Adventure Ocean Questions

[BNL62]

Hi Everyone! We are taking a family cruise on the January 31st sailing on Freedom of the Seas. My sister’s family with 6 children (3, 6, 9, 11, 14, and 16) will be part of the group and none of us have cruised with kids before so we have some questions. I have searched through many previous posts but have not quite found all of the answers.

 

1- I understand Adventure Ocean closes during the day so the kids will eat lunch with their family. Do they serve snacks and drinks while they are in session? Are the lunch options (Lunch and Play) only on port days and are they an extra fee?

2- My sister isn’t sure yet about getting soda packages for the kids (doesn’t want them to overdo it). What drinks would be available to them while they are in AO? Do they require a drink package?

3- How does the sea pass work for kids? If they don’t have a drink package, are they able to order unlimited soda on their own or is there a restriction that can be put on the card? The older kids don’t drink soda so the concern is really with the 11 and under group.

4- Is the My Family Dining only available with the traditional early seating? We are currently set up with My Time Dining. Can we have the kids finish by 6:45 or whatever meeting time and walk them over to the AO greeters even though we aren’t part of the traditional dining service?

5- How does Adventure Dining work? Is it only offered on limited nights or every night?

 

Thank you all for your help and input! If you have any other great advice for cruising with kids, please feel free to pass that along too!

[gen259]

I would love answers to some of these too. I'm cruising in less than a month with 3,3 and 18 months.

[RSLeesburg]

Hi Everyone! We are taking a family cruise on the January 31st sailing on Freedom of the Seas. My sister’s family with 6 children (3, 6, 9, 11, 14, and 16) will be part of the group and none of us have cruised with kids before so we have some questions. I have searched through many previous posts but have not quite found all of the answers.

 

1- I understand Adventure Ocean closes during the day so the kids will eat lunch with their family. Do they serve snacks and drinks while they are in session? Are the lunch options (Lunch and Play) only on port days and are they an extra fee?

During sea days, AO is open from 9am to noon, 2pm to 5pm, and 7pm to 10pm for free; it is also open from 10pm to 2am for an hourly fee. On port days, AO is open 30 minutes before the first RCI-sponsored excursion and 30 minutes after the last excursion returns. If this covers lunchtime, I believe that the AO staff take the kids over to Windjammer for lunch. I think they bring it back to AO to eat. This is free of charge. In addition, each night (although this may vary from ship to ship), they have Adventure Dining. This is usually scheduled for 5pm to 7pm. Parents drop kids off at AO, and the councilors take them to WJ for dinner. On Grandeur, they had a special area roped off for the AO kids. After dinner, the councilors take the kids back to AO for the evening.

 

2- My sister isn’t sure yet about getting soda packages for the kids (doesn’t want them to overdo it). What drinks would be available to them while they are in AO? Do they require a drink package?

Technically, no - there are no drinks per se in the kids club. However, kids 8 and up can be given permission to sign themselves in and out of club, so these kids could sign out and go grab a drink. The soda package gives you a cup that works at the freestyle machines, and a sticker on the sea pass card, which can be used at the bars and/or with servers. There are free drinks available - milk, ice tea, flavored water, water at various places, so if kids will drink this, then you may want to hold off on a soda package. I am not sure what they do if a kid gets thirsty in the club, maybe just give them a cup of water. I will have to ask my son...lol

 

3- How does the sea pass work for kids? If they don’t have a drink package, are they able to order unlimited soda on their own or is there a restriction that can be put on the card? The older kids don’t drink soda so the concern is really with the 11 and under group.

This is up to you - you can set limits on how much kids can spend on the sea pass cards, or set them up to have no charging privileges - BUT, neither works very well, so you need to check these daily (which you can do on your TV in your cabin). I would go to Guest Services and setup limits on the kids cards, and then just monitor them each night.

 

4- Is the My Family Dining only available with the traditional early seating? We are currently set up with My Time Dining. Can we have the kids finish by 6:45 or whatever meeting time and walk them over to the AO greeters even though we aren’t part of the traditional dining service?

My Family Time Dining is early seating only, and works exactly as you describe. I am not sure if you can just show up if you are not part of MFTD. It is possible, but you should ask the councilors. I think they want you to register with MFTD, so they know how many children they will be picking up, and so the wait staff know which tables need rush service for the kids. We signed up for this our first cruise, and ended up eating at WJ most nights as our son hated the MDR - too many people, too noisy, too overwhelming, but he was only 3. We found it was just as easy to eat at WJ and then drop him off at AO afterwards. A few nights we let him eat, and we went to one of the specialty restaurants afterwards

 

5- How does Adventure Dining work? Is it only offered on limited nights or every night?

On our last cruise on Grandeur, it was offered every night. But, you need to register with AO staff each night, so they know how many kids will be coming. I think on Freedom, they take the kids to Johnny Rockets one night but this costs some money

 

Thank you all for your help and input! If you have any other great advice for cruising with kids, please feel free to pass that along too!

 

Hope this helps - comments above in RED

[RSLeesburg]

I would love answers to some of these too. I'm cruising in less than a month with 3,3 and 18 months.

For the little one, the nursery will feed the children but I think you need to provide the food for them.

[cb at sea]

Unless the kids are old enough to go around the ship on their own, YOU will be keeping their seapass...they don't need to carry it if they are with you! (for the 3, 6 and maybe the 9 year old)

 

Ice water is avail. in the club...that's all they need, if thirsty!

[BNL62]

Thank you RSLeesburg and CB at sea! I really appreciate your help! My sister is a little nervous about the kids so I think this info will help her relax a little so she can start looking forward to the cruise!

[wishtdream]

I found the kids compasses in a google search http://issuu.com/hochmania/docs/adventure_ocean_and_teen_activities/22?e=2025714/12310506

 

Many of your questions about activities hours and meal times can be answered by reading them.

 

In my experience, the kids have been offered water, fruit and cookies in the kids club. Your experience may differ. I would ask the counselors when I toured the club on the first day.The children usually wear their sea pass on a lanyard around their neck when in attendance at AO. If they have a soda endorsement on the card they may be offered soda.

[Vs1023]

If for some reason they do have a drink package (for the older kids) I remember there being a Freestyle machine right outside AO in the arcade so they wouldn't have to go far.

[BNL62]

Thank you for the information Wishtdream and Vs1023. The kids are actually my niece and nephews and their mother hasn't decided yet if any of the kids will be getting a drink package. I'm just doing the research for my sister as I have a little more down time than her!:)

 

This may be a silly question, but we would need to supply the lanyards if she wants the kids to wear their sea pass cards, right? Or will AO provide them?

 

Thank you all again for your help!

[RSLeesburg]

Thank you for the information Wishtdream and Vs1023. The kids are actually my niece and nephews and their mother hasn't decided yet if any of the kids will be getting a drink package. I'm just doing the research for my sister as I have a little more down time than her!:)

 

 

 

This may be a silly question, but we would need to supply the lanyards if she wants the kids to wear their sea pass cards, right? Or will AO provide them?

 

 

 

Thank you all again for your help!

 

 

AO will provide them, although my son broke two of these during our last cruise... They are built to snap open, and the plastic snap easily breaks.

[nt13]

I was told by an RCCL phone agent that you can use My Family Time Dining with My Time Dining. They pick the kids up at the entrance of the dining room at a set time, so as long as you have them there by that time, it doesn't matter if you use early seating or My Time Dining. This contradicts what I have read and heard others say, but makes sense, so I guess I will have to wait and see when we get on board.

[BNL62]

AO will provide them, although my son broke two of these during our last cruise... They are built to snap open, and the plastic snap easily breaks.

 

Good to know! Thank you for your help!

[BNL62]

I was told by an RCCL phone agent that you can use My Family Time Dining with My Time Dining. They pick the kids up at the entrance of the dining room at a set time, so as long as you have them there by that time, it doesn't matter if you use early seating or My Time Dining. This contradicts what I have read and heard others say, but makes sense, so I guess I will have to wait and see when we get on board.

 

Thank you for the info. I actually just finished talking with an agent from RCI because I had some other questions and asked about this as well. All she did was read the website and tell me that MFTD was not available unless we did the early traditional seating but I agree with you, as long as the kids are finished eating on time and walked to the entrance (and signed up for the program) you would think should be able to participate. The agent was also telling me that Adventure Dining and MFTD were the same thing and they aren't so I don't put a lot of stock in her answers. I guess we will see what they allow once we board the ship.

[nt13]

Yes there seems to be come confusion about this! Hopefully it will work out for us.

 

 

Sent from my phone so typing may be suspect

[RSLeesburg]

The best advice is to talk to AO staff during the registration / open house on boarding day. Tell them that you want your kids picked up for MFTD, and just verify where and when they pick up the kids, and it also does not hurt to notify the AO staff each morning if you will be using pickup, so if you are running late, they will wait a bit for you.

[Vs1023]

The best advice is to talk to AO staff during the registration / open house on boarding day. Tell them that you want your kids picked up for MFTD, and just verify where and when they pick up the kids, and it also does not hurt to notify the AO staff each morning if you will be using pickup, so if you are running late, they will wait a bit for you.

 

Agree with this. Also if they're in the kids club during a certain time frame the staff can bring them to the wind jammer for dinner. My 10 year old did this 2 nights on Oasis. We dropped her off by 5 and she stayed there and went to dinner with everyone. She told me they didn't use the elevators and walked there.

[RSLeesburg]

Agree with this. Also if they're in the kids club during a certain time frame the staff can bring them to the wind jammer for dinner. My 10 year old did this 2 nights on Oasis. We dropped her off by 5 and she stayed there and went to dinner with everyone. She told me they didn't use the elevators and walked there.

 

 

Am on Freedom now, and can confirm that you do not need to be in My Family Time Dining to have kids picked up, but you do need to register for pickup service. On our sailing, early dining starts at 5:30pm and pickup at MDR is at 6:30pm. Also, Adventure Dining requires registration by 3pm, and kids are dropped off at 5:15pm. The staff takes them to WJ and then to club. Finally, evening session is starting at 6:45pm and runs until 10pm. This is actually a huge improvement as the early show starts at 7pm, and if you are first ones at drop off, you can make it to the show with time to spare :).

[BNL62]

Am on Freedom now, and can confirm that you do not need to be in My Family Time Dining to have kids picked up, but you do need to register for pickup service. On our sailing, early dining starts at 5:30pm and pickup at MDR is at 6:30pm. Also, Adventure Dining requires registration by 3pm, and kids are dropped off at 5:15pm. The staff takes them to WJ and then to club. Finally, evening session is starting at 6:45pm and runs until 10pm. This is actually a huge improvement as the early show starts at 7pm, and if you are first ones at drop off, you can make it to the show with time to spare :).

 

Thank you so much for confirming this for us!! I hope you are enjoying your cruise!!

[nt13]

Just back and can confirm you can use my family time dining with either main seating or with my time, so long as they are at the dining room entrance at 6:30. Our kids loved Adventure Ocean! Have fun!

 

 

Sent from my phone so typing may be suspect