WONDERing about Toddler Areas

[vision14k]

Taking our two year old (not potty trained) on Wonder in January.  Does anyone know what water areas he can access (how big is the splash pad?) and how is the nursery, etc? Are there any other fun things for a two year old? Thanks!

[aswoff]

We'll be on your cruise too (1/21) with a 6 month old, and with family that has a 2 and ~4 year old.  We haven't cruised with kids before so WONDERing the same things about how much nanny time we can actually book.  If you have cruised with kids before and have any advice we'll take it.  Hope we all have a great time!

Edited December 19, 2023 by aswoff

[mjkacmom]

There is a small splash area for diapered kids.

[myacuna]

We were on Wonder in November 2024 over Thanksgiving with a 2 year old (not potty trained at the time). The splash pad she was allowed in was smaller and right next to the bigger and better one that she wanted to go to. That age is just so hard.

 

The nursery gave us I think 6-8 hours to start for booking, and then opened up more availability later in the cruise. We were generally able to get what we wanted but sometimes it was a game of frogger (ie we could get 8-10 pm one night). Availability will truly depend on how many kids are on the ship.

 

FYI the kids clubs are 3-5 and 6-12. My 8 year old (at the time) was not a big fan of the 6-12 as he was a bit bullied by the 11-12 year olds. 

[SUgwoz]

There is a toddler free play area in Adventure Ocean that is open usually from 9am-10pm.  Good spot to allow kids to run/crawl around, amped/new ships have a playplace (think something you would see at a McDonalds/Chik-fil-a), other ships will just have a bunch of toddler centric toys/playsets scattered around the room.

 

 

[nimbex1970]

THere is a small and clearly marked splash pad, next to the "older" kids ones that had great staff keeping the older kiddos from running/horseplay from the toddler one.  As SUgwoz mentioned, there is an indoor play area in the adventure ocean club for when it's too hot or rainy to be outside.  Don't forget the carousel!  Next to putt putt there is an outdoor climb area as well with a slide and rope area, you may want an extra set of hands as the slide lands a few steps down (I was exhausted from chasing our three year old!)  I strongly suggest heading to the Ocean ADventure club as soon as you board to reserve your hours.  We were given 8 hours for the week on day one, then checked back everyday as more slots opened up.  We also brought our toddler to the arcade, he had no idea we didn't put money in the machine, lol. Happy sailing!

Edited December 20, 2023 by nimbex1970

[kitkat343]

As a general rule for the future, try to book during the school year.  Many under 3s have older siblings, so there are fewer kids and more availability in the nursery during the school year.  Choosing longer cruises that are less likely to appeal to families will help you get more availability in the nursery.  We sailed the Coral Princess on the 10 day roundtrip Panama Canal cruise.  Our 2 year old was allowed in the kids club whenever they were open with parental supervision.  There were 9 kids on our sailing  on January 8th and 150 on the previous one, which was over New Years.  

 

Please also note that Carnival and Cunard allow drop off care for 2 year olds.

 

Also, if you are planning on doing actual tours instead of visiting beaches, private tours let you control the itinerary and choose things your kids would enjoy.  whenever they start to melt down, give them snacks (either take sealed food from the buffet or bring your own on the ship) or stop for ice cream.

 

[orville99]

On 11/25/2023 at 8:44 AM, vision14k said:

Taking our two year old (not potty trained) on Wonder in January.  Does anyone know what water areas he can access (how big is the splash pad?) and how is the nursery, etc? Are there any other fun things for a two year old? Thanks!

Kids splash pad on Wonder:

 

 

There is also a kids area behind the mini golf course:

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by orville99

[mjkacmom]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Kids splash pad on Wonder:

 

I believe that’s the regular one for potty trained kids though.