What's really the ideal age to take kids on a Disney Cruise?

[rdearth]

Obviously you see advertisements for Disney Cruises and they show kids from 0-18 having the times of their lives, but what do you think is the real age kids get the most out of a Disney cruise?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I would guess the 3-6 group might like the character aspect the most, but the tweens and teens probably really like the independence factor. Just depends.

 

[marshmellow86]

"Ideal" in my opinion is any child 3 or older and fully potted trained, so they can go to the kids clubs and attend the activities there.

We took ours at 18 months and while fun, she had a much better time on the 5 voyages after that where she could go to the kids club.

I have a 7 & 13 year old and we have gone 6 times. They both still LOVE the Disney cruise and ask when are we going back.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

It depends on the kid and how social they are. My teenager would rather cruise Carnival or Royal Caribbean than DCL, but since he's not paying he doesn't get much of a choice.

I'd think, though, that the 5-10 crowd would get the most out of it. They are still so innocent.

 

[dunbarfamily]

Boy, you know, I think that every age is the best age! My kids have gone at 8 months, 9 months, 2 3/4 years, 3 years, 5 years, 6 years, and 8 years. On our next cruise (in two and a half weeks!!) they will be 9, 6, 3 3/4, and 19 months. I think all the ages have been great and they all experience it just a little different. Of course, the under 2 set doesn't really "get" it, especially since my littlest ones don't do the nursery. I'm not really sure there is a best age, just as I don't think there's a best age to go to WDW.

Sorry, not much help. I guess whatever you pick will be the right age, becuase in my opinion, its always the right age!

 

[SILLYANDI]

Under 3 was hard because she was with us alot and didn't "get it". My 12 year old was bored at times this last cruise because she didn't get to correspond with anyone from the trip beforehand so she felt "alone" (we surprised them with the cruise, normally they have had time to get to know kids from our meet group and have built in friends the minute we board the ship).

So I'd have to say based on our experience 4-11ish.

 

[dunbarfamily]

Marshmellow: You must be soooo excited! We still have two and a half weeks! I can't wait to hear all about the maiden voyage!

 

[lbgraves]

We first cruise & went to WDW with DD3 and DS5. It was just perfect for them. They both still talk about things that happened specifically on that cruise at 10 & 12. The interaction with the characters was priceless. Cindy became DD's best friend. She was so surprised when we saw her every day and she remembered her name and asked her how her day was and what she had done. It still makes me tear up to think about it. Of course I also tear up thinking about when DD was 8 and didn't want to put on her Snow White dress or even leave dinner to get her picture taken with her. At 10 & 12 they still have a great time and get their pictures taken with the characters but it is just different now.

 

[stevenpensacola]

I'm 48...you can take me!!!

 

[allears]

When they started cruising my kids were 4, 13 and 10, and it was awesome. They have cruised a number of times since and are now 14, 23 and 20 and still love the whole experience. So it really depends on your children, but for mine any age was perfect!

 

[5lilfish]

Tough question.... We've cruised DCL with kids as young as 8 months old and as old as 13 (our oldest's current age). Everyone has always had fun. I guess, in some ways I'd say the ideal age is 3-8 yrs old. They still believe in all the magic and yet old enough to travel a bit easier than toddlers. In other ways, I'd say the ideal age has been 9-12 yrs old...because they had some extra freedom at that age and were very self-sufficient. My 13 yr old still loves DCL. I would not say he is out of the ideal age, but I would say that once the kids hit 11, while they still were at a great age for DCL, they were also at an ideal age to enoy the bigger RCI ships too....so, that 11 and up age group has more options for an ideal vacation (including DCL).

Jess

 

[linnell]

I'm trying ton convince DH to do a Disney cruise with our boys, later this year when they are 3&5 and he is concerned that they wouldn't like it because they wouldn't be able to run around. I disagree, so I'm going to tell him about this thread.

I just need to get DS2 potty trained!

 

[dragonfly08]

"Ideal" depends on your kids.

My girls were 4 (we embarked on her birthday, actually!) and 7, which many might say is a great age. But for us it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. First, we couldn't get switched to early dining so we missed all of the dining rooms because they simply couldn't wait that long or stay up that late. They don't nap and wake up early no matter what you do so it's bed by 9:30/10:00 and even that's risking a major meltdown. My younger DD, in particular, likes to talk/sing herself to sleep so the two of them in the same room ended up being interesting. And DD #2 absolutely HATED the kids club and refused to go after the first day. So no Palo (we had to cancel last minute), no adult beach on CC (we managed to get her to Scuttles Cove only to be paged to pick her up after less than an hour), no Cove Cafe/adult pool, no shows (the girls weren't interested in seeing them). Not that it was a bad thing to have more family time, but it definitely changed our overall plans for the trip. We spent a day at MK after disembarking, and they were FAR happier and much more interested in that, so while I'm taking them back to Orlando in April we won't be planning another cruise for several years!

 

[Rogillio]

Even if you could figure out the perfect age, life is too uncertain to wait to that ideal age.

I can tell you story after story about people who were 'waiting' until this or that and then something happened ... they then spend the rest of their life regretting not doing it while they were able.

carpe diem!

 

[stsomewhere]

We took our kids on their first DCL cruise when my son was in 5th grade and daughter in 2rd. They had cruised about 8 times. so, we knew they loved to cruise. I wanted to try Disney before the kids got too old. They had been on RCI, NCl and Carnival (once- they hated it).

We loved it. My son said it was the best cruise he ever went on. We booked another cruise onboard. We had a wonderful the cruise again following year, I was a little worried since my son was in 6th grade. He was worried about being cool. etc. He said it was even better than the one before.

This year, my son is in 7th grade. He went on Allure of the Seas over Christmas with a friend.` He thought he would complain about our DCL cruise to Alaska this summer. While he had a good time on Allure, he is really looking for to cruising on DCL again.

We have not sailed on another line going on DCL. I had such a good time. I am leaving my husband and kids home and going on the transatlantic by myself in a few months.
ETA:
My DD was in 2nd grade loved all the characters. She wanted to do everything she could. She had a terrific time.

 

[Magic3forme]

we took the girls when they were 4 & 6.. they were the perfect ages!

Our son went on a cruise when he was 2 (Princess). it was not as fun for any of us.. we were all bored..and they didnt have the activities that DCL does. lugging diapers, wipes etc was fun too!!

we waited until he was 4 and took him.. again perfect age! we waited until he was completely potty trained!!

our kids are 7, 10 and 12 and we just went on the Magic last month... all 3 had a blast !! we rebooked for the Dream too!

 

[pearlieq]

I'd say grade school aged. Old enough to have fun, but (hopefully!) not so old that they're "too cool".

 

[cindy18]

If you mean ideal age on the young end, then I'd say for the easy trips (Bahamas, Carribbean), anything over 3, and for the more exotic ports (Europe, Alaska, etc), then whatever age is old enough to appreciate those ports. But I honestly don't think otherwise that there is an ideal age. My kids have been going since they were around 8 and now the oldest is almost 15 and she cannot wait for our 2 cruises this year. They have no interest in any other line. It really depends on the kids and what they are into. My kids are not so interested in the characters (except for Captain Jack), but they love the ships and the clubs and the atmosphere.

 

[kcashner]

DD did her first DCL cruise at age 7 (MV of the Magic). She still tells me that it was her favorite cruise because the Oceaneer's Club was so awesome. There have been special moments at various cruises thru the years, but I would strongly recommend a cruise at about age 5-6 if at all possible.

We did WDW at 4 and again at 5, and it was amazing. The interaction with the characters is delightful.

Oh, and if you care, she now thinks that Palo is awesome!

 

[KidsRN]

Any age is the right age!! Memories are precious and they grow too fast!