Nursery availability on Disney Fantasy

A quick question for all of the seasoned Disney cruisers with small children:

My spouse and I will be going on the Disney Fantasy this May with our 5 children, one of which is 2 years old.

It's difficult to know when we'll need the nursery service at this point. Should we try to figure out what our needs will be now (and book the nursery in advance) or will there be availability on the day of our cruise for spontaneous decisions?

Thanks in advance!

A quick question for all of the seasoned Disney cruisers with small children:

 

My spouse and I will be going on the Disney Fantasy this May with our 5 children, one of which is 2 years old.

 

It's difficult to know when we'll need the nursery service at this point. Should we try to figure out what our needs will be now (and book the nursery in advance) or will there be availability on the day of our cruise for spontaneous decisions?

 

Thanks in advance!

While there is generally availability for last minute booking onboard, it's not a bad idea to go ahead and book some hours before your cruise. You can always change/cancel them once onboard. Especially for those "busy" times like dinner, when adults may be doing adult dining and have to have hours then.

There is a maximum number of hours you can pre-book, for a 7 night cruise it's 18 hours.

Do your best in advance--if you book adult dining or spa, book nursery along with it.

They will let you cancel or change times after boarding on a "space available" basis and really work hard to give you what you need. But the more you can do in advance, the more sure you are of having what you at least thought you wanted.

When we went with our son (18 month and 2.5 yrs on our cruises), we pre-booked times during his nap. This worked out nicely. Once onboard we were able to get extra time, and we typically did this last minute. If he was cranky at dinner we would check him in afterwards so we could enjoy the shows. (If he was fine at dinner we brought him to the shows).

Last minute drop ins are sometimes available, but you can't depend on this. If there is availability, they are happy to take a child without a reservation and they really try to handle any kid a parent wants to drop off. BUT they must adhere to their staffing ratios and they do fill up sometimes.

If you want to be sure you have a spot (like for Palo), make a reservation. If you are in the mode of "let's see if they have space," it is always worth asking.