What did you do on your 4 night Bahamas cruise?

[SuperCheers]

We booked a 4 night Bahamian cruise (Dream) and I need a little help to plan our days. It will be 2 adults, a 3 years old boy and a 6 month old boy.

It is our first Disney cruise (well any trip to Disney). What are the 'must do'? Ideally we would like the kids to be childcare a few hours per day so we can have some relaxing time too.

I haven't researched much so I am interested to find out how people tend to spend their time.

Day at Sea
-I think that's probably our opportunity to meet the characters? What are the key activities to do on the boat?
-Toddler spend some time at the Club?

Day in Nassau
-Here I'm thinking it might an opportunity to have a nice lunch without kids?
-What (short) activity did your 3 years oldish enjoy?

Day at Castsway Cay
-Any idea for adults alone and with kids?

Sorry I know it is a broad questions! I just need some inspiration to get me started

 

[aggiedog]

How are you planning to be without the kids while in port? Are you hoping to leave them at the nursery or club?

 

[Sunshine2U]

- Did you book a balcony cabin? To me that would be important. Take turns sitting on the veranda while little ones nap. Hopefully they will go down at the same time! That will give the other one some alone time.
- I don't have experience with the nursery but if cost not a factor, I would book that a lot!
- Look at Navigators for Open House time in Oceaneers Club. You can go in and play with your 3yo.
- Hopefully he will stay without you for short periods of time. We never got more than two hours.
- Shows are iffy for 3yo. Definitely not Villians IMO - too loud. Others can weigh in.
- We never tried to have non-children time at Castaway. We had fun playing with them in the sand and water. Eating ice cream, etc. We would go back to the ship and play in the water there, too.
- The deck parties are fun for the little ones. They love the characters, music, dancing and lights.
- The lines for characters can be long so play that by ear.

We enjoyed our uninterrupted time with the children because we both worked. The time together as a couple and alone seemed to happen naturally. We didn't have much in the way of expectations at that age. Make a very short list of non-children things you want to do and schedule your children into the club/nursery. Let the rest play out. You will have fun. That was our experience. Sure more will have different ideas.

 

[SuperCheers]

Yes, I am hoping to use the Club and nursery. The 3 years old is very comfortable in a daycare setting so I am not worried about him at all. The 6 months old is currently 3 weeks old so we will see! Is there a problem with leaving them at the nursery/club while in port? I don't think we would venture too far and can always be reached on our mobile. Is it easy to go back to the ship to get them after we had lunch, for example?

The 3 years old only naps for 45 mins if at all, sadly!

Between Nassau and Castaway, which one is more fun for kids?

 

[Paxton's Mom]

Definitely Castaway is more fun for young ones! You might even want to just stay on the boat in Nassau and enjoy the boat while it is less crowded. It's a great time to enjoy the pools/splash area. Castaway is the greatest place to hang out, with kids or without.

 

[Trera]

Definitely Castaway is more fun for young ones! You might even want to just stay on the boat in Nassau and enjoy the boat while it is less crowded. It's a great time to enjoy the pools/splash area. Castaway is the greatest place to hang out, with kids or without.

We stay on board on Nassau day and drop our DD off at the Nursery right after breakfast. We then head to the adult pool for some sun and drinks as we relax by the pool. We pick our daughter up at 12:30 and we got to lunch. Then she goes down for a nap and one of us might sneak out to the spa for a massage.

Castaway Cay is family fun day and we dont plan on alone time at all unless our daughter naps in the Cabana. If that happens, we get an hour or two to relax.

All in all, you will find what works for you and you will be sad when the cruise is over. Take lots of pictures and have fun.

 

[hardis5]

Yes, I am hoping to use the Club and nursery. The 3 years old is very comfortable in a daycare setting so I am not worried about him at all. The 6 months old is currently 3 weeks old so we will see! Is there a problem with leaving them at the nursery/club while in port? I don't think we would venture too far and can always be reached on our mobile. Is it easy to go back to the ship to get them after we had lunch, for example?

The 3 years old only naps for 45 mins if at all, sadly!

Between Nassau and Castaway, which one is more fun for kids?

I'd give Castaway an edge as the more young one friendly of the two stops. We did Blue Lagoon in Nassau which was a nice beach day for the family ($ as an excursion but not as much as the hotels). Castaway has all the same with a much larger beach without it costing anything additional (unless swayed by the souvenirs, wishing alcohol or floatation toys) and you have the opportunity for character meets. Blue Lagoon though was a lot less crowded than the beach at Castaway and the hammocks were nice.

We were never off the ship when the little one was in the nursery (don't know if they allow) but remember depending how comfortable they are there, they can take their naps in the nursery as there is a quiet area for such - no need to take them out of the nursery for their naps if their times for are like clockwork.

 

[oizirped]

Castaway is really kid friendly! We love to rent bikes and ride around the island. The offer bikes with child seats in the back. They are about 10 bucks each for as long as you'd like (I think it is listed as 10 per hour, but we've done it 3 times and they let you use them as long as you'd like). We usually use the rest of the day at castaway to enjoy the clean beach! Seriously the best beach EVER!! Do not stay in the boat at castaway, in fact, get off the boat and on the island as soon as you can! Our first cruise we took our time getting off the boat and we kicked ourselves in the butt for it.

If you and your husband would like to get off the boat and enjoy a bite to eat at Nassau, I reccomend Seafront Sushi. It was reccomend to us by our waiter at Palo. It's a must if you enjoy sushi!

 

[Sunshine2U]

There have been long-winded and opinionated threads on leaving children on board while you get off the ship. I never checked the rules since I fall in the category of if something absolutely out of left field happened I want to be on the ship with my kids It's such a non-probable situation but I couldn't relax.

 

[CesD]

We walked to the pirate museum. It was fine-- not awesome, not bad. It was a bit scary at times for our then 3 year old but he did like some parts. Our girls were a bit older and liked it. It gave some good info on the history of pirates. We stopped by a shop to buy a souvenir. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the ship.