Thanks for your replies so far.
How likely is it that baby will catch a bug or infection in the first month of nursery? If baby is too sick to go on the cruise, does travel insurance cover the three of us not going? My friend also advised me to save as much annual leave as possible because of how frequently babies get sick once starting nursery so maybe this isn't a wise use of leave? My office is very pro-children but I guess all work places have their limits?
The trip's this summer, so we'll have plenty of time to prepare, but we've been told we need to decide quickly before the cabins sell out. I haven't even had a chat with my manager about coming back yet, much less ask for annual leave. I could possibly delay return to work/start of nursery by 6-8 weeks to minimise disruption but this feels a bit drastic - I need more time to think about this and time is running out! I agree the timing is really inconvenient, but my parents booked their own annual leave without discussing it with us.
My husband worries we'll end up stuck in a tiny cabin dealing with the baby for half the trip. I'm also slightly anxious about being separated from my baby on a boat/in an emergency (which I know is a tiny risk) so I'd want either myself or my partner to be with baby at all times, negating any childcare advantages. Also slightly worried about gastroenteritis outbreaks (a slightly higher risk).
Parents are visiting from abroad so this is their only opportunity to see baby this year - I think they figured they would have more fun if they took us all on a cruise ship rather than us all hanging out at home!
And yes, I don't want to regret not going either! I think we'd have fun - it feels like a nicer way of going abroad with a baby than flying - but some parts of it might be stressful. It's a very generous offer and it's not the kind of holiday we would book ourselves so I don't want to deny my husband the experience. (I've been on a Scandinavian one before with family, found it fun if slightly cheesy myself). We have a choice of Scandinavia or the Mediterranean this time. So yes I have very mixed feelings about going.