How young is to young for a cruise?

[NJlauren]

What is the youngest you would take a child on a cruise?

I know 6 months is the youngest they allowed but I was thinking 3 so they can use kid clubs... is it silly to wait till 3?

4 year age difference in kids if that matters. So if I wait till child 2 is 3 older DD will be 7

 

[fredandkell]

I think it's a good deal to take kids who are younger than 3. You don't pay full fare for them and the nursery rates aren't expensive. Once they hit 3 they're paying full fare, and there's no guarantee a 3-year old will go happily to the kids' club anyway.

 

[bumbershoot]

My baby went where I wanted to go. I was spending all day with him anyway; might as well be in a nicer place than home.

We weren’t in the financial situation to cruise then so we didn’t, but we camped and stayed at bnbs and all that when he was bitty.

 

[GPaLarry]

I wish DCL had the same rule in reverse when you get old. Once I hit 80, I would like to go for half price, be checked into a chess club once a day, eat unlimited Mickey Bars and be put to bed early in the one that pulls down from the ceiling. I promise not to wake up at all hours of the night, cause panic on the verandah by climbing on the table or hide small valuables under the bed...maybe. Just a thought...

 

[kenthanson]

I think it's a good deal to take kids who are younger than 3. You don't pay full fare for them and the nursery rates aren't expensive. Once they hit 3 they're paying full fare, and there's no guarantee a 3-year old will go happily to the kids' club anyway.

Exactly my six year didn't want to be at the kids club at all.

 

[Chemist]

My 3 year old spent some time in the Club, some time in the nursery taking naps because he was grumpy. He couldn't potty ALL BY HIMSELF, so he couldn't spent enormous amounts of time there.
In the nursery, they are totally flexible about accidents, etc. And they will assist as needed.

The thing about 3 is potty training. They need to potty INDEPENDENTLY in the kid's club. They can't swim in the pool in swim diapers.

That being said, we had an awesome time.
Favorite memory of the trip was my little guy dancing with Dale after dinner one night.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I think it's a good deal to take kids who are younger than 3. You don't pay full fare for them and the nursery rates aren't expensive. Once they hit 3 they're paying full fare, and there's no guarantee a 3-year old will go happily to the kids' club anyway.

Yep, that was our logic. We're taking our DS in May 2019 right before he turns 3.

 

[xQuizx]

We brought our son when he was 9 almost 10 months old. We have 2 other kids that were 5 and 3 at the time. We've also gone when our oldest was only 1 and when our middle was 1 and the other was 3.

Our vacations are a mix of my wife and I being able to spend time together without kids, and then time with kids.

In all instances the kids had fun in the Kids Clubs or nursery.

 

[pezgirlroy]

We will be traveling with our 7 and 2 year old next month. The cruise is a very generous gift from my parents (who are also going). So we will figure it out with the 2 year old. Already booked some nursery time. She will hopefully have fun at Nemo's reef (helps that my 7 year old can also be there with her). And I suspect she will just want to explore a lot. We plan on going to the open houses in the kids club as well. My 7 year old has declared that we will never see her as she will be at the kids club all the time. We shall see.

 

[UNDDisney]

We went out our first Disney cruise when our boys were 7 and 3.5 (and I was pregnant with our third). They were great ages for it - but as PP said, our 3.5 didn't love the kids club. Would go for a bit, but not super long. So no guarantee that if you wait until 3 that they will love the kids club. We cruised with extended family and everyone loved it so much, that we did it the next year (kids now 8, 4 and 8 months!). It went great. Again, we all loved it so much, that we did it again the next year! (kids now 9, 5 and 20 months). It still went great!! 20 month old could not go in the pools, but would play in the nemo's reef splash pad. We now have a trip booked for just our family of 5 this June (youngest will be a month shy of his 3rd birthday). We really wanted him to be 3, but the June timing worked for us. So...in a nutshell, I don't think they can be too young for cruising. For us, we feel its the easiest of all family vacations. And Disney totally caters to the littles...high chair in the dining room, pureed foods, diaper pail and pack n play in the room, it's amazing!

 

[NJlauren]

My 3 year old spent some time in the Club, some time in the nursery taking naps because he was grumpy. He couldn't potty ALL BY HIMSELF, so he couldn't spent enormous amounts of time there.
In the nursery, they are totally flexible about accidents, etc. And they will assist as needed.

The thing about 3 is potty training. They need to potty INDEPENDENTLY in the kid's club. They can't swim in the pool in swim diapers.

That being said, we had an awesome time.
Favorite memory of the trip was my little guy dancing with Dale after dinner one night.

This is a great point on swim diapers! Totally forgot about that maybe you get is better won’t really know the difference yet. If they are 3 and can’t use the pool I suspect a lot of tantrums, atleast would be with my current 3 year old.

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

is it a vacation for you? are YOU going to enjoy it? Don't worry about the baby - they will love it. They will be with you and explore a whole new world. I first cruised with my baby at 14 months old. She loved it. And so did we. Then we did another when she was 3 and baby was 1. They still loved it. Ad I was happy too

 

[o&smom]

We went on our first cruise when DD was 3 months (before they changed the rule) and DS had just turned 7. Our DD has also cruised at 15 months, 3, 4, 5, 6 and just shy of 7. We have enjoyed every one. They have all been different as our kids grow, but I would not put an age on when you should go on a cruise. I do think kids should be three before going to DL or WDW for the first time, but we broke that rule with our second child.

 

[NJlauren]

We went on our first cruise when DD was 3 months (before they changed the rule) and DS had just turned 7. Our DD has also cruised at 15 months, 3, 4, 5, 6 and just shy of 7. We have enjoyed every one. They have all been different as our kids grow, but I would not put an age on when you should go on a cruise. I do think kids should be three before going to DL or WDW for the first time, but we broke that rule with our second child.

I failed the DL WDW rule, DD went to WDW at 10 months, 17 months and 3 and a half and DL at just over 2.... so I guess it all depends right!

 

[YawningDodo]

Not sure how young your youngest is, and this is just a silly thought from a non-parent -- but if you take your kid before they learn to walk, you can enter them in the baby race.

Very important consideration.

 

[Marc D]

Every age has advantages and disadvantages. Our thinking has always been to enjoy life every day rather than wait for it to get easier or better later, since you never know what can happen. Our son first cruise was at 6mo. He was always with us and had a blast and we enjoyed it too. Now, he’s seven and a gold CC member. On previous cruises, he wanted to be with us most of the time and would stay in the clubs no more than one hour. This cruise, we finally got to do Palo brunch. We got him out of the kids club after 2 hours and he asked to stay a little longer. Are we enjoying it more ? Not really. It’s just different.

 

[bumbershoot]

Not sure how young your youngest is, and this is just a silly thought from a non-parent -- but if you take your kid before they learn to walk, you can enter them in the baby race.

Very important consideration.

It is very important. I got pretty bummed out watching those when I didn’t have a baby to enter. What fun that would have been.

Our thinking has always been to enjoy life every day rather than wait for it to get easier or better later, since you never know what can happen.

Yep. We put off more than we realized, thinking that any day I would get pregnant again. Never happened. Life was on hold for many things for no good reason. You just never know.

 

[cadien]

A lot can also depend on the individual child. Some really need a fixed routine and schedule and some don't. We were lucky that our son has always been super flexible but it's not something entirely controllable.

 

[laceltris3]

We went when our youngest was 2. He was cheaper and we never used the nursery. We split up on excursions some. One of us would chill on the beach with him while the other took the 2 older ones on the boat ride or to feed stingrays, but it was still an incredible vacation. The little guy was the hit of the character dance party because he got in the middle of the circle and did somersaults for 5 minutes straight!

 

[cruiser21]

What is the youngest you would take a child on a cruise?

I know 6 months is the youngest they allowed but I was thinking 3 so they can use kid clubs... is it silly to wait till 3?

4 year age difference in kids if that matters. So if I wait till child 2 is 3 older DD will be 7

My kids were 17 months apart in age. I chose to stay home when they were bitty so we weren't financially able to travel. It worked out well for us. We took our first trip when they were 5 and 6. I think if my kids had that kind of age spread I wouldn't have waited. The 5-11 age is so much fun I wouldn't want to miss out doing things with the older one waiting for the younger one to grow up.