Cruise with a 1 and a 3-year-old

[khaz]

I was hoping to get some feedback on a future cruise.

My family was thinking about going on the Fantasy this fall with our one-year-old and three-year-old children. However the more we look at the activities on the boat the more we are noticing that we can't do the same things with both kids together.

Has anyone had experience with two kids of this age range? Did it cause issues? Was it something that you ended up not noticing? Many thanks for your feedback.

 

[CRBADGER]

On our first cruise the kids were barely 2 and barely 5 and we had a blast! We just did open house in the kids club every chance we had. We just booked our 3rd cruise for Jan which will be the first time they can both go in kids club together so we will see how it goes!

 

[dektolia]

I recently cruised on the Dream with a 3 year old and 5 month old. It probably depends on the three year old and which activities you'd like to do. Mine didn't want to stay in the club alone so we had both kids there during open house time only (including activities like making flubber). Both kids did art time in the family lounge, the midship detective (DD's favorite - twice, though the baby was just along for the walk), and played on the beach at CC. The only time they were apart was when we took the older one to a show with us. The younger one was allowed there, but he wouldn't have enjoyed it and I probably would have ended up stepping out.

Compared to other vacations, the cruise was a nice way to keep everyone entertained while staying close to the room for nap time. Extra bonus - I didn't have to haul around a ton of baby stuff because the room was there if needed.

 

[khaz]

Thanks for the feedback. Our one-year-old wants to do everything the three-year-old does, so we were worried about her not being able to go to any of the pools of the older kids. Sounds like there are other options that might keep her entertained. Guess we need to think a little bit more.

 

[Melissa S]

Really consider the fact the 1 year old can't use the pools. That was rough for us our first cruise. If your child loves swimming consider an itinerary with a lot of ports with beaches (CC, Cozumel (playa mia has a great water park for kids), etc).

 

[PearlySwan]

I was hoping to get some feedback on a future cruise.

My family was thinking about going on the Fantasy this fall with our one-year-old and three-year-old children. However the more we look at the activities on the boat the more we are noticing that we can't do the same things with both kids together.

Has anyone had experience with two kids of this age range? Did it cause issues? Was it something that you ended up not noticing? Many thanks for your feedback.

My youngest was only 4 months old when we first cruised on the Disney Magic. My oldest was then 5 yrs. old. Our challenge was to get her to come out of Oceaneers Club, not the other way around. The baby spent a few hours in "It's a Small World Nursery" so that mom and dad could enjoy Palo. We absolutely LOVE cruising with Disney. I say book your cruise. You'll soon find out that your family can't do without Disney Cruise Line.

 

[adams3880]

We did our first cruise (on the Fantasy) when DD was a brand new 3 and DS was 11mo. Second time they were 2 and 4. It was fine since DD is a social butterfly and DS is a clinger anyway... Couldn't tear her out of the Club and he was happy staying with us. We took him to the open houses, DLounge stuff, character meets, toddler time up at the sports area. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I do agree, though, to take the pool issue into consideration. That was a bit frustrating the second time around. I would have to just go do something else with him while DH took DD swimming.

 

[jgyankee]

Nemo's Reef is on the Fantasy. My son was 11 months and spent at least 1 hour a day playing in there. It is a splash pool. My 3 year old also loved it.

 

[BerardFam]

We were on the panama cruise last month with a 2, 4, and 5 year old. My young one was potty trained so she could go in the pool but not the club since she couldn't completely dress herself. Our 2 year thinks she's 5 so by the end of the cruise she wanted to be with her older sisters in the club and not the nursery so for us, next year will be better when they can all go to the club. But we went to all open houses and made the most of the events going on when our other 2 were in the club.

 

[stewtyl]

Theres plenty of option! Weve always found something to do all together!

 

[1Winston]

We did our second disney cruise in Jan and our daughter was 1 and son was 3. They had a blast! They both played in Nemo's reef. My son went on the aqua duck and in the pools and we took turns with our daughter in the splash pad. They both loved the character meets as well as the pirate party and sail away party. They both loved mini golf and just exploring the ship.
The beach was a highlight for all of us both times. We did Atlantis with my son on our first cruise but skipped it last time. Because they loved castaway cay so much we actually booked a back to back on the dream next March so they can enjoy two trips to the island.
We didn't get to any shows with them because they were too late. We really enjoyed ourselves. Our son went down to the kids club but they were fairly empty and he decided he would much rather stay with us.
You should go, you will love it!
Hope this helps!!

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

We waited to cruise until our kids were both old enough to go into the clubs. I was happy with that decision. I can't imagine having to tell a child that they can't go in the pool or into the club. We took our kids to WDW from the time they were babies and had a blast. I'm glad we waited on the cruise until they were old enough to remember it as well.

 

[1Winston]

When we first cruised with our son he was 18 months and we didn't think he'd remember any of it. But he did. When we booked again when he was 3 he asked about the minigolf if they still had that! You'd be surprised what they do remember! If you can do it without breaking the bank do it. As far as the kids clubs my son who was almost 4 on ou last cruise was more interested in hanging with us and his sister than there. It all depends on your child. My daughter was just as happy in nemos reef and didn't fuss about the pool. Don't get me wrong this march my son will be almost 5 and my daughter 2.5 and we are excited about how much more they will be able to do and see. This time my son will be able to watch the shows and the fireworks. He's so excited already about the fireworks. It's very individual but we have no regrets about the three cruises my son has already done. It is a wonderful family vacation for us. We also have added days at Wdw and to be honest we find those much less enjoyable and much more stressful. Good luck with your decision!

 

[momof2n2]

We just had our 1 & 3 year olds in the 4-night. We had a blast. Used the open house times and generally just sat on deck with 1 year old hanging with us. Did not use nursery as it just isn't a fit for us. Plenty to do though.

 

[cisobe]

When we first cruised with our son he was 18 months and we didn't think he'd remember any of it. But he did. When we booked again when he was 3 he asked about the minigolf if they still had that! You'd be surprised what they do remember! If you can do it without breaking the bank do it. As far as the kids clubs my son who was almost 4 on ou last cruise was more interested in hanging with us and his sister than there. It all depends on your child. My daughter was just as happy in nemos reef and didn't fuss about the pool. Don't get me wrong this march my son will be almost 5 and my daughter 2.5 and we are excited about how much more they will be able to do and see. This time my son will be able to watch the shows and the fireworks. He's so excited already about the fireworks. It's very individual but we have no regrets about the three cruises my son has already done. It is a wonderful family vacation for us. We also have added days at Wdw and to be honest we find those much less enjoyable and much more stressful. Good luck with your decision!

Similar experience. My son was 20 months old on our first cruise last year. He still remembers the cruise very well, and talks about it. Everytime there's a cruise ship in port here, he points at it, and says Mickey Boat Mickey Boat!

We all really enjoyed our cruise, and probably more so because we spent the entire trip together, except for a couple instances when we checked him in to the nursery for Palo Brunch and Dinner. We live in Hawaii, so our son was still somewhat on Hawaii time so everything was 5 hours ahead... We had second dining, so he was able to watch all the shows with us (he really like them, except for Toy Story), and he was still up and in a decently good mood for dinner.

Our next cruise is October 2015, on the EBPC. My son will be 3 (almost 4). We are expecting and our daughter should be her this October, so she should be 1 or almost 1 when we cruise next year. I'm interested to hear more from others about cruising with 2 younger kids.