Adventure Ocean Question

[DecafMom]

We'll be sailing in June with our 3 year old son. We'd like for him to spend some time in the children's program and wanted to know how it works.

 

I'd like to be prepared as far as gratuity, and just wondered how many people will be involved. Is is the same people everyday working with the kids, or does it change?

 

Also, is there a limit as to the number of kids allowed in the program? I'd want to make certain that the staff isn't over-burdened with little ones.

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

DecafMom

Nordic Empress, 6/12/04

Explorer of the Seas, 6/28/03

Grand Princess, 2/17/02

 

[Barva]

I am a very picky mom (older and a kindergarten teacher) and I have been very satisfied with AO.

The staff-child ratio is fine and in the Aquanauts program for the little ones (like yours), there is plenty of staff. It does make tipping difficult. What I did on our last cruise (which was over Christmas) was to take a treat for all of the staff to share. They seemed thrilled with it. I did wonder about tipping but 3-5 different staff members worked with his group during the cruise.

 

You are introduced to the entire AO staff on the first night of the cruise. There is specific staff assigned to each age group but they do seem to switch off to relieve each other since the hours can be long. Also, since you are going on the Empress, the number of children will not be as great as on the bigger ships adn you child will probably gets lots of personal attention. Your child will have a blast - and so will you!

 

Barbara

4 RCI cruises down

3 20O4 RCI cruises booked

[kathi29]

When we took our then 3-year old on Sovereign, she had a GREAT time in the kids program. We were issued a pager to keep for the entire cruise, and we had to show that we had it with us when we checked her in. (We were paged only one time, she had decided she wanted her mommy). The staff was wonderful, and they rise up to the challenge. They do a great job getting kids involved, even the ones that are not used to being away from their parents or being around a lot of other kids.

 

We had the same 3 or 4 counselors the entire time. You could tell they really enjoyed their work and the children. I think RCI staffs the program accordingly as they will know the ages and number of kids well ahead of time. I never found the program to be overcrowded or understaffed. As far as tipping, since we had the same counselors all the time, it was easy to give them each a tip. (Maybe they switch off more in the older groups?)

 

Sovereign 6/02

Voyager 9/03

 

Mariner is so far away.. [ ]

[serious sealeggs]

Our sons (ages 8 & 9) went on the 7-day Navigator with us. They wanted to stay together so we put them in the 6-8 yr. program together. They loved every minute and we could hardly keep them away for any time except dinner, and even then, they were asking to go to Adventure Ocean before dessert.

 

As for tipping, I'm not sure how I would do it, unless my kids had a particular favorite person. They did trade off alot, and there were 3-4 faces that would recognize us personally throughout the week at pick-up time. All activities prior to 10pm are free. After 10pm, it costs $5 per hour per child. My kids would beg to stay late every night. Excellent program!!! All staff have good credentials. Go to the orientation program on the first night if you can.

[DecafMom]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I think we'll be very comfortable with our son in the program. I know that he will also be one of the kids who doesn't want to leave the program as he'll be having so much fun!!

 

I'm glad he'll be able to spend time with other kids. He loves playing, so I'm sure he'll have a great time.

 

DecafMom

Nordic Empress, 6/12/04

Explorer of the Seas, 6/28/03

Grand Princess, 2/17/02

 

[plannermom]

When we went on Granduer 4/3, on the last day of the cruise, the Adventure ocean staff had envelopes on the table where you sign the kids in. They said if you placed a gratuity in it, they would divide it between all the AO staff.

[brn2crz]

I found the staff in the AO to be great.

My DS,3 1/2 really liked it.

I did have some concerns,(on the Rhapsody) just as something to keep an eye out for.

Check-in/out was not well monitored.I know that one problem was that parents came at all times for the kids.But I think this should be expected.There were many times that we did not sign in or out,because we simply were not sure of the procedure the first couple of visits.

The door area simply was not watched.One little girl walked right out the doors and was headed out to the pool.I was the one who saw her,not an AO person.

I was also a little unhappy with the hours,but i guess thats the best they could do as they don't want to have to feed the kids.But by the time breakfast was done,and we got them to the club it would be about 9 or so,then they have to be picked up by 12..then open from 2-4,then not again till 7...

All in all we loved it.I hope I am not sounding too negagtive.

 

Cathy

NCL-Starward 1982

NCL-Seaward 1986

NCL-Norway 1992

Carnival-Celebration 1996

Carnival-Jubilee 2001

RCI-Rhapsody 1999

RCI-Rhapsody- 2003

Grand Princess or Rhapsody ?

2004

 

 

[Tmmull]

Cathy - I am sorry to hear this about the Rhapsody. I hope that you mentioned it in the survey or to the AO supervisor. We have taken our son to 3 different AOs and found each one to be quite tight security-wise. On the Sovereign, we had to show our Seapass card everytime we picked him up.

 

Remember, folks, to always let the staff know if you see problems. It might seem picky but it is how staff learns to improve. Also, fill out those end of cruise questionnaires. RCI reads those. They matter.

 

Tom's wife Barbara (Barva)

 

Tom Mulligan

Cruise Addict

Monarch of the Seas 6/02

Monarch of the Seas 4/03

Enchantment of the Seas 7/03

Sovereign of the Seas 12/03

Sovereign of the Seas 4/04 *Voyager of the Seas 7/04 *Navigator of the Seas 12/04

[brn2crz]

Hi Tom's wife.

 

Yes,we did make note of it.

All in all,they did a great job.And we too had to show our Seapass.But one time,my DH had already picked our DS up..I did not know,and went to get him.He was not signed out for!!

After a brief bit of panic when they could not find him.My DH returned with him when we realized we had crossed paths!!I was not totally put out,because some was our fault.But it could have been avoided if they were following procedures.I am quite confident in the program overall.

ON an off topic,sort of.

I have heard of others talk of leaving their kids in the program while they went ashore.

While I think this is a great option.We did not take advantage of it.I felt real un-easy,for no specific reason.I just know,if for some reason I could not get back on that ship.I would want my son with me.Even though he could potentialy be better off onboard,then where ever I was that was preventing my return.

But when I saw what happened last week with the Celebrity sent back to sea,with others already onshore,I felt my fears were vindicated.

 

Cathy

NCL-Starward 1982

NCL-Seaward 1986

NCL-Norway 1992

Carnival-Celebration 1996

Carnival-Jubilee 2001

RCI-Rhapsody 1999

RCI-Rhapsody- 2003

Grand Princess or Rhapsody ?

2004

 

 

[Mike&Lorraine]

It's great to hear so many good things about the program. We're going on our first cruise on the Granduer on May 31. Our kids are 3 and 4 and we're counting on them having a ball, not to mention that we'll get some time to ourselves as well. I have a few questions, though.

 

First, I've heard that AO has a few nights where they offer dinner to the kids. Is this true and is it on the formal nights? Don't know if we'd do it or not, that depends on how they handle the dining room, but it would nice to know the option is there.

 

Second, has anyone gone to dinner (we have an early seating) and have the kids eat while we're eating appetizers, then run them up to AO and come back to finish our dinner? Again, I think the kids would much rather be playing than sitting in the dining room for two hours. (I'm sure the rest of the people in the dining room would like it better that way too.)

 

What kind of equipment do they have, specifically on the Granduer? I haven't been able to find many pictures of it. Do they have playground-type equipment? What about computer games? My son is really into computer games (although it wouldn't bother me for him to take a break from them for 12 days. Sometimes I think he spends too much time on the computer.)

 

How do they work it who can sign the kids in and out? My parents are going to on the cruise too. Can we give them authorization to sign them in and out, or is it only the parents?

 

Finally, not really OA question, but how is the pool on the Grandeur for kids? Is there a shallow wading area for them? We plan to spend the afternoons at the pool with the kids (unless of course they want to go back to AO.)

 

About leaving them in the club while we go ashore, we're just too paranoid to do it. Besides, I think the kids would love getting out and about and it will break up the time in AO so they don't get bored with it. We're planning most of our ports as laid back beach days. On the stops I want to do some shopping, I'll go off with my mom and DH will stay on board with the kids.

 

Thanks for any insight you give.

[2theship]

My kids are 14 and 15 now but have been cruising since they were 3 and 4. The kids programs on both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are the reason that they love to cruise. We've not cruised on the Grandeur so I can't give you much help there but I'd like to address the dining room issue. Probably on at least one formal night (or maybe all) they will have a pizza party for the kids so that's always an option. However, my kids would never dream of giving up their lobster tails and prime rib to go have pizza. Keep in mind that I'm talking about two girls who love to dress up also.

 

As always, you have to know your own child and do what's best for your family. But, I can assure you that the dining room staff will do their best to make sure that you enjoy dinner in the dining room. And, If you decide it's not working out, you can easily slip out for a few minutes, take your little one to the pizza party and come back.

 

We all spend way to much time eating fast food on the way to here or there. It's a pleasure to be able to sit as a family at dinner - we do it at home as much as possible and we do it on cruises, too. The bonus is that it's a great time to expose your kids to new foods. At a restaurant you may never take the chance on ordering something they might not like - on a ship you can say "give it a try - if you don't like it you can have something else".

 

Pam

 

 until the Queen Mary 2

 

 until the Voyager of the Seas