First time Disney cruise with a 4 year old? yay or nay?

[claudiadiego2011]

Hello wonderful friends. My son just turned 3 and next year I would like to take a Cruise to celebrate my birthday which is a week after my son's bday (he will turn 4) he's only partially potty trained now, and we are selling our house and downsizing, so we plan on treating ourselves to a cruise. My question is, do you really think a 4 year old would enjoy the cruise? Also, we read all these reviews about taking kids on these 2 hour dinners.....that's just not our thing at all. Have any of you ever just ordered the kids a meal from room service and let them eat at the room while you got ready? And then dropped off at Kids club? My husband and I would only use the club for dinner not for all day daycare lol.... my son is very friendly and outgoing and I think he would love the club but since you can never be sure with kids, what would be the best thing to do with them for dinner purposes? He doesn't sit still yet at dinner time unless he has an iPad or phone and even then just for 20 mins max....if that's the case, could I do buffets every nights? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Hello wonderful friends. My son just turned 3 and next year I would like to take a Cruise to celebrate my birthday which is a week after my son's bday (he will turn 4) he's only partially potty trained now, and we are selling our house and downsizing, so we plan on treating ourselves to a cruise. My question is, do you really think a 4 year old would enjoy the cruise? Also, we read all these reviews about taking kids on these 2 hour dinners.....that's just not our thing at all. Have any of you ever just ordered the kids a meal from room service and let them eat at the room while you got ready? And then dropped off at Kids club? My husband and I would only use the club for dinner not for all day daycare lol.... my son is very friendly and outgoing and I think he would love the club but since you can never be sure with kids, what would be the best thing to do with them for dinner purposes? He doesn't sit still yet at dinner time unless he has an iPad or phone and even then just for 20 mins max....if that's the case, could I do buffets every nights? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

If your son enjoys Disney, he'll love a Disney cruise! Yes, you can order a meal from room service and drop him off at the Kids' Club. He might not want to leave the club. If you do end up taking him to the dining room with you, I've seen kids watching videos on their ipads while eating, but that's usually not necessary. Yes, you can do the buffet every night (except the last night) or there's also fast food up on deck.

 

[Racer X]

Do it! But perhaps a 3 day to start out just in case for some reason its not a good fit. My 4 yr old loved the clubs and mom and dad got a little R&R too

 

[SlickWilly]

We took our DS8&5 on a 3 night and they had a blast. Even the dinners - the service teams are great with kids. I think it would be good for many 4 year olds. Potty trained is the key (so they can go to the club).

Have fun!

 

[katds10]

Short answer: DO IT! It will be amazing!

We did a Disney cruise with our oldest for her first birthday and it was the most wonderful, stress free, easiest vacation possible with a baby! We were hooked! We went again with friend the next year when she was almost 2 and our friends' daughter was 2 as well and they had a great time together. Went the following year on our own when she was 2.5 and that one wasn't as good because she was too young for the club but too old to have fun in the nursery for a couple of hours here and there. Just did a 9 night Alaska in May when she was 3.5 and she LOVED the kids clubs and everything about the trip and it was truly so special and magical to see her enjoy everything so much! We are going again this December for her 4th birthday and she is thrilled and cannot wait to be on board with her character "friends" and explore the new kids club!

 

[mom4fun]

Just so you know, the buffet restaurant is not a buffet in the evening. It's a sit down dinner. For your original question, I think every child is different. You know your child best and what kind of a vacation you want. It sounds like your child is very active and if you want to relax it may not be worth it. It really depends on you and your child.

 

[Iamaplanner]

We went on our first cruise when our girls were four. It was great. We all went to the main dining room. We would ask our servers to stagger our food so that we only had our appetizers while the kids ate their dinner. Once they were done, one of us would bring them to the club. Then we'd be able to finish our dinner just the two of us. After we were done eating, we'd either go and pick them up for a show or do something just the two of us. The system worked well for us. The main dining room is fun for kids so your son would miss that if he didn't go.

One other thing - we got the first dining time. That worked well for us.

 

[mama2mickeyfans]

Our son was 4 on his first cruise. It was amazing for him. Granted, he didn't enjoy some of the things we thought he would, and it was a little frustrating that he wanted to hang out in the cabin and watch Dinosaur on OnDemand 10 times when there was cool stuff going on in the clubs, etc... but hey, it was his vacation too, and at least we had a nice verandah room so it wasn't so rough indulging him in some down time. We had to learn to adjust expectations a little, that's all.
He was beat by the end of each day. He was not interested in daytime naps but then the last few nights of the cruise, he fell asleep during dinner (early seating). It was cute.

 

[mmouse37]

As mentioned, every child is different and you know yours best but this past summer we did a Fantasy 7 day cruise that included a 3 and 4 year boy. THEY LOVED IT. They loved everything about it. Loved the ship's animated art, loved the kids clubs, loved meeting the officers wearing they captain's hats. They really enjoyed the water features on board.

We all had late dining and they took part in the Dine and Play program where the kids eat their meal and then around 9:00 pm or so the counselors come around to each dining room and collect the kids who want to go to the club. Mom and dad and us were able to enjoy our desserts and then go out after. Kids were happy as clams in the kids club.

It all worked great and our nephew told us they keep asking when we can go on the Mickey boat again!!

MJ

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Our first Disney cruise my younger son was four years old. It was a 14 night cruise. He loved it! He loved the kids clubs and if he got bored at dinner I took him up there while we finished our dinner. Since then we have been on four other Disney cruises including two other 14 night cruise. He is seven now. Each time it's harder to get him out of the kids club!

I would try dinner with him first before I would do room service. The servers are really great with kids. The room service options for food are limited. When he gets bored you could always take him to the kids club. Or you could just have him in the kids club during dinner they serve food to the kids.

 

[hubbard53]

My son has been on a cruise at ages 2, 3, and now 4. He loves them. The only issue you ,might have is potty training. If I remember correctly, kids have to be fully potty trained in order to use the kids clubs, I might be wrong.

 

[bfamilyx4]

my son was 3 when we went on our first disney cruise and he had a blast. so I vote yay! you'll make some magical memories together!

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

Yes. My DGD was 4 on her first cruise and she really enjoyed herself and we never had a problem with 2 hour dinners.
The servers bring your child's meal out quickly, they entertain them during the meal and go out of the way to make dinner great for all members of the family. If your child does not like something they will get another meal. My DGD always wanted to order pizza,but she did not like it when it came. So the next night, they told her they were sorry but the kitchen ran out of pizza, so what else would you like to eat. It was wonderful, she was not disappointed that the pizza was not to her liking, and she tried lots of other things. (The pizza in the MDR is not the same as at the Pizza place near the pool. It was gross.)
When she was done eating, whil we waited for our main course, my SIL would take her to the club.

 

[jcjen519]

yes! he will enjoy it! we took our son when he was two and again when he was a few months shy of 4. i would guess that by the time you go on the cruise potty training won't 'be an issue. our son LOVED the clubs. i had more adult time then i knew what to do with! he made some friends in the lounge and begged to spend time in the kids club there was a lot of fun stuff for him.

 

[KingRichard]

Remember that they have instant Chicken, burgers, dogs and pizza up on the deck.

Also they will feed your child in the clubs. See above choices if I remember correctly.


Most children don't want to leave the clubs so be prepared for that. lol

Ours always ate her meal very quickly to go to the club, but she does really enjoy the deserts now and then we drop her off.

It really only take 5 minutes to leave table, drop them off and be back for next course.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[shericakes]

We did a four night in February....ours boys were 2.5 and 5 years old. We are cruising again next week. 3 and almost 6. My kids can't wait! This time my youngest can go into the clubs with his brother. We had early seating and hurried our five year old through his meal, then my hubby took him to the clubs. He loved it! He was in there for three hours one day. He would not leave. I can see your concern about about sitting nicely at dinner....we rarely eat out....
I am sure if you ask your servers to bring out your sons meal right away, they would.
Hope this helps!

 

[claudiadiego2011]

Wow the overwhelming response was YAY!! This makes our decision much easier. We want to purchase our trip as soon as we close on both houses and have plenty of money so we will probably book around march or so for the first week of December. I cannot wait! I live in West Palm Beach so I guess I can take the cruise that leaves from Miami, or the one that leaves from Port Canaveral. I am definetly doing a 4 night. No more than that for being the first cruise. I am working super hard on the potty training and he already is almost there.... I am so looking forward to our first family cruise. He is an only child (not by choice) so we do tend to be a little on the overprotective side. I know the club is very safe, but obviously we are still a little hesitant about letting someone else take him from dinner to the club. I think like one of the posters above said, I might just take him the first night and see how it goes. Hopefully he will be bigger and a little more mature by then.

Going back to the dining, if I choose second dining, do I do the show first and then dinner or is it dinner and then show. Also, do you have to reserve Palo and Remy way ahead of time? or for a 4 night I should only do one or the other? I know Palo is less expensive, but this is our splurge cruise for all our hard work flipping our house so we would love to treat ourselves. God knows we need it lol.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Going back to the dining, if I choose second dining, do I do the show first and then dinner Yes. or is it dinner and then show. Main dining has the show after dinner.

Also, do you have to reserve Palo Yes, especially for Palo brunch. and Remy Remy doesn't sell out quite as quickly because of the $$$. way ahead of time? or for a 4 night I should only do one or the other? I know Palo is less expensive, but this is our splurge cruise for all our hard work flipping our house so we would love to treat ourselves. God knows we need it lol.

Since it's your first cruise, I would just choose Palo or Remy brunch, then you won't miss any dinners in one of the main dining rooms.

 

[Zandy595]

Just so you know, the buffet restaurant is not a buffet in the evening. It's a sit down dinner. For your original question, I think every child is different. You know your child best and what kind of a vacation you want. It sounds like your child is very active and if you want to relax it may not be worth it. It really depends on you and your child.

Also, it's not open the first and last nights of the cruise.

 

[3Down1Up]

Our first DCL was with 2 year old twins and a five year old. The only other thing I would add to all of the PPs is that the great thing about DCL is that everyone else is doing the same thing you are - cruising with kids (well almost everyone else!). The servers are super flexible, there isn't any pressure to "sit quietly and be still", and that took a lot of the stress off of us. One of us could take a kid to the restroom, or even take a kid to a timeout LOL, and the servers would accommodate - keeping food warm, hurrying food along, etc. If our kids started singing at the table - no worries! Because there were kids at almost every table around us as well, doing similar things. Enjoy it!