My comparison-ish of Royal's and Disney's Kids Clubs!

[oakleycat]

Thanks so much for this! Our first RCCL cruise will be over Thanksgiving on Harmony. My younger one will be six weeks shy of 12 and wants to be with his brother (will be 14) but I'm thinking it will be better to have him try the younger group than try to move up to teens. We've done many Disney and the last one (2018) he was so upset he had to be with all the younger kids and not his brother and didn't want to spend any time in the clubs, which seriously cut into our adult time.

 

[bbel]

Thank you for this extensive review! We've just booked our first RCI cruise and I've been nervous about the kids clubs. That being said, I kind of loathed that my kids would go to the DCL club and just play video games all day. They never made friends and they never participated in activities. I LIKE that they'll be forced away from those screens on RCI - even if my kids arent impressed by it initially. I know they'll have fun.

Which ship? I'm sure they'll like it a little haha.

Sorry for the late reply, I just got off a contract and challenged myself not to buy internet the whole time...

 

[bbel]

I have kids going with us on the Independence in November of this year and I'm excited for "structure" on RCCL. My youngest (who will be 6 at travel time) thrives with structure and Disney's clubs was rough for him. I remember one morning on DCL they had a preschool hour and he loved it then he just sat in the corner until we came to get him...

The room for that age on Indy is a good layout and a decent size. It was probably my favourite adventure ocean to work in.
Remember the first 30 minutes or so it's free time so can look crazy and chaotic but once the session starts theres way more structure.
Enjoy, Indy has a lot of great stuff for everyone on it now.

 

[bbel]

Thanks so much for this! Our first RCCL cruise will be over Thanksgiving on Harmony. My younger one will be six weeks shy of 12 and wants to be with his brother (will be 14) but I'm thinking it will be better to have him try the younger group than try to move up to teens. We've done many Disney and the last one (2018) he was so upset he had to be with all the younger kids and not his brother and didn't want to spend any time in the clubs, which seriously cut into our adult time.

6 weeks away they would probably bump him up if you wanted, although it is Thanksgiving and if it's super busy they may not allow it. Just go check it out on the first day and see.

If I have older 11 year olds and they're mature I always suggest to the parents about moving up. Sometimes they dont want to, especially if they're competitive, the teen club is often a lot of hanging around where voyagers would be more active so it depends which would fit his personality...

 

[Carolynleanne]

Which ship? I'm sure they'll like it a little haha.

Sorry for the late reply, I just got off a contract and challenged myself not to buy internet the whole time...

We'll be on Harmony

 

[oakleycat]

6 weeks away they would probably bump him up if you wanted, although it is Thanksgiving and if it's super busy they may not allow it. Just go check it out on the first day and see.

If I have older 11 year olds and they're mature I always suggest to the parents about moving up. Sometimes they dont want to, especially if they're competitive, the teen club is often a lot of hanging around where voyagers would be more active so it depends which would fit his personality...

Thank you!

 

[bbel]

Thank you!

I should have said as well, that you would need to go to the teen centre and sign a waiver, like with all the bump ups, if the staff dont feel its appropriate they'll bump back down

Have a great cruise!