Young kids; When to go?; Lots of Questions!

[BuzzLightYear3]

We've never been on a cruise but have heard great things about it and love all the Disney resorts. We definitely want to give DCL a try, but we're trying to figure out when. Our kids are current 2-1/2, 4-1/2, and 8-1/2. The 2 year old is completely potty-trained and will be 3 in August. Does Spring '03 seem like it'd be a good time to go, (when the youngest is 3-1/2) or should we wait longer?

What time of year would be best to go? (Our choices would either be Spring Break or Summer. ) I'm assuming that it doesn't make any difference if we go Spring Break or some other time as I expect the ship is always full.....I assume Spring Break would just be harder to book. Is that correct? Would the week of Easter for '03 already be sold out?

One conern I have is the meals.....having a nice sit-down dinner sounds nice to me, but around here, that amounts to about 10 min. What's been the experience at meals for other families with young kids?

Also, at what age do most kids (not just the really adventurous type) really seem to enjoy the kids' clubs? Both my dh and I work full-time, so our vacations really are meant to be family time.......but, a few hours break once or twice over the week sure would be nice! Any advice from other young families would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[aprilgail2]

we are going in May and my daughter will be 2 1/2 then and my godson is 14 and coming......I avoid spring break travel and summer travel to Disney things at all costs. We are going down for a total of 2 weeks this year and will just take his schoolwork with us. About 4 years ago we went during summer break and I vowed to never do it again, the lines just weren't worth it. I am assuming the cruises are booked full during those times too...
The last disney cruise we took was with my godkids and they were 2 1/2 and 4 and they had a great time.

 

[bkline]

I have only one child, but we took him on a cruise when he was 3 1/2. We were on NCL at that time. I think once you get past potty training you are ready to go. The cruise staff was wonderful. Even during dinner, various dinner staff people came around and played with him. He did fine at dinner. Last June, we went on Disney and my DS (7 1/2) loved it.
Two things working in your favor on Disney: Almost every meal is an event. For instance on tropical night, your children can dance at some point in the meal with some of the dinner staff. Unlike some cruise lines, most nights we were done in about 1 1/2 hours. Secondly, Disney offers Topsider buffet at night, so you may want to eat there one night.
When to go? I would recommed Spring break or early summer. Especially with the young ones, you don't want it to be too hot. I doubt Spring break is filled up already. A quick way to find out is go to the disney.com website and at the cruiseline homepage do get a quote. You plug in the date you want to go and the age of the children and you will know in about a minute if space is available for the date you want.
Have a great cruise.