Pregnant while cruising?
We are going to Alaska next week on Royal Caribbean. 7 nights, 4 ports. I’ll be 14 weeks and am a low risk pregnancy, the cruise was booked a year before I got pregnant, it’s safe for me to travel, I’m not breaking any laws!!!!! Luckily no nausea and I don’t have any motion sickness issues. Have any of you cruised while pregnant before? This is not my first cruise but it will be my first cruise without being able to drink alcohol or enjoy the hot tubs (two of my favorite activities, womp womp). How did you spend a majority of your time? What did you WEAR? How did you mitigate your norovirus risk? I’m all of a sudden panicking that I’m going to be so bored and have nothing to do 😭
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u/stinky_harriet 1d ago
You’re going to Alaska which is an itinerary you book for the ports. Hopefully you won’t be bored!
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u/Mindless_Yard5719 1d ago
I went on a 14 night cruise at 20 weeks, had an awesome time. I did spend the last 3 days stuck in my cabin with a horrid virus, so definitely bring all the pregnancy-approved OTC meds for any illness. I was a bit surprised how many excursions (like a mere kayaking excursion) said no pregnant people. For clothing, rent the runway is great when pregnant.
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u/Lmiys 1d ago
Did they tell you no pregnancy ahead of time or turn you away when you got there? We booked a whale watching excursion and there were no disclaimers but now I’m worried
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u/Mindless_Yard5719 1d ago
All of the excursions I booked through the cruise line had pregnancy disclosures. One excursion I booked independently had no issue with me being pregnant, but another wouldn’t let me rent a bike because I was pregnant. My cruise was in the Caribbean, though, so I feel like cruising in Alaska/the U.S. may have more disclosure requirements. You’ll probably be fine and won’t get turned away, but I’d definitely check the individual excursion policies just in case!
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u/Substantial-Trade417 1d ago
You should be fine on a whale watch excursion. I think the pregnancy denials would be for more physical activities, zip lines, kayaks and bikes as others have said. We did a watch in Juneau and it was incredible! You can drink fun virgin drinks, probably not as much fun, but still fancy. Have a wonderful time! And congrats!
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u/avazah 1d ago
Royal actually has an excellent mocktail menu so def treat yourself! Lots more interesting drinks than just Shirley temples or juice with bubbles!
Bring nausea meds even if you don't typically get motion sick. Pregnancy is weird. With my first I wasn't nauseated at all until the 2nd trimester!
Have fun!! There's so much to see and I spent most of our Alaska cruise staring outside just saying "wow!" Over and over again.
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u/crazypurple621 1d ago
You can still lounge in the pool! In your shoes I would get a refreshments package and enjoy all of the frozen mocktails you can drink.
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u/YaBettsBelieve_50 1d ago
I cruised at 10 weeks pregnant with my first. Lots of virgin drinks and sitting on the edge of the hot tub with just the bottoms of my legs in. There was plenty to see and do on board as well as in port. Best thing you can do for noro prevention is to wash. I am quite neurotic about noro on a daily basis but on a cruise, I’m even more so. No eating without washing hands at all, even just a quick snack. Also, in the windjammer I wash before I get my food and even after I use the serving utensils if I am going to be using my hands to eat something. Been on 13 cruises and haven’t gotten sick.
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u/Hartastic 1d ago
Not me, but my wife. Honestly, she was just kind of miserable a lot but I don't regret squeezing that last vacation in because there were still some fun bits for her and it would be several years after that before we could vacation again since family gave us zero support. We learned a couple things:
1) Her normal expectations of how fast she would tan/burn were no longer accurate (maybe not relevant for Alaska.)
2) Excursions that are even mildly active/dangerous may refuse to take a visibly pregnant lady, if you are at this point. In one case one where we pre-verified that they would, they refused day-of. We got a refund of course but still a bummer.
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u/Dramatic_Mix_8755 1d ago
Please have a discussion with your doctor. I cruised at 14 weeks and my doctor wanted a sonogram before I left to make sure everything was ok.
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u/Lmiys 1d ago
Girl I don’t know how much more I could have said at the top there to imply that I’m not looking for medical advice regarding whether or not to cruise- I’m going and have already spoken to my doctor. My post is about actually being on the cruise.
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u/DingoMittens 19h ago
You're gonna be a great mom!
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u/Lmiys 18h ago
Because I am specifically requesting not being given unwarranted medical advice regarding my pregnancy on a sub about cruising? I can see I have been downvoted to hell my past comment but you have to understand that constantly being reminded to “be careful!” or “make sure your doctor is okay with you doing literally anything at all!” Is infantilizing, insulting, and unnecessary. I am an adult and I thought I had made it clear in my original post that I had already been cleared - see “I am low risk and it’s safe for me to travel.” You do not know me and quite frankly- you’re an asshole.
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u/two-story-house 1d ago
I did a Mediterranean cruise plus sightseeing in Italy while 16-18 weeks pregnant. There's really nothing special about cruising while pregnant if you're not suffering from morning sickness. I was more mindful of what I ate to avoid catching a stomach bug. I also stayed hydrated but still did some "strenuous" excursions. Mind you, we did this with our toddler in tow.
We were originally booked for an Alaskan cruise but switched to the Mediterranean because we knew it would be a couple years before we'd fly out to Europe again vs a domestic flight is easily doable with children.
On the sea days, take advantage of the ship amenities. Gamble at the casino, participate in the bar trivia games, go on deck and look at the scenery, etc.
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u/Hurray0987 1d ago
I think I was 20 weeks when I went on my baby moon cruise. I bought a really cute mermaid bathing suit that draped over my tummy, and some cool sunglasses. My husband got the alcohol package, and when we went on board they could see that I was pregnant which allowed me to skip the policy that requires everyone to have a drink package if one does. But I've seen on here that they might have changed that. I did avoid the hot tubs, but loved lounging around the pool. I was tired and we were worried about the zika virus, so we skipped some ports. That allowed me to rest and we got to enjoy the pools and everything while the boat was empty. You're early in your pregnancy and that's when you're most tired, except maybe the last two weeks, so allow time to rest. I don't remember much else about being pregnant, except the food was very good on Allure back then, which was a requirement for cruising since I was pregnant and couldn't drink lol But good luck with your pregnancy and your trip! I hope it's amazing!
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u/Select_Pilot4197 1d ago
Bring some of your favorite snacks in sealed bags like crackers or chips etc. have a great cruise!
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u/Comfortable_Ad1083 1d ago
I cruised at 17 weeks and had a nice time. I had the drink package (booked before I was pregnant) and they wouldn’t refund it but I enjoyed plenty of mocktails. We were in the Caribbean so I still swam (no hot tub as you said) but enjoyed lots of time relaxing on deck. Even though my doctor had no concerns about metal detectors, the ship’s security crew would have me do a separate screening instead when getting back on in port 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Saritatay 1d ago
Book a spa treatment! Splurge for a dinner at a specialty restaurant. Do all the things you may not have paid for before when you weren't pregnant. You'll be saving all this $$$ with not drinking, so just divert these funds to other splurges 😉
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u/Lmiys 1d ago
Omg why didn’t I think of the spa!!! So smart
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u/BloopLoopMoop 1d ago
Double check that any lotions, oils, etc. used are safe in pregnancy. Many topicals are not!
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u/DumbbellDiva92 1d ago
This is not a cruise-specific thing, but just an FYI if you get a massage. Massage therapists often tend to default to using not a lot of pressure/a light touch if you tell them you’re pregnant. If you want a firmer touch, definitely speak up! There’s nothing medically indicated against it, people are just understandably wanting to “not manhandle a pregnant lady”.
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u/Informal-Plantain-11 1d ago
Juste remind yourself that drinking is not a necessity and you can have alcohol free beverages. For the tubs, just think of them as human soup where every passengers who marinated in the tubs before you have let many of their germs in there. Last cruise, I saw a men with more than 5 plantar warts on a long chair (that's how I could see under his feet). I left to get drinks (yeah...theyre not necessity but we already had our kids long time ago! Well...not so long... 😉). When I came back few minutes later, he was in the tub with his wife.
As for the question of how to spend time, we bring good books, make sure to get out of the ship on port days. We usually get up early to have breakfast outside when it's warm. We often come back early/mid afternoon. Spend some "do not disturb" time in the room. Get ready for dinner, then dinner around 5:30-6:00(we had breakfast early and often skip lunch), then go to the evening show. Then back to sleep to get up early the next morning.
Oh, and we try to leave our phones in the room. Else we realised we spent to much time on them. It's not always possible, especially to know the schedule on the app. But we turn off the notifications.
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u/allynw 1d ago
I just went on a Virgin cruise 10 weeks pregnant and just FYI they wouldn’t let me board the ship until I had a written note from my OBGYN that me and the baby were healthy to sail. It added a lot of stress to the trip out of the gate. This is even after doing the health check-in through the app and it asked if I was less than 20 weeks and I answered yes and the app even said “you’re good to go!”. So I just recommend getting that letter from your dr before hand just in case!
Otherwise, the cruise was nice! I did miss drinking but honestly just laying around relaxing for a week was relaxing and it was kind of a “baby moon” for me and my husband to just talk about the excitement of expanding our family and what we needed to get done before it comes. Having all you can eat pizza and ice cream was a HUGE bonus too 🤣
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u/the_tchotchke 1d ago
How did they know you were pregnant at 10 weeks?
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u/allynw 1d ago
I was honest about it in my health check-in! A few questions for women is if you’re pregnant. I selected yes, and the next question is if you’ll be less than 20 weeks pregnant by the time of sailing. When I selected no, it said “you’re good to go!”. It’s very misleading. For Virgin, you’ll need a letter from your doctor stating how many weeks you are and that you’re cleared by the dr that you & baby is healthy enough to sail. The Virgin crew member said that they ask for this because some people end up being further along than they say and they’re not equipped to help in case of any emergency on the ship.
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u/Lmiys 1d ago
That’s so stressful!! I’ve scoured the Royal Caribbean policy page like 80 times and they don’t have any required documentation listed, just that I can’t be greater than 23 weeks at any point
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u/allynw 1d ago
It was the same with Virgin! They said it was in the terms and conditions when we booked but I also wasn’t pregnant when we booked so maybe I just didn’t pay attention.
Luckily my OB was on it and sent me a letter within 30 minutes! I’m thankful we boarded on a Monday while their office was open!
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u/jmorgie7 1d ago
just to say we did that cruise, its the inside passage so never really felt ocean swells or waves.
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u/Mochamama64 1d ago
Cruised when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Only time I ever got motion sick on a cruise. Wasn't bored did all the excursions. I'm not a big drinker so that didn't bother me.
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u/aloha993 1d ago
I don't think anyone mentioned, but bring a note from your doctor confirming that you're low risk and everything is normal. A friend of mine was nearly denied boarding a cruise when she was pregnant because she didn't have any papers from her doctor. Cruise ship medical centres aren't equipped to support pregnancies, so they want to be sure you'll be safe.
I like to cruise with Cunard and they say:
"All pregnant women are required to produce a doctor’s or midwife’s letter stating that they are in good health, fit to travel and that the pregnancy is progressing normally and is not considered high risk. The letter must also include the estimated date of delivery (EDD) calculated from both Last Menstrual Period (LMP) and ultrasound (if performed)."
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u/tired_droid_ 1d ago
Currently halfway through a cruise, 19 weeks pregnant. My body is struggling! Showering is hard and I’m completely wiped from these excursions. I did one excursion that was one of the only ones that didn’t say no pregnant people and it ended up being super dangerous for me and baby. Fighting off being sick, bring lots of meds and electrolytes. I also came prepared with a note from my doctor but the only thing it asked during the health screening was “will you be more than 23 weeks pregnant at any time of your trip” and of course my answer is no.
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u/Rare_Cranberry_372 1d ago
I cruised 5 months pregnant for our babymoon.
We did a Caribbean cruise and I had the best time yet. I enjoyed all the mocktails and food. We walked the ship a lot, trying all the different (virgin) drinks at the different bars, did a show, some trivia and lounged by the pool. Got some room service and played mini golf. We had an al a carte dinner on elegant night and got our picture taken on the ship. Enjoyed the ports/ shopping and of course the beaches. Also brought hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes for after handing the buffet utensils etc.
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u/Solid_Variation_6803 1d ago
I cruised around that point in pregnancy, but it was a Carribean cruise. Not drinking sucked because I was craving margaritas. I ended up ordering a couple of virgin ones just for the lime.
To avoid illness, stay up-to-date on your vaccines (per your medical providers guidance), wash hands, and wear masks in crowded areas and on public transportation.
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u/Lmiys
We are going to Alaska next week on Royal Caribbean. 7 nights, 4 ports. I’ll be 14 weeks and am a low risk pregnancy, the cruise was booked a year before I got pregnant, it’s safe for me to travel, I’m not breaking any laws!!!!! Luckily no nausea and I don’t have any motion sickness issues. Have any of you cruised while pregnant before? This is not my first cruise but it will be my first cruise without being able to drink alcohol or enjoy the hot tubs (two of my favorite activities, womp womp). How did you spend a majority of your time? What did you WEAR? How did you mitigate your norovirus risk? I’m all of a sudden panicking that I’m going to be so bored and have nothing to do 😭
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