To Cruise or not to Cruise with Toddlers

Our first cruise was a Disney cruise around Christmas time. Our son was 15 months and our daughter just turned 3. Disney cruises are so neat and fun however I think we went to early!

Positives:

• We had a room on the exterior of the ship so it had a balcony which was nice and the room was slightly larger. It was not huge and the kids beds were the sofa and a bunk that flipped down from the wall, very cool. And the whole boat was decorated for Christmas which was beautiful.

Christmas Show in the Lobby

Using the Balcony for take off

• They had things you could book and order ahead of time which was also nice so you could plan ahead. We ordered a cookie bouquet that was waiting for us in our room when we arrived. The kids loved this. I also ordered a secret Birthday cake for my husband whose Birthday was during our trip. I had pre-purchased Disney decorations from Walmart and decorated our room one day while he and the kids were at the pool. I had the cake delivered that day as well and we had a mini surprise party.

Eating our frozen chocolate covered oreo

Birthday Cake

Decorations above main bed

• You are also able to look ahead at what’s going on on the ship throughout your stay. So we bought some items before the trip to save a few bucks - pirate costumes for the kids for pirate night and Disney dresses for the girls to wear while getting princess signatures. We also bought a Disney autograph book before taking this trip.

• The cruise offers two seating times for dinner that you also pre-pick before your trip. We were able to get the early dining time which was great for having such young kids. They do a great job at rotating groups each night so you get to try each restaurant without there being big crowds.  And your servers rotate with you so you get to know them. 

  

  Mickey bar - sometimes all he would eat for dinner after no nap,

• You could also book child care spots prior to your trip. This was a little difficult because slots booked up fast for the little kid room and you weren’t always sure what you would be doing during that day or time. Our kids were also not very cooperative going to these kids clubs so we weren’t able to utilize adult time like we had wanted. However if the kids were older this would have been a big plus!

• If you were going to miss a show or couldn’t make it out of your room they played live on the TV. That was also another neat feature.

• A big positive - Adults are allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of Champagne, or 6 beers on board at the beginning of the cruise and at each port of call. 

      

     I don’t want to say negative but some challenges and improvements:

·        The weather for our trip was not awesome. Therefore the pools were chilly and our kids didn’t last long swimming. Also the wind was so rough one day we were unable to dock at the Disney private Island which was a huge bummer! The biggest downfall with bad weather is now what do you do?? The ship entertainment consisted of movies and shows which were great BUT not for a 15 month old. He didn’t want anything to do with sitting quietly. We were stuck on board for 2 full days and ran out of things to do.

Kids splash area at the main pool

stuck on board with nothing to do but walk the exterior of the ship

·        Also due to the room size which is a typical cruise room it was very tough to have “nap time”. Because of our kids ages 1 needed naps and 1 didn’t. How do you all go in one small room and try and get 1 kid to nap. Impossible! Also made bedtime tough.  

·        Getting off the boat was also super annoying! The kids wanted off, they wanted to run wild and you have to wait in gigantic lines with an entire boat full of people. It was also a pain having a stroller!

·        Snacks. Also an issue. Having toddlers sit through dinners was tough. They don’t always eat when food is presented we all know that. They usually want to eat an hour after the meal is finished. Ugh! A little snack hut that is open the majority of the day would have been awesome!! And preferably loaded with healthy options fruit, yogurts etc… Most of the shops had candy, popcorn and junk! Also the majority of the gift shops didn’t open until the evening making them packed! And giving you nothing to do during the day when you were too cold to swim and you couldn’t get off the boat.

I know it sounds like I’m complaining and hated the cruise. I swear I am not and I think the Disney cruise is awesome, the boat is amazing and I plan on going back. HOWEVER, I think going with toddlers is ROUGH! I will make sure the next time we go our youngest is at least 3. At this time we won’t need a stroller and we won’t be napping. The kids will be better at waiting in lines and hopefully old enough to enjoy the kids clubs. We also won’t have to pre-book the baby room which will be awesome and can just drop the kids off at any time.

I recommend the Disney cruise but think for the amount of money spent you should wait and make sure your ENTIRE family can enjoy every moment. 

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