Daycare on the Magic

We are traveling with a 5 year old and a two year old in March. We have never been on a disney cruise before. How is the daycare on the boat and when is the best time to reserve it? I'm trying to decide if we should do it at night after dinner, or during the day during nap time. Also, how hard is it to book times once on the ship?

We are traveling with a 5 year old and a two year old in March. We have never been on a disney cruise before. How is the daycare on the boat and when is the best time to reserve it? I'm trying to decide if we should do it at night after dinner, or during the day during nap time. Also, how hard is it to book times once on the ship?

You only have to book reservations for the 2 year old. The nursery is up to age 3 and does have a cost (I believe $9.00 an hour). There is a maximum number of hours you can book pre-cruise. It's a good idea to book that maximum. Just pick some times you want. Additional hours can be booked once onboard, if there are any times available (usually are). You can adjust any pre-cruise bookings if necessary.

The 5 year old would be in Oceaneer's Club/Lab. It's drop off whenever you wish. And the open hours are generally 9:00am-midnight daily. There are some Open House times in there that adults (and siblings) can accompany their children into the club and play with them.

It is as above. You asked about times--reserve nursery during times that you want to do "adult only" activities, whether that is Palo brunch, spa, or whatever. Beyond that, will your 2 year old enjoy the shows or will the noise and action be a disturbance? Many people bring kids in umbrella strollers to dinner. If they fall asleep, so be it. Only YOU know when it might work best for you, and once on board you'll likely find that your plans won't work the way you thought they would. Then consider what type of cabin you have. A baby/toddler needing to nap is one of the few reasons I consider a balcony a necessity (or almost so). You can chill out on the balcony while baby sleeps. I'm cheap--I have a problem with paying someone $9 per hour while the baby sleeps. But that's my problem and others feel differently.

If you are on a 3 or 4 night cruise, you can book 10 hours in advance. On a 7 night cruise, it is 18 hours in advance. On a 14 night cruise, it is 35 hours.

On day 2 of the cruise, you will be allowed to book additional hours IF there is time/space available. The idea is for everyone to be able to get some hours before anyone gets a whole bunch. They are also quite flexible with allowing you to adjust hours.

If you book nursery time but cancel when on board is there a penalty?

If you give 24 hour notice, for sure no penalty. If you give less notice, they really try to work with you to get you hours that will meet your needs.

We checked on one of our sea days and they were full so we had to wait (forget offhand if we got later that day or next sea date). The daycare looked good - stuff for them and staff seemed caring, but our DD was not happy there. It was probably related to her being dropped off somewhere new with people she didn't know. We did not try it again during the cruise. (But I'm sure most kids do great and enjoy it)