OT Kids programs on NCL Royal C

[rockundergirl]

Has any one had experience with the kids programs on ncl or royal Caribbean or both?
I'm looking for info about how they run the day time kids stuff, and the group sitting, whats included in the price and whats not. Anything I should know?

The both companies seem to have very limited information on the websites, and when I call they are just trying to sell the cruise so hard I feel like they are telling me what i want to hear.


Thanks guys!

 

[MomToOne]

Check out the reviews for any cruise you are considering on cruisecritic.com. Many will talk about how much they/their children did/did not like the kids club, and why.

 

[JenLanDisney]

We were on NCL Sky in May 2010. DS4 went to the group kids program every evening. I was satisfied with how they handled check in / out and safety issues.

We gave him the option every evening to go or to stay with us. He wanted to go! They did theme , art projects, face painting and movies. We'll sail NCL again because he liked it so much. We still had loads of family time during the day, too.

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd14 liked the teen club, dd7, ds7, and ds9 liked their club, but ds12 1/2 though the 10 - 12 group was geared towards the younger kids, and didn't go after the first day (nothing listed appealed to him). How old are the kids? We were on NCL.

 

[PHXscuba]

We got back from a cruise on Royal Caribbean a couple weeks ago. My four kids -- DS5, DD8, DD11, and DS14 -- all liked the kids/teen clubs.

The rooms are big and bright and they do many different activities. The younger two had their faces painted several times and they all learned some new active games. The teens did some of the sports activities like ice skating, rock climbing, etc. together. On RC, the group program is free until 10 p.m. I think it's $5 per kid per hour after but didn't use that.

Even if they don't want to go to the kids' program all the time, the bigger Royal Caribbean ships have so much to do -- rock wall, mini golf, ice skating, rollerblading, etc. -- that they won't be bored.

I would suggest going to the Cruise Critic forums and finding the Family Board. There are lots of people there with experience. If you look for a poster names CruisinMama06, she has a link to kids' club fliers in her signature so you can get an idea of the activities.

PHXscuba

 

[Darcy03231]

I only used the kids clubs on Royal Carribean and Carnival and its been a number of years so my information may be outdated....

Both lines ran the kids clubs for certain hours during the day and evening. Kids were split up by age groups and did different age appropriate things. Scavenger hunts, arts & crafts, games, plays, coketail parties (for the tweens/teens) etc. are some of the things I remember. There was no fee for the regular kids club. They did offer a really late night option that was fee based. We never took advantage of it, but I know people that did and their kids had a great time. Kids clubs were open every day of the cruise - even port days. While I wouldn't do it, there were parents that left their kids in the club while they did shore excursions.

My kids really liked the kids clubs on both lines. While they didn't stay there the entire time, they liked hanging out with the other kids and we always had great counselors.