An almost 3yr old getting in the Oceaneer Club??

[Ga Girl]

What are the chances of my almost 3 yr old, by almost I mean 45 days shy of it, and 99% potty trained son getting into the Oceaneers Club. I will be able to go and check on him every hour or so to make him go to the bathroom. He has the bladder the size of an elephant and can go 5-6 hours without going to the bathroom. He just can't pull his pants up by himself without a little help. If I go and do that for him, what are my chances of getting him in the club??

 

[SuzPasq]

Isn't the rule that they have to be potty trained and within 30days of turning 3?

 

[DutchsMommy]

I think you will not be able to get a hard and fast ruling here, but judging by what I have read on these boards, if you go and talk to the CMs in the Club they will probably allow you to check him in. It might be on a bit of a trial basis, but I think they try and be pretty accomodating, if they possibly can.

Good luck and I envy your son's 99% potty training - my guy will be turning 3 the first day of the cruise (Feb '05) and as of right now we are about 40% trained ....but I am hopeful we will "turn the corner" before the cruise. And, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen - that's life with a preschooler!

 

[MelJade]

I just came back from the 9/18 cruise . My daughter turned two at the beggining of aug. and they admitted her in the club with the 3-4 year old. so she was almost a year apart and still did very well.

 

[Fish Finder]

We were on the 9/11 Magic and have a two year old DD who was within 60 days of her 3rd birthday and potty trained. We talked to the CM at registration about the possibility of her being allowed to attend the 3-4 club. The CM took our information and said she would talk with her manager and we would get a call back that afternoon with their decision. When they called back, they said that she was welcome to come that night for a 'trial' where we would stay in the Cub with her and they would observe how she handled being there, following directions, participating with other kids, etc. About 30 minutes after we were there, CM Duane talked to us and felt like she was doing fine and we could officially register her.

We always took her potty right when we would check her in and she was never there more than 1-2 hours-- the 'norm' for her was about 45 minutes. If her sister's group (5-7's) was also in the Club, she would last a little longer. We would often peek in on her just to see how she was doing. I don't think she ever had to go to the potty on her own-- though they are child size and easy to use.

We had friends on the cruise who's DD was only about 2 1/2 and not totally potty trained (needed pull-ups) and they were not granted permission to register her. I think it really is a case-by-case basis dependant upon several factors: child's age, being fully potty trained (no pull-ups), how well they can 'handle' being part of the Club, and how full the ship is of children in that age group. We would not have been upset if they said she could not be registered as we had not officially paid for her to have all the Club privileges-- but it was nice that they gave her a chance and that we could leave her there a few times (for spa treatments, etc.).

I think your 'chances' of at least getting trial are pretty good but that is just my opinion. You and your child are always able to visit the Club and participate in the activities even if they are not registered (meaning you get a wristband, pager, etc.) We did this many times with our DD-- just came in with her to play. This age group seems to have more special visits from characters-- Mickey, Snow White and Daisy Duck all made visits when our DD was in the Club. Her favorite memory is "stomping with Mickey"!!!

 

[Ga Girl]

Thats great. I'm not even sure he will go in the club. He is in daycare, but it took a while for him to adjust to it. Big brother will be in the 5-7 age group so that will probably help.

Thanks for everyones advice and stories. They helped me believe that there is a chance for him to get in.

Fish Finder...Where in Ga are you from?

 

[Fish Finder]

Ga Girl-- we are in Dacula which is in the northeast suburbs of Atlanta (off of I-85 near the Mall of Georgia).

 

[kcashner]

They will definitely allow him in IF you stay there with him. Of course, that rather defeats the purpose, doesn't it? The official rule is that he must be within 30 days of the 3rd birthday and potty trained, but the only answer that really works is to talk with the counsellors. IF they have space, and he is only 45 days out, they very well might allow it. If they don't have space, you can expect strict enforcement of the written rules.

The big answer is always to talk with the counsellors. They really do try to meet everyone's needs.

 

[pppiglet]

You also might want to consider how mature the " not yet 3yr old is". There is a big difference between 3 & 4yr olds. I teach sunday school with 3 & 4yr olds and some "not quite 3's are put in and they just get lost in the class and the 4yr olds just run them over. You have to remember that some of these are almost 5's! I would think that if you stayed and watched how the interaction with the rest of the kids and how the CM's advise you would be the best way to go.

Have a great cruise!