We will be going on our second cruise in June, and my DS9 and DS11 are VERY excited. They were 8 & 10 when we took our first cruise, the 4-day. Sadly, I'm a working Mom, so they have both been in day care all their lives, so they took to the Oceaneer's Lab fine. They participated in a variety of the planned programs there, but especially enjoyed the free time when they could play on the video games and computers. Their favorite thing was staying until the lab closed when they were just about the only ones there.
When they weren't in the Lab, they also enjoyed swimming, although I think the Mickey pool was a little too baby-ish (other than a few trips down the slide) and the Goofy pool a little too boring, playing in the arcade, playing ping-pong, going to the shows, and being able to eat whatever they wanted. I don't recall them ever being bored!
There is also a sports deck/basketball court and movies both on TV and in the theater. Of course, you will probably be doing some stuff at the islands too.
Check out one of the great websites that has the kids navigators posted for your boys ages. I think it would help if you review them together to see if any of the activities sound like fun to them, although some of the descriptions do not always describe the activity too accurately.
Regarding transportation - there are
DCL transfers available from the airport to port and back. We used them last time for the convenience (they collect and transport your luggage too!). I've read quite a few posts of cheaper ways to go (i.e. car rental), but we will probably use the DCL transfers again.
Hope this helps!
