Kids club question

[TeamH5]

i know the age req for the kids club is 3, but it looks like our cruise is not that full. Has anyone had any experience with them accepting a potty trained 2.5 yr old? Our cruise is in Dec, he turns 3 in May so not even close.
He will have 3 older siblings also in the club that can look after him, I'm just curious if anyone has ever had any luck? Also, I know that it's not a guarantee just because one person was able to do it, I'm just wondering IF anyone has been able to. I really don't want to book Nursery time as I think 2.5 is going to be to old. It looks like the Nursery is really geared towards infants under age 1.

 

[Weedy]

Unfortunately no. They are very strict that a child needs to be 3 to use the club.

 

[michellekcm]

The nursery is geared to children up to age 3 - when my son was 3 he still preferred the nursery over the clubs. They have activities they can do, and especially if the cruise isn't that full, they will spend a lot of time with your son in the nursery doing craft activities etc. Don't dismiss it without trying it, especially since they won't allow him to age up to the clubs.

 

[lanejudy]

There was a time that DCL would make exceptions for those "near" 3 to age-up to the Club. However, last winter they made a hard rule and absolutely will not allow the child into secured Club programming until the actual birth date -- if the birthday occurs on the cruise, they start in the nursery for the first few days. So, no, in OP's case there is no likelihood of the 2.5 yr old moving up to the Club. The nursery actually has an overlap year for 3 yr olds, as some 3's prefer the nursery while other 3's like the Club, but they must fully be 3 yrs old for the Club. They have programming and activities for the "older" nursery kids.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[cheermom2four]

Honestly, as we just got back from our 7 night on the Fantasy, I'm not sure I would want my 2.5 year old in the kids club even if they made an exception. My 5 year old (turned 5 on day 2 of our cruise) had a difficult time navigating such a large space. It was during school as we pulled our kids out for this trip so it wasnt filled terribly with kids. You need to remember there will be 3 to age 12 in there especially during open house when one side (club or lab) is in that mode and the other will be secured which means all ages will be in same area. My dd was constantly ran over by older kids running around so she didnt really like it. This is just our experience and there were times she did enjoy it.

 

[tee11]

The nursery is geared to children up to age 3 - when my son was 3 he still preferred the nursery over the clubs. They have activities they can do, and especially if the cruise isn't that full, they will spend a lot of time with your son in the nursery doing craft activities etc. Don't dismiss it without trying it, especially since they won't allow him to age up to the clubs.

This was our experience exactly! Loved nursery at age 2 and age 3. They did lots of arts and crafts. Nursery Staff was awesome on the Wonder.

Now I know that you say your 2.5 year old is potty trained, but there is just no way your toddler can handle using the bathrooms doing a number two, get dressed again and wash hands all alone without any assistance whatsoever, as each child has to handle this completely alone - the staff does not go into the bathrooms - or even navigate to the bathrooms on their own in this large space. Hey, it's easy for an adult to get lost in there!

 

[TeamH5]

This was our experience exactly! Loved nursery at age 2 and age 3. They did lots of arts and crafts. Nursery Staff was awesome on the Wonder.

Now I know that you say your 2.5 year old is potty trained, but there is just no way your toddler can handle using the bathrooms doing a number two, get dressed again and wash hands all alone without any assistance whatsoever, as each child has to handle this completely alone - the staff does not go into the bathrooms - or even navigate to the bathrooms on their own in this large space. Hey, it's easy for an adult to get lost in there!

Lol I know, but he has 3 older siblings that WOULD help him with that.
Our older son did the clubs at 3.5 NOT fully potty trained, and he had no issues. We told his older sisters to help him and they did. At least to our knowledge, as we never got a call or txt from the staff. Lol

 

[bafleyanne]

The nursery attendants actually love having slightly older kids to play with. And there is plenty to do in there for 2-3 year olds. My daughter is 5 and she still always asks to go to the nursery during open house time to play with the toys there. I would worry about a 2.5 year old getting trampled in the kids club honestly. Much better to have more one on one attention in the nursery.