May 2022 Wonder w/Young Kids (almost 3 and 5) & Nursery for almost 3?

[Tennant]

We are consider the May 16, 2022 sailing on the wonder to Alaska. We have been to AK twice pre-kids and loved it! A few questions about AK w/Disney and w/kids!

1.) If you've sailed with young kids to AK, how did your kids do? They they find it interesting at all? Did they like excursions? What excursions did you do?

2.) We have always taken a balcony cabin but the price on Disney is pretty high. I do feel it would be OK for my husband and I not to have a balcony but think we may need it with kids so we can still enjoy AK while kids are resting or taking some down time. What kind of cabin did you take with kids and what was your general experience?

3.) Our youngest will be 1.5 month shy of 3. This is the most economical and best time for us to cruise because our oldest will be starting kindergarten in the fall so Sept. is out. Has anyone sent there almost 3 year old to the nursery? Did they have activities to keep a child of this age occupied?

Thanks!

[ArthurUSCG]

We've done the AK cruise with an almost 3 yo. There is a lot of toys and activities for an almost 3 yo in the nursery.

 

The balcony rooms are expensive, so my family got 1 ocean view and 2 inside rooms, all on deck 2 or 3. The window had a seat, so we could watch. But we were in the inside room, but it also gave a dark room for nap time. But you can always grab the lounge chairs on deck 5 and wrap up in the blankets for nap time.

We did the whale watching ship tour and the rainforest nature walk and wild life center with the kids.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Just wanted to chime in that I am also wondering about the nursery. We are taking my daughter who will turn 3 days before our cruise (Fantasy May 2022). From my research, I think the nursery will be better for her than the kids club. I've read the nursey has more "pre school" type toys which she will enjoy more than the kids club play items. She is an only child and never been dropped off anywhere, I do not think her being with kids up to age 12 would be appropriate for her (our personal opinion) so I am leaning towards the nursery. 

[ArthurUSCG]

15 hours ago, CruisingGatorGirl said:

Just wanted to chime in that I am also wondering about the nursery. We are taking my daughter who will turn 3 days before our cruise (Fantasy May 2022). From my research, I think the nursery will be better for her than the kids club. I've read the nursey has more "pre school" type toys which she will enjoy more than the kids club play items. She is an only child and never been dropped off anywhere, I do not think her being with kids up to age 12 would be appropriate for her (our personal opinion) so I am leaning towards the nursery. 

There are 2 sides to the kids clubs. The Oceaneers Club and the Oceaneers Lab. The Club has areas and activities that are geared towards the younger 3-6 kids, while the Lab is geared for the 6-12 kids. I would suggest going to the open house on the embarkation day and seeing what she thinks. The room designs and the activities with the staff naturally split the kids into age groups.

On our first DCL cruise, my oldest was just over 3 and his younger cousin was still 2. While we did check him in to the nursery with his younger cousin 1 time, it was mainly for her, she wanted him around and he wanted to help. But the other times he wanted to go play in Andy's toy room or asked what characters were going to be there so he could pick when to go.

 

When we went on the cruise, my son and the cousin had only been watched by family members, but after his initial separation anxiety, he loved going in there. I remember 1 night he didn't want to leave, so we let him stay up later there, and about an hour later the cast member called on the wave phone to let us know he was asleep on the bean bag chairs but he could stay there until closing.

 

The DisneyCruiseLineBlog has a lot of past Navigators and it will list a lot of the bigger planned activities that usually involve characters, but it doesn't have the smaller impromptu stuff like arts and crafts or games.
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/itineraries/?ship=4

[CruisingGatorGirl]

On 7/16/2021 at 8:21 AM, ArthurUSCG said:

There are 2 sides to the kids clubs. The Oceaneers Club and the Oceaneers Lab. The Club has areas and activities that are geared towards the younger 3-6 kids, while the Lab is geared for the 6-12 kids. I would suggest going to the open house on the embarkation day and seeing what she thinks. The room designs and the activities with the staff naturally split the kids into age groups.

On our first DCL cruise, my oldest was just over 3 and his younger cousin was still 2. While we did check him in to the nursery with his younger cousin 1 time, it was mainly for her, she wanted him around and he wanted to help. But the other times he wanted to go play in Andy's toy room or asked what characters were going to be there so he could pick when to go.

 

When we went on the cruise, my son and the cousin had only been watched by family members, but after his initial separation anxiety, he loved going in there. I remember 1 night he didn't want to leave, so we let him stay up later there, and about an hour later the cast member called on the wave phone to let us know he was asleep on the bean bag chairs but he could stay there until closing.

 

The DisneyCruiseLineBlog has a lot of past Navigators and it will list a lot of the bigger planned activities that usually involve characters, but it doesn't have the smaller impromptu stuff like arts and crafts or games.
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/itineraries/?ship=4

This was SO helpful, thank you! I did not know the split up the the ages. That makes me feel better- I was picturing her running around with 11 year olds and thought no way! I hope my daughter will take to it like your son did 🙂

[ArthurUSCG]

On 7/18/2021 at 2:56 PM, CruisingGatorGirl said:

This was SO helpful, thank you! I did not know the split up the the ages. That makes me feel better- I was picturing her running around with 11 year olds and thought no way! I hope my daughter will take to it like your son did 🙂

There is hallwayish room that connects both sides but the kids usually stick to the area that are geared to thier agree.

 

The hallwayish room is the area were they normally serve lunch and do the science experiments. And the doors were always left often, pre covid. I'm not sure of the current status.

[boulders]

I've sailed to Alaska twice with young kids. In my opinion, Alaska is one of the best locations for cruises with littles. There are so many opportunities for interactive excursions and animal-based excursions. Favorites of my youngest included whale watching, dog sledding and panning for gold. My youngest was 4 on his first AK cruise and 6 on his second.

 

 

[nolatravelgirl]

My opinion is that Disney cruises are way more expensive than any other line that I wouldn't want to have  to choose between Disney activities and Alaska activities. You are paying a huge premium for all the Disney entertainment that I consider a Disney cruise the actual destination. Unless you just have money to burn I would consider another line for Alaska where you can get much more bang for you buck. We  did a 7 day Caribbean and mostly considered the ports as just a minor part of the cruise. Our stops were Key West, Nassau and Castaway Cay. We spent just a few hours in port in Key West and Nassau. Castaway Cay is Disney's private island where we did spend a full day. We loved the Disney cruise but I would never pay Disney cruise prices for a port intensive cruise. YMMV.

 

Based on my research you could spend less by getting two connecting balcony rooms on another cruise line for the same price as to what you would pay for a single room on Disney. 

[serene56]

On 7/14/2021 at 8:55 AM, Tennant said:

3.) Our youngest will be 1.5 month shy of 3. This is the most economical and best time for us to cruise because our oldest will be starting kindergarten in the fall so Sept. is out. 

 

does disney charge by person- not by age?

 

[Shmoo here]

35 minutes ago, serene56 said:

 

does disney charge by person- not by age?

 

In the nursery?  The charge is by how many kids you have in there.  

 

Or do you mean how much they charge for the cruise?  

[Oceansaway17]

Yes while Disney is expensive, they do keep the little ones happy while the parents can enjoy the views.

 

You have to decide but I think you will end up going back to Alaska when the kids are older.

So for now make them happy using Disney ship and then in about 4 years do another cruise line.

[LizzyDragon]

I would double-check whether the nursery will even be available for a May cruise. It was closed on the first couple of sailings.