Kids club for older 5 year old

[thomaskuhn]

Is there any strict  policy on the age group of kids for the kids club.  We are sailing in a week on Mariner, and our 5 year old will be 6 in May.  I think he would enjoy the 6-8 year old group a lot more than the 3-5 year old group.  Especially since he is plays with a lot of older kids at school.

[1025cruise]

You can ask once on board. It will be solely up to the manager of the kids club.

[LMaxwell]

They are not going to allow it. 

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, thomaskuhn said:

Is there any strict  policy on the age group of kids for the kids club.  We are sailing in a week on Mariner, and our 5 year old will be 6 in May.  I think he would enjoy the 6-8 year old group a lot more than the 3-5 year old group.  Especially since he is plays with a lot of older kids at school.

It is much harder to age up, than age down on cruise ship.   There many instances of them combining age groups also when the are are few kids onboard.  It really is a case by case, cruise by cruise basis.  The kids club director has the ultimate say regardless of company policy,  but if I was betting it will likely be a no.  Although, there is always a chance as I have seen them do it.  It is just much much rarer then allowing them to age down which is much more commonplace.

[spookwife]

yes they are pretty strict.  aging down is far more likely to happen than aging up.  and  he's  months away from turning 6, not days.  especially now that Spring Break is  happening, the clubs are going to be at capacity more often than not.  

 

in other words, you can ask, but be prepared to accept  the refusal.  

[BeachChik]

My daughter is almost 7. We just got off the Harmony and they let us put her in the 3-5 so she could be with her brother. They said as long as she played nice with the smaller kids they were fine with it. So it doesn't hurt to ask.

[spookwife]

3 hours ago, BeachChik said:

My daughter is almost 7. We just got off the Harmony and they let us put her in the 3-5 so she could be with her brother. They said as long as she played nice with the smaller kids they were fine with it. So it doesn't hurt to ask.

That’s aging down.. common if not frequent .  Different kettle of fish

[GarlicBread]

Knowing whose on mariner right now, probably. They usually have a 'within 3 months policy'. 

However, if its busy with actual 6+ then no. 

And they pretty much have a one strike rule and back down to your age appropriate group. 

 

Remember though, playing with older kids, and understanding activities aimed at older kids with kids they've never met before are two different things. I've seen many 5 year old bump ups get quite overwhelmed and not want to join, which means they go back to aquanauts, but many do well. 

 

 

[GarlicBread]

1 hour ago, spookwife said:

That’s aging down.. common if not frequent .  Different kettle of fish

 

Not really.

More kids bump up than down, with exception of the nursery. 

[arsenic74]

So regarding aging down, is it likely that they would allow my 12 yr old son to "age down" into the 9-11 group? I would prefer to have him checked in and out rather than coming and going as he pleases in the 12-14 teen group.

[GarlicBread]

1 minute ago, arsenic74 said:

So regarding aging down, is it likely that they would allow my 12 yr old son to "age down" into the 9-11 group? I would prefer to have him checked in and out rather than coming and going as he pleases in the 12-14 teen group.

 

Depending on the manager it might depend on how into 12 he is, but with aging down from teens the majority usually say yes. 

[arsenic74]

7 minutes ago, GarlicBread said:

 

Depending on the manager it might depend on how into 12 he is, but with aging down from teens the majority usually say yes. 

 

Just a few months into 12. 

[mjkacmom]

2 minutes ago, arsenic74 said:

 

Just a few months into 12. 

You might want to let him try the older group. All 5 of my kids have been in tween and teen clubs, hated the tween clubs especially if on the older end, loved the teen clubs. You can always either have him meet up with you if he leaves to let you know his plans, or leave a note in the cabin. I’ve found that there are only a finite number of places they will be (and other cabins is a hard no).

[arsenic74]

8 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

You might want to let him try the older group. All 5 of my kids have been in tween and teen clubs, hated the tween clubs especially if on the older end, loved the teen clubs. You can always either have him meet up with you if he leaves to let you know his plans, or leave a note in the cabin. I’ve found that there are only a finite number of places they will be (and other cabins is a hard no).

 

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it and I think I might try that. Somewhat related then, I know the younger age groups are given gps wristbands for tracking purposes. Do the 12-14s have something similar or are they un-tracked at that point. I was somewhat hoping to not have him have to carry his phone around with him all the time 🙂 

[mjkacmom]

12 minutes ago, arsenic74 said:

 

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it and I think I might try that. Somewhat related then, I know the younger age groups are given gps wristbands for tracking purposes. Do the 12-14s have something similar or are they un-tracked at that point. I was somewhat hoping to not have him have to carry his phone around with him all the time 🙂 

Definitely no trackers, my kids kept their phones, but you could set up meet up times. I saw my teens all of the time in passing.

[kermit99]

1 hour ago, arsenic74 said:

 

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it and I think I might try that. Somewhat related then, I know the younger age groups are given gps wristbands for tracking purposes. Do the 12-14s have something similar or are they un-tracked at that point. I was somewhat hoping to not have him have to carry his phone around with him all the time 🙂 

I’ve never seen gps wristbands! Were did you see this information? 

[arsenic74]

11 minutes ago, kermit99 said:

I’ve never seen gps wristbands! Were did you see this information? 

 

Primarily in this article, though I've since noticed that it's from about 10 years ago so maybe things have changed since then 😞

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Royal-Caribbean-introduces-kid-tracker-for-the-Oasis

[kermit99]

15 minutes ago, arsenic74 said:

 

Primarily in this article, though I've since noticed that it's from about 10 years ago so maybe things have changed since then 😞

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Royal-Caribbean-introduces-kid-tracker-for-the-Oasis

Yes outdated. We cruised Oasis 2 years ago with my then 10 year old and we didn’t get anything other then the standard muster bracelets. No gps no special phones. 

I bet they found that most people wouldn’t pay the extra $17 for the phones. 

[thomaskuhn]

Thanks,  I am sure our little one will be fine in 3-5

 

[molsonschooner]

1 hour ago, thomaskuhn said:

Thanks,  I am sure our little one will be fine in 3-5

 

which ship are you going on. I believe Oasis has changed the age groups to 3-5 and 6-12 year olds. 

[thomaskuhn]

Mariner of the seas