out a way to travel with him in taxi's etc without it. Are there any alternatives? I really dont want to bring it but my wife says we need to.

Are there any good ways to protect our stroller when we check it besides keeping it in the original box? Does it count as one of our luggage pieces?


thanks for any help this is very overwhelming.

Depending on where you're flying to and with which airline bulkhead seats can means bassinets/sky cots, bulkhead seat also means (generally) a little more room although you can't have bags etc at your feet

I don't know about the car seat, but even at home (in the UK) i've never been able to use a carseat in a taxi, with the buggy i'd gatecheck that also, never seen any in boxes unless of course its never been opened..

Bulkhead may have more room, but the inability to have your diaper bag underneath the seat in front of you would negate that for me. We need access to a lot of stuff with our son (now 19 months old, but flying with us since he was 6 months).

Many stroller companies sell a travel bag. We have both a City Mini and Uppa Baby Vista - and both of their bags. Uppa Baby's bag even comes with insurance protection.

There was not really a matching bag for the infant carseat (which we used with the Uppa Baby stroller). But after it came back a bit wet after the first time we gate checked it, I went ahead and got a carseat bag from Toys R Us and put it in there. More padding than needed - but worked fine. Just need to make sure it is clearly marked retrieve at gate - it has gone to baggage claim a few times. I now use the same bag to check the regular car seat at the counter.

Most airlines do not count the carseat against your checked luggage count.

Using the infant car seat or regular carseat in US taxis has never been an issue. With all of our stuff, we typically end up in a minivan taxi anyways. We did go to Thailand when he was 11 months old, and for that trip we improvised by securing the seat part of the stroller to the backseat with the seatbelt latched behind, and using our Baby B'Air harness as an additional mechanism. It was actually quite secure, yet we still held him/the carseat the entire time. So I certainly do not recommend this (and the taxi driver probably only lets you do this in a developing country). We only did it for the cab to/from the airport and did not take any other taxis the entire trip. We already had a ton of stuff and did not want to lug the carseat around Thailand. But in retrospect I wish we had -- we ended up renting a car for part of the trip, and the rental car seat was in poor condition. Would have rather had our carseat for the taxi rides and the rental.

Is the bulkhead preferred?

The big advantage of the bulkhead is that there is no one in front of you and no seats leaning back in front of you. This makes getting in and out of them easier, which you tend to do a lot with a baby. Also, if you have a long flight and there is a wall-mounted bassinet, this is where it'll be.

It's a myth that bulkheads have more legroom. Sometimes they do and often they do not. It depends on the aircraft and airline. You do have to stow your bags for take-off and landing but you can pull them out during the cruise portion of the flight. Another issue, which again, depends on the aircraft and airline is that some have a movie screen that pulls down in front of you. If you have a long flight and are on one of the older aircraft, you might run into this. The screen light can be distracting for a baby who needs to sleep. Luckily, more and more airlines are switching to monitors so that's less often a problem.

Are there any good ways to protect our stroller when we check it besides keeping it in the original box? Does it count as one of our luggage pieces?

Usually it doesn't but you'll find this information on your airline's website, either under baggage or babies. I recommend that you strip your stroller down to the bare minimums. Remove the sunshade (put in checked luggage), the cup holders, toys, etc. Use a bag if you want but double secure the stroller with a bungee cord so that it doesn't pop open en route.

When my first was in an infant bucket seat, instead of a stroller, I used a "stroller frame". I didn't have a travel system so this worked. A stroller frame just has the wheels and the baby's seat locks in so it's less bulk and very light. It can be gate-checked like a stroller. The downside is that it means the baby is only in this seated position, which isn't ideal. It worked for me since I usually wore my babies, who spent very little time in strollers. But on a cruise, you may want to use your "lie flat" option with the stroller.

We are planning on bringing his car seat and gate checking because we cant figure out a way to travel with him in taxi's etc without it.

I know, it's bummer that there is no decent, travel alternative for a car seat for babies. There are a few foldable, etc. seats for older kids but it's really limited. Luckily, your 6 month old still fits in the infant bucket-style seat. But still try to get it on board. This is more comfortable for all of you and basically, the only safe way for the baby to fly. Ask at check-in if the flight is full and if possible, if they can put an empty seat next to you. Often they do this for families with lap babies because it is helpful.

We didn't need our car seat for any of the ports on our cruise so our cabin steward stowed it for us after we got on board. If you can't put it somewhere inside (those cabins are tiny!) then try this. Have the seat returned to you the night before any port where you'll need it, and also the evening before disembarkation. I made the mistake of having them keep the seat and I ended up with a big search at the dock for the car seat!

Go to Cruisecritics for good information about cruising. They have a family board there too and also you can read reviews on your cruise and your ports. This can also help you plan which ports you will need a car seat. Also, you might decide to arrange your own tours, since many families with small babies say this is easier.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/

Another tip I've read over there is that often, taxis in the Caribbean don't have seat belts at all. They say that it's not always the case and you can "wave on" a beltless cab, only to have one with seat belts installed right behind them. Good to know!

Please do not take the baby to the pool, even in a swim diaper. They usually aren't allowed and hopefully your cruise will have some sort of splash zone for diapered children. Even if you're not caught, this is considered extremely rude and your fellow cruisers might complain. Cruise pools are not filtered in the same way and if there's an accident, the whole pool has to be shut down.

Here are my non-commercial flying tips;
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

Wow so much useful info, I knew I could count on FT.

We are only flying from NYC to FLL so the flight isnt going to be too long. Im actually hoping to fly B6 and get an extra legroom row, I think that will help a lot. Does anyone know if they assign these for free for people with babies? My grand-inlaws(word)? recently flew jetblue and were given the first row without an extra fee.

dbuckho- we are using the Uppababy GLuxe so ill check if they make a bag for that. Great suggestion.

Eclipsepearl- Why didnt you need the car seat at the ports, you stayed within walking distance? Also a good point about the taxis on the islands.

Wow so much useful info, I knew I could count on FT.

We are only flying from NYC to FLL so the flight isnt going to be too long. Im actually hoping to fly B6 and get an extra legroom row, I think that will help a lot. Does anyone know if they assign these for free for people with babies? My grand-inlaws(word)? recently flew jetblue and were given the first row without an extra fee.


No, the "Even More Space" seats are not routinely provided free to people with infants. You will have to pay for them. If you are flying this December, you may find they are already booked on your plane.

Please do not take the baby to the pool, even in a swim diaper. They usually aren't allowed and hopefully your cruise will have some sort of splash zone for diapered children. Even if you're not caught, this is considered extremely rude and your fellow cruisers might complain,
Diapers or swim diapers are not allowed in any regular pool on any cruise line. This is a Department of Health requirement. It's not only rude, it's a health hazard.

No, the "Even More Space" seats are not routinely provided free to people with infants. You will have to pay for them. If you are flying this December, you may find they are already booked on your plane.


Diapers or swim diapers are not allowed in any regular pool on any cruise line. This is a Department of Health requirement. It's not only rude, it's a health hazard.


I wouldn't think of putting him in the pool, i would hate it if somebody did that to me. Sad it even has to be mentioned here.

I wouldn't think of putting him in the pool, i would hate it if somebody did that to me. Sad it even has to be mentioned here.
On Cruisecritic.com, it's constantly discussed! I did not mean to imply you would do this.

If you can I'd suggest you get a Sit n stroll, we got ours reasonably priced on Ebay.

You can roll it right to the aircraft, if there is a spare seat they may let you use it.

It's handy on the cruise too.

Our boy found it extremely comfortable too.

Why didnt you need the car seat at the ports, you stayed within walking distance?

Yes and no. It was a Med cruise in August so all the ports were jam-packed and it was really hot. We decided that our children were too young to fight the crowds, heat and the whole cultural aspect wouldn't be of any use at their ages. Since we already live in Europe and in theory, could revisit these places. I think I took them off in Turkey to get ice scream and they rode the boat in Santorini. I don't recommend cruising the Med until your kids are older and/or go off-season.

I went on excursions with the other family we were with, who had a teenaged daughter. On one of the excursions, there was a mom and her baby and it wasn't easy for her. Luckily, it was a family reunion cruise and she had lots of help. Even so... People over on Cruisecritic tout getting a private tour over using the ship's excursions and keeping it to 1/2 days if possible.

I have a Sit & Stroll and it's great for flying but I'm not sure how useful it'll be on a cruise. It has no lie-back feature and if you go that route, I think a stroller-frame has more or less the same purpose at much less the cost. Experience with both speaking!

On the pool topic, I didn't imply that you would do this either. It was meant as a head-up. Better to know these things before you get on the ship. I saw parents with babies on our last cruise and there was only a tiny note on the pool rules of this. Not sure how well-informed the parents were.