I know I can be long winded, but I am just trying to cover EVERY SINGLE DETAIL!!!
DisneyDarwin - THanks. I am really glad I could be helpful. I relied on someone's info to get me around these ports so I am glad to give a little back.
And there were other cruise ship people on the beach while we were there. We did not feel crowded and the snorkeling areas were not clouded up because of three reasons, 1. the water is deep enough not to have the sand kicked up and cloud the water, 2. there was never a time it felt crowded even with the
DCL excursion people and the people from other ships. 3. The park is large enough to disperse people.
I grew up at Hwy 6 and Bellaire, and still go back to visit my parents several times a year! My license plate says NTVTEXN! I am a Texan through and through!!!
indymom1 - We did CNP on our own, and not through an excursion. Not only does DCL not offer many excursions that allow for little ones, but we didn't want to be constrained by the tours that did. So we did both 7 mile and CNP on our own. OUr DD is 3, and we found both sites to be good for little ones. Both 7 mile and CNP had restrooms and bottled water accessible. On 7 mile, the chairs were free, but no umbrellas.
CNP had numerous straw umbrellas. We brought along our Neat Sheet, (which we always travel with) and if we had needed it, which we didn't, there are plenty of shady areas aside from the straw umbrellas that would have been perfect to toss down our Neat SHeet and lay down in a shady area. Perfect for babies I think. I would not have taken a baby into the water here though. You walk down the stone steps into the water, and the steps are slippery and you don't walk out too far before the sand drops off. If your 6 year old swims and even snorkels I would do this. THe water is clear and there are no waves or currents to contend with. I saw several parents snorkeling with their children. DH and I take turns on the beach. We snorkel one at a time. We believe in buddy snorkeling, but in this case, the water is clear and snorkeling is great close enough to shore to watch the other one snorkel. So, I made sand castles with my DD while DH snorkeled and likewise. She was perfectly happy. We were perfectly happy.
Stroller - most of the park has cement walk ways. There is a cement pathway around the fake ruins and agricultural tour area. Then of course there is sand. So, I think a stroller would be convenient for getting to and from the beach and around the park. Then you can carry it onto the sand.
I would think the port locations are friendly enough for kids, except for the cab rides. You will just want to hold on tight to your little one. We strolled our 3 yr old around when we went shopping and such in the afternoon at Coz. We only did 7 mile and the Hard Rock at GC, and the HR is right there at the tender station.
And as I tell everyone, when asked what to take on a
disney cruise, take twice the amount of money, film and SUNSCREEN that you need!!! I stress the sunscreen!!!
The Western tour is a great way to handle needing to stay away from the pools. There is so much to do, and you have one less sea day to contend with.
Here is a little extra info about traveling with little ones and Flounders Reef that I usually post when someone asks...I will add this since you have a little one...
>>>When we first cruised our DD was 2 yr 4 mos.
She loved to go to Shutters to look at the pictures. She loved seeing the shows.
Next time I would be more diligent about going down to greet the characters. BIG TIP: Especially on formal nights (and especially the second formal
night) go down dressed for pictures a full HOUR before dinner. If you are early, the lines wil be short and you will have a better chance of getting a good picture. The second formal night, everyone on the ship has figured this out and is down there early. And the photographers will be happy to use your camera to get a family photo of you after they take their professional picture. But we did buy several of their pictures anyway!
We liked Flounders Reef. Our DD is not in daycare, so the closest thing we can compare it to was church nursery.
The Reef: There is a small waiting room out front with a split door to the nursery and a large porthole with one-way glass so you can come and peek anytime without getting caught.
The first room is large and brightly colored. There is a tv always playing Disney movies. Some rocking chairs, some pads and soft chairs on the floor for the kids. There is a bookshelf with lots of books. There are tons of toys, though they tend to be aimed at the younger children (understandable). The changing table is right out in the open, and CMs wear gloves to change diapers. There is a a large play area. Then there is a smaller, back tv room with some rocking chairs and another tv so, as was the case with our DD, kids who didn't want to sleep, but just wanted to veg out and watch tv in a quiet area, could do so.
Then there is the crib room, for children who go to sleep while being rocked by CM, fall asleep on the mats watching movies, or its nap time.
When we were there, the child to CM ratio was 2:1 sometimes even 2:4. It just depends.
The trick is to be at the Reef door when it first opens on Saturday. (If not open yet, go ahead and form line along the wall.) Then when you can go in, book every single night. And then cancel as you do not use it. Just make sure you know the cancellation policy and remember to make the call! You may not get every time you request, but they call you everyday to confirm the next day if they are expecting you.
Also, when we were on the ship, there were no Reef times that coincided with Palos brunch on days at sea. This is no longer the case! Sunday, before they dock at Key West, is the only day that you can put your child in FR and go to Brunch. Take advantage of this and don't miss brunch.
M.M.'s Magical Guide talks about the nursery and how safe it is as far as no one being to be alone with your child without being noticed and about the background checks and training on Reef staff.
http://hometown.aol.com/entropym/pages/index.htm
They give you a pager. They are SUPER diligent about paging you if your child needs you. We appreciated this. One time, our DD started asking for us. They were seconds away from paging us when she got interested in something else. But I appreciated them telling us this, and them being willing to page us just cause she wanted us.
We took our umbrella stroller on the cruise. When not in use it was folded up in the closet, but otherwise, we took it everywhere. It really helped when it came to not wanting to wear DD out!
CAN'T MISS: Make sure you get a wake up call every morning! You just dial it into the phone and when it rings, it is Mickey Mouse calling to get you out of bed! This was one of DDs favorite things to do was answer the phone and have it be Mickey Mouse who was calling her. We ended up doing it several times even after we were all awake. We just dialed in 7:45, 8:00, etc. She loved it!
Any other questions? Let me know!
Have a great cruise!>>>>
I am happy to answer anything else you might want to know!
Karen
