Navigator with Kids - A few quick comments

We disembarked from the Navigator on Sunday - a great cruise with our 5 and 7 year old. We were very happy with the kids programming. We sailed the Carnival Magic last year and we would say the programming was better on the Navigator. Lots of activities. Very structured. A great talent show for them, plus the pirate parade. We had a heckuva time getting them out of there!

I'd be happy to answer any questions about our experience.

When we cruise we will have a 5 yr old girl and a 7 yr old son. Will they be in the same group playing together or will they be seperate. Right now she worships her older brother but is in a seperate class in daycare. If we as parents saw the early show, how late would the kids be able to stay in the kids clubs? What kind of stateroom did you have for your family? Was there enough room?

When we cruise we will have a 5 yr old girl and a 7 yr old son. Will they be in the same group playing together or will they be seperate. Right now she worships her older brother but is in a seperate class in daycare. If we as parents saw the early show, how late would the kids be able to stay in the kids clubs? What kind of stateroom did you have for your family? Was there enough room?

RCCL's age groups are 3-5 and 6-8 so your children would be separate. Adventure Ocean is free up until 10 pm. After 10 pm there is a charge per child per hour.

Since having kids, we always book two cabins - "boys cabin" and "girls cabin". We like inside cabins, but just find it too crowded. It has only been $100-200 more to book two cabins, rather than paying for 4 people in one cabin. Thanks to price drops we were able to upgrade to two panoramic oceanview cabins for no extra cost. The rooms were fantastic! (But we still wouldn't want to put 4 in there....)

When we checked in to the kids club on the first day, we asked about bumping up our 5 year old to the 6-8 group so they could be together. We were told that they would start in his own group but they would do a "trial" to see if he was suitable to move. That sounded fair. But when we went to check them in to the club the next day, they folks working in the 6-8 club said no way...he was too small and would find it too rough. I was a little put off but as we observed the groups over the week we were grateful it turned out that way. The 6-8 group was very physical, and physically active. Lots of dodgeball, and general active play. Our 5 year old would have been run over and trampled. Even though it may sound bad, our 7 year old daughter loved it -- but then again, she plays tackle football on a team where she is the only girl. I don't think it would have suited everyone...

As an aside, I was surprised (impressed) at the number of male counsellors in the kids camp. There did seem to be a lot more boys in the 6-8 camp, and that may have played a part.

We're sailing the Navigator in October. Can you talk a little bit about the pool situation? We're sailing with a 3 & 5 year old and they are waterbugs. I heard there was no waterslide on the ship though.

Also, did you take advantage of the family dining time? If so, how did that work out?

How often did you do the kids club vs just hanging out with them? Did you ever take advantage of the late night babysitting?

What excursions did you do? Did you leave the kids on the ship or take them with?

Thanks for offering a Q & A!

Also, both of my kids will be in the 3-5 group. Is it fun enough to keep them interested? Is there a TV there? I'm hoping they don't just plop them in front of the tube the whole day - we try to limit screen time.

For us, the pool situation wasn't great mainly because it was salt water. My son really wasn't a fan. They didn't spend much time in the pool at all. Goggles were really necessary for them. No slides, or anything "fun". Our observation was that most kids spent their time in the hot tubs...I'm sure much to the chagrin of the adults.

There was no "family dining" when we sailed. We had early seating. On alternating days, they would have dinner for the kids where they took them to the buffet but food options were standard kids fare. My kids LOVED that they did dinner on their own. When there was no dinner, the staff picked up the kids at 6:45 outside of the dining room. That worked really well -- they ate with us, and then took off.

Time in the camp: Our daughter, particularly, loved it. She wanted to be there at door opening and didn't want to leave at the end. After some "discussions", we came to the resolution that it is a vacation for the kids too, so they should be able to do what they want...within reason. We let it be child-led, for the most part. On sea days, they spent much of their time in there. On port days, we would pick them up at 2pm and drag them off the ship -- on port days, they have "lunch with friends"...again, a time for them to eat with the group at the buffet...they didn't want to miss that. And then the next hour was spent playing hide and seek in the theatre...another not to be missed activity for them. With our son, who was 5, we would check in regularly to see if he wanted to leave. He never did.

I don't recall ever seeing them on a screen. Maybe they did a movie once. Lots of crafts and colouring coming back to the cabin. We loved that they had a talent show, they did a little routine as pirates along the promenade one night. The 5 year old went on an alien hunt one evening. We never did late night so I can't report on that aspect.

As for excursions, we didn't do much. In Falmouth we went to Margaritaville -- because they had a big pool and waterfall. The kids swam for a few hours, had a "special drink" and were thrilled. In Grand Cayman, we did Stringray City, which our 5 year old wasn't ready for (he is an awesome swimmer...but the water was just too rough). He liked the boat ride out there though. Then they noticed the Margaritaville across from the pier, and asked if we could go. Pool and waterslide there...why not. In Cozumel, we just walked around. They wanted bongo drums, and we had said Cozumel was the place so they were excited. In all honesty, they ship could have thrown the anchor out 400 feet from Galveston and the kids would have been thrilled. They didn't need to get off the ship. Between the kids camp, the mini golf, the basketball course, and the ice cream, they were tickled pink.

Thanks for the info. Good to know. :)

This is random, but just noticed you're from Canada. Do you pay different prices for cruising compared to Americans?

 

This is random, but just noticed you're from Canada. Do you pay different prices for cruising compared to Americans?

Well, RCCL does give us the option of paying in Canadian or in USD. Because the exchange rate wasn't great, and because we would avoid the 2.5% currency conversion on our credit card it worked in our favour to pay in Canadian funds. We were also able to pay our gratuities in Canadian as well. It's not much, but better in our pocket than someone else's. :)