Age enforcement on Seaside kids clubs?

[Marty in KY]

We are sailing with friends in April and considering our first MSC cruise aboard Seaside.   One pretty major hold up for us is the age divisions on their kids clubs.   Does anyone have any experience with trying to request kids be in a club other than the one they should be in based upon age?  We will have a five and seven-year-old, who are best friends, and neither would want to be separated.  Based on age group, one would be in the Miniclub while the other will be assigned to the Junior club.  We will also have an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old in our group, both of whom would also prefer to be in the same club.  Again, based on MSC‘s age divisions, they will be separated unless they make exceptions.  Does anyone have first-hand experience with a situation like this?  We are experienced cruisers, and I know some cruise lines are more flexible than others. I also fully understand the reasons why some are not flexible on this issue, so explanation not necessary. Just wondering if anyone knows MSC‘s stance ?

[chipmaster]

You have been on a cruise where the allowed a different age in, please share.  I can just see the pleas my just turned 18 year old...    My two boys were similar, never worked on Disney, Carnival nor Princess, what line allowed it.  Almost screams of of an undisciplined line.

 

 

[Marty in KY]

We have been on Norwegian and Disney when younger clubs were combined with older clubs for certain activities.  While two of the kids were technically in separate clubs, the two clubs were usually together in a joint room for most activities.  Again, no feedback needed unless you have first-hand experience on Seaside.  I know there are many opinions. Just looking for facts. Thank you. 

[Tapi]

We’ve done MSC twice (once in the Caribbean and once in the Mediterranean). My kids were technically in different age groups but there were many activities that they were able to do together.

 

When you sign them up for the kids club, you’ll get an itinerary of activities for the entire week for each age group. You can then put the itineraries side by side and pinpoint what activities and times are the same and which ones are different. You can then plan to drop the kids off at times when different age groups will be together. For several activities like the Doremi Chef, Kids Talent Show, Kids dinner, and Kids Parade, all the age groups will be together as well. 

 

As a side note, my kids said that they loved MSC more than Disney, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Holland America. They said that it was much more fun and that they felt more free. This was a shock to me, specially considering that they’d sailed on the Disney Fantasy a few months prior and for which we had paid a considerable premium.

[Marty in KY]

Tapi- thank you so much for the insight. I don’t suppose you have seen a copy of the current kids’ clubs itineraries for Seaside on the forum somewhere or happen to have one?

 

If anyone has a copy of the itineraries, that would be really helpful.

 

I have no doubt we’d love MSC. It really is down to the clubs’ age divisions and a couple other considerations for us right now (dining and entertainment, mainly). We’re looking at all the lines sailing out of Miami and Port Everglades that same day, and there are several. If the clubs’ age divisions were optimal for us, we’d probably book MSC hands-down just to try something new.

[Tapi]

16 minutes ago, Marty in KY said:

Tapi- thank you so much for the insight. I don’t suppose you have seen a copy of the current kids’ clubs itineraries for Seaside on the forum somewhere or happen to have one?

Hey. Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy. 

 

Here’s a bit more insight about the differences, and also why my kids liked MSC over Disney. First, on MSC the kids club closes between sessions. It’s not like on Disney where the kids club is pretty much open continuously. On MSC they’ll take breaks, so you may have to pick the kids up and then drop them off again an hour later. 

 

On MSC, they will host activities throughout the ship, instead of having most of them contained inside the kids club like on Disney. This was one of the reasons why my kids liked MSC more; because they were able to move between venues rather than being stuck in one place the whole time. Another thing that they really liked was that, if they had dinner at the kids club, they’d be taken to the buffet to a dedicated section exclusive for kids where they could select whatever they wanted. 

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise. We’ve truly  enjoyed MSC, specially in the Mediterranean, it was a fantastic experience for our 7 and 9 year old children. I can’t think of a better way to introduce small children to Europe. 

[Marty in KY]

31 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I can’t think of a better way to introduce small children to Europe. 

 

I hadn’t even thought of this. I guess it will be a little like a European holiday. More so than the others, for sure. Thanks, again. 

[perakcruiser]

9 hours ago, Tapi said:

I can’t think of a better way to introduce small children to Europe. 

So true. I felt so happy when I saw my girl cooking fresh Italy pasta with the Doremi chef on the Meraviglia. In an athmosphere of passion, chaos and total freedom. So many different languagues and nationalities, but kids don´t mind at all ☺️ Kindergarten life in our part of the world is so different.

 

Things change, meanwhile our main reason to sail with MSC is their kids club. 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by perakcruiser

[RabbitB]

I would like to know if kids very close to the next level in age can move to that level?  My granddaughters are 11 and they will be just 4 months short of 12.  They look like age 14 and act older than they are.  They would be bored to tears with a bunch of 7 year olds, and if their group  (ages 7-11) is mostly young they will have a horrible time.  What is the chances of getting "bumped" up to the next level in that case?