Ocean Adventure with young 3 year old

Hi! Looking for experiences from parents who have had young Aquanauts on board!

Our son turns 3 the day we board Oasis so he will be the youngest kid allowed in Ocean Adventure on our cruise (unless there’s another kid celebrating their 3rd birthday on embarkation day who was born between midnight and 2AM ;)). He is well on his way to potty trained with 3 months to go and I’m confident he will be fully toilet trained by embarkation day.

I’m looking for thoughts & experiences from parents who have had such a newly-trained Aquanaut on board. I don’t anticipate leaving him for hours at a time, but with his 5 year old sister there I know he will want to stay and play for a while. My biggest worry is that in spite of being fully toilet trained, he might have an accident in all the excitement.

Do any of you have experiences with such a young kid in Ocean Adventure? Will the staff be receptive to parents checking in hourly & giving the kid bathroom reminders?

Any other tips from parents who have had a newly toilet-trained 3 year old on board welcomed! Thank you!

IF my kid wasn't potty trained by then I probably wouldn't leave there. Only you can decide that one. But there's no problem stopping by frequently. Definitely helps with siblings that close in age. Was a single parent traveling/raising a 2, 4 and 9 yr old. When my kids were 3-5 I dropped by at least once an hr. Also when kids were that young they use to give me a pager, in their 20's now, so not sure if they still do it anymore... There's a lot more to do on these ships with Wee One's then when I took then 20 yrs ago. Good Luck and enjoy your cruise!

Personally, I'd just put him in a pull-up and not stress about it. If he has an accident in the pull-up, it won't matter, and he won't be embarrassed in front of the other kids.

Personally, I'd just put him in a pull-up and not stress about it. If he has an accident in the pull-up, it won't matter, and he won't be embarrassed in front of the other kids.

They don’t permit pull-ups. Will the 5 year old remind him?

I took my 3 y/o on Allure - he had been 3 for 3 months but was fully daytime potty trained. Adventure Ocean is a diaper and pull up free area. He loved going there! They will give you a phone so they can reach you. I do not recommend checking in every hour - you will be watching the clock and not enjoying your vacation! I took my son to the bathroom before dropping him off and would leave him no more than 2-2.5 hours at a time. If a child has an accident, I think they give you a second chance, but after that I believe you are not allowed back.

Hi! Looking for experiences from parents who have had young Aquanauts on board!

 

Our son turns 3 the day we board Oasis so he will be the youngest kid allowed in Ocean Adventure on our cruise (unless there’s another kid celebrating their 3rd birthday on embarkation day who was born between midnight and 2AM ;)). He is well on his way to potty trained with 3 months to go and I’m confident he will be fully toilet trained by embarkation day.

 

I’m looking for thoughts & experiences from parents who have had such a newly-trained Aquanaut on board. I don’t anticipate leaving him for hours at a time, but with his 5 year old sister there I know he will want to stay and play for a while. My biggest worry is that in spite of being fully toilet trained, he might have an accident in all the excitement.

 

Do any of you have experiences with such a young kid in Ocean Adventure? Will the staff be receptive to parents checking in hourly & giving the kid bathroom reminders?

 

Any other tips from parents who have had a newly toilet-trained 3 year old on board welcomed! Thank you!

It is fine but be prepared that your child either may not want to be separated from you or it may be a really quick visit to adventure ocean for just half hour (right when you are in the middle of something). they will give you a phone and will call you if there is any problem or if your child is tearful and wants to go with you. Sometimes it takes several visits before he/she realized how much fun it is with the other kids.

Personally, I'd just put him in a pull-up and not stress about it. If he has an accident in the pull-up, it won't matter, and he won't be embarrassed in front of the other kids.

they are not allowed to go with pull-ups and they must be fully potty trained- if there are any accidents they will not be allowed back.

Thanks all for the input! I’m not too worried about separation anxiety as he goes to preschool and is used to being away from mom & dad and around other kids. But if it becomes an issue we will just keep him with us and skip the casino!

The 5 year old will remind him if we ask her to but I doubt he’d listen to her. She tells him what to do all day long and it’s really hit or miss as to whether he is in the mood to be told by her what to do!

If he does have an accident and can’t go back, I assume the paid nursery is an option if my wife and I want to have an hour or 2 of adult time?

Any other tips from parents who’ve had a young 3 year old in Adventure Ocean appreciated!

Sorry, I didn't know the pull-up rule. My bad.

Thanks all for the input! I’m not too worried about separation anxiety as he goes to preschool and is used to being away from mom & dad and around other kids. But if it becomes an issue we will just keep him with us and skip the casino!

 

The 5 year old will remind him if we ask her to but I doubt he’d listen to her. She tells him what to do all day long and it’s really hit or miss as to whether he is in the mood to be told by her what to do!

 

If he does have an accident and can’t go back, I assume the paid nursery is an option if my wife and I want to have an hour or 2 of adult time?

 

Any other tips from parents who’ve had a young 3 year old in Adventure Ocean appreciated!

Check the nursery age range. Not sure they take 3 year olds. They do however have in cabin sitters (depends on supply and demand) but that is expensive.

Curious to hear your post cruise feedback as we have a 2 year old and will cruise with her soon after she is 3.

I took my 3 y/o on Allure - he had been 3 for 3 months but was fully daytime potty trained. Adventure Ocean is a diaper and pull up free area. He loved going there! They will give you a phone so they can reach you. I do not recommend checking in every hour - you will be watching the clock and not enjoying your vacation! I took my son to the bathroom before dropping him off and would leave him no more than 2-2.5 hours at a time. If a child has an accident, I think they give you a second chance, but after that I believe you are not allowed back.

This was my exact experience as well. On our last cruise, my daughter was 3 years 1 month and we handled it the same way. Had her go right beforehand and would come back after 2.5 hours max. I remember she did go to the bathroom once while she was there. She wasn’t really asking much yet so I think the staff must have prompted her. The staff were all really great. She loved going there and actually had more fun there than her 5 year old brother did!

At first I was really nervous that she would have an accident, but it worked out great. The phone did give me more peace of mind.

Also, one thing to keep in mind, is that they don’t assist with wiping at all. We overheard parents being told at pickup that their child may have dirty underwear because they couldn’t assist after he went. So be sure to bring quite a few extra underwear if he isn’t wiping himself well yet.

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Check the nursery age range. Not sure they take 3 year olds. They do however have in cabin sitters (depends on supply and demand) but that is expensive.

 

Curious to hear your post cruise feedback as we have a 2 year old and will cruise with her soon after she is 3.

I will definitely try to remember to report back, if not on this thread in a trip report of some sort. I’ve gathered so much useful information from other people’s reports, I’d love to similarly help others. It’ll be sometime in May!

This was my exact experience as well. On our last cruise, my daughter was 3 years 1 month and we handled it the same way. Had her go right beforehand and would come back after 2.5 hours max. I remember she did go to the bathroom once while she was there. She wasn’t really asking much yet so I think the staff must have prompted her. The staff were all really great. She loved going there and actually had more fun there than her 5 year old brother did!

 

At first I was really nervous that she would have an accident, but it worked out great. The phone did give me more peace of mind.

 

Also, one thing to keep in mind, is that they don’t assist with wiping at all. We overheard parents being told at pickup that their child may have dirty underwear because they couldn’t assist after he went. So be sure to bring quite a few extra underwear if he isn’t wiping himself well yet.

 

 

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This is helpful to know! Yes my biggest fear with him isn’t that he doesn’t know what to do-he does. But my wife & I are constantly prompting him to go and I wouldn’t expect the AO staff to do that with so many other kids to take care of.

Let’s hope they prompt the kids to wash their hands too! My wife and I are militant about hand-washing, and the kids know they have to, but I’m still shocked how often one of them will try to walk out of the bathroom without washing their hands. Gross. I’m hoping someday I won’t have to police hand washing, but for now I’m just like a broken record....

I had my two 3 yr olds in aquanauts. From what I remember, the staff does potty breaks for the littles. They have their own bathroom which is kid sized. My son did have one accident and we were called to clean him up.

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I had my two 3 yr olds in aquanauts. From what I remember, the staff does potty breaks for the littles. They have their own bathroom which is kid sized. My son did have one accident and we were called to clean him up.

 

 

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Oh great! A potty break would put my mind at ease because then I know he will remember to go. Thanks for the info!

I feel like I am perfectly-equipped to answer this question! We just got off the Anthem this morning and my son turned three on the day we left (Feb. 9). We had started potty training JUST for this trip, on Dec. 1... and within two weeks (if that), he was fully potty trained (nights and naps too). If you think your child will have an accident, just use one of the training pants underwear. Also, they will give you a phone and can call you if your kid poops and needs help wiping. We left our son in Adventure Ocean at least one session a day, and usually every 7-10 session. He had a blast and keeps talking about it! It gave us sanity and a much-needed break =)