We've just booked the westbound repo cruise on the Magic (woot!), are traveling with a 1.5 year old and are scratching our heads about our crib in room request. Is it a Pack n' Play or other playard and where/how does it fit? We are in a cat 10 room.

Second question about Flounder's Reef....I understand you must make arrangements in advance and there is a two hour minimum. Does this really mean that you can't drop off your child on a whim?

Anyone who has sailed this ship with kidlets and wants to share feel free!
TIA

Welcome to the Westbound circus!

It is a Pack & Play. Your stateroom host will set it up every evening, and tear it down every morning, or you can ask them to leave it up full time if you prefer.

In most cases, they will put it between the couch and the desk, pushing the table against the wall, or removing it outright, depending on the room layout.

It worked pretty well with my nephew. They went with only having it set up at night, since that gave them more space during the day. They put him down for his nap on the main bed while they would relax or read on the couch.

Flounders does generally require appointments, but if you drop by, and they have room, they will usually be ok. On the first westbound however, there were a lot of issues with availbility in Flounders. There were a lot of little ones on board - and space was at a bit of a premium.

Thanks Tony for the good info.

I saw the post where someone else said the '05 westbound was full of the under 3 set. The agent I spoke to at DCL said that there were blocks of age groups for children and when the block was full for a certain group they closed it to keep the age distribution equal. He said the 0-3 "block" was getting full for this cruise. Anyone know anything about this?

Never heard of availability being based on age of its passengers. If that is the case, it would sound rather discriminatory to me.

But as I said, I dont know for sure.... but would be interested to hear others' expereinces about this.

I don't think it is discriminatory. Afterall they advertize services like childcare and they have the right to restrict the number of kids on board to be sure those services are available to the paying customer.

Cruise lines do reserve the right to block availability based on their ability to accomodate the passengers. Lines in general, not just Disney, tend to restrict the number children in each category based upon their ability to provide adequate staff and safety measures to each passenger. The ship can not carry an unlimited number of life jackets for everyone and it is more difficult for the line to monitor and ensure the safety of infants (1 month - 3 years) as it is for them to ensure the safety of those requiring wheel chairs. That is why a line will limit the number of people in each age range as well as those needing special assistance. They are not being discriminatory but mearly trying to ensure the safety of all passengers on board.

Ok, I will retract my previous statement as maybe "discriminatory" is not the proper word for it, given your comments.

And while I agree that they need to have certain limits in order to safely accommodate all guests, this little caveat may not be one that is widely known and/or it can cause confusion. I add the confusion part because when I initially do research for some trips, I may not add all members of my family for speed sake. Now I know that in doing so, I may be skewing the results as to what may be available.

But now we know. :)