Going on the magic with a 2yr on 04/20/2012

[Sheafamily2010]

Any advise on what to pack, things to do with our sweet 2yr old daughter on the ship? Plus we're going to the keys and we've never been anything fun we shouldn't miss out on? Thanks

 

[justhat]

We're going 3/31 with our kids, youngest of whom will be 2yo. She's our 3rd so I have to admit we won't be packing anything special for her, other than her sleep friends. We're hoping she'll be potty trained by then so she can use the pool, if not, I guess the splash area it is! Other than that, she very recently decided characters can be pretty cool, and not so scary, so we'll plan on lots of photos this time. Open house times in the Club, Flounders when we're at Palo/Remy, and maybe some other random times if we get off the ship just to walk around.

It's a Western, right? We're doing the Xcaret excursion in Cozumel and last time we did the Western (my older 2 were 4yo and 20 months) we did, ugh, totally escaping me, but the one with the alligator/croc lagoon, beach with snorkel option, open air bus in Cozumel. Kids enjoyed it. In Key West we walked to the aquarium and went to the butterfly farm. Then we went to an ice cream/cupcake shop and that was a huge hit. Don't remember the name but within walking distance of the pier, but it was nearly 4 years ago so who knows. Grand Cayman we did the Turtle Farm, Hell, and rum factory or something like that. This time we are buying passes to Boatswains for the day, though not through DCL as it is cheaper on our own.

We've also taken the kids to shows at all ages. Some they enjoy, some not so much, but they pretty much sat through all of them without issue, even my wiggly ones.

 

[BurTam]

We're on the SAME cruise and my youngest DD is 2 as well (although turning 3 in June) My DD is potty trained so I'm hoping that MAYBE she might be able to go into the clubs with her older sister who is 5? (Although from what I understand, DCL is being more strict with that now?) We'll see.

I did look up a few excursions that my YDD might be able to take part in. I believe the dolphin encounter at Blue Lagoon is one of them and she would be free with a paying adult. Otherwise, I think we might just hang out at the beaches and maybe hit the trolly tour or butterfly farm in Key West.

As for what to bring, we aren't really bringing anything special for them. Just their princess dresses of course , my YDD's puddle jumpers for the pool/beaches and possibly an insulated cup with straw and lid. I may deliver a special gift basket to our stateroom beforehand with things like sand toys/games, etc and snacks for the shows as well.

I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread for more ideas though. It's coming up fast!

 

[Sheafamily2010]

Lol yeah we have all the princesses dresses ready to go. We've starting potty training but I'm not rushing her just for a cruise. We're planning to do the glass boat boat tour at castaway cay, staying on the ship at the Bahamas I don't really like nassau. I need to look into the butterfly garden.

 

[lisalisa143]

We sailed the Magic Dec 3-10 and my DD was 2 1/2 yrs old, fully self sufficient potty trained and we were told no she could not go into the clubs unless 2 months within her 3rd birthday. She will not be 3 until the end of May. I did reserve Flounders for our Palo brunch & she had a blast however I did find the kids in there were younger but the staff kept the kids occupied and had plenty of art work for them to do. I was VERY satisfied overall considering at first I thought it was "too baby" for her.
I found the pool too crowded so I opt to keep her in the splash pool and she had a blast.
We were able to dock at CC but reading some of the post, the weather has been crazy so just have a plan in case you are not able to dock.
Some parents had DVD players at the dining room table, however our server gave my DD washable colors and taught her to draw on the tableclothes. I was skeptical at first but they insisted and even drew/colored with her.
We did not really pack special toys & with that being said, she always had something to do.

 

[dizneygirl123]

We will be on this cruise as well!! Your 2 yo will have a blast. We cruised last year with 60 some friends / family. This year a few more are going and the kids range in age from 2-17 and they will all have a blast.

 

[Gailpi]

We took our 18 month old on the Med cruise in 2010. He went to the nursery and had a great time. We went back in Feb 2011 for the western C when he was 2 and 4 months and again in Apr on the Mexican Riviera cruise and he wanted nothing to do with the nursery. So, we ended up taking him on simple shore excursions-he broke a pinata in Cozumel, we went to the aquarium in Key West and the turtle farm in GC. Fortunately, for us he cooperated in Europe when we adults really wanted to see the sites.

 

[Sheafamily2010]

I think we'll do the aquarium and Butterfly conservation on the keys. I'm a stay at home mom and ive never left her before. So that's 2 years of no alone time other then naps and after she goes to bed. I'm looking forward to putting her in flounders nursery for awhile. Lol

 

[Namsupak]

Our 2.5 yo DD is already a gold member...which is insane when I really think about it. Any way we did the WBTA and she was 2 and 2 months. We just did the Dream at 2.5 last week. She enjoys meeting all the characters.

I'm pretty sure if you're on a 7 night cruise then they'll do tea time with Alice. They didn't have it in the navigators you just have to go ask at guest services for tickets because there's limited availability. She loved it! They give the kids apple juice and cookies. It's fun and something different.

Ours does great at the nursery and we're in no rush to potty train so she'll be in there our next cruise too. I would actually prefer to leave her in Flounder's until she's older because it makes me nervous to have her with older kids. She's small and I'm afraid they would run over her.

You can also get a diaper genie in your room and a pack in play. We spend a lot of time in our room on our own verandah and we bring tons of magnets so she can play with them while we're getting ready in the morning. They'll stick to 3 of the doors in your room.

There's also a special play time at the splash zone where the nursery staff brings out little water toys. Mine spent the whole hour filling up a bucket with water and dumping it out. When they take away the toys you can use one of the disposable cups for water play that way you don't have to pack anything special.

HTH

 

[Sheafamily2010]

Thanks I love all this advise.