sjgertz Posted January 10, 2018 #1 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Seriously looking at a cruise from June 23-July 7. Daughter turns 8 July 12. From what I'm reading she will have to be in the 3-7 yo age group with no chance of the 8-12 yo group? Can anyone confirm what happened to them in a similar situation? I also perceive there will be very few children on this cruise how often are all the age groups combined in one big group which would make it a moot point? Not ready to listen to my almost 8 yo whine for two weeks that she is in the "baby" group (not that i won't just tell her to suck it up:)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted January 11, 2018 #2 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (OP is looking at Sapphire Princess Midnight Sun cruise...)..EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted January 11, 2018 #3 Share Posted January 11, 2018 We sailed on Princess during the school year when there were 9 kids on board (10 day sailing to Panama Canal). They didn't really have any sort of formal age grouping on this sailing. Kids clubs are less likely to move a child up than down, but are often more flexible on emptier cruises. You can call princess and they might tell you the number of children on the cruise. During the summer there might be a lot of kids, unless it is a long cruise to destinations that don't usually attract a lot of families. Unfortunately, I don't think there is any way for you to know for certain ahead of time if there will be age groups or if they would let her move so you might want to prepare her for the possibility of needing to be in the 3-7 year old group. Best of luck and I hope it all works out. My kids loved Norway by the way - its a wonderful cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonap Posted January 11, 2018 #4 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Like Kitkat343, we sailed when there were fewer than a dozen kids last year on our late-August Alaska cruise. Given so few kids, they just mixed all the kids together and from what I could tell and hear from my daughter, everyone generally played well together and the crew let the kids help guide the days' activities. That said, I was told by one of the Kids club crew members that when there are more kids on a more typical sailing, the age groupings are more strictly enforced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjgertz Posted January 11, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Thanks all. I've booked the cruise and she will just have to deal with whatever comes. I haven't actually told her anything because dependent upon the age of other girls on the boat it may or may not even be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted January 11, 2018 #6 Share Posted January 11, 2018 I wouldn't say a thing to your daughter, but I'd tell the counselor that your child will be 8 in a week...if they feel it's proper, they'll ask YOU if they can move her up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athankfulheart Posted January 12, 2018 #7 Share Posted January 12, 2018 I wouldnt blame her for feeling like she was in the baby group. Sometimes I feel like grouping 2-5 isnt ideal but up to 7 certainly isnt. Maybe you can join some roll calls here at CC and on other social media sites. This way you might be able to network with other families who might also be wondering if there will be 7yos on the cruise. Sent from my SM-N920V using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkacmom Posted January 12, 2018 #8 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Why do you think there won’t be a lot of kids on a summer cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted January 12, 2018 #9 Share Posted January 12, 2018 (edited) Why do you think there won’t be a lot of kids on a summer cruise?It's a good question - the second post noted that this is a 14 day cruise to Norway. I think cruises to Norway are generally quite popular with families, but I wonder if they'd tend to do the shorter 7-8 day ones to Geiranger (easy access to gorgeous fjords) and Flam (amazing railway) than this one, which is longer and travels further to the North than the fjord cruises. I suggested they call Princess to ask about the numbers, since I agree with your concern that any cruise to Norway over the summer might have larger numbers of children. Our Baltic cruise in August was filled with kids, but was only 9 days. Our Norway cruise was shorter but in May, so there were only about 30 kids on board. Edited January 12, 2018 by kitkat343 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjgertz Posted January 12, 2018 Author #10 Share Posted January 12, 2018 I think there won't be a lot of kids for two reasons 1. Similar itinerary on HAL (prinsendam) had 0 kids booked, dates were similar and 2. The roll call for the cruise is super active with only a few adolescents in it no school age kids. When I called princess they were not able to tell me how many kids were booked. I think the length and the itinerary are not the most popular for families though the dates are certainly right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted January 12, 2018 #11 Share Posted January 12, 2018 That's a lot of good reasons to assume the numbers will be low, and therefore your problem is likely to be solved. The only thing I'd note is that I think Prinsdam is the only HAL ship that lacks a kids club, but if the role call is active the families probably took the shorter trip to the fjord. I hope you have a nice trip - Norway is gorgeous and your child is at a great age to appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjgertz Posted April 23, 2018 Author #12 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Called Princess today and found out there are 6 kids ages 3-7 on our sailing. I will now stop worrying about the age divisions in the kids club since they will run as one big club with that few kids and start worrying about if they even run it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted April 24, 2018 #13 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I'm glad it all worked out for you! Norway is incredible with kids, and I hope you have a wonderful time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjgertz Posted July 23, 2018 Author #14 Share Posted July 23, 2018 https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=627062 Link to my review for future cruisers trying to answer these questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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