Explorer's Club for a 11 year old

[Reddbaron]

We are seasoned Disney Cruisers who are abandoning the mouse to take a 12 day on the Jewel of the Seas to the Baltic. Our 11 year old daughter will be accompanying us and she has been spoiled by the scope of activities she has encountered during her 3 disney sailings over the last few years.

 

I am interested in hearing from parents with similarly aged children about their impressions of what's available at the Explorer's club. If you have Disney Cruise experience that allows you to compare, that would even be better!

[lrn2cruise]

Bumping up. I have an 11 yr old boy and we will be on the FOS this summer

[Sugar*Magnolia]

You might also want to check out the Family boards - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

[luvmykidsluv2cruise]

My daughter preferred the kids club on Royal Caribbean over Disney. She enjoyed the in and out club on Disney over the oceaneer club but still prefers RCI. Alot less kids and more organized games and activites. THey go to the dance club, the sports court etc.

 

Triena

[Mom.to.2]

At 11, you child would be in the Voyager's club. Aquanauts are 3-5 and Explorers are 6-8.

 

I only have experience with the Aquanauts and Explorers, both of which were very positive.

[robinbird62]

Reddbaron

 

We are on the Jewel of the seas 12 day cruise to scandinavia & russia in May and we have an 11 year old daughter so will let you know how we get on.

 

We have never done Disney but have done 5 previous cruises with RCI and 3 with P&O my daughter prefers the RCI last year we were on Oasis and that was fab,

[Reddbaron]

Reddbaron

 

We are on the Jewel of the seas 12 day cruise to scandinavia & russia in May and we have an 11 year old daughter so will let you know how we get on.

 

We have never done Disney but have done 5 previous cruises with RCI and 3 with P&O my daughter prefers the RCI last year we were on Oasis and that was fab,

 

Best of luck on your trip, I can't wait to hear how your daughter enjoys it (and the rest of you as well of course!).

[cristince]

We just got back from our cruise on the explorer yesterday. My kids were in the voyagers ocean adventure group and loved it. That is the group for 9 to 11 year olds. There is so much for them to do. They really liked it and wanted to be there literally every second it was open. there are normally three sessions and each one has a theme for that session. For example a few of the sessions my kids had were boys vs. girls, harry potter, sports, secret agent...

 

They do all kinds of games and activities. They had a carnival the last evening and also had a talent show which was one of the favorites for my kids. You can also sign them up to go as a group to johnny rockets (free for the kids when you go with adventure ocean). They do that 2 or 3 times during the cruise. Anyway, I thought it was a very positive experience. My kids always wanted to hurry up and eat so they could get to adventure ocean!

 

I have no Disney cruise experience so I can't help you out there. But, I hope the info I gave you will help.

[Jonah315]

We are seasoned Disney Cruisers who are abandoning the mouse to take a 12 day on the Jewel of the Seas to the Baltic. Our 11 year old daughter will be accompanying us and she has been spoiled by the scope of activities she has encountered during her 3 disney sailings over the last few years.

 

I am interested in hearing from parents with similarly aged children about their impressions of what's available at the Explorer's club. If you have Disney Cruise experience that allows you to compare, that would even be better!

 

We just got off the Disney Magic in February 2011 with friends of ours who are also seasoned fans of the Mouse. We have done Carnival and RCI in the past with our kids who are now 6 and 9. You will find less kids than on Disney but that allows them to do more adventurous stuff. There are more outings around the boat for all ages, even the younger ones than on Disney but to be fair to Disney there were over 1000 kids on our cruise so tough to get around too much. I can tell you while my kids loved Disney and we had a great time, they were as happy in the club with RCI and there were a lot less kids so much more one on one time. The leaders knew the kids by name within a couple of days where at Disney there were just so many kids it was impossible.

 

There were a lot more movies on Disney than on either RCI or Carnival but again, that is Disney and what to expect on Disney. I would say for an 11 year old RCI will be more impressive. If you had younger kids I would go with Disney because of the characters. As an aside we have convinced our friends to come along March 2012 on the Explorer so I guess we will see what they think (and what their 6 year old DS thinks who has done 3 Disney cruises to date). We did the Explorer April 2010 and the kids had a ball and still talk about it.

 

Bob

[Reddbaron]

Best of luck on your trip, I can't wait to hear how your daughter enjoys it (and the rest of you as well of course!).

 

Reddbaron

 

We are on the Jewel of the seas 12 day cruise to scandinavia & russia in May and we have an 11 year old daughter so will let you know how we get on.

 

We have never done Disney but have done 5 previous cruises with RCI and 3 with P&O my daughter prefers the RCI last year we were on Oasis and that was fab,

 

So tell me Robin? How was your cruise? More importantly how did your 11 year old daughter enjoy her time at Adventure Ocean on the Jewel and how were your (and her experiences overall on the boat?

 

We leave in a little over 3 weeks, so I am getting very excited!

[Jade2603]

I have been on a disney cruise when i was 10 ? And the Kids club is amazing! I enjoyed it soo much , the staff are extremly friendly , and at some stops they even invite the kids to get off with the club so some days you might not see your kids all day !:)

[crusinmama06]

Kids club pages are here....

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/cruisinmama06/Royal%20Caribean%20AO%20Compass/?start=all

 

The activities are similiar fleetwide. It will give you a good idea of what the kids are doing in that age group.

 

We prefer RCI over the mouse. I like my kids being one of 200 instead of one of 1,000. It makes them more special. ;) Call me crazy but I like the crew members to dote over my kids because if they are having a good time, then I am having a good time. :D

 

On our Disney cruises, they were called "Princesses" but on RCI they really ARE princesses. :D From our cabin attendants to heck, even the cabin attendants up the hall, to the waiters, to the bartenders (don't ask how my 6 year old had her own bartender when I don't drink but she did - the guy knew her BY NAME :p) The crew fall all over themselves to dote on my kids. And THAT is the difference for me.