Splash Academy

[kld07]

Just wanted the run down on Splash Academy. How to sign the kids up, any extra charges, pros, cons, any advice or experiences appreciated! We are cruising on the Getaway this June with a 7 and 10 year old!

[legion3]

You sign them up when you go aboard (unlike Carnival where you pre- register)

 

They close for lunch - till 2 pm and dinner-until 7pm. (unlike Carnival which will feed the kids at the buffet starting at 6pm)

 

If in port they charge you if you leave your kids aboard and they feed them lunch. ($6 was the charge), we didn't but if it were Carnival they would feed them if you left them.

 

Also checking them in and out can be a pain, you must have both your's and their's sign and sail card/cabin card...YOU MUST! If you don't you will have to go back and get both.

 

Also they give you a wrist bracelet like other cruise lines do but unlike Carnival which will give you a new one if you happen to lose it, NCL charges you $5 for a new one.

 

I know it sounds like I'm bashing NCL but I'm not. We found Carnival to be better overall in policy and procedure and preferred the hours and it seemed more parent user friendly. We have not yet (18 DAYS!!!) tried the new Camp Ocean on Carnival so I'm not sure if any changes have occured in policy and procedures yet.

 

The kids loved both kids area's equally.

Edited April 7, 2015 by legion3

[melodyesch]

My niece (10) LOVED Splash Academy. I mean seriously LOVED it so that she watched the clock for when it was time to go back. I didn't mind that they closed for lunch and for dinner, as that was pretty much the only times we saw her! And even then, DH and I would take her to the buffet for a quick dinner so that she could get back when it re-opened. Then DH and I would go have a leisurely dinner.

 

I also think that a token charge for a lost bracelet isn't a big deal either. They will replace it for no charge if it becomes frayed or broken, but if you lose it they will charge you. I can only imagine the number of replacements they would be doing daily if there wasn't a charge.

 

Drop off and pick up could be crazy at opening and closing times, as you do have to have both key cards AND a pre-set password. So it's not just like you can throw them in the room and walk away. But I did feel like she was safe and it was a minor irritation.

 

I'm sure your kids will love it!

[bigAWL]

My niece (10) LOVED Splash Academy. I mean seriously LOVED it so that she watched the clock for when it was time to go back. I didn't mind that they closed for lunch and for dinner, as that was pretty much the only times we saw her! And even then, DH and I would take her to the buffet for a quick dinner so that she could get back when it re-opened. Then DH and I would go have a leisurely dinner.

 

I also think that a token charge for a lost bracelet isn't a big deal either. They will replace it for no charge if it becomes frayed or broken, but if you lose it they will charge you. I can only imagine the number of replacements they would be doing daily if there wasn't a charge.

 

Drop off and pick up could be crazy at opening and closing times, as you do have to have both key cards AND a pre-set password. So it's not just like you can throw them in the room and walk away. But I did feel like she was safe and it was a minor irritation.

 

I'm sure your kids will love it!

 

I'm really interested in hearing more about what your 10 year old niece liked. We'll be sailing NCL for the first time in October with three girls: 13, 11, and 8. I'm worried about the 11 year old being bored in the Splash Academy.

 

What time of year did you cruise? Were there a lot of other kids her age? My 11 year old is very social and really needs other kids around to have fun. What kinds of activities did they do with the 10-12 year olds? I've heard they will combine the age groups in activities if there are not a lot of kids on board.

[oldsouthcruisingfamily]

Our daughter (age 9) sailed with us in January & very much enjoyed the Splash Academy.

 

My advice is to register during their open house on the first day, because they have extra staff available to guide you through the process, and since there were no kids currently in the program, registration was their only focus. There was a (short) lineup, but it went fast because there were 3-4 staff just working on registrations. I saw several people registering during the week when we were dropping our daughter off & they had to wait for longer for someone to become free and leave the Splash Academy to register them (Splash Academy is a "parent free zone").

 

Our daughters favourite thing (aside from hanging with other kids her age) were the themes they worked with each day (Survivor, Pirates, etc.) and her favourite overall event was the Circus show that the whole Splash Academy put on for the parents (on the big stage in the theatre - very exciting for them).

 

One thing I might suggest that's worked well for us in the past is to post on your cruises Roll Call, asking if there are others on board the same age as your kids. When there are, we generally start a little email conversation between the kids in advance so they can introduce themselves, talk a bit about their favourite things, and exchange school pictures - it helps the kids get excited during the planning stage, and they can board already looking forward to the new friends they know they'll meet in Splash Academy (helps a bit with separation anxiety for kids that experience it too).

 

Hope that helps - have a great cruise!

[bigAWL]

Our daughter (age 9) sailed with us in January & very much enjoyed the Splash Academy.

 

My advice is to register during their open house on the first day, because they have extra staff available to guide you through the process, and since there were no kids currently in the program, registration was their only focus. There was a (short) lineup, but it went fast because there were 3-4 staff just working on registrations. I saw several people registering during the week when we were dropping our daughter off & they had to wait for longer for someone to become free and leave the Splash Academy to register them (Splash Academy is a "parent free zone").

 

Our daughters favourite thing (aside from hanging with other kids her age) were the themes they worked with each day (Survivor, Pirates, etc.) and her favourite overall event was the Circus show that the whole Splash Academy put on for the parents (on the big stage in the theatre - very exciting for them).

 

One thing I might suggest that's worked well for us in the past is to post on your cruises Roll Call, asking if there are others on board the same age as your kids. When there are, we generally start a little email conversation between the kids in advance so they can introduce themselves, talk a bit about their favourite things, and exchange school pictures - it helps the kids get excited during the planning stage, and they can board already looking forward to the new friends they know they'll meet in Splash Academy (helps a bit with separation anxiety for kids that experience it too).

 

Hope that helps - have a great cruise!

 

Thanks for your feedback. My daughter is a performer, so maybe she will get excited about the circus. We certainly like the idea of getting in touch with other kids through the roll call threads. We've done that before while cruising on Disney. But of course Disney will always have a bunch of children of all ages. This is our kids' first time on another cruise line, and the current roll call only has a couple teenage boys so far.

 

In a "worst case" scenario, we'll just spend more time as a family and find things to do together on board.

[tikkas]

Thanks for your feedback. My daughter is a performer, so maybe she will get excited about the circus. We certainly like the idea of getting in touch with other kids through the roll call threads. We've done that before while cruising on Disney. But of course Disney will always have a bunch of children of all ages. This is our kids' first time on another cruise line, and the current roll call only has a couple teenage boys so far.

 

In a "worst case" scenario, we'll just spend more time as a family and find things to do together on board.

 

Don't worry about your daughter making friends - after the first day, our daughters had already set a time for the next day to meet with some friends in the children's pool.