RCI cruises toddler friendly?

[DimSum]

Hi,

I'm trying to decide if a RCI cruise will be a good one me and my family. However, my children are ages 2 and 4. Are there alot of activities for toddlers? Or should I just consider Disney for toddlers?

TIA

[sas80]

DH and I have been cruising with our two kids (ages 3 & 1) since the oldest was 5 months old. We find it very enjoyable.

 

You should post this question on the family boards. More responses there.

[QTMichele]

We were on the Freedom of the Seas the first week of January (1/3 - 1/10) and had a wonderful time! My kids are 10, 6 and 14 months. The Freedom Class of ships (Freedom, Liberty, and Independence) has a baby splash zone for swim diapered babies and toddlers. This was a huge selling point for my family (actually, the 14 month old ;) ). Most other ships/cruise lines don't have this area - a negative in my book as my son loves to splash and play in the water. As for other activities, Royal provides numerous activities for kids. Depending upon the ship, you can find Adventure Ocean kids' club (kids love this!), rock climbing (ages 6 and up), ice skating, mini-golf, H2O Zone (kids LOVE this as well!), and so much more. If you are interested in Oasis, there are even more opportunities for the under 3 crowd.

 

There is a link to my review in my sig - check it out for pictures. :)

[scg1a0]

My son, now 3 1/2 is going on his fourth cruise next month. We have found it to be a great family vacation. We have taken advantage of the in-room babysitting ($10 an hour and needs to be booked ahead) so that we can have some adult time. Your older child can go into the Adventure Ocean program and there are playgroups for the younger one (a parent must be present for that)

 

I have never been on Disney so I cannot compare. I believe that they may have more sitting options for your younger child. Either way, I think a cruise is a great option for families!

 

Enjoy!

[QTMichele]

My son, now 3 1/2 is going on his fourth cruise next month. We have found it to be a great family vacation. We have taken advantage of the in-room babysitting ($10 an hour and needs to be booked ahead) so that we can have some adult time. Your older child can go into the Adventure Ocean program and there are playgroups for the younger one (a parent must be present for that)

 

I have never been on Disney so I cannot compare. I believe that they may have more sitting options for your younger child. Either way, I think a cruise is a great option for families!

 

Enjoy!

 

Glad you brought this up - I forgot! Also wanted to add that we paid $12/hour. The babysitters work in teams for safety. Something else I forgot - there is a toy lending program available through Adventure Ocean. This is FREE and provides you with a bag (a pillow case really) full of Fisher Price toys. The toys we borrowed were in great shape and clean (I brought my Clorox wipes though... :rolleyes:).

[DCPIV]

We took our younger son on a couple of RCI cruises before he was 3 (Splendour and Brilliance), and we always had a good time. We never had a problem finding something for him to do, even if it was just finding a corner of the ship where he could run around for a little while. However, there are virtually no planned activities for a child under 3, as you cannot leave a child that young with Adventure Ocean. The crew have always been great to our kids, regardless of their ages.

 

The in-room sitting is good, too. Go to the desk and make your requests as soon as you get on board, and bring cash to pay for it. Basically, the in-room sitting is something the line allows crew members to do during their off time. While the ship handles all the scheduling, you pay the sitter directly (just like as if you were at home). At least, that is how they handled it when we used the service.

 

 

D

[PEGLEG]

Go Disney. Can't beat the mouse.

[bala1130]

I would not do Disney for Toddlers. I would wait until the kids are 5+ for that.

[Mack2]

I've done both Disney and RCI with my kids.

 

The youngest I've ever taken them on Disney was when my youngest was 18 months old. She had a GREAT time.

The youngest I've ever taken them on an RCI cruise was when the youngest was 3 1/2. She had a GREAT time.

 

 

 

Disney is quite an experience... almost nothing like it on the seas... But the baby didn't remember ANY of it. We'll show her pictures and she's happy she sees herself with the princesses... but... for lasting memories..

yeah... okay... maybe we'll do another one before the oldest get's too old for Disney.

 

The Freedom class vessels were just family friendly as a whole.

 

I mean...

Can't beat the spray park for toddlers.

 

Can't beat it. Then the kid's club thing (Adventure Ocean) has a decorate your own Adventure Ocean pillow case, the pirate parade, Johnny Rockets kids dinner.

 

 

Disney is just as engaging... with TONS of character interaction. Disney is truly magical... at a price. Something every family should try at least once.

 

 

I guess, the only negative thing I have to say about Disney was the "accidents" that occurred in the Mickey pool. There would be large swaths of time where Yellow jump-suited cast members would be draining, scrubbing, and disinfecting the one pool because of a floating stool... and I don't mean the ones you sit on.

 

Royal's negative... I remember the MDR food being better on Disney... but the kids eat nothing but Mac & Cheese... so they're happy regardless.

[Mack2]

You know... there's a GREAT member of CC who has been wonderful at giving advice for family trips.

 

Cruisinmama06

 

In her sig, she has a link to some scanned in copies of kid's activities on the cruises she's been on. These include both RCI and Disney activity sheets.

 

link is here:

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/cruisinmama06/

[nenner1]

I would not do Disney for Toddlers. I would wait until the kids are 5+ for that.

 

Disney parks or Disney Cruise line? Really both are wonderful for children under 5. I never get that argument, but anyway...

 

I have an 18 month old, she went on her first cruise at 4 months. (Disney) What makes Disney great for toddlers is that they have the Flounder's Reef Nursery childcare. It is more of like a "kids club" group setting (as opposed to in-room babysitting.) On Disney it is $6/hour first child, $5/hour each additional child. They have reasonable hours (no surcharge after 10 PM, etc.) Our experience with the childcare staff on Disney has been nothing short of outstanding. Keep in mind on RCCL, Oasis also offers this feature!

 

Of course with Disney you get the MOUSE and all that entails. Shows, character greetings, character meals, etc. It is wonderful for the little ones.

 

Both lines have the "toddler" swim area, but beware if your child is not potty trained they can't go in the "real" H20 zone (Freedom class and above) as pictured above. (There is a very small area just for diapered children- and only for diapered children in one corner of the H20 zone by the "doughnut" and they are restricted to that area only) Same for Disney- the diapered ones have a "splash area" but cannot go on the slide or in the Mickey swimming pool.

 

Price wise, there is a bit of difference but not too much really. You'll hear often about how expensive Disney is but really it is within hundreds of the cost of RCCL Freedom class, so they are pretty comparable. Disney's ships are older and smaller (for the time being- they have new ones being built now) and have less appeal for the older school age children (their main pool onboard is pretty lame). To give you an example, we are a family of 5. On Disney we have to purchase 2 rooms as there is a strict 4 person/room max limit (except suites), on RCCL we can still stay in one (saves several hunderd $$$) Our price for two rooms (BALCONY AND INSIDE) on Disney was just over $5,000 for a 7-night Western in October. Our price for an 8- night Eastern on Indy in January (one D1 balcony) was appx $4500. So yeah there is a price difference but it isn't too drastic.

 

I agree with the other people who say cruising Disney with the little ones is a special experience and you should give it a try. But RCCL is a wonderful choice too, especially if you have varied ages of children in your family.

 

(Bottom line, you can't go wrong!) :cool:

 

Happy cruising!