stroller or no stroller?

[Charlies_Mommy]

We have only one child (aged 4.5 yrs). Thinking about bringing one of those small umbrella/push strollers for the boat and/or ports. Not sure if that is needed at her age. Anyone tell me any pros/cons that I haven't thought of?
Thanks!

 

[mmouse37]

No issues that I see.....the ports can be hot and humid so if your little one does not/can't walk a stroller is a plus. The Dream and Fantasy are larger than the Magic and Wonder so a stroller may help as well. Some places onboard are pretty far from another. You probably know your child best.

We are bringing our 2.2 year old granddaughter on the Magic without her parents and I know she will want to walk a lot but I also know when she is tired I want to have the stroller with me. I have a narrower one I recently purchased to use onboard and at Disney that folds really easily with one hand. Her normal jogging stroller is just too large to bring. An umbrella stroller should be fine. I wanted something with a canopy as the sun can be strong so that may be something to think about.

MJ

 

[gotomu212]

We would use a small umbrella for ports but not on the ship.

The con (for us) was that there wasn’t enough space for us to navigate when areas were crowded-and the crowded times were the only time he was expected to really walk more or stand around a lot. There were also a lot of places to sit so it isn’t like port where you walk a lot without sitting.

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

thanks. hubby is against bringing it. Just trying to get some nuggets for him to read.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Think about your excursions. While it's a long walk along some ports from the ship to the actual area where you go to your excursion, if you're then getting on a boat or a tram to a destination or going on a hike where a stroller isn't useful, then I wouldn't bother with it. You likely won't use it on the ship. The only thing it might be good for would be a child who still naps and can nap in a stroller so you aren't tied to the room during naptime. That doesn't describe most 4.5 year olds.

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

Thanks FigmentSpark. That is what he said!

 

[cheribelle]

Keep this in mind- On castaway cay, there are a small number of wagons for use (free but first come first served). Came in so handy with our 5 year old in the heat. It carried her and our supplies for the beach.

And yes for most ports, in the heat, a happy and content child in a stroller will make your time more enjoyable.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Thanks FigmentSpark. That is what he said!

lol - sorry. Umm... You never know when you might need a stroller, after all, does DH really want to be stuck carrying her when she's tired? I mean, it's just an umbrella stroller. It folds down nicely and when she's not in it, it can carry other things, like a case of his favourite pop on to the ship.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Are you flying into MCO? Walking through airports is tiring for short legs. If you take a stroller you can hang carry-on luggage on the stroller handles.

 

[Laundress]

It really comes in handy for tired little legs and when not in use it fits nicely under the bed

 

[Trera]

our DD is 4.5 years old now and has been on 15 DCL cruises. We havent brought her stroller in 2 years.

 

[DCLDVC1]

Bring it. We used a small umbrella stroller onboard and found it very useful. We used it a lot more than we anticipated.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Best part about a stroller for us was all the stuff you can carry on it. When our sons stopped needing a stroller, we switched to a backpack.

In your case, I'd ask each other two questions:

If you do bring it: Who is carrying the stroller when your child isn't using it?
If you don't bring it: Who is going to take the lead in motivating the tired child to keep walking?

IMO, whichever of you answers "I will" to the question that goes along with your preferred choice, gets to have their way.

 

[Chemist]

We just stopped traveling with our stroller when our guy was 4.

He's walked his way through multiple airports just fine.
Not having the stroller to haul the STUFF is a bit of a drag though.

We brought it on the cruise when he was 3. We chose not to bother with it on excursions. Strollers and the beach are a BAD combination.

Our main use was for napping--he would fall asleep at the drop of the hat and we'd have a place to store him while we were having fun.
(He slept through Mickey300, he slept on the pool deck, he slept through a magic show...)

 

[Lolo1311]

We just cruised with our 3-year-old daughter last week on the Magic and didn't bring our stroller. We were glad we didn't because some of the hallways on the ship are so small and/or crowded, so it would be really difficult to maneuver. That said, our daughter is on the small side, so we didn't mind carrying her when she got too tired to walk. We also used it as an excuse to eat more desserts since were burning extra calories carrying her around!
It may also depend on your excursions too. We did two excursions on buses, so we didn't have to travel far with her. If we had done an excursion that involved a lot of walking, we probably would have regretted not having a stroller with us.

 

[hamm1207]

They do have complimentary strollers on board. It's first come first served and you have to put down a deposit (I think it's $200) that's refunded upon returning the stroller. We cruised with our 1 year old last year and didn't take a stroller. We did use one of the complimentary ones onboard, but ended up returning it after 2 days because we didn't need it--she just walked everywhere. Our in-laws brought an umbrella stroller for us to use on our cruise this past May (on a different cruise line), and we only used to it hold stuff--it ended up being more of a hassle than a help.

 

[AZMermaid]

No stroller. We stopped using them in the parks at 4 so no way would we even think to bring one on the ships. We went to Alaska when my kids were 17 months and just under 3. We borrowed a stroller for my 17 month old on port days and my 2.75 year old walked. The Disney stroller was nothing fancy, but it worked just fine.

 

[phinz]

thanks. hubby is against bringing it. Just trying to get some nuggets for him to read.

Listen to your husband, at least as regards on board. The boat's not that big and strollers get in the way. (Waiting for everybody to start shouting me down)

 

[AndreAggie]

Listen to your husband, at least as regards on board. The boat's not that big and strollers get in the way. (Waiting for everybody to start shouting me down)

I agree especially with regards to the ship. So often it's easier to take the stairs one or two flights. That's a pain with a stroller. The elevators are tight and you're going to unintentionally catch someone's ankle with the stroller...it's just going to happen. I could somewhat see the benefit for excursions. We took our son when he was 3, almost 4. He did fine walking. If he got tired, we'd throw him on our hip, back or shoulders and carry him. For me, the stroller is just one more thing to lug around and keep up with.

 

[hanscarlet]

we used a stroller when yDD was 2.5 and we found we never used it on the ship but it certainly came in very helpful in the ports and airport, I made my ODD 5 yo walk at the time and she was tired and often shared the umbrella stroller with ydd when we were waiting in lines