Tips to Make the Most of a Disney Cruise

What to Bring and What to Leave at Home

A day bag: If you’re travelling to your cruise from a Disney resort, expect to have your bag ready to go hours before departure. The cruise line will arrange for your bag to be transported onto the ship, so you’re free to travel light for the day in transit. Having a day pack with a change of clothes, swimsuits, and your electronic equipment is essential. A small backpack for kids and diaper bags for babies will also helpful. These bags will also be perfect for any day trips you take while at port.

A light jacket or sweater: You never know what kind of weather to expect at each port. It can be quite chilly and windy at Port Canaveral, so pack a light jacket or sweater for each member of your family.

Snacks and drinks for your stateroom: Disney is one of very few cruise lines that allow guests to bring snacks and alcohol from shore to be enjoyed in your stateroom. Non-perishable snack foods are fine as long as they are sealed and in their original packaging. All alcoholic beverages you bring aboard must be kept in your room. You can purchase drinks to be enjoyed by the pool or in restaurants from staff.

Important documents: You will not be able to board the ship without you family’s travel documents, so ensure you have passports, boarding passes, etc. with you.

Good to know: Be prepared to tip for your stateroom host and wait staff on your final day on the ship. Tip voucher cards are provided by your steward in your room. Click here for Disney’s suggested guidelines for gratuities.

If You’re Travelling with a Toddler or Baby…

Your baby must be at least 6 months old on the day of sailing. The minimum age for Transatlantic, Hawaii, and Panama Canal itineraries is one year of age on the day of sailing.

Leave your travel crib or pack ‘n play at home. If you’re travelling with a small child, your stateroom host will be your best friend on the trip. Each evening the steward will come and set up a ship-provided pack ‘n play for your child and (if you wish) will fold it down to make more room during the day.

Bring your stroller. The ships are massive. Having a stroller will make getting to and from meals and activities much easier to navigate. The restaurant cast members (all Disney staff are called cast members) are more than accommodating and will help make room for your stroller in the restaurants—especially if you have a sleeping baby with you.

Kids clubs and babysitting services are available for kids of all ages, although some charges apply for babies and young toddlers. If you’re itching for a grown-up night out you can book a reservation in an adults-only restaurant and the kids will be taken care of by the excellent Disney cast members in the kids and baby clubs.

The pools do not allow babies in swim diapers. That doesn’t mean leave the swim diapers at home. There are splash areas for toddlers and if you’re in the Caribbean you won’t want to miss out on swimming in the ocean with your little one while at port.

If you’re travelling with young kids, request the early seating for dinner. Your time slot stays the same each night, but your assigned restaurant changes (your wait staff rotate restaurants with you).

Staterooms Are Definitely the Way to Go

Staterooms might appear small in photos, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how spacious they are once you’re settled and unpacked.

Once upon a time they provided “wave phones” to keep in touch while on board. Now everyone is expected to use their own mobile phones to access Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to keep in touch.

Staterooms have all the essentials to make you feel at home. Provided are: hairdryers, high-quality shampoo, soaps and creams, flat-screen television, mini refrigerator, super comfortable beds, closets to hang your clothing, safe for travel documents, alarm clock/stereo speaker and more. Bonus, the beds are raised high enough for your suitcases to slide underneath, so you won’t be tripping over them while in your room. If you’re celebrating a special occasion on board, bring decorations to dress up the door to your stateroom.

Get to Know Your Ports of Call Before You Leave Home

A little research before embarking on your trip will save time and allow you to make the most of your days on port.

Castaway Cay is the Disney-owned port-of-call in the Bahamas. If you’re spending a day at Castaway Cay be prepared to simply relax. All meals and non-alcoholic beverages are included as are beach chairs, some activities and more. The beach is breathtaking if you choose to simply sit and watch the waves and make sand castles, for the more adventurous types there are playgrounds on shore and in the water for kids, bikes for rent and water-sport activities and rentals.

In 2024, Disney introduced Disney’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point (or just Lookout Cay) that features three beaches, one for families that includes a water play area for kids and a splash pad for tots, and extensive adults-only offerings including a beaches, dining, bars, and beachside cabanas.

It’s All About the Princesses!

Book character experiences as soon as you get on board. Reservations to meet princesses fill up fast, so booking early is essential.

Each ship offers different character experiences, so prep your child before the trip so they are not disappointed if they don’t meet their favourite character.

Go early. To meet characters, be prepared to get there early and wait in line.

Don’t miss the character dance party! It’s a ton of fun for young and older kids.

Each evening your stateroom host will leave an information booklet listing all the next day’s character experiences and entertainment. It’s a good idea to read it over and plan your day the night before so you don’t miss out on any of the fun.

The post Thinking About a Disney Cruise? Here’s How to Make the Most of It appeared first on SavvyMom.

“Who is that?” I whisper to my daughter as we turn down another aisle. “That’s Riley’s mom,” she replies like I’m supposed to know. But I don’t because I’m never in the schoolyard at 3:30 pm when class lets out. I don’t know the other kids, let alone the parents of the other kids.

Welcome to the world of being a working parent. One who drops their kids off well before the school bell and races home from work to make it just minutes before the 6 pm daycare deadline.

After six years, three types of childcare, and two kids, here are some of the hard (and not so hard) realities I’ve learned.

The Hard Truths of Being a Working Parent

1. The first 18 months of daycare will be filled with more fevers, colds, viruses, and flu than you ever thought possible for one person to catch. And you’ll likely get every single one of those illnesses too.

2. You’ll pretty much be on your deathbed before you dare take one of your sick days for yourself. You need to reserve those suckers (see point 1).

3. At the hint of a fever you’ll administer a dose of Advil/Tylenol and pray it gets them through at least the morning because you know you can’t miss another full day of work. But in your gut, you know that phone call is coming at some point that day.

4. You’ll hand your screaming child off to a daycare worker and run out the door hoping the crying will subside before you leave the building. This will happen more times than you can count.

5. Despite your best intentions, you’ll spend at least two hours getting out the door every morning. And one bad traffic jam or transit delay will mean you’re late. Again.

6. Some days it will feel like you’ve gone to battle before you’ve even left the house. You’ll daydream about your childless co-workers’ leisurely mornings of workouts, coffees, and strolls to the office.

7. There are nights you won’t sleep more than two hours, but you’ll function surprisingly well and no one will know the difference except you and your barista.

8. You’ll raise your voice to get your kids moving out the door, then you’ll cry on the way to work thinking about the look on their little face when you yelled.

9. Every day you’ll question your choices, but hope that you’re giving your kid a strong role model of balancing a career with parenthood.

10. You’ll worry you’re messing up or shortchanging your kids of an idyllic childhood with a stay-at-home parent. But you know you’re actually a much more patient parent because you don’t parent 24 hours a day. (OK, maybe this one is just me. But after two 12-month maternity leaves, I know being a SAH parent doesn’t bring out my most patient self.)

11. You won’t know many of the other parents in your kid’s class because you rarely get to do school drop-off or pick-up.

12. You’ll see moms in their workout gear in your neighbourhood and dream about your life including one daytime workout (or any workouts at all).

13. At least once a month you’ll do the math to try and figure out if there’s a way to work less and be home more. But the truth is you love your job and know that it gives you a different kind of fulfillment that (hopefully) makes you a better parent.

14. Weeknights will suck. You’ll rush home from work only to rush your exhausted cranky little people to bed.

15. But weekends are epic. You’ll savour those slow Saturday and Sunday mornings with your crew. And the simple act of eating pizza and watching a movie on a Friday with your little one will give you more fulfillment than any night on the town could ever offer.

The post 15 Truths of a Working Parent appeared first on SavvyMom.

I bought my first reader a few years ago to double as a reader and tablet, but found that the glare from the sun made it unreadable outdoors and I was always uneasy having it around water with kids. Enter the Kobo Aura H20 I picked up for my recent family March Break getaway. It fit easily in my purse for the plane and at the bottom of my beach bag (also filled with sand toys, wet bathing suits and sunblock) and I didn’t have to worry about it getting wet or losing charge.

The Kobo Aura H2O holds up to 6,000 eBooks, and it has weeks of battery life and it’s waterproof for up to 60 minutes in up to 2 metres of water. The coating technology applied to the device’s interior allows it to be fully submerged without the need for port covers. And the device is also easy to read in direct sunlight due to its anti-glare E Ink display, for a print-on-paper like reading experience. Let the summer reading commence once again!

The Kobo Aura H2O is available for $199.99 CAD at kobo.com and select retailers.

The post Pick of the Week: Kobo Aura H2O appeared first on SavvyMom.

Yes, I know it lands on the same day every year. And yes, I spend months preparing for Christmas, only a week before. But New Year’s Eve also lands one day after my wedding anniversary and two days after my birthday, so it’s never top of mind until it’s actually here. Each year I wake up in a panic realizing I have to hit the grocery store and fight the crowds to pick up last-minute entertaining items.

This year I’m making a vow to do something a little different. Instead of trying to come up with a creative appetizer to bring to the party (did I mention I hate being responsible for apps?) and shopping with every single other person on my neighbourhood, I’m going to buy Loblaw’s New Year’s Eve Entertaining Essentials Kit and be done with it. Basically it’s a charcuterie board-in-a-box designed just for New Year’s Eve and offered at select GTA store locations from December 27-31.

So instead of buying a hostess gift and making an app, this dreamy little box contains both—inside includes everything you need to create the ultimate charcuterie board, including meats, cheeses, crackers, dried fruit—and even the board itself!

And it’s already put together for you. And you don’t even have to enter the store. It’s available for same-day pick up through Loblaws Click & Collect. The box is $84.99 and is available at select GTA Loblaw locations.

The post Stop What You’re Doing and Buy This for New Year’s Eve appeared first on SavvyMom.

Here’s what I learned travelling to Disney World with a baby in tow.

Where to Stay
If it’s in the budget, try and stay at one of the Disney World Resorts. The convenience of being able to hop on one of the park transfers (monorail, boat or bus, depending on the location of your resort), takes the stress out of coming and going. We stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, accessible by boat or monorail, and I was able to head back to the room for a couple of hours of downtime with the baby while my husband and older daughter continued to explore the Magic Kingdom.

What to Bring
A stroller
A stroller is a must. We brought a double so our older daughter could hitch a ride when she was getting tired—or when we wanted to move quickly through the park. There are stroller parking areas throughout the parks and beside all the major attractions.

Food
Disney World allows you to bring in outside food and drinks – that meant I could bring in our own baby food for our little one who was just starting solids.

Just the Basics
Bring as little as you can into the parks. A pared-down diaper bag, refillable water bottle, baby food, hats and sunblock. The strollers cannot be brought into many of the food areas and patios, so make sure your valuables can be easily packed up when you leave your stroller in the parking area.

Nice to Have
A baby carrier for babies who get fussy when stuck in a stroller too long. It’s a long day, so being able to switch it up for your little one might mean the difference of enjoying an extra hour in the park.

Nursing Room and Changing Stations
Baby care centres are located at all four Walt Disney World theme parks and offer private nursing rooms with rocking chairs, feeding areas with highchairs, kitchens with a microwave, oven and sink, plus diaper-changing rooms.

In addition to the baby care centres, there are baby-changing stations in all bathrooms, including men’s and family restrooms.

Attractions
While my six-month-old didn’t ride any of the attractions on this visit, there are plenty of rides and experiences for the younger set to enjoy.

Magic Kingdom:
In Fantasyland: Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid, Princess Fairytale Hall, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Barnstormer, Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station. Other options at Magic Kingdom: Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mad Tea Party, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, “it’s a small worldâ€Â, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, Disney Character Greetings.

Epcot:
The Seas with Nemo and Friends; Turtle Talk with Crush; Journey Into Imagination with Figment; Kidcot Fun Stops; Gran Fiesta tour starring the Three Caballeros; The Circle of Life; Innoventions; Disney Character Greetings.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
Finding Nemo-The Musical; Kilimanjaro Safaris; TriceraTop Spin; Pangani Forest Exploration Trail; Maharajah Jungle Trek; Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Affection Section; Wilderness Explorers interactive experience; Disney Character Greetings.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage; Disney Junior-Live on Stage!; Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show; Toy Story Midway Mania!; Voyage of the Little Mermaid; Muppet*Vision 3D; Disney Character Greetings.

Good to know:
Using the Rider Switch option—available at select Disney theme park attractions—guests are allowed to take turns waiting with kids too young or too small to ride a certain attraction, then ‘switch’ with another adult guest from their party to experience the ride without standing in line twice.

Children under three years of age get free entry into Disney theme parks.

The post Visiting Disney World with an Infant or Toddler appeared first on SavvyMom.