ages for kids' clubs...

Hey y'all,

I'm considering taking the whole family on a short cruise this fall. The biggest drawback I'm finding is that my kids are 7 and 5. I don't have a huge problem with them being in different age groups for kids' clubs, but I do have a problem with the age range of the younger groups.

I'm finding groups of age 3-5 or even 2-5, and nothing where the 5 year old would be with older kids. There's just such a huge developmental difference between a 2-3 year old and 5 year old, especially when mine plays mostly with older children. He'll feel like he's been put in with the "babies," and I wouldn't blame him. Carnival states on their website that they are strict about age groups and will not accommodate requests to change.

Thoughts?

Your child would not be the only 5y/o in the group. It would probably be an even mixture of 3 through 5's. There would be activities appropriate for all of the age range. EM

That's true--I don't know why I didn't think about the fact that there would be lots of other kids his age....In my head I was somehow picturing a small group.

The age groups work VERY well...give it a try! IF, for some reason, the staff deems your child to be too advanced for the activities, they will ask if they can move him up!

There is absolutely no guarantee that your child will be moved into a different group. You can try to politely request on the first night that they be moved if you feel it is appropriate. I'd try to make the request when there are no other parents around, since the kids club leaders won't want to move a lot of kids.

Also, if you are sailing while schools are in session, there are generally very few kids on board, and most of the age groups are combined anyway. If you are really concerned, Disney doesn't break up the kids into smaller age groups, and most lines besides Cunard and Carnival don't allow two year olds in their drop off programs. But I think it will be fine even if your child is in the 3-5 year old group, due to the reasons outlined by the previous posters.

Your 5 year old will have an amazing time. They do age-related games and activities for each age group. Last year we took our 4, 6, 9,and 10 year old and they LOVED camp carnival. He won't feel like he's playing with babies at all. The program is so full of fun stuff, you'll wish you brought a folder just for all his papers, crafts, and stuff. The sand art and pirate hat are some of my kids favorites

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If it's a short cruise, you may luck out and get a good number of 5-year-olds on the cruise. Carnival is really good with their kids' program and they'll have fun in their groups. And most likely the 7-year-old will be happy to be in his own group.

My girl was one of only 5-year-olds on her fourth cruise (and first one on Princess) as it was mid-February so she was missing a week of February. She seemed to click with the boy her age (not sure if the third one was a girl or boy). She did have fun but on her previous cruise on Carnival there was a full program of activities.

Disney has a combined club, and I thought Princess had a wider range in their kids clubs too. Although I agree with others - our son was five on his last cruise, and he made friends with the other 5 and 4 year olds, and had a blast in the 3-5 room. And that has been the key for us - if he makes friends with other kids, he will live in the kids club if his friends are also in there.

I was on the Sunshine last month and they moved my friends son up so he could be in the same group as mine. What they do is only consider kids in the oldest age of the younger group and the first hour is a trial basis. He fit in well and stayed the rest of the week with the bigger kids.

Princess Pelicans are from ages 3-7. They may, if there is a large amount of kids, separate them a bit, but generally, this is the age for that group. They will also have different activities for the younger and older ones.

Princess split the groups 3 -7 Pelicans, 8 -12 Shockwaves.

P&O UK split the groups 2 - 4 Splashers, 5 - 8 Surfers and 9 - 12 Scubas.

Cunard split the groups 3 - 7, 8 -12 same as Princess

Princess looks the most hopeful to OP.

Regards John