Traveling with a 5 year old... Yes or no on MSC Divina

[keyskelly]

Hello...

 

Looking for any input on sailing with a five year old. We have a wonderful opportunity to cruise with family in December, but will have to make a decision in the morning if we want to secure a good rate. I will continue to scour the boards, but does anyone have any input, good or bad, as to if there are things to occupy him. We have all traveled before (on Disney), but welcome any opportunity to cruise. :)

 

We are the type of travelers that make the best out of any situation, but it would be nice if there were some kid activities.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!!!

[cruisetrail]

The Divina is OK for kids.

Not the best ship (RCI would be MUCH better), but OK.

There is a kids club and splash areas near central pool.

[joybaby]

Not a strong children's program if that is what you are looking for.

[keyskelly]

Thanks! We are not really looking into the kids program, we like to have him with us, but just things to do on the ship. I'm thinking we can bring some games, and I can create a scavenger hunt before we go... this is a really good deal, that is hard to pass up, but I also don't want our son to be bored.

 

Thank you for the input!!! :)

[cruisetrail]

You are welcome.

Enjoy your cruise!

[Mikesa1721]

Hello...

 

Looking for any input on sailing with a five year old. We have a wonderful opportunity to cruise with family in December, but will have to make a decision in the morning if we want to secure a good rate. I will continue to scour the boards, but does anyone have any input, good or bad, as to if there are things to occupy him. We have all traveled before (on Disney), but welcome any opportunity to cruise. :)

 

We are the type of travelers that make the best out of any situation, but it would be nice if there were some kid activities.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!!!

 

We had our 3 and a half year old nephew with us onboard last week and he had a blast!!! Mom and Dad never really brought him to the kids club very often for the same reasons you have stated, but everyday he wanted to know when he was going back to his club. The counselors did a great job keeping the little ones entertained,,they even get front row seats to all of the late shows in the Pantheon Theatre!!!

[RSLeesburg]

Hello...

 

 

 

Looking for any input on sailing with a five year old. We have a wonderful opportunity to cruise with family in December, but will have to make a decision in the morning if we want to secure a good rate. I will continue to scour the boards, but does anyone have any input, good or bad, as to if there are things to occupy him. We have all traveled before (on Disney), but welcome any opportunity to cruise. :)

 

 

 

We are the type of travelers that make the best out of any situation, but it would be nice if there were some kid activities.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for your input!!!

 

 

If you go, please let us know how things turn out - we are also looking at Divina for a March 2015 cruise with our 5 y/o.

 

 

 

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[GOLDENBONNY]

Not a strong children's program if that is what you are looking for.

 

????? what ? :rolleyes:

[GOLDENBONNY]

Thanks! We are not really looking into the kids program, we like to have him with us, but just things to do on the ship. I'm thinking we can bring some games, and I can create a scavenger hunt before we go... this is a really good deal, that is hard to pass up, but I also don't want our son to be bored.

 

Thank you for the input!!! :)

 

We have our DD with us during the day and she goes to kids club after 6 pm . Best part of MSC kids club they pick up your kid from DR at 7 pm so he/she can eat proper food fast and go to club letting parents to enjoy dinner . I don't really know what you mean by "things to do on ship" for 5 years old..... they swim in pool or go to beach . We bring some toys but she never has time to play with them . Kids club is one of the best in sea they put lots of effort to it include kids shows .

[alexkrn46]

are you goring or staying home?

[keyskelly]

We have our DD with us during the day and she goes to kids club after 6 pm . Best part of MSC kids club they pick up your kid from DR at 7 pm so he/she can eat proper food fast and go to club letting parents to enjoy dinner . I don't really know what you mean by "things to do on ship" for 5 years old..... they swim in pool or go to beach . We bring some toys but she never has time to play with them . Kids club is one of the best in sea they put lots of effort to it include kids shows .

 

We've been on other ships that had mini-golf, pool tables, table tennis, etc... that's what I meant by "things to do on a ship" with a five year old. :) I had to make a quick decision last night, so I was just looking for input. Upon further research, we decided that we couldn't pass up this opportunity, so we booked it! :) Thanks for letting me know about the kids club.

[keyskelly]

are you goring or staying home?

 

We are going!!! Couldn't pass up this opportunity, and we are really excited about sailing!!!

Edited September 6, 2014 by keyskelly

[keyskelly]

If you go, please let us know how things turn out - we are also looking at Divina for a March 2015 cruise with our 5 y/o.

 

We booked today, so I will let you know how it goes, and if I find any great info for kids! :)

[Mikesa1721]

Keys,,here is the list of activities that were available for our 3 and a half year old nephew the week of August 23rd:

 

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Edited September 6, 2014 by Mikesa1721

[maureencruiser]

The counselors did a great job keeping the little ones entertained,,they even get front row seats to all of the late shows in the Pantheon Theatre!!!

 

Mike, You've mentioned this before, can you explain to me the rationale of squirmy 5 year olds getting the best seats in the house? Seems like it would be distracting to the performers and unfair to the adults. Is the thinking that they are too short to see over the adults? Not being mean, it just seems like a lose, lose proposition to me. :confused:

[Mikesa1721]

Mike, You've mentioned this before, can you explain to me the rationale of squirmy 5 year olds getting the best seats in the house? Seems like it would be distracting to the performers and unfair to the adults. Is the thinking that they are too short to see over the adults? Not being mean, it just seems like a lose, lose proposition to me. :confused:

 

Yes Maureen,,MSC reserves a section of the front row for the kids club. They only do this for the late show so the little one's can see. They don't reserve that many seats, so there is still front row seating available for the adults.

[RSLeesburg]

Yes Maureen,,MSC reserves a section of the front row for the kids club. They only do this for the late show so the little one's can see. They don't reserve that many seats, so there is still front row seating available for the adults.

 

 

I think this is brilliant. Does the kids club take the kids to the shows as part of a group?

 

 

 

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[RSLeesburg]

Mike, You've mentioned this before, can you explain to me the rationale of squirmy 5 year olds getting the best seats in the house? Seems like it would be distracting to the performers and unfair to the adults. Is the thinking that they are too short to see over the adults? Not being mean, it just seems like a lose, lose proposition to me. :confused:

 

 

Maureen - I think this is one of those situations where children will never learn to sit through a show and enjoy it if they are never exposed to them. We used to routinely see groups of young school children at the matinee shows in West End of London, and they were always well behaved. I am sure that the first few times these kids squirmed a bit, but then they learned to sit through a whole show :). Maybe MSC is used to children who have already been exposed to these types of shows, and therefore assumes that they will be well behaved...

 

 

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[American Bear]

Hello...

 

Looking for any input on sailing with a five year old. We have a wonderful opportunity to cruise with family in December, but will have to make a decision in the morning if we want to secure a good rate. I will continue to scour the boards, but does anyone have any input, good or bad, as to if there are things to occupy him. We have all traveled before (on Disney), but welcome any opportunity to cruise. :)

 

We are the type of travelers that make the best out of any situation, but it would be nice if there were some kid activities.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!!!

 

No one does young children better then Disney, but there is a HIGH PRICE that comes with that too!:eek:

We would sit in the buffet and see the parade of young children walking by with the Divina staff all made up in outfits they created, and all looked to be having a good time!:)

The Divina offers you an inexpensive cruise on a beautiful, clean ship with most of the amenities you'll find on most cruise ships today!

The truth is you'll find positive and negative reviews on all cruise line forums, even Disney, about the children's programs they run!

The only sure way is to go on the cruise and find out yourself, at least the Divina's prices won't cause you massive debt like others!:D

[Mikesa1721]

I think this is brilliant. Does the kids club take the kids to the shows as part of a group?

 

 

 

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Yes RSLeesburg,,,They all go as a group and sit together. :D

[American Bear]

Yes Maureen,,MSC reserves a section of the front row for the kids club. They only do this for the late show so the little one's can see. They don't reserve that many seats, so there is still front row seating available for the adults.

 

 

We didn't see any rows reserved on our 2 week cruise in May, if there were any reserved, we'd agree with Mike, there weren't many!

We sat in the front 2 rows for every show, early and late, and were surrounded by adults!

Boy, do some women wear too much perfume on formal nite!:eek: Joking!

[keyskelly]

Thanks for the information about the kids club!!! Very much appreciated. :)

 

In regards to the "squirmy" five year olds, not all five year olds are "squirmy", and my son is actually very entertained by live performances, and knows to be respectful while they are performing. He has seen numerous live performances, not in the "best seats in the house", and was just fine and appreciated what we were seeing.

[keyskelly]

Agree with you about the high price American Bear... we were lucky enough to sail on Disney last year, but we got an incredible deal on that cruise (very last miute!!!). We also got an incredible deal on this cruise, so we are really excited to be sailing on MSC. It is what we make of it, and after viewing YouTube videos, my son is beyond excited! :)

[maureencruiser]

Yes Maureen,,MSC reserves a section of the front row for the kids club. They only do this for the late show so the little one's can see. They don't reserve that many seats, so there is still front row seating available for the adults.

 

Maureen - I think this is one of those situations where children will never learn to sit through a show and enjoy it if they are never exposed to them. We used to routinely see groups of young school children at the matinee shows in West End of London, and they were always well behaved. I am sure that the first few times these kids squirmed a bit, but then they learned to sit through a whole show :). Maybe MSC is used to children who have already been exposed to these types of shows, and therefore assumes that they will be well behaved...

 

Thanks to both of you for answering my question in the spirit it was asked. :)

[GOLDENBONNY]

We've been on other ships that had mini-golf, pool tables, table tennis, etc... that's what I meant by "things to do on a ship" with a five year old. :) I had to make a quick decision last night, so I was just looking for input. Upon further research, we decided that we couldn't pass up this opportunity, so we booked it! :) Thanks for letting me know about the kids club.

 

 

my 5 years old for sure would not play pool or table tennis I guess they all different .