Questions for parents!

[Jenhem31]

We are not new to cruising, but soon will be booking our first Disney cruise. It will be my boyfriend and I, along with his daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

 

I don't have children and his are grown, so we are clueless about the children camps/activities. Are they included in the cruise fare or is it additional? The child will be about 2.5 at the time we sail.

 

Thank you for your help!

[moki'smommy]

The programming for kids 3-17 are included in the cruise fare. You don't have to reserve a time or make any special arrangements, just drop them off when you/they want to.

 

Kids under 3 have babysitting in available in the nursery. They pay a lesser fare to be on the ship, but the nursery is not included in the cruise fare. It currently costs $9 per hour. You can reserve times on line before the cruise or after boarding. They TRY to be very flexible about changing times. Additional hours can be added if space is available. Last minute drop off is possible if staffing allows, but if you plan adult dining or another special adult activity, make nursery reservations in advance.

[Jenhem31]

Thank you!

[Gardeneroflove]

additional information for that age...

 

 

the kid club has open house hours, so while you can't drop off, you (you as in an adult) can take the kid and go play with them.

 

Our cruises offered toddler time and wake up with disney jr on sea days, and there were family fun crafts. We had charactor breakfast, but I'm not sure they offer anymore?

 

I'd see what the ship you're sailing offers.

[Jenhem31]

Ok, that sounds nice. We may utilize the nursery a couple times so we can maybe go to a nice dinner. We have no problems watching him so Mom and Dad can have a little kid free time also.

[Gardeneroflove]

Ok, that sounds nice. We may utilize the nursery a couple times so we can maybe go to a nice dinner. We have no problems watching him so Mom and Dad can have a little kid free time also.

 

mom and dad kid free time...ummm...sorry, that's foreign to me. :eek:

 

I'm hoping my husband will agree to let our 4 year old go to the kids club in nov, so we can have an hour or 2 just us.

 

Thus far, he hasn't agreed, he works, so uses cruises to spend time with our dd.

[Jenhem31]

Well having a kid around is foreign to me! Maybe he will come around, but it is sweet he likes to take that time to spend with his little one. [emoji173]️

[Tagong]

Jenhem31

 

I cruised the Disney Magic back in January. Here is the link to my review. You may find part of this help regards of the ship you're on. We were travelling with our 2.5 yr old daughter.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2161780

[Jenhem31]

Jenhem31

 

I cruised the Disney Magic back in January. Here is the link to my review. You may find part of this help regards of the ship you're on. We were travelling with our 2.5 yr old daughter.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2161780

 

 

Awesome! Thank you!

[chamima]

The programming for kids 3-17 are included in the cruise fare. You don't have to reserve a time or make any special arrangements' date=' just drop them off when you/they want to.

 

[b']Kids under 3[/b] have babysitting in available in the nursery. They pay a lesser fare to be on the ship, but the nursery is not included in the cruise fare. It currently costs $9 per hour. You can reserve times on line before the cruise or after boarding. They TRY to be very flexible about changing times. Additional hours can be added if space is available. Last minute drop off is possible if staffing allows, but if you plan adult dining or another special adult activity, make nursery reservations in advance.

 

Actually, not true.

We are sailing with our children and 7 grandchildren , ages 3 months (booked before policy change to 6 month minimum) to 10 years and they are all the same price. In fact, our 2 1/2 year old will be the second in a stateroom and she is priced at the full adult fare because of that.

The only reductions are for 3rd, 4th or 5th in a stateroom and I think it's regardless of age.

[moki'smommy]

Actually, not true.

We are sailing with our children and 7 grandchildren , ages 3 months (booked before policy change to 6 month minimum) to 10 years and they are all the same price. In fact, our 2 1/2 year old will be the second in a stateroom and she is priced at the full adult fare because of that.

The only reductions are for 3rd, 4th or 5th in a stateroom and I think it's regardless of age.

 

Looks like more Disney gouging then. Under 3 used to pay NO cruise fare (only taxes and government fees/port charges). Then they changed it so that under 3s paid 1/2 of the 3-17 fare as a 3rd, 4th, or 5th person. The prices most sites quote are for kids as 3rd and up in the cabin. There is a surcharge if a 3rd -5th is an adult. It ranges from $50-$150 depending on the cruise. I did just verify that before I posted.

 

Yes, the second person in a stateroom is always charged at full adult fare regardless of age. But I am surprised to read that an under 3 as a 3rd is billed as full 3rd fare now.

[Shmoo here]

Actually, not true.

We are sailing with our children and 7 grandchildren , ages 3 months (booked before policy change to 6 month minimum) to 10 years and they are all the same price. In fact, our 2 1/2 year old will be the second in a stateroom and she is priced at the full adult fare because of that.

The only reductions are for 3rd, 4th or 5th in a stateroom and I think it's regardless of age.

 

While it can vary from cruise to cruise (dependent on itinerary) generally 3rd and 4th person rates can be lower for children. In fact, sometimes that rate can vary depending on the age of the child. The divisions for those are "under 3" and "3-10" and "over 12".

 

The first two people in the room are always full adult fare, regardless of age.

 

Here's some more info about that:

All cruises are priced based on two adults in the stateroom. So, even if you are one adult traveling with a child, the price is the same as if there were two adults in the stateroom. After the two adult price, the third and fourth passenger in the stateroom are charged a lower rate. If you are traveling alone, DCL will charge you 100% of the second adult's cruise fare (not including port fees and taxes) in addition to the full fare for the first adult.

 

**NOTE** Teenagers will be Charged adult fares (13-17). Child rates apply to ages 3-12. Children ages 0-2 pay 50% of the child rate.

This does not impact access to areas of the ship that are designated as "18 and over" (like the Spa, Adults only pool, and Palo).

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-price.htm

Edited May 11, 2015 by Shmoo here

[moki'smommy]

OK, I just put in a dummy reservation for same cruise--7 night Fantast, Sept 2015.

 

Doing 2 adults and a 1 year old gave me the child's fare/taxes at $374. 2 year old gave same results.

2 adults + 5 year old gave child's fare as $700

2 adults + 14 year old gave child's fare as $750 (the surcharge starts at 13).

 

So at least on this cruise, they are still discounting the under 3 fare

[chamima]

OK' date=' I just put in a dummy reservation for same cruise--7 night Fantast, Sept 2015.

 

Doing 2 adults and a 1 year old gave me the child's fare/taxes at $374. 2 year old gave same results.

2 adults + 5 year old gave child's fare as $700

2 adults + 14 year old gave child's fare as $750 (the surcharge starts at 13).

 

So at least on this cruise, they are still discounting the under 3 fare[/quote']

 

I apologize!!!

I was SO WRONG!!! :o :o :o

 

I just checked our reservations and the 2 year old and the 3 month old are significantly less than the 4, 5, 7 and 10 year olds.

The only defense I can offer is that we're going over New Years and the fare for all of us was so high that I was just horrified and missed the "bargain" ($850 each ) that we're getting for the babies. :eek:

[coldflame]

We are not new to cruising, but soon will be booking our first Disney cruise. It will be my boyfriend and I, along with his daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

 

I don't have children and his are grown, so we are clueless about the children camps/activities. Are they included in the cruise fare or is it additional? The child will be about 2.5 at the time we sail.

 

Thank you for your help!

 

The little one has the option to be watched at the nursery (which incurs a $6/hr charge), but personally can't recommend it. We had our youngest there and she did not like the experience at all. I mean the staff, of course, super well trained and super caring, but it's too baby-ish focused, so they don't have activities a normal 2.5-3 year old would enjoy. My oldest is now in the awkward middle ground between the kids' group and the tween group, but he's too young for the tween clubs and he gets rather bored at the OC/OL.

 

While DCL kid's programming on board is bar none, they do have age gaps.

 

BTW, all youth clubs and programming for kids >= 3 and <= 17 is included in your fare, so no extra.

[Shmoo here]

The little one has the option to be watched at the nursery (which incurs a $6/hr charge), but personally can't recommend it. We had our youngest there and she did not like the experience at all. I mean the staff, of course, super well trained and super caring, but it's too baby-ish focused, so they don't have activities a normal 2.5-3 year old would enjoy. My oldest is now in the awkward middle ground between the kids' group and the tween group, but he's too young for the tween clubs and he gets rather bored at the OC/OL.

 

While DCL kid's programming on board is bar none, they do have age gaps.

 

BTW, all youth clubs and programming for kids >= 3 and <= 17 is included in your fare, so no extra.

 

Just a little updating. Nursery charges are $9.00 an hour now.

[coldflame]

Just a little updating. Nursery charges are $9.00 an hour now.

 

50% increase since our last trip in Dec '14. Luckily our youngest is now well in the OC/OL age range, but that can be a dent on someone's budget if they have little ones in haul.

[chamima]

50% increase since our last trip in Dec '14. Luckily our youngest is now well in the OC/OL age range, but that can be a dent on someone's budget if they have little ones in haul.

 

 

And we've got 2 !!!!! :eek:

 

I think we'll rotate family members to babysit if their mother wants a break.

Edited May 12, 2015 by chamima

[coldflame]

And we've got 2 !!!!! :eek:

 

I think we'll rotate family members to babysit if their mother wants a break.

 

That's what we ended up doing anyway since our then-2.5 yo had such bad time in the nursery the one night we dropped her off. It was no trouble at all and everyone had fun, including the little one.

[Shmoo here]

And we've got 2 !!!!! :eek:

 

I think we'll rotate family members to babysit if their mother wants a break.

 

First child is $9.00 per hour

Second child is $8.00 per hour

 

The increase happened at the end of January 2015.

 

Not defending DCL (well, maybe I am), but they hadn't increased their cost of the nursery for quite some time. This increase brought them more in line with other cruise line's charges (those cruise lines that even offer this service).

Edited May 12, 2015 by Shmoo here

[coldflame]

First child is $9.00 per hour

Second child is $8.00 per hour

 

The increase happened at the end of January 2015.

 

Not defending DCL (well, maybe I am), but they hadn't increased their cost of the nursery for quite some time. This increase brought them more in line with other cruise line's charges (those cruise lines that even offer this service).

 

That's still $17/hr vs $12/hr pre increase. Even if money wasn't an issue, I would not recommend the nursery for any kid > 2 years old. They just don't have the infrastructure and activity types for kids this age. The younger infants, rugrats and onesie-wearing toddlers would be OK there, though.