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Cruising with SPD Child ..Carnival Kids Club?


bizzy2010
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Hello, we are taking our first cruise with our 2.5 year old son, he has a nanny so he isn't around other kids unless we take him out on the weekends..Which hasn't happened a lot, he usually is rather shy, but also a very good disposition. Since the nanny is at our home, and both me and the wife work from home, he is rather sheltered knowing we're always around as well as the nanny. He currently still has SPD which is sensory processing disorder, he only eats certain foods, and can get a bit overwhelmed with too loudsounds, or specifically loud sudden noises. Fortunately, he should grow out of this as it's not super serious for him. My question is, has anyone placed their child in the kids club, when they have almost no prior daycare experience? Once he's comfortable somewhere he's pretty good. But, i don't know if he would be ok being by himself without us there, or the nanny at this stage.

 

So that then brings me to the next level ., let's say the kids club doesn't work out. Exactly what can you do or go with a toddler who is very active? It's not like we have a playroom...minus stuck in the cabin, for him to run around and play in..We are going on the conquest, and i don't think it even has a splash pad.

 

 

Thoughts?

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Honestly, 2.5 can be a tough age for a kids club. Many lines only start at 3 because some children in the 2-3 range are ready for kids clubs and others just can't handle it. My 2 year old, who is extremely social and used to daycare, needed help from the counselors to transition into the kids club for about 5 minutes. The kids clubs might not work for all children, and you need to be prepared for that possibility prior to booking. The kids clubs at Beaches Turks and Caicos were the worst I'd ever seen, and we ran into families whose children were used to daycare but refused to go back and the parents were quite miserable on that trip.

 

Your absolute best best is to go during the school year, when there will be fewer children on board and less chaos. The counselors will have more time to help an individual child if the kids clubs are empty. We travelled on a 10 day panama canal cruise when my oldest was 2. Princess only allowed children that age in the kids clubs under parental supervision (I don't know if this still is allowed) so we saw how wonderful the counselors were with my son. They saved him the craft projects for the older kids, and helped him make them. They brought out whatever toys or art supplies he wanted. They could do this since there were only 9 children on the whole cruise, since it left January 10th when schools were back in session. A longer cruise/cruise while school is in session is much less likely to attract families and have kids clubs that are less overwhelming for your child. The staff kept telling me how happy they were we were on this cruise, since they last one was a holiday one with over 100 kids and they didn't have any time to help any child who couldn't handle the scheduled activities.

 

My kids always loved being on cruise ships (and when they see pictures of them ask immediately to go back on vacation). I haven't sailed Carnival in a very long time, and it was prior to kids so I can only answer your question with generalities. Kids love the sports deck, even one that would be unimpressive to an adult (I've always chosen cruises for itineraries so haven't been on any nice fancy new ships). A tennis court is a fun place to throw a ball against the net and chase it. It's a slight break for you since it's an enclosed space. There might be mini golf, and your kid can probably roll the golf ball into the hole if he or she can't use a club. My kids also loved pushing giant chess pieces, and they loved riding in elevators (especially glass elevators).

 

We've never used this service, but some lines allow you to hire babysitters to watch your child in your cabin.

 

As to whether or not this trip is a good idea that depends on if you have the stamina to watch them yourselves if the kids club doesn't work out.

 

And long term, please avoid Disney Cruise line - from everything I've read they have a really wonderful product, with lots of great food and service. But their kids club runs from age 3-12 since they host a lot of intergenerational travel and they want to let all the cousins go to the kids clubs together. Because of the age gap, the clubs are really unstructured and some of the younger children get overwhelmed easily.

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Thanks for the tips.. interesting my wife was telling me tonight.. she did a lot of research and when i said " i'm not sure what we gonna do when he just wants to run around and play" she says "This is why i wanted to go on a disney cruise" heh , that all of the ship is setup for kids.

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That’s a very good point. We’ve chosen cruises primarily for itinerary and kids clubs, so we haven’t had a chance to sail Disney yet. I should modify my previous comment to say stay away from Disney if you want a better chance of getting your kid in the kids club. Other posters will hopefully chime in about the number of family activities on Disney cruises and that might be an excellent choice if you don’t think the kids club would work now. Other cruisers will know about splash pads and other options. Please note that disney is usually more expensive. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

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The first thing to do is explore the ship. It has a lot of lounges for entertainment, but most of that takes place in the evening. So that makes them ideal places for kids to run around and burn off energy. My niece loved to just dance around in them. Sometimes there was ambient background music. EM

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I would check out an Oasis class ship from RCI. We were on Harmony and they did have a play area that you could take your son to play, and they have a nursery for under 3, and sometimes open it up for free play. And if kids club does not work out, there is tons to do and places to go.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Most kids prefer a more "structured" environment....and Disney is very unstructured.

 

I would simply go with your son on the 1st night...sort of an "orientation"...and then, let him try it! If he can't handle it, there are plenty of uncrowded areas during the day for him to burn some energy off! You are not restricted to you cabin!

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Our son was 18 months old when we first cruised, on Disney. By the way, Disney Cruise Line has an excellent on board nursery for the under 3 year old crowd, and our son did quite well with this...

 

Our son has been on three Disney cruises, the latest this past March when he’d just turned four, and he wasn’t wild about the kids club this time. Like you, he’s always had a nanny and has been at home with me. We cruise knowing that he may or may not attend the kids club. Pool/splash pad, promenade deck with shuffleboard, lots of just walking around on the ship occupied our time. We’ve cruised with balcony cabins and outside rooms, and we bring a new toy for each day— something he’s not seen before as a special treat.

 

We are sailing this Thanksgiving on Holland America’s Oosterdam so we are curious how our son likes their kids club situation. We’ve heard it’s structured and obviously since it’s HAL, not as many children, so more one on one attention might be available. Additionally our son started preK this year and he’s transitioning fine to a structured classroom.

 

I say as long as y’all know you may or may not have alone time during the day and are prepared to still entertain your little, then you should be fine. Go and enjoy. Chances are your child will be thrilled with the newness of the experience! We rode a lot of elevators on our last few cruises, too, lol!

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My son also has SPD and I took him on his first cruise 3 years ago-on Carnival. I didn't put him in the kids club (he is 8 and I wanted to do things with him). I want to tell you that Carnival was WONDERFUL accomodating us for his needs. I prepared for spending time in our cabin when he was overloaded (we did a room service dinner one night). I prepared for down time with the tablet if needed. My son did great (he is older than your child and he had some coping tools in his arsenal). We are going on Rccl Anthem in 25 days and I am very relaxed about it since our experience was so good.

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If you do decide to take a cruise, please contact the special needs department of the cruise line to request priority embarkation (and disembarkation if you are visiting ports where this is an issue - such as Santorini, and St. Petersburg) and also some lines can put you in a quiet area for muster drill. Best of luck to you.

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Our girl twin is very sensitive to loud noises, textures, and can be quite moody at times. While we didn't begin cruising with our children until they were 3 due to issues related to their being preemies with lung disease, our daughter did amazingly well at Camp Carnival! Both of my children love the structured activities on Carnival and my children, now 5, beg to go t the camp 24/7.

 

My recommendation is to try it and see how things go. Worst case, you can always entertain in other ways (Seuss story time, toys, glass elevators, etc). Best case, you have a great vacation!

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Honestly I doubt a 2.5 year old who is with parents and a nanny will want to go to the kids club without you. None of my kids did at least and they are only moderately shy in general happy to approach other kids in a park etc.

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Hello, being as my son has special needs, while he's fully functional certain sounds can throw him into a tizzy, i did read on the website that a parent or helper can stay with them in the kids club. Which might be a good solution to burn some time. And as you mentioned, its unlikely he'll be ok, he barely deals with his mom going away for a day or two of overnights out of town for work, that's partly our issue though, something we're trying to get him over so he can start school next year.

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You'll want to contact the special needs department and make arrangements for the safety drill.

 

My twins had just turned two on their first Carnival cruise and had always only had a nanny. The staff was wonderful and since they accept two year olds, they're used to dealing with kids who are having their first experience in a group setting. That said, my special needs daughter just didn't take to it. I did the "drop and run" (or really, "drop and hide behind the wall to listen") and she would cry awhile, then calm down and play, but after awhile, start crying again - then they'd call and have me go get her. There were lots of places to hang out/play - the lounges (bring a blow up ball), on deck (my girls loved climbing and playing on the deck chairs) and you can always go for a walk for some ice cream.

 

I would give the club a try each day - you never know. You can also bring him in his stroller after he falls asleep if you want some alone time.

 

Best,

Mia

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