Kids' Club

[Stikman]

We've done multiple Princess cruises, but this last one was the first time we took our kids (ages 5, 8, and almost 11). Before taking our kids on Princess, we looked for info about their kids' programs but only found general reviews. So... in light of that... for any other first time parent Princes cruisers out there, I wanted to upload a copy of the kid's activity patter. One caveat is that our cruise was a 12 day one to Alaska (RT Los Angeles) on the Ruby Princess with only 42 kids in the 3-12 year old age group! So our experience may not be totally normal, and it seems they didn't do some of the activities I had heard about in the past or even some of the activities on the patter (due to lack of kid attendance). 

 

Bottom line is that all the kids had a ton of fun, loved the kid's club. The younger group did a lot of the activities, but the older group did a lot of PS4/Nintendo Switch playing since only ever 5-10 kids in there. They mostly went in the afternoon and on some evenings, since we spent family time too! They did also really enjoy the more family type activities onboard (games in piazza, comedian, magician, shows, etc), the heated pool, and all the food options!

 

If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer.

Princess_KidsClub.pdf

[Dani24]

Thank you so much for sharing! We're doing the 10 day from SF in July, so this is very helpful.

 

Did they allow video games for the younger kids (3-7 age)?

 

Also, is the wristband they mentioned removable? Or does it have to be cut off?

 

If you registered online do you need to check in during one of the registration periods, or can you just show up when you're ready?

 

 

[Stikman]

For video games, I can't say for certain, I know there were computers in the 3-7 year old room, but my 5 year old never played on them. They did do group dance type games though (like Just Dance).

 

For wristbands, NO. They are the plastic kid with the snap, and can be cut off after the cruise. Any cruise line we've been on puts a wristband on all kids wrists during cruise check in (usually under 12) for the entire cruise and it must remain on. It's for safety purposes and lists your kid's muster station in case of emergency.

 

We registered online but still went to the open check in time on the first day so the kids could look around, see their class area, meet teachers, and meet any other kids that may be checking things out. 

[LXdad]

Great post, thank you so much! We are on the Ruby June 1st with our 8 and 10 year old sons. They keep asking questions and this really helps. 

[OzCanuck]

Can confirm that my 6 year old availed himself of the video games. If you tell them no, they will stop them from playing. 

[Dani24]

1 hour ago, OzCanuck said:

Can confirm that my 6 year old availed himself of the video games. If you tell them no, they will stop them from playing. 

 

Good to know! We're very screen lite. And we definitely don't do video games. Glad to know we can request such in the kid's club. I'm really hoping for her to meet and play with other kids and do some fun learning and craft activities. Not just be shoved off to zone out on screens. 🙂

[Stikman]

6 hours ago, Dani24 said:

 

Good to know! We're very screen lite. And we definitely don't do video games. Glad to know we can request such in the kid's club. I'm really hoping for her to meet and play with other kids and do some fun learning and craft activities. Not just be shoved off to zone out on screens. 🙂

They definitely didn't do that! Even with low attendance, my 5 year old met 2 other little girls and they played together a ton. Almost every time I went to pick her up, they were either playing on the jungle gym or finishing up crafts/activities. In fact, we came home with a whole bag full of craft projects and stuffed animal type things just from her! (But it was 12 days worth...)

 

I'm sure it would've been a little more structured in the older kid class if there were more kids there. But by the 3rd day, the counselors would just make the projects available if the kids wanted to do them.

[Stikman]

10 hours ago, LXdad said:

Great post, thank you so much! We are on the Ruby June 1st with our 8 and 10 year old sons. They keep asking questions and this really helps. 

That's pretty much the age of my older 2 kids. They do have PS4s and a Nintendo Switch on the big screen. Mine got a lot of playtime since not many kids, so not sure how it'll be for you. Some of the activities on the list were more for the younger kids, and some more for the older. Also, the pool is heated, so mine actually swam a lot, even in Alaska! My older kids also enjoyed going to the comedian and magician shows, both of those are family friendly/clean. 🙂

[Ep010835]

Excellent. Thanks for posting. In July, wife and I are taking a 10 year old nephew on a Caribbean cruise. First time with a youngster so this is all very useful information. 

[roxievegas]

We have been home from our cruise a five weeks and I think the wrist bands came off the grandkids arms last week.  They want to know when we are leaving again.  They had a blast.  We had been worried that they would get bored, but they enjoyed the pool, having dinner in the MDR and going to kids camp every day.  We also came home with stuff they made in camp.  Princess does a great job.

[yeggirl]

I can't thank you enough for this!  Heading out with our 4.5 year old at the end of the week ... after scouring boards and the web I too felt there was not much info out there... which was making me doubt the decision to bring our pre-schooler on this cruise.  Your post is so very reassuring.  Did a Disney Cruise last year and honestly the amount of kids/noise was just too much for my very shy child.  These activities look amazing and without a million kids running around I think it will be better than Disney for us ;)

 

One question...any issues with pre-registration on port days?... as in if we get back to the ship early and haven't pre-registered do you thing it would be a problem?

 

THANKS again!!!!!!!!

[TrixiePixie]

Thanks for all the info. We are going on the carrebean Princess  the end of May with my 8 year old grandson and was wondering if there will be many kids at that time of year. I would like to hear from anyone who has any info on that. Thanks

[caribill]

36 minutes ago, TrixiePixie said:

Thanks for all the info. We are going on the carrebean Princess  the end of May with my 8 year old grandson and was wondering if there will be many kids at that time of year. I would like to hear from anyone who has any info on that. Thanks

 

You can call Princess and they will tell you how many children will be on your cruise.

[Stikman]

49 minutes ago, yeggirl said:

I can't thank you enough for this!  Heading out with our 4.5 year old at the end of the week ... after scouring boards and the web I too felt there was not much info out there... which was making me doubt the decision to bring our pre-schooler on this cruise.  Your post is so very reassuring.  Did a Disney Cruise last year and honestly the amount of kids/noise was just too much for my very shy child.  These activities look amazing and without a million kids running around I think it will be better than Disney for us 😉

 

One question...any issues with pre-registration on port days?... as in if we get back to the ship early and haven't pre-registered do you thing it would be a problem?

 

THANKS again!!!!!!!!

Probably not many kids this time of year, we only had 21 in the 3-7 year group. For that age, it was very reasonably structured (so it seemed), not a lot of running around madness. I can't talk about port days, we never left our kids in the club they always came with us on those days. I'm possibly wrong, but I think they just need to know a day or so in advance to make sure they open and staff enough counselors. That would probably be a good question for the meet and greet time on the first day. 

[Stikman]

12 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

You can call Princess and they will tell you how many children will be on your cruise.

Just to follow up on that... I think I spoke with Princess 3 times before our cruise, and asked that question while I was on the phone. Only 1 out of 3 people was able to tell me the child count, the others said not possible or couldn't figure it out. So if you don't get an answer, call back and ask someone else! lol

[nattie]

9 hours ago, yeggirl said:

I can't thank you enough for this!  Heading out with our 4.5 year old at the end of the week ... after scouring boards and the web I too felt there was not much info out there... which was making me doubt the decision to bring our pre-schooler on this cruise.  Your post is so very reassuring.  Did a Disney Cruise last year and honestly the amount of kids/noise was just too much for my very shy child.  These activities look amazing and without a million kids running around I think it will be better than Disney for us 😉

 

One question...any issues with pre-registration on port days?... as in if we get back to the ship early and haven't pre-registered do you thing it would be a problem?

 

THANKS again!!!!!!!!

You DC will LOVE Princess kids clubs. They do fantastic job with kids and have very caring staff members. I remember chatting with them in Princess Cays facility on one of our cruises when DS was little (3 yo) and he was the only one in his group attending - most of the staff had child development degrees of some kind (albeit not necessarily from US). 

We have been taking DS (now 10) on Princess for 7 years now and he has never been bored on the ship. As for screen time, it is normally allowed only in the first and last hour of the opening window (marked as "cruisers choice" on itinerary). Might be different with less kids. On our last 14 day I have rarely seen DS play video games, as they were more interested in air hockey tournament :). 

Technically, you should pre-register and we try to do that even if we are not planning to go. However, I have never been refused a spot if I forgot to pre-register the night before. You might get a reminder that you should, but we were never told "No, your kid cant stay". Keep in mind that for port day activities, groups are often combined (older and younger kids together in older kid's space).

[roxievegas]

We pre-registered online before the cruise.  You specify who can drop them off and pick them up.  They require I.d. (drivers license).  If you want to leave them on board, while you go off ship, you have to sign them up ahead of time.  Otherwise, you can drop them off in the morning - pick them up before lunch, drop them off after lunch, pick them up before dinner and drop them off after dinner.  They do have closed times during sea days, but only for an hour/2 hours.