Cruising with a 3 and 4 year old About This Page:

[cms83006]

Lots of questions here!!
~Will we have enough space? 4 of us in a small room is going to be cramped. I am worried about having enough space. We have two boys who are very active. (they are also about the size of a 4 year old and a 6 year old)
~Are there activities for the kids? Lots of activities? I saw that there was a nursery that the 3 year old could go to but I could not find any more ages listed until 9.
~If we cruise when I would like to, we will be cruising on My oldest birthday AND our anniversary. Will we be able to celebrate both of these occasions? Is there child care available so my husband and I could go to an "adult" dinner?
~What type of on-board entertainment can we expect to see? Is it as top notch as the parks (or better)?
~How much is alcohol?
Thank you so much for helping us decide if this is the vacation we want to take!

(oh and sorry, my tickers are off! I need to update!!)

[Dave Marx]

It sounds like you've cruised on other lines. Disney is most likely nothing like your other cruise experiences.

First, as long as they're potty trained, both your 3- and 4-year-old will have the kids clubs - Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab - at their disposal, which is included in your cruise fare (the nursery, which is really intended for infants through age 2, is the only childcare facility that charges for service). The clubs are open from 9:00am to after Midnight, every day - you'll have no problem dropping them there and having a romantic evening. Later in the evening they put out sleeping mats so they can nap before Mom and Dad come by to get them. There's a huge list of activities, and they're all listed on the daily Navigator you receive on board with the following day's activities. You'll also find many pages of detailed info on this topic in PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line guidebook. In addition to the kids clubs, there's a long list of family-friendly activities.

FYI, there are four age groups served - Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab for ages 3-10 (Club is more suited to preschool and early elementary school ages, Lab suited to the older elementary school group, but both facilities are open to all those ages). Edge is a separate club for tweens - 11-13 (middle school). Vibe is the teen club, ages 14-17 (high school).

The staterooms are designed to be comfortable for families. The staterooms are 25% larger than industry average. The "split bathroom" that's a feature of all but the lowest-price inside staterooms is one of these - tub and sink in one room, toilet and another sink in the other. It makes getting ready in the morning/evening much easier for a family. In most staterooms, the kids sleeping area is at the far end of the room, with a privacy curtain provided to separate the queen bed from the kids area. That way Mom or Dad can leave a light on, access the bathroom, and can exit/enter the stateroom without disturbing the kids (I'll presume only one parent is going out of the room at a time ).

Yes, you'll be able to celebrate your occasions. You can have those noted on your reservation, and you can also speak to your dining room server about it. They're not quite as generous as they once were (used to include a cake, just an individual dessert now), but it's still good.

The on-board entertainment is consistently ranked tops in the cruise industry. The live shows are all Broadway-style, family-friendly, and at normal Disney quality standards. In addition to the evening shows (a different one each night), there's character meets, deck parties (including the Pirates in the Caribbean night that includes fireworks - the only line that has fireworks), and Disney movies everywhere - in the dedicated movie theater, on the giant screen overlooking the family pool, and on your stateroom TV. One of the dining rooms, Animator's Palate (where you'll dine at least once), has a built-in "show," one of the best examples of the Imagineer's art you'll find anywhere in Disney's parks.

Alcoholic beverage prices are moderate - similar to moderately-priced restaurants ashore. Beers are in the $3.50-$4.50 range, mixed drinks are mostly around $6, with daily drinks-of-the-day at lower price. Premium drinks like VSOP cognac are in the $8-$9 range. Even the super-premium "pours" are mostly in the $15-$20 range. Wine by the glass starts around $5 and goes up to over $20 - there's a lot of fine wine on board. Wine by the bottle is typical restaurant pricing - two to three times the price you'll find in a wine shop.

Regular soft drinks are free at all meals, and are available free from a self-service beverage station on the pool deck. A wide range of coke products, coffee, tea, etc. are available. You'll only pay for soft drinks if it's a specialty drink (smoothies, fancy kids drinks), or if you order at a bar or from room service.

[Scout54]

Dave pretty much said everything that there is to say, because he's cool like that!

We cruised on the Magic last spring with our then 2 & 4 year old girls & were just beyond pleased with everything! The rooms are a great size for a family of 4. We especially loved the split bath. The girls loved The Oceaneer's Club activities they participated in & the character interactions we had on board. The whole family loved the shows & the movies on board, too! Overall, it was our favorite family vacation ever, & we are die hard Disney World fans! We liked it so much that we booked on board and are counting down the days (61 right now) until our next Magical cruise!

Good luck with your planning!

[toddjodybrent]

I agree!

Our son was 4 for our first Disney Cruise. It was the easiest vacation ever!

We asked our server to bring his entire meal, minus dessert, when we got our appetizers. He was done by the time we finished our salads, then it was off to the club for him--and we were all happy! We would pick him up in time for the show. He's now 9 and has cruised four times. He stays a bit longer a meals, especially at Animator's Palate, but still prefers to head to the club when he's done.

Feeding a child is incredibly easy! I remember once when he was swimming in the Mickey pool and said he was hungry that we were able to grab milk and pizza within minutes. We ordered cookies and milk from room service each night, too!

Rebooking your next Disney Cruise vacation on board is one of the best deals and we have taken advantage of that for our next cruise.

[cms83006]

Thank you guys so much, and actually we have not cruised together (DH went with his family, a Disney land and water type cruise, when he was in his early teens) and I have not been at all, I am just a girl who knows exactly what she wants from a vacation. And now what I want is for my family to be happy!!! It sounds like a no brain-er. Now to convince the Big Guy that we need to go.....Wish me luck!

[PixieMichele]

Oh that Dave...it's almost like he's cruised once or twice before! The kids clubs are GREAT. We have cruised many times with DCL but just took my 10 year old step son on his first cruise, and our first time cruising with a child. Once he met the Oceaneers Club he couldn't get rid of us fast enough. He'd ask the cast member at check in "what time do you close?" and they would say "1am" (for example) and he'd say "Bye, don't come back till 1am" and off he went. He usually ran to hide when we went to pick him up too. We were chopped liver. They have so much to do in there it's exhausting to even hear about it!
They even have kids activities on Castaway Cay and he loved that too.
No one does it like Disney!
The staterooms are beautiful and larger than most. I think the Dream really took what people had to say about the staterooms on the Wonder and Magic to heart when they designed the rooms. It's like every complaint you could have had about the rooms in the other ships have been fixed. There's a ton of storage, the suitcases fit under the bed, the ammenities are modernized and space efficient...it's fantastic! You're gonna love it!