Welcome to the World, Emma!

This week, my eldest daughter Gina and her husband Laszlo gave Julie and me a beautiful granddaughter named Emma. As long as I'm sharing some photos of this sweet baby, I might as well mention a few facts about cruising with babies.

While it can be challenging to gather diapers, strollers, car seats and nap sacks chalk full of necessities, you may be able to justify the hassles because you can sometimes bring the baby along for free. Disney and Holland America, for example, usually let babies under the age of two cruise for free. Other cruise lines occasionally have either free or reduced rates for babies, depending on the cruise date and itinerary.

If a baby is under the age of six months, or if the baby is inside the mother during the third trimester of pregnancy, all cruise lines will refuse embarkation. Cruise lines understand their limitations, and while they offer onboard medical care, they simply are not equipped to deal adequately with potential situations of late term prenatal or early infancy.

For longer cruises and those that span oceans, the minimum age is twelve months. There are generally not children's programs available until the babies are over the age of three and potty trained.