CHILD CARE - 85% Potty Trained

My Husband and I are booked on the Wonder in January, and we are taking our 3 year old (just barely 3). She is 85% potty trained, and is doing really well. However, we do use pull ups to prevent the 15% of accidentz. We just received our cruise documents, and contained therein is a booklet that describes the 3 year old child program, and specifies, "NO PULL UPS." This statement was not contained in the materials from our travel agent. The fare for under 3 is $99.00, and 3 and over is $299.00, my guess for the price difference is the child care programs provided for 3 and over. My long winded question is: How strict are the child counsellors if a child still uses pull ups, but is almost potty trained? Thanks for any responses or suggestions. My husband and I are excited about spending lots of my time with our daughter, but we had so hoped to spend some time alone also.

It's been my experience that they are very strict with this rule. She also won't be permitted in swimming pools with swimmy diapers. It's not just Disney, most cruiselines have strict guidelines for children who aren't potty trained. If she's 85% there, any chance of waiting a few months until she's ready to leave the pull-ups behind.

[hilltopfamily]

it is also my understanding that they are strict about this. I agree with the above poster--any chance you can wait just a bit more time until she is completely potty trained? Another advantage to waiting is that she may accept the "strangers" i.e. cast members in the Oceaneer's Club better and may not be as fearful of the "characters" that at times come into the club, which in turn may make her want to spend more time in the club and would mean more chance of some alone time for Mommy & Daddy. They just do not have enough staff in the clubs to change diapers or help rectify "accidents" and still ensure the safety and enjoyment of the MANY other children in the club. Good luck!

[carol]

How fortunate for you that the fare for your 3 yr. old was on $99.00. When my family sailed on RCI in a family suite, my son paid $500.00 for his 7 mo. old. Pretty steep I'd say!

They were very strict about this when we sailed in 2002. My son was 3 and just finishing on the potty training as well. He did not have accidents and was wearing underwear. However, they would provide absolutely no bathroom assistance. Everyone knows a 3 year old just can not do a great job wiping. They do give you pagers. However, the staff would not page us if he needed help in that area. I found that the staff for the youngest kids was not quite as relaxed as those of the older groups. I have 3 kids and each one was in a different group according to their age. Even though we experienced a little trouble with the 3 year old kid's program we were able to get a few dinners in by ourselves. Ultimately, I felt more comfortable having him with me most of the day anyways!

Maybe just leave her with the child care 85% of the time you're on the ship?