Activities for a 3 year old and her Mommy and Daddy?

[MandyMommytoReaghan]

Is there any activities that we can do with our daughter who will be 3 when we cruise. I don't like th idea of droppping her off at a kids club or nursery. Can we do some things with her. I don't want her to feel as if we have abandoned her. Any input would be greatly appreicated! TIA

 

[Ariel&Flounder'sMom]

Hello!

First, my oldest daughter is Reagan - and I love the name. Do you pronounce it like the former President?

Second, we sailed in March with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. My 2yr old DD wanted to be with her sister, so we spent a lot of time playing in the Oceaneer's Club. I couldn't leave her there - not potty trained and not 3 - but we still played a lot. She could play with playdoh, make the crafts, play on the pirate ship, dance with Snow White, and everything that the other kids were doing, we just had to stay with her.

I have to admit it was really fun to actually see all the kids having a blast - and not just drop them off and hear about it later. I felt much more connected and enjoyed it. Of course, at times I left Reagan there and put my younger one in Flounders and enjoyed parents only time.

You can obviously spend time at the pool, watch movies in the big theater, someone even mentioned flying a kite off a top deck in the back...

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[dletz]

My daughter was 3 when we cruised last time. She had never been in daycare, or left with others than family. When we went on the cruise, all she wanted to do was go to the kids clubs and have mommy and daddy leave her alone. There were lots of different activities, and shows to see. We saw the show they took the kids too, but our daughter didn't want to sit with us, so she stayed with the kids, and mommy and daddy watched the show alone. We made her eat with us most of the time, but she desperately wanted to eat with the clubs (we did let her eat with them a few times).

Take a look at some of the navigators you can find on different sites. They list all the activities. Not just the kid ones, but the daily ones as well. What I did was go through the old ones and mark which ones interested me (and there are a lot of family ones). Then when onboard i knew which ones to look out for. I think the activities are usually at the same time, and day, for each type of cruise, but there is no guarentee. I felt it was easier to know what i would be interested in ahead of time, so i had an idea of what i was looking for if i didn't have a lot of time to plan out.

 

[lbgraves]

When we first cruised with the kids DD was 3 and her favorite thing to do, in addition to the Mickey Pool of course, was meeting all of the characters & getting picutures taken with them. She was in heaven.

 

[ratfam]

Tea with Wendy Darling is a nice family activity if you are on a 7 night, I don't know whether they offer it on the shorter cruises. Tickets are free but you need to get them quickly, for us it was the afternoon we boarded, it was listed in the Navigator. We saw all the shows with our kids and enjoyed sharing that experience. The family dance parties can be fun, I think sometimes they are before dinner so they wouldn't be too late. The deck parties are also a lot of fun to attend as a family, especially pirate night if she can stay up that late.

 

[Lynderella]

Dancing. You would be amazed how many dance parties they had for the kids. Shuffleboard on deck 4. Even though they can't "play", my DD 4 and DS 2 loved trying. I borrowed a stroller from guest services so we could take walks around deck 4 and it was handy on port days. My kids loved the glass elevators and the pool.

Check the Club too. There are story times and other acitivies you could attend together. And there are the shows and the movie theater. Lots for you to do as a family.

 

[rsjj]

our DSs were 4 & 2 at the time...they loved exploring the ship! we would just stroll around everywhere, discovering new places! (i guess everywhere we went was new to us!) one area they really enjoyed was around the engine area...i think i was deck 4(?) where people can run around the ship (track?), and you come around to the front, and you get to see the engine(?) and all those rope/chain stuff...(i'm sure someone has the official ship name for that specific area!)

they did enjoy the character greet/meet, autograph frenzy time! and since our DS 2 was too young to go to the club, he wanted to stay with his older brother, so we stayed with him when we took our DS 4 to the club, and our DS 2 got to play with the big kids for a bit. that was fun too!

kite decorating!

bike riding at cc! they have those bikes with a baby/toddler seat thing!

pictionary!

karaoke! our DSs loved doing that! and dancing on the dance floor!

yes, there are lots of things to do with your little one/s! have fun!

 

[jodifla]

I second exploring the ship. There are so many great areas. The pool is always great fun, too.

And my DS, who was just shy of 3, actually found a favorite bar! He and his dad went there one night before dinner, and the bartender made him a Shirley Temple. Darned if he didn't drag us back there every day to flirt with the bartender and have another Shirley Temple. Oh, they also had a band, and he liked to dance.

Something tells me I'm going to have my work cut out for me when he's a teenager.

 

[CM_Mom]

Lots of things to do as a family but DO plan some time for her to be in the Club so you and your DH can spend some time alone together. It's your vacation too. Previous posters have recommended that each child participate in at least one activity in the Club without the parents. That gives the adults an hour or two to be adults.

My guess is that instead of wondering what to do, you'll have a problem fitting everything in your schedule.

 

[MandyMommytoReaghan]

Thanks so mcuh for all the ideas! I am excited to know about the bikes at CC have toddler seats on them.All of your ideas were wonderful. Ariel and Flounders Mommy, Yes we do pronounce her name like the president..I just added an extra "h" to vary the spelling a little. Thanks again for all of your ideas!!