Welcome aboard, Deborah! It's exciting to hear that you are preparing to set sail with Disney for the very first time!
I completely understand that you're a bit worried about your little cruiser being like a kid in a candy shop in the
gift shops onboard. My kids would purchase everything they see in the shops if they could! Mickey's Mainsail is full of kids items from stuffed animals to collectible pins and magnets, costumes, Mickey ears, toys and more! If you've been to Walt Disney World before, you can easily compare the onboard shops to the shops in the Disney Parks. If you haven't visited the parks before, visit your local Disney Store, or the
Disneystore.com website for an idea of pricing. You can even view some of the Disney Cruise Line items that are for sale onboard and also online. Also, check out the
Shop Disney Parks App which includes Disney Parks gifts and pricing for even more ideas, again with a few cruise items available. However, there are so many more cruise-themed Disney items onboard which make for great souvenirs as they're not available elsewhere! But pricing will be similar to the non-cruise souvenirs you see online.
One thing that we do for our kiddos when we sail to keep us within budget and to contain that shopping excitement is to give them each a Disney Gift Card to spend onboard. They are accepted in the shops on the ship, and it gives our kids some ownership for how they spend that money. My kids usually make a few visits to the shops before finally deciding on their must-have items a few days into the sailing. I also love that they're learning responsibility and some money lessons by having their own "dough" to spend! You may consider doing the same for your child!
Happy planning!
Marcy