Taking 15 month old on Alaska cruise

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 18:05:11 -0400, Do wrote:

Try to make sure he sticks as close to his normal routine as possible and
that means quiet times in the cabin without all the goings on up on
deck.Your son will remember through pictures ,the fun time you spent
together as a family and not the food, entertainment or wine tasting !

Oh yeah 15 months, memory of a BABY elephant.

He won't remember ****.
--
http://www.punkvoter.com/anim/anim-idiot.html

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:49:45 GMT, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:


Most Alaskan itineraries are port intensive.

We had days that were not in any port. That could be a consideration
if the child were sick.
Of course there was a helicopter landing pad on the ship but that's
pretty extreme.

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:40:19 -0400, Chrissy Cruiser
wrote:


Oh yeah 15 months, memory of a BABY elephant.

He won't remember ****.

There are times parents take kids on the vacation of the parents.

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:39:13 -0400, Chrissy Cruiser
wrote:


Noting much except a thousand viral diseases that your BABY is not
immunilogically ready for. N worries, the cold will do it in.

Which, of course, is why there are no living children in Alaska?

Thus spake Brian :

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:49:45 GMT, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:


Most Alaskan itineraries are port intensive.

We had days that were not in any port. That could be a consideration
if the child were sick.
Of course there was a helicopter landing pad on the ship but that's
pretty extreme.

You ever priced a heliocopter evac? Lake Travis to Brackenridge
hospital here in Austin starts at $3000. A total of about 20 miles by
air.
--
dillon

I didn't climb to the top of the
food chain to become a vegetartian.

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 23:20:55 -0500, Dillon Pyron
wrote:


You ever priced a heliocopter evac? Lake Travis to Brackenridge
hospital here in Austin starts at $3000. A total of about 20 miles by
air.

No, I haven't priced one but I did say it would be an extreme measure.

Yikes, don't go overboard! Yes, it's true that there are
days at sea while traveling in Alaska, but all of the major
cruise lines/ships have amply stocked medical supplies and
pharmacueticals on board. There should be absolutely no
problem with having adequate antibiotics or medical supplies
on board for an illness in a toddler or passenger of any age.
There's no need to even consider a helicoptor evacuation for a
kid that needs antibiotics. Sheesh!

For what it's worth, I live in Alaska, know the ports of call
in Southeast, and I'm an avid world cruiser. Have you ever
toured the medical facilites on the cruise ships? I have --
and the medical clinics I've visited and toured on the ships
are impressive.

Probably the most frequent medical problems that are
encountered on a cruise ship come from one of two sources --

1) Travelers on vacation start having such a good time that
they get lax about following their special diet or taking
their medication regularly, and their chronic medical
condition (diabetes, heart disease) flares up. OR

2) Travelers get lax about hand-washing, and that can lead to
trouble within the smaller confines of a cruise ship.

I might not recommend bringing a 15 mo old on an Alaska
cruise, but I also wouldn't let concerns about the
availability of antibiotics hamper a vacation.

Cheers -- FST


"Brian" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:49:45 GMT, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:


Most Alaskan itineraries are port intensive.

We had days that were not in any port. That could be a
consideration
if the child were sick.
Of course there was a helicopter landing pad on the ship but
that's
pretty extreme.

wrote:
Hello, my wife and I are going on a cruise to Alaska this July. We'll
also have our 15 month old son with us...

You've alredy made your biggest mistake in not leaving the kid home.


and I had a few general questions:

1. How's usually the weather in Alaska during July?

Highly variable. You need to be prepared for warm, cold, sunny and
rain. Expect a certain degree of potential unpleasantries even as an
adult, even if you've paid for Gor-Tex raingear.


2. Besides covering our young one properly, taking care of his food,
taking relevant medication (tylenol etc.) with us, is there anything
else we need to be careful/prepared about with respect to his well
being on the cruise as well as off the cruise (during excursions)?

Yes: if you actually care about his wellbeing, leave him home.


3. I know ships have a physician 24/7 but do they (ships) have enough
supply of say antibiotics for toddlers, if needed? The cruise-line says
yes but I wanted to check with the group to make sure it's indeed the
case.

Everyone will claim that the medical care is great, bu Cruiseships are
an environment where whatever drugs that are in stock don't get a good
turnover from use, so particularly the less common medications have
significant potentially be "stale" (near expiration). Cruise ships
are, afterall, a for-profit business, so they won't throw them out
until they have to. FYI, the same applies to beer, too.

Also, that 24/7 MD...have you ever stopped to think why they're working
onboard a cruise ship rather than in their own practice? Especially on
a foreign, non-USA flagged ship? No, its not a 'See the World'
because its the same itineary week after week. Think about it.


4. Any useful tips for traveling with a 15 month old on the cruise?

Besides don't do it? No, not that you'll actually listen to.

You've already rationalized this decision to yourself by saying that
your kid is going to ride on your lap for "free" and stay in your cabin
for "free". But if you really think you're going this for the kid,
think again about what you can actually remember from your own
childhood.

What you'll find is that pragmatically, noone has more than four
distinct memories from before they were age 5 (pre-kindergarden), and
your kid is not going to be any different in this regards.

Many parents learn this lesson a few months after a trip to Disney when
they discover to their chagrin that their 5yr old's strongest memory
from that expensive trip was of having fun playing in the hotel's free
swimming pool.



-hh

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:02:09 -0400, Brian wrote:

On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:39:13 -0400, Chrissy Cruiser
wrote:

Noting much except a thousand viral diseases that your BABY is not
immunilogically ready for. No worries, the cold will do it in.

Which, of course, is why there are no living children in Alaska?

Born into the environment with the imunilogical genetic qualities of the
parents.

It's your BABY, roll the dice with her health if you want.
--
http://www.punkvoter.com/anim/anim-idiot.html

"-hh" wrote:

Also, that 24/7 MD...have you ever stopped to think why they're working
onboard a cruise ship rather than in their own practice? Especially on
a foreign, non-USA flagged ship? No, its not a 'See the World'
because its the same itineary week after week. Think about it.

A few possibilities:

- They won't necessarily get free time in port on any given cruise, so
it might take many cruises to actually see everything.

- They don't want to deal with managed care and insurance companies.

- They have retired from regular practice and just want to keep their
hand in while doing something interesting.

- They want to open a private geriatrics practice, and what better place
to get experience than a cruise ship?



Jack Hamilton


-----
Though in a state of society some must have greater
luxuries and comforts than others, yet all should have
the necessities of life; and if the poor cannot exist,
in vain may the rich look for happiness or prosperity.
The legistlature is never so well employed as when they
look to the interests of those who are at a distance
from them in the ranks of society. It is their duty
to do so; religion calls for it; humanity calls for it;
and if there are hearts who are not awake to either of
those feelings, their own interests would dictate it.

Sir Lloyd Kenyon, Rex vs. Rusby, 1800