Kids too old to enjoy cruise at 11 and 13?

[stace1214]

We've never cruised before and are talking about booking a DCL trip. Our kids will be 11 (girl) and 13 (boy). Are they too old to really enjoy the Disney aspects of a cruise? They both absolutely love the parks but are both past the character stage. Can anyone share their experiences with kids this age? Thanks so much!!

 

[Justin P Brodley]

I have 2 boys 11 and 13 and we did a cruise in December and they loved it. We are doing another one soon to Alaska and they are over the moon excited to go. If your kids like Disney, and love the characters they will have a blast. The food, the pools, aquaduck, shows, etc. When they were younger they would spend all day in the kids club, now they check the navigator everyday and pick things out they want to do, some together and some apart and spend their time. We barely see them before dinner.

 

[mmbrad02]

My DD was 9 on our first Disney cruise and will be 11 when we cruise again in 47 days. She doesn't know about this cruise, as we have kept is a surprise, but it comes up at least once a month that she wants to take another Disney cruise. Even my husband, who could honestly take or leave Disney in general, LOVES cruising with Disney

 

[Lilsia]

That is actually the best age. Most kids report that the Edge was their favorite club. They are old enough to have more freedom to come and go and that is a good life milestone. I think that a cruise is a great vacation for kids that age.

 

[jomik1]

We've done Disney Cruises when our kids were 11/9 and again when they were 12/10. They had a blast! We are doing another Disney Cruise at the end of this month and my boys are now 29/27 and we our traveling with the oldest's wife and our youngest's fiance. They can't wait to sail again on Disney. When I first asked them if the wanted to do a cruise, their first question was "Are we doing Disney?"

 

[juxtapose]

I think it's a great age for cruising but not sure it has to be a Disney cruise at that age. My daughter is 10 and we just went on the Dream, she loved the pools (she did complain they were too crowded), kids club, shows, and aqua duck. She had very little interest in the characters, random game show like events they did, Mickey slide, or the "special" attention the kids get at dinner (she was annoyed they kept calling her princess lol). She also loved the pirate show and fireworks on pirate night.

 

[Travel60]

We started cruising DCL when they were 10 and 13. They are now 34 and 37 and we are planning cruises with grands. They loved the kids clubs and truly became each other's "wing man" when ages allowed them to both be in teen club.

 

[tvguy]

My kids were 12 and 16 on our Disney cruise. They loved it. Only thing they didn't like was the lack of a Midnight buffet. The HAL cruise we went on when they were 11 and 15 had that. They loved hitting the carving station for a snack before bed.
But as always, I will make it clear our cruises have always been Family Cruises.....time to be together the entire trip, so they never made use of kids clubs on any cruise line.

 

[lilsonicfan]

My kids were 12/10/9 on the last one. The 10yo had no interest at all in going to Edge (so I didn't need to worry about whether I could get him in via a waiver) and the 12yo had no interest in going to kids clubs, so the younger two stuck together and the older one went to Edge. They all had a blast. That being said, they are not into characters at all and are mostly not that into Disney, with the exception of Marvel and Star Wars and maybe the occasional Pixar movie. We are likely to look at other cruise lines now for the bigger variety of activities they offer.

 

[anjuan]

My daughter has always liked DCL cruises but really started to love them around that age. She's 17 now and still loves going on them.

 

[CamColt]

Those were about the ages my kids fell in love with cruising and didn't care about the parks anymore. I think the having freedom part of it was what hooked them. We did always make them come to dinner and get off the ship with us at new ports or if we planned an excursion, but they enjoyed the Edge/Vibe and coming and going as they pleased very much.

 

[rochmom4]

Our kids loved the Disney pre-teen and teen clubs!

 

[Clarkson U]

We've never cruised before and are talking about booking a DCL trip. Our kids will be 11 (girl) and 13 (boy). Are they too old to really enjoy the Disney aspects of a cruise? They both absolutely love the parks but are both past the character stage. Can anyone share their experiences with kids this age? Thanks so much!!

We went on our first sailing when the boys were 9 and 7 - they loved it. We went on our most recent sailing when our boys were 19 and 17 and they both loved it! My 17 year old still spent time in the kids club for his age and my 19 year old had a good time with the 1820 society. At 11 and 13 they can be in the kids clubs and will have lots of independence to come and go from those clubs. The kids and counselors there will keep them busy. Plus they will love the theater shows, watching movies, playing family bingo (for an added cost) playing disney trivia games, karoake nights, swimming, the aquaduck or dunk depending on ship, etc. Bottom line - there is so much to do and enjoy on the ship there is no way your kids will be bored. First cruise - try the mid-ship detective agency. Do it with them as adults. It is fun even for the kid at heart (but maybe not known as the kid on the govt issued ID)

At the age of your kids - my kids were with kids clubs a lot. during the day, late at night, at castaway cay. They had fun and so did we. Let them order room service (lots of free stuff) and they will think you are cool parents but also they will have fun. You can order warm cookies and cold milk from room service and that is what you will get. The kids that age loved it when we let them order it.

At the main dining rooms - if they want to order off the adult menu let them. If they want off the kids menu - that is fine as well. If they want something they had the night before because they liked it that much - have them ask the server. Chances are you will get what you want or your kid will get what they ask for. On our first ever sailing - my older son then only 9 - really wanted an appetizer from Animators Palate for his meal on the last night. So he had told the server the night before this is what he wanted and when we arrived for dinner the server had it ready for him to enjoy.

There is a sports deck up top - let them go up there and mess around. Mini golf, basket ball, ping pong, lots of fun stuff. Tons of disney characters to meet and greet and grab a few pics with.

They will truly have a great time.

 

[shananigans]

We've never cruised before and are talking about booking a DCL trip. Our kids will be 11 (girl) and 13 (boy). Are they too old to really enjoy the Disney aspects of a cruise? They both absolutely love the parks but are both past the character stage. Can anyone share their experiences with kids this age? Thanks so much!!

Absolutely not! They will have a fantastic time and so will YOU! We have a 10 yo daughter and a 14 yo son and they LOVE being in Edge & Vibe! So many friendships have been formed and maintained from the meetings they had on the cruise. It’s been wonderful for both of them - they look forward to every trip, excited about the new friends they’ll meet on board!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

My kid is only 9, but she loves DCL more and more as she gets older. She really appreciates the freedom she has on the ship and has a lot of fun making new friends and going to activities with them (trivia, movies, etc.) She also loves trying new foods and visiting new ports. I'm with the other posters who said their kids like DCL more than the parks as they get into the tween and teen years!

 

[TXAg83]

Our twin daughters just turned 13 on our first Disney cruise. My DW was worried that they were too old. They absolutely loved it. We've since gone on cruises when they were 15 and 17. They still loved the character meets but enjoyed being able to do things on their own. This August my DW and I are doing our first Disney cruise without them (they're 20 and in college) and they aren't very happy with us.

 

[MomOTwins]

This August my DW and I are doing our first Disney cruise without them (they're 20 and in college) and they aren't very happy with us.

Lol this reminds me of how on our last cruise we were chatting with a couple that said they had left the kids at home with grandma and I turned to DH and said maybe we should try that sometime, and my twins simultaneously screamed NOOOooOooOo!!!!

 

[RysMomma]

We're going in August and it was changed several times due to Covid. Now, they are 14 and 12 and they cannot wait to go. We are full fledged Disney lovers so any chance to be around Disney characters makes us all happy!

 

[ichoose2believe]

DS (13) loved the Disney Cruise we took in February. He liked the freedom of Edge to come and go. He was also all about the late night pizza. At Edge he made new friends playing video games, board games, ping pong and other activities. He asks all the time if we can do it again with more days at sea.
Luckily I am surprising him with a birthday cruise towards the end of the year. It’s totally worth it.

 

[cmph]

My kids were 14 (girl) and 10 (boy) on our last DCL and 12 and 9 on their first. They are not interested in the clubs but would go during open house with their younger cousins. They definitely love other parts of DCL though! They are over characters as well, but there is plenty to do otherwise. DD likes the crafts and other family activities. DS loves movies, and having a theater right there was perfect for him, plus there is a movie screen on the pool deck. They would both likely tell you that the best part is the food and drink LOL - being able to get ice cream and soda easily, order whatever they want at dinner (multiple desserts for DD), pool deck food, room service. It's funny that this is the one thing that makes a big difference for that tween/teen age set, but if you think about it, kinda makes sense! Everyone gets what they want, when they want it, no hassles with paying or waiting, and there is no need to worry about everyone matching up their preferences.