kids, ages 7 and 10, want to go to kids club together

My boys are really close and like to hang out together. Is Disney really the only cruise that will allow them to be together in the same area at the same time? :(

Sorry - Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity group the 9-11 year olds together, and HAL , Princess and Cunard group the 8-12 year olds together. It looks like you will have options next year.

We were on a Princess cruise to the Panama Canal that left on 1/8, when the schools were back in session. There were only 9 children on board, so they didn't separate the children and they were all in one big group (there were never more than 3-4 kids there at one time anyway). It's no guarantee but if you travel during the school year and on itineraries that don't generally attract children you will have a better chance of the kids clubs being less structured, or of their waiving the age requirements and letting the 7 year old join the older group. Unfortunately, if you want a guarantee they can go together it might be Disney unless anyone else can find something.

Yep, Disney is the only one that lets all join in..and that's why most kids prefer other cruise line's

kid's club! The activities are VERY "age-appropriate"....

There is no need to have the kids joined at the hip. They will "see" each other...and there will be plenty of time together outside of the clubs! I mean...they aren't together in school...they are used to this!

They will have a BLAST!

Disney is the only one I know of with that age range. It's one of the reasons DCL works best for our family. Their kids facilities and programs are fantastic!

Last time we sailed Princess (a couple years ago) they let our older daughter move down to the younger club as she wanted to be with her sister.

We've sailed HAL quite a bit, but the girls have always been in the same age range for the clubs. Sailing with them again in a few weeks, but now they are in different kids clubs. We shall see if they let our older daughter move down if she wants to.

 

We've sailed HAL quite a bit, but the girls have always been in the same age range for the clubs. Sailing with them again in a few weeks, but now they are in different kids clubs. We shall see if they let our older daughter move down if she wants to.

My experience with HAL (two cruise only though) is that they will allow you to move down, but not up. All rules are off though if there are just a few children on board. Then, pretty much everyone is together, but the ones old enough to go into the teen room (forgot what it's called).

My experience with HAL (two cruise only though) is that they will allow you to move down, but not up. All rules are off though if there are just a few children on board. Then, pretty much everyone is together, but the ones old enough to go into the teen room (forgot what it's called).

Thanks for the info. We've run into the combining clubs thing as well with HAL (and Princess). This is a 10 day, but on a new ship and over a school break week so will be interesting to see how many kids are onboard.

This may not work, but if you call the cruise line some people have sometimes been able to get the number of children registered for their cruise from the call center employees. Other times people have been told that information is confidential and can't be released. Since it's just a phone call, it's probably worth a shot so you will be able to prepare your kids if the kids clubs are really crowded.

This may not work, but if you call the cruise line some people have sometimes been able to get the number of children registered for their cruise from the call center employees. Other times people have been told that information is confidential and can't be released. Since it's just a phone call, it's probably worth a shot so you will be able to prepare your kids if the kids clubs are really crowded.

As long as you are on the cruise they will give you the breakdown. If the CSR says she can't just tell her you asked on your last cruise and they told you. I always get the info.

Or the CSR will make something up to make you go away :) BTDT

It's not that big a deal to us to be worth calling about. Nothing I can do about changing the number of kids onboard anyway, other than leaving my own sitting on the dock. Hey, there's an idea! :p

It really depends on the sailing if they will allow you to move up or down a group. If it's a smaller amount of kids sailing that week they are more inclined to allow it. Some kids clubs staff are very strict and never allow it. We sail a lot and often sail with cousins of different age groups so we generally ask every sailing. Sometimes they will allow the kids to move up or down a group and sometimes not. Carnival has allowed it more than the others. NCL has times when all age groups are combined and then they split off into their separate groups after a few hours.

Issue with Carnival groups at those ages. The 9-11 are allowed to check themselves in and out. The 7 yo can't.

I totally understand as well.... My 10 & 7 yr old boys are extremely close as well

It's the 7 year old that will be ticked that he can't be with his brother.....

Im hoping that they want to try it out at least....but I don't know if that will happen......oh well it's a family vacation anyhow..... :)

you can ask - sometime they allow kids to go down one level, never up.

I think that part of your children wanting to be together is that the kids'club is an unknown. Even if they can't be in the same group, I think you'll find that they are OK, once the initial strangeness has worn off.After all, they are in different classes in school, aren't they?

They don't have to be in the kids' club all day, every day, so you will be able to do things with them together, as a family, too.

Thought I would post back with our experience on HAL last week. Turned out to only be 60ish kids on the ship so they combined the younger kids /tweens into one club and the teenagers into another. Worked out great for us as our kids were able to be in the same club together.

We just got off the Carnival Sunshine. Seemed like a decent amount of kids. They had the 6-8 and 9-11 together the whole time. It worked out nicely, since my kids are in each of those groups.

I'll just share the "other side" of this issue. DD sailed twice at age 3. One time was with a line where they had strict age groups (combined for a few specific activities with additional direct supervision) and once on Disney, where due to constant complaining that kids of certain ages couldn't be together so they combined ages 3-12 in an open/free for all environment. The first one went great & DD loved the children's program.

On Disney, DD who is very outgoing and not easily intimidated was terrified of the children's program. After one time, she would cry & beg not to go back because of the big kids. She said they would "be mean" and she thought she was going to get hurt. I watched from the Windows a couple of times & realized she was not exaggerating. When I addressed the staff I was told they understood, but there was nothing they could do. They said it used to be 3-7 and 8-12,but parents complained.

I just point this out because, while I understand there are times it is important to have children together, sometimes it doesn't just impact them. Just as some people say their children's vacation would be negatively impacted by not being together, there could be other children who could be impacted by children of other age groups being added (without the additional staff that comes with combining groups when the number of children on a sailing is low).

As a parent, I would like to see Disney with at least a 3-7 separation. Since they only have 4 ships and we primarily choose cruises based upon itineraries, I'm hoping it won't be an issue for our family.