First, apologies if any of the questions I post here breach any etiquette. I've spent a number of hours Googling and reading up on old messages before writing this but would like to get some current input. This will be our first Disney cruise. My wife and I have been on much smaller adventure cruises pre-kids (~150 people), so we're not complete cruise novices, but this would be our first time on a "big" cruise ship and the first time as a family.
We're thinking about booking the eastbound Panama Canal cruise on the Wonder in Fall 2019. The kids will be 4 years old and 1.5 years old at the time. We're having a few reservations after reading things here and on cruise review sites.
There are a lot of days at sea--5 in a row including the canal transit. I'm worried about the 4 year old's ability to stay entertained. As a 3 y/o now, if he does the same thing a couple of days in a row, he starts to get bored and even refuses to do things. Does the Oceaneer's Club/Lab offer enough to keep a preschooler's attention day-after-day? Obviously he's not going to be in there all day long, but I'd figure at least half of his days are going to be there. What exactly happens during the kids-only time? Do the staff just let them roam about and do whatever they want or are there organized activities? What if he doesn't want to participate? It may change by next year, but his separation anxiety is really strong. Will the staff accept a crying/screaming child who doesn't want to leave mom and dad and help him calm down, or will they simply not let him in?
If the older one is willing to stay in the kid's club, we'd also plan to leave the younger one with the nursery at times. The DCL website says space is limited and reservations are taken well in advance. Is this likely to be an issue with this specific itinerary? I read somewhere that there's space for only 16 toddlers at a time. (Quick aside: Are diapers and wipes available for purchase if we run out before the cruise is over or should we plan to bring enough for the whole trip?) I'd expect she'd be eating simple table food by then or at the very least baby food pouches. I've read conflicting things that said that food is provided if they are there during meal times, but also that parents had to prepare meal plates for their children and bring the food to the nursery. Which is it?
We're looking at a room with a Deluxe Oceanview Verandah (category 5). I know the sofa converts to a small bed and there's a top bunk that stows in the ceiling. Ideally the 1.5 y/o would sleep on the bottom with added railing while the 4 y/o sleeps up top. However, I'm worried that the 4 y/o will be frightened of sleeping up top, in which case he'd sleep on the bottom and the 1.5 y/o would go in a pack-and-play, which she might not fit in by then. So because of this, I'm thinking of booking a Deluxe Family Oceanview Verandah (category 4) to have the option of the bottom sofa bed plus the Murphy bed. Overkill? The difference in cost is not an issue. Does every category 4 have the Murphy bed? It looks like there are forward 4B staterooms under the spa near the bridge available as of now (8014, 8002, 8500, 8502, 8518). Are there any issues with noise in the early morning or late evening in that location? Would any one of those be better than the others?
Thanks for reading such a long post. I hope the community here will be able to help. I know more questions will be coming as I think of them.
We're thinking about booking the eastbound Panama Canal cruise on the Wonder in Fall 2019. The kids will be 4 years old and 1.5 years old at the time. We're having a few reservations after reading things here and on cruise review sites.
There are a lot of days at sea--5 in a row including the canal transit. I'm worried about the 4 year old's ability to stay entertained. As a 3 y/o now, if he does the same thing a couple of days in a row, he starts to get bored and even refuses to do things. Does the Oceaneer's Club/Lab offer enough to keep a preschooler's attention day-after-day? Obviously he's not going to be in there all day long, but I'd figure at least half of his days are going to be there. What exactly happens during the kids-only time? Do the staff just let them roam about and do whatever they want or are there organized activities? What if he doesn't want to participate? It may change by next year, but his separation anxiety is really strong. Will the staff accept a crying/screaming child who doesn't want to leave mom and dad and help him calm down, or will they simply not let him in?
If the older one is willing to stay in the kid's club, we'd also plan to leave the younger one with the nursery at times. The DCL website says space is limited and reservations are taken well in advance. Is this likely to be an issue with this specific itinerary? I read somewhere that there's space for only 16 toddlers at a time. (Quick aside: Are diapers and wipes available for purchase if we run out before the cruise is over or should we plan to bring enough for the whole trip?) I'd expect she'd be eating simple table food by then or at the very least baby food pouches. I've read conflicting things that said that food is provided if they are there during meal times, but also that parents had to prepare meal plates for their children and bring the food to the nursery. Which is it?
We're looking at a room with a Deluxe Oceanview Verandah (category 5). I know the sofa converts to a small bed and there's a top bunk that stows in the ceiling. Ideally the 1.5 y/o would sleep on the bottom with added railing while the 4 y/o sleeps up top. However, I'm worried that the 4 y/o will be frightened of sleeping up top, in which case he'd sleep on the bottom and the 1.5 y/o would go in a pack-and-play, which she might not fit in by then. So because of this, I'm thinking of booking a Deluxe Family Oceanview Verandah (category 4) to have the option of the bottom sofa bed plus the Murphy bed. Overkill? The difference in cost is not an issue. Does every category 4 have the Murphy bed? It looks like there are forward 4B staterooms under the spa near the bridge available as of now (8014, 8002, 8500, 8502, 8518). Are there any issues with noise in the early morning or late evening in that location? Would any one of those be better than the others?
Thanks for reading such a long post. I hope the community here will be able to help. I know more questions will be coming as I think of them.
