Cruising with toddlers?

[ZPT1022]

Has anyone cruised with a toddler before? We are trying to decide if we want to do a cruise or a trip to WDW this spring, but I am unsure about whether or not there is enough to do to occupy my daughter, who will be 2 in July. Also, we would like to be able to have some adult time if we go, to do something like eat at Palo or get a spa treatment. How hard is it to coordinate getting a spa appointment AND getting a reservation for Flounder's nursery? Also, has anyone used Flounder's nursery? How did you like it? Did you feel comfortable leaving your child there? Our daughter is very sociable so I don't worry too much about her having fun there, but I do worry about leaving her with strangers. Would you leave your children there again? We're just trying to get a feel for whether or not this is worth it or should we play it safe and go in a few years? Any opinions are greatly appreciated!

 

[jel0511]

We left our 18 month old Ds there in November and he loved it!!! The counselors were great and very caring in Flounders. I wouldn't hesitate to leave him again. Actually we will in November when he's 2 1/2!!! Enjoy!!! We just went to Flounders and signed up for the nights we wanted first, then got other ressies after that. If you go to Flounder's first, you shouldn't have a problem getting the times you want.

 

[buzz&woody'smom]

We cruised with our 17 month old DS and 4 year old DS late October. It was fine.

DCL provided a nice Graco pack n play for the baby and he slept fine. We had a Category 9 Deluxe oceanview room which had a curtain that you could pull therefore closing the "baby sleeping area" from the queen bed and bath room etc.

We took an umbrella stroller which was perfect because it folds small and was essential for going around on the ship instead of caring the baby (he is over 30 pounds)

I was first in line to make reservations for the Flounders. For our 4 night I made ressies for dinner/shows nights 2, 3 and 4. Unfortunately my DS would not stay. He stayed the first time and cried his head off. The 2nd night I dropped him off and he did the same. I was impressed with the CM's. The 2nd night the paged me after dinner and I asked them why they had not called sooner and they stated they wanted me to enjoy my dinner.

The point being Flounders seemed well staffed, very clean, great and plenty of toys. My son was upset because of his personality not anything the staff did. It made it difficult because I only got to see the 20 minutes of the shows or movies because my DS would not stay but it worked out fine because my DH stayed with our 4 year old and I took the baby back and put him to bed by 9pm.

Anyway, I would go again in a minute the baby loved Castaway Cay and walking around the ship. The juice station was always open and had juices, milk and water.

Feel free to e-mail me and I can share more with you.

Have fun

 

[SuperDisneyDad]

I'll have to agree with the above posts. My DS4 has been on 3 cruises, only 1 DCL cruise the others on Royal Caribbean (the first at 6 months old, two others at 2 and 3 years old, and now again in Feb at 4 years old on DCL). This Feb. will be my daughter's second cruise (the first was at 6 months old on DCL, and this one at 1 1/2 years old). Flounder's Reef was absolutely wonderful. DCL is by far the best with the little ones. We are also very hesitant to leave our kids with anyone (even family sometimes!!), but we have had no problem leaving them at Flounder's Reef. The staff is wonderful and you can go check on them anytime you want through the 1-way window so you can see them, but they can't see you! Both my kids love waking around the ship and playing in the sand on the beaches. It was no problem having them along.

 

[meab]

My DD is 18 months and will be taking her 4th cruise on the Wonder in February. She has previously been on Carnival (5 months), Royal Caribbean (15 months), and Princess (15 months). I will say that I felt it was easier when she was smaller, because she was much more portable. On Princess, we really could have used a "Flounder's Reef" for an hour or two, to enjoy a quiet dinner, etc. But there was no babysitting AT ALL for kids under 3 .

My guess is that a cruise with your 2-year old could be more successful than a trip to the parks. On a cruise, you can relax more and go back to your cabin for a nap at any time. The parks make for a much more busy and stressful trip with a toddler, IMO. There is plenty to do on the ship, and from what I've gathered, Flounder's is a great place. It will also give you the opportunity to have a quiet dinner alone, or a visit to the spa, while leaving your child in good hands.

 

[OurDogCisco]

We were on a 3 day cruise and she had a blast. She was in flounder's reef every evening while we ate dinner. It made dinner so much more relaxing for us. We had late seating so, we were able to feed our kids before sending them off to the nursery or the club. We had a venerah which was really nice.

I would definitely go back to flounder's reef. The staff was excellent. Very trusting, etc.... However, in all honesty we probably won't go back until our child is potty trained and can attend the club. The nursery was nice but the hours weren't that great. Plus, my understanding is that you can't go in the pool unless your child is potty trained. This is a huge problem for us because our older dd want to go in the pool and our toddler wouldn't understand why she couldn't go.

We did a short RCI cruise in November for business trip. They were not allowing infants in the pool so, I had to stay back in the cabin while my dh went dd to the pool. I think, they are inforcing this on all cruise lines.

Besides that, we had a wonderful time. Good luck in your decision.