Disney cruises are made for kids, and the Oceaneer’s Club on Disney Dream proves why. With its incredible itinerary of activities, safety precautions, and highly trained staff, the Disney Dream Oceaneer’s Club allows parents to leave their kids and enjoy a few hours to relax on their own. It’s excellent in every way and kids will absolutely love the Disney Cruise kids club!
If you’re going on a Disney Cruise or considering one, make sure to check out all of the posts in my Disney Cruise series:
- Dining on a Disney Cruise with Young Kids
- 10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Our Disney Cruise
- Fun Ways to Celebrate Disney Pirate Night on Disney Dream
Oceaneer’s Club on Disney Dream
The thing that blew me away the most about our cruise on the Disney Dream was the kids club, also known as the Oceaneer’s Club. I talked about it a little bit in my 10 things I wish I’d known before our Disney cruise post, but here’s what made me as a mom comfortable taking and leaving my 3-year-old in the club. The Oceaneer’s Club is free for all children age 3 and up who are toilet trained. You can find full details and restrictions for the Oceaneer’s Club on the Disney Cruise website.
Safety
Kids are given magic bands to wear that you have to scan when you drop them off and then scan again when you pick them up. The magic bands also help the staff members to know exactly where your child is at all times. And a child can only leave with an adult who knows a secret passcode you setup when you register them.
Bathrooms + Hand Washing
Disney has the coolest hand washing system ever. As soon as you scan your magic band, you get some soap on your hands and stick them in what look like small black holes but are really hand washing machines. It’s fun, effective, and a nice way to prevent germs from spreading with all of the kids playing.
The bathrooms themselves are designed for kids with Mickey Mouse mirrors, short sinks, and toilets with built in inserts for younger kids. Perfect for the younger kids who may be just recently potty trained or still too small to manage a regular size toilet on their own.
Activities
The kids club really consists of two different things – the Oceaneer’s Club and Oceaneer’s Lab. Both have a ton of different activities going on all the time from baking cookies to going on treasure hunts. Often times special friends (aka Disney characters) will come join in the fun so kids get the chance to not only meet their favorite characters but interact with them as well. And if your kids don’t want to join any of the specific activities, there are still plenty of things going on all the time from flying the Millennial Falcon to playing games in Andy’s Room. You’ll receive a daily itinerary in your stateroom, so you can plan out which activities your kids want to attend.
Most of the time the kids club is for kids only but once or twice a day, there will be an activity in your itinerary labeled “open house.” Those are times that parents can join their kids in the club to enjoy activities together. This also means that kids are not checked in and out during that time, so you’re responsible for keeping track of them. Often times either the club or the lab will be open house, but not both. That means that kids can play parent-free on one side (it closes off completely) while an open house time is going on.
Staff
The staff members in the Oceaneer’s Club were amazing. My son was only in there for a couple of hours each day and somehow every time we went back, the staff members remembered his name. They knew what he liked best, and they kept him entertained and happy when he didn’t have any other friends to play with. I honestly think my son’s favorite person on the entire cruise was the funny guy (one of the adult staff members) in the Oceaneer’s Club. As a mom, I was able to have a much more enjoyable cruise knowing that someone was looking out for my little guy.
Food
Kids are given the option to eat during mealtimes in the Oceaneer’s Club, but what I like the most is that they’re not forced to eat. If they don’t want to eat, they’re still allowed to play and enjoy other activities going on. For kids who do want to eat, they offer similar kid-friendly menu options to the buffets, things like chicken nuggets, pizza, and mac and cheese. You can get more details about dining on a Disney Cruise here. They also offer quite a few cooking/baking activities over the course of your cruise, so make sure even if your kids aren’t planning to eat, that if they allergies you let the kids club staff know.
Out of all of the things on our Disney Cruise, the Oceaneer’s Club was the biggest surprise for me. I’ve never considered taking my 3-year-old on a cruise before but after seeing how much fun he had, we’ll definitely return. And it didn’t hurt that it gave me a chance to get a massage and eat at the adults only restaurant either; it really was a cruise both for kids and adults.
M says
Thank you for the post!
Rachael says
I know this is a really personal question. But, when it comes to the kids being toilet trained. What if your 3 year old is potty trained but not the best at wiping their own butt if they go number 2 and not the best at pulling their pants back up? I really want my son to be able to experience the oceaneers club but I’m worried about these things.
BritniV says
When do you go on your cruise? If they are not totally independent with going to the bathroom, I’d work on it hard right now so they are comfortable before you go on the cruise. Send them in super easy pants to pull back up (sweatpants or shorts are your best friend) and try just doing an hour or two at a time so they can still experience everything without any worries. Or go in with them during the parent times and experience it that way. But honestly, I’d try your best to get them comfortable and independently toilet trained between now and your cruise if you have some time!
Darren says
Do you know if they offer snacks periodically in the Oceaneer’s club?
BritniV says
I believe they do some cooking activities that may include snacks. I’d reach out to Disney Cruise Line and ask to be sure.