First cruise, question about childcare

[wazooz2424]

My wife and I are planning our first cruise and looking at Disney and Royal Carribean. We have two kids, ages 4 and 2 (so by the time of the proposed cruise, 5 and 2 years 11mos). Will they be able to stay together at those ages? I doubt the youngest will be completely potty trained by then, hopefully in pull-ups though. Thanks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

No. Under 3 needs to use nursery care. Kids club requires 100% PT, no pull ups, age 3-12.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My wife and I are planning our first cruise and looking at Disney and Royal Carribean. We have two kids, ages 4 and 2 (so by the time of the proposed cruise, 5 and 2 years 11mos). Will they be able to stay together at those ages? I doubt the youngest will be completely potty trained by then, hopefully in pull-ups though. Thanks.

The 5 year old will be old enough for Oceaneer's Club/Lab (ages 3-12). The 2 year old would be in the nursery. The policy is no pull-ups in Oceaneer's.

That said, during Open House hours, you can take both children to the Club to play.

 

[wazooz2424]

thanks, i was afraid of that. the 2 year old is a mature 2 yr old...if thats such a thing, lol. Will he be bored in the nursery?

 

[JW9DVC]

thanks, i was afraid of that. the 2 year old is a mature 2 yr old...if thats such a thing, lol. Will he be bored in the nursery?

If you really want to. Push the cruise out a couple months. I know it’s hard, yet if worried about being bored. I would totally wait. The nursery is also not free and has less hours. Be advised. 100% toilet trained is required as others have said.

Hope this helps.

JW

 

[wazooz2424]

how about at castaway cay? are the kids together there or is it also divided by age? need to be potty trained for CC childcare?

 

[NS8VN]

DCL childcare staff is some of the best in the industry, I'm sure they are well equipped to keep him entertained. Hasn't been mentioned here so not sure if you know, but the nursery has to be reserved ahead of time and costs $9/hr. The kids club that the 5 yr old will visit is part of the ticket price and you can check in and out as you please, but not the nursery.

Scuttle's Cove at CC is just an extension of the kids club, all the same rules apply.

 

[wazooz2424]

also, we don't plan to leave him in the nursery all day, so i guess if he is "bored" it wouldn't be for a long period. Are there generally a good number of kids in the nursery that fall into that age group, or is it mostly babies that he wouldn't be able to play with?

 

[Weedy]

While at Castaway Cay the Nursery (3 and under) is on the ship.
Scuttles Cove is on Castaway

 

[wazooz2424]

While at Castaway Cay the Nursery (3 and under) is on the ship.
Scuttles Cove is on Castaway

thanks. as you can see, we are completely new to this.

 

[Mommb]

When we cruised with my daughter who had just turned 3 but wasn’t quite potty-trained yet, the nursery staff doted on her. I think they appreciated having someone a bit older than most other kids. They helped her draw pictures and work on puzzles. I have heard that in the past the nursery staff would sometimes bring older kids to play in the Oceaneer’s Club if staffing permitted, but I am not sure if that is still happening. I do know (from stopping by during Open Houses on the Dream and Magic) that there are lots of toys and books in the nursery, and I’m sure the staff have ideas for what to do with kids who are just shy of ready for the Club.

 

[ElenaRN]

On our cruise in 2016 YDD was 2years 10m. She only went to the nursery once for our Palo dinner. She was not bored at all. She had a blast. They did face painting & small arts and crafts.

 

[jk and ek]

Also keep in mind that each family is allotted a set number of hours for the nursery, so even if you are willing to pay you would not be able to leave your child there all day for the entire cruise.

For example, on our upcoming 7 day cruise, our baby who will be 9.5 months at time of cruising has been allotted 18 hours to be used (or not) how we'd like for the duration. You get more/less based on the length of your cruise.

We previously cruised when our first son was days away from turning 2 and just 2 months from turning 3...he had a good time in the nursery at both ages (we used it on our first cruise for a Remy meal and Spa time and on our second for Palo...the in-laws came for that cruise and are coming for our next so we don't need childcare as much).

 

[cruisingtwins]

I bet your kid will hava way more fun at the nursery than the club the nursery staff is amazing and will actually play with your kid. The club is wild with kids running around and the counselors don't really engage the kids in activities.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Also keep in mind that each family is allotted a set number of hours for the nursery, so even if you are willing to pay you would not be able to leave your child there all day for the entire cruise.

For example, on our upcoming 7 day cruise, our baby who will be 9.5 months at time of cruising has been allotted 18 hours to be used (or not) how we'd like for the duration. You get more/less based on the length of your cruise.

We previously cruised when our first son was days away from turning 2 and just 2 months from turning 3...he had a good time in the nursery at both ages (we used it on our first cruise for a Remy meal and Spa time and on our second for Palo...the in-laws came for that cruise and are coming for our next so we don't need childcare as much).

Yes, there is maximum number of hours you can book pre-cruise. However, once onboard, you may make additional reservations, depending on availability. So you can use the nursery more than the 18 hours, if you wish.

 

[lklgoodman]

One thing to keep in mind about the Oceaneer's club is very often younger kids don't always want to go to it. My dd was 6 yrs old the first time we cruised with her. She loved it and we had a hard time getting her to leave it. I wasn't sure if she'd want to stay by herself or not, she was clingy and shy then. I would definitely go to an open house with your dd before leaving her on her own for the first time. Also check out the personal navigator's that you will get each night in your cabin. It tells what activities are going on in the club. They have story time with different princesses and dancing with different characters. My dd is now 9 yrs old and still loves Pluto's pajama party. We never used the nursery, but knowing how busy it can get in the clubs, I would think the nursery would be ideal for your youngest. All the cms are wonderful and you can tell they enjoy working with kids.

 

[wazooz2424]

thanks everyone, you have no idea how much this is helping us plan. 18 hours is plenty of time to let the adults have a vacation, too. plus we are trying to get my in laws to get an adjoining stateroom.

 

[Spork24]

thanks everyone, you have no idea how much this is helping us plan. 18 hours is plenty of time to let the adults have a vacation, too. plus we are trying to get my in laws to get an adjoining stateroom.

We got off the Disney dream Friday, we were in a similar situation where the kids had to split up. I will say the staffs of both areas were amazing, but especially the nursery staff. They have Disney movies going constantly in both areas and lots of toddler toys in the nursery, my 3 yo had a blast visiting the nursery with our 2 yo during open house. We actually think he would have done better there, but he liked oceanneers as well!

The surprise of the trip was how easy it was to book last second nursery time, they were able to accommodate us (and others) with multiple change of schedules.

Also note that as long as you give 4 hours notice of canceling nursery time you won’t be charged!

 

[bbel]

At DCL it doesnt matter how potty trained your kid is. If they're not 3 they can't go to oceaneers. If they turn 3 half way through the cruise, they can register half way through the cruise.
I see you mention RCCL too: At Royal if your kid is completely potty trained and no pull ups and can have a conversation then they will usually do a trail bump up to the aquanaut (3-5 room) at around 2years and 9 months based on manager approval.

For both companies the nursery is for up to and including 3 year olds. So they have activities and toys there for them. If they're not independent then the nursery is better as they get individual care and activities.

At disney 3-12s are all together. At Royal your kids could be together in the 3-5 age group. However kids are free to do what they like at Disney, when they like. They want to do craft for 3 hours then go for It, they want to play with a ball right now they Can, they want to play computer games, they're always available. At Royal they do everything together. Free play time. They'll all do the craft. They'll all play the ball game. If they don't want to join in, there is no other option.

I've worked the kids clubs at both companies so can see the pros and cons for both. Neither is better or worse than the other, they both actually quite different, just depends what would work for your kids.

 

[wazooz2424]

At DCL it doesnt matter how potty trained your kid is. If they're not 3 they can't go to oceaneers. If they turn 3 half way through the cruise, they can register half way through the cruise.
I see you mention RCCL too: At Royal if your kid is completely potty trained and no pull ups and can have a conversation then they will usually do a trail bump up to the aquanaut (3-5 room) at around 2years and 9 months based on manager approval.

For both companies the nursery is for up to and including 3 year olds. So they have activities and toys there for them. If they're not independent then the nursery is better as they get individual care and activities.

At disney 3-12s are all together. At Royal your kids could be together in the 3-5 age group. However kids are free to do what they like at Disney, when they like. They want to do craft for 3 hours then go for It, they want to play with a ball right now they Can, they want to play computer games, they're always available. At Royal they do everything together. Free play time. They'll all do the craft. They'll all play the ball game. If they don't want to join in, there is no other option.

I've worked the kids clubs at both companies so can see the pros and cons for both. Neither is better or worse than the other, they both actually quite different, just depends what would work for your kids.

extremely insightful, thanks