Disney Cruise info please

[jgenie]

DH and I went on a Disney cruise years ago and I can't remember anything but our day at Disneys private beach. My DC aren't fans of shows And I don't know if they will stay at the kids club. With those limitations would they find anything to do on a Disney cruise? They like meeting characters. Are parents allowed to join kids at the kids club or is it drop off only? Are there activities scheduled on board for families to do together? TIA

[Tenasparkl]

DH and I went on a Disney cruise years ago and I can't remember anything but our day at Disneys private beach. My DC aren't fans of shows And I don't know if they will stay at the kids club. With those limitations would they find anything to do on a Disney cruise? They like meeting characters. Are parents allowed to join kids at the kids club or is it drop off only? Are there activities scheduled on board for families to do together? TIA

We just went on a short cruise in May with three other families & between us we had 7 kids ranging in age from newly 3 to 10. They liked meeting the characters, swimming in the pool and eating endless amounts of ice cream from the soft serve machine. We spent lots of time in the arcade, we played a little shuffle board and we even ended up playing bingo (which the bigger kids loved). The kids clubs have some times where you can drop off and other times where they have open play and parents have to stay. On a sea day we made masks and did trivia and I'm sure there were other activities that we missed. You can also see movies on the big screen at the pool and in a theater. We did shows instead of movies, but DH went to a late movie one night. I was worried about what my 3 year old would have to do, but he had so much fun. I had no interest in going, but went because it was a chance to see our friends all together. We ended up having a great time and I'd like to do another one. The kids will have plenty to do. Even simple things like exploring the ship and getting to pick fun desserts at dinner were fun for them.

[pharmjenn]

I meant to post last night but had to run off to put DS to bed. We have done 2 Disney cruises, DS was 5yo and 6yo for them. The kids clubs are amazing, and have both closed/secure times, and open house hours. During open house they have activities for everyone to participate in. My adult niece and I made flubber and watched "skits" by the staff that were hysterical. Usually when one club is on open hours, the other is still secure so kids can play there alone.
There are also classes like towel and napkin folding (animals), cooking demonstrations that are family friendly. One of the bars has board games you can use as a family, and there are always trivia games scheduled. DS enjoyed those, and was pretty good at some of the Disney themed ones. (Which are most of them, but they also do sports, music etc)

The shows are usually pretty good, we have seen all of the Disney production ones and enjoyed them. Also, movies playing constantly in the movie theatre, and at regular intervals up on deck. Plus there are deck parties and bands that play on deck where the kids enjoy dancing.

[smilequeen]

Our Disney cruise was to Alaska, so the kids didn't really use the pool (some did, mine knew it was too cold...when the lifeguards are in snow jackets, it's too cold ). The shows were good and my kids liked the kids club (the younger 2, who were 7 and 3.5 at the time). I never went with them, but I know there were open times. My middle son would stay forever, my youngest...they would just call when he was done and ready to come home. My older son played soccer on the sport court the whole time...he was old enough to sort of take off on his own. They loved the arcade, loved the shows, watched movies, played shuffleboard, ate ice cream, just took walks. Only my youngest was into characters. They all said it was their favorite vacation ever (at the time...my oldest now says this year was the best vacation ever). They want to do Disney cruises all the time now. We did a Royal Caribbean this summer (Mediterranean) and they liked it a lot , but would all prefer to stick with Disney for future cruises (thinking of Northern Europe in a few years). What there is to do will probably depend on the boat...the Alaskan boat is a smaller one...and how much time at sea you actually have to spend on the boat will vary.