Questions for sailing with 3YO

[pelequeen]

Hi all, we have a spring break trip planned on the Wonder out of San Diego. We booked late so have second dinner seating. Not our first cruise, but first Disney cruise!

Did I read somewhere that cast members can pick up children from main dinner and take them to Oceaneers club? If yes, how does this work?

Also, how do meals work for the kiddos while they’re in oceaneers? Do I select something from a menu or do the kids pick? What happens if my child doesn’t want to eat—do they have to stay at table or can they play?

Any other pro tips for cruising with toddlers?

Thank you!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

They have not been doing club pickup from dinner since COVID and I have not heard of it resuming.

I am unsure if they have started feeding kids at club again. When they did, it was a single meal for all, no menu or choice.

As a reminder, a kid has to be 150% able to toilet on their own to be in club. Staff cannot help with anything, including pants up or down

 

[Fuzzycaterpillar1]

There's a walking/running track that we let our toddler stretch his legs on. There usually isn't a lot of people on it.

He spent most of his time at the Oceaneer Club, but came to meals with us at the restaurants. I made a "busy bag" for him that had crayons, small jigsaw puzzles, etc. To keep him occupied. I wish the kids menu changed nightly....it was the same stuff daily. Next time we'll take him to the pool deck for dinner (pizza, chicken fingers, wraps and sandwiches) and then drop him off at the kids club while we're at dinner.

The room tvs have a ton of disney movies and cartoons, so we'd put one on at bedtime and let him fall asleep during it.

The ship is fun to explore with a toddler.

 

[Weedy]

When our kids were little we always did second seating and they liked to go to the kid’s club instead of a long dinner.
We would pickup food on the pool deck pizza or hamburgers or chicken strips. They also have fruit and milk. We would take it back to our cabin and the kids would eat while we got ready for dinner. We would all go see the early show and then we would drop the kids off at the kids club snd we would go to dinner.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We brought our son 10+ tines from ages 1 to 18. Miss those days, as he loved the kids clubs, being "on his own," and the sense that it was HIS cruise too.

As mentioned, the big demarcation is if/when your son/daughter is potty trained. "It's a Small World" is an extra fee$$'s and states that it is for children "under 3".

Otherwise, he/she will be your duty, which can be sweet, fun and exhausting (like the weeks before the cruise). Shuffleboard, walking the ship, the shows, character meets, Deck 9 dining are all good things to do. Excursions can be a waste, but supervised beach time is fun. DCL offers great food options, but make sure to bring any special items with you.

The room TV can be supplemented by one's own DVD as well, and our son loved the pull-down bed. It was certainly an education in a new environment, but much more of complete vacation when he fell in love with the Oceaneer's Club.

 

[Anna131517]

My tip is don’t count on your child liking the kids club. They may love it or they may cry and ask for mommy the whole time they’re there. Aren’t kids fun? My kids would not stay in the kids club when we last tried them ( 2, 4, and 6). I’m hoping to have more success this time (5, 7, and 9) but only time will tell! I would feed your 3 yr old at the pool deck at their normal time then try the kids club during dinner. If that doesn’t work (too late for your child to stay up without a melt down) then you could look into room service for dinner. When we did main dining with a 2 yr old she sometimes fell asleep on my lap (but wouldn’t sleep in the nursery).

 

[Girl of the South]

Note that the following items are currently prohibited . . .will they find it in your suitcase? No clue. But be aware. There isn't a DVD player so you would have to bring your own.

Electronics

• Ham radios
• Metal detectors
• Streaming Devices (Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Google Chromecast, etc.)

 

[Fuzzycaterpillar1]

My tip is don’t count on your child liking the kids club. They may love it or they may cry and ask for mommy the whole time they’re there. Aren’t kids fun? My kids would not stay in the kids club when we last tried them ( 2, 4, and 6). I’m hoping to have more success this time (5, 7, and 9) but only time will tell! I would feed your 3 yr old at the pool deck at their normal time then try the kids club during dinner. If that doesn’t work (too late for your child to stay up without a melt down) then you could look into room service for dinner. When we did main dining with a 2 yr old she sometimes fell asleep on my lap (but wouldn’t sleep in the nursery).

On our last cruise there were a lot of open houses (where parents can go into the club), which made it really hard to leave our 3 year old in the kids club. He also got bored at times and wanted to leave when there was hardly anyone there.

 

[pelequeen]

When our kids were little we always did second seating and they liked to go to the kid’s club instead of a long dinner.
We would pickup food on the pool deck pizza or hamburgers or chicken strips. They also have fruit and milk. We would take it back to our cabin and the kids would eat while we got ready for dinner. We would all go see the early show and then we would drop the kids off at the kids club snd we would go to dinner.

This sounds like a great compromise. Thanks for that tip to bring food to room and then see the early show.

 

[pelequeen]

My tip is don’t count on your child liking the kids club. They may love it or they may cry and ask for mommy the whole time they’re there. Aren’t kids fun? My kids would not stay in the kids club when we last tried them ( 2, 4, and 6). I’m hoping to have more success this time (5, 7, and 9) but only time will tell! I would feed your 3 yr old at the pool deck at their normal time then try the kids club during dinner. If that doesn’t work (too late for your child to stay up without a melt down) then you could look into room service for dinner. When we did main dining with a 2 yr old she sometimes fell asleep on my lap (but wouldn’t sleep in the nursery).

That is definitely a concern. Does the kids club have a way of contacting you if the child wants to leave? I presume I’m able to swing by to check in?

 

[lanejudy]

That is definitely a concern. Does the kids club have a way of contacting you if the child wants to leave? I presume I’m able to swing by to check in?

Yes, they'll contact you through the app. If you are going to be unavailable such as a spa treatment or Palo brunch, it's good to let the CMs know when you drop off your child and they'll do their best to keep the child occupied - but no guarantee it will work.

The pick-up from the MDR hasn't restarted yet, but you can always take a quick break between courses to take your child to the Club yourself. If you let the server know you'd like to have your child's meal out quickly they'll usually be able to accommodate, then after maybe the salad course take your child to play and return to finish a quiet meal with your spouse.

Also no meals served in the Club/Lab since the restart. So another option is as PP suggests -- food from the pool deck and drop the child at the Club before going to the MDR.

 

[Chemist]

My (then) three year old was only good in the kid's clubs for short periods of time.
He also didn't potty nearly independently enough.

They need to be able to go from start to finish ALL BY THEMSELVES. Recognizing they need to use the bathroom, pulling down pants, pulling up pants, wiping. (Neither of my children was COMPLETELY independent until more like 4.5.

We did occasionally send our 3 year old to the nursery. (He was grumpy, needed quiet and a nap, not a bright, loud kids club.). They were great with him, rocked him to sleep, changed him into "backup clothes" when he woke up wet, fed him snack when he woke up...

 

[5Texans]

My 3 y/o was fine in the kids club- she did better when I looked at what they had planned and told her about them- I made sure she met several of the staff during open house and she was able to ask them to help her find it. A couple times I asked the person at the desk to make sure she made it to story time or whatever.

She was very reliably potty trained, but I still took her before I dropped her off to cut down on bathroom trips in the club.

I recommend packing a few prepackaged snacks to take off the ship on excursions. This saved my rear on a 45 min bus ride back to the ship. I wish I had packed a bottle of water and a dry change of clothes for all my kids too. They were cold, hungry and thirsty and tired.

Something simple- I like brightly colored long sleeved rash guards for the beach/pool. Less sunscreen and it’s easier to spot your kid.

 

[nancipants]

Something simple- I like brightly colored long sleeved rash guards for the beach/pool. Less sunscreen and it’s easier to spot your kid.

Great tip. Target had GREAT rash guards from Cat and Jack this past year. They were long sleeve, had a full zipper, and had some bright colors (orange and blue). I really hope they have the same type next season because they were so easy to get on and off.

 

[pelequeen]

My (then) three year old was only good in the kid's clubs for short periods of time.
He also didn't potty nearly independently enough.

They need to be able to go from start to finish ALL BY THEMSELVES. Recognizing they need to use the bathroom, pulling down pants, pulling up pants, wiping. (Neither of my children was COMPLETELY independent until more like 4.5.

We did occasionally send our 3 year old to the nursery. (He was grumpy, needed quiet and a nap, not a bright, loud kids club.). They were great with him, rocked him to sleep, changed him into "backup clothes" when he woke up wet, fed him snack when he woke up...

This is helpful to know my daughter is technically eligible for both club and nursery—and that nursery is a little more hands on.

Daughter is potty trained though sometimes forgoes wiping (facepalm). She’s also a little camel and goes infrequently so hopefully I can coax her to go before going into club. But also helpful reminder to show her where the bathroom is when she needs to go during open house.

Thanks for all these great tips!

 

[pelequeen]

My 3 y/o was fine in the kids club- she did better when I looked at what they had planned and told her about them- I made sure she met several of the staff during open house and she was able to ask them to help her find it. A couple times I asked the person at the desk to make sure she made it to story time or whatever.

She was very reliably potty trained, but I still took her before I dropped her off to cut down on bathroom trips in the club.

I recommend packing a few prepackaged snacks to take off the ship on excursions. This saved my rear on a 45 min bus ride back to the ship. I wish I had packed a bottle of water and a dry change of clothes for all my kids too. They were cold, hungry and thirsty and tired.

Something simple- I like brightly colored long sleeved rash guards for the beach/pool. Less sunscreen and it’s easier to spot your kid.

Thanks for this tip. I Didn’t realize there would be a schedule of activities that I could review before drop off. Feeling more prepared for our visit during open house. Thanks!

And we love the cat and jack long sleeve suits and rash guards! She’ll probably have outgrown her suits by March—lol.