wrendrummer

Here is my two cents..... My kids went to the kids club when they were 4 and 5 on Disney(pre-pandemic) and also when they were 5 and 7 on Carnival after the pandemic. My younger child has a speech delay (about 50% intelligible).

On Disney they did provide wristband that they could track the kids (at least in the kids clubs- I'm not sure about the ship). Carnival did not provide wristbands with tracking technology. Both have pre-check in and asked about allergies and concerns during the open registration time or in the computer file before hand. Because of the speech delay Carnival provided a phone that they could reach me with- they do not provide a charger but they will charge it in the kids club for you but you have to stay on top of it (ours died but by then we didn't really need it). 

Over all both myself and the kids liked the Carnival Kids Club more. While the Disney space is more interactive and looks amazing at their ages it was almost to much (and my daughter is shy). I think I was sort of disappointed when I would pick up my daughter and she was in a corner alone watching a movie and not really interacting with others. Was she safe- absolutely; but she never was to excited to go back. With Carnival, the kids do activities in a group and they are encouraged to participate and both kids were excited to go. They did really well with my son and his speech issues (note because of the pandemic restrictions he was only in a room with other 5 year olds so the adults in that room had fewer kids). They both brought back ton of crafts and my daughter must have made 20 or more bracelets. I also talked to one of the adults incharge in the youngest room it was interesting because she was a trained teacher in her native country.

When I plan time on a cruise I tend to try to have a backup plan with the kids. Kids clubs tend to be hit or miss and I would make sure that other activities on board fit your needs as well. If you can get this narrowed down to 2-3 cruise lines I would ask directly on the cruise line boards. I say this because between my two cruises I felt Disney provided more activities that we could enjoy as a family. Without the kids clubs (which we enjoyed) on Carnival it became difficult to find activities we could enjoy together.  One of the things to check when you get a smaller list of cruise lines is to look at their daily scheduled activities aboard- most include a kids club schedule and other activities you can enjoy as a family.

SO...... I've only taken my kids on two different cruises- 4 day Dream on Disney (before Corona) and an 8 Day Magic on Carnival (After Corona). I found that for family togetherness time that you were looking for the Dream was far better.

If you look at it space wise you have to remember that Disney does not have a Casino which is a large area on the ship for 21 and older all the times- while Disney has a bunch of different adults only venues these are all smallish compared to a Casino. While overall I would assume Disney has more dedicated spaces for certain age groups, I suspect it isn't as large when this is considered.  As for finding activities that we could do as a family, I struggled a lot on Carnival on sea days to entertain them if they weren't in the Kids clubs . Disney , no so much.Some of this has to do with Corona and certain activities that we would do as a family being cancelled, some has to do with the length of the cruise, but looking back if you were looking for activities that you could enjoy as a family together I would have said Disney all the way.Anyway, I think if you are planning or looking at another cruise it might be wise to look at the cruise lines specific daily activities on the ship and look at what you want to do as a family. Also remember because of US traditional customs (mentioned above specifically drinking around kids), having your child in a bar space at night could be frowned upon by other guest even if not enforced by the cruiseline.

(FOR a note both cruises were a great time and IMHO the kids clubs (if you were interested in that sort of thing) where better on Carnival- or at least my kids enjoyed them more)

So a few years ago, when my kids were 3 and 5 we did 3 day land tour in Florida (we did not go to Disney) followed by 4 day cruise- at the end they fell asleep at the airport and slept through the flight on the way home. Seriously, we buckled them in and they didn't flinch. The last day of a cruise can be brutal with kids because of the early hour that you have to leave the ship, so what ever you do make sure they have something in the tank for the last day. For me and my family, I wouldn't consider doing this without a few days of not going to Disney Parks during the seven days, maybe even the day before you get on the cruise ship (we did this on the trip in question and really enjoyed the resort pool). But on the other hand. cruises are awesome with little kids- everything is super compact which makings dealing with young kids needs super easy. So they need a nap right now at an atypical time- no problem it is a 5 minute walk to the room (not a 30 min+ trip being out), hungry- no problem there is the buffet or ice cream, or refuse a nap- let's go play a round of mini-golf. Now my kids are older- I'm still trying to convince my husband to avoid Disney World and do another Disney cruise instead. 

As for your question about inside or veranda- I would do veranda all the way. My favorite part of the day when traveling with a youngster was stilling on the balcony with my husband as my kids sleeping inside talking and finishing the bottle of wine from dinner (if you like wine- I recommend buying the wine package, having a glass with dinner, and take the bottle back to the room to be finished off after bed time. 

Just another point: When I see people talk about service, I see them complaining about things that are really more the cruise lines choices then are controlled by the workers..... Specifically - the mention of the table cloths (the workers don't purchase those) and the making up of the rooms (it is a Carnival choice to tell stewards it is okay to do it once- not multiple times a day and their choice to staff accordingly), and the policy of changing of the linens throughout your stay. I say this because by removing tips you are not hurting management who set these standards- you are hurting the people who abide by these policies....  Quite frankly, if you don't like the level of service set by the management of Carnival, you should go somewhere else.  Do I agree that Cruise lines shouldn't make their employees depend on the customers beliefs on tipping for a living wage? Absolutely- but this isn't the realty of the situation- tips are income that is needed to pay bills and for insurance. In the race for less cost, this is the business model that cruises rely on across most the industry   Yes, we can complain and argue about what tips are suppose to be (and what they actually are) - but denying someone a living wage because we disagree with the management/marketing choices that are not under the employees control, is quite frankly an horrible thing to do another human being.

Since nobody answered my question I think I will answer it myself..... The stop in Rommeny Manor is about 30 minutes long enough to look around and hear a quick talk (2-3) that is standard for all the tour groups. 

As far as the hike went I felt it was really a nice day. We ended up being in a group by ourselves (just the 4 members in my family). The guide was informative telling us about all the trees and such in the area. We ended up seeing Rommey manor first and then hiking off from there into an area that also had zip lines and we saw a ATV group leaving. They had snacks at the end (sour orange juice and coconut rolls) so I would recommend bringing your own water as well. The hike went at a slow pace but we were by ourselves and my kids (5 and 7) where interested on climbing on things and playing in a stream. As for the path and roughness of it- it wasn't too bad there were a couple of steep areas but not to bad.

Anyway, We had a nice day. I got to see what I wanted to see and my kids were not bored on a bus ride.

Has anyone tried the Gray's island tour- rainforest adventure? How strenuous is it (more for me then the kids)? Do you recommend it?

I have a couple of younger kids 5 and 7 who like to hike and I was wondering if this might fit our needs rather then the grand island tour but I have found limited reviews online on it. It looks like it includes a stop at Rommeny Manor and the Batik (what I really want to do). Do they provide much time here? Do you have a chance to look around and learn about the Batik? (The one online review did mentioned that they skipped it because it might have been closed...).

I'm looking for advice on disembarking at port canaveral..... Here the situation- I have booked a shuttle back to the airport thru Go Port Canaveral and their last shuttle leaves a 10. They advised carrying off your own luggage. While we might be able to manage, we are traveling with a 3 and 5 year old and it will be tough. So If we do not carry off our luggage will we have an issue making our shuttle? (F2F is not available for our cruising).

I booked a hotel and transport in the cocoa beach area. Not exactly what you are looking for but close. I'll be sure to post a full review when I get back after the 3rd if you are interested.

I booked both with the Hampton Inn (which I had to cancel- long story- not their fault) and the comfort inn and suites. A few comments- don't worry about the time you come in. Both of these hotels work directly with a shuttle service which is run by another company, but do call and talk to them directly if you are nervous. The comfort inn and suites were very helpful. In fact both where easy to deal with. With the Hampton Inn it was up to you to arrange call the shuttle service and book those arrangements (but the package provided transport from the airport to the hotel, to the port, and then after the cruise back to the airport). The Hampton Inn arranged everything once they got the flight info but their standard package is just from the airport to the hotel; then from the hotel to the port (which you can do in reverse if you ask).