Hi there Erin!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Your Disney Cruise Line vacation is coming up soon and I know you are so excited…and let me tell you, you have every reason to be! I love that you are taking a little Mouseketeer with you; my boys were itty bitty on their first voyages with Captain Mickey and I have some of the best memories from those first cruises! In fact, we were just onboard this past week and we were telling our boys about some of those first voyages and how different it was sailing with them now that they are older!
As you know,
traveling with littles requires so much more gear – and preparation – so I love that you are thinking ahead! Quick and short answer for you is that no, you are not required to check your stroller and/or carseat when you arrive at the port for embarkation. You can definitely carry those items on with you, if you choose to! We always carried on our strollers with us because if we didn’t have our littles in them, we used them to cart around our other carry-on items! Since you will not be able to get access to your stateroom until after 1:30PM and any checked luggage will be delivered throughout the afternoon you will want to plan accordingly and be sure to carry on any necessary items. If you have requested a pack and play for your stateroom ahead of time, it should be in your stateroom and you can ask your stateroom host or hostess to set it up for you if you would like to get your little one down for an afternoon nap. Just be aware that all Guests are required to attend the safety drill scheduled before leaving port (which is usually between 3PM and 4PM). If your little one is used to sleeping with white noise, I highly recommend bringing a small sound machine with you as sometimes those hallways can get a little noisy during busy times!
If you plan to utilize the onboard
nursery (and you definitely should), I suggest reserving space prior to getting onboard. My favorite thing to do when my littles are in the onboard Youth Clubs is to head straight to the
Quiet Cove pool with my book (you know the one that you’ve been trying to get finished for as long as you can remember…)!
Wishing you the most magical of adventures at sea, Erin! Please come back with any other questions you may have as your planning continues!
Happy Sailing!
Stephanie