First cruise. Question about childcare

[wazooz2424]

I cross posted this in the DCL forum, also. My wife and I are planning our first cruise and looking at Disney and Royal Carribean. We have two kids, ages 4 and 2 (so by the time of the proposed cruise, 5 and 2 years 11mos). Will they be able to stay together at those ages? I doubt the youngest will be completely potty trained by then, hopefully in pull-ups though. Thanks.

 

[crabbymom]

No, not on Royal. They actually don't have a drop off daycare for children that are not potty trained/at least 3 years old. They will have pay-by-the-hour child care available for the little one, or the option of having the parent stay with the child, but they do not have a true "kids program" until 3 years old.

 

[starvenger]

I cross posted this in the DCL forum, also. My wife and I are planning our first cruise and looking at Disney and Royal Carribean. We have two kids, ages 4 and 2 (so by the time of the proposed cruise, 5 and 2 years 11mos). Will they be able to stay together at those ages? I doubt the youngest will be completely potty trained by then, hopefully in pull-ups though. Thanks.

Wow, deja vu.

First time on the Allure, my younger daughter was 2 weeks away from being 3. She was potty trained and fairly independent, so on Day 2 the Adventure Ocean team let her try the 3-5 group with my older daughter, who was 5 at the time. They also gave me a phone so they could call me if there were any issues. But there were none, and after that day we didn't even need the phone anymore.

So if you can get your youngest potty trained, they've got a shot. No guarantee that they'll be able to stay throughout the cruise, but they've got a shot.

 

[wazooz2424]

thanks for all of the replies. we are brand spankin new to cruises, so this has been a huge help.

 

[starvenger]

I hope so. I saw in the Disney forum that you've made your booking. Congrats!

I think the main site here (wdwinfo) has some information for first time cruisers. Cruise Critic has some information too. Not sure where else you can check for a Disney cruise (I suppose I could do a google search though), but if you look at royalcaribbeanblog.com, they've got tips for first time cruisers, and while some are specific to Royal, I think there's enough there to merit a look.

 

[wazooz2424]

I hope so. I saw in the Disney forum that you've made your booking. Congrats!

I think the main site here (wdwinfo) has some information for first time cruisers. Cruise Critic has some information too. Not sure where else you can check for a Disney cruise (I suppose I could do a google search though), but if you look at royalcaribbeanblog.com, they've got tips for first time cruisers, and while some are specific to Royal, I think there's enough there to merit a look.

yes, we did. it mainly came down to activities for young kids (under 3) between the two lines. if we enjoy this cruise, we will likely do Royal in the future when the kids are slightly older. it seemed like even the 5 year old would be too young for many of the activities offered by royal (rock climbing for one).