Cruising with just a 4 y/o...would you do it?

[AdventurerKat]

We are going for my friend's daughter's birthday in the first part of September. My girlfriend can't take off as much time as I can so I was thinking about taking Sage on the cruise, just he and mommy, the weekend before they come down.

Has anyone cruised with just their kid? Do you think my son and I would have fun? Or should we just spend the extra few days at WDW. I have always wanted to do the cruise and was thinking this might be a good time but am not sure if he would have fun.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[JLSE50]

I have cruised 4 times with DH. No kids. But the idea of a cruise with a special little one sounds superb.

I would plan our time so that we did what he wanted to do and not park him in a kids club unless he asked--my DSs would not have liked that--they were family-only kids. We would explore the ship and see shows and explore ports of call. I am not sure if any excursions will allow a 4 year old, but if not, oh well, we can do them another year.

I vote for going and hope you have a ball.
Which cruise would you do? There is a superb mini golf I understand in Cozumel........

Jan

 

[justcruisin]

I would jump at the chance to cruise alone with ds4. He's such a little person. What a tremendous opportunity to spend a lot of non-pressure time together ..... I would much prefer a cruise with him than a few days at the park (too hetic!)

 

[Bbgrizzle]

That would be awesome to have that alone time with just your child. However, be prepared that if he LOVES the kids club like my kids do, and never wants to leave, you could end up spending a LOT of time by yourself. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

 

[rsjj]

Your son will have a blast! And so will you! If you haven't done so, order your cruise DVD, and maybe pick up a DCL brouchure from AAA, and show it to your son. That's what I did with our DSs, (4 & 2), and they are so excited. We watch it every now and then, to get psyched for the trip. Granted we havent' been on our cruise yet, but I'm sure we will all have a great time! I didn't even have to "sell" the idea to them, Disney did it all!

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Sounds wonderful! Just a heads up for you - You will have to pay the adult fare for both of you - Even though he is 4 - Rooms are sold as double occupancy -

 

[iluvtink]

Hi,

I vote for going on the cruise with your son. Are you already going to be at WDW for a few days with him? I took my son by myself when he was in Kindergarten to WDW. He's 24 now, and we still talk about the special memories and times we shared, just the two of us. I will never forget Goofy putting his hands over Chris' eyes at the Polynesian Character Breakfast. His reaction was just priceless.

We did the cruise with another family who had a 4 year old, and she took the excursion with us in Nassau to the Blue Lagoon Beach, and of course, went to Castaway Cay. She had a blast, both in the kids club, and with her parents, and our two families are going again on August 1. Can't wait!

Have a great trip and take a ton of pictures! I sure cherish mine.

Kim

 

[kcashner]

I have always cruised with "just my kid" since she was 4 years old. The downside is that you pay full adult fare for the kid, since fares are based on 2 adult fares per cabin. We always have a great time....2 non DCL cruises adn 10 Magic cruises later, we're scheduled for yet another...

 

[wildcatwmn]

Hi AdventurerKat,
I just came back from the 4 night Wonder cruise with my 9 year old son. We have been traveling alone together for years and this was by far on the top of his list of trips, better than any day at any park (although AK is still pretty high up).

He spent some time in the Oceaneer Lab (mostly after dinner at night, which gave me time to go down for a drink), but on the days in port, we spent together at the beach (Blue Lagoon is awesome for kids), and the show and dinner every night was spent together. Also, they do not take them to the pools with the clubs, so we also spent time doing that. If you want more info, feel free to send me a pm.




Mom PJ

 

[saturday97]

Last year there was an article in the Disney magazine about a woman who cruised with just her 2 daughters. It sounded like the three of them were free to have a great time and DCL took care of all the details. I often take trips with my DS just the 2 of us, and we have so much fun!

 

[AdventurerKat]

It sounds like cruising might be a good idea. I just wondered about whether he would like it. I have never even been on a cruise so I don't know what to expect.

Thanks for the heads up on double occupancy. I was wondering when I looked at prices they seemed a bit higher than they should be...now I know why.