HOTHS Concierge with a Toddler

[Ila Sikorski]

Hi! Looking for your experiences sailing concierge with a toddler and then Halloween on the High Seas with a toddler. Our daughter will be 3 and we're so excited to finally have a trip to look forward to after 2020, haha.
We've sailed DCL before but never a themed cruise and never concierge.
Thank you so much in advance!

Looking for pros, cons, tips, tricks, really anything specific to concierge or HOTHS.

We're also staying in room 12008. Has anyone stayed in this stateroom?

Thanks again!

 

[Quellman]

You can find room reports here.

A kid who is 3 and potty trained can use the regular kids club. You are able to use the its a small world nursery as well, though it is a paid service. Havin sailed with kids that old previously and on HOTHS cruises I can provide some input.

You need to explore both spaces mentioned above as part of the open house times. The nursery usually has an open house each day. Ask them for a toddler time "sheet" that has the schedule of events for the sailing. They will sometimes have activities in other areas of the ship during the cruise. The reason for visiting the oceaneer club (more so than the lab) is that it lets them know what is there to do, where the bathrooms are, and who the adults are they can go to if they have trouble or want to leave. We would drop off right before a scheduled activity that interested them (magic play floor, characters, etc). This way they are able to go directly to where that activity will be held. We would pick them up a little bit after it closed. 3 is a really young age for them and it can be difficult finding others to play with in the kids space since it goes to age 12.

Chances are you will have both a pirate night and a Halloween night. While you do not have to dress up for either, it adds to the fun and the atmosphere. We had different costumes for each. Unless you really really really have an amazing costume, I wouldn't worry about entering the contests. There are lobby events, make sure you arrive early as the space gets full. Though who know what it will look like next year.

Concierge rooms are at the front of the ship so you will walk through an adults only area on deck 11 to get to the midship pools. Chances are your daughter is not going to be tall enough for the aquaduck, so make that clear before you head off.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

Are you on the Dream? We had 12008 booked for later this month, but the cruise has been cancelled. I was totally looking forward to that bump-out verandah! On our last cruise we were a few rooms away in 12516. It's a great location, there's a side door that leads into the lounge and the stairs to the sun deck nearby. It was very quiet, not much foot traffic... great for napping! Haven't sailed concierge with a toddler, only middle-schoolers, but I can tell you that your room stewards and the concierge staff will anticipate your needs and do anything they can to make your life easier. Don't hesitate to ask them about anything.

 

[Ila Sikorski]

Are you on the Dream? We had 12008 booked for later this month, but the cruise has been cancelled. I was totally looking forward to that bump-out verandah! On our last cruise we were a few rooms away in 12516. It's a great location, there's a side door that leads into the lounge and the stairs to the sun deck nearby. It was very quiet, not much foot traffic... great for napping! Haven't sailed concierge with a toddler, only middle-schoolers, but I can tell you that your room stewards and the concierge staff will anticipate your needs and do anything they can to make your life easier. Don't hesitate to ask them about anything.

Oh, I guess I should have specified shop, lol. Yes, the Dream! Thank you so much, we're so excited. I'm so sorry your cruise was cancelled. I hope you're able to rebook!

 

[Clojel]

We’ve stayed in 12008 on the Dream before and booked it again for this year (though that’s doubtful!). We LOVED having the bump out verandah and agree with spiffy - it’s very quiet on deck 12 - your toddler should be able to nap peacefully if that’s still a thing for your little one!! And the concierge staff is wonderful! Definitely reach out to shoreside with any questions beforehand and then don’t be afraid to ask the on board staff should you need anything. We’ve found them to be nothing short of amazing! If you think your little one will like kids club, be sure to sign them up in advance to save time and check out the open house they have the first day so you can get her used to the space/layout/rules, etc...

 

[Calantha]

Regarding the toddler - I was entirely unsuccessful at leaving my 4 year old son at the Kids Clubs last year unless his older cousins were also there. Even though he had a year of pre-school under his belt and was used to being away from us, it was just too much to drop him off at a random time and expect him to stay. His older cousins (7-9 years) loved it though. YMMV.

We're going to do a HOTHS next year, and I plan to dress everyone up a lot. We were supposed to go this September, so I'm bummed - but another year to plan costumes (although his one from last year will be outgrown).

 

[Ila Sikorski]

Regarding the toddler - I was entirely unsuccessful at leaving my 4 year old son at the Kids Clubs last year unless his older cousins were also there. Even though he had a year of pre-school under his belt and was used to being away from us, it was just too much to drop him off at a random time and expect him to stay. His older cousins (7-9 years) loved it though. YMMV.

We're going to do a HOTHS next year, and I plan to dress everyone up a lot. We were supposed to go this September, so I'm bummed - but another year to plan costumes (although his one from last year will be outgrown).

I'm big into the costumes, so agreed, excited about that! Our daughter did the nursery in January and loved it and we'll probably try it again next year if she's not comfortable with the Kids Club.

 

[Ila Sikorski]

We’ve stayed in 12008 on the Dream before and booked it again for this year (though that’s doubtful!). We LOVED having the bump out verandah and agree with spiffy - it’s very quiet on deck 12 - your toddler should be able to nap peacefully if that’s still a thing for your little one!! And the concierge staff is wonderful! Definitely reach out to shoreside with any questions beforehand and then don’t be afraid to ask the on board staff should you need anything. We’ve found them to be nothing short of amazing! If you think your little one will like kids club, be sure to sign them up in advance to save time and check out the open house they have the first day so you can get her used to the space/layout/rules, etc...

Yay! Thank you SO much!