4-year old on the Fantasy

[PattiPB]

We are heading on the Fantasy in January with our adult kids and 4-year old grandson. It's been DECADES since I used the kid's club or brought a child on a cruise ship! I'd LOVE to hear all of the tips and tricks and things to remember to make this a core memory for my little boy.

It's a Double-dip cruise, so I'd love tips for the private islands, too! TIA~

 

[mjkacmom]

The memories are more for you. We took a trip to WDW and a Disney cruise with the grandparents when our 2 youngest 2 months shy of 5, had a great time (surprised them the morning of), they are 21 and don’t really remember it (but I do).

 

[WinterSolider]

A lot is going to depend on his personality. Some kids love the clubs and want to spend their entire cruise in them, including skipping dinners, skipping shows, etc. Other kids are overwhelmed by the relative chaos and would rather be off doing things with their families.

I'm am very much on team "family vacations are for family time" and we use the clubs sparingly, maybe an hour or two per day and only on sea days. Most of our time on the ship is spent doing activities (get familiar with the Navigator app quickly) and on the pool deck. Our kids love the dining rooms and the main theater shows, and their fondest memories of cruises are the interactions with the dining room service team.

For reference, we've cruised 5 times since the COVID reopening with kids the following ages:

7, 4, and 1 (double-dip)
7, 4, and 2 (double-dip)
7, 4, and 2 (Alaska)
8, 5, and 3 (Bermuda out of New York)
9, 6, and 4 (Mediterranean)

Two of those were double-dips, and our favorite thing to do was just to rent a few floats for the family (they have a discounted rate if you rent for both days) and plop ourselves on the edge of the water.

My general advise for Walt Disney World vacations applies to cruises too... make sure everyone gets enough sleep, which probably means making sacrifices. For us, we do really well beating the crowds in the early morning so we tend to skip late-night activities and go to bed early. Other people might want to stay up later for the shows which means they're going to need to sleep in or take naps. If you let anyone get exhausted, you're all going to end up crabby and fighting no matter how much you tell yourself you won't.

 

[Marthasor]

The memories are more for you. We took a trip to WDW and a Disney cruise with the grandparents when our 2 youngest 2 months shy of 5, had a great time (surprised them the morning of), they are 21 and don’t really remember it (but I do).

Others may have different experiences, but this is ours as well. We have traveled quite extensively with DS16 starting when he was very young and he doesn't really remember much about his trips prior to age 7. DH and I remember though and we all had a ton of fun together.

 

[auntlynne]

What I remember from childhood is no trauma. Nothing forced. Just having happy times.

Seeing you having fun with your adult children is a great gift.

Other than that, on Boarding Day, go to Open House for the kids’ clubs. Let him see what’s available and find out the rules for who can pick him up. Possibly, there is registration pre-cruise (someone here should be able to tell you).

Know the toileting rules. For the clubs and water area. No swim diapers in pools.

No floats are allowed at Lookout Cay, but okay at Castaway Cay. I imagine this includes arm floaties. There should be life jackets at both.

In the past, the Kids Club counselors came to the Main Dining Rooms and escorted children to the clubs. That is no longer the case.

Other children may be dressed in costumes of Disney characters at various times.

There are lots of times for character meets and greets. Some kids enjoy this. Any character is only available for a fixed period. Get there early enough or don’t hype it up to have child let down. There is a schedule posted each day.

But that is pretty much the bottom line: just go and enjoy. You ever know what will make his day. It’s like enjoying boxes more than the actual gift.

Keep the phone/camera charged. Take lots of photos of the family enjoying themselves. I enjoy looking at my childhood photos (limited by those 12-photo rolls). It lets me know the fun I had.

 

[auntlynne]

Pack a sand bucket and shovel.

 

[lanejudy]

No floats are allowed at Lookout Cay, but okay at Castaway Cay. I imagine this includes arm floaties. There should be life jackets at both.

No arm floaties. Only US Coast Guard approved items such as life jackets, puddle jumpers, etc. And yes the cruiseline does provide life jackets in various sizes both onboard and at the islands.

 

[PattiPB]

Thank you all for your comments! Keep 'em comin'!!!

 

[sponica]

I'm not familiar with the Fantasy (I've been on the Dream but that was pre-kid) so no comment on the kids club.

My 3.5 year old did well with characters and ice cream. I think her favorite thing was getting Mickey bars for dessert with dinner and getting ice cream on the pool deck.

 

[MomOTwins]

My husband and I discovered we should book adult activities (spa, drink tastings etc.) at different times as solo guests rather than a couples activity--this gave us the option to trade off with the kid if he didn't like the kids club or needed a nap. We would also trade off in the mornings and evenings--one parent stay in the room, while the other went out and about. We also skipped excursions--too often, being stuck in buses or waiting areas with a little kid and then being stuck in the sun with no way to get back if a meltdown ensues is not a great plan. Really, at that age the key thing is just giving yourself flexibility to let the kid drive the schedule.

I know that kind of sounds like maybe we had a lousy time but we had a great time! Most of the time was spent hanging out as a family at fun little events on the ship or the splash area, with lovely dinners in the evenings made all the more lovely by amazing servers who kept our kid entertained with magic tricks and mickey ketchup.

 

[WinterSolider]

We also skipped excursions--too often, being stuck in buses or waiting areas with a little kid and then being stuck in the sun with no way to get back if a meltdown ensues is not a great plan.

A double-dip is the perfect itinerary for kids for this reason. We've done two double-dips and it's so easy to just treat the island as an extension of the ship rather than something you feel pressured to sightsee and experience to the fullest.

We've also done the exact opposite... Alaska and the Mediterranean where there was a lot of time and effort spent sitting in traffic on buses to the various sights. In those destinations, you feel like you don't have a choice because when the heck else are you going to see the Acropolis? By that point we felt like we were experienced cruisers (even the four year old had been on 5 at that point) so we were able to absorb it, but I totally agree that beginning cruisers should just experience the lightest itinerary possible. Enjoy the two island days and stay on the ship in Nassau.

 

[Anna131517]

Wait and see how the 4 yr old likes the kids clubs - he may love them or they may not be his thing. Same with the characters. Follow his lead.

My biggest tip is get the photo package and go down early before dinner to get family pictures. We have the best family pictures from DCL cruises! Unfortunately my in laws didn’t want to go down early with us so they’re not in the pictures we got - don’t make that mistake! I pack coordinating outfits for dinner each night.

 

[Lillebelle]

Do you think he'd be into the character meet and greets? Some kids really get excited by this, some don't. If yes, a few thoughts:

1) The characters will show up as 15 minute long activities in the navigator; this means the line is open for 15 minutes. However it usually takes them 30 minutes to work through the line, which means there's a period of time where you will pass by a character and want to line up but can't because the line's already been closed. If there's a particular character you care about, make sure you plan to get there on the early side of the window since many of the lines can get long.
2) There's a ticketed princess meet and greet you can reserve 30 days beforehand. It's free but you do need a reservation, and get to meet 4 princesses in the atrium.
3) Consider bringing the mat to a photo frame for him to have the characters sign; then you can frame a picture from the cruise in it. Maybe he won't remember much of the trip but he (or you) will have a nice memento.