Liberty or Wonder for 10 month and 3 yr old

[sampup333]

I have cruised several times on RCL, but no other cruise line. We are considering our first cruise with kids and they will be 10 months and 3 years (almost 4) years old. Are there any thoughts on which would be better? The Liberty has the nursery. I have not done much research on Disney, but it is my understanding that you have to reserve the nursery well in advance and priority is given to those in their loyalty club. Would we be at risk of not getting any slots in the nursery? Are the splash zones for babies all that different on the ships?

 

Any opinions on the two ships for travelling with these ages would be greatly appreciated! I know what I am getting with RCL, but I know Disney would be great, too.

[mymollysue]

I have done both and had wonderful times on each. On both ships, I recommend going to the nursery as soon as it opens to reserve your time slots. Depending on the length of the cruise you are allotted a certain amount of hours. Then, if there are extra hours available on the day of, you can book those too. I got extra hours on both ships because the nurseries were not that full. One day, my DD was the only one and had 2 counselors all to herself.

 

The question I have for you is does your 3 (almost 4 year old) like Disney? If your child is a big fan of Disney/Disney Junior I would think that would be the better choice. If your child isn't a big Disney fan, then the Liberty may be a better choice. There is more to do for Adults on the Liberty, but the shows/fireworks on Disney are amazing (but again they are Disney themed).

[huneymoonerz]

I also have been on both boats.

 

You will have more flexibility with Disney as you can leave the baby whether you are in port or not. You can also have some hot food delivered to the room (pizza, etc) if you are stuck there for a while.

 

One night, my daughter (dressed as Cinderella) asked to go to the Disney club. I was walking her through the corridor and Cinderella showed up. She sat down on the floor with my daughter and they talked for 5 minutes about their dresses. Just the 2 of them. I will have that memory forever and I almost cry every time I think about it.

 

I found Minnie Mouse playing with my son in the nursery one day. That was pretty cool too.

 

Food is much better on Carnival. Disney's food was not tasty. Moving dining rooms was also a pain for us (we later learned our son has Autism so that was a lot of it -- he wanted the routine to be the same).

 

Both ship's crew went out of their way to help me. On Carnival, I liked having a casino to go to in the middle of the night if I choose to lose $50. He he.

 

We had a balcony on Liberty and an inside on Carnival for the same price. The inside for a whole week was not good for me.

 

You won't be disappointed with either boat. The itineraries might be worth exploring.

 

ie. Grand Turk is a good place for people w/ families.

 

Now that my son is 3, I think Carnival is a better choice for us but I will never forget the extra mile Disney went.