Do I Need to Bring a Carseat?

I went on an Alaskan cruise on Princess and there were no seatbelts on the buses but I would call Princess. They are very helpful. You are going to love the cruise. Princess is so customer service oriented. Anything we needed we had within 20 minutes.

Bon Voyage!

There is a neat product called a TriplePlay Sit'N'Stroll 5-in-1 Combination Carseat/Stroller. My Sis in Law had one for frequent travel with the baby and loved it. Not cheap, but handy!

I might be a little more cautious than the average person because I am a Child Passenger Safety Technician and Instructor. I would bring the car seat if you are doing any traveling in a car. I don't know the laws in other countries, but I know what's safest for children when they are traveling in a car and that's to be in a carseat. I know you love you child and would feel aweful if there was a collision and your child was injured. You don't have to be traveling a break-neck speeds for severe injuries to occur. My two cents...

Call or email the cruiseline.

I haven't been on a cruise with my kids, but I have been to Mexico, where car seats are still not the norm. I brought along my Snugli and had my daughter strapped to me while we were in the car in the backseat. I had a seat belt on, whenever possible (which wasn't often, unfortunately). It's still not the safest, but it made me feel a little more secure than just having her in my lap, and the Snugli was a lot more portable than a car seat. Since she's two, a Snugli might be too small, but you might be able to find a similar type carrier that works.

I am probably opening myself up to a bunch of insults, but here goes. Leave the car seat at home. I took my 18 month-old to Australia and we had no problems without it. Although it wasn't on a cruise, we went through a travel agency and took multiple tour buses. I can't imagine trying to cart a car seat everywhere. I've ditched a car seat at the airport because it was such a pain to carry.

I think that's a great idea to contact your travel agent and/or the cruise line regarding their advice. I, personally would want my child in a carseat especially in a foreign country so you might just "check" the carseat and utilize it on the cruise. Worst case scenario is that you have to carry the carseat onto the cruise and never use it. My feeling is better safe than sorry. It really depends on what countries you are visiting as to what type of vehicles you will be travelling in...and as to whether you choose to have your daughter out and about in those areas.

I DO recommend that you definitely take the offshore excursions offered by the cruiseline...main reason being that if something should delay your group, if you booked through the cruiseline, they won't abandon you at port. If you book after leaving the ship, the ship doesn't know where you are and if your tour delays...see you at the next port...whereever that may be.

Bon Voyage!
JK-V
www.AisForAutism.net

As a former travel agent, have you checked with Princess Cruise Line? If you booked through them, they should have the information. Bottom line, though, I always told my passengers that their child was much safer in her own car seat, even on the plane. I had not heard about the 5-point harness and don't know if it's FAA approved. One of the joys of parenting a small child is getting to carry all the extra paraphenalia around now required by law for their safety! How did any of us survive without all of the products now required to keep our children safe!?!

First as stated previously contact the cruise line and find out more details. One of things I wouldn't do is get a loaner seat to use while on the land tours because you don't know it's history (could be an expired seat or in a accident) you can get a lightweight seat for the plane for under $50 and it would be safer for your daughter http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8054497 Also you could check out www.car-seat.org and ask there as there are tons of techs that could help with your question...

We have been on a lot of cruises (and love Princess, by the way), although my "baby" was 10 the first cruise she went on. The best advice on the car seat is to call Princess directly -- their customer service has always been very helpful for us. You're correct on most of the land tours -- they load everyone on a big bus, and most of the time, the busses do not have seat belts. I don't know if Cares system would work with a bus seat. Depending on the shore excursion,it's also possible that one bus takes you to the the land tour, drops you off and a different bus picks you up (our Swim with the Dolphins in the Bahamas was like that). Sometimes rather than busses, the transportation is vans, and most of those will have seat belts. It may not be worth the hassle to take a car seat with. Princess should be able to help you with the shore excursions and what kind of transportation is used. I would book the shore excursions early, on-line; many of the best ones sell out soon. You can always change your mind up until about the day before. Enjoy the cruise, they are a great way to travel!!!!
D. G, from Las Vegas

I'd recommend calling the travel agent or the cruise line for this information.

Hi we were just in Hawaii and on the buses/van tours there the toddlers either sat in laps or in seats. There were no seatbelts. On the plane ride over we checked our carseat and my 2 year sat in a regular seat w/ the lap belt. We didn't have any problems. Our flight was mostly families and I only saw one carseat on the plane. Check w/ the cruise line to see if there are other seatbelt rules in other countries.

My advice -- Call Princess. They may have car seats to borrow if needed. They will also know all about their land excursions and the companies they deal with and if they will require car seats for your daughter in the different ports you will be stopping. Have a wonderful trip!

Quite honestly, I just got back from Peru and we took our car seat for our 5 month old, and never used it once. First and foremost, all the cars in Peru don't have seatbelts in teh back seats, and we definitely weren't putting our infant in the front seat. In addition, because of the rural area we were in, we never went above speeds of 35 mph. So I just held my son in the back seat. Dragging the car seat there was a complete waste and just added one more piece of luggage that we had to worry about, especially when we had such strict weight/luggage restrictions on our intra-country flights. I would just check to see what the local requirements are, and if you're nt legally required to have a carseat, that probably means that most cars there don't accomodate the car seats anyway (like I said, we learned this the hard way).

Enjoy your trip!

I purchased the CARES flight restraint system, it's great for airline flights, but can not be used as a carseat replacement. I bought the travel carseat by Eddie Bauer on Amazon. It's obviously not as sturdy as a regular carseat, but a regular carseat is just too bulky and since my 2yr old always sat in the back one of us (hubby or me) sat with him. Here is a website that shows you what it looks like
http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Bauer-Portable-Bryant-Collect...

Best wishes and have a safe and fun trip!
C.~

http://www.HelpUStayHome.com
http://www.TotalWellnessInfo.com

I believe what you have is sufficient. Most foreign countries don't have the car seat law. Plus there are no seat belts on those tour buses so you wouldn't be able to secure the car seat. Call the cruise line to be sure.

Have a fun trip. Cruise is the best way to travel. You get to visit a lot more places without having to pack and unpack everyday.

You probably wont need it for tours, however; you will need it for the care when you go from airport to hotel or ship. You might be able to rent one with car rental if you need to rent car. If the cruis line or travel agent is making your transportation arrangements from airport to final destination, you could call them and ask what will be done for your childs safety. Good luck and have fun!