If you could only go once, what's the perfect age?

[deanimal]

Just throwing out a "what if" kind of question.
We're going on our first Disney cruise with a 3 year old and almost 2 year old this winter. I can hardly wait to see their reactions to the magic, but I also know that there's a lot they will miss. My kids tend to go all day then crash after supper, so I know that things like the pirate night are out, and probably the shows, unless we skip dinner. I'm going to focus on the things we can do with them and not worry about the things we miss, but traveling with toddlers does have its drawbacks!
I know that we'll never be able to afford a Disney cruise every year, or even every other year, but I'm curious to know if anyone has opinions about the "ideal" age for a Disney cruise so I can pick a date to save up for in the future. Did anyone go with a mixed group of ages and find it worked better for some than for others? For those of you who've cruised multiple times; was there one particular cruise that stood out as perfect for your kids' ages? Is it the same or different than your favourite age to take them to Disneyland/world?
I know that there's lots of other factors as well, and each kid is different, but it would be cool to hear people's opinions on the subject.

 

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

We haven't been on a cruise before our 1st is coming up, but lots of WDW experience with a 2.5 to now 6 years old. I would do anything to take the 2.5 year old back to WDW in my opinion that was the best vacation at Disney we ever had. Everything was so real her reaction to everything was priceless. I'm sure it would be the same on a cruise however some children do not like the Disney magic they scream at characters, so I don't think there really is one good age it all depends on the child. Now at 6 years old DD knows nothing is real but we still have a good time.

 

[sandiegosusie]

We have sailed 3 times before with our kids. Our youngest was 18 months old at the time we sailed. In my opinion the best time to sail is when they kids can enjoy all of what the clubs offer. Having said that...4-5 years old for the youngest has been the ideal for our family. The memories are priceless!

 

[kcashner]

Wow...that's a tough one. If it were WDW, I would say the perfect age is 5. At that age and below, the kids know that the met the REAL Peter Pan, Mickey, etc. Older than that can be a different issue.

On the ship, there is so much going on that it is perfect for all ages. I'm with the above--wait until the youngest can fully participate in the programming (3 and potty trained). If I had kids a bit over a year apart, I'd do my first trip at ages 4 and 5. That way, if the next trip didn't happen till 9 and 10....or 14 and 15, they've still done it while it was MAGIC!

FWIW, DD's first cruise/WDW trip was a about 1 1/2 months before she turned 4, and it was a great age. It wasn't on DCL as DCL didn't exist then, but WDW was perfect and the cruise was as good as that line could be.

 

[Evan&Kimberly]

Just got off the Dream with my 5yr old son and I must say he really appreciated the cruise and all it had to offer. He took his first Disney Cruise at the age of 3 and he loved it but this time it was different for him. He knew what he wanted to do and when. He loved swimming going down the slides. He knew what characters that he wanted to see what movies he wanted to watch the shows he wanted to see. He didn’t want to see the last night finale and I didn’t make him. He enjoyed eating in the MDR and tried duck and scallops and he ordered room service every night. He enjoyed the Pirate night and loved watching the movies under the stars. He was sad that the cruise was over and I promised him we would return so I booked while onboard which is the key. I think when we take the children on these vacations at such young ages it is more for us to get the pleasure of seeing them happy, do they remember so young I am not sure but we do have pics to help them remember. But to answer your question you cant Do Disney once....... it's addictive!

 

[Cayley]

We went on our first Disney cruise when my kids were 5 and 7. With limited funds myself, I remember thinking at the time that I was glad I didn't take them when they were any younger. I saw a few younger children have meltdowns mid-day because they were in desperate need of a nap. I was thankful we didn't have to stop for naps or try and work around them.

 

[allaboutthemouse]

Hello,
Took my oldest son when he was just shy of 2 and 4..and we are going again next monthand he is 7, along w/his younger brother who is 4..i think 4 is the best age for the cruise...can't wait to see his reaction! it is priceless at that age, as someone said, they are young enough to still BELIEVE the characters are who they are...w/my oldest, i anticipate him asking if they are in a costume! When we took him @ 2, it was very hard..w/naps, sitting through dinner(yes, he went in the nursery at times - which was very nice), bedtimes -i.e., one of us had to stay in the room w/him if there was something going on and he was asleep, he was scared of the theater/shows - didn't like loud noises and dark at that age..

 

[5lilfish]

I've taken my kids on DCl from 8 mo old through 13 (and still going). I have not found a bad age yet. If I could only go once, I'd probably say 7-9 yrs old.

One other suggestion....my kids were done napping before 3 yrs old too, but they had no problems falling asleep for a nap on DCL. Once we set them down in bed and turned everything off, they were out cold. I'd recommend trying this. I can't imagine missing everything from dinner on through the evening. I much prefer a nap and late nights when we are on DCL....but I do know that this is not for everyone.

Jess

 

[rdevine10]

We booked our april cruise as a one time only cruise with Disney. My girls were 5 and 8. Perfect ages. We had an unbelievable time, never to be forgotten.

That being said, we do hope to cruise Disney again. However, the current pricing is just too high, IMO. I have a dummy date booked and hope to book something for 2013 when the dates become available, but I am not holding my breath at this point. We have officially "jumped" ship and are trying a different cruise line for this april break. Maybe again someday.....

 

[Cayley]

Since we are talking about the perfect age to take a child, I have to mention that we took an awe-struck 16 year old on our 2008 cruise and she had the time of her life. She loved the characters and it was so fun to watch her take everything in and appreciate it so much. I guess whoever pointed out there isn't a bad age is right. Our 5 and 7 year old's were great, but it was the 16 year old who really truly appreciated everything the Disney cruise had to offer where a younger child takes it for granted. To see her excitement made our trip. She spent a lot of time in the Loft and even did a teen only excursion!

 

[roxy84]

5 or 6 years old. They still believe in the magic yet they are old enough to take many memories away for the rest of their lives. A lot of the activities are great for them too.

I went to WDW for the first time when I was 4 - I remember a couple things.

 

[kplatt]

Our kids were 9 and 7 when we did a WDW/cruise combination. Didn't deliberately wait until those ages, just didn't think of it sooner! They were old enough (and tall enough) to ride everything at the parks, and participated fully in everything on board the Wonder. I've never regretted our timing...

BTW, they're now 21 and 19, remember more than I do about our first cruise, and still love DCL!

 

[tinkerone]

perfect age???? 57

 

[FrostMommy]

perfect age???? 57

Haha..yes...except make it a 30.

As far as for the OP, I would also go with the general consensus of above 5 or so, especially if you really want them to remember it. With that being said, however, we have yet to go on a cruise without one kid in the nursery. Our upcoming cruise next April will be no different. Did you know that the characters go and visit them there? I had no idea until one of the nursery ladies told me that my daughter, who was 2 at the time, had had Mickey Mouse all to herself for about half an hour the previous day where she made him tea and cookies in the pretend kitchen. We had wondered why she was talking about Mickey so much more than usual.

 

[Rono007]

We took our first Disney Cruise when our girls were 3 1/2 and 5 1/2. We still watch the videos and look at the pictures and they still remember a lot of it 3 years later. We are going on the Fantasy next May and they are really looking forward to it - they'll be 9 and 7 and have even started a Cruise Jar and saving for their cruise. Perfect age? Any age is perfect for a Disney Cruise!

 

[DisneyOHFan]

I would say 5 - 7. We took our son the first time when he was 5 and I think that was perfect for him to enjoy and remember it.

 

[Zandy595]

We sailed when DS was 6, 9 and 13. So far, he had the best time when he was 9.

 

[MadtownMama]

We took our daughter for the first time at age 3.5, it was pure magic for her as every single character was "real", when we went back at 4.5 she had already put together that Mickey, Donald, basically any character in a full costume that did not speak was not actually real. At 5.5 she is already having her friends tell her that princesses are really just cartoons and that at DW they are just people pretending to be the princesses. Right now I have her convinced that they are real, but I know it's not going to last long and I know she's is conflicted if they are or not.

However on the other side I will say that at each age she was able to ride more and more rides as the taller she got so in that aspect it has become more fun for her. So really it does depend on what kind of trip you are trying to aim for.

edited to add this is all my opionon for DW, not the ship. This is our first cruise so I can't really say one way or the other, except we cannot do some of the excursions we would want to do because our daughter is not old enough yet. So if I had to plan all over again and was told that we could only ever do one cruise in our lifetime I would have picked when our daughter was more 8 or older because of the excursions.

 

[Twinprincesses]

We have taken them at 5, 7 and now they are almost 9. Everytime we have had a wonderful trip and they always have a blast. I think every age is a perfect age.