25 months too young to cruise?

[bfcmex]

For you DCL experienced cruisers, do you feel my 25 month old will have activities to enjoy besides the nursery on the a cruise this fall? There seem to be so many wonderful childrens' activities, but do they all start at age 3? Thanks so much!

 

[lisalisa143]

We have cruised with DD since 18 months. We sailed Magic Dec 3-10 and at age 2 1/2 she was not able to go into clubs even though she is fully self sufficient potty trained. I signed her up for Flounders & she had a blast. The had her "art work" she made delivered to the room. They was plenty for her to do there & around the ship. Shows, splash pool, characters,

 

[deanimal]

We just got back from our MR cruise with a 21 month old and he loved it, although his age was a bit of an issue. I think we'll wait until he is at least four to go again to make sure he can participate more. There is a lot of open house times in the Club now when you can go in with your toddler and our little guy loved it in there. I found the dining room dinners were far to long for him to sit through, but then started booking him in the nursery for the last part of dinner. We could feed him while we had appy's, then take him off to play while we relaxed over dessert and coffee.
Overall, it can be a great experience at any age!

 

[NC State Tigger]

We have cruised with DD since 18 months. We sailed Magic Dec 3-10 and at age 2 1/2 she was not able to go into clubs even though she is fully self sufficient potty trained. I signed her up for Flounders & she had a blast. The had her "art work" she made delivered to the room. They was plenty for her to do there & around the ship. Shows, splash pool, characters,

DGD will be 2 1/2 when we cruise in December. I hope that she is fully potty trained by that time (so she can go in the pool ) Is there a "potty" in Flounders for little ones not old enough for the clubs, but potty trained and out of diapers?

 

[sherievald]

Just got off 7 day Western. I had my 16 month old grand-daughter AND my 3rd cousins -23 months and 3 1/2 years old. It was FABULOUS and the kids were a blast!! I would do it all again tomorrow!! Plenty to do for everyone!!

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

My dd was 18 months on our first cruise and she had a blast. We did not use the nursery. Did she have more fun at 3? Sure. But I would still go again with a younger kid, too!

The only "issue" we had was she was not happy about not being allowed in the pools. I think the newer ships will be better as far as this goes though.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

We went with DD when she was 18 months, and are about to go again. This time she will be almost 3 and DS is 13 months. We travel a lot with our kids and I think DCL is one of the best vacations you can do with under 3 kids.

 

[MagicFan75]

For you DCL experienced cruisers, do you feel my 25 month old will have activities to enjoy besides the nursery on the a cruise this fall? There seem to be so many wonderful childrens' activities, but do they all start at age 3? Thanks so much!

We've cruised with both of our children when they were very young. Our DS had his 1 yr birthday on the Sept 2010 14-night Transatlantic cruise and our DD had her 2 yr birthday on a 7-night cruise. Our DS was a young 2 when we were on the Dream in November. In all instances, the kids had a great time.

We utilized the nursery for a few hours one or two evenings so we could have a quiet dinner, but we love watching them play on the beach in Castaway Cay, they have a great time in the splash areas near the pools, we played mini-golf on the Dream, we take walks around Deck 5, we see the characters, watch the shows, and have a great time. Typically, we nap in the afternoons and have fairly early bedtimes (maybe 8:30-9pm), so either my DH or I will stay in the room with the kids while the other one explores the ship, goes to the hot tub, goes to one of the adult shows, or even hit up more photo ops with the characters. With the somewhat forced naptimes and early bedtimes, you wind up getting some much needed rest, relaxation, and downtime, which is wonderful.

Have fun!!

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

I cruised in December with my DS (28 months). It was our first cruise and we all loved it.

DS had a blast in the Splash area for the kiddies...he also loved walking around Deck 4, going to see characters, eating ice cream by the pool, and even just hanging out in the room sitting out in the verandah. He also loved loved loved Castaway. We took him to Atlantis for the beach day it was just ok.

Dinners were way too long for him but I had planned for that so I would take him to Flounder's for the second part of our dinner. He was usually so tired by then that he would just fall asleep (we had late dinner). We never did a show (I know my son, he wouldn't sit through that) but I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

I'm looking forward to taking him back this October (he'll be 3!)