Kids clubs - are they strict on ages?

[U2fan]

We’ve booked our first-ever trip on Royal Caribbean on the Navigator of the Seas for next February. My eldest will be 12 (just), whereas my youngest will be 10. Does anyone know if they will allow my eldest to go with his brother to the kids club for 9-11 year olds?

Thanks!

 

[starvenger]

It depends on the staff. If you go by the rulebook it's a "no" but in the case where it's "just barely" they may make an exception. For example our first time on Allure my daughter was 2 but turning 3 the following week. They let her into the 3-5 group but we had to carry a phone around with us the first couple of days.

Of course, this is basically the exact opposite of your issue. But the takeaway should be that you lose nothing by asking.

 

[U2fan]

Thank you Starvenger!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I've heard the same thing. My son turns 12 two days prior to our trip. On the trip will be his best friend who will still be 11 and their brothers (also best friends) who will be 9. Before the best friends decided to join us he couldn't care less to be in the kid's club with his little brother (not the case for my younger son ) but now that his best friend is going he would be DEVASTATED if they couldn't be in the same club. His best friend is 3 months younger than him.

I've heard they're more lenient one way or the other (can't remember if it's moving a kid up or down in age group) but you truly won't know until you ask on the ship.

 

[bbel]

Totally depends on the manager, numbers, itinerary. Some managers say no group changes, some within a certain amount of months either way and some within the year...

But now with navigator being all kids aged 3-11 together, I dont have a clue how they'd be with aging down a 12 year old.

 

[LSUfan4444]

My experience has been that they are usually pretty lenient in allowing one kid to age down with a close friend or sibling BUT the older kid is stuck with that younger age group for the duration of the cruise. They can't swap back and forth between their age and the younger age group. They'll need to register for one or the other.