Most of the kids will not be dressed up on pirate night, or if they are it will be a pirate bandana, which they give out for free. Do the princess thing if you want to, but it isn't as if hundreds of girls on the ship will all be dressed up like princesses with the full makeup and hairspray that night.

I felt the same way when we took my DD at 5. No bibbity boutique. I have to say the only thing she (now 16) remembers about the trip was that she did not get to go! I wish I could go back and "waste" the money on her now!

For Pirate Night, go to Target in the party goods section - they almost always have pirate hats and eyepatches. Buy a striped shirt. Disney gives you a scarf.

Anonymous wrote:We just booked a Disney cruise. We have 3 young elementary aged daughters. They have a salon on the ship that offers makeovers for the costume nights and turns them into princesses. They are absurdly priced at $100-$200 per makeover (costumes included) to say nothing of our general opposition to princesses being dependent on men. I'm sure our daughters would be ecstatic to do them. If we don't do them they won't be obnoxious but they will definitely have noticed them and internally be a littlesad. We have very considerable means and would meet almost anyone's definition of rich. id love to see our kids faces light up but at the same time I don't want to spoil them or highlight the dependence of women on men.

Should we sign up for the makeovers? I understand they fill up quickly, so we need to declde soon.

Stop. Just stop. Doing one makeover on a Disney cruise is not going to make your girls want to become dependent on men. That is not a reason to not do the makeover.

Remember - you are their biggest role model in life. Do you work? Are you dependent on your husband? Your daughters will learn more about independence/being dependent on husbands from you and observing how you live your life than 1 makeover or even watching tons of princess movies while they are this age.

I don't care what decision you make - it is overpriced but they will enjoy it and you can afford it - but don't let the whole princess being dependent on a man factor into your decision making.

Not necessary. We were unable to book our daughter at the BBB bc they were booked. We were bummed until we ran into other parents on the elevator and they were annoyed bc they were never going to get rid of all the glitter their DDs hair.
Definitely book the princess tea. Be sure to enter before your DD so you can video her entrance.

I have boys but am a “girly girl”. If they want to get dress d up and would enjoy it for the night (and it sounds like you can afford it) id go for it. How you raise them
Is more important than one silly girly night.

Do the pirate thing!!!!!

I really hate how they do the makeup for the makeovers ... it's totally inappropriate.

I am not opposed to my DD experimenting with makeup, but she doesn't need to look like she's competing in a Toddlers & Tiaras pageant.

Do you have Disney costumes at home? If so, you could doll the girls up with costumes, and make up, and special hair / glitter yourself, if you want.
You can all get dressed up for pirate night (bring your own stuff).

We went on a disney cruise - two boys a girl - ages 7, 5, and 2 - and we didn't pay for anything extra - though granted my boys don't care and my daughter was only a toddler.

I don't personally feel like the makeover is a must-do with my daughter even when she's older though...

Anonymous wrote:you can afford it, they are only young once, just do the princess thing.

+1. Just let them do it and enjoy it!

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you. We will take a pass on this activity but instead bring our own dresses and makeover accessories for a special treat.

The kids probably will not know it is offered and just see the kids with glitter and clips in their hair with makeup and dresses. You can easily do this and get them more dressers/nicer dresses and come out with happy kids. Just do bring pirate outfits and decorate your door - I printed off the internet on regular paper, laminated them and used magnets on the back but many ways to do it. I changed ours daily.

Op here. Thank you. We will take a pass on this activity but instead bring our own dresses and makeover accessories for a special treat.

Anonymous wrote:Very few did it from what I saw on our cruise. I think its a waste of money and just bring a few dresses and fun hair clips/sparkle for their hair. You should get everyone pirate costumes. That is a big deal.

+1. On the cruise we were on, there weren’t that many girls who did this.

Very few did it from what I saw on our cruise. I think its a waste of money and just bring a few dresses and fun hair clips/sparkle for their hair. You should get everyone pirate costumes. That is a big deal.

OP, I wouldn't sign up for this.

You say that you have plenty of money and can afford it. With that mentality, your kids will just ask for more and more and more, and you will also find more and more and more to spend on them, because "you can". This will spoil your kids.

The question is, do you think this activity has intrinsic value? I could see spending money on something truly educational that they might never get a chance to be exposed to again. I could even see spending money on something *they are asking for*.

If you develop a reputation with your kids early on that "we don't spend money frivolously", "the cruise is your treat!" etc. you will have kids who do not expect to have everything handed to them. It's good for their character BTW to see other kids getting things that they aren't getting. Not because you can't afford it, but because that wasn't where you chose to spend the money.