Birthday mid cruise - kids club

[jonbrealey]

We looking at booking a cruise with RC on 6th August 2016 on Oasis of the Seas. I have 3 girls who at the time of sailing will be 4, 10 and 11. My eldest would turn 12 on 9th August a few days in. Do you know what would happen from a kids club point of view? I think from the booking conditions it seems that she is classed as 11 for the whole cruise. Equally I'm concerned that she may be ready for the teen (12 - 14) activities by this point.

 

We have been on a cruise for her Birthday for the last couple of years, but always with Disney and they are quite flexible.

 

Does anyone have any experience of this issue? It's not a deal breaker for us, I just wondered.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Jonathan

[cb at sea]

It's possible she could be moved up....I mean, it's not unheard of. Just talk to the counselor's and see what they think.

[gerif]

My thought is that by mid-cruise she will have formed friendships with others in her group and might not want to go into a strange group who have also formed friendships with one another and might not be too welcoming toward a younger newcomer. But, if it's important, you can always ask.

[serene56]

Personally- if you can keep her in the younger age group it will be more beneficial. The next age group is teens who think they are too cool for programing and you will see they tend to hang out with each other instead.

[PattyW]

We had an 8 year old turn 9 mid cruise last year. They let us pick which group to have him in. Not even a little bit of an issue.

 

I think that you and your child should make the decision about whether she would like to be in the older group or the younger group before you even get on the ship (knowing if you choose older, they could say no, but they probably won't). Those are two very different groups and I'm sure she'll have a definite opinion as to which would be more enjoyable for her.

 

Then talk to the counselors during sign up and have your child start with her preferred group.

 

There's a reason the programming changes at 12 - most kids are just too old for the structured kids club of the younger age groups. On last year's cruise we had the kid who turned 9 on the cruise and an 11 year old. The 8/9 year old loved the 9-11 kids club, the 11 year old (who had loved all previous kids clubs) just wasn't into it. I think she had outgrown it, and she's the oldest in our family and usually "young" as far as interests go for her age. I always thought I would panic when she switched to the teen group, but after last year's experience, I see that RCCL knows what it's doing and that it shifts the programming when they are ready.

Edited May 6, 2015 by PattyW

[jonbrealey]

Thank you everyone, that's really helpful :)

 

Jonathan

[galavant3]

Personally- if you can keep her in the younger age group it will be more beneficial. The next age group is teens who think they are too cool for programing and you will see they tend to hang out with each other instead.

 

Very good point! My kids are older now but we found them to be flexible about grouping. However Serene56 makes a valid point. That's been our experience also.