Traveling with a 22 month old, is there enough to do?

We have booked a five night cruise on the Wonder. Before final payment is due we are wanting to hear from anyone who has traveled with a young child. Is the cruise enjoyable for the child, was there enough to do? Thank you in advance for your help.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

That depends on what you are looking for. On the Magic, there was a toddler "dance party" every morning, sometimes with a Disney, Jr. character. That was really the only scheduled activity for toddlers. You can go to the Oceaneer's Club during "open house" hours. That's one hour a day, and it might interfere with your nap time (it does tend to be different times each day--check the Navigator). There is a splash area where they can play alone or you can play with them. You can go to any activity designated as "family." Of course there are character meet and greets, movies, etc.

Truly, my personal preference would be to wait till the child is 3 or 4 if this is an "only." If it is a situation where there is an older child and this works best for the family, go for it. Yes, lots of parents will disagree with me. Of course, I also assumed that a DCL cruise would be a once or twice in a lifetime experience--we've done a lot more than that. If I viewed it as "we'll go now and again when she's 6," I'd consider the toddler age OK. If I thought this would be the only time, I'd wait.

Thank you so much for the response. It is very helpful. I am a loyal RCCL cruiser but now with the little one we are thinking of trying Disney instead. I do appreciate your thoughts

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If the child is familiar with a wide range of Disney characters, then between the characters, splash zone, the shows, the deck party, I would guess he or she would find it enjoyable. There's also a nursery (which you can book for an extra fee) which is great for the kids and gives the adults some free time.

That depends on what you are looking for. On the Magic' date=' there was a toddler "dance party" every morning, sometimes with a Disney, Jr. character. That was really the only scheduled activity for toddlers. You can go to the Oceaneer's Club during "open house" hours. That's one hour a day, and it might interfere with your nap time (it does tend to be different times each day--check the Navigator). There is a splash area where they can play alone or you can play with them. You can go to any activity designated as "family." Of course there are character meet and greets, movies, etc.

 

 

 

Truly, my personal preference would be to wait till the child is 3 or 4 if this is an "only." If it is a situation where there is an older child and this works best for the family, go for it. Yes, lots of parents will disagree with me. Of course, I also assumed that a DCL cruise would be a once or twice in a lifetime experience--we've done a lot more than that. If I viewed it as "we'll go now and again when she's 6," I'd consider the toddler age OK. If I thought this would be the only time, I'd wait.[/quote']

 

 

 

We are exactly in this situation. DD just turned 7 and DS is 21 months old. We booked March 2019, so that DS is a little bit older and DD will not grow out of Disney fever. Maybe another one when DS is 5-6 and his sister is 11.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We are exactly in this situation. DD just turned 7 and DS is 21 months old. We booked March 2019, so that DS is a little bit older and DD will not grow out of Disney fever. Maybe another one when DS is 5-6 and his sister is 11.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And that is a very different situation than just doing it for a 21/22 month old. Have fun!

DS will be 2.5 when we go on our cruise and I’m not worried at all about there being enough for him to do. I figure between the splash pad and characters he’ll be fine. If he gets bored we’ll walk his energy out in the hallways.

We are taking our 19m old on a Disney cruise, and although it is our first DCL, FWIW we took her at 11 months on a Norwegian cruise and we had a great time. It is very family/person dependent whether or not the cruise will have enough to do. We are planning on bringing a few toys and just enjoying the ship and the ports. In our opinion, it is very similar to doing a land based vacation with your very small child. If you can travel well with your young one you will have a great time! IMHO its all about setting your expectations to how much or how little your child can do and if you set your expectations low you will have a great time.

next summer, we're going with our kids and grandkids (3 families total)..

the grandkids will be 5, 3 and 14 months.....

obviously the 14 month old is much younger than preferred, but i'm sure the 3 and 5 year olds will have a good time...

how do we go about reserving the babysitting room for the 14 month old?

when can we reserve it?

is there a limit to the number of hours we can reserve?

are there certain hours of the day it operates?

does anyone have experience using it?

thanks!

how do we go about reserving the babysitting room for the 14 month old?

when can we reserve it?

is there a limit to the number of hours we can reserve?

are there certain hours of the day it operates?

does anyone have experience using it?

 

thanks!

W have found the nursery personnel to be quite flexible in dealing with parents.

You can reserve nursery time on line at the same window you can make reservations. You are limited to 18 hours on a 7 night cruise, 10 hours on 3-4 night cruises, and 35 hours on 14 night cruises. I'm sure there are max numbers for other lengths. On the second day of 7 night cruises, you are usually able to add more nursery time if desired (after everyone has had a chance to get their first day reservations).

Typically the staff is very flexible in allowing you to change hours while on board with no penalty provided they are given adequate notice. They realize that life on board may not be what you envisioned. Some people want to drop off the child during dinner hours; other families find that the child will sleep in a stroller during dinner and disturb no one. You are charged for "no show" reservations.

Yes, there are hours--basically 9am till midnight or 1am.

The program is excellent--the nursery has a quiet room for naps and a play area for awake children.The cribs in the nap area are changed after each use and the cribs are disinfected. Parents can supply whatever food is appropriate for the child. The staff has limited food available for toddlers--they will get instructions from parents before drop off regarding those issues. Most people love the way the nursery operates, but as with anything, there are always complainers.

They will page a parent for an inconsolable child, but will work with the child first. Please let them know if you'll be at Palo or the spa--they'll make an extra effort to not disturb you. They will also follow instructions in this area; for instance, some parents ask to be paged if/when the child wakes up from a nap.

I don't know what sort of cabin you have in mind, but IMHO a balcony works wonders with a napping child. The child can be put to sleep in a still quiet cabin and the responsible adult can enjoy herself on the balcony with a glass of ice tea and a book...without disturbing the child.

Thank you so much for the response. It is very helpful. I am a loyal RCCL cruiser but now with the little one we are thinking of trying Disney instead. I do appreciate your thoughts

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I don't really think a 22 month old would benefit much from Disney vs any other cruise line. I mean do people actually show kids that young disney movies? and they recognize them? Will they have fun yeah. As they would anywhere with their parents.

I don't really think a 22 month old would benefit much from Disney vs any other cruise line. I mean do people actually show kids that young disney movies? and they recognize them? Will they have fun yeah. As they would anywhere with their parents.

I basically agree with your sentiments, hence my post about waiting unless there were older kids involved.

But as to movies...my daughter's first movie in a theater was Beauty and the Beast when she was 18 months old. I fully expected that I'd be removing her after maybe 30 minutes--wrong. She was totally entranced, and cried when it was over!

I basically agree with your sentiments' date=' hence my post about waiting unless there were older kids involved.

But as to movies...my daughter's first movie in a theater was Beauty and the Beast when she was 18 months old. I fully expected that I'd be removing her after maybe 30 minutes--wrong. She was totally entranced, and cried when it was over![/quote']

 

yes, it's surprising what kids that young enjoy...

we were at WDW last summer when the grandkids were 3 and 22 months old...

both of them sat through every show we went to and were enthralled, including the pixar music concert - an orchestra playing pixar music - no singing, just an orchestra playing music for an hour and both of them were entirely glued to the stage....

i was shocked they were not only able to sit through it, but enjoyed it....

 

and the 37 minute long finding nemo the musical (which we went to 4 times and they enjoyed all 4 times)..

 

and of course festival of the lion king and everything else..

 

so i'm willing to bet a 22 month old will enjoy the DCL theater productions as well..

W have found the nursery personnel to be quite flexible in dealing with parents.

You can reserve nursery time on line at the same window you can make reservations. You are limited to 18 hours on a 7 night cruise' date=' 10 hours on 3-4 night cruises, and 35 hours on 14 night cruises. I'm sure there are max numbers for other lengths. On the second day of 7 night cruises, you are usually able to add more nursery time if desired (after everyone has had a chance to get their first day reservations).

 

Typically the staff is very flexible in allowing you to change hours while on board with no penalty provided they are given adequate notice. They realize that life on board may not be what you envisioned. Some people want to drop off the child during dinner hours; other families find that the child will sleep in a stroller during dinner and disturb no one. You are charged for "no show" reservations.

 

Yes, there are hours--basically 9am till midnight or 1am.

The program is excellent--the nursery has a quiet room for naps and a play area for awake children.The cribs in the nap area are changed after each use and the cribs are disinfected. Parents can supply whatever food is appropriate for the child. The staff has limited food available for toddlers--they will get instructions from parents before drop off regarding those issues. Most people love the way the nursery operates, but as with anything, there are always complainers.

 

They will page a parent for an inconsolable child, but will work with the child first. Please let them know if you'll be at Palo or the spa--they'll make an extra effort to not disturb you. They will also follow instructions in this area; for instance, some parents ask to be paged if/when the child wakes up from a nap.

 

I don't know what sort of cabin you have in mind, but IMHO a balcony works wonders with a napping child. The child can be put to sleep in a still quiet cabin and the responsible adult can enjoy herself on the balcony with a glass of ice tea and a book...without disturbing the child.[/quote']

 

thanks for all the information!!! that is very helpful!!

i just sent your answer off to my son and daughter in law...

he was unaware that there is anything like this for babies (when he was last on DCL, he was 17 years old in the teen club - back in 2004)

 

we'll have 3 staterooms....can we book nursery hours for each stateroom even if there's a baby in only one of them?

 

as for verandahs - i barely can afford the 3 oceanview rooms i booked (the single porthole rooms on deck 2 of the magic)..

it's a 7 night european cruise and it's breaking the bank as it is....($21,000 for 3 deck 2 staterooms....so insane i can't believe it - and that was with booking on opening day with a prior cruise 10% discount!)..

 

so even though the the baby will be in only one of the staterooms, can the other two rooms also book hours?

 

i figure they'll want to use babysitting during the theater show...and maybe during dinner as well, though maybe not..

she's a really easy going baby (she's 4 months old now).....the easiest of their 3 kids so far, so maybe she'll be willing to sit through everything...

 

.

No, only the cabin where the baby is booked can book nursery hours. Sorry!

And just so you are not surprised....nursery costs $9 per hour billed in half hour increments. You get a "break" in that children under 3 pay half of the cruise fare portion of the ticket that a 3-12 year old pays, but the 3-12s have the programming at no increased cost.

No' date=' only the cabin where the baby is booked can book nursery hours. Sorry!

 

And just so you are not surprised....nursery costs $9 per hour billed in half hour increments. You get a "break" in that children under 3 pay half of the cruise fare portion of the ticket that a 3-12 year old pays, but the 3-12s have the programming at no increased cost.[/quote']

 

 

thanks! yes, i knew that was a charge associated with babysitting....$9 isn't a big deal...if the maximum number of hours is 18, you're talking less than $200...a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the cruise... :)

and worth it if it allows you to enjoy the cruise more!!

 

.

My son is currently 23 months old and we just got back from a Disney World vacation. We have a Disney Cruise booked for May. I’m really hoping he does as well on the cruise as he did it Disney! He loved it! He stood in lines like a champ. He napped in his stroller. He loved the rides, even the ones I thought might be bored (I envisioned him trying to climb out of the boat on It’s a Small World), but he really did great! One word of warning is about the characters. My son loves Disney and was so excited to see the characters. He was carrying his Mickey and Goofy stuffed animals around saying “I see Goofy” “I see Mickey”. He was excited at our character breakfast when he saw Mickey from a distance. He was yelling that he saw Mickey.... until Mickey came to our table and touched him. It didn’t go well! After a while he was ok with the characters as long as they kept their distance. He played peek a boo with them from a few feet away...lol

Sent from my iPhone using Forums