How Young is Too Young?

[AJackson09]

I'm looking at a WDW/Cruise trip sometime next year. Our daughter will be 1 in January. How young is too young for a Disney Cruise? Any tips/advice?

Thanks!

 

[Trera]

our DD had her first trip right after her first birthday and she had a blast. She is 27 months old now and has been on 6 disney cruises since. We try to keep her on her schedule best we can which means a nap at 1 every day, early seating at dinner and no shows after because she goes to bed at 8. It means we dont get to do as much as we would like but we still have a great time.

When she was younger she would spend some afternoons in the nursery and take a nap but as she got closer to 2, we found she wouldnt nap there and would be cranky at night so we decided to make sure she napped in the room with one or both of us.

good luck.

 

[Twinprincesses]

Personally I would not take kid under 5 on a cruise but that is just me. Our girls were barely 5 on their first cruise and had a blast but we would not want to have to be tied to our cabin with a baby/toddler only bc I would feel I was spending a ton of money on a vacation I was not fully enjoying. A Disney Cruise is expensive so you would have to be OK not enjoying much of what Disney had to offer. Many others will disagree with me though since I have seen a ton of tiny ones on the cruises.

 

[Crystal O_o]

When we first went, I had a 2 and a 3 year old. We had a great time but the boys couldn't be together in the club since the youngest was 2. Which means the oldest didn't want to go either without his brother. So we decided that we wouldn't go on another cruise until they were both old enough for the club.

With that said, if you have no intentions of using the club I don't think anyone is too young. Except of course 6 months or younger.

Everyone has a different opinion on this. They ask this question a lot about the parks. I took my son when he was less then a year to the parks and I loved it. I think everyone has their own ideas of what works for their family.

 

[Crystal O_o]

Personally I would not take kid under 5 on a cruise but that is just me. Our girls were barely 5 on their first cruise and had a blast but we would not want to have to be tied to our cabin with a baby/toddler only bc I would feel I was spending a ton of money on a vacation I was not fully enjoying. A Disney Cruise is expensive so you would have to be OK not enjoying much of what Disney had to offer. Many others will disagree with me though since I have seen a ton of tiny ones on the cruises.

I don't know, I took a cruise last February and my sons were 3 and 5, and I spent hardly any time in the room. So I guess each family is different.

 

[smiths02]

I just got finished stating that taking young kids to Disneyworld is worth it. I think it depends on your financial situation, though. For us, I won't take the kids on a cruise until they are big enough for the kids clubs because the expense is just too much...if I'm not going to get a real break, I'd probably just go to WDW.
I would also be concerned about any possible medical issues. It seems much easier to treat kids over 2 and they seem to get sick far less.

 

[Sccrmnky2005]

I don't think any age is "too young". We took our daughter on her first cruise when she was 10 months old. Taking another next month she will be almost 22 months and another in December when she is just over 2 years old. So honestly no age is "too young" in my opinion. But everyone is different.

 

[Quellman]

Cruised with a 14 month old. Managed just fine. it is a much different vacation than when we cruised on DCL as adults without a kid. Disney provides plenty but be prepared to do less stuff unless you split up or spend a lot of time and money with the nursery. Staff was super great and we had a 4a cabin (VGT rate) and it allowed us to keep the pack-n-play up all day without being in the way. They have diaper genies in the room, and you can ship or order supplies for delivery to the ship on your sailing. Take advantage of open house nursery on sea days. Kids need toys and you can only pack so many. Bring more diapers than you think. We made it to the first port of call and had to replenish because our guy went through them quickly. We've also done Disney a handful of times and take advantage of nap times and seeing things we wouldn't normally do. Rider swap is a great perk. But if it comes down to disposable funds used for vacations, you might find going to a mountain cabin or a beach condo might be less stressful than taking a cruise and likely cheaper too.

 

[Trera]

I just got finished stating that taking young kids to Disneyworld is worth it. I think it depends on your financial situation, though. For us, I won't take the kids on a cruise until they are big enough for the kids clubs because the expense is just too much...if I'm not going to get a real break, I'd probably just go to WDW.
I would also be concerned about any possible medical issues. It seems much easier to treat kids over 2 and they seem to get sick far less.

We live 25 min or so from WDW and we havent even take our DD to disney yet. The crowds, heat, long lines, etc are not something i would subject our DD to at such a young age. On a disney cruise she gets treated like a princess by the CMs on board, she gets to stay on her schedule, the nursery staff is great for a short break during the day if we need it, there are princess meet and greets that have prearranged times, airconditioning when ever we need it, great splash area, movies, Castaway Cay, etc.

She gets the Disney experience without many of the negatives you have to deal with at the park when you have a 2 year old. When she is older and can wait patiently in line and can endure the hotter temps all day..........we will take her to WDW.

Just my opinion.

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Our first cruise, my youngest was 18 months old and it was great. However, I always advise people to wait until their child is at least 3-years-old for two reasons: So they can use the clubs and swim in the pools. You will have a great time with a little one, but it will be better when they are older. Our second cruise she was 3 and it was much better with more options for her. We didn't use the nursery and we don't "make" our kids go to the clubs, they actually love them!

As far as WDW goes, no one is too young in my opinion!

 

[Saamh]

We took our first cruise when our youngest was 2 and I wouldn't recommend cruising before 3 years old and potty trained for the same reason the previous poster mentioned. My daughter was not happy with only being able to go into the splash play area so we couldn't spend much time at all up on deck. We've been on 9 cruises since (she's now 7) and it's a totally different vacation when they can go to the clubs and enjoy the pools.

 

[Melissa S]

We took our first cruise (only have cruised DCL) when DD was 18 months. Perfect vacation for a baby. pregnant with baby number 2 and we plan on going again when he turns 1. Love how relaxing a cruise is. In addition to the family friendly activities, food is always available (DD will say she is not hungry and won't eat at a meal and then will be hungry ten minutes after we are done!), and the room is close by for naps.

 

[mmouse37]

Actually there is a "too young" rule. For the regular itineraries babies must be 6 months old to cruise. Some special itineraries require children to be at least 1 year old to cruise.

This is a fairly new change. DCL used to require children to be at least 12 weeks old to cruise but recently changed it to 6 months old.

MJ

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I don't think any age is too young, but here is the one thing I would worry about if I was taking a young child and it is this: What would happen if DH and I got sea sick or became ill. I would think it would be very difficult to care for a young child in a stateroom, at sea, if we were very, very ill throwing up , etc. It wouldn't be a picnic to be in a hotel room sick at DW either, but at least you could take the sea sick equation out of it. I am someone who always thinks of every worst case scenario and that one would be enough for me to wait a while.

Having said all of that, though, the chances of you going and everything being 100% magical are quite high! I say trust your gut and go with that. Have you ever cruised before? If you have an know what to expect, then I would think that would make your decision easier.

Good luck!

 

[hubbard53]

We took our 14 month old son and still had a blast - he did too. We made good use of the nursery and other kids club open houses. A small stroller was great! He went every where with us whether sleeping or awake. Obviously the vacation was for us, not him, so where the it's worth it or not is up to you.

Now that he's five, he loves the cruise and we get even more adult time!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Personally I would not take kid under 5 on a cruise but that is just me. Our girls were barely 5 on their first cruise and had a blast but we would not want to have to be tied to our cabin with a baby/toddler only bc I would feel I was spending a ton of money on a vacation I was not fully enjoying. A Disney Cruise is expensive so you would have to be OK not enjoying much of what Disney had to offer. Many others will disagree with me though since I have seen a ton of tiny ones on the cruises.

Why can't people still enjoy most of what Disney Cruise Line has to offer with a toddler? I don't understand that logic. I can do almost all of what I did on my first Disney cruise with my toddler this summer. We just won't be able to do Serenity Bay, but it was too windy for me last time anyway, and would have to take turns or use nursery if we wanted to use adult pool. But other than that, there is nothing I will be missing out on by taking a toddler. Instead, I feel I will be gaining so much more by seeing him with the characters he loves so much, playing on the beach, etc.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I'm looking at a WDW/Cruise trip sometime next year. Our daughter will be 1 in January. How young is too young for a Disney Cruise? Any tips/advice?

Thanks!

As long as babies are over the minimum age, which varies depending on the type of cruise, I think they are old enough. There is something for everyone on DCL!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

We live 25 min or so from WDW and we havent even take our DD to disney yet. The crowds, heat, long lines, etc are not something i would subject our DD to at such a young age. On a disney cruise she gets treated like a princess by the CMs on board, she gets to stay on her schedule, the nursery staff is great for a short break during the day if we need it, there are princess meet and greets that have prearranged times, airconditioning when ever we need it, great splash area, movies, Castaway Cay, etc.

She gets the Disney experience without many of the negatives you have to deal with at the park when you have a 2 year old. When she is older and can wait patiently in line and can endure the hotter temps all day..........we will take her to WDW.

Just my opinion.

You should try it in the cooler months! We took our LO to WDW at seventeen months this last November and had our best trip ever. It wasn't hot at all, and even though we were there at a somewhat busy time (Jersey week) we never waited long due to Fastpass Plus and strategic planning. The most we waited was like 20 minutes, but the average was probably five-ten minutes. (We just skipped long lines if we didn't have a Fastpass.) We had such a good time that we are planning a couple of days before our cruise next month, although this time it will be HOT!

 

[amanda ek]

we cruised last year when our daughter was 14 months. we had a great time and only used the nursery when eating in palo. we cruised this year when she was 26 months old and had an even better time! she LOVED meeting all the non-face characters. we could not get her out of the splash area, both on the boat and at castaway...so much fun! we put her in the nursery for nap time 12-2pm every at sea day. when we go on our next dis cruise jan 2016, our daughter will not yet be 3. my 9 month old nephew will be coming too! cant wait!

 

[coloradocutie]

We love cruising DCL with our little ones, but we go with adjusted expectations and have had wonderfully rich memories. We really love to travel with our little ones and have been doing so since they were very young, including multiple DL and WDW trips. We cruised DCL with a 13 m and 3 yo,and again at 2 and 5 and found that DCL was amazing for everyone in the family...(we took the oldest on another cruise line at 13 months and that was not a good experience- they did not "get" little ones. DCL really does- Diaper genies in the room, servers who cut the children's food, toddler rails on the beds if requested, not to mention how all of the staff go out of their way to help in any way). But we go into it realizing we will plan to move at the pace of the "lowest common denominator" ...as I recently read somewhere - They take naps daily (a priority to the point we plan the day around it) and we don't really plan excursions in the ports. We just walk around and enjoy the sights. We keep them on the MST (since we are from Colorado). DCL really is wonderful in all of the options that they have for all members of the family… not including the pure luxury of having someone cook and clean for you for a week- the best part for me as a mom!
Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your vacation and enjoy the memories with your little one!!