Disney Cruise with a 20 month old?

[Berry2204]

Hello! So my husband and I have cruised often in the past on NCL but since having a baby have decided maybe we would try Disney (we are Disney fanatics and go to the parks often). I’ve got my eye on either the Magic out of Miami or the Dream out of Canaveral in Nov 2020 but something keeps me from pulling the trigger! I keep going back and forth between cruise or parks. So mammas and daddy’s- my daughter will be 20 months at the time of the cruise- will there be enough for her to do/entertain her on the ship? We are aware of the pool policy- but what are other activities your little one loved or didn’t care for as well. We also plan to use the nursery for dinner times (she attends daycare now so I hope we shouldn’t have a problem). Any tips for what times you should book nursery time? It’s hard for me to think about ahead of time what time we should drop off.
Bonus if you can help me decide on which ship would be better-I believe the dream is newer but the magic has undergone renovations not terribly long ago.

Thanks in advance y’all for helping this indecisive mama!

 

[lspst8]

My daughter was 21 months old on our first cruise, and she had a great time. We used the nursery for afternoon nap time so we had some baby-free time every Afternoon. I would definitely recommend getting a balcony cabin, so you and your husband can have a nice place to go while your child sleeps or naps.

The splash areas on the Dream and Fantasy are a bit nicer IMO, and I like how you can see the big Funnel vision screen from the shallow pool/splash area on the bigger ships. As far as activities, my daughter liked seeing characters, the splash area, open house in the kids clubs, and the ice cream by the pool (she is 6 now and still loves the ice cream!). And the family dance parties/listening to music in the atrium in the evenings. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises since that first one, so we obviously had a great time!

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

Our son was 16 mos. old for his 1st cruise. It was a wonderful time for all of us. I agree with previous poster that the Splash Zones on the Dream class ships is much nicer so you may want to take that into consideration when making your decision. What worked really well for us was to use the nursery during dinner time so that we were able to enjoy a meal. If you stop by the nursery they will give you a schedule of all toddler events scheduled for the cruise. There is time set aside each day for the toddlers. She may be too old but definatlely check out Jack JJack's diaper Dash as well, it is a total hoot

 

[Trera]

My daughter was 21 months old on our first cruise, and she had a great time. We used the nursery for afternoon nap time so we had some baby-free time every Afternoon. I would definitely recommend getting a balcony cabin, so you and your husband can have a nice place to go while your child sleeps or naps.

The splash areas on the Dream and Fantasy are a bit nicer IMO, and I like how you can see the big Funnel vision screen from the shallow pool/splash area on the bigger ships. As far as activities, my daughter liked seeing characters, the splash area, open house in the kids clubs, and the ice cream by the pool (she is 6 now and still loves the ice cream!). And the family dance parties/listening to music in the atrium in the evenings. We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises since that first one, so we obviously had a great time!

I would agree with all of this.

Our DD was one when we took her on her first cruise and she had a great time. She just turned 6 and she finished her 20th cruise a few weeks ago.

 

[Berry2204]

Thanks everyone! This is super helpful in deciding- hearing from people who took their little one and had a great time. And I think I may have been swayed to the dream as well!

 

[MomOTwins]

I'm not sure if you want to use the nursery at dinner or just think you ought to--but if the latter, the dining rooms are great for kids on DCL. Your server will make ketchup "mickeys" on the plate, and do magic tricks to entertain the little ones. Our two year old loved dinner time.

 

[MrsDuck]

My son was 14 months when he went on his first cruise. He was walking and wild - he LOVED it!! He was entertained just running around and looking at all the amazing things on board. He loved climbing up and down the main steps on Deck 3. He loved the characters, kids club on open house times (we'd go with him), and again, just generally being on board. The food was fantastic because he could really have anything he wanted and it wasn't an issue... "don't like this entree? Let's try another!" the waiters would say. They were very good to him.

I HIGHLY recommend cruising with a toddler!