Should I do a cruise?

[erieckers]

Ok so I am looking for some advice, I am a single mom with a 2.5 year old. We are going to Disney world for his first time ( my 2nd) this September with grandma and grandpa. I am considering a cruise next year for just the two of us. Am I crazy? What are the best times to cruise? What times of year can I get the bet discounts? And will a then 3 or 3 1/2 year old enjoy it? Thank you in advance for all you tips and advice

 

[jdb in AZ]

Ok so I am looking for some advice, I am a single mom with a 2.5 year old. We are going to Disney world for his first time ( my 2nd) this September with grandma and grandpa. I am considering a cruise next year for just the two of us. Am I crazy? What are the best times to cruise? What times of year can I get the best discounts? And will a then 3 or 3 1/2 year old enjoy it? Thank you in advance for all you tips and advice

Your son needs to be completely potty-trained before he can go in the kids' clubs. The most expensive cruises are during school breaks, especially the Christmas holiday cruises. If a cruise isn't selling well, Disney will sometimes offer last-minute deals, but I wouldn't look for any discounts during the summer or spring break season, and definitely not during the holly-daze.

During the fall hurricane season, cruises tend to be priced lower, for obvious reasons.

 

[wcw57]

as a Dad and , now, Grandpa I can tell u that your child will enjoy SOME of the cruise BUT you would be better served somewhere else...and somewhere less expensive....

being alone with a 3.5 yr old just about eliminates you from shows, a nice dining rotation, and other activities....the child will like the pool and, MAYBE< the characters...


do Sesame Place instead...more geared for that age group and easier for a single parent


wait until......I say.....six years old

 

[tdbdolphin]

Ok so I am looking for some advice, I am a single mom with a 2.5 year old. We are going to Disney world for his first time ( my 2nd) this September with grandma and grandpa. I am considering a cruise next year for just the two of us. Am I crazy? What are the best times to cruise? What times of year can I get the bet discounts? And will a then 3 or 3 1/2 year old enjoy it? Thank you in advance for all you tips and advice

I check the Disney cruise website weekly and when I see a good price I book. February I got kids sail for free (don't expect that back haha) this time the cruise dropped and an on board credit) if you book and you have a good travel agent she will let you know if price goes down or a sale and let you take advantage of the deals. Sometimes people get upgrades for no additional price. It's a gamble. We took our daughter at 2 and she loved the cruise we didn't even use the kids club there was too much to do. Also, you don't have to get off the ship so that's one less stress to worry about. I'd take a 4 or 5 day your first time then go on a longer cruise next time that's what we did! Good luck!

 

[liberty6201]

as a Dad and , now, Grandpa I can tell u that your child will enjoy SOME of the cruise BUT you would be better served somewhere else...and somewhere less expensive....

being alone with a 3.5 yr old just about eliminates you from shows, a nice dining rotation, and other activities....the child will like the pool and, MAYBE< the characters...

do Sesame Place instead...more geared for that age group and easier for a single parent

wait until......I say.....six years old

I took my almost 3 yo (non potty trained) son 3 years ago and he LOVED it. No he didn't go in the kids club but he absolutely loved the shows ( even tho he didn't sit through an entire tv show at home), loved the servers in the dining room (and they loved him) and adored all the characters. Obviously he didnt want to do activities but we had an awesome time anyway, going back this summer

 

[mrssmiddy]

I'm not a single mom, so I can't say I would know for sure, but my experience with cruising, and as a mom, says you might better enjoy it if you wait until your child is potty trained and old enough to go to the kids club. They will get to have some fun time, while you get some down time too. There are plenty of fun things to do with your little one, but it is nice to get a little break for you too.

 

[erieckers]

I'm not a single mom, so I can't say I would know for sure, but my experience with cruising, and as a mom, says you might better enjoy it if you wait until your child is potty trained and old enough to go to the kids club. They will get to have some fun time, while you get some down time too. There are plenty of fun things to do with your little one, but it is nice to get a little break for you too.

He is mostly potty trained now, so I would expect/hope that in a year or so, he would be fully potty trained. What are the age ranges for the kids club?

 

[erieckers]

I took my almost 3 yo (non potty trained) son 3 years ago and he LOVED it. No he didn't go in the kids club but he absolutely loved the shows ( even tho he didn't sit through an entire tv show at home), loved the servers in the dining room (and they loved him) and adored all the characters. Obviously he didnt want to do activities but we had an awesome time anyway, going back this summer

I don't think he would like Sesame Street place since he is not into Elmo or any of those characters at all. I think (out trip this September will tell) that he would really love the characters. I'm honestly a little worried about leaving him with other people. (I know I'm crazy) I would hope that a cruise would give us time to spend together with out all the day to day distractions. Are there still things to do if I don't drop him off at a kids club everyday? Can we go to the club together?
Thanks so much for all the advice and thoughts! I really love to see everyone's different perspective .

 

[ksloane]

From a single mom.....

Only you know your child, but I would for sure set the goal of 100% potty trained.

Many mentioned the shows. I personally think the shows are a big part of our cruise so I'd be disappointed to miss them. My daughter went to her first movie at 3 months old, and I have never had to take her out of the theater so by 3, it would have been no problem to have her sit through the shows and love them, but again, only you know if that would be a possibility for your child.

If I had the money when my daughter was that young, we'd have cruised for sure (probably would have found the money now that I know how much we love it).

Maybe you could find a 3 or 4 nighter to test the waters.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

He is mostly potty trained now, so I would expect/hope that in a year or so, he would be fully potty trained. What are the age ranges for the kids club?

Nursery up to (and including) age 3; Oceaneer's Club/Lab 3-12; Edge - 11-14; Vibe 14-17.

 

[GusGus77]

I think it sounds awesome and you should go for it!!! My 2 yr old could sit through the shows and he doesn't sit still usually, so I don't see any reason why you couldn't go to those things and don't understand why everyone says dining would be an issue. Sure, it may be difficult at times as with any meal with a child, but I don't think impossible. Plus, if he is completely potty trained you have the kids club and can have some well deserved time for just you while he is having a blast!!!!!

 

[cruisecrasher]

First two occupants are charged full adult fare...that's mighty expensive for such a little cruiser. Just my opinion of course.

 

[ksloane]

First two occupants are charged full adult fare...that's mighty expensive for such a little cruiser. Just my opinion of course.

Very true, but as a single mom, that's going to be the case until he's an adult. It sucks each time I have done it, but you just suck it up.

 

[meajuly5]

as a Dad and , now, Grandpa I can tell u that your child will enjoy SOME of the cruise BUT you would be better served somewhere else...and somewhere less expensive....

being alone with a 3.5 yr old just about eliminates you from shows, a nice dining rotation, and other activities....the child will like the pool and, MAYBE< the characters...

do Sesame Place instead...more geared for that age group and easier for a single parent

wait until......I say.....six years old

Different perspective: I took my kids at age 1.5 and 4.5 and then 3 and 7. They loved it!!! We made it through the shows, did fine with dining even tho on late. They loved the characters, the shows, the tea and dancing in the promenade area. We did many family activities and the loved our beach days. Personally, I would wait until trained to give you option of kids club bc nursery may be too young. Also gives you the option of the pool. My kids lived the Mickey slide

 

[Spurr002]

Like wcw57 said, if your decision is based on your child's age I too would say wait until their older. For my first cruise I was 5 and in the Oceaneer's Club, and according to photos and my parents I had the time of my life, but now unfortunately 10 years later I don't remember a single thing about the vacation. Obviously he would enjoy it during the cruise and for a few years after. I don't know your full situation, but if this is going to be a once in a lifetime or twice in a lifetime trip (I know how crazy expensive DCL cruises are haha) then I'd say IMO wait until he is 6 or 7. Hope that helps!

 

[cruisecrasher]

Very true, but as a single mom, that's going to be the case until he's an adult. It sucks each time I have done it, but you just suck it up.

All I meant was consider bringing grandma, a sister, a friend of mine who'd enjoy the cruise at the adult rate. Or just enjoy the special just y'all time.
Whichever you want!
If you aren't picky about dates, last minutes *GT rates are really inexpensive, relatively. Especially if you're willing to do an interior cabin while schools are running. Keep checking around...

 

[wcw57]

it's going to be hard to get on objective opinion here on the DCL boards....EVERY ONE OF US LOVES THE SHIPS!!

kinda like asking a priest if he thinks you should convert to Judaism!

 

[erieckers]

it's going to be hard to get on objective opinion here on the DCL boards....EVERY ONE OF US LOVES THE SHIPS!!

kinda like asking a priest if he thinks you should convert to Judaism!

Lol

 

[jjje]

I don't subscribe to the line of thinking that you shouldn't do things with kids until they're older because they're not going to remember it anyway. If that was the case why not just keep them in a cardboard box for the first few years of their life since they won't remember it when they're older?

I think there's lots of stuff the two of you could do together. During the Open House times at the clubs you can play and do activities together like cookie baking and flubber making. There are games and crafts scheduled throughout the day around the ship. The shows, the food, the pool, the characters, so many things for a young kid to enjoy.

 

[Silverfox97]

Our daughters first DCL cruise was a 3 1/2. She was potty trained at 28 months, so that wasn't an issue. We did a 5-night double dip on the Wonder and everyone loved it! We still kept a schedule tho, including her nap time. Happy child = happy everyone else. We let her go to the kids club for ~1 hr at a time once a day to test if we could go to Palo (and she'd never had a babysitter at home). We went to Palo and we all enjoyed ourselves She's now 6 and has been on 7 DCL cruises and still remembers things from her first cruise (even our stateroom number and favorite FE gift). I would certainly recommend it!!!

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