FPP777 Posted May 14, 2006 #1 Share Posted May 14, 2006 We will be cruising with our two DD/s next July. One will be 6 and the other will be turning 5 while we are on the cruise. So from what I read that makes one an Aquanaut and one an Explorer. If I wanted the older one to be with her younger sister, can we do that? We would prefer that they are together the entire time, and I am sure so will my younger one. Anyone have this experience before? If so, how did you handle it? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bld16 Posted May 15, 2006 #2 Share Posted May 15, 2006 It should be ok, they may want to older child to stay in their age group for one session first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrimp0 Posted May 17, 2006 #3 Share Posted May 17, 2006 You will have to wait until you board and talk to the staff. There will be an open house time in the afternoon when you board. There will be staff available to talk to at this time. It really depends on the number of children they have on that particular sailing in each group. It also depends on how big the 6 year old is compared to the 3-5 year olds that you want to place him/her with. It would be best to go with the attitude of wait and see... and if you can have them together then great... but if not... they will each have a great time as well. (plus, there are times that they have the groups together... if one group is smaller) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danem Posted May 30, 2006 #4 Share Posted May 30, 2006 We had this situation with my girls and it wasn't a problem. They were having way too much fun to worry about where their sister was. Often times the groups were combined and on Enchantment, the two rooms were adjoining so they could see each other. Honestly, I think my kids would have spent the entire cruise in Adventure Ocean if they could have! They have a new activity every 15 minutes and the staff are so great. Emily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawniepoo Posted June 5, 2006 #5 Share Posted June 5, 2006 While on our Granduer of the Seas cruise is March a mother with 2 kids was checking her kids in for the first time and asked if the kids could stay together ( I don't know what the ages were) and the AO staff would not let them. She stated that the activities were designed and appropriated for specific age groups, and that they had a strict policy. The mom got soooo angry she started yelling profanities that would make a sailor blush! This was in front of 20 kids, including her own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpnut Posted June 5, 2006 #6 Share Posted June 5, 2006 You should definitely NOT plan on having the kids stay together. If they allow it, consider it a bonus for you. Our kids are close in age, however because of the age range cutoffs, they're never in the same group. While the counselors are mostly accommodating (remember, they work for tips!), they are really supposed to stick to the policies. Remember, RCCL plans, organizes and provides supplies for every AO group based on each child's birthdate as supplied when you booked your cruise. If everyone sought and were granted exceptions, AO probably couldn't function! That said, I agree with the other posts, in that your kids will have a great time either way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOVINCRUIZIN Posted June 7, 2006 #7 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The older child can go down a group, but they will not allow the younger child to join a higher age group. We did this last year on RCCL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamTroop179 Posted June 17, 2006 #8 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Am I missing something? Our 2 kids practically lived at AO on our last cruise and I never heard anything about tipping the AO staff. We are going again this fall and assume the kids will camp out at AO. While the counselors are mostly accommodating (remember, they work for tips!), Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpnut Posted June 18, 2006 #9 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Yes, you missed something. The AO staff work for tips just like everyone else who provides a service to passengers on the ship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamTroop179 Posted June 18, 2006 #10 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I really feel like an idiot. I consider myself an upstanding type person and the tipping thing didn't cross my mind. While the wait staff and cabin steward tipping is mentioned everywhere, I didn't see any posts about children's staff tipping. This is stupid, but how do you do it? Cash in palm, envelope?? How much? Help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpnut Posted June 19, 2006 #11 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Pam, here's a recent/current thread on the subject of tipping for children: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=357485. It starts with tipping the cabin steward, but ends with posts regarding tipping the camp counselors. On our most recent 6-day cruise, we had two kids in Camp Carnival who used it only "occasionally" on a 6-day cruise so we tipped about $30-40/kid in cash on the last evening. When we were on Explorer, I recall that AO and other kid's programs are pretty much the same. Don't blame yourself too much--you won't find any hints about this on any printed tip cards, cruise bulletins or other places (not that I'm aware of). I guess because this is not a service that the majority of cruisers use, they don't publicize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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