is it worth it to take a 22 month old

[TraciG]

How is the nursery, how much $ money is it, do they pay good attention to the kids there ?

Is it worth it to take a Disney Cruise with a 22 month old that still naps twice a day ?

Can u take your toddler in any of the pool if they're NOT potty trained ??

thanks

 

[mommasita]

I believe the nursery is 6 per hour, on a minimum of 3 or 4 hours..You can book 3 spots, and be on standby for others...

THey treat the children wonderfully, and are fully attentive...


THe Micky pool has 2 ears filled with warmer water, and this is the "only" area where non-pottied children are allowed....I understand this totally, but it is not easy for parents to keep the children out..Very hard on the younger ones, as they do not understand, and see the other children splashing about..

THis is me here, but I would wait until my child was fully potty trained...

 

[lillygator]

How is the nursery, how much $ money is it, do they pay good attention to the kids there ?

Is it worth it to take a Disney Cruise with a 22 month old that still naps twice a day ?

Can u take your toddler in any of the pool if they're NOT potty trained ??

thanks

Absolutely! They will have a blast! They can go in the Mickey ear of the pool with swim pants on but not the pool. Flounders is excellent and the staff is wonderful..

 

[Sarangel]

I dunno - I'm still pretty ambivilent about having taken our 25 month old daughter. You are allowed 10 hours booked time in Flounders (with a 2 hour minimum). The staff is wonderful, our daughter never looked back when she went in, and she stays at home not daycare.

That being said, my DH & I found that only one of us could do "adult" stuff at a time since the other one of us (or both of us) were playing with her or in the stateroom while she slept. We found that we couldn't really use the verandah since the pack 'n' play blocked access to the door. We also didn't get to use more than 6 hours at Flounders, since somebody else sent their sick child in and our DD caught whatever it was. That killed several days (and our Palo reservations) while the bug worked its way through her system. The swimming is restricted to one of the mickey ears, and while our daughter had a good time, she really wanted to play in the real pool.

We had a good time, but it wasn't as restful as I had hoped. The waitstaff were wonderful after they warmed up, DD loved the pool at the Krystal Resort, the shows, and playing in the sand in Cabo and I love the pictures we had taken, but if I'd known what I do now I'm not sure I'd do it again.

 

[dharma517]

I would say wait until your child is fully potty trained and needs only one nap per day if you want to have any kind of adult time on this cruise. If your idea of a vacation is with your child most or all of the time then go for it. If you want to get more than a little adult enjoyment out of it than wait...especially if you are not able to take this kind of vacation often.
Jenn

 

[Contrariwise]

Flounders is great, but he can't be in there all the time- & with an active toddler it's still a lot of work! So be realistic in your plans and be prepared. The fountain area of the pool didn't work out for us at all, DS(19mo old) desperately wanted to go in the actual water. The wall seperating the two are low enough to crawl over so we spent all of our energy trying to keep him out! Lots of chasing up and down the deck/hallways/stairs and in and out of elevators. I plan on waiting another 2 years so DS can go to the clubs and fully enjoy the pools. & I want to be able to enjoy the vacation too!
For his naps we lucked out that there were some movies playing at the same time- he slept in our arms. DS refused to nap in the room (he knew there was stuff going on right outside the door- and he learned how to open it ) so he did miss a few naps- and we paid for it!!

 

[KensJen]

Yes, I would go...and we did! I guess it really depends on what you are expecting from your vacation. Do you want mostly adult time or do you want to spend most of it with your child? We had both, but definitely spent more time with my son, than without.

Flounders was awesome. Our last cruise was a 3 day and DS spent somewhere around 10 hours total there. The staff was the same all three days and we loved them all. They gave a lot of attention to all of the kids, always remembered names, could tell us how long DS slept, etc. They even rocked him to sleep. I was very impressed, especially since I was so unsure about leaving him with "strangers". The cost was $6 per hour, and usually it is not hard to get the reservation times you need/want.

Our DS was OK with being in the small mickey ear area, there were little sprinkler things that sprayed water that he loved. I'm sure he would have loved to be in the regular pool, but it wasn't a big issue. He really just loved walking all around the ship, looking out the windows, looking through the verandahs at the water, some of the simple stuff.

The dining room staff was great with him. They always brought out crayons, paper, etc...and would try to make him laugh, sing to him, bring out anything we requested. Some nights we would get halfway through dinner and he was finished, so one of us would take him down to flounders and we could leisurely finish our meal. We also went to Palo one night and just ordered him some room service before we took him to flounders.

We also were able to do a couple spa treatments while he was at flounders...ahhhh. So I definitely feel like we were able to get some time for ourselves.

As a mom of a toddler you know how you have to always expect the unexpected. Things will happen to change your plans a bit, and you have to allow time for naps, early bedtimes,etc. But I really like to take my son with us when we go anywhere, so I just accept that is how it is going to be. It is still fun for us, and I know he really enjoyed it as well.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

 

[Cruella de mom]

We went on RCL with a 3 year old and a one year old. We had a crew member come to our cabin every night and she took the girls to dinner in the crew mess then to the children's activities and then put them to bed. So we came back to the cabin every night to two sleeping children. Even still, during and after I swore up and down I wouldn't go on any cruise again until the youngest was at least three - He'll be 6 when go next summer.

A cruise should be relaxing and fun. Only YOU know if your child can handle the change of routine, the strange dining, the restricted swimming and still let you have a good time. Some babies are flexible, some are not.

If you want my advice, wait a year and it will be worth the wait.

 

[tvguy]

I'd say no. Too expensive, and a child that young will never remember the trip. My first memories are from about age 3 1/2 on. We moved then, and I do recall part of the move, but have no memory of the house we moved from.
Strong recollections I have start at about age 5 or 6, when I started school.

We waited until age 4 to take our kids to Disneyland, and hindsight that might have been a year or so too young. Not so much the nap issue, just overload on the kids, too many things happening, too much stimulation, and in kids, that mix can add up to an unhappy and scared child.
My parents didn't take me until I was age 8, and my wife's folks didn't take her until age 10.

Now, our kids traveled extensively by plane, half way across the country twice a year to grandpa and grandmas and great-grandpa and great grandma's house from age 6 months on. But other than the flights (which were challenging) the final destination was always a quiet, comfortable place for them. Both kids had frequent flyer cards by are 2, and had racked up 30,000 miles on them by that age.

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

I agree with a previous poster that you can go and still enjoy yourself with a toddler even if they aren't potty trained. My first DCL cruise we had a 5 year old and a just turned 2 year old (the day before we left). We had some homesick issues at night, but that was the worst of it. She was wonderful during the day and loved the Pirate Museum in Nassau (we only went on a 4 day). Back when we went they didn't even allow swim diapers in the Mickey pool at all, so that wasn't even an option for us. We never tried Flouder's because she was very much a Mommy's girl. For us, the point of vacations is spending time with the kids so I would definately have done it again.

Then again, my oldest DD's first WDW trip she was 9 months old, and my second DD's first WDW she was 6 months old. I've found that even at that young age, they enjoy the experience. The sights, the sounds, the people watching. Sure, we had to have more downtime with my DD when she was 6 months old than now that she's 4 and insanely active. That's what makes it unique every time. It's all in what you expect from your trip. My oldest (7 now) has been to WDW 3 times, DL twice and a DCL once (will be two in January). My youngest has been to WDW twice, DL once and one DCL (soon to be two). Not as many times as some of the kids around here, but not bad either.

Each age group enjoys something different and it's like going for the first time every time because they are interested in different things.

To sum this long winded post up, go but be flexible. Allow yourself to go with the flow and at you and your childs pace. The smile and wonder on their faces when they look out over the ocean for the first time is well worth it.

 

[TraciG]

thank you for all of your responses, I think we'll wait to go,if we're groing to spend so much money I want to be sure about the trip !

Well I guess i'll have to start thinking about going somewhere else !

Everyone has been a BIG help

 

[PrincessHaleysMom]

We went on the Magic when our daughter was 4 months old. We went knowing we wouldn't be able to do everything and that was fine with us. We relaxed and enjoyed our time together and she slept thru dinner most nights.
We then took her on another cruise (different cruise line) when she was 16 months old - again knowing she can't do everything and that was fine with us. We had been on land vacations with her and to me those were the pits. Having to get in the hot car and go from place to place.. not my idea of vacation. We are going again and she will be 28 months old. We still know she is not going to be able to do everything - she isn't a fan of the potty yet and I'm not pushing it - but we will be able to spend time together and take things at her pace and enjoy time together.