What age is too young to go on a Disney cruise?

This might have asked somewhere else, but I could not find it.

My grandson will be 4 in 2017. He loves all things Disney and I just wondered if age 4 would be too young for a cruise. Any ideas , positive or negative , are appreciated.

My wife and I would be first time Disney cruisers also.

This might have asked somewhere else, but I could not find it.

My grandson will be 4 in 2017. He loves all things Disney and I just wondered if age 4 would be too young for a cruise. Any ideas , positive or negative , are appreciated.

My wife and I would be first time Disney cruisers also.

I suppose it depends on what you think your grandson will get out of the cruise. For a 4 year old, on Disney, there are lots of kid-friendly characters, and activities.

On other lines, not so much. So he'd more likely to not enjoy another cruiseline. If he's into Disney, a Disney cruise would be perfect.

4 is old enough to have fun and to remember the cruise. It is also old enough to be a little independent. Since you say he loves Disney, it should be a good fit.

I would definitely do it before age 6.....that's about the time the magic starts to fade for most kids. At age 4, they met the REAL Mickey. By age 6, they met someone dressed in fur.

I took my kids when they were 18 months and 3 years, and again when they were 2 1/2 and 4 years. They both still talk about it and are so excited to go again in a few months. My kids didn't know most of the characters, and didn't spend much time in the kids club, but they still loved it.

I would say it's NOT worth it for the under 3 year olds, and those who aren't potty trained (it was really difficult telling youngest DS that he couldn't go in the pool or the kids clubs).

4 would be a great age to bring him on the cruise. Many kids his age just love the Oceaneer Club. Even if he does not like the club there are many other things for him to do.

My grandson will be 4 in 2017. He loves all things Disney and I just wondered if age 4 would be too young for a cruise.

Last May I went with my son, daughter in law and their 3 year old daughter on the Disney Dream. Even at 3, she had a ball and enjoyed the cruise.

I figured she would love the meet and greets (and she did) and I was pleasantly surprised how much she loved the nightly shows. She watched and enjoyed every minute of the nightly show!

Was 2ish on his first Disney cruise. He is now a "gold" sailor :) at almost 6. He loves all things Mickey.

We have traveled with our oldest granddaughter to Hawaii when she was just over a year old; took her on her first cruise (Carnival) when she was 4. We love, love, love traveling with them.

Our youngest granddaughter will be 2 when we do our first Disney cruise with her and we expect to have a great time. :)

My biggest pieces of advice would be to stick with nap/bed times, and don't try and do everything. Relax and have a fabulous time.

We took our youngest when he was just 13weeks old. He was easier then the 4 year old.

I just finished a 3 day cruise on the Dream last month with my wife (we left our young kids home with their grandparents). I think it really depends on the child but I would say the youngest I would ever spend money to take my kids is four or five. I saw a bunch of families with younger kids and some seemed to be having a blast. But there was also lots of fussing and crying to go around with the younger ones.

Age 4-5 is really the sweet spot. We sailed on the Magic in May 2016 with my 5 1/2 year-old twin girls. They loved it. Everything was still magic to them.

I really appreciated the lengths Disney went to in order to maintain the illusion too. At one point we were in line to meet Pirate Mickey and the line got cut off right behind us. My dad said to the cast member "That makes sense, the costume must really get hot" and the cast member replied without missing a beat "Yes sir, Mickey's jacket does get quite warm." Even in a private conversation with an adult, it's not a person in a Mickey costume, it's Mickey Mouse.

My girls were really into the characters. Their 7-year-old cousin humored her parents but some of the magic was gone.

I'm so glad my kids got to go on the cruise while it was all still "real"

We took our youngest when he was just 13weeks old. He was easier then the 4 year old.

The minimum age isn't 6 months as it is on most other lines?

It was recurrently changed. 14w was the minimum for Caribbean cruises.

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The minimum age isn't 6 months as it is on most other lines?

For about the first 10 years of DCL, it was "3 months," but what was actually enforced was 12 weeks + 1 day. It was later changed to 6 months on all DCL cruises.

It was recurrently changed. 14w was the minimum for Caribbean cruises.

 

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It would be nice if they still had it for younger than 6 months. You figure if you're pregnant you aren't supposed to sail after the 24th week and then to wait until the baby is 6 months, that's a whole year without a cruise! Crazy talk 😊

Thats right, it was 12w old, our son was 13w when we sailed. The castmembers had to verify that our son was old enough. The nursery loved him. I think one of these ladies held him the entire time.

I can understand 6m for the longer and transatlantic cruises, but the Alaska cruises and Dream cruises are never far from land.

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Thats right, it was 12w old, our son was 13w when we sailed. The castmembers had to verify that our son was old enough. The nursery loved him. I think one of these ladies held him the entire time.

 

I can understand 6m for the longer and transatlantic cruises, but the Alaska cruises and Dream cruises are never far from land.

 

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But getting TO land may take longer than a baby can last, regardless of how "close" it is. Babies can crash a lot faster than an adult in medical situations.

BTW for transatlantic, panama canal and hawaii the age is 1 year

And, as DCL is fond of saying these days, "it puts them in line with what other cruiselines do".

There are many issues involved in medical care for infants that become less critical as the child grows. One of the largest is the time between "sick but OK" and a desperate situation. Another can be the delay involved in the parents realizing the seriousness of the situation and seeking help.

I have no issue with DCL not allowing very young children to cruise. The rules are for their own safety. Sure, most kids could cruise with no problem, but it only takes that one incident to make or change a policy on DCL. It also puts DCL in a better legal position should there be a problem if they have the same policies as most other lines. If you are the outlier and there is an issue, it is a less defensible position.

Youngest cruiser I knew of was Christiaan's kid who boarded at 12 weeks + 1 day....and daddy had been eagerly awaiting his first cruise.

First cruise for daughter on Disney Wonder was at age 5 months....she does not remember it today but we do and making family memories is what it is all about. She is 8 now and likes watching the video. :)

4 is old enough to have fun and to remember the cruise. It is also old enough to be a little independent. Since you say he loves Disney' date=' it should be a good fit.

 

I would definitely do it before age 6.....that's about the time the magic starts to fade for most kids. At age 4, they met the REAL Mickey. By age 6, they met someone dressed in fur.[/quote']

 

WHAT?????????????????????????

HE'S NOT THE REAL MICKEY?????????????????????????????

 

 

(you need to wash your mouth out with soap).. ;)

Age four is good. Sail away.

Great question.

You will have unforgettable memories from such a cruise with your young one. Regardless what happens during travel to ship. Also what may occur aboard, at sea, and various embarkations if explored. As no one could predict.

Enjoy the freedom.

My biggest concern is always bedtime. How does your child do staying up later? When ours were toddlers, they turned into terrors if they were up past 7:30pm. The screaming, the tantrums... it was never ever worth it to keep them up.

So really the question becomes are you going to be trying to keep to a strict bedtime while onboard? If so you need to be ok with the idea that you'll miss the shows and evening entertainment. We've certainly done it, we cruised with our oldest when she was two and a half, but we decided to book a suite so that we'd have more room to hang out and a nice big balcony to enjoy the evening on after ours went to bed. Now that my two are a bit older (3 and 6 years) they can both stay out later, and the only ill effect is them being a little extra tired the next day.

Second concern is dining, but by 4, they are usually old enough to sit through a quick(er) dinner in the dining room. We usually have the kids dinner brought out with our appetizers and their dessert brought out with our main course. Then get our dessert to go. This is not every kid though, so take some time to figure out if your little one will sit through the dinner service, or if you'll need to mostly eat at the buffet, and if you're comfortable with that. The other alternative is to feed them beforehand, and then put them in the kids club while you have dinner. So there are plenty of options to make it work, it just helps if you know what to expect.

I think you'll be just fine. :)

We had a 6,5&2 year old on the last family cruise. For us it works better to have thier main course rushed out and then when they are done to take them to the oceaners club to play. It wasn't worth trying to get then to sit thru a 1hr dinner.

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