New ncl kids camp policy (Live from the GEM)

New ncl kids camp policy

much to my dismay ncl (at least on the gem) has instituted a new kids camp policy that now only lets 76 kids attend camp (of all ages, with a separate minimum for 13+)

We are onboard right now with two 4 yr olds, a 7 and a 10 year old.

This new system is beyond terrible and now having me reconsider sailing with ncl anymore. We booked this family cruise so not only the kids could have fun, but so could the adults. And now this new system is terrible

The new policy is there are 3 camp shifts 9-12, 2-5, 7-10 (this part may have been the same as before). you now need to line up at least 30 min prior and they hand out camp tickets. If you do not at have a ticket between 1-76 you get put on a wait list and they will call you if someone leaves and a spot frees up.

Also there is no guarantee that anyone your kids age group even gets in. So if all the 6 year olds happen to get in before your 10-12 year old, your older child would be stuck with a group of 6 year olds even if there were 50+ other older kids on board. Even if there are separate activities at the sports court, the same overall 76 kid total counts for that session.

Apparently this policy went into effect mid March. With 400-600 kids on board this sailing (which they say is not a lot and about average for a sailing), a kids sail free promo and the constant promotion of kids programs, ncl is failing miserably with this now.

So now I either need to line up three times a day 30 min before each session (and the line takes about 30 min to complete) as well as the pickup line is just as bad. So I now get to spend at least 1-3 hours each day waiting on kids camp lines.

Very disappointed, and as a loyal ncl platinum member with 4 more haven future sailing booked on ncl, I now need to start considering a new line that is more kid and family oriented. Maybe rccl will status match.

WHAT :eek:

Is this for the Gem only?

It's a small ship, how big is the kids club?

If this was fleet wide this would be a disaster for everyone, those with kids and those without.

Wow. I really hope this is a trial that fails miserably, as I would be horrified to find out this change once aboard.

I don't know if it was implemented fleet wide in March, as we sailed POA March 28 and it definitely wasn't in play on that ship at that time. There were more than 80 kids on board, so I would assume it would have been part of the sign up information.

We are contemplating cancelling our Jan/16 cruise and this would be the proverbial nail in the coffin. It seems like with all of these new promos comes some sort of negative consequence.

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I get the impression it IS fleetwide since the manager of the kids program said the capacity limit is a little different for each ship. "A little", not that it did not exist for other ships

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Wow - have you spoken with anyone at Guest Services about this? That seems miserable! We have been eyeing a possible cruise on NCL from RCCL and a that will be a deal breaker for us if it were fleet wide...

We definitely faced this on the Star for our March 29th cruise. Our son is 7 and we had to line up 30 minutes early if we wanted to make sure he had his spot in the kids place. He didn't make it a couple of times. :-( I think there was a limit of 50 (don't quote me on the number), but it was for his age group from what I understand.

We are planning a trip on the Getaway for next year. Hope it's not restricted then.

How could that be. If you are on the gem there would have to be something in writing. Can't wait to see this policy in print.

Thank you in advance.

Not only did I talk to guest services, we are in the haven and have concierge looking into it as well. They said it was supposed to be fleet wide starting in March as a "high season" kids policy and all based on the security officers max capacity in each kids area. On the gem its 76 but for example the getaway its higher due to a dual floor kids club. They put in a call/email to ncl corporate for me and will let me know tomorrow what the answer is. Which is 1- if this was a high season only policy can they remove it now, 2- is this going to stay this way.

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I hope this new policy fails, too. I booked NCL with the understanding my kids would be able to participate in the kids/teen clubs. I booked our cruise over a year ago and it's too late to cancel now. :mad:

How could that be. If you are on the gem there would have to be something in writing. Can't wait to see this policy in print.

 

Thank you in advance.

I just left the kids mangers desk 2 min ago and they are finding out more. It is 100% in effect at least on the gem. Picture attached.

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The process sounds a bit bureaucratic but to be honest I always assumed it would be similar like what you described. They somehow have to limit it depending on the number of staff working and size of the area alone for safety reasons. As far as I know it at least should be the same for every lounge that the maximum people allowed into it has a strict limit.

Wow!! No good... I can't believe it.

The process sounds a bit bureaucratic but to be honest I always assumed it would be similar like what you described. They somehow have to limit it depending on the number of staff working and size of the area alone for safety reasons. As far as I know it at least should be the same for every lounge that the maximum people allowed into it has a strict limit.

They never have before! At least I have never heard of such a thing.

I called my personal whatever she is at Norwegian as soon as I saw this post and she had never heard of this. I hope it's not fleet wide as it will be a deal breaker for us. I hate to cancel a cruise I just booked last week but I will over this if it's true.

I totally understand the need to have a limit for safety. There has always been a limit. But forcing you to stand in line for tickets seems annoying, many more kids would actually have a chance if they used the normal policy (coming and going as you needed (some there from 9-10 and then leave, etc)...and every kid would have enough kids in their age group...

We were on a cruise in February over our winter break and there were extra kids on our ship so we were expecting possible times that we would arrive and it would be full, but it never happened that we would get shut out. We were on RCCL NAV and they did often combine the 6-8 and 9-11 age groups which allowed them to better fit the needs of the group by taking more of whatever group had more kids, but to my knowledge only one night did they come close to capacity!

I understand that there has to be a limit on the number of kids- the space on th Jewel class ships is not bigbut if I had cruised with my 3 and we couldn't get in and I had received no advanced warning-

Oh my goodness . My head would fall off

Now you will have parents taking turns camping out for space and so many ticked off parents and sad kids

Was there an incident on one of the ships that led to this? I know that on Disney we were often horrified by the sheer numbers of kids all in the

"Camp" area at once , climbing all over each other .

But I digress.

This is gonna cause a hell

storm of Epic proportions.

So sorry that you have had this happen, OP. Nice , relaxing vacation. My kids would have been very disappointed.

I totally understand the need to have a limit for safety. There has always been a limit. But forcing you to stand in line for tickets seems annoying, many more kids would actually have a chance if they used the normal policy (coming and going as you needed (some there from 9-10 and then leave, etc)...and every kid would have enough kids in their age group...

 

We were on a cruise in February over our winter break and there were extra kids on our ship so we were expecting possible times that we would arrive and it would be full, but it never happened that we would get shut out. We were on RCCL NAV and they did often combine the 6-8 and 9-11 age groups which allowed them to better fit the needs of the group by taking more of whatever group had more kids, but to my knowledge only one night did they come close to capacity!

So there always has been a limit, yet on your cruise with extra kids, the limit didn't occur. I have never seen a kids club closed for capacity, I'm sure it has happened but when?

This is not for safety reasons, they probably want to cut back on kids club staff to boost profit and cut costs.

So there always has been a limit, yet on your cruise with extra kids, the limit didn't occur. I have never seen a kids club closed for capacity, I'm sure it has happened but when?

 

 

 

This is not for safety reasons, they probably want to cut back on kids club staff to boost profit and cut costs.

I was not on NCL, but RCCL has a limit on each room and there are instances of people getting shut out on RCCL and Disney cruises, but never after spending 30 minutes wasting your time!!! Our kids staff told us that Easter week would be very busy for them and that even when it fills up, it's not usually for an entire session as kids come and go...76 seems like a very low number though...the ratio for school age kids should be very high 25 people per staff member or so for legal limits In the older than 5 groups!

Youth Programs and Youth Program facilities adhere to fire code safety and maximum occupancy guidelines outlined per vessel based on Fire Safety Standard Code.

Also if you kid leaves for 30 min they will likely lose their "spot" and might not be able to come back in. We have sailed ncl for years with kids. Almost 10 years and there has never been such a crazy policy. If there are too many kids then break them up around the ship by age group, but right now it's 76 all inclusive. So when my son sees a basketball kids thing in the schedule he wants to attend, it's likely that he won't be able to because I didn't wait in line for 30 min before the session to get a ticket and he didn't START that session even though basketball isn't until the latter half of the session. He also will have no interest playing basketball (he is 10) with a group of 6 year olds, if his age group didn't make the cut.

Also getting a ticket doesn't mean you can leave the area and come back later, you get a ticket 30 min before and have to wait in line and can't leave, once they start letting kids enter the kids club your kids need to be with you or you pretty much lose their spot

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I was not on NCL, but RCCL has a limit on each room and there are instances of people getting shut out on RCCL and Disney cruises, but never after spending 30 minutes wasting your time!!! Our kids staff told us that Easter week would be very busy for them and that even when it fills up, it's not usually for an entire session as kids come and go...76 seems like a very low number though...the ratio for school age kids should be very high 25 people per staff member or so for legal limits In the older than 5 groups!

Fair enough, but still, if this is the policy, we won't be sailing NCL as I don't want to waste time and have unhappy kids...bleep that!

Youth Programs and Youth Program facilities adhere to fire code safety and maximum occupancy guidelines outlined per vessel based on Fire Safety Standard Code.

Pointing at a safety code makes no sense. There are plenty of areas on the ship that they can "host" kids events (sports court, spinnaker lounge for arts and crafts or games, etc etc) Turning away 300-600 kids when we bought this as a family vacation with a lot of emphasis on kids programs is very dishonest. I find it hard to believe any person with camp age kids who bought their trip without know this would not be upset.

Where are kids going to meet eachother if there are no kids events for them to do so.

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Pointing at a safety code makes no sense. There are plenty of areas on the ship that they can "host" kids events (sports court, spinnaker lounge for arts and crafts or games, etc etc) Turning away 300-600 kids when we bought this as a family vacation with a lot of emphasis on kids programs is very dishonest. I find it hard to believe any person with camp age kids who bought their trip without know this would not be upset.

 

Where are kids going to meet eachother if there are no kids events for them to do so.

 

 

 

 

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I agree but this is the wording they will try to justify this dreadful policy.

They never have before! At least I have never heard of such a thing.

Actually, they have. Last year on the Breakaway we were on a sailing with 1600 kids on board. We were turned away one night because they were at capacity. They did try to plan things in other spaces thT could accommodate larger groups. At least with the new policy you know what to expect. Sounds like they are trying to put a process in place to help things run more smoothly.

I agree but this is the wording they will try to justify this dreadful policy.

Lol. Not will. Are.

I would understand saying event X has a limit, but the ENTIRE program.

Hopefully I get better news back from their corporate offices tomorrow or Tuesday since I know an email has been sent to them internally

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