Do kids clubs max out?

We are cruising RCCL Liberty of the Seas leaving 11/22/14 & returning Thanksgiving day...I understand that this is a very busy time when cruising with kids but was wondering if anyone has ever dealt with the kids clubs maxing out on occupancy etc. This is our first cruise taking our girls (6 & 11) and I know they will enjoy the kids programs I am just curious how exactly it works? Do I have to schedule times that they will be there or can I just drop them off? I know that during meal times it is typically "closed" unless you made prior arrangements for them to eat with someone from the kid club staff...but any other info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Kelly

I don't think so...if there are more of one age group than another, they will shift counselors to cover it....

No scheduling times....they can go for the entire open times, or just for the parts of the day they want.

We are cruising RCCL Liberty of the Seas leaving 11/22/14 & returning Thanksgiving day...I understand that this is a very busy time when cruising with kids but was wondering if anyone has ever dealt with the kids clubs maxing out on occupancy etc. This is our first cruise taking our girls (6 & 11) and I know they will enjoy the kids programs I am just curious how exactly it works? Do I have to schedule times that they will be there or can I just drop them off? I know that during meal times it is typically "closed" unless you made prior arrangements for them to eat with someone from the kid club staff...but any other info would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Kelly

I remembering reading once that someone was turned away from the AO because they were at capacity. There are certainly published capacity limits for AO, and on a busy cruise, you could imagine that they might reach these limits - however, one would think that if this was a huge problem, we would hear more complaints on CC. I would ask the AO staff during registration about this topic. We are also traveling over Thanksgiving, and I will definitely be asking them about this topic too :)

PS: there is no scheduling. You sign them up on day 1 during open house, and then just drop them off.

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I'm also curious, we're on Navigator over thanksgiving with a 3YO and a 1 YO and I'm wondering if the kids club could be at capacity (obviously I will have to sign up for nursery time for the 1YO, but the 3YO will be in AO).

Royal has a list of passengers, so hopefully they add kids club staff accordingly on holiday/busy weeks. I know we sailed HAL a few times when I was a teenager and they had limited programs in general, but added staff and had more "full scale" kids/teen programs on sailings with more kids (we did a Panama Canal cruise over spring break that had lots of programming, but they said the week before there had been less than 10 kids onboard, so I'm sure that was a different story).

Anyone who's done holiday/summer cruises with insight?

We are cruising RCCL Liberty of the Seas leaving 11/22/14 & returning Thanksgiving day...I understand that this is a very busy time when cruising with kids but was wondering if anyone has ever dealt with the kids clubs maxing out on occupancy etc. This is our first cruise taking our girls (6 & 11) and I know they will enjoy the kids programs I am just curious how exactly it works? Do I have to schedule times that they will be there or can I just drop them off? I know that during meal times it is typically "closed" unless you made prior arrangements for them to eat with someone from the kid club staff...but any other info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

 

Kelly

You will get a package in your cabin listing daily times and daily activities so you can plan around what your kids want to participate in. The hours that the kids club is open is posted in the info. Every cruise is a bit different and during holiday weeks there may be more activities than other weeks given the larger number of kids on board. You go the first day only to tour and sign the paperwork. The club usually opens the first full day onboard. You can drop off and pickup anytime during normal opening hours while at sea. They usually request pickup 15 min before closing time and there is a lineup to sign them out. An adult has to sign them in and out each visit and the adult must bring photo id each and every time they pick up. Cruise card is not enough. The 11 year old could sign herself in and out but only if you give her written permission to do so in that first day's paperwork, and you are comfortable with her roaming the ship. I think you said its their first time so maybe not a good idea.

They are not open every hour every day. They usually open around 9 am, close for lunch, open for the afternoon, close for dinner, open for the evening.

After a certain time - usually 10 pm, they close unless you have booked ahead for late night and there is a $$ charge per hour and they close around 1 am.

You do need to book ahead for port days - if no kids are scheduled for port days they close. You cannot drop off anytime during in-port time.

You can't " make prior arrangements to eat with the club staff " - a couple of nights per cruise there will be a kids club dinner. Otherwise they are closed over dinner.

Sometimes if our kids wanted to go for a particular activity, we would feed our kids at the buffet then drop them at the club, then go have a adult dinner just ourselves. Or, we would all goto the dining room, the kids would have dinner with us, then one of us would walk them up to the club and sign them in then we'd have adult time for dessert and coffee.

Have a great trip!

I have never heard (in ten years of being a regular reading of this and other cruising forums) of a "maxing out" for kids programs on any cruise. I have heard that often cruise lines will have a maximum number of minors who can be booked on a specific cruise, but that will probably more have to do with life jackets or other safety factors. One way this is accomplished will be regarding cabins that accommodate 3 and 4 passengers. Many cabins hold a max of two passengers. A few times we've tried to book near the sailing date and have not been able to book the cabins that have the extra berths, unless a family cancels.

The cruise line will know the birthdate of every passengers so they will gauge how many staff members to hire for each sailing. A few cruises ago, many of the kids' staff were teachers taking advantage of their winter break to take an extra job.

Check out the FAQs on the website for the cruise line you're going on to find out the details (age groupings, hours of operation, etc). Go on the first night to sign up your kid(s). Even though they know your children are on board and there's spaces reserved for them, there's paperwork for you to fill out and sign. Plus on the first night, they can meet the other kids.

As for any scheduling you would have to do, the only times I had to sign up for specific times was for port day or post-10pm kidsitting. Other than that, you don't have to let the staff know whether your kid is coming or night for any of the scheduled activities. Some kids will always seem to be there every second the place is open and some will spend time with their families at the pool (usually the staff doesn't take the kids to the pool) or other "adult" activities.

I have never heard (in ten years of being a regular reading of this and other cruising forums) of a "maxing out" for kids programs on any cruise. I have heard that often cruise lines will have a maximum number of minors who can be booked on a specific cruise' date=' but that will probably more have to do with life jackets or other safety factors. One way this is accomplished will be regarding cabins that accommodate 3 and 4 passengers. Many cabins hold a max of two passengers. A few times we've tried to book near the sailing date and have not been able to book the cabins that have the extra berths, unless a family cancels.

 

The cruise line will know the birthdate of every passengers so they will gauge how many staff members to hire for each sailing. A few cruises ago, many of the kids' staff were teachers taking advantage of their winter break to take an extra job.[/quote']

 

 

I agree with you - if the kids club did "max" out, I think we would have heard about it a lot more on here. But I did read one thread on RCI forum where the poster met a family, and the wife told her that her kids were turned away because the club was full. At first, I guessed that it may have to do with the capacity within the club, as all public places on the ship have published limits on the number of people they can hold. But in reading your comments and from the utter lack of other complaints, I wonder if this family was either turned away from nursery (which could have been full) or were just lying.

 

 

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I recently received an email from NCL saying they are expecting higher than normal numbers of kids and teens on our sailing. They are recommending registering them early on the first day, and to expect wait times at drop off and pick up. No mention of maxing out though.

Update

We boarded Grandeur today and registered at AO, and they confirmed that the kids club has a maximum capacity, and when it is reached, they will turn kids away. As children leave, they will let others come in.

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Update

 

We boarded Grandeur today and registered at AO, and they confirmed that the kids club has a maximum capacity, and when it is reached, they will turn kids away. As children leave, they will let others come in.

in all my years on cruise critic I have never read such stuff. Wow.

I can only imagine how that must pi$$ off people that are on the cruise with kids-- and how full it must be at night time.

I was always told that the cruise lines know how many kids are onboard in each age group-- and if the capacity goes over they bring in more counselors for the sailing. Groups move to another space on the ship. etc.

I am guessing the Granduer does not do this?

in all my years on cruise critic I have never read such stuff. Wow.

I can only imagine how that must pi$$ off people that are on the cruise with kids-- and how full it must be at night time.

 

I was always told that the cruise lines know how many kids are onboard in each age group-- and if the capacity goes over they bring in more counselors for the sailing. Groups move to another space on the ship. etc.

I am guessing the Granduer does not do this?

The capacity is driven by the size of the room - it is very small. They can accommodate 40 kids in 3-5 room and 40 kids in 6-8 room. The capacity limit is provided with the ship facts sheet, so I am guessing that all the ships have limits - but the newer ships may be much, much larger. The staff said that morning is the busiest time in the club, not evening. There are only 42 kids in my son's age group, so chances are the club will be available whenever we want to use it. But, I remembered this thread and knew there were a few others interested to learn if there were limits or not, so reported back while I am still on Verizon network.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

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in all my years on cruise critic I have never read such stuff. Wow.

I can only imagine how that must pi$$ off people that are on the cruise with kids-- and how full it must be at night time.

 

I was always told that the cruise lines know how many kids are onboard in each age group-- and if the capacity goes over they bring in more counselors for the sailing. Groups move to another space on the ship. etc.

I am guessing the Granduer does not do this?

I have never heard of this, either. I think Princess does have a maximum number of children that will be able to book on a single cruise -- that I have come across, but have never heard that only so many kids will be allowed in the kids' area. Maybe they use the capacity for those rooms (along with how many children's life jackets too -- remember they have to have them in every room that has kids and extras for those outside storage bins).

On every cruise we book, there's a point at which we have to indicate our child's age.

We sailed Navigator over Thanksgiving. The Adventure Ocean into packet alluded to maximum ratios of kids to staff. 3-5 year olds were 15 kids per staff member and I think 6-8 and 9-11 were 25 kids. There were usually 2 staff members in the 3-5s, meaning they would have theoretically capped at 30 (not sure if they would have moved staff between rooms). That said, our DD was in the clubs A LOT. They were frequently busy (lines at opening/closing times, sometimes I think activities were adjusted to accommodate there being so many kids in the clubs), but we were never turned away.

We sailed Navigator over Thanksgiving. The Adventure Ocean into packet alluded to maximum ratios of kids to staff. 3-5 year olds were 15 kids per staff member and I think 6-8 and 9-11 were 25 kids. There were usually 2 staff members in the 3-5s, meaning they would have theoretically capped at 30 (not sure if they would have moved staff between rooms). That said, our DD was in the clubs A LOT. They were frequently busy (lines at opening/closing times, sometimes I think activities were adjusted to accommodate there being so many kids in the clubs), but we were never turned away.

Yes. We noticed the same thing - long lines, but we were never turned away, and I never heard from other parents that they were turned away either. It was a little tense when they told that one parent that if they were full they would turn kids away. A lot of shocked faces in the room, and the next morning, a huge line...lol.

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We sailed Navigator over Thanksgiving. The Adventure Ocean into packet alluded to maximum ratios of kids to staff. 3-5 year olds were 15 kids per staff member and I think 6-8 and 9-11 were 25 kids. There were usually 2 staff members in the 3-5s, meaning they would have theoretically capped at 30 (not sure if they would have moved staff between rooms). That said, our DD was in the clubs A LOT. They were frequently busy (lines at opening/closing times, sometimes I think activities were adjusted to accommodate there being so many kids in the clubs), but we were never turned away.

Ratio is different from having a maximum allowed in the room. Additional staff can be hired and usually it's adjusted for the number of kids booked. The cruise line may put a maximum of number of kids that are booked, but again, that's different from shutting the door during a cruise and turning away kids on any specific day.

Ratio is different from having a maximum allowed in the room. Additional staff can be hired and usually it's adjusted for the number of kids booked. The cruise line may put a maximum of number of kids that are booked' date=' but again, that's different from shutting the door during a cruise and turning away kids on any specific day.[/quote']

 

Agreed. And I was actually glad to see ratios listed, it was nice to see the ratio was similar to what we are used to with daycare. Seeing as nobody has actually reported being turned away, it seems they are staffed (or floating staff, as needed) appropriately.

 

We also had no trouble getting any of our desired times for the nursery (1:4 ratio), and this was on a holiday sailing. I was very pleased with how kids clubs were managed on a busy week!