RCCL vs Disney for Toddler

[walcoffwalcoff]

Hi! My husband and I want to go on a cruise this January. We have a daughter who will be 20 months at the time. I was wondering which would be better for a child her age. I do not plan on using the babysitting service on either cruise. I want her to have fun and stay busy with us...she isnt the best at relaxing :) I have heard a lot about the nursery programs on each cruise, but was interested in just general family activities for toddlers on the boats. Any advice or insight would be appreciated!

 

Thanks :)

[boulders]

RCCL has a wide variety of ships. Some have carousels, some have ice rinks (with ice shows), some have baby pools, some/all? have mini golf.... So, the answer would be it depends on which RCCL ship you're considering.

[walcoffwalcoff]

We were thinking about one of the RCCL with the baby splash area.

[cb at sea]

Either/or.....whatever you do at home, you can do on either cruiseline.

[bzkdz]

We sailed with our 3 year old on the Disney Fantasy last June (he turned 3 in April, so was a young 3). He had a great time! Most mornings they have a preschool time in one of the lounges around 8:30am, with music/dancing/character visits, etc. He also really enjoyed the splash area, playing mini-golf, and going to see movies. Dh did the "Detective Agency" with him as well. He didn't "get it" but enjoyed going around the ship to see different animated pictures, etc. The most fun were the sailaway and Pirate parties, he LOVED all the music/dancing. He potty trained the month before we sailed, so I was able to put him into the kids club while we had coffee/dessert after dinner, but I would not have hesitated to put him into the nursery if needed (had he still been in diapers). The staff was really wonderful and we all had a really enjoyable vacation.

[Gardeneroflove]

Hi! My husband and I want to go on a cruise this January. We have a daughter who will be 20 months at the time. I was wondering which would be better for a child her age. I do not plan on using the babysitting service on either cruise. I want her to have fun and stay busy with us...she isnt the best at relaxing :) I have heard a lot about the nursery programs on each cruise, but was interested in just general family activities for toddlers on the boats. Any advice or insight would be appreciated!

 

Thanks :)

 

I can only speak for Disney.

 

first, I really don't think it matters, unless your kid loves one of the Characters. Mine is just started to learn them, but I'm making a point to teach them so she'll know them.

 

DD was 14 months when we were on the Magic and had a blast! She had a ton of fun and was busy! She actually took two naps or a really long one most days, and passed out at bedtime. (I actually have a picture of her after bath one day, she passed out when I laid her down to put a diaper on her.)

 

The splash pad was fun! And Disney has open house hours for the club/lab that welcome under 3 with a parent. DD had a BLAST! One night she just moved the orange cones around. The staff was great.

 

Disney Magic had Toddler Time on sea days, 30 minutes of dancing/songs, then 30 minutes of playing with toys. Not much, but better than nothing.

 

It's easy, imo, to entertain and keep most toddler's busy and happy. One night she pushed chairs around, another she played basketball, sometimes she just walked and wondered (with us there, of course!). She had a ton of fun with my flip flops and her balls on the balcony one afternoon.

 

And then there was trying all of the new foods, ooo tuna and lima beans!!

 

While getting ready in the cabin, I'd have music on the tv, she loved dancing. (We don't do tv at home, so she was clueless).

 

The characters were fun, even though she didn't know who they were yet.

 

I look for the Navigators from the ship you're thinking about to get an idea of what's offered. I don't know what they are called on RCCL, on Carnival they are Cappers. They list the daily activities.

 

One night we found a guy playing a guitar in one of the smaller rooms, again, dd had a blast!

 

There's no shortage of things to do, and for a toddler, even pushing the elevator buttons is fun.