What age should I take my Kids on DCL?

[MilesofSmiles]

Looking for some advice, I have 2 boys (currently 6 & 1) that I’d like to take on a Disney Cruise. My issue is they are 4.5 years apart and I’m not sure the right age to take them. I’d like them to experience the magic but also kind of remember it? I went on a few Disney cruises pre-kids and know how high quality they are. My kids have been on plenty of other cruise lines (Celebrity, MSC, NCL, Royal) but I haven’t been able to justify the cost of DCL yet. I was thinking of waiting till my littlest is 3 and my eldest is 8? Should we wait longer? Would love some other people’s opinions.

 

[yowcruiser]

This is a tough one. Your six years old will definitely remember, and it is a great time for a 1st Disney Cruise... Sure, the 1 year old, not so much, yet this is where the nursery service is great so that all can still enjoy a lot of what the ship has to offer. Only having one kid, we felt that between 3 and 4 yo was a great age for a first cruise - but not sure how we would have handled an age difference between two kids

 

[ljhayes]

Since you've sailed other lines with them and you've sailed Disney before, what are you hoping for them/you to experience that is different from the other lines? That might help people give better guidance, otherwise everyone will likely have different opinions.

 

[Skippyboo]

The youngest needs to be at least 3 and potty trained for kids clubs.

 

[MilesofSmiles]

Since you've sailed other lines with them and you've sailed Disney before, what are you hoping for them/you to experience that is different from the other lines? That might help people give better guidance, otherwise everyone will likely have different opinions.

The things that interest me the most are: the character experiences, shows, the kids club experience. I just remember thinking it’s a more intimate environment for kids to get that character interaction? I went when I was early 20’s, lived in Florida and had friends who got cast member discounts. I actually thought they had the best adult only experiences, the kids always seemed engaged. It just seems like it’s magical but I also don’t think we’ll do more than 1 or 2 DCL since the cost is 2X-3X what I can spend on other cruises.

My husband works in central Florida often and we spend a lot of our school breaks down there so trying to plan the right ages to splurge on DCL.

 

[ljhayes]

The things that interest me the most are: the character experiences, shows, the kids club experience. I just remember thinking it’s a more intimate environment for kids to get that character interaction? I went when I was early 20’s, lived in Florida and had friends who got cast member discounts. I actually thought they had the best adult only experiences, the kids always seemed engaged. It just seems like it’s magical but I also don’t think we’ll do more than 1 or 2 DCL since the cost is 2X-3X what I can spend on other cruises.

My husband works in central Florida often of the time and we spend a lot of our school breaks down there so trying to plan the right ages to splurge on DCL.

I would wait until your youngest is at least 3, maybe push to 4 if their personality is such that they won't enjoy the club at 3. But be careful not to wait too long so that your older one doesn't outgrow the kid stuff too much.

 

[Mommb]

We did our first cruise when my son was 4, and our second when he was 7 and my daughter was turning 3 (although she will say, correctly, that she was technically present on that first cruise). That worked great for both of them. I don't know if the kids remember what happened when they were 3 or 4, but they enjoy looking at pictures that show what they did.

As with the parks, a very young child won't remember, but will have a good time in the moment. For kids under 3, you can use the nursery at a small cost. On my daughter's first cruise, she wasn't quite potty trained yet so my husband and I put her in the nursery while we were at Palo. The staff were great with her -- I think they enjoyed having a somewhat older child who could carry on full conversations.

So I would say waiting until your youngest is 3 and able to go to the Oceaneers Club makes sense, but if you want to go sooner while your older child is more into Disney magic, that would be reasonable too.

 

[dreamer17555]

The idea that your older one will "outgrow" Disney doesn't always happen. My DS 17 and DD 22 still love sailing on DCL. If this is due to budget a once in a lifetime trip? Wait till the youngest is 4 but it sounds like you sail a bunch already so I would wonder how much value a DCL cruise has for you vs other lines. Could you take fewer cruises to be able to do more on DCL while your children are the prime audience? Only you can decide what you value.

 

[Girl of the South]

Check this recent thread:

Taking kids on DCL

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

My Kids had there first disney cruise when they were 8. The magic was still very much alive.

 

[sponica]

Mine are 4 years apart (almost to the date) my feeling is that at any point in time, a vacation option will be better for one and not the other. That being said we had our first cruise at 3.5 and 7.5. The goal and hope was that the youngest would be fully potty trained so she could do the kids club and go in the pools....that didn't happen.

But we use DCL as a substitute for the parks, we're not necessarily cruise people, I just can't cost justify the parks with a kid too short to ride everything. DCL I know the cost going in and I can add some money to my onboard account to cover things that aren't included (the photo package, alcohol, spa passes/services).

 

[mjkacmom]

Our youngest were a couple of months shy of 5 when we did a combo parks/cruise,5, they loved it but have no memory now at 21.

 

[auntlynne]

My niece is going strong with DCL at age 31 - having started at age 14. Looking at other options for the future - simply due to price.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Honestly, my son went at 13 months and has been cruising ever since. He remembers quite a bit (he'll be 7 next month) and loves it. No time like the present is my philosophy!

 

[Lumpy1106]

We have 2 older kids and wanted to get in one more DCL before they outgrew the Kids Clubs. Problem was, our youngest was going to be about 2 weeks short of being 3 and we didn't want her spending the whole time in Small World. We called and DCL was very strict about the ages. We cancelled.