4th cruise but first time mom with 21 month old

[AmyandMichael]

OUr daughter will turn 2 on the last night of our possible cruise in March! We have loved our childless Disney cruises but wanted some honest opions on how differerent it will be with here..is it impossible to cruise with a child this age? She gets so excited over so many things and is such a joy..I want her to experience everything but wanted to hear from others

[cehkmh]

It's really great on a Disney Cruise with a child or without. Because of the Flounder's Reef Nursery, you can put her in there whenever you need to.(during dinner, when your offshore etc.) I love Flounder's because they take great care of your kids and your pager beeps whenever there is a problem. I think it will be fine.

[two-foxes]

Ooooh!! I so know where you are at! We cruised last year with our then 14 month old. It was our 6th DCL cruise, but our first with a kiddo. Although it was a good time, it was such a different vacation!

I got flamed just a bit for asking a similar question last year (Why don't you leave your kids at home, obviously you care more about leaving your kid in Flounders than spending time with them....blah, blah....), but it is such a good question!

So honestly, day 1 and 2 were rough for me, vacation speaking....I still was not at work, not cooking and on a cruise ship, so how bad was it, really! But DH was on our old vacation "schedule", (wake up late, work out, go to the Rainforest, grab a coffee at Cove, meander back to our stateroom...just like it was just the 2 of us) while I was on new "traveling with little man" schedule. Just me. So, I felt a bit irritated that DH was not seeming to adjust to our new party size on DCL. A bit of a discussion later, and we were on the same page...so know that communication for ALL of you to have the best time possible is important! Being the main care giver at home doesn't mean that I don't need an hour or two to hang out by myself on the ship (and yes, I am still in shock I had to explain that to my DH)

Use Flounders!!! I was nervous about it at first, but DS was completely fine there and we were able to have some dinner at Palo and although we were supposed to use it for half of one of our 2 CC days (we never made it on day 2) we were still able to get some workouts in and some time in the rainforest while we avoided storms that day.

We skipped the shows. DS wouldn't have been able to make it through them, plus the level of sound would have been a bit much for him. (But not that big of a deal...we've seen them all, and didn't really miss them.) We hit most of the deck 9 Character meets and some of the atrium ones as well. The deck 9ones are just alot easier to manage with the smaller lines. We also used room service alot because DS routinely dozed during dinner, so we fed him before, just in case. Although we only had to do this once, you and your spouse should decide "whose turn it will be" if you need to leave dinner early due to the LO. Your server box your meal to go, but it is best to decide who will take the LO to the stateroom if needed.

Be patient. It will all be a bit of an overload for you all! The pace of your vacation has changed and your LO will be a bit on sensory overload (Disney is so good at that!!!)

My best advice would be is to expect to cut some of your "old normal" cruising habits/traditions out. For example, we used to try to be the first drink served out of Signals on the first day...obviously, that was left in the dust this last time. But, the fun thing is that you can start new traditions with the kiddos. Whatever it is, make it your new normal!

So, to sum it up, it was an adjustment for the first day or two. We used to avoid the Mickey pool, but there I was, sitting in an ear! Same with the family beach, but I finally got to eat at Cookies and DS LOVED the ice cream machine and the mango! So we found our new "likes" there! (But good lord, I still can't believe how much sand can end up on a baby!!)

We obviously had a good enough time with DS that we have booked another cruise on the Dream in Feb 2011...our oldest will be 3, our youngest DS will be 20 months. But, we are bringing my parents for just a bit more help, too

[Anj]

We did a 7 day in October with a 19 month old and it was great. She loved the shows (surprise to me). We had late dinner seating, she lasted through some of our dinners, the rest of the meal we took her to Flounders if she was getting fussy (she went to sleep there). We did do room service for our breakfast, so that way she could walk around while we ate. She loved the splash pad (she's not toilet trained) and loved the beaches. We found that she just fell asleep right away for naps and bedtime as she was so tired from seeing everything.

She was scared of most of the costumes up close, so we looked at characters from afar, but she loved seeing them. She also enjoyed the Tea with the Mad Hatter, which surprised me. I wouldn't have thought to take her, but my DH had the beer tasting book at the same time, so I thought 'why not' and she loved that Tea Party.

[havaneselover]

Our first Disney cruise was with a 15 month old and a 2.5 year old. We quickly realized that our children wouldn't sit through dinner so we fed them and took them to Flounders Reef and enjoyed a nice dinner by ourselves. Unfortunately on the 7 day cruise that used pretty much all of our babysitting hours. Our 2.5 year old daughter loved the shows but our 15 month old son couldn't sit still or keep quiet. I think that was a function of age, personality and gender. We didn't do many character meets on that cruise because both of mine were scared at that point. Main disappointment was not being able to use the pool, although we did a Western so we only had 2 days at sea. Overall, it was a great experience. We went back three years later with an almost 6 year old and a 4.5 year old and it was amazing.

[dvccruiser76]

Two-foxes - Where are the character meets on Deck 9, and how do they differ from the one's in the atrium? Are there photographers there? I'll be traveling for the first time as a mom with my DS (who will be 22 months at the time) on the Dream in May 2011, so you have me intrigued. I've been to the character meets in the atrium, but I have never heard of the one's on Deck 9.

Anj - Where do they hold tea with the Mad Hatter and what does it entail? Do you need to sign up like the beer tastings, and is there a seperate fee? Do they have photographers there?

I think I'm looking forward to seeing my LO light up more than I am to see the new ship. I'll probably drop more in Shutters than I did to book the whole cruise

[andrewsmommy]

We cruised with a 22 month old last year and it was great - He loved everything. Flounders was great. We went to get him one day and he was jumping off a little block into Alladin's arms - seriously.

You can also take him into the Oceaneer club if you stay with him. He loved going in there.

We used a Kidco Peapod tent thingy instead of a pack n' play, and set it up on the sofabed with a bedrail. Worked perfect.

We're doing it all over again in January!

[aidtrismommy]

I did it with a 19 moth old and 3 year old. It was a lot of work, but a wonderful vacation. My little guy loved the shows, except for Twice Charmed. He loved the characters. We did the ones in the atrium on port days because there were hardly any lines because people were going ashore. I didn't get off in GC because it would be too much work tendering with strollers and I knew my kids would be happier on the ship just swimming and using the club. I brought my little guy into the club at least once a day for an hour or so, sometimes twice a day. I never used Flounders. He had 2 naps per day as opposed to his normal midday nap at home. He had a couple meltdowns at dinner, but for the most part he sat through each dinner. We did the buffet for breakfast and lunch so we could eat at our own pace and get going. I took turns with my parents and sister sitting in the room while my kids napped. During naps, we did laundry because it was right down the hall within sight of our room. That worked out nicely. I missed the sail away party and the pirate party because of nap and early bedtime. You can't do it all, but I still loved my cruise. Things will be missed, but it;s okay because you can always go back.

[two-foxes]

Originally Posted by dvccruiser76

Two-foxes - Where are the character meets on Deck 9, and how do they differ from the one's in the atrium? Are there photographers there? I'll be traveling for the first time as a mom with my DS (who will be 22 months at the time) on the Dream in May 2011, so you have me intrigued. I've been to the character meets in the atrium, but I have never heard of the one's on Deck 9.

Most of them, if not all, are located at the Goofy Pool...in the gazebo kinda things next to the stage. We loved them because the lines were short, super short compared to the atrium lines. The biggest difference is that they are a lot less formal, obviously, and the characters are there for much shorter periods of time (15-30 minutes maybe?). Yep, the photographers are there! I just called the "character line" on the phone to get the locations and times they would be there.

[dvccruiser76]

Thanks for the reply two-foxes.

I will be on that phone once we're all set up. I hope my LO likes the characters as much as his mom does

[Anj]

Originally Posted by dvccruiser76

Two-foxes - Where are the character meets on Deck 9, and how do they differ from the one's in the atrium? Are there photographers there? I'll be traveling for the first time as a mom with my DS (who will be 22 months at the time) on the Dream in May 2011, so you have me intrigued. I've been to the character meets in the atrium, but I have never heard of the one's on Deck 9.

Anj - Where do they hold tea with the Mad Hatter and what does it entail? Do you need to sign up like the beer tastings, and is there a seperate fee? Do they have photographers there?

I think I'm looking forward to seeing my LO light up more than I am to see the new ship. I'll probably drop more in Shutters than I did to book the whole cruise

The Tea with the Mad Hatter was something that we had to get (free) tickets for and was held on a sea day. I believe most people have Tea with Wendy or Tea with Alice, but ours was the Mad Hatter. They serve apple juice and a cookie. I am still uncertain why she was so entranced with this event, but she loved it, maybe it was the cookie? I think at the end of the Tea, you could go up and get your picture with the Mad Hatter and a CM used your camera. I don't recall if a Shutters photographer was there.

Yes, beer tasting you have to buy tickets for ($15) at guest services. My DH enjoyed that tasting. We also did the martini tasting.

[dvccruiser76]

Thanks Anj

I'll be sure to check that out once people start cruising and posting the new navigators on-line, so we don't miss out.