One of the great advantages of a cruise vacation are the endless activities for kids, especially the supervised clubs. My kids kept asking, “Can we go back to the kids club?” They were always so shocked when I said, “YES!!”
Children have to be fully potty trained (not even wearing pull ups). They had several sessions every day with themes although you can drop them off and pick them up at any time you want. If there is a problem they will call your room but if you want to be reached at any time you can request a beeper. You can keep it for the whole trip and it must be returned the last night by 10pm or you will incur a $150 fee.
When you are at sea the kids programs run from 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm, and 6:45pm-10pm. They can stay for lunch or after 10pm for a fee. On days you are in port you can use the kids clubs from 9am to 10pm. They will take the kids for lunch or dinner if you sign them up for no extra fee.
You can also sign the kids up for my time dining. Let your waitstaff know that the kids will be leaving early so they bring their food right away. Make sure you sign the kids up at the kids club earlier that day. At 6:40pm take your kids out to the front of the De Gama dining room on deck 4 (the dining rooms are on decks 3-5 so you may have to go up or down a floor) and sign your kids into the Adventure Ocean Club. Their teachers will take them up to the Adventure Ocean Club on deck 12. You can quickly get back to dinner and be sure to pick them up by 10pm.
For children 3-5 they have the Aquanauts program. Some of the activities included a welcome party, chefs on deck, train-o-rama, super hero night, dino adventure, once upon a fairytale, pajamarama movie night, country time, little people birthday party, pirate night, talent show, carnival afternoon, and alien adventures.
For children 6-8 they have the Explorers program. Some of the activities included a welcome party, A.O top ten, circus on the seas, boys vs girls, medieval morning, around the world, pajamarama movie night, mayhem morning, harry potter, pirate night, talent show, brain buster, and carnival.
For children 9-11 they have the Voyagers program. Some of the activities included a welcome party; games, games, and games; A.O. top ten; wide world of sports; medieval morning; around the world; pajamarama movie night; mayhem morning; Harry Potter; boys vs girls; talent show; secret agent afternoon; and carnival.
For babies under three they have two programs. One is called Royal Babies for children 6-18 months and the other is Royal Tots for children 18 -36 months. They have organized play groups each morning, open play throughout the day and then a bed time story at 8pm. Parents need to accompany their child at all times. They also have toys you can borrow if you need some extra activities for your child in your room or at dinner.
On the first day at 5pm they have a meet and greet so the parents can meet the Adventure Ocean staff. I was very impressed with the credentials of the staff. They all had 4 year degrees in areas such as elementary education, physical education, or languages. They were educated, experienced and professional. I was very comfortable with both the staff and the ratios. Within a day or two the staff new my child’s name and greeted him with a high five.
The true test is what the kids think and they loved the activities. Every night after dinner we would get the itinerary for the next day. They kids would ask me what activities they had in their classes and they were so excited about them. They couldn’t wait to go. The first night my daughter thought it was boring but I think its just because everyone had to get settled. After that they had a blast every time. They were involved in several parades down the promenade that were super cute. They had face painting on several occasions too. On super hero night my son came back looking like spider man. They did his whole face! On pirate night they had their faces painted too and then did a parade. Make sure you have a pair of warm pjs for the pj party. The ship is air conditioned and they have the kids take their shoes off so you want to make sure they don’t get cold.
If you want to go out you can also have in room babysitting. I didn’t use it but spoke to several people on the ship that used it several times. They all had great things to say about it. This is available for children under 3 too!
Take advantage of the help and enjoy some alone time with your spouse and friends at the casino, night clubs, or adult pool. Your kids will have a blast and so will you!
