Originally Posted By TheRedhead OK. I have been on one Disney Cruise (for my honeymoon) and my wife and I loved it. We are contemplating a cruise for next year, but this time we would have a 4-year old and a 2-year old. So here's my question: we aren't really lounging people (we much prefer vacations of running for Fastpasses and such) and we aren't interested in dropping our kids off somewhere so we can be off by ourselves. Does a cruise make sense for us? Is there enough stuff to do as a family that would be special enough to warrant the expense? The more I read, the more reservations I have. We just back from WDW, and we plan on going again in 2012, so a land-sea cruise isn't what we're thinking of. Thanks in advance.
Originally Posted By DlandDug There are a LOT of family activities scheduled around the clock on a typical Disney cruise. BUT... I have not seen a lot of organized activities for families with children that young. Check on line for a selection of recent "Daily Navigators" and see what sort of family-friendly events are scheduled. Then see if they would appeal to you and your children.
Originally Posted By TheRedhead Excellent idea. Yeah, I don't remember a lot of stuff for under 3. I'll look into that. Thanks!
Originally Posted By Rebekah We took a cruise earlier this year with our 1 yr old and loved it. We spent lots of time chasing him (a new walker) all around the ship. He thoroughly enjoyed the shows and trying lots of new foods. We also took a four day so there was a full day off ship at Atlantis -- tremendous aquariums and seemingly fun water park (we didn't venture over there) If you are looking to spend truly together I would think its a bit more challenging at those ages as they tend to design around having fun with other kids in the on ship program. The family activities I recall are more geared toward families with kids a bit older in my opinion -- trivia contests, nerf type indoor golf chipping, board games, etc. If you check out CastawayClub.com they have Navigators (daily activity sheets) so you could learn more about what happens each day.
Originally Posted By TheRedhead Well, we pulled the trigger and booked our cruise - 5 days on the Dream next June. The thing that sold me was 2 days on Castaway Cay. I like that. We checked out the Navigators, and my wife thought it all looked adorable, so she was sold. Right now my daughter's a little pool-rat, so I figure she''ll spend hours in the pool anyway. Silly question - do they sell autograph books on the Cruises? I assume they do, but that will be mucho important.
Originally Posted By Smiling Grump We did a Disney cruise over 2008 Christmas on the Wonder. You're going to LOVE Castaway Cay, especially with the expansion they've done since we were there. We've gone on a number of different cruises and thought Royal Caribbean was the most kid friendly ... and then there's Disney. It's like comparing a Lada to a Bugatti Veyron. Disney's so far ahead of all the other cruise lines that they don't even register on the scale. We're not really the type to dump the kids off either, but our oldest daughter (4 at the time) asked every day to go to the club so we'd usually stop by for a half hour or so. Usually, either my wife or I would stay, not because we were concerned for our daughter, but because we wanted to play too The only thing that bothered me with the cruise was that there is an adult only area on deck that's sheltered from the wind and has very comfortable seats. Our 1-year old got in the habit of waking up between 4:30am and 5:30am. I'd get up with her and walk around the ship so as not to wake my wife and oldest daughter. Naturally, the only other people awake at this time were crew members so I sat in this adult only area and promptly got booted out when the crew member running the pastry area there showed up. I know it was an adult only area, but it was the only spot out of the wind ... still, it was a pretty minor inconvenience for me. Being up that early did have a few perks ... I got to watch the ship come alive and it was pretty cool watching the crew of Topsiders get started every morning to "Whistle while you work" We even got to see the Disney Magic twice, something that (I was told) has only happened a few times ... and the Magic also did a sail by while we were at Castaway Cay for a photo op and the ships had a horn blowing competition! ..... okay, I could go on and on and on, but I suffice it to say we loved the cruise so much we're going back this Christmas and also doing an Alaska cruise in 2011. You're kids are going to love it and they'll get to meet all the big name characters and get their autographs (which means you don't have to get them while you're at the parks). There's lots to do and with 2 stops at Castaway Cay there will be TONS of family moments! Have a wonderful voyage
