Disney cruises - worth going if you can't use kids club?

[Anonymous]

I am thinking about going on a Disney cruise later this year but my younger child will be a few months short of 3. Will I be missing out a lot if I can't take advantage of kids' club? I'm wondering if it's worth postponing it (probably for another year if we did that) until she's older. My older one will almost be 6 if we go this year which seems like an ideal age.

[Anonymous]

Our kid didn't like the kids club. The cruise was nice, service overall good but I'd never take one again. It was overpriced with badly behaving kids and parents. Dining was not fun till they moved our table as the people next to us had the late dining with young kids who were over tired and starving and acting up/screaming. Parents ignored the behavior and the staff had to cut the food and feed it to the kids so we'd have wait and our food was cold. Kids also ran wild everywhere. If you LOVE Disney shows, it may be worth it but our kid was not into the shows. I think Disney World is more fun. Take Royal Carribean or NCL.

[Anonymous]

I would never take a child that young on any cruise.

[Anonymous]

Mine didn’t like the kids club. It’s pretty much just daycare in a fun looking space. Mine wanted to be with us around the boat.

[Anonymous]

I'd wait until you can use it for the flexibility to take advantage of some of the adult stuff. My kid loved the clubs. Now a teen and still loves the teen club. Makes friends and we only see him at meals. It depends on the kid and how social they are.

[Anonymous]

My 3 and 6-year-olds and their 4 and 8-year-old cousins did not spend much time in the kids club, but it was great to get a child-free hour here or there. They really liked the kids' club at Castaway Cay and stayed for a few hours. The 3yo will need to be potty trained if using kids club. The kids loved the cruise and I found the dining options to be fine to good. I would go again.

[Anonymous]

I think my youngest was 2.5/nearly 3 when we did our first Disney cruise. We had a blast (including our handful of kids). But we didn’t use the kids club on that cruise or any subsequent cruise (on Disney or other lines).

Here’s the thing: the clubs are basically daycare for young kids. You are rolling the dice of your kid picking up germs in that environment. Older kids (tweens/teens) who are extroverted joiners tend to enjoy going to the club, making friends, and then wandering around in groups outside of the club.

Anyway, our kids loved the Disney cruises we did when they were younger.