Kids Club

[bostonlass]

I have been reading reviews of the Wonder and Magic on cruisecritic.com and I'm hearing a lot of comments that people's children weren't all that thrilled with the kid programs. It's funny but in all of the questions that I've had I never thought of that one. I just assumed that kids everywhere loved the programs on the ships but now I'm reading that kids who have cruised on other lines prefer the programs on the Carnival and on the Princess.

Does anyone have any comments? I guess I'm looking for people who have cruised on lines other than Disney so I can hear what the kids thought of both.

Thanks

 

[kcashner]

We've done 9 DCL cruises and 2 on other lines. The kid programs look fun (I sometimes wish I were a kid!). The key to my daughter's happiness has always been whether or not she makes a friend in the first day or 2. If she has a buddy, she loves the programs. If she doesn't, she'd rather hang with mom. This has been the case in 3 different age groups on the Magic.

This time, we have "met" a friend on line, and the kids have been internet chatting prior to the cruise. They are really looking forward to spending time together on the ship.

The DCL programs are MUCH better than the other line we cruised. On DCL, there are neat activities. The other line was much more a babysitting service where the kids watched videos, colored, etc. This was despite being known as a kid cruise! DCL rivals any good childcare program, with the total emphasis on fun (some learning is an extra bonus). The other cruise line wouldn't have passed my requirement as a decent babysitter (a sitter who puts my kid in front of a screen doesn't cut it!)

Another key--I made it clear to DD that she could ask the counsellors to page me at any time and I would come to get her. SHe "tested" me just once on DCL. When I got there, she told me that she didn't want to leave, she just needed a hug. I took that as a "just wanted to see if I'd really come."

 

[awatt]

My girls really liked the DCL kids club for the most part. The key was selecting the activities I thought they'd like best,especially the character ones. My 4 year old at times was unhappy with the high ratio of staff to kids and felt I little lost in the beginning. We solved this by putting her in with her sister in the 5-7 group. The counsellors were super= with the kids

I asked them which hids club they liked better,NCL or DCL. They said they liked them the same,but for different reasons. DCL had characters but NCL was a smaller group of kids/counselor and they got to know the counselors better.

With more families cruising,I think all the lines are putting together really good kids clubs.

 

[alexandrew]

after 6 DCL cruises the old barometer of whether my DS is enjoying himself at the club still holds true - at 11pm, when I come to pick him up, he begs me to stay....I think that is very telling...

 

[hayesktrm]

We have never been on a Disney Cruise, by we have been on a Carnival cruise. The kids enjoyed the Carnival cruise, but the room they had the kids in was about the size of a large bedroom. I was very disappointed. Luckily, they didn't spend all their time there. My DS made a friend and had a great time. My DD said she had a good time. When I told them how big the kids' club was on DCL, they couldn't believe it. I have several friends who have been on DCL and they all have said that their kids never wanted to leave. My kids tend to really get into the kinds of projects it looks like they have, so I'm sure they'll have a great time.

 

[JohnT]

We cruised on the Magic a few weeks ago. DD3 was very happy with the kids' activities, especially when the characters showed up. We thought the counselors were great, very personable and professional.

However, there were just too many kids and too few counselors. DD3 was hit in the head by an older boy one day, and pushed on the floor another day by a different boy. The counselors didn't witness either incident, and DD3 was terrified to return after the second day of our 7-day cruise. At times, the 5-7 year-olds were mixed in with the 3-4 year-olds, which made the problem worse.

There were significantly fewer kids in the program when we sailed on Carnival, and the supervision was MUCH better. The activities consisted of mainly arts-and-crafts, and were nowhere near the level of Disney. However, my daughter still talks about how much fun she had on Carnival. Her experience on Disney, however, caused her to be afraid of preschool for 2 weeks after we returned.

We all had a lot of fun on the Magic, but will probably not be able to go on another Disney Cruise until my daughter is much older.