4 year old on board

[midlandgas]

hi although we are regular cruisers we are looking at taking our 4 year old grandson on his first cruise on the emerald princess , does anyone have experience of children this age on princess cruises and what we can expect for him on board

[chrysalis]

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/activities/youth_teen/fun/

[notentirelynormal]

Great kid center for that age. They do science projects like making the solar system using silly putty (I think that's what is was) and then paint accordingly. Prizes etc. My grandkids loved it.

[sunsetbeachgal]

The kids program is excellent. Our 4 1/2 year old granddaughter begged to go back! The kids menu is great too and the dining room staff goes out of their way for little ones.

[helenb]

We took our children on Princess at ages 3, 4 and 5 (and 6, 7, 8... you get the idea!).

 

They loved the children's programming and often didn't want to leave. They also enjoyed the pools and the buffet. They loved the bunk bed that dropped down from the ceiling in the cabin. In the dining room, the waiters fussed over them and brought them food they enjoyed. We did have to tailor our time onshore to activities they would enjoy, but for us that wasn't much of a 'sacrifice'.

 

I would say the biggest issue is whether or not your grandchild will still be taking a nap. Kids are not allowed to nap in the children's programming areas (I was actually paged to come pick up my son, who was sleeping peacefully on a cushion in the corner.) so you would have to pick them up and then sit with them in the room while they nap (this is where having a balcony comes in handy). Also, if there are still any residual potty-training issues, the children's program won't accept them if they are still wearing diapers in the daytime.

 

I'm not sure what other questions you might have?

[whatcruiseisnext]

What cruise are you looking at on the Emerald? This fall/winter the Emerald does the 10 day Caribbean cruises. If it is one of these you are considering you will find that there are very few children on these cruises so he may not have many playmates.

[cnd crsr]

We took our grandsons on a Princess cruise and found the kids programme was great for them. We sent them for either morning or afternoon on sea days and then they spent the other half of the day with us. This was our choice (they could have spent the whole day there). You do have to pick them up for meals. We took them back to the programme after we fed them at the buffet at 5:30 and picked them up again after we (the parents and grandparents) had dinner in the dining room.

 

The boys loved the activities and meeting new friends. On the last sea day all the children did a performance on the stage in the Princess Theatre for the parents and grands. The other thing they really enjoyed was the formal nights when they went to the buffet with the supervisors for a "children's dinner party". I would take them again in a heartbeat!