A cruise w/ a baby?

[Trinity721]

DH, DD and I just got back from a short trip to Disney. We have never even thought about taking a cruise, but since Disney is offering great rates now for military we are considering one for Mid-August. Would a Disney cruise be enjoyable for us and a 1-year old? What have been some of your experiences with taking a child this age on a cruise? It would be really helpful. Thanks!

 

[buzz&woody'smom]

We are also active duty military family and took advantage of DCL's discount last year and sailed the 4 day Wonder in late October. It was great! We sailed with our then 4 year old and 16 month old sons. I have to say the baby was a great age to cruise so I would think 12 months would even be easier. We took him to the aquariums at Atlantis and he loved the fish. He loved Castaway Cay and sat playing the in soft sand and gentle water all day (plan on taking lots of inexpensive sand toys from the $1.00 store etc. and a ball). For us it was worth it. Now on the flip side, he loved the meals and dinner, there was a lot to look at and the food is very baby friendly. He did not sit through one show so I found myself on deck 9 a lot doing laps with him in his umbrella stroller but he was happy. DCL provides a Graco style pack n play with disney sheets and he slept until 9:00 am and went to bed no problem.

Many other Dis's have traveled with little ones your babies age so I am sure they will reply. Good luck with your cruise, you really can't pass up the military discount and it will make it worth while in getting to sample DCL for a great price.

 

[DizzyLaura]

I'm going with a 16 month old too! I was wondering if Disney rents strollers or if I should bring my own. I am very nervous about keeping her entertained. I also feel the pressure of having to know when I need childcare when I embark. Are they open to having children add on later if there is room?? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Dizzy Laura

 

[jlima]

On your embarcation day be there at 1:30 and ask for every night . . . and if you get every night, teriffic; you can cancel up to 3 hrs before without penalty. We did this on our cruise, for our 16 mo old; we asked for every night + one afternoon for a spa treatment; and we ended up cancelling the Thursday afternoon reservation. This worked well for us; we spent time together during the day with him at meals, in the pools, etc but the evenings were adult time. The toys are age-appropriate; there are cribs for napping and the staff was great.

On 2 occasions on our cruise, while in Flounder's, parents came in while we were dropping off our little guy, to inquire if they could take in a child without a reservation and both times the answer was no, they were full for the evening. I would recommend making the reservations first, then cancelling as your plans change. Hope this helps!

 

[gassmandy]

I'll be travelling w/ a 7 and 1/2 month old and since I've had my cruise booked I have been checking these boardsfor any "wisdom" on taking a baby that young and I have to say it's all been positive so far. Looks like a lot of people feel that young of a child is easier than say a 2 or 3 year old--no chasing them down!!!!! I can't wait to dress her up in a princess costume and get her pictures taken with the princesses!!! That was one of my little neice's favorite parts of the cruise--meeting all the princesses.

 

[TiggerPU88]

We traveled last year with a one-yr-old and it was great. Here are some suggestions.

Get all the time in Flounders you can. I found that days were better than evenings, in general, because we didn't want the baby out in the sun in the middle of the day anyway. They only let you sign up for a limited number of sopots when you first get on the ship, but sometimes additional spots become available. Take them!

Go to the shows. Your baby will enjoy them and you can always leave if she/he doesn't.

Be prepared that you will probably not be able to linger over dinner. Our son is great in restaurants, but an hour is about his limit. The Disney staff is great -- just ask them to serve the baby as quickly as possible.

Enjoy the characters. This was the highlight of the cruise for our little boy. He loves the characters. The lines are relatively short (except for the princesses) and the characters appear often.

Enjoy Castaway Cay. It is a great place and there are shady places. If you get there early you can get an umbrella.

Have a great time!

 

[debm]

I have to say that I have experience here. My lucky baby has taken two cruises and he's not even 9 months old. (Took me 34 years to go on one!) We took him when he was "just" legally old enough (they have to be at least 12 weeks). It was a little bit easier at 3 months because he slept a lot and didn't mind being going everywhere. We just got off the Wonder last week and he is 8 months old. This time, since he is crawling around he wanted a little more freedom. I broke down and let him crawl--yicky!!---around a little on the floor in some places and of course in the state room. I do carry him in a sling though which I certainly wouldn't have been able to do without. That way my hands are free as he sits on my hip and I can deal with my other kids, or food, etc. easier. Plus if he falls asleep he just sleeps in the sling and we don't have to change our plans to go back to the stateroom. And it sure beats trying to push a bulky stroller around. The servers were excellent about getting him crackers, etc. at mealtime. It was also easy for us since he is still breastfed I didn't have to worry about bringing food onboard for him. And with all the healthy choices he just ate some things off our plates. During the shows, particularly if it was somewhat dark he would just nurse to sleep in the sling and we could enjoy the entertainment. We never did use Flounders. I wasn't really sure I wanted him chewing on all the toys in there anyway and in close contact with other kids. Plus I'm too cheap I guess.

We hope to go back next May when he will be 21 months. I hope he will like it much better then when he can interact more with the characters and enjoy the shows.

You will have a great time regardless of their age. I think it just makes it different each time you go. Have lots of fun!!!!

 

[Perchinske]

I have a 2 year old and was wondering what the fee is to put them in Flounders? Is it per hour? Do they give you a pager incase they need to track you down? Rena

 

[debm]

At this time it is $6 per hour for the first child in Flounders. There is a small discount for a second child. Yes, they will give you a pager too. If it works like the other children's areas then you get it for the entire cruise regardless of whether your child is in the area at the time. That way you are prepared with it whenever you might bring them.

 

[buzz&woody'smom]

That is true and with us since we enrolled a 4 year old in the 3-4 year old program they used the same pager for the few time we took our toddler. I found the staff and facilities great. The room was a little small compared to the other childrens areas but then not many of the children are full on walking, many are infants. They had every Fisher Price toys you could want, several of each toys, all clean and new. My son was not use to being with others other than family but I can tell you the CM's did everything they could to make him happy. In fact the first time he cried and they held him the whole time and then paged me. The 2nd time he went he cried so hard this nice male CM walked him up and down the halls and took him over to the 3-4 year area to see big brother which calmed him down. They waited and then paged me to tell me how upset he was after I was finishing desert. I was so upset he had been crying and I felt so guilty that I started crying and our server thought I did not like my desert and was saying "Tiffiny we can get you anything you want". Of course we laughed so hard bc she was so concerned and sweet. After that we kept him with us 24/7. It is just his personality. He has never been in daycare so the Flounders thing was foreign to him. My 4 year old DS was great in his program, he still liked to be with us more but had fun with the CM's and the activities. This time my youngest will be turning 2 on Monday and will be starting 1/2 day preschool in August so I am hoping when we cruise in October he will be easier to handle and he will be 2.5 years old.

Overall the CM's were great!

 

[kellyb2000]

How do you bring a stroller on board? Is it part of your carry on or do you check it in or what? I've never traveled with an infant and my son will be 9 months old when we cruise next. Also, what did you do about car seats and crazy taxi rides? I would hate to have to bring my big ol' car seat on board (how would you do that, too?) but will do what ever I have to.

 

[buzz&woody'smom]

For our toddler we pushed him on in his umbrella stroller which we used all week to get around the ship and ports. It was great and folded down when not in use.

 

[OurDogCisco]

We just pushed our stroller on with our 15 month old in it. We didn't use our stroller for much except for in port. I think, this age is great for traveling. Mine just learned to walk at 14 months old so, walking was new to her. She loved flounders. They gave us one page to use for both the nursery and kids clubs. We signed up on the 3 day for all the evenings. The CM's are great. I don't think she cried once at all and she hasn't been in daycare at all. I am hoping we'll be as lucky when we go next May and she'll be almost 3 years old. I hope she likes the clubs. But if not we'll take her with us everywhere. She loves hanging out with us so, I don't think it will be a problem. Good Luck!

Tina

 

[kellyb2000]

DUH! I never thought about my child actually being IN the stroller when we go on board. I told you I had never traveled with a child before.......

 

[cathyrob]

We traveled back in Feb. and my son was 15 months. He had a blast! He enjoyed Flounders the first two times, but after that, wasn't too thrilled with it. When we boarded, I went to Flounders and booked a day and night slot for each day except CC Day. I ended up cancelling many of them. He had more fun hanging out with all of us and playing with his water toys on the deck. At night we had had the early seating. He did very well. Our waiter always had his fruit and juice waiting for him. He sat through most of the shows, but he greatly enjoyed running around the basketball court at night. I highly recommend this. They are contained and it is a large area for them to run and play. It was nice because he would sleep or rest in his stroller so we didn't have to rush back to the room for naps or bed time. Although, we didn't mind going back in the late afternoon for his naps. That allowed my husband or I or even both of us to relax out on our deck before dinner. My son slept very well on the cruise and we often had to wake him in the morning so we could go have fun. Go and have a blast.