Cruising with a 2.5 YO

[lurontravel]

We are considering a Disney cruise with a 2.5 YO. FOr thoseof you who have been on the disney cruises before, do they allow that age child in the group activities and programs without mom and dad?
What can you tell us about the activities for 2 and a half yr olds and 4 and a half year olds? ( we also have a 4 yr old). Will we have any alone time with out our kids if we don't take a babysitter?
Thanks for your help.

 

[aprilgail2]

The 2.5 year old will be in flounders reef...I think it is about 6.00 an hour and they are only open at certain times, mostly in the evening.

 

[justcruisin]

We used Founders for DS during dinner and for a couple of hours on CC so we could snorkel with older DS. They were very nice and he appeared to enjoy himself. It really gave us some "down" time which we really appreciated.

 

[krhardy]

Did this last January with my 2 1/2 yr old. She did fabulous! We asked to talk to the Oceanears Club director, and explained that my daughter was in preschool 5 days a week, with me, and that she was COMPLETELY potty trained (they do not allow ANY pullups). The director "interviewed" her for lack of a better way to put it. She had her go through a couple of simple 1 and 2 step instructions. She said that was the biggie...since they take them from place to place, she had to be able to follow directions and stay with the group. And, of course, she had to be completely potty trained. She said she would have to contact me later in my stateroom. I guess they had to know how many they would have that week to know if they could take a trial. She called later, and said that they would take her on a "trial" basis. She would be allowed 3 potty accidents, and then wouldn't be allowed back. Happy to report that she only had 1 accident, and they never had to page us because she was upset. They told us at the end of the cruise that it is unusual for a 2 1/2 yr old to stay the whole time, but DD did great.
Overall, I'd say give it a shot. The worst they can tell you is no, and then you just go and reserve a spot for your child at flounders.
I will say this...we did everything "discreetly". Meaning, we didn't flaunt the fact that they allowed her in. We asked to talk to the director privately, and we didn't make a big deal about it with other passengers or counselors. Attitude seemed to make a difference.
It WAS cool to see my little pumpkin up on stage at the end of our cruise in "Discover the Magic"!
Hope you have a wonderful time.

 

[Rence]

My extended family (parents, sisters, nieces) did the cruise in December.

We actually postponed the cruise for several months so that the youngest niece would be three. She always wants to do what the big kids do and we knew that if she couldn't be in the club that she would be miserable.

So rather than be locked to a date for the trip, we planned the trip so that the nieces would be the optimal age for the experience.

I have seen postings from others that have done the same. I don't know how locked in you are to a certain date, but a six month delay could make for a happier trip.

 

[CheapMom]

Originally posted by Rence

I have seen postings from others that have done the same. I don't know how locked in you are to a certain date, but a six month delay could make for a happier trip.

I wouldn't postpone trip in hopes of using kids clubs because your child may not be completely potty trained on his 3rd birthday and then you would still be using flounders anyway. I say go, use Flounders and enjoy yourself-

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by CheapMom
I wouldn't postpone trip in hopes of using kids clubs because your child may not be completely potty trained on his 3rd birthday and then you would still be using flounders anyway. I say go, use Flounders and enjoy yourself-

Its also a heck of a lot cheaper when they are 2 rather than 3...at 3 you have to pay for them, at 2 you just pay taxes and port charges.

 

[CheapMom]

excellent point- I can't believe I hadn't thought of that since I am the cheapest person on the DIS