Infants

[Yellowlily]

Would you recommend cruising on the Wonder or Magic (say a 3 or 4 day) with an infant (6 months - a year)? I see that their program only starts at 3 yrs. old. Can infants go to the shows, etc?

[SeaPA]

We took our son on the Wonder 3 nighter when he was 4 months old, then again with my inlaws when he was about 8 months old. Everything worked out great. While the "kids program" starts at 3 y/o, they do have a nursery for infants (which I jokingly refer to as "the baby brig"). It is well stocked with toys for kids of varying ages (both "just fun" and educational stuff), videos, cribs, etc. We put him in there one evening during dinner, one evening to have some US time, and for part of the day at Castaway Caye to get him out of the heat & sun.

Yes, they can go to the shows. We brought him to most of them (and to the movies, where he slept through Nemo); we just used some common sense & courtesy, sat in an aisle seat near an exit in case he started crying - didn't want to spoil things for everyone else.

There will most certainly be others on board with infants & youngsters. It IS Disney.

We had a blast with him. #2 is on the way, and I'm sure he'll likely be on the Wonder before he turns 1. Definitely will be before he hits 3.

[Yellowlily]

Thanks for your input. Glad to know that they also have a daycare. I like your nickname for it too! :)

[Yellowlily]

I'm over on the RCCI board too asking about infants and the consensus it to #1 take your kid (with a few rude exceptions) and #2 Disney is the best. Didn't know they had a "non-potty trained" pool for the little ones. That's great! Just bring those Little Swimmers? Sounds like Disney might be good. We are thinking about the 3 day that starts on Thursday, maybe fly down Tuesday late afternoon (about an hour and half flight for us tops) and getting a hotel. Any recommendations for a nice hotel? Maybe we'll go to the Kennedy Space Museum the next day. Do you recommend bringing a car seat? How about to and from the hotel, the pier, etc? How long does it take to get to Port Canaveral?? Say we are flying into Orlando...??? Any input would be great!

[SeaPA]

I'm not sure what to suggest for hotels; I live in Central Florida so it's just a 2 hour drive to Port Canaveral for us. You might try a thread asking for hotel suggestions in the Canaveral area.

If you can work things to do a tour of Kennedy, I'd do it. It is quite interesting, especially if you have any interest whatsoever in space travel.

It's roughly an hour to drive from Orlando Airport to Port Canaveral; it's a simple, straight trip on a major highway.

You will definitely need a car seat for the trip from Orlando to PC; they are required by law in Florida. Not sure what the rules are if you were to take a bus.

As for the kiddie pool onboard, yes, just bring some of the swimmie diapers. The setup is quite nice. The pool in the back of the ship is designed like a big Mickey head. The main pool is his head (it's 3 to 5 feet deep, something like that). One of the ears is a kiddie pool, with water roughly a foot deep; it drains into the main pool. The other ear is the non-potty trained pool. Water is only ankle deep, and it constantly drains out (not into the other pools) & is replaced by fresh water. Kinda like, uhm, a steadily flushing toilet.

I'd definitely recommend bringing your infant on a cruise. As I said, our son has been on the Wonder for a couple of 3 day cruises & has been on a Princess 1 week cruise. I wouldn't consider going without him.

[Yellowlily]

Thanks SeaPA!!

 

I appreciate the info. I'm so glad to hear good things about taking the little ones on cruises. I've gotten some "not-so-nice" feedback from people thinking I'm crazy taking a one-year old to Disney. Well, we booked our Land & Sea package for next year. Can't wait! Staying at the Beach Club. Looks beautiful! My DH would love the Kennedy - he's a principal scientist and loves that type of stuff. I'm glad that you're encouraging of taking kids. I mean, we have kids for a reason...not to leave them at home, right?? They are our little miracles! Anyway, too cute about the "Mickey Mouse ear constant flushing toilet". LOL!! Thanks again!

[jonesing]

Thanks for this valuable information! We just had our little arrival June 26 :p and will be cruising late November for my birthday. We weren't sure about taking him to any of the shows.