Question about Kids Crew Program

[hunnibee72]

I have a question about the Kids Crew Program. My son is 13 but mentally he's about 10. He's not your typical teen. Does anyone know if it is possible for him to join the younger group of 12 year olds rather then join the teenagers? I know you are not allowed to go up if your not old enough, but are you allowed to stay back with the younger children? We weill be sailing on the Spirit on May 31, 2008

 

Thanks

Melissa

[MrsLeo]

It is possible, but I really doubt it.

[Travelfor4]

I Don't believe it's possible. They are very stick on the ages. We just got off the spirit and the family that went with us had a daughter that was in the middle age range. Her sister was in the older group and my kids were in the younger group. She wasn't able to move up or down which left her not wanting to participate in the program.

[Meggiewegs]

I don't think so, either. We met a family on a recent cruise whose children we split between 2 different age groups but they were not allowed to join any other group that wasn't their own. Made the parents angry, because the kids refused to go to the Kids Crew if they couldn't be together.

[calenita]

They have a list which shows the names and ages of all the kids on ship, so they will check to make sure you registered him in the right group.

We were on the Jewel recently (2-29 sailing) with a just turned 13-year-old and I would have preferred to have her with the younger group too but it turned out the teen group had no participatns so the few times she went it was just her and the counsellor. They even went to the murder mystery dinner for teens, just the two of them! So, if it is a smaller group of teens he might be more comfortable anyway and receive more one-on-one which would not be the case in the younger group.

[bluesea777]

Our son was 12.5 at the time of our last cruise. He attended the 10-12 group but did not like the activities (too young for him) and we tried to put him in the teens group but they said no.

 

I hope you have a better chance than we did.

 

BTW, son had a good time on cruise nevertheless, he tagged along with us to a few activities (including Bingo which turned out to be his fave), and he spent time in the arcade.

[hunnibee72]

thanks for the replys.. I guess he will just have to stick with me on the cruise. Since the teens have too much free range.

[MV_Photon]

Disney Cruise Lines (who obviously cater to children aboard) have excellent policies:

• with a parent's permission, any child can elect to move "up" one age bracket
  
• after having been "advanced," the child can opt to move back down into his/her age-defined group; however, they could not advance again during that same cruise
  
• any child 8+ y.o. can sign in/out independently, with parental consent

I dread that my 12 y.o. son (who seems to think he's 17) is going to abhor NCL's "pre-teen" program this summer.... Glad we're on such a port-intensive cruise.

[silkhair1]

Disney Cruise Lines (who obviously cater to children aboard) have excellent policies:

 

• with a parent's permission, any child can elect to move "up" one age bracket
  
• after having been "advanced," the child can opt to move back down into his/her age-defined group; however, they could not advance again during that same cruise
  
• any child 8+ y.o. can sign in/out independently, with parental consent

I dread that my 12 y.o. son (who seems to think he's 17) is going to abhor NCL's "pre-teen" program this summer.... Glad we're on such a port-intensive cruise.

 

 

Just curious how this info on a different line has helped the OP?

 

On our last cruise, there were not enough kids in the 7-9 and 10-12 years, so they combined them. I thought that was great!!!!!

[winespritzer]

We were on the Dawn about a year and a half ago and there was a family with a similar concern. My daughter was in the 6-9 age bracket. There was a boy who had been in an accident and had suffered a head injury. He was left with multiple handicaps both physical and mental....wheelchair bound, difficult speech, etc. He was placed in this age group even though he was about 13 and was the life of the party. Most likely this was the age group that best met his needs. The staff carried him up on the stage for the kids' talent show and he was given an extremely special part. The smile on his face was priceless and the support of the other children in the group brought tears to my eyes. I think your best bet would be to contact NCL and ask who would be the best person to speak with or e-mail ahead of time to discuss your options and possibly make arrangements. The registration hours for kids' crew tends to be very hectic and may be a difficult time to address the issue for the first time.

[Rhian]

You can move down age group but can not move up.

Example our 10 yo could join the 6-9 but our 8yo cannot move up to the 10-13. However he would have to commit for the whole cruise once he has chosen his group. Hope that helps.

[silkhair1]

You can move down age group but can not move up.

Example our 10 yo could join the 6-9 but our 8yo cannot move up to the 10-13. However he would have to commit for the whole cruise once he has chosen his group. Hope that helps.

 

 

That is good to know and I hope it works well for the OP.

[hunnibee72]

Thanks for all the advice, I will definitly contact the cruise line before leaving on the trip. Happy cruising evryone!