Ages for "Kids Clubs"

[mamacita123]

I am travelling with three grandkids ages 5, 12 and 14. The 12 year old would really like to hang with her 14 year old cousin - she's actually 12 years and 7 months by cruise time. How strict are the ages adhered to. It seems that the 12 year olds are in with the 3-12 group, then it's 13-17. Ideas anyone?:cool:

[paul929207]

Which cruise line? Most of them are strict on the age limits. Do you really want a 12 yo girl hanging around with 17 yo boys?

[6rugrats]

Very strict. Usually you can move down in age groups, but not up, so the oldest cousin could move down.

[kitty9]

I am travelling with three grandkids ages 5, 12 and 14. The 12 year old would really like to hang with her 14 year old cousin - she's actually 12 years and 7 months by cruise time. How strict are the ages adhered to. It seems that the 12 year olds are in with the 3-12 group, then it's 13-17. Ideas anyone?:cool:

 

They're very strict. They do not want the liability of putting pre-teens in a group with teenagers. All they would need is one complaint of a teen taking advantage of a pre-teen in a kid's club. Lawsuit city.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You didn't mention which cruise line.

 

HAL is very strict.

 

[simplelife]

I don'teven like the thought of 13 year-olds with 17 year olds, but if I had a 10 or 11 year old, I wouldn't want them with 14's either.

[ailuro]

I came across this link for you that suggests when travelling on Carnival the ages would be twelve to 14, would that be an option to look into, or are you already booked?

 

http://*****.com/cruise_lines/kids_carnival.cfm

[Micchi]

When I was 17, the teen club was more of a place to meet up and head out or make plans to meet up elsewhere on the ship later that day. We made little or no use of the supervised activities. I don't think an environment like that would be appropriate for a 12-year-old.

[mamacita123]

Thanks for your great responses! I really don't want the 12 year old with 17 year olds. We are on the Princess Sapphire. I guess it seems a little weird that the clubs are 3-12, then 13-17. Just that "tween" age I guess!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Thanks for your great responses! I really don't want the 12 year old with 17 year olds. We are on the Princess Sapphire. I guess it seems a little weird that the clubs are 3-12, then 13-17. Just that "tween" age I guess!

 

You didn't say when you were going (sometimes the groupings will vary slightly when there are fewer kids onboard), but when my daughter was 8, she was in the 8 to 12 group. The year before, she was in a 7 to 9 group, but there were more kids then.

 

As others have mentioned, there is the problem of liability. Plus, many parents will insist that their little darlings are "mature" for their age. So it easier for the counselors to say no, they can't make exceptions and put an end to parental requests.

 

Another thing to consider: if the teen grouping is 13 to 17, the teens aren't going to be too pleased if a younger kid is forced on them.

 

If the 12 year old wants to hang out with her older cousin (and the older one doesn't mind), they can go swimming or take part in some of the regular (non-kid) activities, such as trivia.

[kitty9]

Thanks for your great responses! I really don't want the 12 year old with 17 year olds. We are on the Princess Sapphire. I guess it seems a little weird that the clubs are 3-12, then 13-17. Just that "tween" age I guess!

 

 

I think you've got a little misinformation about the age groups. The first group is for the 3 to 7 kids, the next is the 8 to 12 and finally the teen group, 13 to 17. They will not put 3 year olds with 12 year olds. And I've found that they tend to have little subdivisions within the three groups, so it's usually 3 to 5 year olds, 7 and 8. The only time that might change is when there are very few kids on board.