How Young Is Too Young?

[llsdance]

Hi! I was recently referred to these boards because my husband and I are debating on taking the Eastern Carribean cruise next February with our son and another family. Our son will be 14 months old by then. What are your thoughts? Is it worth it?

 

[HooKooDooKu]

You're never too young to go on a Disney Cruise!

We took our DS on a 4-day "test" cruise when he was 14months old. We enjoyed it enough that we signed up for a 7-day cruise.

You just have to realize what your limitations will be. For example, at that age we were unwilling to allow DS to tender to shore (not an issue for 4-day) or ride in a vehical on an excursion (no car seat). But then all you have to do is schedule these activities during times you can leave him in Flounders ($6/hour, 2 hour min, reservations required).

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Hi! I was recently referred to these boards because my husband and I are debating on taking the Eastern Carribean cruise next February with our son and another family. Our son will be 14 months old by then. What are your thoughts? Is it worth it?

My Daughter was 10 months old when she went on her first Disney cruise (7-day Western). We had friends with us that had a 15 month old as well. They both had a blast and we all really enjoyed ourselves. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[llsdance]

Thank you!!! I am really excited about it! So Flounders is okay to leave the little ones? Did you feel that they were taken care of okay while there? What about night life?

I am going with my friends family, she has 4 kids, but the youngest will be 5. A lot different than a 14 month old.

Sorry for all the questions, I just LOVE Disney vacations and would be so happy if this works out! Of course I have to convince the hubby!

Wow Schmoogrl! I see you're going on your FIFTH Disney Cruise!!! That's awesome!

 

[fljelad]

I think you have to do what is comfortable for you and your family. We are taking our first Disney Cruise to coincide with our son's 7th birthday. Cruising with a toddler was nothing that I was even remotely interested in. It would not have been a vacation for me and he (DS) wouldn't have remembered it.

That's just me though.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

I think you have to do what is comfortable for you and your family. We are taking our first Disney Cruise to coincide with our son's 7th birthday. Cruising with a toddler was nothing that I was even remotely interested in. It would not have been a vacation for me and he (DS) wouldn't have remembered it.

That's just me though.

My feelings exactly, there are many other types of vacations that were more enjoyable and relaxing than taking a toddler on a cruise ship. I commend parents that do, but I myself wouldn't find it at all relaxing. At that age, we either went to Disney, and always St. Maarten, didn't start cruising with our daughter until she was in Kindergarten, and our son we started when he was 4 1/2. He loves it, he wass potty trained so no worries there, we didn't worry about the bedding (rails, highchairs, those kinds of things) sippy cups, food, he could sit through a dinner and and show, loves the clubs, etc.

Many parents are alot braver than I was!!

 

[b&j's_mom]

I agree with HooKooDooKu - you have to know what your limitations will be. We took our just-turned-two-year-old with us, and there were plenty of things we couldn't do with him (most excursions, for example). We still had so much fun, but it would be a different trip if he would even just a year older. He wouldn't go to Flounders so we had to work around naps and all of that stuff ourselves. Like I said, it was still fun, but just a different kind of fun. We would do it again.

Julie

p.s. The good part is, they only cost like $99 or something for the cruise at that age!!

 

[shmoogrrrl]

Thank you!!! I am really excited about it! So Flounders is okay to leave the little ones? Did you feel that they were taken care of okay while there? What about night life?

My Daughter LOVED Flounders. They have great toys and the CMs were so sweet. We came back one night and found Snow White in there reading stories to the kids. Of course, my sweet little girl was off playing and not paying attention to the story, but what do you expect from a 10 month old?

I've read a lot lately about how hard it is to get reservations at Founders. On our cruise, it wasn't a problem at all. We actually called on a night that we didn't have reservations and they were happy to take both girls. I guess there just were not a lot of babies on our cruise!

Wow Shmoogrrrl! I see you're going on your FIFTH Disney Cruise!!! That's awesome!

Yeppers. We did a 3-day for our honeymoon, a 7-day with my parents and neice, another 7-day with our best friends, then another 7-day with our best friends and our new babies. It is a HUGE addiction!

 

[webray]

Why not leave the baby with friends or family for the week, and enjoy the cruise as adults.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Cruising with a 14 month old can be VERY relaxing... after all at that age they will most likely still be on 2 naps per day, so you're likely to be getting a lot of "relaxing" time in your cabin.

For me, this was great as I don't get much TV time at home (life is just too busy for that), so on vacation I like to just veg in front of the TV at times. I always get a chance to see a Disney movie I've never seen before each time we sail.

Because of these naps, I would recommend a room with a verandah if you can swing it. That way, if you like to read, you can spend nap times reading on your verandah while the 14 month old sleeps. Obviously if all you can affort is a Cat 11, still go for it! That's what we had on our "test" cruise. The Cat 11 is ok, but we quickly notice the lack of storage space compared to being in a Cat 5 or 6.

Some of the great things about taking a 14 month old on a Cruise is the opportunity to try new foods. Lots of buffets to try various things. Our 14 month old came home eating more foods than before we left. And at least for us, meal times were not a problem at that age. Just needed a few toys handy to keep them happy. (It wasn't until the terrible 2s struck that meals where you have to wait to get your food became a problem).

The one thing I can warn you about is that our days on board didn't start until 3 o'clock. Breakfast with a 1yo learning to feed himself took about an hour each day. So by the time it took everyone to wake up, get everyone ready for the day, and eat breakfast, it was nap time. When nap time was over, it was lunch time. By the time everyone collected themselves again, went to lunch, ate lunch, took a quick stroll around the ship, it was afternoon nap time.

The only negatives I've ever heard regarding Flounder's Nursary is that older kids (2.5-3) might get a little board. The usually have a TV with a movie playing, so if your older ones can sit and watch a video, the should be ok as well. We'll find out soon as we take our now 32 month old on the canal trip.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Why not leave the baby with friends or family for the week, and enjoy the cruise as adults.

MOST mothers are not going to be ready to leave a 14 month old for a full week. I know in our case, mommy wasn't ready to leave DS for just a weekend trip until he was 2yo.

 

[njdrumrun]

I think you have to do what is comfortable for you and your family. We are taking our first Disney Cruise to coincide with our son's 7th birthday. Cruising with a toddler was nothing that I was even remotely interested in. It would not have been a vacation for me and he (DS) wouldn't have remembered it.

That's just me though.

my thoughts too...

my daughter was 6 in december and were were on the western 7 day at the end of january. i thought it was the perfect age. i personally wouldn't go with a child under the age of 5. i expected us to spend MOST of our time together while onboard....didn't work out that way. she was having a blast in the club and we enjoyed "our" time together.

while in ports it was also nice as we had late excursions...so she went to the club..we went shopping without her(spend less and don't need to find a potty) and then we went back, collect her and did our excursion.

expecting to eat together...we had a late dinner..the first night she was falling alseep in her plate and the third night she did fall asleep in her plate. our server was nice enough to cover her up with a tablecloth. the rest of the time we fed her around six and let her go to the club.

we have been back a month now and she talks about the mickey boat just about every day. well worth the money!

 

[njdrumrun]

The one thing I can warn you about is that our days on board didn't start until 3 o'clock. Breakfast with a 1yo learning to feed himself took about an hour each day. So by the time it took everyone to wake up, get everyone ready for the day, and eat breakfast, it was nap time. When nap time was over, it was lunch time. By the time everyone collected themselves again, went to lunch, ate lunch, took a quick stroll around the ship, it was afternoon nap time.
.

i read this as...that's not a vacation...it is a regular day.

this is when i visited family. the "regular" routine but alot of down time(as compared to normal life) to catch up with and enjoy family. inexpensive but LOTS of fun.

 

[llsdance]

Why not leave the baby with friends or family for the week, and enjoy the cruise as adults.

I would (well maybe), BUT the whole point of us going is to join my friend and her hubby and kids...

Hookooduku - I appreciate your response! Thank you!

 

[llyolf]

Shmoogrrl has already heard this story....

12 weeks and a two days weeks before we left for an Eastern 7 day, my wife told the doctor, "Doc, it's time to have this baby, I'm going on a Disney Cruise!"

so we sailed 12 weeks later, with our little baby....
it was pretty funny... at checkin, they had to call the manager.... and get the calander out.... and count the weeks... thank goodness they don't go by months (there were 13 weeks in the 3 months)...

we used flounders a lot.. still spent "family time" together since DD was a breast-fed baby... which, by the way, made formal night VERY interesting.... heck we even did an excursion with her... The St John tour.... you just have to have a pretty flexible schedule....

and one thing I haven't seen mentioned here yet, if you get a Spa treatment or Palo's, make sure to tell the CM at flounders where you are.... most of them will wait a little longer to page you if they no your doing something special.....

Thanks and have fun!!
Paul

 

[HookedonMagic]

We've sailed with our son twice...once when he was just 15 weeks old and again when he was 15 months old. His next cruise is schedule when he is 3+. I think we'll all enjoy a better vacation next time.

In my opinion, cruising with a young toddler is really a mixed bag. It is a lot of work, but entertaining,too. On the one hand, you have to bring so much more...stroller, diapers, beach tent and toys, toys and books for the room, toddler snacks, etc. Your room is a tighter squeeze with the diaper genie and pack 'n play. And you really are restricted with activities. Toddlers change so quickly...it is hard to predict whether they'll be able to sit through a single meal or show. We brought my mom along on our second cruise with him and did the "baby swap" for every meal. He was just too squirmy to sit through dinner. It wouldn't be fair to him to expect it or to the other diner's seated near us.

On the other hand, the CM's are really sweet with young children...always a smile and a wave hello. The pictures with characters and at the beach are priceless, as are the squeals of delight you'll hear over the simplest things! The whole world is amazing to a child that age and it is alot of fun to experience the ship through their eyes. And the CM's at Flounders really do a nice job...when we've sailed, the staff has been young English women...we almost felt like we were leaving our little guy with Mary Poppins!

The bottom line is, if you decide to go, don't get swept up with the notion this will be some big relaxing romantic trip. It may be, just don't count on it. Traveling anywhere with a little one requires flexibility and an open mind. A cruise with your toddler could be a trip of a lifetime, or a complete disaster! Be honest about your expectations, and then you won't be disappointed.

By the way, we sailed twice before our son was born. Once with our DD who was 10 and again with our DD and her cousin when the girls were both 11. The trips were AWESOME for all of us. My DH and I sailed the Magic this past fall, when our son was 21 months. He stayed home with his sister (who is now 15), as well as both sets of grandparents. He had a great week at home and we enjoyed a truly MAGICAL adults-only cruise!

Whatever you decide, Happy Sailing!

 

[llsdance]

llyolf - that was a nice story!!!

 

[llyolf]

We've sailed with our son twice...once when he was just 15 weeks old and again when he was 15 months old.

I'll trump your 15 weeks with 12 weeks 2 days...

one other tip... bring your own diapers and swim diapers!!! for the price we spent on diapers (swim/regular) at the onboard store, we could have bought a months worth of land lubbing huggies

Paul

 

[Stinasmom]

Why not leave the baby with friends or family for the week, and enjoy the cruise as adults.

Not all of us are so fortunate to have friends or family who are capable or willling to take and care for young child for a week.

About taking very young children on vacations...GO FOR IT! I have never hesitated to go when the opportunity arose despite my kids' age. As long as you know what you are in for and set you expectations accordingly. I have taken them as babies or toddlers to Hawaii, Mexico, and WDW...often flying alone as DH catches up later due to work. One time I was quite lucky to take a college student along as a nanny to WDW to help as kids were 5 months and 4 years and DH couldn't be with us all the time.

Now, there is one other consideration...what you may miss if you wait. I was never one of those parents who said let's wait to take the kids to DL or WDW until they are over 5 (or whatever age) when they will enjoy it more....but, my MIL decided some time ago that she really wanted to take us and the kids on a DCL cruise. She kept saying let's wait until DS is older...(like 5). When the west coast cruises came about, because of her health (and that we live on the west coast) I suggested it and she said yes even though DS is only 4 now. BUT, last fall, her health took a turn for the worse and now she has to be on kidney dialysis every other day...no more cruising for her. She is very, very disappointed to be missing this trip with our kids and is wishing she hadn't waited.

 

[tbck1993]

When our youngest was about 14 months, we left her in the loving care of grandparents and brought our then 4 yr old son to Disney with us. 4 years later, I look back and wouldn't change a thing. Our daughter never knew what she missed and we had a more relaxing time. ( I did end up taking her to Disney last summer when she was 4 sans brother so she won't have to tell her shrink 20 yrs from now that mom and dad favored her brother )

I'm sure whatever you decide will be right for you. Have fun!