Aquanauts

[lmp29]

Will my 35 month old granddaughter be able to be in the Aquanauts room since she is completely potty-trained?  I have seen postings about children that are more than 3 that aren't potty-trained and know that they are not allowed, but my granddaughter will be one-month shy of her 3rd birthday when we cruise and she will have been completely toilet-trained for 8-9 months before our trip.  has anyone experienced this?  thanks for the help.

[Ashland]

Policy does say 36 months (potty trained) of age (based) on the first day of sailing...If they will make an exception to allow her in it will be entirely up to the onboard staff at AO Aquanauts and may be based on number of onboard eligible to participate.

No way to give you a guaranteed answer but good luck.

[starvenger]

2 hours ago, lmp29 said:

Will my 35 month old granddaughter be able to be in the Aquanauts room since she is completely potty-trained?  I have seen postings about children that are more than 3 that aren't potty-trained and know that they are not allowed, but my granddaughter will be one-month shy of her 3rd birthday when we cruise and she will have been completely toilet-trained for 8-9 months before our trip.  has anyone experienced this?  thanks for the help.

 

From personal experience we were on Allure in 2013, about 1-2 weeks away from my younger one's 3rd birthday. Similar to your gd she was completely potty trained so no issues there. Perhaps different from your scenario my older daughter was 5 at the time, so would be in the Aquanauts group with her sister.

 

Anyway, staff was skeptical, but they agreed to let her try and gave me a phone in case there were any emergencies. After the first day and a half, I didn't need a phone anymore as they loved having the younger one around.

 

Lesson learned - go to Adventure Ocean and ask! Worst that can happen is that they say no.

[lmp29]

thank you for your responses.  I will pass along the information to my son and daughter-in-law.  There are 12 adults and my granddaughter that is in the group that is traveling so I know that we will be fine "passing her around" for the most part, but between the fact that she likes to be social as she usually go to daycare (where she is placed in the older child group since she is potty-trained), and wanting perhaps one night for the whole group to go to the comedy show together, I was hoping that Aquanauts was an option.  If not, I'm sure we can explore the option of the nursery.

 

thanks again!

[starvenger]

Just an addition word of advice - I'd let her try it out as soon as possible. That way you can quickly figure out whether she can stay in the club or not.

 

And if they let her stay, maybe she likes it so much that you can drop her off there more than just the one time.

[Ashland]

Yes...check out your option once onboard at their open house before sail away. If she can only go to the Nursery sign her up as only a limited number of space is available. Best of luck.

[GarlicBread]

Depending on numbers onbaord, most managers I've met would ask for a three hour session in the nursery first (the length of an AO session), maybe less, so the nursery staff can assess communication, concentration, skills and toileting first and then agree to the bump up or not. 

Even if  bumped up, it's never a permanent guarantee. One accident or if they're unable to follow the session, and they're bumped back down.

[OSUZorba]

If you are really only going to use it one night, the nursery would probably be just fine. It is definitely targeted for younger toddlers, but for late night comedy she'd likely have the run of the place. My DD always loved it, but was only 18 mo on her last cruise.

 

You can also checkout toys from the nursery for the room as an FYI.

[cello56]

From what I understand there is ZERO wiggle room on the minimum age for Adventure Ocean. Their insurance is for children ages 3 and up. Not 'almost' 3 and up.

[lmp29]

thanks for all the information!  

 

[moteguy]

On 3/30/2019 at 12:41 PM, cello56 said:

From what I understand there is ZERO wiggle room on the minimum age for Adventure Ocean. Their insurance is for children ages 3 and up. Not 'almost' 3 and up.

 

This is incorrect information and I don't believe you should listen to her.  She has stated this on several posts and she is wrong.  The insurance statement is such a hall monitor answer that has no basis in fact.   

 

Now that doesn't mean that you will get to do it.  It really depends on the crew on board the ship.  I know this from past experiences.   Good luck to you.  I hope they will let her in.  She will enjoy the cruise so much more, but if she doesn't she will still have a great time.  

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, moteguy said:

 

This is incorrect information and I don't believe you should listen to her.  She has stated this on several posts and she is wrong.  The insurance statement is such a hall monitor answer that has no basis in fact.   

 

Now that doesn't mean that you will get to do it.  It really depends on the crew on board the ship.  I know this from past experiences.   Good luck to you.  I hope they will let her in.  She will enjoy the cruise so much more, but if she doesn't she will still have a great time.  

Welcome to posting on CC.

[starvenger]

 

4 hours ago, moteguy said:

 

This is incorrect information and I don't believe you should listen to her.  She has stated this on several posts and she is wrong.  The insurance statement is such a hall monitor answer that has no basis in fact.   

 

Agreed. 

 

To be honest, seeing that my personal experience directly contradicted this zero wiggle room nonsense I didn't feel the need to say anything - it kind of speaks for itself. 

[rimmit]

Many ships have zero wiggle room,  even on cruises with minimal kids.  (I have seen many denied when there are less than 10 kids on board the WHOLE SHIP).  And I always feel bad when parents ask and get denied, But there are Case reports as listed above that show that it is possible.   Ultimately there is a nursery on most RCI ships these days and that is where they tell most the almost 3 year olds to go.  Never hurts to ask,  but ultimately it is up to them to decide.  I’d say it’s a 95% chance of not being allowed,  but again there are case reports on CC of them being allowed.

 

If it is a kids heavy sailing the chance drops to nearly zero of being allowed.

[1992cruiser]

My oldest daughter was 2 weeks away from her 3rd bday and while they sympathized with us, they said the 3-5’s was too busy. This was on Oasis two years ago. We have a similar situation coming up this fall on symphony. Next daughter will be a month shy of 3, hoping because she will have an older sister, they will allow the move up. 

[starvenger]

49 minutes ago, rimmit said:

Many ships have zero wiggle room,  even on cruises with minimal kids.  (I have seen many denied when there are less than 10 kids on board the WHOLE SHIP).  And I always feel bad when parents ask and get denied, But there are Case reports as listed above that show that it is possible.   Ultimately there is a nursery on most RCI ships these days and that is where they tell most the almost 3 year olds to go.  Never hurts to ask,  but ultimately it is up to them to decide.  I’d say it’s a 95% chance of not being allowed,  but again there are case reports on CC of them being allowed.

 

If it is a kids heavy sailing the chance drops to nearly zero of being allowed.

 

Now this explanation I can buy into. It’s always going to be a judgement call on the part of the AO staff, but it will always be a hard “no” if you don’t ask.

[lmp29]

sail this weekend, and will let everyone know what happens with this....

 

thanks for the helpful responses!