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Advice for former Princess couple now hopeful Disney family


EndersFoul
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Hi all. DH and I are cruise lovers and recently added a baby girl to our family :)! We’ve traveled the globe as a couple and would like to share the love of cruising with our daughter and I think Disney fits better with our room and entertainment needs.

 

How young is too young to bring a kid on a Disney Cruise? Not asking safety- more like when will they most appreciate it- 5yrs? Is 3 too young?

 

Does Disney have kid centered excursions? We are the zip lining, scuba diving, mountain climbing adventure people but a lot of stuff we have done especially in the Caribbean isn’t suited for anyone under 12

 

What’s it like rooming with a kid in the cabins? We probably would go for a porthole or a veranda, I see most cabins have a couch that pulls out? Do you find the room cramped?

 

Any other advice for first time cruise parents!?

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We are the opposite--started cruising on DCL on the maiden voyage of the Magic, and have recently moved to Princess and other lines. Actually, we did a couple of cruises before DCL was launched, but you can't compare a line from 20+ years ago with today.

 

NO DCL cabin has a pull out couch. The couch is a "flip" system, very different than a pull out. It is comfortable and has a regular twin mattress--not a nasty pull out bed.

A standard cabin on DCL is about the size of a mini-suite on Princess. No, we don't find it cramped. If you want more space, you can go to a cabin that sleeps 5...but that's extra money for no real reason.

 

Kids who are not toilet trained cannot go into any of the pools (there are splash areas hooked to a separate water system). Kids under 3 cannot be signed into the programming. You can take them into the Oceaneer's club and lab during open house hours and remain with them. There are people who bring 6 month olds on a cruise--sorry that vacation is for the parents, not the kid. DCL does make caring for a child on the cruise very easy. Personally, I think 4 is a perfect age. At 3, some kids are overwhelmed with the programming and characters. By 4 they are more than ready. BUT every kid is different and you will know your child better than anyone else.

 

DCL has family oriented excursions. In Alaska and Europe, they have had excursions geared particularly to kids. But as you know, you don't have to do a cruise line sponsored excursion to have fun. For instance, on St. Thomas there is a butterfly farm and the cable car ride within walking distance of the port. On Grand Cayman, the Turtle Farm is a great excursion for kids; again on your own can be a lot less costly. Many times it is easier to go on your own with a young child--if the child gets fussy, you can catch a taxi back to the ship rather than trying to placate them while 20 or more of your new friends glare.

 

Disney is set up to make life easy for parents with kids. I have always insisted that my daughter do ONE activity per day in the programming...this is about 45 minutes. It was just enough to give me some "alone time." Sometimes she'd love it and want to spend a lot more time there. On other cruises, it was not a hit and she'd do her 45 minutes and want to be picked up. If I had one piece of advice it would be to remember that parenting doesn't end when you step onto a ship, but that doesn't usually become an issue until you are the parent of a 10+ year old. DCL ships are safe, but NO ship or line can totally protect your child. You need to be with them or know where they are at all times. Most of my "rules" are for older kids--never go into someone elses cabin, don't invite anyone into your cabin, etc. With a little one, the basic rule is to have fun and take lots of photos. We decided early on that dinner was our time to reconnect as a family. Essentially, no matter what was going on, we had dinner together. Yes, this meant no adult only dining until my daughter's 18th birthday, which she celebrated in Palo. But our point was to cruise as a family, not to dump the kid and enjoy adult life. DCL makes it work for all sorts of families. You can literally sign your child into the programming at 9 am and pick them up at midnight. You can spend all day in "Family" spaces and activities. Or you can do a combination of family and adult things, placing the child in the programming while you enjoy some adult time.

 

And if you are used to Princess, get ready for DCL sticker shock. Our next cruise is on Princess in a suite (for the first time). We got a full suite on Princess for less then half the cost of a balcony cabin on DCL.

Edited by moki'smommy
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Moki has good info, so I won't add anything there.

 

The "how old is old enough" is a big debate, for DCL and for WDW vacations. I have to say one of my favorite WDW vacations was when youngest dd was 18 mos. She was over the moon at any character, any show, any spectacle. It was so much fun just to watch her.

 

She has absolutely no memory of any of that, but we do.

 

Traveling with infants and toddlers has it's own unique challenges, no matter where you go. You'll find out how well your child travels as you go. I wouldn't necessarily say you need to wait until they are older, though.

 

And yes to the sticker shock. DCL is very nice, but we had a very good cruise on MSC in the Med this summer, in concierge for half what a standard verandah on DCL would have cost.

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I cruise mostly Princess and Disney. Disney is a big step up from Princess, but keeps all that I like about Princess just does it better. I'm going on a NCL cruise and already I can tell that while I'll love the ship, that cruise line is not for me.

 

I'd say 5 is the general earliest age for them to appreciate it. Still, we take vacations for us to have a vacation. I know my kids don't remember things earlier than about 5 (we ask them), but we take pictures so they can at least see (and it helps imprint the memories of the trip if you show them pics shortly after).

 

Can't talk about excursions. I've been to the Mexican Riviera and Caribbean (twice) with Disney, and I actually don't like those locations so I didn't really do any excursions through Disney. Disney's private island is totally awesome. I wouldn't mind a cruise where I only visited that island. Grand Cayman Island has a turtle farm that my kids liked (I just found a bus on land to take me there; way better to go yourself because we could stay and play with the turtles for as long as we wanted whereas tour groups got rushed away).

 

I probably wouldn't do a porthole. Veranda is nice if you can swing it (I've done it, but it's really no different than a Princess veranda in that it really only fits about 2 people comfortably). The newer inside cabins have the Magic Portholes which is way cooler than a real porthole (gets dirty from sea spray and there's really not much to see).

 

Disney has more space than cabins on most other lines. The bathrooms are split, so one can take a shower while the other uses the toilet. Plus, there's a tub if you still give your kids baths. Most other lines have TINY showers only.

 

The cabin steward will turn down the bed for you. Couch pulls out and a bunk pulls down from the ceiling. It's pretty standard for a cruise cabin, and it's just like a regular bunk bed even if the two beds aren't connected. There's a ladder and safety railing for the top bunk. There's a room divider between those beds and the main big bed. Works pretty well. Luggage goes under the beds and there's a good amount of closet and drawer space.

 

I find the food and entertainment a lot better than Princess, and the waiters are much more experienced at entertaining your kids. Then, the dining rooms themselves provide entertainment. Particularly Animator's Palate. I always try to request going to Animator's Palate a 3rd time if possible. If the kids are beat, you can watch the evening show on the TV in your room. I've had to do that.

 

Ask for the special bed sheets. Last I checked, they had Princess pink for girls and Cars for boys. They're much softer than the regular sheets (probably because they haven't been laundered as much).

 

If they like characters, show up 15+ minutes early. You'll probably be at the head of the line. Send another parent to stand in line for your 2nd option (have this parent aim to be a couple spots behind where you are in the first line). You should be able to time it so they can get pictures from the first character and rush over to the 2nd just as that other parent reaches the front of the line.

 

Do they still sign stuff at guest services? Last I checked, they had started limiting it, but still did it. We brought along colored sharpies and picture frame borders. Drop it off at Guest Services in a ziplock baggie. It'll come back signed by a bunch of characters. Makes an awesome souvenir and I find it lasts longer than a signed pillow case.

 

We pull the kids out of school for Disney cruises (ok, all our cruises once they hit school age). I don't find it any more expensive. For instance, our last Disney Fantasy cruise was in December before X-mas break, and we had a balcony. It cost pretty much the same as our upcoming Inside Cabin on the Norwegian Bliss, which is still during school time. Neighbors went to Alaska, over the summer. Yeah, that's Suite prices on another line for an inside cabin.

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A couple clarifications from above.

 

Concierge level room have pull out sofa. As Moki stated, standard rooms have the flip beds.

 

Also, 3 and under can go to the nursery for a fee. So even if you travel with a you get child, there are still options for child care.

 

We took DD when she was 3 and she LOVED the trip. She didn't do the Clubs or nursery at all and we just had fun exploring the ship and playing in the splash zones. As she got older, we did different things. She will be 6 when we go to Europe this summer. Traveling has been great for her and we love talking about all of our adventures.

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I strongly recommend the veranda if it's in the budget. When it's time for little ones to sleep, it's great to have that balcony. The option is sitting in the cabin watching TV or reading.

 

That’s my primary advice too. I’m generally not a balcony person, but if your child still naps, you’re going to spend a lot of time just sitting in the room.

 

We took our son on a cruise when he was 3 and he still remembers a few things, three years later. And he was very cooperative on board. We have no regrets. Only downside was he slept a lot. Including conking out halfway through dinner most nights, which meant returning to the room to eat.

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We took our son on a cruise when he was 3 and he still remembers a few things, three years later. And he was very cooperative on board. We have no regrets. Only downside was he slept a lot. Including conking out halfway through dinner most nights, which meant returning to the room to eat.

Take the child to dinner in a stroller. If he falls asleep, no worries. Finish your dinner, then wheel him back to the room.

 

And yes, a little one who naps is my one definition of a verandah being a necessity.

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Cruising with kids is a big reason why we changed over to Disney Cruise lines. we have cruised with kids as young as 8 months and 18 months and really enjoyed the vacations because of how much Disney caters to parents. Pack-n-play crib set up in the room at no charge if your little one is young enough to need a crib. Nursery rates for the 3 and unders (actually it is for any child before their 4th birthday) are very reasonable around $6 - $9 per hour with excellent ratios and we felt very comfortable going to Palo for adult only dinners with child in the nursery because you are provided free Wave Phones to carry so they can contact you. Now you can also get free smart phone messages via their app at no extra charge. For potty trained 3 and up their kids' clubs (Oceaneer lab etc) are free of charge and come with RFID bands (Magic Bands) allowing them to pinpoint the child's location exactly at any time.

 

Request a Diaper Genie in the room at no charge cleaned by room attendant. We even had diapers shipped directly to our cabin through a vendor, the name esacpes me now. I booked all ground transfers through Disney thus avoiding the need for any car-seats because their big tour size buses legally do not require carseats for young children.

 

IMHO we would not cruise on any other line with young children, never paid for a veranda they either napped in stroller while out and about or napped just fine at the nursery.

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wanted to add also that most nights either we ate in the Dining Room or had dinner at Palo, never had to eat in our room. mid way through dining room dinner we'd have a Nursery reservation for the under 3 child so they can go there and we finish up dessert and drinks. Or just reserve nursery through the entire dinner if we're dining at Palo's

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We dropped him at the nursery before dinner twice. They called us mid-meal to say he was insisting on being in the cabin to sleep and we needed to come get him. He was fine with the kids club during the day at least. Many children are not. Unpredictably.

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