WWYD Vacation

erind · Jun 26, 2011

I am going on a cruise in September. My DS will turn 3 the week before we go. I am trying to find a good carseat solution. I have a radian 80 and an older style marathon. In my car he is RF in the Marathon and in DH's car he is FF in the Radian. He is currently 37", 29.5 lbs and has a 14" torso.

We will be flying to Florida, taking a taxi to the port, going on a cruise, then renting a car and going to Disney. I am considering getting him a RSTV, because I don't really want to take a huge carseat with us on the cruise ship. I have never been on a cruise, so it might not be a big deal. I like the portability of the travel vest, but am a little nervous that he will be so close the lower weigh limit for it.

If I took a carseat it would be the Marathon because my Radian is one where the LATCH loosens up and I have a hard time getting a good install with the seatbelt. I was also thinking of maybe getting a lighter travel seat like the Mastero. I have a Scenera and I hate it so I won't be taking it. I know I am probably over thinking this. What would you do?

daniele_ut · Jun 26, 2011

We are taking the kids to WDW in August and the last 4 days of our trip we will be going on a cruise. DD is 3.5 yo and I am taking her Combi Coccoro. I'm probably the only person on this board who is actually using the CCO forward facing, but she's petite and it works for us.

You didn't say whether you are staying on site at WDW or not, but if you will be using the car frequently, I would think a RSTV would be a PITB.

Have you looked into the price of a taxi from MCO to Port Canaveral? It's a 45-60 minute drive. I would think it would be really pricey. For us, since we are going to WDW first and staying off site, it makes more sense for us to keep the rental car and park for the 4 days rather than have to deal with drop off fees for one way rentals

murphydog77 · Jun 26, 2011

What cruise line are you going on? We went on a Disney cruise to the Caribbean almost 2 years ago and I would definitely *not* want to take a full size carseat into the cabin; our suitcase took up a lot of the closet. We had space under our bed for storage, so the Radian would easily slide there folded. Taking duffle bags for luggage also helped because we could store those under the bed as well.

I'd see if the cruise line has a charter bus to take you across to the port. We took the Disney buses and it was very easy and less stressful than trying to figure out a ride there (not to mention--didn't need to take any boosters since my kids are booster age!).

erind · Jun 27, 2011

The cruise line in Carnival. They do not have a charter bus from the airport we fly into. They charge $35 per person to take it anyway, and the taxi was cheaper than that. I have not gotten a quote for the one way rental yet so I will look into that.

We are not staying on site at Disney. We will probably be staying with a friend of mine in Orlando. She will be working while we are there so we will still need our own car. I have never seen a RSVT, other than pictures online so I wasn't sure if that would be a good option for us.

Thanks!

LISmama810 · Jun 27, 2011

How long is the cab ride?

Besides the vest you could do a Safety 1st Go. That does require a tether anchor, but I would think a cab would have them considering they'd be newer cars.

daniele_ut · Jun 27, 2011

Carnival has 3 closets in most of its cabins and you can store luggage under the beds. We're also sailing Carnival and I've done a fair amount of research! You can post on the Cruise Critic Family Cruises board about specifics of storage in the cabins. There are several people on there who cruise with kids and car seats.

Ladybugmama · Jun 27, 2011

I cruised holland America this past fall and had room to store a graco stroller and a convertible in the closets and just put our suitcases under the bed.

erind · Jun 28, 2011

Thanks eveyone! It does look like it will work best to just rent the car for the week and park it at the port while we are there. Then I will just take the carseat and not worry about it!

Eclipsepearl · Jun 29, 2011

For the record, we took a Celebrity Cruise and our Radian would not fit under the bed.

The cruise line stored it for us during the cruise itself and I collected it with the luggage at the end. It could be argued about luggage handling but honestly, it's a lot more gentle with a cruise ship. The stuff is offloaded directly from the ship usually. If not, find out if you can collect it the night before.

Because of the nature of our stops, a car seat wasn't necessary so go on Cruise critic and find out if you will need yours' for your ports.

vamom · Jun 30, 2011

Don't forget the parking fees at the port. I think I paid $15 a night. Local hotels often have shuttles. Carnival has tiny, tiny rooms. I upgraded a few levels and could have put a seat in my room, but it was just ds and me.

I have a rstv and while I wouldn't want to use it for daily errands, it's not a bid deal. I bought it for flying and travel once ds outgrew his radian, but my dad keeps it as his seat for ds. I did use it in the taxi van in Cozemel. It could come in handy with taxis as well.

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