Just a little vent...

[HookedonMagic]

If you think that people posting are hostile, wait until you actually sail! We sailed RCCL's Mariner of the Seas last year with our two children. While the staff was great, our fellow passengers were (generally) VERY anti-children (and we sailed in March, during spring break.) At the time, our son was only 1 (our daughter was 14...she's a very mature teen who loves DCL!), so we NEVER brought him in the dining room (we ate in shifts.) We NEVER brought him to any shows and he spent NO time by the pool. Yet, just taking him on deck or to the shopping promenade brought sighs and stares from our fellow (older) cruisers. People made no attempt to hide their resentment that we would dare to bring a toddler on board. Twice, in the elevator, we had people ask why we even bothered sailing (and our son was simply standing, holding our hands, not making a single peep!)

Anyway, good luck! And happy sailing. We actually had a good time (nice ship, good ports, friendly staff, etc), even with the grumpy crowd on board.

 

[cindalu]

I also agree with what the other posters have said. My oldest is 9 and she just came back from her 9th trip to Disney. She loves it. She has two sisters and they love it too. What is a family vacation if you don't take the kids. Don
t they deserve a vacation too. When my oldest was a baby and still today we go to one of the parks in the morning and go back to the hotel in the afternoon so they can swim. Then we go to the parks at night. This has always worked for us.

We are also planning our next Disney cruise for next year.

 

[Buddy Bear]

Twice, in the elevator, we had people ask why we even bothered sailing (and our son was simply standing, holding our hands, not making a single peep!)

Wow!!

I am a fun loving individual who enjoys life and my children, but if some stranger made a comment like that and it was clearly directed at me then I am ripping into them like there is no tomorrow.

Funny thing is my wife refers to it as a "Luke Rant". She says I resemble Luke on the Gilmore Girls when I "get crazy".

 

[lbgraves]

If you think that people posting are hostile, wait until you actually sail! We sailed RCCL's Mariner of the Seas last year with our two children. While the staff was great, our fellow passengers were (generally) VERY anti-children (and we sailed in March, during spring break.) At the time, our son was only 1 (our daughter was 14...she's a very mature teen who loves DCL!), so we NEVER brought him in the dining room (we ate in shifts.) We NEVER brought him to any shows and he spent NO time by the pool. Yet, just taking him on deck or to the shopping promenade brought sighs and stares from our fellow (older) cruisers. People made no attempt to hide their resentment that we would dare to bring a toddler on board. Twice, in the elevator, we had people ask why we even bothered sailing (and our son was simply standing, holding our hands, not making a single peep!)

Anyway, good luck! And happy sailing. We actually had a good time (nice ship, good ports, friendly staff, etc), even with the grumpy crowd on board.

WOW!!! I am very glad that we didn't encounter this at all. We did get comments from other cruisers about the kids...but they were more along the lines of how cute they looked dressed up or how well they were behaving waiting in line or for the show. We went to the dining room as a family every meal. With all the noise & activity in the main three rooms I don't see how a child could make that much noise to disturb anyone else.

We did observe rude behavior by other guests though it was mostly directed towards CMs. One woman in the buffet line the first day reamed a CM because they didn't give her a child's tray like I received. Well, she didn't have any kids with her. I had two.

 

[tezb]

Everyone has their own tolerance and capacity as far as cost goes, but I'm always curious when I see this comment...does that mean you wouldn't take any kind of vacation with a little one? What about weekend outings that cost money, such as going to a zoo, etc.?

And what about folks that may have kids ages of varying ages? Do the oldest kids not get to go on nice vacations until the youngest get old enough to remember it?

Actually, we have taken our oldest on various trips when he was a baby/toddler. Not a problem but it wasn't our idea of a vacation either. Disneyland is a wonderful place for infants/very young children IF that is your choice. Knowing what is involved in the Parks just made us decide that waiting was best for us. We want a vacation that is fun for the whole family. We feel limited by what we can do w/ an infant so waiting was the best choice for us. We went back to Disneyland when my 2 oldest were 9 & 6 and my youngest was 3. We didn't make the 2 older ones wait til the youngest was older....however this trip was spoiled (for me) as my youngest suddenly got ill once we got there and I spent half the time in the hotel room...kids are so unpredictable, esp when it's time to travel. We are not Disney/Park fanatics and my kids have not asked to go back. However, they love the cruise experience and we try to do those as often as we can afford. They actually told us they prefer the cruises over the Parks.

A weekend outing is a totally different thing. It is not nearly as costly and doesn't involve eveything that goes along w/ the dynamics of travelling a family of 5....no comparison in my opinion.

 

[grlzmom]

No, a trip to the zoo is not a week long cruise, or week long trip to Disneyland. Save the nice vacations for when the kids can remember them.
My kids both had frequent flyer cards by the time they were 2, but those trips were always to grandma and grandpa, or great grandpa and great grama's house. Places where they could take frequent naps. We were so concerned about disturbing great granpa and grandma, we rented a motor home so we would have our own space. Not only to 2 year olds need naps and quiet time away from excitment, but so do their 85 year old great grandparents.

I think its nice to be respectful of the grandparents needing quiet time. We do the same thing, and stay in hotels when visiting the grandparents. Even though they consistently invite us to stay with them, I think it is way less stressful on us and them to have some alone/downtime.

However, I have seen just as many kids have meltdowns on zoo trips, mall trips and other outings (Lowes and Home Depot in particular) as we have on Disney trips and cruises. That is just something that can and does happen anywhere. I have had my toddlers have a total meltdown in Walmart and they werent in the least bit tired. I think how it is handled by the parents with respect to the child and others he/she may be disturbing is what is important. Children learn by example and there are way too many parents today not setting a good example for their kids. Waiting until your child is four or five is no guarantee that they won't in some way disrupt someone elses vacation or cause your own to be more stressful.

Children remembering their vacations is not the only reason to take them. Plenty of parents (myself and dh included), grandparents, and siblings love the memories of the vacations with the children when the children are way too small to remember them on their own. Vacation for us is about being together, relaxing and enjoying each others company. Not about whether or not someone remembers it enough to make it worth spending the money on.

I respect everyones opinions, and love hearing them, but for us I can't imagine having waited til our kids were five for Disney or DCL.

 

[cindalu]

I agree with you. I thought vacation is about being together not on what a child might remember or not. I also couldn't imagine waiting either. It also helps that we are DVC members.

 

[DancingBear]

Actually, we have taken our oldest on various trips when he was a baby/toddler. Not a problem but it wasn't our idea of a vacation either. Disneyland is a wonderful place for infants/very young children IF that is your choice. Knowing what is involved in the Parks just made us decide that waiting was best for us. We want a vacation that is fun for the whole family.

One of the great things about going with (only) a preschool-aged kid is being able to go in the offseason. You avoid the heat and lines which can be taxing on the youngsters. If those issues are handled, then in almost every other respect, we've found a WDW trip to be an ideal location, because they're so geared toward families. Not just the attractions themselves, but the support facilities--stroller rental, childcare centers, transportation, restaurants that cater to the youngsters, etc. Much more than ostensibly more "relaxing" vacations such as a week at a beach condo.

 

[lbgraves]

When DH & were dating we went on trips because we like to travel. We spent 10 days exploring Nova Scotia & New Brunswick. Most people thought that we were on our honeymoon since we were taking such a trip. I don't believe in waiting to experience something that interests you. We have wonderful memories of those trips together. When the kids joined us it seemed only natural to keep exploring & traveling. We get questioned but I just can't go with the the wait until they are old enough or wait until you retire. What happens if you don't get that opportunity. God forbid something happens to you, your spouse or one of your children. Those memories will be all that you have. You just can't guarantee that the "one day" you are waiting for will ever arrive.

 

[bubbasmom99]

One of the great things about going with (only) a preschool-aged kid is being able to go in the offseason. You avoid the heat and lines which can be taxing on the youngsters. If those issues are handled, then in almost every other respect, we've found a WDW trip to be an ideal location, because they're so geared toward families. Not just the attractions themselves, but the support facilities--stroller rental, childcare centers, transportation, restaurants that cater to the youngsters, etc. Much more than ostensibly more "relaxing" vacations such as a week at a beach condo.

OMG isn't that the truth! This year, we are heading to Disney with the masses because my son started school. We were really so spoiled by going in the off-season before!

 

[LiserAnn]

I expected to see kids on Disney, and I did. I took my kids. Kids were never a problem.
As a parent I was a little surprised to see babies. I just got back from Disneyland and was surprised how many babies were there too. We waited until our kids were 4 before taking them to Disneyland, and my youngest was 11 on our first cruise. Not sure how much enjoyment the babies, or the parents get. I think 4 or 5 is the youngest anyone should consider for either a cruise or Disneyland, otherwise it can just be too overwhelming for both the kids and the parents.

While I respect your opinion, I have to disagree also. We live in So Cal and we had APs to Disneyland the year my second son was born. We have such special memories from our year at DL when Drew was born. One of many special times was when he was 4 months old and Alice and the Mad Hatter got down at his level and were gushing all over him and he was full of smiles. Those pics are the cutest and we smile every time we look at them. Does he remember, no, of course not but DH and I do as well as his older brother. Having APs that year was the best thing we did. And we'd only go for a few hours each time. We also went to WDW when he was 2 and his brother was just 6. DS2 was free and we all had an excellent trip. Now, I tend to be a stressful mommy, so don't think we had a great time because I'm the laid back type, cuz I'm not (ask DH) . But, I did make plans in advance of what we'd do and I didn't over pack our schedule. It was reasonable and if someone was tired, we headed back to the hotel without an issue. It was a great experience for us. On night we even hired a "fairy godmother" and DH and I went out to dinner at our resort. She was a wonderful grandmotherly type, brought a bunch of toys and the kids loved her. My DS7 still talks about "Vera". Everyone asked us why we were wasting our money going to WDW when he was so young. Well, he was free, we used frequent flier miles and don't DH, myself and our other son deserve to enjoy ourselves and build family memories? Following TVGuys rationale, if we waited until Drew was 4, then our older boy would have been 8 before any Disney vacations and memories could be experienced. That makes no sense to me and seems cruel to my older son.

I think it's all perspective. For our family it worked how we did it, for others it might not. It's very individual to your family and how you see and experience things.

Lisa

 

[flexsmom]

Went to Turks & Caicos when DS (now 2) was 7 months and his big sister was 4. It was about a 5-hour travel time involved and everyone was good to go. Plenty of nap-time at the resort and all 4 of us had fun with lots of time together and lots of time apart (thanks to great kids clubs.) Same thing for us with WDW and DCL - it's only a 3-4 hour travel evolution. I'm dying to go back to Hawaii or to Tahiti, but won't even think about attempting it until DS is at least 5 or 6 and able to withstand the lengthy planetrip - for us and for our fellow passengers! We're also lucky to have easy-going kids who take change in stride, as long as the key elements of their schedules are intact - those are (1) food time and (2) nap time. Everyone is different - but it certainly is frustrating to see so many people down on people who dare to travel with kids. I've been researching other cruiselines and was also turned off by the comments so many people on other boards have made about it, so I guess I'll stick to DCL for a while (poor me!)

 

[Miss Eeyore]

I think this post and replies might have taken a wrong turn....zigged instead of zagged. I don't think anyone here is "anti-kid"....most adults who cruise DCL are kids themselves, at heart.

The adults who have posted here mostly are concerned that the areas set aside for adult-only use be respected as adult-only. We seem to have had differing levels of compliance with the rules. In our own experience our last cruise was stressful because there was far too much "invasion" of adult areas by families with young children, to escape the chaos of the family areas. DCL did NOT do a good job of reminding those folks that children were not allowed in adult areas. If all the families were like the good folks here on DIS, there would be no problem....they know what the rules are and what to expect. Unfortunately there alsways seem to be a few that make life miserable for everyone. I know that my tolerance for kids is immeasureable, providing I can plunk myself down in peace at an adult venue.

 

[Buddy Bear]

The adults who have posted here mostly are concerned that the areas set aside for adult-only use be respected as adult-only. We seem to have had differing levels of compliance with the rules.

I can't say we have any experience in this area. We don't go to the clubs, hang out at Signals, go to Serenity Bay, or participate in any of the adult only venues.

I guess we are just kids at heart

I don't want to grown up I'm a Toys R Us kid

 

[TammyAlphabet]

One of my favorite memories from Disneyworld is when my DD7, who was 2 at the time, was on the Safari at AK and said," Look Mommy, its Bambi!!" It was very quiet at the time and everyone smiled. It is a treasured memory and I am glad I didn't miss it.