Info on Princess kids clubs please!

[Daggio]

We are thinking of cruisng on the Princess Crown next year. At that time our children will be 15 and 8. I know there is no info yet on the Crown kids club, but I'd appreciate any info on other Princess kids clubs as to: what type of specific activites are there for my children's age groups, are they organized, counselors attentive, etc. We just got back from a Royal Carribean cruise last week and sadly to say I was not impressed wth the kids clubs there. My daughter was in the 12-14 year old club. If not enough kids showed up for that specified activity, then the activity was canceled. She didn't do much but a scavenger hunt and just hang out. I noticed the teen group, which she will be in next year, just hung out in the hallways and on the elevators. My son's group was pretty much the same. Nothing too exciting in his club. They did a pirate show, colored a pillowcase and basically played video games. We opted to leave him in the club 1 night after 10 p.m. at a charge of $5/hr. When we went to pick him up at midnight, all the kids were running wild, playng kickball. He was kicked in the throat, and no counselor even noticed. It was very disorganized. The counselors were there, but not really watching the kids. It was basically a free for all. Any info on the Princess lines kids clubs, maybe the itineraries etc., would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Cruisin' Chick]

My daughter has been on two Princess cruises so far (age 5, 7) with Carnival before that.

 

1. Be sure to be early for the orientation meeting. On our first Princess cruise, the door was locked when we got there (we thought on-time) with a sign that said to come back for the next meeting (which wasn't convenient for us as it was during our dinner seating). Someone else on CC had that happened to them.

 

2. If you want to take advantage of in-port kid sitting or post-10 pm kid sitting, you need to sign up 24 hrs. ahead. The second is $5/hr, very reasonable (unless things have changed or it's different on some ships, the kids area closes down at 10pm every night, except for kids signed in for the sitting service). They'll watch movies or play video games or make crafts at night.

 

3. If you go off the ship at a port and leave kids in the kids zone, make sure you're back in time so you don't miss the ship (I know: obvious but it bears repeating). If you go on an excursion that's booked thru the ship, it may be more expensive, but if there's a mechanical problem with the bus or there's a massive traffic jam, the ship will wait for you.

 

4. When you first get to your cabin, there will be a copy of the first day's Patters and a copy of the schedule for the kids' activities for your child's group. If not, you can get a copy at the kids' zone, but make sure you find out what times the required orientation will be held first thing (see #1).

 

5. The assignment of age groups will be based on how many kids on the cruise. More ages will be grouped together if there are few kids. Many parents will ask if their child can be placed with a different age, but I heard most of the time that won't happen.

[Daggio]

Thanks so much for the info!

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you have any more questions, maybe I can help.