How Strict Are Kids Club Age Guidelines?

[gvgseg]

I will be on Solstice with my 12yo daughter and 9yo son next month. This is our first time on Celebrity. How strict is the kids club in terms of separating the kids into age groups? I saw one thing that said age groups of 10-12 and 6-9. Our kids would prefer to stay together if possible, but my past experience on Norwegian was that they were pretty strict about the age groups.

[Tierun]

Very strict about the age groupings 

[hcat]

if you search you will see the same Q and A repeatedly.... no wiggle room.   Grouped by age..for a reason!

Edited June 5 by hcat

[cruisestitch]

 

[cruisetonowhere10]

Strict in my experience.  

[adolfo2]

VERY strict due to insurance reasons!

[mahdnc]

We have always seen that the age limits were strictly observed. If the sailing has a small number of kids onboard, the age groups may be partially merged (groups with different age limits). 

Edited June 5 by mahdnc

[waterbug123]

11 hours ago, gvgseg said:

I will be on Solstice with my 12yo daughter and 9yo son next month. This is our first time on Celebrity. How strict is the kids club in terms of separating the kids into age groups? I saw one thing that said age groups of 10-12 and 6-9. Our kids would prefer to stay together if possible, but my past experience on Norwegian was that they were pretty strict about the age groups.

As they should be.  12 year olds do not need to be in a group with 6 and 7 years olds.  Likewise, a 9 year old is just too young to be in an older group that could include kids who are almost 13. Too much risk having kids of wide age ranges mixed together.

 

Not to mention, if they make an exception for ex, for your 9 year old, what do they say to the parent whose kid is turning 9 the week after the cruise?  3 months after the cruise?  etc.  They need to draw a hard line. 

[serene56]

12 hours ago, gvgseg said:

I will be on Solstice with my 12yo daughter and 9yo son next month. This is our first time on Celebrity. How strict is the kids club in terms of separating the kids into age groups? I saw one thing that said age groups of 10-12 and 6-9. Our kids would prefer to stay together if possible, but my past experience on Norwegian was that they were pretty strict about the age groups.

12 year old could move down    but yikes   why would you do that to that kid.        Put them each into their own program and let them make new friends.       But curious on what you were able to do on other sailings? 

 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

41 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

As they should be.  12 year olds do not need to be in a group with 6 and 7 years olds.  Likewise, a 9 year old is just too young to be in an older group that could include kids who are almost 13. Too much risk having kids of wide age ranges mixed together.

 

Not to mention, if they make an exception for ex, for your 9 year old, what do they say to the parent whose kid is turning 9 the week after the cruise?  3 months after the cruise?  etc.  They need to draw a hard line. 

My 8 year old son would have 0 problem hanging out with 12 year olds...I wouldn't think twice about it and I don't think the OP asked an unreasonable question.

[leaveitallbehind]

Very common question and typically everyone who asks feels that mixing ages would be fine for their children.  But it's not necessarily about the affects on their children but with the affect to the other kids in the group. As indicated, age groupings are usually strictly managed, in large part because the activities are scaled to the age groups. 

 

It likely would be odd on the other children to have older kids in with their younger siblings simply to keep them together, or visa versa.  IMO it would also be difficult in terms of maintaining interest with the activities with mixed age groups, especially ages that are separated by several years. 

 

The other thing that is factored in is if an exception is made for one, then it would have to be made for all others, which would take away the reason they are separated in the first place.

 

Just for clarity, our three kids grew up with us cruising, albeit on RCCL v Celebrity, but RCCL has one of the industry's best kids programs on which Celebrity's is in large part modeled.  Over the years our kids were frequently separated, but did very well and made friends on board within each of their own age groups. But ever since the program's inception, the age group separation was strictly managed, as IMO from direct experience and for a number of reasons, it should be.

Edited June 6 by leaveitallbehind

[waterbug123]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:43 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

My 8 year old son would have 0 problem hanging out with 12 year olds...I wouldn't think twice about it and I don't think the OP asked an unreasonable question.

1. That's great that you and your 8 yo would be fine in a group with 12yos.  But a lot of 8 year olds would not be fine with a lot of 12 yos, for a variety of reasons, and if X makes an exception for you, they have to make it for everyone else. 

 

2. I agree- the OP asked a reasonable question, but it seems clear they're hoping for an exception.  Answering that X is strict with age groups, and/or explaining why, is a reasonable answer to that reasonable question.

[Mike981]

In our family experience, the biggest issue was the worry before the cruise. Once our son and daughter were put in their respective groups, it was absolutely fine. They would share stories at dinner and often continued with their new friends outside of the club.

[sunkey1]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:43 AM, FamilyAtSea.travel said:

My 8 year old son would have 0 problem hanging out with 12 year olds...I wouldn't think twice about it and I don't think the OP asked an unreasonable question.

BUT a lot of 12 year olds might not want to hang out with an 8 year old boy....

[hcat]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:40 AM, serene56 said:

12 year old could move down    but yikes   why would you do that to that kid.        Put them each into their own program and let them make new friends.       But curious on what you were able to do on other sailings? 

 

12 yr old moving down would not make a good fit with 8 yr olds..or their parents' expectations

 

Just stick with the program..

Good for siblings to be apart now and then!

[sunkey1]

My kids started cruising when they were 3 and 5. There were times that they were in the same clubs and times that they weren't. They always looked at it as an opportunity to make new friends and never had an issue with that. It was great experience for them learning to widen their social circle and meet new friends from all over.