1st Cruise - Any advice/TIPS to give a dad traveling with kids 4 & 7?

[GiovanniVR46]

I booked the Oct 13 Western Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral on the Fantasy last night for myself and my two kids - son 5 and daughter 8. This will be a TOTAL surprise for them. I'm excited and can't wait to SURPRISE them when we walk up to the huge boat and they begin to realize what we will be doing! We were supposed to go to Disney last year but my son was sick and we pulled the plug.

Just wondering if any of you could share your advice, experience, and tips you might have acquired/learned after doing your first cruise and any subsequent? Things you didn't do but wish you did? A process/trick thad made your experience better? Anything from getting from the airport/hotel to the boat, to checking bags, to anything to do on the boat. Formal dinners, oceaneer clubs/labs.....Seems like there is "a lot". Any advice to make my experience a little easier would be greatly appreciated!

This is my first time traveling alone with them for so long. They're well traveled having been on multiple long haul flights to Europe, but am a bit nervous.

Thanks

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

How fun! I'm a single parent and travel as often as I can with my 7 year old. I do whatever I can to eliminate the stress that can come with travel - even if it costs a little more. DCL transport from the airport to the port and back again. Overnight at the MCO Hyatt the night before and a day room there if our departure flight is later in the day. We wear our swimsuits to the port, so there's no need to change if we want to swim or hit the Aqua Duck. Our last trip on the Fantasy was all about the ship, so excursions were relatively short and we enjoyed a less full ship. Review the Navigator you get each evening together and talk about the activities you'd like to do the next day, whether as a group or separately. Your kids might love the kids club, and they might not. I usually try to sneak in an hour or so over by the adult pool, but it doesn't always happen. Eat lots of ice cream. Take lots of pictures. With so many cast members around, you can be in them, too, not just behind the camera. Warm cookies and milk from room service is a great evening treat. If you need coffee to get going in the morning, order a carafe from room service. If your airline participates, take advantage of onboard airline check in. Your bags will be picked up the night before departure and you'll see them again at your home airport. Your boarding passes will be delivered to your stateroom. The cast members really go out of their way to pamper not only the kids, but the grown ups, too. Enjoy!

 

[apathetic]

Have plans for when you are by yourself. Kids that age tend to love the clubs and don't want to leave. So, you may be on your own, a lot. With that said, also plan in case one doesn't like it. Also, bring them in when planning excursions. Do something they want because I've seen a lot of parents have a bad experience when their kids are on a tour they hate. They are at the age that they will love everything, so make sure you plan each day ahead of time. There are tough choices because of time conflicts. Best to let them decide if they want to go to the club, do a meet and greet, pool, etc. They have to know up front that not everything is possible.

 

[cadien]

Our son has cruised with us at age 3 and at age 7 (this spring). He too never wants to leave the clubs. His other favorite thing was being able to go get his own unlimited soft serve cones and slices of pizza whenever we were on the pool deck. It was very empowering. The character meet lines can be pretty long but at least they can entertain each other.

I was not expecting so many toys in the gift shops. And some of those long slow lines are on front of their windows.

The dinners are actually pretty relaxed. They're certainly kid friendly. The kids menus have mazes and things to color and have different themes and pictures every night, not just different food. The waiters do things like magic tricks and napkin folding and puzzles. They will have upcharge smoothies each night, usually with some kind of blinking, glowing cube. But they are long meals. After a few nights, our son asked to just eat dinner in the kids club, where he could wolf something down and go back to playing.

 

[Tulip2796]

On our most recent cruise my kids were 4 and 8. They love it, they want to cruise every year. My 2 were NOT fans of the kids clubs and only spent maybe 4 hours total there on our 7-night cruise. That being said, we all still had a great time and relaxed and had fun. It is all so easy. Just don't try to cram too much in bc the kids will get tired. We kept our usual bedtime schedule with my 4 year old and while being stuck in the room by 8 isn't ideal, it's way better than dealing with a cranky and overtired child by day 4 on the cruise and enduring meltdowns. This was one of the best pieces of advice I received on these boards - maintain nap and sleep schedules. We get a verandah bc we are in the room early. Also, when booking excursions, keep your younger child's needs in mind - my advice is not to book an excursion that is 6 hours long, it's too much for the youngest. We did excursions that maxed out at about 3, maybe 4 hours. The western itinerary is FUN! We loved our port adventures. Is your child 4 or 5? you mention both ages in your post - it matters bc once a child is 5, a lot more excursion options are possible bc a lot of times the minimum age is 5.

 

[Quellman]

Woo sounds like a great adventure. Do be wary of the requirements for the aquaduck. "Adult and children riders must be at least 42" or taller. Single riders must be at least 54" or taller. Children under 7 must ride with someone 14 years of age or older, provided the child is at least 42" tall". When we went in April, our 4 year old was JUST tall enough to ride the Duck.

Recommend that you check out the kids space during open house time so you can go with them. Then recommend they visit one time the first night. We typically drop off when an scheduled group activity is and then pick them up about 30-40 minutes after the activity ends.

Don't feel like you have to go to all the theater shows and things like that. Make a list of the things you are interested in each day, and have everyone pick their MUST DO. Then just let the day take you where it may.

See about getting the character breakfast tickets. It is a nice event with Disney Jr. Characters.

 

[cadien]

We actually ended up skipping all the shows. We love Broadway. We've taken him to musicals. But there were just too many other exciting things going on to stop and take up that much time. Especially with late dinner seating, so the shows were before the meal rather than after.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Woo sounds like a great adventure. Do be wary of the requirements for the aquaduck. "Adult and children riders must be at least 42" or taller. Single riders must be at least 54" or taller. Children under 7 must ride with someone 14 years of age or older, provided the child is at least 42" tall". When we went in April, our 4 year old was JUST tall enough to ride the Duck.

Recommend that you check out the kids space during open house time so you can go with them. Then recommend they visit one time the first night. We typically drop off when an scheduled group activity is and then pick them up about 30-40 minutes after the activity ends.

Don't feel like you have to go to all the theater shows and things like that. Make a list of the things you are interested in each day, and have everyone pick their MUST DO. Then just let the day take you where it may.

See about getting the character breakfast tickets. It is a nice event with Disney Jr. Characters.

This is excellent advice for any adult traveling alone with multiple kids. Thanks for sharing. If the Dad rides with one child, where will the other child wait until they are finished? A lot to think about BEFORE they arrive.

 

[LizGirl]

My advice is to remember to slow down and take it all in! Our first cruise (2 adults and 2 kids) was kinda frantic trying to fit it all in. Our second trip was more relaxed. My favorite easy activity is Funnel Vision movies on deck after dinner.

We disembark for you on 10/13 so I'll try to leave Fantasy in good shape .

 

[HuskyGal]

We actually ended up skipping all the shows. We love Broadway. We've taken him to musicals. But there were just too many other exciting things going on to stop and take up that much time. Especially with late dinner seating, so the shows were before the meal rather than after.

New to cruising. What did you do instead of the shows?

 

[diznymom]

Glow sticks make awesome night lights. You will definitely need one for the bathroom at night.

 

[MelSpees]

Glow sticks make awesome night lights. You will definitely need one for the bathroom at night.

You can also take a night light from dollar tree and plug it in in the bathroom. At least it works on the Wonder. If you forget and leave it on the ship you're only out that dollar.