Cruising with infants

[big yellow hat]

My parents want to do a big vacation for their retirement and 50th annivirsary this year and have selected to do a vacation for the entire family. Now, money has been very tight through the years but they really want to do something big to celebrate and to include the family. They have proposed taking us all on a Disney 7 day cruise. There will be at the time of the cruise 11 adults from 21 to 65 and 7 infanant/toddlers 2-4yr olds 2-3 yr olds, 1-2 yr old 1-1yr old and a new born. It is a very generous gift, but I am not sure about all the little ones - might be best to wait until they are 7 or 8. Only 3 children will be (hopefully) potty trained and over 3 by cruise date. As far as family vacations go is it worth it to do a cruise now - or should we wait a few years? What are great vacations with infants/toddlers not potty trained?

 

[justhat]

I'm sure youd' all have a great time, even with lots of young kids. Disney has lots of activities for kids (though they typically need to be potty trained) so I think it's a good choice for a family vacation. For the non-potty-trained under 3s, they have group babysitting at Flounder's Reef so you could still have some time without the kids too. Keep in mind that the minimum cruise age is 12 weeks so the newborn in your groups would have to be at least that old to cruise.

 

[moinab]

We went on a three day cruise last July with DS, who was 6 weeks shy of his 3rd birthday (and not potty trained) at the time, and DD, who was 5 months old. DCL does not provide any programming for children under 3, but we had a great time. We used Flounder's Reef nursery once and were very happy with it. I also brought my toddler into the Oceaneers Club to play with the toys. The counselors told me I could bring him in anytime, as long as I stayed with him. He still talks about "the Disney boat" all the time.

Travelling with a large group of family would make it even easier, because you could take turns watching/entertaining each others' children so that everyone could get in some adult time. You will all have a great time.

 

[ELIJAH'S GRANDPA]

moinab,
now I know what they mean when they say a picture is worth a 1000 words!
John

 

[moinab]

John,

It does kind of say it all, doesn't it? LOL!

I have some more photos of our kids on the cruise

http://community.webshots.com/album/85968863yGzLFY/0

You can see they had a great time!

Maureen

 

[minniemouse1]

I feel it would definately be worth it. We have traveled with our family cruising. 4 Adults, a 9 y/o, 7 y/o, 2 1/2 y/o, 2 y/o and a 1 1/2 yo and we had a great time. You are going to have a large number of adult for the number of children. You should have a great time. Disney had a ton to offer for infants and toddlers as well as adults. You won't be dissapppointed.

 

[flexsmom]

I think a cruise is actually a preferred way to vacation with the very young set. There isn't much in the way of "long" transportation during which young kids would get bored. It's easy to retreat to your stateroom in the event of an implosion with the need for a nap. There are many options for childcare for some quality adult time, yet many great opportunities for fun family time. We specifically chose going on a cruise with an infant/toddler because it seemed to be a better choice than going on some other type of vacation where we felt pressured to see stuff!

 

[big yellow hat]

Wow. This is an active board. Everyone, thanks for the info. Sounds like we can relax and look forward to a great time.

 

[tevagirl]

Go while your parents can enjoy it. You can always go back when the kids are older but your parents might not be able to make the trip. You just never know.