Cruise worth it right now?

[Adg0428]

We have a 18 month old. We live in Florida and we were big carnival cruisers before having a kid. This would be our first Disney cruise. We’re looking at Halloween weekend. Is it worth it right now?

 

[Cheburashka]

We have a 18 month old. We live in Florida and we were big carnival cruisers before having a kid. This would be our first Disney cruise. We’re looking at Halloween weekend. Is it worth it right now?

I think it's worth it if you book a restricted GT rate cabin to get a discount on a fall (non-holiday) cruise, or a Florida resident rate in your case if they're available. I wouldn't pay top dollar for a Thanksgiving week or Christmas week/New Year's cruise this year, or for a hand-picked, top category stateroom. Halloween weekend on the Magic has cheap (for Disney) GT rates right now. I actually just booked that for myself. I was on the fence about cruising at all this year, but those low prices helped me take the plunge and now I'm looking forward to it.

 

[DCLMP]

It's a little dystopic. If you just want to relax, go to the beach, eat some good food, and drink a few adult beverages it's worth it. If you want to do something where you are not reminded of Covid every minute I would suggest a different vacation. I personally think, if you're hoping to get the full Disney experience for your child you should wait and not just because of Covid. I think 3 or 4 would be a better age if you are doing it for your child.

 

[disneylove69]

We have a 18 month old. We live in Florida and we were big carnival cruisers before having a kid. This would be our first Disney cruise. We’re looking at Halloween weekend. Is it worth it right now?

If you have never been you may not notice a different. Lots of activities are closed, limited, etc.no sail away party, no babysitting, only 1 Broadway show per cruise, everything is on your phone now including me us and masks inside.

 

[Lillebelle]

We had a ton of fun taking my son on a Disney cruise when he was about that age (pre-COVID). However, right now the nursery is closed so there's no childcare for under 3. That means you won't be able to do any adults-only activities (tastings, Palo), at least not as a couple. Maybe that matters to you, maybe not. Upside is right now it seems like all the cruises are going at pretty reduced capacity so if all you want is to have a good time chasing your toddler around the ship, now might be a great option.

 

[otten]

We have a 18 month old. We live in Florida and we were big carnival cruisers before having a kid. This would be our first Disney cruise. We’re looking at Halloween weekend. Is it worth it right now?

For a first cruise with a nursery age child? I'm going to say no it isn't. Have you cruised with your baby before? Travel with a 1.5 year old is exhausting and not always much of a vacation at the best of times and these are not the best of times. If the nursery is still not available I would say you are much better off saving your first Disney Cruise for when a/ Covid is less of a factor in the experience and b/ you child will be old enough to appreciate it

 

[Adg0428]

For a first cruise with a nursery age child? I'm going to say no it isn't. Have you cruised with your baby before? Travel with a 1.5 year old is exhausting and not always much of a vacation at the best of times and these are not the best of times. If the nursery is still not available I would say you are much better off saving your first Disney Cruise for when a/ Covid is less of a factor in the experience and b/ you child will be old enough to appreciate it

We’ve never cruised with her, but we’ve gone to Disney and stayed there (DVC) three times with her. She loves it. She’s super flexible.

but I think I’ll wait for a Disney cruise. We’ve had a carnival one booked next year for awhile so here’s to hoping things are better then.

 

[MomOTwins]

We’ve never cruised with her, but we’ve gone to Disney and stayed there (DVC) three times with her. She loves it. She’s super flexible.

but I think I’ll wait for a Disney cruise. We’ve had a carnival one booked next year for awhile so here’s to hoping things are better then.

I am going to present a counterpoint to the posts that say to wait for nursery to come back. We cruised twice with a toddler who refused to go to the nursery (tried several times and he had meltdowns, so they called and asked us to get him after 15 mins)--so he was with us 24/7 on both cruises, and we still had a blast. Toddlers can't use the pools unless fully potty trained (no swim diapers allowed) but the splash pad is very cute and fun. On the ship, DH and I often took turns staying with him so that the other could go use the Spa or adult-only pool or bars. And castaway cay was amazing--what baby doesn't love the beach?

If you want to do it I say go for it.

 

[CamColt]

If you are looking for a once in a lifetime full Disney Cruise experience I would say wait. If you are looking for a nice weekend getaway with some fun entertainment, relaxation, and a few nice meals, I would say go for it.

Living in FL with a young one, and the fact you are on this board makes me think you will have more Disney Cruises in your future. If that is your plan, I think going now to get a taste of it, especially with the lower crowds, would be a great idea.

 

[jktmom]

I am going to present a counterpoint to the posts that say to wait for nursery to come back. We cruised twice with a toddler who refused to go to the nursery (tried several times and he had meltdowns, so they called and asked us to get him after 15 mins)--so he was with us 24/7 on both cruises, and we still had a blast. Toddlers can't use the pools unless fully potty trained (no swim diapers allowed) but the splash pad is very cute and fun. On the ship, DH and I often took turns staying with him so that the other could go use the Spa or adult-only pool or bars. And castaway cay was amazing--what baby doesn't love the beach?

If you want to do it I say go for it.

Our experience cruising with a toddler pre-covid was the same. We had our son at 9 mths, 18 mths and 23 mths with us 24/7 and we all had a blast! Only the last one was on Disney and we found plenty to do with him without the nursery.

 

[squirk]

It’s a compromised experience right now, with no reduction in price (as far as I can tell). Some people don’t mind the compromises, and that’s cool, but knowing what the cruises are like without all the COVID restrictions, I agree that you should wait until those go away.

 

[Billybob7]

If you have never been you may not notice a different. Lots of activities are closed, limited, etc.no sail away party, no babysitting, only 1 Broadway show per cruise, everything is on your phone now including me us and masks inside.

There are currently three shows on the Fantasy. Frozen, Aladdin and Believe.

 

[Iris1974]

Just an FYI Disney Cruise Line is offering 25% off many cruises for the months of October, November and possibly part of December (I'm not totally sure about December.) out of Port Canaveral and Miami. I've seen them advertising some HOTHS cruises for around $700.00 to $900.00 a person with taxes being around $90.00 depending on the sailing. They mostly have 3 and 4 nights. I get the ad for it on my FB since I follow them on there. I think you can go on the DCL site and click on a place that will take you to the discounts. They sound like reasonable prices for sailing right now. So the prices for those sailings aren't too high right now. Meaning it won't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[mevelandry]

We have a 18 month old. We live in Florida and we were big carnival cruisers before having a kid. This would be our first Disney cruise. We’re looking at Halloween weekend. Is it worth it right now?

I have no kids but... I honestly don't remember much of what happened to be before I was 3 years old so I would definitely not spend that much money right now. Especially not on a reduced experience.

 

[Adg0428]

I have no kids but... I honestly don't remember much of what happened to be before I was 3 years old so I would definitely not spend that much money right now. Especially not on a reduced experience.

My expectation isn’t that she’ll remember it. It’s that we’d make memories and have fun at the time

 

[mevelandry]

My expectation isn’t that she’ll remember it. It’s that we’d make memories and have fun at the time

Sure... But at this cost, I would recommend waiting until the end of the pandemic/until things get back to normal because right now, it's a high price for a reduced experience.

 

[Jsoenning]

We took our oldest daughter at 18M and she enjoyed the nursery; which isn't an option now as others have posted. But at that age we also took her to some of the shows as she was good about sitting in our laps, munching on snacks, and not making any noise that would disturb other guests. I understand no snacks in the theater so that would be tough as keeping her mind occupied on snacking is likely part of why she was quiet.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

We never used the nursery when we sailed with the kiddo and sailed 5 times between 12-36 months..

Honestly right now is a fantastic time to cruise in my opinion.. not as crowded