Kids Club Tips?

[Specially_K]

We're booked for a spring break cruise on the Jewel to the Mexican Riviera on April 9. We have a 12- and 9-year old. This is our first NCL cruise - but have taken smaller ships on Carnival and RCI in the past.

 

I am beginning to think we may have chosen the wrong cruise line. :confused: I don't really see much about the kids clubs - except that it has a circus theme. :eek: This doesn't seem to make me feel great about my choice.

 

Anybody have an experience with children on NCL - especially their older Jewel class ships. Any tips?

 

Thanks!

[Block island]

Weve done NCL many times....only once with my than 3 year old. She loved it.

Our last few cruises have been on DCL - this will be a huge switch for us... I hope my daughter likes it just as much.

[SunnyKitty]

we have taken 4 NCL cruises and kids loved club 3 times out of 4.

4th time it was during school break and it was way to crowded

 

they did circus ( learned a lot - juggling, spinning plates .. i purchased it for home later )

they also had sports and treasure hunts and other stuff.

 

we also tried Carnival and RCL - it was not better ... last RCL cruise actually club was much less organized, not so many fun activities + it had many non-english speaking kids which made it harder to play

 

I think you gonna be fine :)

[mousecrazy]

My kids have been cruising with NCL for over 10 years. They loved each and every cruise at every age! You're going during spring break, so there will be lots of kids on board..which is a great thing for your kids! My kids loved making friends with other kids from all over the country and world. And the counselors keep things interesting and make sure everyone is included. I wouldn't be put off by the "circus" theme. The older kids are led through age appropriate activities. It's really important that your kids attend the "Kids Club" on the first night...this is when they do all the "ice breaking" activities and week long friendships are formed. :)

 

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

[Specially_K]

Thanks. This makes me feel a bit better about the kids club. Any tips that past NCL cruisers have would be appreciated as well. :)

[bronxboy683]

we will be on the same cruise me, john wifey.. yang and son john 11 yo. we have been on the star with john 4 times(same class of ship) he always enjoys the kids play place.. the young people that work there have always been nice , friendly, and helpful/..have you looked at the roll call for the cruise. there are quite a few people in total, and a number of chldren.

[Sotermarler]

My DS did the kids club on the Jade last November and I couldn't drag him away from it. He loved all the different theme nights and activities. He even wanted to go early to practice his circus act each day.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sns1009]

My son, now almost 10, has been on 5 cruises all on NCL. He has loved the kids club every single time. They take the kids to the sports court and play fun games during the day. They have a different theme each night. A few weeks ago on the Pearl, he had a pirate night, mission impossible night, wacky tacky night, movie star night, pajama night with a pillow fight and 2 others that I can't remember. They play lots of action games and did board games too. The circus stuff is usually during the day and they can learn lots of fun stuff. Then one afternoon on a sea day they can perform for parents if they choose. There were kid friendly movies some late nights in the atrium, a balloon animal making lesson, arts and crafts and a magic show in the main theater was really fun.

 

We've never been on any other cruise line so I can't compare but we've always been very happy with NCL. Please let me know if you have any other questions :)

[merleebird]

My 12 year old son hated the kids club but my 10 year old daughter loved it. Hence why our next cruise is in 2019 so they can both go to the teen club.

 

We're booked for a spring break cruise on the Jewel to the Mexican Riviera on April 9. We have a 12- and 9-year old. This is our first NCL cruise - but have taken smaller ships on Carnival and RCI in the past.

 

I am beginning to think we may have chosen the wrong cruise line. :confused: I don't really see much about the kids clubs - except that it has a circus theme. :eek: This doesn't seem to make me feel great about my choice.

 

Anybody have an experience with children on NCL - especially their older Jewel class ships. Any tips?

 

Thanks!

[SuperMommy]

My kids have been on five NCL cruises aged 4, 5 and 7 to now 8, 9 and 11. They LOVE it. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! Some ships there have been less than 100 kids and others more than 600 and on the Jewel size sip even over spring break your kids will have a blast. If it is a full cruise you will want to make sure you are at SA earlier rather than later as it could fill to capacity for a session. This has never happened to us but I've read where it has to others. Be sure to pack CLOSED toed shoes for when they take the kids to the sports court and put sunscreen them before you drop them off. A baseball hat and sunglasses might help too. My kids love the circus tricks and we know own several pieces of equipment thanks to amazon.com. I would say NCL treats Splash Academy as providing your children with their own vacation rather than just babysitting or entertaining them during part of your vacation. There will be a different theme night each night of the cruise and a pirate parade that is super cute and fun. The last night is usually a pj party. We let our oldest stay for "late night" one night ($6 per hour I think) and she loved that she got special time in SA when her younger siblings had to go back to the room to bed. We tried to get our kids to eat dinner with us every night in the dining room and we finally realized it was just easier to let them eat at the buffet, drop them off at SA and then enjoy our own meal in the MDR. The only thing I wish they would do is pick kids up from the main dining rooms to take them to SA for us. You'll get a schedule on the first day and then we have the kids pick the times they really want to go for activities and then we do our own family things outside of those times. ENJOY!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sotermarler]

Do they ever change the programs? My DS did the circus, pirate, movie theme already last year. Will it be exactly the same again this year?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sns1009]

Do they ever change the programs? My DS did the circus, pirate, movie theme already last year. Will it be exactly the same again this year?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Nope, we've done 5 NCL cruises and just about the exact same every time.

[Funinthesuntexan]

Cool

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Jessica60]

Hi, I'm looking for advice.

You mention to get into the kids club on the first night for introductions. Do you mean that the first night is the actual day you embark or the sailing day? Only ask because we have booked the circus for the evening on first sailing day.

Also what times are the clubs?

Many thanks

[JLY Girl]

Hi, I'm looking for advice.

You mention to get into the kids club on the first night for introductions. Do you mean that the first night is the actual day you embark or the sailing day? Only ask because we have booked the circus for the evening on first sailing day.

Also what times are the clubs?

Many thanks

We were just on the Breakaway, so I'm not sure if it'll be the same, but on the first afternoon/night of sailaway day (before the actual drop off program started at 8pm that evening), there was a Family Social for both the parents and kids. It was held in the Bliss Lounge (not the usual Splash Academy location), and I wish we had gone and stayed longer. My kids didn't really like the Splash Academy program, and I think if we had gone with them to the social/introduction to help them get use to the leaders and other kids, maybe they would have taken to the program more.

 

On our cruise, SA was open from 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10:30 on Sea Days, with optional late night programming til 1:30am ($6 for first child, $4 for additional siblings). On port days, they offered meal supervision as well for an additional fee ($6/child to take the kids to O'Sheehan's).

[Jessica60]

Thank you very much for the reply. Those meeting times seem quite late. That's my bedtime. :D

[Sotermarler]

Nope, we've done 5 NCL cruises and just about the exact same every time.

 

 

That's a bit disappointing. I'm sure after a couple trips this gets old for the kids. It would be nice if they changed it up a little each year.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[mortega]

Hi - We just go back from he cruise you are taking. My kids are 8(girl) and 10(boy). They hated splash academy. When acting up we just had to threaten them with taking them the there. Both my kids are a bit shy at first, but then are pretty social. My son has adhd - combined type so that means only a little hyper. He said it was mainly 12 year olds in there, and there are a lot of groups, so say brothers or cousins or friends in the same group, so no incentive to make new friends. My daughter made friends in the pool area. She didn't like kids program because kids were yelled at. She said it was a guy named Moose. She said it well. "I am a good girl, I am quiet in school and pay attention. But I am us a kid on vacation and I dont want to listen to talking and talking from teachers. I am just a kid on vacation." I asked her if it was o explain directions, and she said yes, but they talked too much and was boring. Other kids I asked on board said similar things. - Oh and the video games...year $1 EACH. Stupid. They will nickle and dime you for everything. I swear they would sell you mexican ocean water in a bottle for $25. - Overall my kids liked it! But my husband and I didn't get extended time alone.

[Mamaoftwocruisee]

I'm going on the NCL Gem leaving from NYC in two weeks. This will be my second cruise with kids but first time they will be eligible (at least my older one who is 4.5 yo) to actually do the kids club.

 

I did the kids club myself on my first cruise which was Carnival "back in the day" when I was 13 and I LOVED it. I made some great friends and eventually the gang of us started hanging out outside of the club and stayed in touch after the cruise.

Being a teacher now I can see the importance of good staff to lead the groups. I am disappointed that my daughter won't be able to be in the same group as her 7-yo cousin, but I understand why they do that, to keep the activities age-appropriate. This way they will also make new friends.

I'm crossing my fingers that they get "good counselors"

 

Cautious optimism: the name of the game when vacationing with kids [emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cb at sea]

The kids LOVE it...the ages are appropriate activities....go the 1st night, when everyone is "new".

[newmexicoNita]

Hi - We just go back from he cruise you are taking. My kids are 8(girl) and 10(boy). They hated splash academy. When acting up we just had to threaten them with taking them the there. Both my kids are a bit shy at first, but then are pretty social. My son has adhd - combined type so that means only a little hyper. He said it was mainly 12 year olds in there, and there are a lot of groups, so say brothers or cousins or friends in the same group, so no incentive to make new friends. My daughter made friends in the pool area. She didn't like kids program because kids were yelled at. She said it was a guy named Moose. She said it well. "I am a good girl, I am quiet in school and pay attention. But I am us a kid on vacation and I dont want to listen to talking and talking from teachers. I am just a kid on vacation." I asked her if it was o explain directions, and she said yes, but they talked too much and was boring. Other kids I asked on board said similar things. - Oh and the video games...year $1 EACH. Stupid. They will nickle and dime you for everything. I swear they would sell you mexican ocean water in a bottle for $25. - Overall my kids liked it! But my husband and I didn't get extended time alone.

it is obvious from all your postings you did not find much to like about NCL. I have no idea what kids you talked to, but I have never spoken with a single parent or kid that didn't like the program. i had a few parents tell us they had trouble getting th kids to spend time with them: they all wanted to go to kids club; :rolleyes:

[Minneapolistraveler]

My kids (8,8 and 12) LOVE the kids club. As previous posters suggested, we got there the first night to get signed up and so the kids could get acquainted and meet the other kids. They do an excellent job of being inclusive to all of the kids and encouraging them to participate as much as they want to. One of my sons is super shy and eventually came out of his shell and loved it. I hope it works out for you as well. Happy cruising!

[urahoho]

Weve done NCL many times....only once with my than 3 year old. She loved it.

Our last few cruises have been on DCL - this will be a huge switch for us... I hope my daughter likes it just as much.

 

How was it cruising with your 3 year old? We are going next year and my son will be 3.5. Did you leave them at the kids club and everything was taken care of?

[Kfamilycruise]

it is obvious from all your postings you did not find much to like about NCL. I have no idea what kids you talked to, but I have never spoken with a single parent or kid that didn't like the program. i had a few parents tell us they had trouble getting th kids to spend time with them: they all wanted to go to kids club; :rolleyes:

 

 

This. I only see my kids at meal time and breaks of when clubs are closed. They love it!

[BrewPubby]

Can kids bring snacks or drinks into the kids club?