Input sought from people who HAVE cruised AK with an infant

We are interested in knowing about your experience.

How old was your infant when you went?

What ship? What route did you take?

Did you do any shore excursions with your baby or just visit the ports?

What was dining like?

Did you use in-cabin babysitting?

How was the staff with your DD/DS? How about other passengers?

Any issues that you had?

Do/did you wish you had left them at home?

For all of the NOMS I have seen post, I am not interested. I want to hear from people who actually experienced it.

We are taking what will be our 15.5 month old next September. Travelling without her would be like asking us to travel without water or travel without sex. (Ok maybe not that last part we are NEW parents! )

TIA

[OhioGeek]

I guess no one has cruised with a baby???

Flagger, the following is an article from the articles section. You probably already saw it, but just in case...

http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/.../bringbaby.cfm

Dear Flagger:
I'm the family cruise editor here and my two year old has sailed with us four times: when he was 7 months, 9 months, 18 months and 22 months. We have had all very positive experiences. (We have not cruised Alaska with him. We cruised Alaska with our older daughter when she was four years old.) I agree that you should read the article I wrote on this site about tips on bringing a baby/toddler on a cruise. After that, feel free to ask me any add'l q's.
Smooth sailing,
Luisa Frey Gaynor

We went in June, had a blast! Here are my answers:

How old was your infant when you went? 6 months

What ship? What route did you take? NCL wind, inside passage

Did you do any shore excursions with your baby or just visit the ports? Ketchican - halibut fishing, Juneau - bus to mendenhall glacier & went hiking, Skagway - rented a car and drove in to the Yukon

What was dining like? If baby fussed, we would leave, they were always happy to give us the rest of our meals to eat in the cabin, they always offered to get something special for the baby, but he was still just nursing at the time.

Did you use in-cabin babysitting? No

How was the staff with your DD/DS? How about other passengers? Everyone was great, never noticed ayone complain or avoid us and it was actually hard to keep people from trying to touch him even while he was sleeping!

Any issues that you had? none

Do/did you wish you had left them at home? Not at all, in fact, my husband commented as we were leaving, that at least we got to bring the best part of the trip home with us, meaning our baby!

(I don't remember there being any sex though)

Just got back from Radiance of the Seas with our 15-month old daughter. We did use on-board baby sitting 4X. It was $8/hour..and the sitters were very nice. We put our DD to bed before they arrived each time, so they just had to sit with her while she slept. We had no problems -- in fact, they worked with us to get us the same sitter each time. We went on 3 excursions (evening whale watch in Jueanu -- did not bring DD; Saxman Native Village in Ketchican -- a 30 minute movie that was too boring for DD, but she liked the rest; and Lumberjack show in Ketchikan, which DD really enjoyed -- plus there was a picnic area where she could run around). Cruise staff were GREAT with her!! Photographers worked to get her to smile in group photos, dining room staff were great -- Portofino, a specialty restaurant was amazingly good!! Didn't get any dirty looks from other cruisers (or maybe we were just oblivious)...

I thought it was amazing. We did bring both a stroller (didn't use) and a baby backpack carrier -- used a LOT! Having the balcony helped tremendously (the room got a little tight with the crib in there)..she could run around out there. We took our DD to the show one night, and she really liked it -- was clapping along. But, normally past her bedtime. At night (when we didnt have sitters) we took turns going out and doing things on the ship, or we just sat on the balcony drinking wine! She didn't get seasick or jet lag at all...really had no problems. Would highly recommend!

Hi Megan:
Glad to hear you had such a good cruise experience with your toddler. My 23 month old has been on four cruises and seems to enjoy them more each time we go. THe new ships today are like giant playgrounds to them!
Thanks for your input.
Luisa Frey GAynor
Family Cruise Editor