Califonria cruiser Posted January 14, 2008 #1 Share Posted January 14, 2008 We just returned from our trip on the Crown Princess with our 4 year old daughter. If anyone has any questions, ask away! Jenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grannycb Posted January 14, 2008 #2 Share Posted January 14, 2008 We are going to be taking a four year old on her first cruise in the near future. How did you work evening meals and shows? Did you take her to shows that would interest her or do other activities? How did she like formal nights? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califonria cruiser Posted January 14, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted January 14, 2008 We chose to do anytime dining and for the most part ate dinner at 6pm. Then, at 7pm kids club would open and we would whisk her away usually in the middle of our meal, then come back and finish the food and then usually drop by for a drink somewhere before the shows. When there was a show they usually had 2 sittings, one early and one late. ( 7 and 9pm, 8:30 and 10:30pm, etc) They were not at the same times each night, it depends on the show. Kids club is free between 9-noon, 2-5 and 7-10, but you can sign up for after care from 10pm-1am, they want you to sign up when you know so they can properly staff it. On port days they were open 8-5 continously and needed a bit of notice for that also but was free. FYI the dining room had a kids menu or they could order off the regular one and were very speedy about brigning the kids food first. As for the adults, dining took much longer, I'd say 2 hours of you want to linger and order all the courses, but honestly never made it out in less than 1.5 hours. I brought my daughter to one show since she likes singing and dancing, but the others we just let her to go kids club. The activities were nice and then from 10pm-1am they just watched movies on huge bean bags! If you went on Crown your child would most likely not enjoy the main pools, it is an inch or two around the sides, but drops to much deeper for the rest. The kiddie pool is by the kid area and is about 1-2 feet deep and is shaded most of the time. The only issue was that it wasn't always open. They have to get fresh, clean water, but not sure exactly when they did it, but it was roped off a few times we went by and open others. My daughter loved the jacuzzis, the ones in the Movie Under the Stars area were not very hot, more like bath water. Which ship are you look at? We have been on Celebrity's Millenium, Crown Princess, Serenade of the Seas and NCL's Pride of Hawaii in the last 2 years so I have some knowledge of those. Whatever you choose enjoy! Jenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted January 15, 2008 #4 Share Posted January 15, 2008 We'll be on the Emerald Princess for 10 days in March/April with our 3.5 year old son and 7 year old daughter. Can you tell me what kinds of things they did in the children's activities? How many kids were there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califonria cruiser Posted January 15, 2008 Author #5 Share Posted January 15, 2008 It depends on the cruise date as for the number of children, but when you go to the kids club it normally has a chart of how many kids are sailing age 3,4,5, etc. If it is Spring Break then it could be a bunch, but even still they have fabulous activities and are on top of things. Each night there was a theme, like pirate night, under the sea night, pajama party, etc. They do art activities and play games. In our expereince it has all been INSIDE the ship things, no pool trips for my 4 year old. In the evening is when I notice the tv is on more and big bean bags are placed and the kids chill. They also have "treats" /cookies and ice cream type things. Not sure if they decorated or someone else did, just heard aobut eating them. I've walked in on name that tune (mostly which Disney movie is the song from), bean bag toss, painting, glitter pictures of mermaids, pirate hats, decorating general hats, given a t shirt to color and keep. Disco night where they try to teach them how to line dance. This last trip each child received a stuffed animal at the end of the cruise, that has never happened to us before. I think a lot depends on the staff at that time of year and how much they want to do. On some cruises we were given a list of the activities for each day and the time and it was NOT followed even closely. I felt that this experience was very good. Jenn Jenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace2U Posted February 5, 2008 #6 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Did you take your child on any excursions? We want to go on the longer excursions sans child (Aruba, Grenada) but want to take a taxi tour on St Kitts, the ferry to St John from St Thomas, and rent a car on Bonaira. Does this sound sensible? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace2U Posted February 5, 2008 #7 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Did you take your child on any excursions? We want to go on the longer excursions sans child (Aruba, Grenada) but want to take a taxi tour on St Kitts, the ferry to St John from St Thomas, and rent a car on Bonaire. Does this sound sensible? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califonria cruiser Posted February 8, 2008 Author #8 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Sorry it too so long to respond. I brougth my daughter on some of the trips and others left her. The only problem is that kids club didn't open until 8am so even if you dock at 7am you can't drop them off until 8 and you have to pick up by 5pm even if you don't sail until 7pm. They may make an exception if you ask, or book one of their tours, but we did everything on our own. You also sign up for port day babysitting so they can plan for staffing. I'd sign up very early on if you know. For St Kitts a taxi tour is the way to go. Much chepaer than the cruise, lots of taxis out there, beautiful island. You would just have to wait until 8am before getting to leave or negotiate something different. St Thomas same thing you would be only able to go from 8-5 which is still plenty of time for St John if you just want beach time. Not sure of the schedule, but check the ferry possibilities. We left our daughter on the ship while we were at Grenada, driving is crazy there and unless you go to the beach I didn't think there was much for kids there. The hiking was fantastic but more intense than a little kid could handle. Bonaire car rental might be tricky since you may be limited to 11-5. Renting a car is worth while, but not always easy to do. One time we went there were a handful of cars brought from the airport location for renting and then other time NO cars were there to rent. You would probably need to arrange your reservation ahead of time. We rented from the Hertz location at the Divi Flamingo. The first time we walked to them and when we arrived they were closed for lunch and we waited until they were open. They closed at 5pm so we had to plan accordingly. The next time I asked them to deliver to the dock which they did after I called when we arrived, they weren't waiting around. I then choose to drop off at the airport location and they shuttled us for free back to the dock. The airport location clsosed later and there was no fee to do it. I found it cheaper to book with hertz.com than directly with the local hertz place. Bonaire is one of my favorite places for snorkeling. Hope this helps. Jenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace2U Posted February 8, 2008 #9 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I think we will probably just take a taxi around Bonaire also. What excursion did you take on Grenada? My problem is that I want to see Grand Anse, I assume by taxi, but the excurions I also wanted to see are 3 or 4 hours. Can I do both? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Complex Carb Posted February 8, 2008 #10 Share Posted February 8, 2008 We're first-timers, sailing on the Crown next month with my (barely) 4yo and 8yo. My main worry is a purely neurotic one, that my child will fall off the side. Anything you can do to ease a nervous mom's mind? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace2U Posted February 9, 2008 #11 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Yes, I understand that worry. Perhaps some nice Xanax would help us. j/k! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccalouise Posted February 9, 2008 #12 Share Posted February 9, 2008 We're first-timers, sailing on the Crown next month with my (barely) 4yo and 8yo. My main worry is a purely neurotic one, that my child will fall off the side. Anything you can do to ease a nervous mom's mind? :D I have sailed with my son since he was 3 months old. There is no way they can fall overboard. Even on the balconies- it would be really difficult for them to fall. If they stood on one of the cheap plastic chairs- the chair might fall over but little ones still wouldn't fall overboard- relax! The railings thru out are more than four feet tall and they are not easy to climb. You won't have any troubles. Now a drunk husband is another matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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