Tell me about the DCL nurseries

[Burgermom]

I am planning a cruise for next winter with my husband, 5 year old and 2 year old. We are looking at either cruising on the Magic or Dream.

What is the nursery for under 3s like? My daughter will have just turned 2.

Have parents been happy with the care their kids received? Did the kids enjoy the nursery? How difficult was it to book (in other words, was it usually full or available during the times you hoped to use it?) Will a 2 year old feel "babied" in the nursery?

Any thoughts on the kids club for a 5 year old would also be appreciated.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

I won't be using the nursery (on the Fantasy) for another month-ish so I can't help with questions pertaining to staff and childcare; however, booking the hours was super easy and flexible. I am traveling in low season which could be why it was so easy but even now if I wanted to change hours I have almost all day, every day available to me.

I will bookmark this thread and update it once I'm back from my trip to give information and answer questions.

 

[debc1212]

We used the nursery for our son on two different cruises. On the Magic when he was 17 months old and on an Alaskan cruise on the Wonder when he was 2 1/2. We were very pleased with both nurseries and the staff was excellent. These were our first cruises with DCL and we had no problem booking our times prior to the cruises. He seemed to enjoy his time there - although he didn't talk much at the time, he would get very excited each time we took him back & would reach out for the counsellors to be held by them. We felt very comfortable leaving him there and were so glad he had fun while we went to Palo or spent time in the spas.
Hope that helps.

 

[Shamrock927]

We were on the Fantasy last summer when our daughter was two. We did not use the nursery for care at all, but we did visit during their open hours and found it to be very clean, well organized, and the staff seemed professional and friendly. Other people we talked to who had left their children in their care all seemed very happy. Nobody had any complaints.

 

[amanda ek]

We have used the nursery on the magic x2 and on the fantasy starting at 8 mos all the way to 2.9 (niece turned 3 the next week) and have always had good experiences. They do crafts, puzzles, games with older kids so they are not bored or babied.
Never had a problem extending hours (eg if they were sleeping and we wanted to let them finish a nap) or booking new hours. We never used the nurseries in the evenings which seem much busier so I would recommend hooking those hours in advance if you want them.

 

[lunarsongbird]

We used the nursery quite a bit on the Wonder on our Alaskan Cruise for the June 20th sailing. Our son is 15 months and had a wonderful time. There were no times on our cruise when the nursery was completely booked. It depends on the cruise and when you are going, I believe. June isn't the peak season for the Alaskan cruise season.

This is Disney's forte. They are excellent at entertaining and loving on children of all ages.

This is one of my favorite moments from the nursery. We went to go pick up William at around 10 PM and no one was at the front desk- so we peeked inside and they were all inside playing with Donald Duck....and looking like they got caught with their hand in a cookie jar. LOL. William was the only baby left in the nursery and they were having as much fun as if there was an entire room of kids. All children are treated as special guests.

Here we are saying goodbye to our nursery friends:

Occasionally they would bring him over to the Oceaneers Club with them, but the difference is that he was completely and totally chaperoned. I felt completely confident and safe with their choices and how they cared for my son.

When the first navigators were posted for the first Alaskan cruise of the season- I strategically booked nursery time online for things I wanted to do. I knew that the navigators could change....but they didn't. So I didn't need to modify any of my times.

 

[Chemist]

We didn't PLAN to use the nursery with our 3 1/2 year old on our recent trip, but it worked out great.

Big brother happily trotted into the Club. Little brother melted down. He was tired and honestly, needed a nap.

I took him out and we peeked into the nursery. (This was mid-afternoon on a sea day.) They had plenty of space.

A caregiver came out and talked to him soothingly about coming inside and painting with her. She was quiet and kind (rather than enthusiastic), and he happily went into her arms. He painted for awhile and then took a nice nap. He played for awhile after his nap. Never seemed unhappy about it being baby-ish.

 

[Terapin]

We used the nursery recently on the Magic and can't say enough about the staff and care. My daughter was 8 months old and they were great with her. She enjoyed a few CMs in particular and they were able to really get to know her in her 8 visits and I felt confident that she was in good hands. It was clean and organized, calm and fun. I witnessed many kids in the CM's arms and on their laps. Lots of love and care.

 

[michellekcm]

We have used the nursery for both our kids, from 10 months up to 3 1/2 years. They (and we) loved it. At all ages. Your 2yo definitely won't feel babied - there is tons to do, and the counsellors love spending time with the kids. The character drop-ins are awesome too. Snow White reading a story? Peter Pan playing peek-a-boo? So cool!

My 3yo finds the clubs overwhelming (hence going back to the nursery), but my daughter has loved the clubs since age 4 1/2. If they are a bit shy at first then let the CM on the door know, and they'll make sure someone keeps an eye out or plays with your child for a little bit to get them acclimatised (where possible, if it's super busy they will probably not get 1-1 attention, but they will still keep an eye out).

Other things you can do to help your 5yo out is to go to open house with them to get them used to it, and also to take them for a specific event - eg Storytime with Belle or Toy Story Bootcamp or whatever interests them. It's much less overwhelming following a structured event at the start than going in and having totally free choice.

 

[Imedley200]

Our little guy has cruised at 10 months (Dream) and 16 months (Fantasy). On the Dream we didn't book any time (we cruised with grandparents) but went during Open House hours. On the Fantasy we didn't pre-book any time prior to the cruise. We went to the Open House on embarkation day and asked about availability & booked one time period on our Star Wars day. We went every morning to the open house and booked a couple more short spots the day off. We were very pleased with the whole experience. Also look for Toddler time in the Navigator or ask the nursery staff.

 

[dinoscope]

My daughter will be turning 3 the day before our first cruise on the Dream this August, and my son turns 4 while on the cruise. Will she be overwhelmed by big kids? Or do they have activities attractive to smaller ones? They'll most likely want to stay together but I can't see complete free play as something they'll want to visit often if they're run over by big guys.

 

[Burgermom]

Thanks everyone! This all puts my mind at ease!

 

[Burgermom]

We used the nursery quite a bit on the Wonder on our Alaskan Cruise for the June 20th sailing. Our son is 15 months and had a wonderful time. There were no times on our cruise when the nursery was completely booked. It depends on the cruise and when you are going, I believe. June isn't the peak season for the Alaskan cruise season.

This is Disney's forte. They are excellent at entertaining and loving on children of all ages.

This is one of my favorite moments from the nursery. We went to go pick up William at around 10 PM and no one was at the front desk- so we peeked inside and they were all inside playing with Donald Duck....and looking like they got caught with their hand in a cookie jar. LOL. William was the only baby left in the nursery and they were having as much fun as if there was an entire room of kids. All children are treated as special guests.

Here we are saying goodbye to our nursery friends:

Occasionally they would bring him over to the Oceaneers Club with them, but the difference is that he was completely and totally chaperoned. I felt completely confident and safe with their choices and how they cared for my son.

When the first navigators were posted for the first Alaskan cruise of the season- I strategically booked nursery time online for things I wanted to do. I knew that the navigators could change....but they didn't. So I didn't need to modify any of my times.

Thanks so much for your great photos! So helpful in trying to picture it all!