Best ship and/or cruise for 4 and 5 year olds

[DisneyMom234]

I have two boys 4 and 5 and am wondering if any ship is a little more geared towards their age? Or any specific cruise that was just more fun then? What do you think? And why? TIA!!

 

[JMHDisney]

Magic! All the ships are great but for little boys, Avengers Academy and meeting Captain America is the coolest.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

At this point I'd have to agree with PP, meeting Captain America would be awesome. I've only been on Dream class ships and I love them. Also keep in mind the Dream is having a mini dry dock in November and part of one of the kids clubs will be getting reimagined to be like the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars.

Honestly though you can't go wrong with any ship. The only itinerary I wouldn't do would be a 3 night, that cruise has no sea days and those are really great to get a feel for the ship and what each ship has to offer.

 

[SwimMom2]

The Magic also has the Toy Story slinky slide in the kids clubs. My boys loved this. Your 5 year old would like the Twist and Spout slide ( maybe both would if they are more adventurous than mine). It is slower than it looks; not at all scary.

I bet you can't go wrong on a Disney ship. They are so good at having something for everyone.

 

[Trera]

I thought the Aqua duct, aqua lab, putt putt, nemo's reef, etc all on the Fantasy made for a great ship for younger kids. Magic was nice but they dont have nemo's reef and the aqua lab seemed smaller in comparison to the fantasy.

 

[DisneyMom234]

Sorry to sound dumb... Whats a dry dock? Also can you explain what the aqua duct and aqua lab are?

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Sorry to sound dumb... Whats a dry dock? Also can you explain what the aqua duct and aqua lab are?

Dry dock is when the ship goes in for renovations and/or improvements/additions, etc.

AquaDuck is a water coaster on the Dream and Fantasy:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/pools/aquaduck/

AquaLab is a water play area meant for the slightly older kids, not really toddlers unless they are potty-trained. It is on the Magic and Fantasy, I believe. (Maybe not the Magic--the DCL website is confusing me on that. Can someone confirm?)

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/fantasy/pools/aqualab/

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I think all of the ships would be a good fit for that age, but as some posters have mentioned above, some ships have added incentives you might want to check out. I would do Bahamas/Caribbean or Alaska with that age. They both have a lot that I think would appeal to my kid (who is younger than yours, though). For example he would love the beaches in the Bahamas and the train in Skagway, Alaska.

I would want to make sure they enjoyed cruising before going abroad to the Med or Norway. That's a big commitment if they end up not loving cruising.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

The only itinerary I wouldn't do would be a 3 night, that cruise has no sea days and those are really great to get a feel for the ship and what each ship has to offer.

I somewhat disagree. I think a three-night can still give you a good sense of whether you and/or your kids enjoy cruising without breaking the bank. We are pairing a three-day cruise with WDW this summer after having taken a three-day cruise a couple of years ago too. (I have also done seven-day cruises, previously, albeit on other lines.) Then, if our son likes it, our next cruise will most likely be longer.

However, if this cruise is going to be a one-time thing, I would say longer is probably the way to go!

 

[Trera]

AquaLab is a water play area meant for the slightly older kids, not really toddlers unless they are potty-trained. It is on the Magic and Fantasy, I believe. (Maybe not the Magic--the DCL website is confusing me on that. Can someone confirm?)

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/fantasy/pools/aqualab/[/QUOTE]
The Magic has an aqua lab but I remember it being not as fancy as the Fantasy one.

I think I assumed when they said they had a 4 and 5 year old that they were potty trained. I would think water loving kids of that age would enjoy some time in the aqua lab.

 

[amanda ek]

The Magic's aqualab is small and tucked in around the mickey pool. the one on the fantasy is larger and you really have to go look for it since its up on another deck. I liked the one on the Magic since it is right there in the middle of everything and not so windy and cold.
I agree that each boat has so many things that will be fun for your kids and you should pick based on itinerary, schedule, and price.

 

[Nikodemos]

My DS was 3.5 on the Fantasy in Nov 2014 while we were doing the West Carib run. He must have done the Mickey slide about 100 times that week, and spent a lot of time with the captain's wheel navigating the ship on the interactive artwork on the floor above the atrium. Unless you have a very tall 4-5 yr old, the Aqua Duct is not going to be an option. The kids club is hit or miss depending on the child. My DS was not a huge fan, but we did use it for the Palo Brunch which was nice. If your DS is not into afternoon naps, I would think the pool would be his favorite place (assuming a Carib run and not Alaska).