Cruising with little ones

margot31

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 18, 2015
So my husband came up with the idea of taking a cruise at some point....maybe this fall because how fun would it be to cruise during halloween.

We will have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and wondering if it is worth it with them being that young. Or should we wait till they are a little older.
 
Lots of people cruise with littles. If the 3 year old is potty trained s/he could go to the kids' clubs - and the 1 year old and/or both could be booked into the nursery (there is a fee for the nursery) so you could have some adult time.

I would just be aware that any stroller MUST be kept in your stateroom (and no, it may not be put on the verandah), which will greatly reduce floor space.
 
Lots of people cruise with littles. If the 3 year old is potty trained s/he could go to the kids' clubs - and the 1 year old and/or both could be booked into the nursery (there is a fee for the nursery) so you could have some adult time.

I would just be aware that any stroller MUST be kept in your stateroom (and no, it may not be put on the verandah), which will greatly reduce floor space.


They have a nursery...that is too cool. I hope by the time Oct comes around when he is 3 he is potty trained. But thanks for that info.
 
Lots of people cruise with littles. If the 3 year old is potty trained s/he could go to the kids' clubs - and the 1 year old and/or both could be booked into the nursery (there is a fee for the nursery) so you could have some adult time.

I would just be aware that any stroller MUST be kept in your stateroom (and no, it may not be put on the verandah), which will greatly reduce floor space.

We stored our stroller in the bathtub! Worked well.
 


We stored our stroller in the bathtub! Worked well.

That is what a lot of people do from what I hear. It still takes up room in the stateroom when you're using the tub. :P
 
The first we cruise we took our grandkids on they were 1 & 3.
The 3 yr old spent time in the club and loved it, had a hard time getting him out.
The 1 yr old was mostly with my daughter or us, but went into the nursery a few times for Palo brunch and dinner.
We have a couple really cute pictures of her asleep in there on a big fluffy floor cushion, where she just passed out.
The started asking immediately after and very often, when we were taking them back on "Mickey's Boat".
We have done 4 cruises with them and they are addicted as much as I am.
 
Lots of people cruise with littles. If the 3 year old is potty trained s/he could go to the kids' clubs - and the 1 year old and/or both could be booked into the nursery (there is a fee for the nursery) so you could have some adult time.

I would just be aware that any stroller MUST be kept in your stateroom (and no, it may not be put on the verandah), which will greatly reduce floor space.

There is a 13" clearance under the bed, so some strollers will fit there. Out of sight, doesn't take up any living space.
 


I cruised with my son when he was 1 year old. We are a month away from cruising again, this time my son is 2.5 and my daughter is 1. For us with the kids the ages they are, a Disney Cruise is our number 1 option. That nursery is so awesome!! My son LOVED the nursery on our last trip & he had never spent a second in a daycare before! They are so awesome. It's like a full fledged daycare. They'll feed them, change them, play with them, they have a room for naps full of cribs. Characters visit them in the nursery. It's so awesome! We had such a great experience with our son last time we knew a Disney cruise would be the perfect trip for us this year since they're both still so young. This trip coming up, we chose the late seating and booked the kids in the nursery during it so my husband & I can enjoy dinners together each evening stress free. We're planning to keep them in the nursery pretty late so we can enjoy the evening activities for the adults. We'll just send them with pajamas and ask that they be changed into their pajamas. If they want to sleep they can, but if they want to stay up that's fine too. We also booked two snorkeling excursions and have the kids booked in the nursery during it. We could never do that elsewhere.

Also, they offer lots of other activities for that age...playtime with some of the cruise staff, a morning dance party with the Disney Jr characters, character breakfast, open house hours at the nursery where you can go in the nursery and play with your children in there.

They are not allowed in the pool, slides or AquaLab while still in diapers. However, they have a splash area meant for kids in diapers. My only advise would be, if you have kids in diapers & plan to swim a lot, stick with the Fantasy or Dream. The Magic & Wonder's splash area is tiny and there's not much to it. The Fantasy & Dream's splash area is awesome! Big, lots of different interactive areas, a slide... way better. We'll be on the Magic next month but a very port intensive cruise so it shouldn't be too bad. We also plan to do some resort day passes at some of the ports so we have the option of pools & the beach, along with creature comforts like clean bathrooms & changing tables.

We bring a good quality umbrella stroller...it fits under the bed and doesn't take up too much room in the elevators. I would never bring one bigger than that, but I definitely wouldn't go without one. Even if just for the ports, but also my son would nap in it up by the pool. DCL lends strollers as well, but they have a limited supply. They also supply diaper genies, playpens, bottle warmers & sterilizers, and bedrails for the rooms. The waitstaff blends foods for young babies so no need for baby food. The nursery provides snacks, milk & meals (there are set times for lunch & dinner). Really, they've thought of everything.

*Tip I learned through our swimming school. Get the reusable swim diapers & layer either a normal disposable diaper or disposable swim diaper underneath the reusable. It provides extra absorption and when they go number two, you just throw the disposable out & put a new one underneath the reusable.
 
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We cruised with our 5, 3 and 15 mo DD last year. It was great! The big 2 loved the kids club, pools and slides and the baby did great in the nursery. We had main dining and ate with the kids- the servers were great about getting us in and out in a little under an hour. We put the kids in the clubs after that while we had coffee/dessert or hung out in the adult areas. It was a great family vacation and I was able to actually relax which never happens on vacation. I got the rainforest pass and a 90 min massage which was amazing.

Tips:
I brought a foldable bucket and some small bath toys to the pool and let the baby play in that while the older two swam and I sat in a lounger- It worked great! You can't see the pool from the splash area.

We brought our double Maclaren umbrella stroller and it easily fit under the bed. FWIW we didn't use it on the cruise at all- only at WDW and the airport.

I agree with above poster toddler time, wake up with disney junior, character breakfast were all a hit.
 
Our first Disney cruise we had a 2, 4 and 8 year old. The youngest was too young for the kids clubs, but the 2 and 4 year old are inseparable. The kids clubs have open house times, usually one per day, where you as the parents can go in, along with siblings who are to young to go in. We all had a great time doing that!
 
So my husband came up with the idea of taking a cruise at some point....maybe this fall because how fun would it be to cruise during halloween.

We will have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and wondering if it is worth it with them being that young. Or should we wait till they are a little older.

Yes, so worth it! Best vacation with little ones! We went when our firstborn was 2, and have been hooked ever since.
Our youngest was 15 months on our last cruise.
Disney thinks of everything, as far as traveling with little ones is concerned.
Also, we did not realize how low the cruise fare was, when they are that young; we should have cruised even more often! ;)
 
We celebrated our daughter's 1st birthday on a cruise and we had a very relaxing cruise. For the first time in 15 cruises we didn't rush around to go to all the trivia and shows. We used the nursery each night for the shows, and she went to late dinner with us (ate 5 of the nights and slept 2 of the nights). Our servers were wonderful with her, and they even helped cut up her food and entertained her when she got grumpy so that we could eat. The nursery staff was amazing with our daughter and she enjoyed it. Towards the end of the cruise she started picking up some separation anxiety, but the nursery workers were great with her and were able to get her calmed down. They must be potty trained to go in the pool (that's a cruise industry standard for hygiene), but the splash pad is cute and fun for little ones.
 
A few questions. We will be cruising with our newly turned 3 yr old in March. She is potty trained and should be even better about it by that time. I requested both a crib and a bed rail because we're not sure how she'll feel about the bed. She's still in the crib at home. I figure once we get settled in, we can return which ever one we don't use. Any thoughts on this plan? Also, when we booked we couldn't get the main dining which I think would work best for us, so we got on the wait list. Anyone have experience with being on the wait list for main dining? Also thoughts on bringing a stroller. I know DCL has some available and they have plenty on castaway cay, but what about the other ports? Can you take the DCL stroller off the ship?
 
A few questions. We will be cruising with our newly turned 3 yr old in March. She is potty trained and should be even better about it by that time. I requested both a crib and a bed rail because we're not sure how she'll feel about the bed. She's still in the crib at home. I figure once we get settled in, we can return which ever one we don't use. Any thoughts on this plan? Also, when we booked we couldn't get the main dining which I think would work best for us, so we got on the wait list. Anyone have experience with being on the wait list for main dining? Also thoughts on bringing a stroller. I know DCL has some available and they have plenty on castaway cay, but what about the other ports? Can you take the DCL stroller off the ship?
Yes, if you find you don't need the crib, just tell your room host, he/she will take it away and set up the sofa bed (with rails) for your little one.

Here's the plan for the main dining wait list. Call DCL periodically and "confirm" you are still on the wait list. Occasionally, you might get a sympathetic CM who can switch you at that time. If it doesn't come through, go to where the dining changes are being handled once onboard (this will be listed in the Navigator you get in the terminal with time/location to do it) and ask again. Most times these steps will get you switched. We've been on the wait list for like 6 of our cruises and, except for one, we've gotten it each time (without the phone calls or changing it onboard).

Don't know about taking the DCL stroller off the ship, but be aware that many ports (streets, sidewalks) are not that stroller-friendly.
 
Thanks for the info. I've called twice about the list and the last person I talked to said that all we could do was wait. I guess periodically calling can't hurt...right?
 

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