Childs age

[Sunshine required]

Hi everyone,

After a few years (4) of no cruising :eek: we are hoping to book a Disney Cruise for 2017. My daughter will only be newly 3 years old then. Will she still be a bit too young? Should we wait another year?:confused:

Also what ships would you recommend? It would have to be sailing in the Med.

TIA x

[Shmoo here]

Hi everyone,

After a few years (4) of no cruising :eek: we are hoping to book a Disney Cruise for 2017. My daughter will only be newly 3 years old then. Will she still be a bit too young? Should we wait another year?:confused:

Also what ships would you recommend? It would have to be sailing in the Med.

TIA x

 

To date, the only DCL ship that does the Med is the Magic. So that makes that decision for you.

[Ex techie]

Shmoo has answered the which ship question.

 

As to whether your 3 year old will appreciate the experience better when she is 4, only you know your daughter.

 

I would say 4 is the minimum personally, and if she is not very comfortable with being left in child care if you intend to use it and especially as she is the only child in your party so no friends with her until she makes some.

 

The Club has a wide age range, and although the counsellors monitor the kids and interact with them during the activities, the kids need to be able to hold their own and interact with other kids around them without feeling anxious and fearful, otherwise you will be called to pick her up if she says she want to leave.

 

Thats my 2c.

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

Another consideration is how verbal your child is and how much detailed feedback you can get from her concerning the kid programming. For a child who loves the programming, that's not an issue, but for a child who doesn't want to go back, the more she can tell you the better it is for all concerned. A kid issue can be as small and easily remedied as "she called me the wrong name" when a CM uses the computer listed name rather than a nickname (yes, they do ask about nicknames on the kid registration form) to a child not wanting to be away from the parents to a big kid being too aggressive toward a little one to a kid just not understanding how to navigate the programming.

 

Many of these things can be fixed with a word from mom to a YAC, but only if mom really understands what's happening. My other hint would be to take the child during open house hours so she becomes comfortable with the area before using it as a drop off.

 

All that said, I chose to not cruise with my daughter till age 4. Worked for us.