And kids are welcome (and catered to) in the restaurants.

We didn't use the kids clubs at all. There's really no need.

We enjoy the company of our children at dinner.

Fwiw, we had a blast on CC with our kids! Best part of the entire vacation

If Castaway Cay is in your itinerary, there is a kids club on the island that involves a lot of sand & water play. If it's not too overrun, drop the kids and head over to Serenity Bay. That 2.5-hour stretch of pina coladas with DH on an empty beach followed by a brief nap under the umbrella was worth all the $$ and effort of the trip. Wish I was there right this minute.

I recently went with a 3yo and 5yo. 5yo loved the kid's club. 3yo DS whimpered the first time we dropped him off. The 2nd time, I left him for an hour and he looked sad when we picked him up. There was no 3rd time. My 3yo attends preschool and is a very social kid.

We went to Beaches Turks and Caicos when the kids were almost 3 and almost 5. Almost 3yo was crying when we dropped him off.

I personally think 4-5 is a better age to start at these types of places.

You'll get a daily schedule with all of the planned activities in the kids clubs listed. The kids can chose to participate or not. We tried to drop my 4 year old off when we knew there was something he'd like, like Toy Story Boot Camp. They had a guy dressed like one of those green army figures come in a basically make the exercise. He LOVED it. The kid gets get an RFID band and they have to scan in and out and you have to give a password to check them out so it's very secure. The rooms have wireless phones that work throughout the ship so they can call you if you need to pick them up.

The ships will be just as crowded no matter what time of year you go. Disney cruise ships are almost always 99% full, they just lower the prices until they sell out every room.

That said, 3 1/2 is a tough age for the kids clubs. My 3 1/2 year old would play in the kids club during "open house" when parents were allowed in, but he just cried and hated it during the regular hours where you had to drop them off. The age range is pretty large *maybe 3-10) and at 3 1/2 they will be the youngest in the clubs.

I wouldn't plan on using the clubs with a 3 1/2 year old because your kid might not like it, but try it, you might be surprised.

Really no need for it. The restaurants are kid friendly, and the servers cater to them. Our two and four year olds never used them, and neither did the families seated near us at dinner. In fact, watching the two year old at the table next to us chow down on surf and turf was a highlight of the trip

Think very very carefully about the time of year you are going and how crowded the ship will be. My kids were (almost) 8 and 10 when we went this past summer and there were times I turned around and left the drop off area without leaving my kids there b/c it was (IMO) so crowded and overrun with kids that I did not think it was safe. It was "safe" in the sense that there weren't any physical dangers, but there were so many kids that it would be like leaving your child at ChuckECheese on a Sat. afternoon when it is at or beyond capacity and then just going to a different strip mall. Like, you are leaving your kid to fend for him/herself. There is no way the workers can possibly notice every child. Lord of the Flies (not that any kids were being mean, but every kid for him/herself).

I said, no way. The stress of that many kids crawling all over the place was not what I wanted for my kids.

If you are o.k. with that, then kids club is fine. Maybe if you are going during a less popular time of year, it might be better. (If such a time exists.)

Go into it with the understanding that you may not feel comfortable using it when you think you want to use it.

Thank you 10:51! (grateful OP)

Anonymous wrote:We're thinking about a 4-night Disney cruise (first time for us) with 3.5yo DS - and despite roaming all over the website and FAQs I just can't quite figure out the "youth clubs" for 3-11yos -- is this basically a play space? Is it a drop-off facility with supervision, or is it like an indoor playground where I need to stay with the kiddo? If it's drop-off, do you need to reserve times, and how long can DS stay there? Does he have to be fully potty-trained?

Apart from the clubs, is there any option to get a babysitter in the evening, if the parents want to go to dinner without DS in tow? Or is that why the clubs are open as late as they are? (And if the idea is to use the club, is there any option for DS to eat in the club?)

If there really are answers to all these questions somewhere on the Disney Cruise website and I've just missed it, I'll be happy to be chastised by a poster -- if you give me the link!

Is it a drop-off facility with supervision? Yes
If it's drop-off, do you need to reserve times, and how long can DS stay there? I don't think you need to reserve time (you do for the nursery). I don't think there's a limit on how long they stay there.
Does he have to be fully potty-trained? Yes
Apart from the clubs, is there any option to get a babysitter in the evening, if the parents want to go to dinner without DS in tow? Not that I know of
Or is that why the clubs are open as late as they are? Yes
(And if the idea is to use the club, is there any option for DS to eat in the club?) Yes

Some but maybe not all of this is on this page:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/youth-clubs/oceaneer-club/

DS was just under 3 and not potty trained so we did not use the kids club when we went in August. I think there is some option (maybe just for the later dining) where you all go to dinner, the kids eat first and quickly, and then the counselors pick up the kids so they can go off to the kids club. However, the website above does say they feed them in the kids club.

Play space with supervision as I recall. Organized activities as well as just spaces where Disney movies are playing and such. Designed so you can check in your child and go to dinner as grown ups. Fun for the kids in reasonable spears, but I wouldn't dump my kid there for long periods of time ... Too much fun available as a family on disney cruises! Take the Atlantis excursion. And the disney owned island is nice. The bingo on the boat is a lot of fun.

We're thinking about a 4-night Disney cruise (first time for us) with 3.5yo DS - and despite roaming all over the website and FAQs I just can't quite figure out the "youth clubs" for 3-11yos -- is this basically a play space? Is it a drop-off facility with supervision, or is it like an indoor playground where I need to stay with the kiddo? If it's drop-off, do you need to reserve times, and how long can DS stay there? Does he have to be fully potty-trained?

Apart from the clubs, is there any option to get a babysitter in the evening, if the parents want to go to dinner without DS in tow? Or is that why the clubs are open as late as they are? (And if the idea is to use the club, is there any option for DS to eat in the club?)

If there really are answers to all these questions somewhere on the Disney Cruise website and I've just missed it, I'll be happy to be chastised by a poster -- if you give me the link!