Tips for first Disney Cruise with 4 year old?

[FireflyTrance]

Hello! We have a 4 night California Coastal cruise coming up in Sept on the Disney Wonder. This will be our first Disney cruise. We picked it because it’s near where we live and it was relatively inexpensive (for DCL anyway ) On the last non-Disney cruise we took, my daughter got food poisoning and it wasn’t much fun. Hoping for a better time this time!


It will be me, my husband and our 4 year old daughter. I am wondering if anyone can give us any advance tips about planning a fun vacation, especially activities that might be fun for a 4 year old? My travel agent mentioned some onboard activities can be booked before you arrive. We only have one port which is Victoria, BC so the trip is mostly just about enjoying time on the ship. After the cruise we will be heading to Disneyland for a few days. Thanks for any tips!

 

[Weedy]

75 days prior to your cruise you can go online and book Princess and Frozen meet and greets.

 

[TestingH2O]

Definitely book the Meet and Greets.

My 4 year old loves the slide. She also enjoys eating her dinner quickly and going to the clubs rather than lingering at the table.

Character meets are big fun too.

Honestly though, she just loved being on vacation and being open to all the fun stuff that happened. And ice cream. She likes the free flowing ice cream.

 

[FireflyTrance]

75 days prior to your cruise you can go online and book Princess and Frozen meet and greets.

OK I am going to mark that in my calendar. Hopefully those don't book up before the 75 days. I know people who have gone on the cruises before get to book earlier.

 

[amberwc]

Don't overplan, but planning a time for her to take a little rest/nap even if she doesn't nap anymore will help a lot so you can enjoy the evenings later than you might be able to at home. While my kids nap, either one of us goes and does something, or we both kick back and watch a movie in the room, or sit on the veranda and watch the world go by.
There will be so much to do on board.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I second the ice cream. Something so simple, but sitting at the very aft of the ship, eating an ice cream with your little one, watching the world disappear - there's nothing better!

 

[Trera]

We got off a few weeks ago and our DD loved the slide, Moana and Beauty and the Beast in the theater, kids klub, Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, and Princess meet and greets.

have a great trip.

 

[lorenni]

I second the movie theater. Some may think it wasteful to sit in a theater and watch movies on a cruise, but if your kiddo isn't yet able to sit through a movie, this is a great way to test the waters (see what I did there?) You can come and go, and you haven't lost $50 plus bucks on tickets when you leave 15 minutes in, or walk out 15 minutes before the end.

They have wake up with Disney Jr events as well - early in the mornings. No sign up required and they were not very crowded the few times we went. I recall lots of dancing to Jake and the Neverland Pirates music when we went - and characters usually show up to dance a bit with the kids. 4 is the perfect age for that.

 

[FireflyTrance]

Don't overplan, but planning a time for her to take a little rest/nap even if she doesn't nap anymore will help a lot so you can enjoy the evenings later than you might be able to at home. While my kids nap, either one of us goes and does something, or we both kick back and watch a movie in the room, or sit on the veranda and watch the world go by.
There will be so much to do on board.

I wish my daughter would still nap! She refuses to but then gets cranky by like 7pm We signed up for the early dinner but I would also like to be able to do some evening activities. Maybe we will get lucky and she will be willing to nap.

 

[FireflyTrance]

We got off a few weeks ago and our DD loved the slide, Moana and Beauty and the Beast in the theater, kids klub, Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, and Princess meet and greets.

have a great trip.

I was thinking of doing Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. Do you know if this gets all booked up early? We could also do it at Disneyland, but if we do it on the ship she could wear the dress there and at Disneyland Hopefully also for Halloween the next month

 

[Trera]

I was thinking of doing Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. Do you know if this gets all booked up early? We could also do it at Disneyland, but if we do it on the ship she could wear the dress there and at Disneyland Hopefully also for Halloween the next month

It can book up early so better to reserve it early and you can always cancel later. Our experience is the ones in the parks are much harder to get into.

 

[amberwc]

I wish my daughter would still nap! She refuses to but then gets cranky by like 7pm We signed up for the early dinner but I would also like to be able to do some evening activities. Maybe we will get lucky and she will be willing to nap.

With so much activity, you might be surprised. The first full day on board we took a "nap" when we put them down. They resisted, but I told them I needed a rest, so they needed to have 30 minutes of quiet time. We woke them up an hour later.

 

[Trera]

Our DD will nap sometimes but she is definitely growing out of it. If she misses the nap, then she will most likely fall asleep during the show.