Update on Splash Academy for Spring Cruises??

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, Melly20 said:

Got the same letter just today!  And we are sailing on Saturday on the Joy!  Not too happy that they waited this close to sailing to let us know.  My 9 year old is not happy and doesn't want to go now.  Being an only child she loves Splash Academy and making new friends.

Why did you even tell her?  Could have just waited to be on the ship and then said, oh gee we just found out about this.  Saved a lot of grief for both.  Sometimes TMI

[ceilidh1]

How can they restrict the $100 to the arcade? Onboard credit is just that, isn’t it? Can be used for anything? We already have the arcade pass so it would be nice to use towards those $20 shakes at Coco’s. Lol

[styles27]

37 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

How can they restrict the $100 to the arcade? Onboard credit is just that, isn’t it? Can be used for anything? We already have the arcade pass so it would be nice to use towards those $20 shakes at Coco’s. 

I think the credit will be applied to the amount spent at the arcade on the final bill. So be sure to use the entire $100

 

The arcade will be packed with all of the kids using their credits, especially since we’re cruising during school vacation. 

[ceilidh1]

11 minutes ago, styles27 said:

I think the credit will be applied to the amount spent at the arcade on the final bill. So be sure to use the entire $100

 

The arcade will be packed with all of the kids using their credits, especially since we’re cruising during school vacation. 

I'm hoping they don't have the manpower/inclination to track it that way. In the past, if I have bought onboard credit, it has been a general credit and anything could be (and was) automatically applied to it. For example, when I have pre-paid gratuities, that pre-paid amount appeared on my bill as a negative and then deducted from the overrall total (does that make sense? I feel as if I'm not explaining it well). What I'm hoping for is that the $100 is applied as a credit of $100 and just gets deducted from the final amount. I guess we will find out soon enough....

[styles27]

45 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I'm hoping they don't have the manpower/inclination to track it that way. In the past, if I have bought onboard credit, it has been a general credit and anything could be (and was) automatically applied to it. For example, when I have pre-paid gratuities, that pre-paid amount appeared on my bill as a negative and then deducted from the overrall total (does that make sense? I feel as if I'm not explaining it well). What I'm hoping for is that the $100 is applied as a credit of $100 and just gets deducted from the final amount. I guess we will find out soon enough....

Yes you’re explaining it perfectly. That would be great if it works that way.
 

I have a feeling our grandson will use every penny in the arcade though lol

[www3traveler]

8 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

How can they restrict the $100 to the arcade? Onboard credit is just that, isn’t it? Can be used for anything? We already have the arcade pass so it would be nice to use towards those $20 shakes at Coco’s. Lol

I think that the Arcade credit is just that Arcade credit and can not be used for anything else.  Just like the Shore Excurision Credit-- can only be used for Shore Excutsions.  I would check with the Credit Desk when you board just to make sure.

[funfetti]

I'm very grateful for this thread because I otherwise would have had no idea Splash Academy was closed.  Booking a cruise turns "reading the fine print" into a competitive sport! You have to be constantly on guard that anything that comes out of a travel agent or cruise employee's mouth can be wrong, misleading, subject to change, or incomplete... and that misinformation could cost you thousands of dollars with no recourse. I think cruising has always been this way, even before the pandemic, but many people assume the normal expectations of consumer protections and customer service apply!

 

An inexperienced cruiser (or even an experienced cruiser who's a new parent) would need to know that many of the kid-friendly activities in NCL's marketing materials fall into the "Splash Academy" umbrella, that "drop off" is the term used for all kids group activities, and that there are different places to look for guidelines about eligibility to sail vs. eligibility for activities.

 

You DO have to be a pro about finding, reading, and understanding the implications of all information before booking a cruise, but I think we can also expect clearer, more up-front, consumer-friendly communication and marketing materials from NCL... without missing out on the joy of obsessive pre-booking research. 😉

[applequeen]

I called and was told that it can only be used in the arcade. I guess we will find out how it works when we get onboard.

 

We were planning to buy Arcade Packages for this kids and I asked if the credit could be applied to the cost of the package. It also can't be used that way.

 

I guess we'll see how long the credit lasts and then purchase a package (if we want it) for the rest of the trip. 

 

I'll try to check in next week and let ya'll know how it's actually working. 

[styles27]

1 minute ago, applequeen said:

I called and was told that it can only be used in the arcade. I guess we will find out how it works when we get onboard.

 

We were planning to buy Arcade Packages for this kids and I asked if the credit could be applied to the cost of the package. It also can't be used that way.

 

I guess we'll see how long the credit lasts and then purchase a package (if we want it) for the rest of the trip. 

 

I'll try to check in next week and let ya'll know how it's actually working. 

Thank you!  I hope you have a wonderful cruise and safe travels!

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, applequeen said:

I called and was told that it can only be used in the arcade. I guess we will find out how it works when we get onboard.

 

We were planning to buy Arcade Packages for this kids and I asked if the credit could be applied to the cost of the package. It also can't be used that way.

 

I guess we'll see how long the credit lasts and then purchase a package (if we want it) for the rest of the trip. 

 

I'll try to check in next week and let ya'll know how it's actually working. 

Please keep us posted! I did purchase the arcade package already and it won't be the end of the world if all the credit can be used for is the arcade (there are enough machines in there that the package doesn't apply to) but it would be nice to use it on other "kid" stuff if we could...

[Cashsmoney]

I just got notified that on the May 29th cruise on the Breakaway that the Splash academy will be closed unfortunately. And this is kinda upsetting because before I booked it back in March I spoke with an NCL agent and she verified that it would be open June 1st.

[styles27]

29 minutes ago, Cashsmoney said:

I just got notified that on the May 29th cruise on the Breakaway that the Splash academy will be closed unfortunately. And this is kinda upsetting because before I booked it back in March I spoke with an NCL agent and she verified that it would be open June 1st.

Wow May 29th is more than a month away and they already know it won’t be open?  

I think as long as they’re allowing children under 12 to not have to be vaccinated this service will remain closed. 
Are they also giving you $100 per child like we’re getting on our 04/15 cruise?

[Mike A]

We are on the Joy on May 29th. We received a $100 Arcade credit for my 8 yr old granddaughter. She loves the arcade and was very happy 👍🙂. 

[jemz1949]

On 4/9/2022 at 9:02 AM, Mike A said:

We are on the Joy on May 29th. We received a $100 Arcade credit for my 8 yr old granddaughter. She loves the arcade and was very happy 👍🙂. 

It will be interesting as to how happy she and the other 100's of kids that received the $100 and are trying to use it on the 30 or so arcade games at the same time....

[styles27]

1 hour ago, jemz1949 said:

It will be interesting as to how happy she and the other 100's of kids that received the $100 and are trying to use it on the 30 or so arcade games at the same time....

Exactly what we’re thinking. I hope the arcades are open 24 hr because that’s the only way these kids will have a chance of using their $100 credit. The games will probably break down lol

[ceilidh1]

Still holding out hope that this is just a "credit" and not restricted to arcade. Anyone onboard now and have any answers?

[bkrickles1]

On 4/8/2022 at 11:05 PM, Cashsmoney said:

I just got notified that on the May 29th cruise on the Breakaway that the Splash academy will be closed unfortunately. And this is kinda upsetting because before I booked it back in March I spoke with an NCL agent and she verified that it would be open June 1st.

As I've seen posted already, the current shutdown order for Splash Academy is good through May 31st sailings, so it's not surprising that it still would be closed for yours.

I have spoken to my pcc and 2 others plus another NCL rep who all confirm the order through May 31st. Obviously, in this crazy world of ours, things can change but my pcc tells me that NCL is currently hiring, training and certifying crew to open Splash fully come sailings embarking on or after June 1st.

I'd imagine they are extremely motivated to make this happen as summertime is a huge time for family cruising and some parents will not sail without a dropoff program.

I'm hopeful as I'm sailing Joy 6/26 with my sister in-law who's bringing my 7 and 8 year old nieces. They will love the Splash Academy program and my sister in-law (along with my wife) will love time away from entertaining them. Fingers crossed.

We'll know soon enough if families stop receiving the email with the $100 arcade credit.

[styles27]

19 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

As I've seen posted already, the current shutdown order for Splash Academy is good through May 31st sailings, so it's not surprising that it still would be closed for yours.

I have spoken to my pcc and 2 others plus another NCL rep who all confirm the order through May 31st. Obviously, in this crazy world of ours, things can change but my pcc tells me that NCL is currently hiring, training and certifying crew to open Splash fully come sailings embarking on or after June 1st.

I'd imagine they are extremely motivated to make this happen as summertime is a huge time for family cruising and some parents will not sail without a dropoff program.

I'm hopeful as I'm sailing Joy 6/26 with my sister in-law who's bringing my 7 and 8 year old nieces. They will love the Splash Academy program and my sister in-law (along with my wife) will love time away from entertaining them. Fingers crossed.

We'll know soon enough if families stop receiving the email with the $100 arcade credit.

I don’t know about that May 31st date. On the NCL website when we booked our 04/15 cruise it had “dropoff closed through 3/31/2022” 

I checked on 04/01 and the wording was changed to “unavailable until further notice” 😏

 

I have a feeling NCL, like most other businesses, is having trouble hiring potential candidates.  Just checked again and it’s the same wording. 
 

If they really had any idea of when it would’ve reopen wouldn’t it be in their best interest to post that date?  I’m sure many families are holding off booking because of that.
I know we’re holding off booking another Boston cruise with our grandson until it’s up and running. Just hoping he will enjoy himself on the cruise we have booked for this Friday. 
 

Edited April 12, 2022 by styles27

[bkrickles1]

15 minutes ago, styles27 said:

I don’t know about that May 31st date. On the NCL website when we booked our 04/15 cruise it had “dropoff closed through 3/31/2022” 

I checked on 04/01 and the wording was changed to “unavailable until further notice” 😏

 

I have a feeling NCL, like most other businesses, is having trouble hiring potential candidates.  Just checked again and it’s the same wording. 
 

If they really had any idea of when it would’ve reopen wouldn’t it be in their best interest to post that date?  I’m sure many families are holding off booking because of that.
I know we’re holding off booking another Boston cruise with our grandson until it’s up and running. Just hoping he will enjoy himself on the cruise we have booked for this Friday. 
 

I'm intimately familiar with the wording on their website and I understand everyone being skeptical but 4 different NCL reps told me the same thing and I believe NCL is doing everything possible to make it happen for the summertime.

With all the stops and starts over the past couple of years, I also understand why they'd be hesitant to post any dates until they are 100% sure.

As I said, I'm hopeful but will persevere even if doesn't happen. Lmao!!

My own daughter was a little shy when she was younger so she never loved being at the kids clubs so we kept her with us, entertained her , and had some fabulous cruises. 

Have a great trip!!

[styles27]

2 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

I'm intimately familiar with the wording on their website and I understand everyone being skeptical but 4 different NCL reps told me the same thing and I believe NCL is doing everything possible to make it happen for the summertime.

With all the stops and starts over the past couple of years, I also understand why they'd be hesitant to post any dates until they are 100% sure.

As I said, I'm hopeful but will persevere even if doesn't happen. Lmao!!

My own daughter was a little shy when she was younger so she never loved being at the kids clubs so we kept her with us, entertained her , and had some fabulous cruises. 

Have a great trip!!

Yup same here, I was told by the NCL reps I spoke to on the phone and in live chats that the dropoff program closure expired 3/31/2022 which is why we booked.  Oh well! 
Our grandson is an only child and was definitely looking forward to spending some time making new friends.
Our kids (his mom) loved the kids clubs when they were his age. We really only used it at night when we knew they wouldn’t be interested in the nightly shows. 

 

I really hope for everyone’s sake they get it going again but the point I was making was that they had a date on their website that it would be opening again and now they don’t.
 

Maybe they’re keeping it closed because children under 12 don’t have to be vaccinated. Who knows? 
 

So we expect to see a lot of kids at the nightly entertainment which I’m sure won’t be ideal for those passengers cruising without kids.

It impacts everyone’s cruise not just those of us traveling with kids. 

 

Of course we’re cruising during school vacation so it should be even more interesting lol

We have our grandson every weekend so we love spending time with him and vice versa.   I just hope there’s enough to keep him engaged so his first cruise isn’t a dud. 🤞🙈

[www3traveler]

I would suspect part of the delay in opening is getting qualified help. Once someone is hired then they have to go through a background check, drug test, pass the phsyical.  Once all that happens they will have to have Red Cross Cerification (Frist Aid, CPR), learn all the current protocals.  Long process.

[gvgseg]

I just spoke to an agent who confirmed that Splash Academies are set to reopen on June 1st.

[applequeen]

On 4/6/2022 at 11:05 AM, applequeen said:

I called and was told that it can only be used in the arcade. I guess we will find out how it works when we get onboard.

 

We were planning to buy Arcade Packages for this kids and I asked if the credit could be applied to the cost of the package. It also can't be used that way.

 

I guess we'll see how long the credit lasts and then purchase a package (if we want it) for the rest of the trip. 

 

I'll try to check in next week and let ya'll know how it's actually working. 

So it looks like my kids blew through their credits in about an hour today. It’s fine though. There is plenty to keep everyone busy. So far I am pretty impressed with some of the family activities. We have taken advantage of several of the things in the Atrium during the day.

 

The only time I miss Splash Academy is at night. Last night the grownups put the kids to bed and went to Howl at the Moon for about an hour. The kids were passed out but had a phone they could text if they needed us. They are almost 10 and 12 so it wouldn’t be an option for younger kids. 
 

Having kids on the older end of the range is definitely a game changer. It would be much more difficult with younger but it’s been a wonderful cruise so far. 

[ceilidh1]

12 hours ago, applequeen said:

So it looks like my kids blew through their credits in about an hour today. It’s fine though. There is plenty to keep everyone busy. So far I am pretty impressed with some of the family activities. We have taken advantage of several of the things in the Atrium during the day.

 

The only time I miss Splash Academy is at night. Last night the grownups put the kids to bed and went to Howl at the Moon for about an hour. The kids were passed out but had a phone they could text if they needed us. They are almost 10 and 12 so it wouldn’t be an option for younger kids. 
 

Having kids on the older end of the range is definitely a game changer. It would be much more difficult with younger but it’s been a wonderful cruise so far. 

Can you share how the credit is handled? is it just a generic $100 credit on the account, or is it linked only to the child's card/somehow restricted to arcade? For example, could my kid use it to buy ice cream or something? Thanks!

[applequeen]

28 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Can you share how the credit is handled? is it just a generic $100 credit on the account, or is it linked only to the child's card/somehow restricted to arcade? For example, could my kid use it to buy ice cream or something? Thanks!

It shows up as $100 arcade credit. It only works for the arcade (no games at Osheenans).

 

My kids have probably 50 arcade charges from yesterday. Our onboard balance didn’t change so I guess they aren’t quite at their limit. You have to watch because there is no way to know when it is used up. I guess we will know when our balance increases when they play games.