Cruising with a 20 month old?????

[Disneymom201]

My family has been fortunate enough to go to WDW annually for the past 8 years. I was hoping to change things up a bit for 2013 & do a 4 night cruise. Our older sons will be 14 & 10. Our youngest "surprise" DS will be 20 months.
What are your thoughts? Any advise?

 

[DonChi]

Can't tell, we are going with our 18 month daughter. I can tell you how was it when we get back.

 

[rick3236]

Our now 25 month old has been on two cruises already and we have never had any problems. In fact he sleeps really well on the ship, probably because of the rocking. What we do is not tax him too much. We let him nap twice a day, we feed him on his schedule (that is whenever he is hungry) and we used the nursery quite a bit. We like to have him with us at the rotational dinner restaurants, but we remain flexible so that if he is not hungry or is tired we take him to the nursery. We also carry around some little toys and things to entertain him in his diaper bag.

FYI - The nursery is an extra charge. On our last cruise (22 months old), he loved the nursery so much he did not want to leave and kept telling us that he wanted to go "play with toys".

Our key to crusing wth an infant is to remain flexible and remember this is a new environment for them that takes some getting used to.

 

[flynnibus]

the nursery is what makes DCL so great compared to a park vacation. Your teen will love vibe and the freedom. I think your family matches up to DCL well...

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I agree, you match up well. We have been in several groups with small children and they've all booked new cruises or been back already. The nursery is wonderful, when you want to use it.
The teens and Tweens will enjoy having their own time and theorem space in the clubs.
It's really great for wide age ranges!

 

[Melissa Mouse Ears]

We cruised with a 21 month old and 4 year old in Oct. We all had a great time and will definately go back. We let him take his regular nap and ate in between. We ate in the dining room most nights but frequently had to leave before dessert as he is not good at sitting any where that long. The oceaneers club has open house where the whole family can come in and play without charge, he loved that. We brought a couple of their favorite books so we could keep our bedtime routine. We didn't use the nursery because he isn't used to staying anywhere without family and was going through his extra clingy phase. When he got extra fidgity from being contained we took him to the walking track when it was not travelled by people running or getting exercise and walked him around the boat in circles for awhile. You will have a great time!

 

[5thGenTexan]

My boy was 20 months when we on a 7 day in October. He is a runner and climber, so it was a constant battle trying to keep him from going down stairs or getting into something. The phone in our cabin was beside the bed and after 2 days of fighting him picking it up to talk I had to unplug it and relocate it over to the desk. We decided we are just gonna wait awhile before we go again.