Modifying activities/dining once on-board....

MAFreeze

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
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10
First time DCL cruisers here. First time cruisers on any line, actually. We're a family of four (mom, dad, DD's (10 and 7)) scheduled to take the 4-night Disney Dream cruise out of Port Canaveral on 3/28. We were originally confirmed for a March 2020 cruise on the same ship/itinerary...for which I researched extensively and felt well prepared with activity/dining reservations, excursion planning, etc. This (twice) rescheduled cruise came together somewhat last minute and it seems enough has (understandably) changed that I feel a bit lost. Hoping someone can put my mind at ease....

I'm particularly curious, given the modified OC/OL policies, how easily people are currently able to make/modify kids club reservations that align with adult-only activities/dining once on the ship? Of the few kids club reservations available at the time our booking, none aligned with the same for Palo/Remy/Spa/tastings, etc. I.E. I booked First-night dinner at Palo, but all OC/OL reservations appear sold out for that first day. Is there a chance I'll still be able to get the kids into the kids clubs mere hours after stepping on board (and incidentally well past the cancellation window for that first Palo reservation...)? Is there a better approach for reasonably distracting 10- and 7-year-old girls on the ship while mom and dad escape for an hour or two here and there? They're about as responsible as they come for that age but we of course we want to be sensible...
 
I would talk to Guest Services ASAP. They'll help you sort out as much as they can!
 
If you feel that they are mature enough you can bring them to dinner in the main dining room if your palo time lines up. That way you meet your servers and they will take amazing care of them during dinner. Usually right after they can go to an activity in the d-lounge or the theater show which you can plan ahead with them on the navigator. We have done this with our kids who are mature for their age. Pre covid my kids would just go check themselves into the kids club. I always make sure they would stay together. If they have a phone/iPad or other device that they can keep with them and download the DCL app onto they can text you through it onboard to let you know where they are on the ship and you can keep in touch. Have a wonderful time!!
 
On Christmas Fantasy sailing it was easy for granddaughter to get extra time in the kids club whenever she wanted it. DIL had no problem adding and changing times.

Not sure advise to have kids check into the kids club themselves will work. Think there is an age limit for that privilege. Our 7 year old could NOT check herself in. If you can take them to the main dining room before you go to Palo the waiters will pamper them. Probably easier than them going by themselves (although dining staff will escort them to the table) and certainly better food than up on deck. Both Christmas and February the dining rooms encouraged people to arrive at different times to avoid lines getting into the dining room, so you have about a 45 minute window.
 

My kid's are the same ages and I personally wouldn't have them roaming the ship by themselves (the older one yes, the younger one no). Are they left alone at home together, or have any experience with that? We unfortunately decided not to do any adult dining when we go in May because of the kids club reservations, I keep hoping it'll go away but it seems doubtful.
 
They could go to the main dining room as others have suggested. And then when they are done eating they could message you and one of you could run down to the dining room and take them to the club or your cabin if you don't want them going alone. My dd stayed in our cabin and watched a movie once while we had Palo brunch. She was 10 at the time.
 
There are almost always Palo dinner times held back for booking onboard. I would try to change your dinner reservation. As your first night ever on a cruise, I would want to be together in the MDR that night for dinner. Later in the cruise I might consider leaving responsible kids to do MDR and the theater on their own, but only after they've gotten familiar with things. Personally, we didn't bother with Palo on our first cruise, took the time to do the MDRs and experience the included ship activities.

Kids can always check themselves IN at the Club/Lab, it's check-OUT that requires an adult or waiver. Whether or not you can book additional time in the Club/Lab will depend on how many kids are on your cruise. It may be fairly easy or may be nearly full at all times.
 
They could go to the main dining room as others have suggested. And then when they are done eating they could message you and one of you could run down to the dining room and take them to the club or your cabin if you don't want them going alone. My dd stayed in our cabin and watched a movie once while we had Palo brunch. She was 10 at the time.
This is what I would do, especially if you are doing Palo the first night (when your kids won’t be familiar with the ship layout yet). As long as they are used to restaurants, they should be fine by themselves after you drop them off at dinner. However, Palo dinner is typically longer than MDR dinner, so you would need to bring them to the theater, your room, or the Club/Lab if they are done and you are not. I am sure Palo servers are used to parents dashing off mid-meal to deal with kids.
 
On the first day of the cruise, the kids club doesn't even open until around 4pm because it is in open house most of the afternoon. Due to those limited hours, I'd be very surprised if availability opens up as everyone wants their kid to get in their 1.5 hours for the day. I think you need to plan on a different night for Palo.
 
If you feel that they are mature enough you can bring them to dinner in the main dining room if your palo time lines up. That way you meet your servers and they will take amazing care of them during dinner. Usually right after they can go to an activity in the d-lounge or the theater show which you can plan ahead with them on the navigator. We have done this with our kids who are mature for their age. Pre covid my kids would just go check themselves into the kids club. I always make sure they would stay together. If they have a phone/iPad or other device that they can keep with them and download the DCL app onto they can text you through it onboard to let you know where they are on the ship and you can keep in touch. Have a wonderful time!!
My kids will be 11 and 16 when we sail. I do not want them to miss a main dining experience while we do adult dining, but DH is insistent they should not go to the main dining room without us. They're pretty well behaved most of the time, so I think we should trust them to do it. DS16 is no help and says he is going to Marceline Market to get Mac and cheese! Anyway, I may just ship adult dining on the Wish and get my fix on the Fantasy. Really wanted to try Enchante though.
 
Apparently, there are no more appointments for the kids clubs anymore as of today, so enjoy your adult only meal.
 
My kids will be 11 and 16 when we sail. I do not want them to miss a main dining experience while we do adult dining, but DH is insistent they should not go to the main dining room without us. They're pretty well behaved most of the time, so I think we should trust them to do it. DS16 is no help and says he is going to Marceline Market to get Mac and cheese! Anyway, I may just ship adult dining on the Wish and get my fix on the Fantasy. Really wanted to try Enchante though.
The waitstaff has always taken excellent care and pampered the kids when we ate at palo. 16 & 11 are definitely old enough to eat together alone in the MDR. I find my kids get along way better when we aren’t there as they don’t have an audience to their bickering and complaining. What’s nice for you is you don’t have to worry about the kids clubs with them as they can come and go as they please. The wish is running such short itineraries that I don’t think if want to miss MDRs either.
 
The waitstaff has always taken excellent care and pampered the kids when we ate at palo. 16 & 11 are definitely old enough to eat together alone in the MDR. I find my kids get along way better when we aren’t there as they don’t have an audience to their bickering and complaining. What’s nice for you is you don’t have to worry about the kids clubs with them as they can come and go as they please. The wish is running such short itineraries that I don’t think if want to miss MDRs either.
We were originally going to do a back to back in June 2022, so we could do guilt free adult dining on our second cruise. Even though I want to see all the MDRs, I don't want the kids to miss out even more so. DCL canceled our cruises though. Since we are using our 50% off x 2 on more expensive ships, we have to pay full price for the Wish in December. So, we decided not to do back to backs on the Wish anymore. Now, we are squeezing the Wish into 4 days. I could always try for Enchante on the last night, because the boys will have tried the MDRs on nights 1-3. That way, it's okay if DH won't let them in the MDR on their own. I agree with you though, 16 and 11year olds are old enough to eat alone. We'll see what happens. For now, it looks like I am skipping adult dining.
 
Another option if your DH won't let the kids be in the dining room without you and you have early dining is to schedule Palo after your normal dinner time, then go with the kids and just order appetizers or drinks. We did this once or twice when our kids were young. (That said, I agree that 11 and 16 are old enough to eat without you and find their way around, unless they really have trouble with proper restaurant behavior or the 11 year old won't take directions from the 16 year old.)
 
Another option if your DH won't let the kids be in the dining room without you and you have early dining is to schedule Palo after your normal dinner time, then go with the kids and just order appetizers or drinks. We did this once or twice when our kids were young. (That said, I agree that 11 and 16 are old enough to eat without you and find their way around, unless they really have trouble with proper restaurant behavior or the 11 year old won't take directions from the 16 year old.)
Thanks, I could do this if we're willing to skip whatever show is playing that night. I guess I will just wait until we get on the ship, so I can see the dining rotation and show information. I could just book it for the last night but knowing my luck, we will get a 1,2,2,3 rotation.
 
Thanks, all, for the replies and good info. Obviously a lot has already changed since my original post. Not only have kids clubs reservations gone away (yay!) it occurred to me, as others have suggested, that night one isn’t the best for a Palo reservation given we’ll want to stick together as a family in the MDR and get the lay of the land, soak it all in, familiarize ourselves with everything, etc. I was able to change Palo to night 3, which hopefully is the repeat night of our MDR rotation during our 4-night Dream cruise. I feel much more at ease seeing the logical approaches presented above. Thank you!!
 

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