Upstate NY Babies
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**Disney Cruises**
(Arctic was this you?) I thought some of you ladies have done their cruises- did you like them? They are booking through Nov. of next year and I think I want to try a cruise for vacation next year...
Those of you who did cruise- did you use the babysitting? I'm trying to convince my gram to come with us where ever we go- but she's being hesitant (hello free vacation- and I would only want 2 nights free...)
Dh would love to cruise but he dont think its a kid thing (we were talking about different lines though- cause if Disney isnt cruise friendly, I dont know which ship would be..)
Also, dumb question- when they dock- do you HAVE to get off? Or can you hang on the ship?
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Re: **Disney Cruises**
We went on a Norwegian cruise in October. It was a Nickelodeon themed cruise but you would never know unless you were looking for the activities. We left from NYC and it went down to FL, and then 2 stops in the Bahamas. It was a week long.
We did not use the babysitting. DS was only 19 months old at the time, so he was too little for the kids club. I think it started at 2 years old. I don't remember exactly. We wouldn't have used it anyway-probably. I don't think DH would have wanted us to leave DS with strangers unless he was older and more verbal.
No, we didn't have to get off the ship when it was docked. But we did for all 3 stops.
Just a few things in terms of our cruise:
There were very few things for DS to do at his age. We took him to all of the Nickelodeon activities, but there was maybe 2 things per day. When you are on a cruise ship for 2 days at sea, that comes down to maybe 2-3 hours of activities. So there wasn't too much. He was not allowed in the kids club(not even to play with an adult with him), and the toddler area they had set up was a joke. It was a closet size room with like 5 toys. So we spent most of our time at the pool, or up on the sports deck. He loved to play with the sports equipment-golf, shuffle board, basketball, giant chess pieces, etc. So between the sports deck and pool, we were kind of limited to what he could do. He did love to just run around on the decks, so we took lots of walks as well. We also took him to the early entertainment shows at night time. He would sit quietly and watch everything.
Other than the lack of kids activities for toddlers, we had a great time. We always got off on the port days and had a blast. DS did great napping in the room and sleeping in the same room as us. They had a pack n play set up for him which we pre ordered through our travel agent. We did eat more at the buffet than in the dining room, since the dining room took longer, but he still did great in either room.
I think a Disney cruise is a great idea since its probably geared more towards younger kids than the one we went on. But we saved a bunch of money since we left from NYC and did not have to fly anywhere, so at the time it worked for us.
Good luck!
I went on NCL, and for under age 2 - the price was awesome - but there was little for a 2 year old to do. She didn't qualify for the babysitting or kids club or anything. She also wasn't allowed in the pools (I think bc of the chlorine?)
I would hope Disney would be better, and I've had people tell me that.
The only thing is, my DD is super active, so even if she qualified for the kids stuff, there was a LOT of waiting around - wait to eat, wait in huge lines to get on and off the boat, the shuttles to get around, etc. - and that did NOT jive well for her!
As far as staying on the boat - yes, you can. There was 1 island we went to that I think the boat was only there like 7am-12pm, and not a lot of people went. It was a couple days in and I think people didnt want to get up early and were too tired, so most stayed on the boat.
Nest Bio ~ ~ Baby Food Blog
We went on the Disney cruise in 2002. It was fairly new for them. We went with my parents, sisters, BIL's and a 2 y/o, 4 y/o and 7 y/o.
What we liked: It was kid friendly. They had great shows for the kids and there were always the Disney personalities out. They did have a great kid program. There were 3 seperate kids programs geared towards age. If they haven't changed it, the 0-2 room has this security option that parents were given some sort of band. When you were needed the band would vibrate. The child couldn't leave the area unless the bands matched. The 2 y/o stayed with us the entire time (due to his ASD diagnosis and his difficulty around other kids) but the 4y/o and 7y/o loved their programs. They would cry when we came to pick them up:) The staff was amazing. They would have activities for the kids, parades, dressups, singing contests etc. There was also an "adult only" area on the ship which was very nice b/c it was calm and quiet.
There were more kids in general on the disney cruise, which is to be expected. Pools were always full.
The port stops were really great. They have a "private island" which was wonderful for the kids as well as the adults.
You don't have to get off the ship at all. But they did have great shore excursions at ports which were more kid oriented and kid friendly then the other cruise lines were. Some of the excursions are simple, such as a bus ride out to a beach, or more extensive such as swimming with dolphins.
What we didn't like: They pushed alcohol so much on that ship, excessive. We've been on 7 other cruises with various lines and the Disney line was by far the worst. They had a bar at the end of the kiddie pool, I kid you not. I felt if you didn't have an alcoholic beverage in your hand they would constantly pester us.
I don't eat red meat and everything was cooked with red meat it seemed. The vegetarian dinner was always eggplant parm (which I hate). So I'd get a shriveled peice of chicken every time for dinner. I lost 6 lbs on that cruise b/c I didn't get much to eat. The food was fair at best. I ended up with food posioning the last day (as did half the ship) but this happened with several cruise ships so I think it had something to do with the shipment of food, not the prep or the conditions of the kitchen.
It's FAR more expensive then the other cruise lines, and Carnival had a wonderful program as well. We went again with a then 3y/o and 6y/o and they loved it, more even. The carnival cruise was less than half of what we paid for the Disney.
What ever you choose have fun!
TTC since 6/2003. m/c 9/14/03 8 weeks, 5 chemical pregnancies, mmc 6/04 12 weeks, Michael born sleeping 5/25/05 at 22weeks always our angel, fought ovarian cancer and won, m/c 4/06 5.2 weeks and 7/07 6.6 weeks,Our Miracle baby girl born 4/8/10,mc 12/18/11 at 5.3 weeks, BFP 10/26/12 dating u/s on 11/8/12 showing a strong heartbeat!EDD July 4,2013. RCS on 6/27. Baby boy in NICU for 8 long and scary days before he was able to come home. We are now a happy family of 4
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every cruise line has stuff geared for kids. Disney is very expensive. Like $1000 more than any other cruise we looked at. Norwegian has the best prices for 3rd and 4th passenger. Royal Caribbean has an awesome splash water park on the bigger boats. Disney does not have a casino if that matters to you.
You never have to leave the boat.
I hope mrswhite responds b/c she took justin on a norwegian cruise and loved itIf my parents were guaranteed to go with us I would have taken a cruise this year but I thought it would be too hard without them
We love NCL! We have taken two cruises right out of NYC with them. We took the baby and my parents in November when she was eight and a half months. We had a courtyard villa with my parents. With the villa there was a private pool, hot tub and courtyard for the villas only. This was great for our family. We literally opened the door to our room and looked through the hallway and could see the pool.
Since the baby was under two like pp said she couldn't do the kids club or the children's activities. It was okay because we had so many other things that we could do with her. The villa gave us many extras that we did not get on our previous cruises. We could have full meals from restaurants delivered to our rooms. In the courtyard there was always food and beverages. Plus, you could eat breakfast or lunch in the courtyard or in the steakhouse which was only open to the guests in these types of cabins at these times. We had VIP seating for the shows and we were the first ones on and off the ship. This worked very well for travleing with the baby. There were no lines and we liked being able to eat wherever.
We had cruised in an oceanview cabin on NCL and an oceanview on Royal. We loved NCL's freestyle dining, but we I think the set seating times on Royal would be to hard on us with the baby. If you can take a cruise right out of NYC then you can save on airfare and put the money towards a higher end cabin.
Jealous!!! I really want to do a Disney Cruise but it's so expensive. I've been on 2 NCL cruises 1 without J, 1 with.
You need to look into the fine print before you book- you cannot cruise if you're more than 26 weeks pregnant and some lines (I know NCL) does not allow babies less than 6 mths to sail. Disney will allow babies but they have to be older than 6 weeks. They are also THE only line that will allow kids with swim diapers in the pool. It's some federal regulation but disney has some special filtration system. Some Disney ships have "flounders nursery" which is really cheap child care for itty bitties.
NCL offers really reduced rates for kids, they have "anytime dining" so you don't have to worry about a dinner time, they have a play room with toys but we never used it. They have a buffet which was hard to find seating but it has a "family zone" so we were always able to get seats
It was great because there was always something J liked. When we ate at the "nice" restaurants we played a portable DVD player. He made it through 4 or 5, 5 course meals without a single fuss.
The biggest "problem" on a cruise with kids is space. The rooms are tiny. The bathrooms are tiny. Space between chairs and dining tables is tiny. If you will be taking a double stroller it could be tough.
Like others said- no you don't have to get off the ship.
We went on a Carnival cruise when Chelsea was 20 months. We loved it! We went out of NYC to Grand Turk, Nassau, and Half Moon Cay. She was too young for the Kid's Club...but my mom came with us and she took Chelsea two of the nights which was great b/c DH and I got to go out! On the other nights we took turns staying with her in our room. We didn't put her to bed until like 9 anyway because she napped so well during the day.
We also thought the food options for her were great. The buffets have anything you could possibly want, and even at night when we went to dinner they would bring any 'kid' food you wanted like pizza, chicken fingers, cheeseburger, etc. They were VERY accomodating. And Carnival is very family-friendly and affordable, too.
Feel free to PM me if you have any other specific questions!
Hey!
We've been on several cruises with both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. We definitely like RCCL better, just with the service, food, entertainment, atmosphere...not that there is anything wrong with Carnival...it's just a step up.
From everyone we've heard from, the children's programs on RCCL is fantastic and the kids never want to leave! They have a babies program where an adult has to stay with them but there is plenty for kids of all ages to do. I believe they don't allow babies to sail until they are 6 mos. old as well.
Good luck with your findings and hope your decision is a great one!
Thanks for all the feedback ladies...like I said we are looking to next early summer/ late spring for this trip- so the baby will be at least 6months and Enzo will be over 2...