Is it worth cruising if you have a 2 year-old

[invalid_char]

Our children will be *almost* 3 and *almost* 6 by the time we plan on cruising next spring. We have done WDW 4 years in a row but need a year off.

My question is whether or not it is worth going if you have a 2 year old who is not old enough for the clubs. Many of the excursions appear to not allow children this young and I've been told there is no guarantee of space in the nursery. I'm not sure the nursery would even be fun for her anyway.

it is a pity they can't be more flexible as our younger daughter is extremely mature for her age and could easily pass for a 3 year old even now (she is just shy of 2)

We only like to travel in the spring... do you think we should just wait an extra year before we cruise so she can enjoy the clubs and we can know definitely that we will be able to go on the excursions?

Thanks for your help!

 

[kcashner]

If you're child is "almost" 3, why not wait a few months till you are at the 3 and potty trained point--lot's easier for mom.

I guess the real answer to this is a personal issue, but the FREE programming with essentially unlimited hours sure beats limited, expensive babysitting. Of course, you could get one of those kids who is concerned that mom is having too much fun without her and doesn't want to stay in the club.....Personally, I'd wait.

 

[invalid_char]

Hi kcashner

Thanks for the response. My daughter has been potty-trained for quite a while (very mature as I mentioned). So that's really not a concern. I just have no idea what the availability is at the nursery and whether or not it is a place where she might have fun.

Those are my concerns.

 

[CM_Mom]

She can get some pleasure out of the Club if you go and stay with her. Also, I've seen several different opinions about Flounder's for two year olds. Some posters kids have loved it and some felt it was too babyish. Depends on how busy they are and who else is there.

I think the cost of Flounder's is a wash when you consider that you pay considerably less for a 2 yo than a 3 yo for the cruise in the first place.

Can't really help you make the decision since my first cruise was when DD was 25 and a CM!

 

[lbgraves]

Goodness, if she is already PTd then by the spring you should not have a problem with letting her go to the club on a trial basis. That is the main thing they expect. If she is use to group settings and can follow directions, she should do just fine. You would simply need to go meet with the Club counselors on the first day and talk to the director. They will talk to your DD & make their decision.

I wouldn't let that determine if you are going on the cruise though. My 3 yo DD was just getting PTd...since then we have had to start all over...but she just didn't want to go to the club except once. DS loved the club & DH & I still had one of the most relaxing vacations ever!!! DD really liked playing in the Mickey pool most mornings over going to the club with her brother.

 

[aprilgail2]

I cruised with my 2 1/2 year old and we had a blast...she only went to flounders once and hated it so we spent the whole rest of the cruise doing things together, it was great! We did a beach excursion and we both had a good time there and we just enojyed being with each other without me having to cook or go to work etc....the benefit to going when she is under 3 is you only pay port charges!

 

[lkohawaii]

The difference between my friends 5 year old and my almost three year old was $700. My almost 3 year old only pays port fees no food fees or programing fees. I think I heard this from Costco (who I booked with or maybe was from a TA). At that rate I can pay for many many hours in flounders. I think it's $6 an hour and 2 hour min. Looking at it that way I decided to go.

 

[Bopperdoodle]

I just got back from my July 4th Wonder Cruise. My daugter will not be 3 until the end of Sept. She has been potty trained since she was 2. She is also in daycare. I told the CM's and they let her be in the Oceaneer Club. She loved it. I was totally confident that going to the potty would not be a problem. They asked if she could go all by herself because they are not allowed to help. I asked if the toilets were small enough for her to get up on by herself and they said yes. I assured them that they would not have a problem and they let her stay. She had a wonderful time.

 

[Bopperdoodle]

I also want to add this information to the above. I also have a daughter that is 7 and was in the club. I thought it would be great that they were in the same club. But, they move the kids around and the 5-7's went to the lab some. They were not always together. They did tell me that my 2 yo cried when my 7yo left. But they got her mind off of it and she was o.k. Just thought you may want to know.

 

[grlzmom]

We had 2 3/4 year old on Disney Magic in June. She did great in the Club (potty trained since 23 months). Our 18 month old twins loved Flounders, but I dont think my almost three year old would have enjoyed it very much.

She managed the bathroom alone just fine while in the club.

Excursions were not a problem for us since we dont book them through Disney, we book on our own and the age restrictions are different.

If they let her have a trial in the club I bet she will love it. I DO NOT however enjoy putting them in the club alone on the first evening, it is a little overwhelming, very crowded and a little chaotic. After that, its like a totally different place.

 

[beattyfamily]

It's a tough one. We've done the cruise twice with a 2 year old and the first time we did a Nassu tour with our 2 year old. We enjoyed it.

The second cruise we didn't bother with any excursions.

Even though they weren't old enough for the clubs we/she still had a GREAT time!

Our older DD was 5 on our last trip and still didn't want to to the clubs anyway. Don' know how she feels about our upcoming November cruise when she'll be 8??

It depends on what is most important to you. If excursions and putting her in clubs is important, then wait, if not, then don't wait, she'll have fun no matter what!

 

[epjenk]

We have cruised twice with my almost three year old, but he wasn't potty trained either time so he used Flounders. If your daughter is used to going to a day care type situation, she should be fine in Flounders- but it is just a babysitting type thing. It is a little boring for the older 2's as it is really geared more toward babies. On our last cruise, Snow White did come in and read stories to the babies in Flounders, which my son thought was cool. If it doesn't work out for her in the club, you do get to make two priority reservations at Flounders when you board. I would just be sure to board early and go to Flounders as soon as it opens to get those reservations during your excursions, then do the trial at the club. Just be sure to cancel any Flounders reservations early enough to not be charged.

 

[clh2]

This is certainly a loaded question...with many different correct answers. It really depends on what you want out of your cruise. Since we generally only take a "big" vacation about every 4 years...I would wait. If we could afford a cruise every year - I would go in a minute.

 

[invalid_char]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your kind responses.

I did not realize that they would allow someone under 3 into the clubs, but I'm not surprised either that the underlying issue relates to potty-training.

... a couple of follow-up questions

1) Would my 5 year-old be in the same *club*?

2) What is *the lab*?

Thanks again!

 

[CM_Mom]

The Oceaneer's Club is the child care area for the 3-7 year olds. They are divided into two groups, the 3-4s and 5-7s. The Oceaneer's Lab is the area for 8-12 year olds. They are divided into 8-9s and 10-12s.

You might want to check out www.dcltribute.com/navigators and click on a cruise to view the kids and teens navigators for the activities they do with each group. If you're fairly new to cruising, you probably want to look at the adult Navigators as well to give you an idea of the activities available to the grown ups.

Your five year old would be in the same area, same check in desk, but not the same group for most activities.

 

[lbgraves]

When we cruised my 5 yo DS was signed up with the 3-4 group so that he could stay with DD when she went to the club. He actually misses the school cutoff date so he was in a 4 year old preschool & when I looked at the activities in the navigators that were posted here I knew that he would enjoy the programs in the 3-4 group more. Your 5 yo may be bored with the younger programs, but that is an option to keep them together.

 

[mrsltg]

We went on a 3 day cruise when Dierdre was 2. We had a blast with her! We sailed NCL and she didn't like their kids programs so she stayed with us. It was just so nice being together with no rushing to go here or there, no housework, no cooking, just the 3 of us. I wouldn't hesitate to take a 2 year old!

Erin

 

[bill kellum]

my oldest grandson [4] has been on seven cruises and his first was when he was six months old.his brother[1] has been on one cruise and we will be on the wonder again in september.to my oldest grandson he just simply sees this as normal and part of his life,his brother will expect the same.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

but the FREE programming with essentially unlimited hours sure beats limited, expensive babysitting

FREE??? I would hardly call them free.

While that might sound great, you have to remember the fare for age three and up is significantly more than for a 2yo and below. For "infants", you only pay port charges (about $100). For children age three, I the fare STARTS at over $300 for a four day cruise. That's a $200 difference and is equivalent to 33 hours of babysitting time in flounders.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

We did a 4 days cruise in October 2002 with our then 2 1/2 year old dughter. We used Flounder's once, and she liked it -- they watched Disney movies, sang Disney songs, and played a lot with her.

Every day since Octoner 2002, she has begged to go on another cruise. She and we had an amazng time -- she loved interacting with the characters, loved walking around Nassua and Castaway Key, and generally just loved the cruise. We spent a lot of time just doing the activities on the boat, and didn't really need babysitting for her.

We're going back -- for a 7 day this tme -- with our now 4 year old and her 18 month old sister.

My only caveat is that we live outside of Orlando and go to WDW a LOT, so my kids both became Disney freaks at a very young age.