Canadian's 1st cruise with 3 year old

[woodduck]

I've been reading some of these threads, very interesting and informative. I have a question.......be honest....we're thinking of a 7 or 10 day cruise. Is my daughter too young? Would we be better off waiting a couple of years? Also, most of the 10 day cruises are offered in Sept., hurricane season, which quite frankly, makes me nervous. What is the best time of the year to cruise? This is a big decision for us, my 40th birthday, my daughter's 3rd b'day in July, and our 10th anniversary. We both want some R&R as well as for our daughter to have fun. Is this the cruise for us, or are we better off cruising on another line that has kids programs or going to an all inclusive resort? We're flying a long way to get to Florida, so we'd rather do a week or longer cruise. My husband's never cruised. I've done the Carnival 3 day to the Bahamas and back. That's the story folks, be honest, be gentle.............

[misseulalie]

If your child is potty trained, then I would say go! But if not, Disney doesn't let children in diapers or pull ups in the kid's programs. ( I heard Carnival does, though) If you wanted adult time, you would have to pay extra for child care.

[greatdanemom]

Disney is a great choice for a 3 year old, particularly if she's familiar with the Disney characters. We found our Disney cruise to be extremely child focused in the activities offered. That's not to say that it isn't fun for the adults. We just noticed it being a perfect cruise line for the little guys. Watching them laugh and smile can translate into a great cruise for you, too.

 

Best time of year depends on whether you have your heart set on hitting specific ports. If you do, avoid hurricane season. Cruises are cheaper but the weather may re-route your itinerary. You'll always be safe but you may not be sailing where you expected to go.

 

Cheryl

[woodduck]

Thank you both for your replies. I never thought about the potty trained thing.........hmm....she's not quite trained yet, I'm hoping by the summer but I'll make note of this point. My husband wanted to cruise in the summer, and I am more keen to go in the winter, since that's when we Canadians are dying to get out of town to go somewhere warmer. I had a feeling if you cruised in Sept. you'd be more likely to be re-routed due to weather which you have just confirmed. We'll start carefully reading these threads, full of so much amazing info. Have either one of you..........or anyone else every done the Xmas cruise???:rolleyes:

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Howdy,

I agree with the above post, if your child is potty trained it would be fantastic for all of you. I say got for the whole 10 days instead of 7, but 7 is great too. We have done 8 dcl cruises and have 3 more booked. We have gone with people from 18 months to 51 years of age. 3 is a magical age!!! If you want to get alot more information about the cruises go to DCL's web site and order the free DVD. It will give a lot of information about the kids clubs and so much more. It will answer lots of questions you may have. We prefer to cruise in the winter. 1. No hurricanes. 2. No humidity, but still hot enough to swim. 3. Ports seem to be less crowded for shopping. 4. Love to see the ships decorated for the holidays, the islands too.

I would like to suggest you go tot he Dis borads and post and read stuff there too. It is all disney cruise lines, no others and it is very active.

www.dcltribute.com

 

That may help you some too.

I'm sure when ever you go you'll have a fantastic time.

mom x4,grandma x4

[mruhaak]

If you are looking for good prices I highly recommend cruising in January. We did this last year and are doing it again this year.

Also... being from the midwest I can tell you that going on the cruise in January made the winter seem much shorter. I find I'm not sick of the cold weather until sometime after Christmas, and January or even February offers a great break!