Can you leave the 3 year home with dad?

Anonymous wrote:Considering a 5 night Disney cruise with DCs who will be 3 and 8. DH is willing to go but would definitely rather not. Seems like a trip I could handle and even enjoy solo. My main concern are the beach days/castaway cay.

DC8 swims well in a pool but has no ocean experience and DC3 won’t swim. Can I keep them both safe and make the most of the offerings? Thanks!

Yes, I think you could definitely do it on your own and in fact, I think there will be other parents just like you on their own because their spouses chose not to come

It’s the 3yo who will be the question. I took my 7 and 9yo’s solo, and they had an awesome time. Personally, I would not have enjoyed that trip with a toddler unless they would be okay for stretches in the kids club.

I did a 4 night cruise with DS on my own when he was 9, it was amazing. I would think your 8 year old would be similar. If you think the 3 year old will be okay in the Kids Club (and is potty trained) then I would go for it.

I opened this post thinking I would say you could do it but your swimming concerns have me doubting it.

Is your 3 y/o potty trained? There are cruise ship pool rules on being potty trained.

IIRC, the water is calm at castaway bay so I think the older one could probably play there at least up to his waist with you at the shoreline but there’s a fun slide that I think you have to swim out to. You could consider putting your 3 year old in the cruise childcare while you take your 8 year old there.

What are the other beach stops?

Maybe find another mom/kids to go with? Grandparent?

Can it be done? Yes. Will you enjoy it without another adult? Only you know that; but I wouldn’t.

You would be fine. Disney has an insane amount of life guards.

I routinely took my four kids on 4-8 week road trips without my husband, so I think a short Disney cruise is doable.

OP here. Thanks everyone. To clarify: This would be me giving DH a break since I love Disney and think it’s doable solo. We have several other trips in the pipeline for all of us and DH takes the lead on the active stuff when we travel. He takes older DC camping twice a year. I’ve also taken DC solo for a quick Disney trip when sibling was an infant.

Kids are easy, good travelers and older one is protective and loves to be with younger/doesn’t mind little kid things. My concerns are mostly water safety and potential for kids to get sick.

You can definitely do it yourself but I think your DH will be surprised at how much fun Disney cruises are and that you can still have plenty of adult time because childcare is top notch and free! Castaway Cay has super calm water and stays shallow for quite a distance off shore. You also have the option of using Scuttle’s Cove at CC (at least for the 8 year old… not sure about 3). As for the other beaches I guess it depends on the ports but most Caribbean ports have tame, shallow water. Enjoy! Disney Cruises are amazing! We like to use kids or teen clubs to go to adult only area on Castaway. It’s gorgeous and so peaceful!

I took my kids on a few day cruise when they were 8, 10 and 12 without my husband. We had a blast all in one state room and my kids eating everything room service offered. My husband would have hated it.

3 and 8 are very different ages. Are they easy going kids? Do they sleep well outside the home? Will they do the kids club or expect you to entertain them? Yes, I think you can do it but not sure how relaxing it will be for you.

Willing to go but would rather not? Feels like you also have a post for the relationship forum. Wow.
But to answer your question, while I think it’s manageable, it also seems hard because 3 is a tough age for a cruise and your 8 year old would benefit from a second adult (nap time, a show at night if the 3 year old can’t make it, at the beach, etc). And I’d be so sad looking at the happy families with functioning husbands

Considering a 5 night Disney cruise with DCs who will be 3 and 8. DH is willing to go but would definitely rather not. Seems like a trip I could handle and even enjoy solo. My main concern are the beach days/castaway cay.

DC8 swims well in a pool but has no ocean experience and DC3 won’t swim. Can I keep them both safe and make the most of the offerings? Thanks!