You finally did it… You took the plunge (or are thinking about) and booked your very first Disney Cruise. You WILL NOT be disappointed! Disney Cruise Line is amazing! One of the biggest things that sets Disney Cruise Line apart from other lines is their youth clubs. Disney pulled out all the stops when designing their youth clubs. The only bad thing about them? I can’t go whenever I want!
My biggest concerns going into planning my kids’ very first (and the concern of many of my clients) Disney cruise was whether or not they would enjoy the youth clubs. Being 4 and 6, I was worried they wouldn’t want to go to the Oceaneer Club/Lab without their dad or myself. That being said, can you guess what actually happened during our cruise? I could barely get them OUT of the club! Now, we all know that all kids are different, the tips below will not be universal and may not work, BUT they are worth a shot! All we can do is try right?
- Expose your kids to the idea of going to the Oceaneer Club/Lab BEFORE embarkment day. We started to talk about the club as soon I booked our Disney cruise. We even watched videos on YouTube showing how amazing the different areas are. Basically… get your kids excited to go! I will admit I would casually and occasionally throw in a “Won’t that be a fun place to explore on your own?” Oh yes…. Yes I did!
- On embarkment day go to the open house with your kids. Trust me, you will want to see how amazing they are anyway. As soon as you step through the doorway you are transported to another world. This will also give your kids a chance to get use to just being there. It also gives them the chance to be excited to spend more time there in the future without you.
- Attend an open session. This is an activity that is open for you to attending with your kids. For my kids, the unknown is what is scary, (Isn’t that the case for most of us, really?) allowing them to experience the fun while you are there with them will help them not be so apprehensive to go alone.
- Try and limit their first visit to the Oceaneers’s Club/Lab to a set amount of time. When we dropped our kids off the first time, we told them we would be back in an hour. What we actually said was, “We will be back in the amount of time it takes to watch two episodes of Elena of Avalor.” Again, they are 4 and 6, time isn’t 100% concrete in their minds. We went for a coffee an ice cream cone and when we returned they weren’t ready for us to pick them up!
- Sit down with the Navigator (Disney Cruise Line daily “schedule”) and let them choose what activities they want to experience at the club. My kids especially liked to do that with highlighters in hand. I mean who doesn’t want to be able to choose one’s destiny, a.k.a. club activity!
Don’t let your fear of the unknown stop you from planning your very first Disney Cruise. With the tips above and a little pixie dust, your kids will hopefully love Disney’s amazing kids clubs!
Are you thinking about experiencing a Disney Cruise soon and need a little guidance? I’m your girl! My name is Lizeth and I am an Orlando destination specialist. Contact me at Lizeth@TravelWithTheMagic.com, or by phone at 1-800-670-4312, ext. 143.
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