First time on DCL with infant

[DisneyDad1736]

We booked our first DCL cruise for next January on the fantasy for a eastern Caribbean 7 day. We are on deck 2. Any advice for cruising with a 1 and 2 year old? Are there many activities or excursions we can do? We know excursions are going to be hard with two little kids so it’s not a big deal if we don’t get to do any. We are just excited for the time on the ship and beaches

 

[auntlynne]

 

[Travel60]

I've never cruised with that young but have seen lots who do. I think every kid is different and that will make a difference in your experience.

Traveling with littles is not a vacation (IMHO). It is parenting away from home....in one tiny room. Schedules need to be adhered to. Some babies will happily nap on deck while mom/dad read or swim. Others need a perfectly quiet/dark room which means mom or dad spends a couple of hours twice a day sitting in a dark room and go to bed when the kids do. Some littles will be happy through dinners, others will lose it after 15 minutes.

Most excursions have age limits. The ones that don't may involve bus tours with a few stops. I've been on those with screaming kids. The parents were miserable and most of the other passengers were, too.

Not trying to be discouraging - I think you can have a good time if you set your expectations right.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

They’ll be confined to the splash pad until they’re potty trained which I didn’t get if the had proper swim diapers/shorts. Aulani he could go in every single pool

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

They’ll be confined to the splash pad until they’re potty trained which I didn’t get if the had proper swim diapers/shorts. Aulani he could go in every single pool

They're really REALLY strict about it too. We sailed when our kids were 2 and 4. The 2 year old was completely potty trained (a miracle) but she'd never been in a pool before so we put her in a swim diaper just in case. And she was absolutely, totally fine, but while playing in the water play area (not the splash pad) she leaned over to play in one of the streams and the diaper showed on the edge of her bathing suit and the lifeguard was there two seconds demanding we remove her from the area. We tried explaining that we really didn't think she needed it, it was a 'just in case' measure and she insisted we leave.

So we did. And took off the diaper. And went right back. She was fine.

Joke's on them cause the 4 year old we didn't have diapers for peed the bed every night because sleeping in a new bed freaked her out.

Haha no it was on us and it was the worst.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

@EilonwyWanderer I was honestly shocked and I can understand to an extent but these cruises are mad for families with young children. My poor baby wanted to go into the pool so bad as he loved it in Aulani or anytime in a Disney resort.

2 years old and potty trained a miracle indeed!

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

She was fully potty trained before the 4 year old, it was crazy!

But yeah I don't get it. I can understand banning the flimsy disposable diapers, but the really good swim diapers are great and allowed at like, swimming lessons when they're really young.

 

[nancipants]

From my experience cruising with a (potty-trained) 2.5 year old last summer:

- Short character lines were okay. Long ones caused meltdowns.
- Bring lots of distractions at dinner time. Our son watched movies on the phone.
- Movies on deck were a win, even when we weren't in the pool.
- He could have gone down the Nemo's Reef slide for hours.
- He enjoyed playing mini golf (aka waving the club around and pushing the balls with it).
- Don't underestimate the importance of down time in the room. He loved watching the Mickey and friends cartoons while playing with the toy cars we brought from home.
- Take advantage of the kids club open houses. Our son loved Andy's room and the Star Wars area. They also had Toddler Time in Andy's room a few days.


As for why they can't swim, it's a maritime law thing, not a DCL thing.

 

[tntstults]

If there's any way you can get a verandah, you could enjoy the verandah while kids nap.

 

[mjkacmom]

@EilonwyWanderer I was honestly shocked and I can understand to an extent but these cruises are mad for families with young children. My poor baby wanted to go into the pool so bad as he loved it in Aulani or anytime in a Disney resort.

2 years old and potty trained a miracle indeed!

Cruise ship pools have different filtering capabilities and laws. There are no ships with pools that are safe for diapered kids, they are very different than pools on land. Only DCL and some RCL ships have splash areas built properly for diapered kids with their filtering systems.

 

[PurplePencil]

She was fully potty trained before the 4 year old, it was crazy!

But yeah I don't get it. I can understand banning the flimsy disposable diapers, but the really good swim diapers are great and allowed at like, swimming lessons when they're really young.

They’ll be confined to the splash pad until they’re potty trained which I didn’t get if the had proper swim diapers/shorts. Aulani he could go in every single pool

it’s a US Public Health requirement set by the CDC that all ships sailing from a US Port need to abide by. There is a splash area that non-potty trained kids can use that has strict sanitation protocol and is designed differently from pools.

The rules were set in place due to concerns over fecal matter which can leak out of even the best swim diapers. Cruise Ships have to take special precautions to prevent the spread of norovirus and other gastrointestinal illnesses.