We are no strangers to Disney Cruise Line -- we sailed on the two-
and three-day inaugural cruises for both the Disney Magic and Wonder
a few years ago. For those cruises, my daughter Alex was four and
five years old, respectively -- perfect ages to cruise with Disney,
since she was enamored with all the Disney princesses.
Before our latest seven-day sailing on the Disney Magic this past
April, I
wondered if Alex would still like the Disney product now that she
is a mature
eight years old and no longer in awe of the Disney characters. Much
to my
pleasure, Alex embraced the Disney youth program even more than
on our
earlier short cruises, thanks to the fun and energetic youth counselors,
the
varied kids-only and family activities, and the freedom she was
allowed on
the ship. (This was the first time she was allowed to sign herself
in and out
of a cruise ship youth program.) I also am a firm believer that
no matter
which cruise line is involved, most kids do better on a seven day
cruise than
a three- or four-day sailing since the longer cruises give them
ample time to
make friends and form bonds with the youth
On our first two Disney cruises, Alex was in the three- to seven-year-old
group in the Oceaneer Club; this time she was with eight- to 12-year-old
children in the Oceaneer Lab. (Disney ships have 15,000 square feet
of space
devoted solely to children's facilities.) The seven-day cruise allowed
her to
get to know the counselors more, and she really enjoyed their lively
and
sometimes "goofy" nature! For example, when the kids made
Flubber, one of the
counselors dressed up as an absent-minded professor and then taught
the
children how to make this green and gooey substance.
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This past year, more than 15 new age-specific activities have been
added to
the children's program. Some of the unique activities for the three-
to
five-year-old group are dancing with Snow White; story time with
Belle;
bubble blowing; dressing up with a variety of Disney character costumes;
and
pajama parties. Note that children must be fully potty trained (no
pull-up
diapers) to participate in youth activities. Those who are three
but not
potty trained can only attend the Flounder's Reef Nursery. Activities
for
five- to seven-year-olds include: making picture frames; hearing
stories told
by Captain Hook; making 3-D glasses; and playing Disney trivia,
among many
others.
Some of Alex's favorite things to do in the Oceaneer Lab (eight-
to
nine-year-olds) were: making videotaped commercials for parents
to see;
playing guessing and relay games at Studio Sea; making Flubber;
learning how
to make a digital postcard on the computer; taking an animation
lesson from a
professional animator; and stargazing/telling scary stories at night
on deck.
Highlights of the activities for 10- to 12-year-olds (who also share
the
Oceaneer Lab) are: scavenger hunts; karaoke singing; making radio
commercials; and "Boyz and Girlz Chill" whereby the boys
challenge each other
at the PlayStation 2 games while the girls get their nails done,
etc.
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The teen program is mostly held in the Common Grounds teen room but
also at other spots around the ship. There is a teens-only excursion
in Nassau (three- and four-day itinerary), which is a harbor dance
cruise; and on Castaway Cay there's a teen challenge of water sports
and land activities, called the Wildside. Aboard ship, organized teen
activities include: learning how to dance hip-hop; d.j. training;
aloha pool party; and dance parties at the ESPN skybox. Lisa Broschart,
who oversees the Oceaneer Lab and Teen program on the Magic, said
counselors recently held a teen focus group to see what would interest
this hard-to-please group the most. Some of the favorites were teen
discos; team games; and "Gotcha," a murder mystery-type
game that lasts an entire day.
Family Friendly
Facilities and Activities
You can't get any more family friendly than on a Disney ship. >From
personnel
who try to do all they can to make traveling with little ones as
smooth as
possible, to great kid-friendly hardware, the Disney Magic fit our
needs
perfectly. All staterooms have split bathrooms; one room has a bathtub
-- a
rarity on most cruise ships except in the highest category cabins.
Bathtubs
are a must when traveling with an infant. Staterooms also have a
privacy
curtain, which helped Alex sleep even when her baby brother Ethan
was crying
on the other side!
Disney is one of the few cruise lines to allow children in swim
diapers to go in the splash pool. Ethan enjoyed the splash pool
while Alex frequented the adjacent water slide. Also, Alex joined
the crowd (literally) in the larger Goofy's pool. I found that on
sea days, however, the Goofy's pool was so full of kids that it
could potentially be a hazard.
Since there were so many kids on board -- about 750 were on our
cruise -- and
the dining rooms were naturally a bit noisy, no one seemed to notice
Ethan
crying during most dinners, much to our relief.
Disney is the only cruise line with a fleet-wide nursery facility
for infants
and toddlers. Flounder's Reef Nursery has a staff of competent and
loving
counselors. Ethan stayed there on three separate occasions and seemed
to bond
with the caregivers. (See article "Disney's Magical Nursery"
for more
details.)
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Children's needs are also kept in mind on Disney's private island,
Castaway
Cay, where parents can rent strollers or kid-sized bikes, and even
drop their
children off at Scuttle's Cove. Castaway Cay is the only private
Bahamian
island owned by a cruise line to which you don't have to tender.
This
simplifies life greatly when you are dealing with a stroller. Scuttle's
Cove
-- an extension of the on-board youth program -- has a tented area
for
activities and a number of water mister to keep kids cool. There
is a roster
of beach activities at Scuttle's Cove, but counselors cannot take
the
children in the water-only parents can do that.
I was happy to see that since the Magic's inaugural, the line has
really
beefed up the roster of family activities. I believe that parents
should get
some down time when their kids are in youth programs, but I still
feel that
family cruising is also about having fun as a family together. Our
whole
family participated in the free character breakfast, Tea with Wendy
Darling,
the Dueling Pianos sing-a-long and dance-along; Discover the Magic
parade on
the last day; and the Disney Dreams stage production show.
One of the ways my husband and I treated ourselves was by attending
brunch at
the Palo alternative restaurant. We reserved space for Ethan at
Flounder's
Reef Nursery and Alex attended youth activities at that time. This
not-to-be
missed feature was the best brunch I have ever had.
Safe Environment
Safety of all the kids in the Disney youth program is paramount,
much to
parents' comfort. Parents must fill out a form for each child and
list any
allergies or medical concerns. This information is entered into
the computer
and a counselor takes the list to dinner or any special public places
the
children go outside of the youth rooms. Children are also issued
wristbands
with their name, age, pager number and assembly station in case
of a ship
emergency. All parents with children under the age of 13 are given
a beeper
for the duration of the cruise.
For children eight years and older, parents can sign a form that
allows their kids to check themselves in and out of the program.
Eight-year-old Alex had never been allowed this freedom before.
While I was a bit dubious about how she would handle the responsibility,
it worked out beautifully. We gave Alex a watch and room key to
take to the kids' program and told her what time she had to be back
in our room. She loved being treated like a big kid and handled
it beautifully. Since then, a rash of on-land kidnappings has been
in the news. This made me wonder whether I should have let Alex
leave the youth program on her own, but I still feel that cruise
ships (and the Disney product in particular) tend to be relatively
safe environments where you can give youngsters a little more freedom
than you would at home.
Seamless Land/Sea Packages
There are clear advantages to opting for a Disney land and sea
package. The
night before our cruise, we put our suitcases outside our door at
the Disney
resort, The Beach Club, and didn't have to deal with them until
they arrived
at our stateroom the next afternoon. Transfers from our hotel were
very
smooth and fast, via a 60 to 90-minute bus ride from Disney World
to Port
Canaveral. For Disney resort guests who visit Walt Disney World
prior to
their cruise, as we did, there is a Disney Cruise Line desk at participating
Disney resorts. The personnel there do a pre-boarding check-in right
at the
hotel, eliminating the need to check in at the terminal. Due to
new security
screening, however, once we got to the cruise terminal, the line
to get
aboard ship was long and slow.
Many people are picked up by Disney buses at their Disney hotel
around noon
on embarkation day, but you can also be picked up at Disney's Animal
Kingdom
at 12:45 p.m. While we did not opt for this since we needed to stay
at the
hotel for Ethan's nap, it is a great way to spend the morning prior
to your
cruise.
Disembarkation was very smooth and fast, with Disney buses waiting
outside
the terminal to take passengers to the airport or back to Disney
World
hotels. The only disembarkation problem we experienced was Alex
lamenting
about leaving the Magic and wondering when her next Disney Cruise
Line voyage
would be.
