Activities for parents traveling with a toddler

[CDRiggz]

My husband and I are so excited for a 5 night cruise in October with our 2 year old! This will be our first Disney cruise (and our first cruise as a family of 3), and even though the trip is not about us, I still wonder how other parents have managed to fit in some special moments with their SO when traveling with a toddler? His bed time is usually on the early side and I know we’ll push that a little, but we’ll still be somewhat limited. I’m nervous about the idea of leaving our little one with child care on the ship even though I’ve heard great things. I’d love to hear if other moms and dads had this challenge and how they approached it. Thank you!

 

[Lillebelle]

I highly recommend giving the nursery a chance, even for just an hour at a time. The nursery staff I've encountered were really great. On our last cruise our 2 year old was *not* sold on the idea of being apart from us (she never is) but we took her during open house on the first day and used that time to help get her acclimated both to the space and the staff. We ended up being able to leave her there for an additional hour alone which was more than I was hoping for honestly. I credit the hard work of the staff for making it possible. I expressed my concern to them about her being unhappy without us, and they messaged us multiple times through the app with status updates letting us know how she was doing, that she'd settled down and was playing happily, etc. You could do your first hour without any actual plans for the time (like a tasting or Palo) so that if it doesn't go well, you can easily pick your child up. You won't get charged for hours you don't use if you end up having to pick your child up early due to being unhappy (I asked, lol).

Which ship are you on? The Magic has (or at least it used to) a little play area adjacent to one of the lounges which we made a lot of use out of with our first. Unfortunately I haven't found anything equivalent on any of the other ships we've been on.

One other idea -- you could room service the cheese plate and some wine (or bring drinks back from a lounge) and enjoy some quiet time in your room after the kiddo goes to bed. This will work better obviously if your kid sleeps well while you're still up or if you have a verandah you could sneak onto.

Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

 

[Peter pan’s shoes]

It really is worth trying the nursery. I think out of many times with each baby we've used it, usually on the Magic, we've only had to pick up early one time. Other times we'd peek in and baby would be asleep with a counselor or having a great time playing with others.

 

[Doingitagain]

It really is worth trying the nursery. I think out of many times with each baby we've used it, usually on the Magic, we've only had to pick up early one time. Other times we'd peek in and baby would be asleep with a counselor or having a great time playing with others.

I agree. Last week our 4 year old granddaughter went to the club and loved it. I honestly didn’t think she would go, especially with masking requirements, our 11 month old grandson went to the nursery…he wasn’t the happiest but they cuddle and rocked him as needed. The cast members are marvelous!

 

[CDRiggz]

I highly recommend giving the nursery a chance, even for just an hour at a time. The nursery staff I've encountered were really great. On our last cruise our 2 year old was *not* sold on the idea of being apart from us (she never is) but we took her during open house on the first day and used that time to help get her acclimated both to the space and the staff. We ended up being able to leave her there for an additional hour alone which was more than I was hoping for honestly. I credit the hard work of the staff for making it possible. I expressed my concern to them about her being unhappy without us, and they messaged us multiple times through the app with status updates letting us know how she was doing, that she'd settled down and was playing happily, etc. You could do your first hour without any actual plans for the time (like a tasting or Palo) so that if it doesn't go well, you can easily pick your child up. You won't get charged for hours you don't use if you end up having to pick your child up early due to being unhappy (I asked, lol).

Which ship are you on? The Magic has (or at least it used to) a little play area adjacent to one of the lounges which we made a lot of use out of with our first. Unfortunately I haven't found anything equivalent on any of the other ships we've been on.

One other idea -- you could room service the cheese plate and some wine (or bring drinks back from a lounge) and enjoy some quiet time in your room after the kiddo goes to bed. This will work better obviously if your kid sleeps well while you're still up or if you have a verandah you could sneak onto.

Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

I’m late to replying here, but thank you so much for the thoughtful response! You gave me some things to think about! At the very least it makes sense to go with our little guy to see if he likes it. So many great and helpful suggestions.

 

[Garyjames220]

We are doing a 4 night cruise next year with 2 year old twin girls come then and was wondering how many hours do you normally get in the nursery

We would have liked a few hours each day but not sure if its limited to many hours

does it let you pre book it before you go

 

[Doingitagain]

We are doing a 4 night cruise next year with 2 year old twin girls come then and was wondering how many hours do you normally get in the nursery

We would have liked a few hours each day but not sure if its limited to many hours

does it let you pre book it before you go

I think they are allowing prebooking with October and future cruises, but right now you sign up when you board. A lot depends on the kid count on each cruise. On ours to Alaska, there weren't many 0-3 year olds so we were able to use the nursery as much as we needed.

 

[Lillebelle]

We are doing a 4 night cruise next year with 2 year old twin girls come then and was wondering how many hours do you normally get in the nursery

We would have liked a few hours each day but not sure if its limited to many hours

does it let you pre book it before you go

My recollection is during the Beforetimes when you could prebook, there was a limit of 8 hours you could book in advance. Then I think once you were onboard, you could book as much as you wanted.

We didn't have pre-booking available for our last cruise but as another person mentioned I think that's starting to become available again. The only other thing to keep in mind was on our recent cruise, they were not serving food in the nursery (or kids club) so you needed to plan leaving them there around making sure they get meals. I don't know if/when this will go back to normal (they used to do meals in the nursery as well).

 

[Garyjames220]

My recollection is during the Beforetimes when you could prebook, there was a limit of 8 hours you could book in advance. Then I think once you were onboard, you could book as much as you wanted.

We didn't have pre-booking available for our last cruise but as another person mentioned I think that's starting to become available again. The only other thing to keep in mind was on our recent cruise, they were not serving food in the nursery (or kids club) so you needed to plan leaving them there around making sure they get meals. I don't know if/when this will go back to normal (they used to do meals in the nursery as well).

I’m guessing this was 8 hours per child

ok that’s great. Hopefully they change that as our twins can’t last more than a hour it seems with out a snack

 

[Doingitagain]

I’m guessing this was 8 hours per child

ok that’s great. Hopefully they change that as our twins can’t last more than a hour it seems with out a snack

They will feed them a snack in the nursery. They have some available and you can bring your own if you prefer. Go on embarkation day during open house and they will show you everything. They do a great job. We had our grandson in the nursey just a couple weeks ago on the Wonder.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

My husband and I are so excited for a 5 night cruise in October with our 2 year old! This will be our first Disney cruise (and our first cruise as a family of 3), and even though the trip is not about us, I still wonder how other parents have managed to fit in some special moments with their SO when traveling with a toddler? His bed time is usually on the early side and I know we’ll push that a little, but we’ll still be somewhat limited. I’m nervous about the idea of leaving our little one with child care on the ship even though I’ve heard great things. I’d love to hear if other moms and dads had this challenge and how they approached it. Thank you!

Would you mind reporting back how things went? I’m considering switching from a parks trip to a cruise, wondering if it may actually be easier than going to the theme parks.

 

[gracefamilyvacation]

I think with toddlers is fine. I do think 1-2.5 is likely the hardest age. Kids just can't sit still but are mobile. I spent time in the lobby just crawling/running around. Found either SO or I at times broke off to do a comedy show while one stayed back for bed times. One thought is just use the nursery for dinner. Or arrange dinner to be at a nap time. (We are colorado so early dinning is a late/second nap. A 2yr maybe too late). The dinners can be long and a 2yr I have found struggle staying throughout. At times one of us would take the kiddo out while the other finishes dinner. Pretty common to see parents doing this.

I like it so much I am leaving behind SO and two teenagers (work and school commits) and I solo am taking our 10 mo and almost 4yr. On a back to back in a week. I get a few weeks parental leave and just wanted mommy and kid time.

We will be crawling around, splashing, and swimming. Baby will be in nursery for two beach days where 3yr and I get just our time for 4 hr each. Granted baby is a daycare baby so it should go well. I also have a couple hours for tasting class set across the 9 days.

 

[CDRiggz]

Would you mind reporting back how things went? I’m considering switching from a parks trip to a cruise, wondering if it may actually be easier than going to the theme parks.

I hope I'm not too late replying to your question! We had an amazing time and I honestly wouldn't have changed a thing. With a little one, we found that we were always convenient to a spot with a nap, juice, or whatever else we needed. The ship had plenty of entertainment but wasn't overwhelmingly large for us to get around on. My husband and I did end up taking a chance on leaving our little guy in the nursery a couple of times and they were absolute pros from the moment we dropped him off. As we approached he was clearly getting nerves and they knew how to talk to him and make him feel calm and welcome. He was very content when we picked him up and seemed to enjoy himself. The food was great and the waiters were all wonderful with kids as well. I would absolutely recommend it if you could make it work!

 

[Peaseblossom36]

I hope I'm not too late replying to your question! We had an amazing time and I honestly wouldn't have changed a thing. With a little one, we found that we were always convenient to a spot with a nap, juice, or whatever else we needed. The ship had plenty of entertainment but wasn't overwhelmingly large for us to get around on. My husband and I did end up taking a chance on leaving our little guy in the nursery a couple of times and they were absolute pros from the moment we dropped him off. As we approached he was clearly getting nerves and they knew how to talk to him and make him feel calm and welcome. He was very content when we picked him up and seemed to enjoy himself. The food was great and the waiters were all wonderful with kids as well. I would absolutely recommend it if you could make it work!

Thank you!

 

[Lillebelle]

Would you mind reporting back how things went? I’m considering switching from a parks trip to a cruise, wondering if it may actually be easier than going to the theme parks.

Just my 2c as someone who's done both -- I find the cruise to be much more little kid-friendly in all honesty, as backwards as that might seem. Disney park days are LONG, and if your little one is stroller-bound, it's a lot of sitting. Going to the parks with small children makes going on most rides tough because either they can't go (so one parent has to stay back) or they can but the ride probably has a decent line, and even a 15-20 minute line with a toddler can get rough. Plus on the cruise it's so much easier to pop back to your room for a break. Mine are 5 and 2; we used to do Disneyland every couple months but lately we've been saving our vacation budget to do cruises instead because they're just so much more enjoyable for everyone.

 

[Fuzzycaterpillar1]

My husband and I are so excited for a 5 night cruise in October with our 2 year old! This will be our first Disney cruise (and our first cruise as a family of 3), and even though the trip is not about us, I still wonder how other parents have managed to fit in some special moments with their SO when traveling with a toddler? His bed time is usually on the early side and I know we’ll push that a little, but we’ll still be somewhat limited. I’m nervous about the idea of leaving our little one with child care on the ship even though I’ve heard great things. I’d love to hear if other moms and dads had this challenge and how they approached it. Thank you!

We just got back from HOTH cruise and though our child spent most time in the Oceaneer Club, I'd take him to the pool to watch movies on Funnel Vision (we were in clothes and just sat on the pool chairs), took him up to the running/walking deck to let him stretch his legs, and at night we'd watch a Disney movie together on TV. They have so many movie and TV show choices.