A 3 yr old on the Spirit

[mitsugirly]

Although I'm not new to cruising, I haven't ever taken a child under the age of 6 (back in the 90's who had his older brother and sister in their teens to help out with entertaining him and giving mom and dad a break). So I'm unfamiliar with the programs and things for children around 3 years old to do.

 

I've heard about the kid programs/area's. Does anyone know the times they are open for this on the Spirit? Are they ever open during the evening hours if you want to go dancing or take in a show?

 

What happens when you are in port and there might be a day or activity that you can not include your toddler and want them to stay with sitting services? How does that work? Do they watch them for a fee for the entire time you are in port? What would happen if there is an emergency and they need to contact you?

 

I'm still debating if we want to take her along due to the limited activities we might encounter.

 

If anyone has a link with the information, that would be nice. I've searched NCL's site and can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

[russianmom]

The Kid's Crew was open from 9-10:30 on sea days and it is free. They do not feed them so you would have to take your child out for meals.

They do all sorts of fun things such as face painting, decorating t-shirts, prince/princess parade, pirate treasure hunt.

 

My son loves it but it is not for everyone. At night from 10:30-1:30 they have Fun Zone which you pay a fee for.. I think it was $6/hr but don't quote me on that.

 

On port days they are open from ~ 8-5( or whatever time you are in port) and it is also $6/hr. If your child is not toilet trained you can not leave them and go off the ship because they do not change diapers and have no way of contacting you.

 

When you are on the ship they ask you where you will be in case they need to contact you or if your child is not toilet trained they will give you a beeper.

 

If you leave your child and go into port it is a carp shoot- they will take them to eat and seek medical attention but if your child wants to leave or misses you they will not call your cell phone ( I asked once about that)

 

Here are 2 pics of the schedule from Feb- keep in mind there were only 200 kids < 18 on this sailing so the activites may change based on how many kids there are.

[mitsugirly]

Are you saying they are open from 9AM to 10:30 PM? Or is that only 9am to 10:30am? I'm confused. Then at night from 10:30pm until 1:30am?

 

Looking at the dailies you have, are these just programs they have going on for children during the days that you have to individually sign them up daily to attend? I was thinking they had like a play area open for a certain amount of time that you could just drop them off for a couple of hours and then pick them back up. (Instead of a certain type of activity or show). To me, a lot of the things I'm seeing on the daily are things that I wouldn't think a 3 year old would be able to do or interested in. Some might, but I think it wouldn't keep her attention for long and she would rather play in the play areas. She's a very high energetic child.

[russianmom]

On sea days they are open all day long 9am-10:30pm for no charge. After 10:30pm and when you are docked in port they are also open but there is a charge

 

This was the schedule for 2-5year olds. They do have some free time (called freestyle free play) but it is mostly scheduled activities.

 

In terms of signing up you usually do it during the open house on the first day. The rest of the time your child can just come and go as they please or only attend the activities they want.

 

As I said my son loves it and barely wants to leave but there are plenty of other kids who do not enjoy it.