Carlos and Monica | TravelOnly

We just got back from the most fantastic family cruise!  Yes it was Disney, on the Disney Magic, and yes it is different.  It’s better.  It’s Magical.  And I got to enjoy my family and the cruise this time.

It was our fourth cruise with the kids.  We’ve done one every year.  Naturally as they get older it gets easier, but Disney does it right for any age.  Here’s a run down of what I experienced that was very different from our other cruises.  Some of it may seem like little things, but when you put it all together they make a world of difference.

Kids Program and Facilities

All but a few cruise lines have kids program.  Most are pretty good.  But of course, we’d expect more from Disney and they sure delivered.  On the Magic there are 2 facilities for 4 – 10 year olds, the Oceaneer Club and the Oceaneer Lab.  The Club is large, has a fantastic jungle gym, little seating areas playing cartoons, play areas with toys, and lots of room to run around.  The Lab has a big screen TV, a crafts area, age appropriate computer games, building type toys, and a kitchen/lab area that easily holds 40 kids for cooking classes and science experiments. 

Even though the facilities were the best I have ever seen on a ship, that wasn’t what made the program great.  It was the young people that worked there.  As a parent I look at the staff to child ratio, the engagement of the staff, and the security.  I was more than satisfied with everything.  Some staff were assigned to check in/out, others were walking the room making sure the kids were OK, and others were there to entertain them, and what a fabulous job they did!

One afternoon in the Lab the Ratatouillie Cooking School was conducting a cooking class.  I sat there before the class started, looking at all the little kids running around, and thought I can’t imagine how they are going to get all those kids to cooperate, so I stayed to watch.

It started with 2 minutes of the Ratatouillie movie, which got everyone over to the big screen TV area.  Then, in burst a young guy dressed like a French chef, accent and all.  He had them laughing hysterically about a rat in his kitchen, got them all riled up to make cookies, had them pick partners, herded them to the kitchen, then proceeded to entertain even me.  With two assistants doling out ingredients, he got 40 kids to stand in pairs, share a bowl, and make cookies for over an hour.  They had mixing contests, sang ‘you have to mix it mix it’ to the tune of the Madagascar song (You Have to Move it Move it), and every few minutes he gave a signal and they all shouted ‘don’t eat the ingredients’.  I am still laughing as I type this.  It was hilarious. 

For the science experiments they had a young woman dressed like a crazy, absent minded, old professor – shaky voice, grey hair, glasses, and a cane.  The acting was really very good and they never stepped out of character, even when talking to parents.  There were lots of these events and the kids loved every minute of them.

There are also services for babies and toddlers, tweens, and teens, but I didn’t experience those first hand.

There are three pool areas on the Magic, one for adults, one for families with older kids, and one for little kids - with a water slide that doesn’t dump the child in deep water at the end, so even little kids could go on it.  There is a splash pad beside the kiddy pool as well.  And best of all, there was always somewhere to sit, food and bathrooms close by, and a waiter to bring you what ever you wanted – quickly.

Around the Ship

You know as soon as you board a Disney ship that it’s all about the kids.  As parents, if you attend to our kids, we are delighted.  That is the fundamental difference between Disney and other cruise lines.  Other lines have kids programs, but other than that, it’s not about the kids.  They have the kids programs so the parents can get a break.  But on a Disney ship, the pools, open areas, seating, and ship layout are designed for kids and that’s what makes the family experience so wonderful.  Every staff member is trained to respond to a distressed child.  They all talk to the kids in an engaging way – that includes officers, housekeeping staff – everyone – even singers. 

One evening we were walking through one of the cocktail lounges and my daughter stopped to hear the singer, then did a few dance steps near the dance floor.  The singer walked off the stage, got on her knees in front of my daughter and sang to her.  My daughter was thrilled.  That same singer later had a bunch of young kids dancing on the dance floor and singing with her.  The kids were having a great time while parents happily looked on, enjoying a break – with a drink.

Disney Characters were walking around the ship all the time.  There were Character photo shoots daily.  All entertainment on the lido deck involved Disney Characters and kids dancing on the stage.  It’s amazing how enthused and uninhibited adults can be about music and dancing when kids are involved.  The Character breakfast was a big hit too, and well organized.

Entertainment

Most cruise lines have amazing entertainment and Disney is no exception to that, but again, it’s very different.  On other cruise lines, we never went to the shows because our kids can’t sit quiet through a whole show.  What does Disney do about that?  They make audience participation part of the show.  The performances were twists on classic Disney stories and were absolutely mesmerizing, creative, and funny.  During one show, I just sat and watched my children’s faces.  They were busting with delight at the characters, singing the songs they knew, and laughing uncontrollably at the antics.  They are still talking about them and I can still see their elated faces.

There is also a full theatre on board playing current release Disney movies, and the middle pool on the lido deck plays Disney movies and cartoons all day and evening, but magically you can’t hear them anywhere else on the ship so it’s not intrusive.

Dining (and eating)

On other cruises, we avoided the nice restaurants.  Service time exceeds our kids’ good behaviour threshold and no one enjoys the meal, especially those paying guests at the next table.  We used room service or the buffet restaurant, where we took turns lining up for food and never actually ate together.

At Disney, every restaurant has table service.  Kids get crayons.  The waiters move with you to the different restaurants each night.  They learn the kids preferences for things like drinks and how we want the food delivered, and that’s how you get it – every time.  Their little drinks were waiting for us each night, exactly as I requested, with their names on them.  The waiters will cut their food and were there instantly for a spilled drink or to help entertain a fussing child.  And they were very quick to get our drinks and meals.  No waiting and no stress.  And the food was of the highest quality and well prepared at every restaurant.  The whole family enjoyed every meal together.

On the semi formal evening, my daughter refused to change her clothes and wanted to wear her ‘fancy’ shoes with shorts.   So I let her.  Other than the knowing smiles from other moms, no one thought anything of it.

There is a breakfast buffet, and again they thought of all the things they could do to make that manageable.  The kids have trays with food compartments.  No extra plates to slide around, so even my 4 year olds could carry their own tray. The food buffet is all one line – 2 sides with the same things, always in the same order so you don’t have to double back or look for things.  Someone hands you a tray with cutlery and dishes at the beginning of the line and there are lots of staff around to help families carry food back to their tables, to help the kids get their drinks, or to sit with the kids for a few minutes if necessary. 

One morning we sat next to a woman with 5 kids all under 7.  The one year old started to cry.  As the mom attended to him, two staff members instantly appeared at the table to chat with the other kids and help them with their breakfast.

Throughout the day food was available on the lido deck – good healthy food that kids like to eat. 

Suites

A regular suite on the Disney Magic can comfortably sleep four.  The couch turns into a bottom bunk bed and top bunk bed comes down from the ceiling.  Oh, but don’t worry.  You don’t have to know how that all works, because when you come back from dinner it’s all done, magically.  Did I mention that the beds are dreamily comfortable?

Bathrooms are split into 2 rooms – small bath/shower and sink in one and toilet and sink in the other.  And somehow there was enough storage in the suite to put away all of our stuff – lots of stuff.  The room maintenance is done by the same person for the whole week, and he did exactly as we requested, paid attention to how we laid things out, and magically kept our space organized and clean in our absence.  He was always in the hallway when we needed him, but we never saw him in our room.

Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Key, is truly a paradise with all the amenities and services you could want, and so many fun things to do that you can’t possibly do them all in one day.  The shore excursions were fun and hassle free.  There is apparently an amazing spa on board, but I didn’t use it.  I did get to use the adults only area on the ship though, which was a real treat for me.

I don’t recall waiting in line for anything all week.  Everything flowed from one magical moment to the next.  Disney is one of those companies that we study in business school for their excellence in business processes and customer focus and their ability to continually grow and improve their offerings.  The service everywhere was impeccable, and what is amazing is that half of the staff on board was new because the regular staff had been assigned to the new ship, the Disney Dream. 

Even as we were reluctantly taking our last walk through the lido deck to debark the ship, there was a Disney character show under way on stage.  And all I could think about was when I could do this again.

A Disney cruise is a theme cruise and the thing we all had in common was our desire to create magical moments with our loved ones.  Mission accomplished.

I read an article once from a travel writer who said the best advice for parents travelling with toddlers is DON’T.  We didn’t listen.  And I can tell you that it’s not for the faint of heart.

We have twins and we travelled on vacation with them 8 times before their second birthday.  The great part is that they fly for free.  But there are too many challenges to mention all of them here.  Would I do it again?  Some yes, others no.

Some of our Vacation Experiences

One of our early lessons was a trip to Florida.  We booked a condo on the beach.  It had a huge screened in terrace facing the ocean.  We had a great week.  Everything was close by and stroller friendly.  We spent a lot of the time in the condo on the terrace, but the view was fantastic, it was relaxing, and we enjoyed the kids.  (I didn’t know that they were both sand-oholics until we ventured down to the beach – shovels full in the mouth in 2 seconds flat – so we spent time at the pool instead.) 

The second part of the vacation was a trip to Walt Disney World.  It all turned around then, starting with the car ride.  They both wailed all the way to Orlando.  We stayed at a Disney property, which was great, but the shuttle service to the park was a huge hassle with the double stroller, and we were doing the trek twice a day to accommodate naps.  

But our big sin was that we weren’t armed each day with an action plan.  Before we became parents, we used to be fun, spontaneous, adventurous travelers, landing in some exotic place with no real plans except to explore and have fun.  Not a good idea with little kids.  It’s really difficult to have a conversation, read a map, and make decisions with two screaming kids, especially when every decision with toddlers is so complicated… food, milk, bottles, diaper changes, how can I get there with the stroller – that never appears on maps! – all in sweltering heat.  And all the kids were really interested in was chasing the leaves on the ground and eating them.

On another vacation, we chose a 5 ½ star resort because it looked like it had an amazing kids facility.  But it wasn’t what we expected.  It was located at the back of a very large resort and we couldn’t ride the resort golf cart with a stroller.  We had to walk – and it was hilly. When we got there, repairs were ‘underway’ so parts of it were unsafe, but worst of all, there were absolutely no services there.  After that long walk in the heat, we all needed a cold drink – and a snack for us would have been nice.  Nothing.  How fantastic it would have been to have a bit of a rest, watching the kids play in the wading pool with a cold drink.  (Sometimes it doesn’t take much to please tired parents).  One visit was enough for us.  Needless to say, the beautiful kids’ facility was not very busy.  What a missed opportunity.

We’ve cruised three times on different cruise lines.  Again, the logistics of being on a ship with two toddlers was a lot of work.  We must have walked the length of the ship a hundred times during the course of each vacation.  I invented the ‘walking game’, which is like Simon Says.  It’s amazing how many ways a desperate mom can walk silly, with toddlers in tow, much to the amusement of the other guests. 

The three cruises were very different experiences.  (One of them actually had the toddlers pool behind the smoke stack, up on a deck that was only accessible by stairs, and no bathrooms near by.  What were they thinking?)  One of the cruises was a far better experience for us than the others because of the quality of the public facilities, size and location of the suite, and services, such as personal concierge, room service, and laundry service.

Some Advice

First of all keep it simple.  There is a fine line between enriching stimulation, which is great for growing little minds, and overload and fatigue.  Second, think about all the details and plan ahead.  Third, work in some relaxation for mom and dad, or at least a level of services to make things easier.

Our best vacations were those where the logistics were simple, the kids activities were engaging and age appropriate, and we as parents got catered to – at least once in a while. 

Finding destinations that actually deliver on that isn’t easy, so using a knowledgeable travel professional can be invaluable.  Many cruise lines and resorts advertise kids programs, but they all don’t measure up or aren’t geared for toddlers.  Some haven’t thought of the actual family experience and don’t understand what it’s like to be a parent with cranky children, trying to figure out how things work or where things are located.

Making an informed decision about where to go is the most important part of planning a family vacation, but preplanning activities will also help ensure that you get the most out of your time away.  If you think about how much it costs you for each hour away, it’s well worth preplanning and even pre-booking activities before you leave.  That also helps avoid or at least minimizes those frustrating moments of indecision or waiting in line.  

One final word of advice, unless you know the property or the cruise ship and the services provided, last minute vacations sell offs usually don’t fit the bill.  The best destinations and suites get booked early.  Booking in advance will ensure that you have time to make the right choices, do some planning, and perhaps schedule some activities before you leave.