Cruising with Kids for the First Time

[pudinhd]

Happy Thursday!! My husband and I have cruised several times on DCL. However, we have never cruised with kids. We have two trips planned with family members going on DCL for the first time and I have no idea what information we need to know. Thank you in advance for any help you can give us!!!!

 

[5Texans]

What ages are the children?? That will help us to know whether to tell you about diapers and car seats or WiFi plans for teens. Congrats on your upcoming trips.

 

[pudinhd]

What ages are the children?? That will help us to know whether to tell you about diapers and car seats or WiFi plans for teens. Congrats on your upcoming trips.

Oh, very good questions!! See, I really don't know what I am doing!

They are all girls and will be 9, 7, and 5. We have 2 connecting / adjoining (I can never remember the correct term) rooms. Our reservations have myself, my sister, and 2 girls in 1 room and my husband, brother-in-law, and 1 girl in 1 room.

Thank you!! Thank you!!

 

[dragynally]

Kids clubs! Look them up and be jealous that you are no longer a child.

 

[lanejudy]

All 3 kids are in the age range to attend the Oceaneers Club and Oceaneers Lab. Both are for ages 3-12, though the programming in the Club tends more towards younger kids and in the Lab for older kids. But they are welcome to stay together or split once they get there. There are "open house" times scheduled each day when adults can join the kids, or kids can be dropped off for secured activities in the opposite space.

If the girls are interested in princesses, be sure to reserve tickets to a Princess meet & greet when it's time for booking activities. There is also a ticketed Frozen meet & greet. All other meet & greets are open and do not require tickets.

The pools are outrageously crowded. I would downplay the pools in any discussions; depending on your itinerary, plan a beach day instead. Days at-sea and afternoons of port days are usually the worst times; during dinner can be one of the least crowded times as is first thing when the pools open.

One question about rooms -- I assume you plan different sleeping arrangements once you are onboard. Depending on which stateroom(s) you have booked, there may not be a 5th bed (or even a 4th in the room booked with 3). Just be aware of that when you plan out sleeping arrangements. And "connecting" means with a door between; "adjoining" is simply next to or nearby.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[pudinhd]

Thank you for the information!! I do know about the ticketed meet and greets, being a kid at heart. I also know a little about the kids clubs as we visited a couple open houses on the Fantasy last year. We are planning on sleeping 3 and 4 to each room.

How does it work with the kids getting off the ship with the parents and kids being split in 2 rooms? Same question about checking in and out of the clubs.

I cannot thank you enough for your help!

 

[lanejudy]

The parent booked in the same room as the child will need to do an authorization for the other parent to take that child off the ship. So for example, your sister is booked in the same room as girls 1 & 2, so she'll have to authorized your BIL to take those 2 girls off the ship. Likewise, your BIL who is booked in the same room as #3 will need to authorize your sister to take #3 off the ship. They can also authorized you and/or your husband to take the girls off. And for the Club/Lab, they'll do registration online and can name which adult(s) in the party can pick-up the kids -- they will need to give you the password.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[pudinhd]

Sooo helpful!! Is the authorization to take the girls off the ship something we can do online, like the club registration? Or is that an onboard only thing? Is the authorization form done once per cruise or is it per port? Thank you!!

 

[lanejudy]

You can definitely get the form at Guest Services onboard. I'm not sure if DCL has uploaded to be available online ahead of time or not. Once for the duration of the cruise.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[tgarre06]

You can definitely get the form at Guest Services onboard. I'm not sure if DCL has uploaded to be available online ahead of time or not. Once for the duration of the cruise.

Enjoy your cruise!

If this helps at all, I called about the authorization form a few weeks ago, and the cast member told me to complete it when I board the ship.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

When you do your online check-in, teh authorization form is included. My suggestion is that all kids and all adults are listed so that all adults can be responsible for the kids.

 

[pudinhd]

Thank you so much for all of the information!! It is really helpful! If there is anything you can share that I have not thought of, I would appreciate hearing it... I really am out of my element here!

 

[5Texans]

For girls, I second making sure you get frozen and princess meet and greet. Depending on which cruise you are taking and which ship there is also a character breakfast.

Other things to consider:
BBB: I'd bring dresses and pay for the hair/makeup
royal court tea: this is very expensive but fun for princess lovers

bring dress up clothes/pirate night clothes

If you want to do the pools/aquaduck, I suggest putting their swimsuits under their clothes at embarkation and heading straight there.

If you do late dining, the kids club folks will come get the kids half way through and take them to the kids club while you finish dinner, so you can consider if the kids will tolerate waiting that long for dinner.

My girls liked the craft time on the Fantasy- it was simple stuff, but it was in the adult area with the big carousel, which was fun for them to see

we used inflatable bubble bum booster seats for excursions where we had to take a cab

I brought pre packaged snacks with to take on excursions. There are rules about what you can take off the ship with you food wise- typically it has to be sealed. I brought granola/protein bars, dried fruit, and trail mix

 

[Dug720]

My girls liked the craft time on the Fantasy- it was simple stuff, but it was in the adult area with the big carousel, which was fun for them to see

Just please make sure it is FAMILY craft time when you go. Two years ago on the Fantasy there was one woman who insisted that her little snowflakes be allowed to come to the adult craft time, and it was annoying. I know I'm not the only one who left the first session early because of them.

 

[pudinhd]

For girls, I second making sure you get frozen and princess meet and greet. Depending on which cruise you are taking and which ship there is also a character breakfast.

Other things to consider:
BBB: I'd bring dresses and pay for the hair/makeup
royal court tea: this is very expensive but fun for princess lovers

bring dress up clothes/pirate night clothes

If you want to do the pools/aquaduck, I suggest putting their swimsuits under their clothes at embarkation and heading straight there.

If you do late dining, the kids club folks will come get the kids half way through and take them to the kids club while you finish dinner, so you can consider if the kids will tolerate waiting that long for dinner.

My girls liked the craft time on the Fantasy- it was simple stuff, but it was in the adult area with the big carousel, which was fun for them to see

we used inflatable bubble bum booster seats for excursions where we had to take a cab

I brought pre packaged snacks with to take on excursions. There are rules about what you can take off the ship with you food wise- typically it has to be sealed. I brought granola/protein bars, dried fruit, and trail mix

We are cruising on the Wonder, so I don't think the Royal Court Tea applies. We did do the Anna & Elsa Boutique in Anaheim a couple years ago and they loved it! BBB might be a must do. I know about the Frozen & Princess tickets, so I will definitely do that.

Great suggestions about the clothes and swimming! I had not thought about FAMILY craft time, but that is probably something they would enjoy!

Thank you!!!!

 

[Dug720]

We are cruising on the Wonder, so I don't think the Royal Court Tea applies. We did do the Anna & Elsa Boutique in Anaheim a couple years ago and they loved it! BBB might be a must do. I know about the Frozen & Princess tickets, so I will definitely do that.

Great suggestions about the clothes and swimming! I had not thought about FAMILY craft time, but that is probably something they would enjoy!

Thank you!!!!

They had the tea on the Magic last week, so I don't think it's exclusive to the Dream Class ships.

 

[pudinhd]

They had the tea on the Magic last week, so I don't think it's exclusive to the Dream Class ships.

Oh, boy!! I thought that was something we wouldn't have to deal with. My sister and her girls love to go have tea!!

 

[mousemamma]

I think they still do this but someone double check me....

We brought a plain white apron onto the ship for each of our children and all of the characters signed it for us!

Super easy. Put whatever the item is (apron, hat, t-shirt, etc) into a large freezer bag with a sharpie, your cabin number and a little note asking to have all the characters please sign it. (Hence, 3 girls, three bags). Drop it off at the front desk on the first day and they will get it back to your room before the cruise is over. It's super sweet. We did this years ago so someone please verify that they still do it.

 

[dragynally]

I think they still do this but someone double check me....

We brought a plain white apron onto the ship for each of our children and all of the characters signed it for us!

Super easy. Put whatever the item is (apron, hat, t-shirt, etc) into a large freezer bag with a sharpie, your cabin number and a little note asking to have all the characters please sign it. (Hence, 3 girls, three bags). Drop it off at the front desk on the first day and they will get it back to your room before the cruise is over. It's super sweet. We did this years ago so someone please verify that they still do it.

They don't do this anymore. It ended 2015.

 

[5Texans]

We are cruising on the Wonder, so I don't think the Royal Court Tea applies. We did do the Anna & Elsa Boutique in Anaheim a couple years ago and they loved it! BBB might be a must do. I know about the Frozen & Princess tickets, so I will definitely do that.

Great suggestions about the clothes and swimming! I had not thought about FAMILY craft time, but that is probably something they would enjoy!

Thank you!!!!

I think it is on all 4 ships now. If you didnt tell the girls they would never know b/c it's inside one of the restaurants in the early afternoon.

That said, my girls loved it and they still play with the jewelry boxes and bracelets that they got. They give the kids A LOT of stuff, like bring an extra suitcase just for that if you're taking 3 girls... A big doll (funny looking IMO), a big autograph book, a big photo frame with their pic with the princesses, a jewelry box w/ a charm bracelet, a wand. I think they are trying to justify the price, but it's too much.