Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

So.... we are considering a Disney Cruise next year... my son will be a month shy of 4 or will just have turned 4 - depending on exactly when we go.

I know they have the youth clubs where they can play while supervised... with Disney counselors around.... I read that the ages are 3-7...

I want to participate in this - but I feel guilty! I feel like a bad mommy for dumping him off at this club! Anyone else have any insight? Has anyone gone on a cruise and left their newly 4 year old at one of the clubs? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have some down time with just me and the hubby - but I'm feeling guilty/scared/uneasy...

Any info would be great! Thanks!

Message edited 8/28/2013 9:54:34 PM.

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

We are going on a Disney cruise in October and I plan to leave all my kids in some supervised activity. My ds will be 14 months at the time of the cruise and will be going in the nursery and the other two are 6 and 8 and will be in the youth clubs at some point as well. I believe all parents should have some alone time. Most of the time they will be with us but I want a few hours of rest for me and the hubby as well.

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

We went in April with a 5yo and my friends almost 5yo. My Ds (who was 5y4m) at the time LOVED it sooooo much. He made us drop him off the last night for 1 hour just so he could go one last time! My son is pretty outgoing, but also has no issues playing solo.

Our firends DS didnt enjoy it as much, but he is pretty shy. I also think an issue was he would wander to the Oceaneers Lab which is connected but geared towards older kids. And I think it was just too much for him!

Anyway, the club is great. They ahve to be fully Potty trained and able to handle it all independently. They have computers (whcih my DS loved) and I think there was a game where you can steer the boat (my DS keeps saying something like that), they did arts and crafts, they have set times for some activities in the Daily Navigator, so DS would look and one day he when when the baked cookies, another time they did volcano eruptions, they had pluto's pj party (not sure what went on but they all got a pillow case to color and take home).

I didnt feel guilty leaving DS at all because he would basically plan our day around when he could go to the club. We left him in the club and DS2 in the nursery to go to Palo for dinner, which was the highlight of the cruise for DH and I

I think the time apart was part of what made us all love the cruise vacation so much. It was good for all of us to kwno we didnt have to be together 100% of the time. DS2 used the nursery for 3Hours during our 4 night cruise, and he didnt love the nursery (but he hates being left with anyone other than my ILs) but the staff was wonderful in there too!

ETA: the kids have a "gps" bracelet that can tell the staff exactly where they are when in the club. They can tell you who checked them in what time, who checked them out, what time. and you need a password to check them out. Also each room has a "wave" phone so at any tiem if your DS isnt happy he can tell a staff member and they can call you on your phone to let you know they want to be picked up.

You can also pop in just to check on them. I did this once and DS was like "I am not leaving mom, please go"

Message edited 8/28/2013 9:59:58 PM.

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

We did a Disney cruise for Christmas a few years ago with the entire family. The kids ranged in age from 4 - 12. All of them went to the age specific clubs & they all loved it. So many planned activities for the kids. The last 2 days of the cruise I could barely get my then 12 year old to have dinner with us as he couldn't wait to get back to the club. That says a lot because past vacations he would be glued to my side & hated going to the clubs offered at the resorts where we vacation.

Message edited 8/28/2013 10:11:06 PM.

Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

We are going on Sunday and I plan to use the kids club for my 6 year old. Not for "babysitting" really, but because they have really fun sounding activities going on in there! The Pluto PJ party sounds fun, I even made a special pair of Pluto PJ's for it! I wouldn't feel guilty, but I would also personally not leave my child in there for a whole day on a family cruise to be honest.

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

Went on a 7 night Disney Cruise in July. My kids ( 3,4,6) couldn't wait to go to the kids club! They would go at lunch time and eat there so my husband and I could have a nice meal alone. We would pick them up before dinner, we had early seating. So we always ate dinner together. Then they would go right back after, their choice! Each room has cell phones for guests. If one night my 3 year old wanted me to pick her up early, they just texted me. Usually when I got there she had changed her mind! We did many things as a family like pool, shows,port calls, character meets. This was the best, least stressful, amazing vacation ever! We loved it so much we are going again next summer!
Use the kids club!

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

My son was about 4 when we did the cruise too and we also tried dropping him off at the kid's club with the other kids on the ship but he would have none of it.

So my lesson learned is, don't count on a clingy child wanting to cooperate with your desire for some alone time with DH.

I find it easier to just go with another couple and take turns with baby sitting duties. The other couple can take the kids to the pool or playroom while you and DH go have some alone time elsewhere on the ship. Then you return the favor the next day...

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

Not disney but celebrity...we did 2 cruises. Last one the girls were 3 and 5. The one before 2 and 4.

I think it depends on how you use it. Understand many DO
use it as a babysitter. The cruise director told us once it was nice to see us spending time together. He said that some kids were put in the moment it opened. They stayed for both the free times as well as the paid hours (lunch, dinner, after 10). They would be there until close. If that is your thing great the kids WERE having fun.

For US. We used it to supplement their fun. We took them whenever we got off the ship, they ate all but one meal with us ( they had dinner with grandparents that night while we ate at thd specialty place).


We used it mainly on sea days. This program would be open from say free time 9-12, paid lunch 12-2, free 2-5, paid dinner 5-7, free 7-10, paid 10-1.

We looked at the dailies and saw what they were interested in (teddy bear making, super heros, treasure hunt). So they might go 9-11, come out swim, eat lunch, wander the ship, maybe go 2-3, swim, get dressed for early seating, then when they got restless they could go up until we finished. We usually picked them right up bc they liked theshows. If there was a good movie we let her stay. We used it MUCH less our second trip bc I was upset with it for a few reasons. We had to drag our daughter out she loved it.

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

We are pretty frequent cruisers and my kids love going to the camp. We always treat it as an option if for any reason the kids don't want to go they don't. I'm sure your son will love it!

Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

We took my SD on a Royal Caribbean cruise and she stayed at the kids club all day and night basically. She was thrilled to be there, she was even upset that we took her out to have dinner with us!!

Re: Cruise and 4 year old - Please don't move!

DD was 5 on our cruise last summer. Initially I felt guilty having her go to the Club, but honestly it was the best thing for all of us. It gave DH and I some alone time. She would go for the special programs she wanted to participate in and sometimes at night. She LOVED it!So much so that she cried every time we went to get her. I think if you balance family time and club time then it works out. Vacations are family time, but it's also their vacation too. The clubs are something fun for them to do while they cruise.