Kids Program

I was wondering, once on the ship do I need to go someplace to register my 3 year old in the kids program?

Is information on the kids program sent with the cruise tickets (since from the tickets they obviously know a child is traveling) or is something in the room on arrival.

Any information on the kids program is welcome..

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9/25/04 Caribbean Princess

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12/5/04 Radiance of the Seas

Costa Allegra 94, Costa Victoria 96, Horizon 99, Splendor of the Seas 99, Norweigan Star 02

Hi Gaynors!

The 5/15 Caribbean Princess will be my first sailing on Princess, but I'll let you know what I've been able to pick up from the boards. We have a soon to be 4-year old so we've been very interested in the details too!

There is a Kids Zone Open House the afternoon of boarding (I think between 2 and 4). Then there is a "registration" at the Kid Zone the first night between 7 pm and 9 pm. I think the Kid Zone then officially kicks off the following morning.

Hours of operation are 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10 while at sea and from 8-5 and 7-10 when in port. They provide the parents with beepers. They also have two dinner nights for the kids, where they feed the kids and mom and dad can enjoy the dining rooms. While in port, they also feed the kids lunch--I understand that they take them up to a special section of the Horizon court that is scaled down to kid size! Finally, on the Caribbean Princess, I've read they will have a "Fair Day" one day in which there will be carnival type activities (e.g., face painting, clowns, etc.) and fair food (e.g., cotton candy, popcorn).

I don't think they send any informaion with the cruise tickets, but the information will be in the first Princess Patter (newsletter) which should be in your cabin when you arrive.

I hope this is helpful! I'll try to provide a nice review of the kid's program when I get back. Information about the kids program seems to be something that is lacking on this board

Regards,
Joyce Munro

P.S. I wouldn't tell you child this yet, but I believe that Princess also hands out stuffed animals to each child as part of the educational component of the program (part of the wildlife, oceanography "classes").

Thanks so much Joyce!!

I look forward to hearing about your experience on the Caribbean Princess since we are sailing on the same ship and my son will also be almost four at the time we sail.

Please let us know how the Fun Zone area is about the outdoor play area and pool since we are also traveling with a 1 year old that won't be able to be in the "structured" program but can use the facilities as long as we are there.

I agree there has really been very little information about the kids programs and kid activities on these boards.

Gaynors

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9/25/04 Caribbean Princess

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12/5/04 Radiance of the Seas

Costa Allegra 94, Costa Victoria 96, Horizon 99, Splendor of the Seas 99, Norweigan Star 02

If you look under the thread "Just got off the diamond" towards the bottom Michelle (michmstr)- who also has a 3 yo - replied to my question about the kids club and had some great info there - Joyce please make sure you do write and tell as much as possible - my girls love reading the kids info with me : )

Jane

When you get in your cabin you will have the schedule of events for your child. You will also have to attend a meeting at 7:30 on the day you set sail to fill out forms and find out how your childs program works.

Star Princess 7/03

My daughter, who was 3 yrs old last time we sailed, LOVED the kids program! The staff is great. They gave out toys and prizes almost every day. She can't wait for us to go again.

Our daughter was 4 1/2 yrs. old when we were on the Grand Princess last March and she LOVED the Kids' program.

In your cabin you should receive a list of the week's activities for the Kids' Program. Most of the time they remain in the Fun zone but a few times they took them to different areas of the ship for mini golf, ice cream, etc.

Every night they show a movie, they do crafts(like coloring their own Princess T-shirt), & play games.

They give the kids' all sorts of stuff throughout the week like a beanie baby sized Pelican, medals for prizes, a small back pack, etc. At the end of the week they all got a teddy bear wearing a Princess sweater.

Our DD's favorite thing(probably ours too!) was the kids' dinners in Horizon Court.

Our original plan was to just send her in the mornings and evenings and take her to the pool in the afternoons, but by mid-week she was bugging us to take her back to the Fun Zone after lunch!

I don't know what your itinerary is but the kids' area on Princess Cays was fantastic!

She loved it so much that now we're going on the Golden Princess in May!

Hope this helps!

Laura

Festivale 1989
Majesty of the Seas 1997
Paradise 1999
Imagination 2000
Ocean Princess 2000
Grand Princess 2003
Golden Princess 2004

Any idea about the teens program? (16) Thanks ahead!

cjh-

You mentioned that there is a meeting the first night at 7:30, if we have early sitting at the traditional dining room isn't that going to be a problem? I hope we don't have to rush dinner to make the meeting.

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9/25/04 Caribbean Princess

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12/5/04 Radiance of the Seas

Costa Allegra 94, Costa Victoria 96, Horizon 99, Splendor of the Seas 99, Norweigan Star 02

Gaynors,
There are two orientation meetings scheduled for the first night, and then one for those who missed them the following morning. The times will be in the kids patters in your cabin. Make sure you are on time, because they lock the doors promptly, and no one else is let in. They schedule the ones on the first night to work around the two dinner seatings...but you still might have to leave dinner early to make it to the later meeting. On the Star last year the meetings were at 7 and 8pm, and with early seating, we just missed the second meeting.

There was 2 meetings the day of boarding and an additional meeting the next morning if you couldn't make the meetings the night before. Even if you missed all the meetings, I have a hard time thinking they would exclude you from the kids program.

All the kids on our cruise got the stuffed animal for participating in the kids talent show. Even if they just got up to do the "Chicken Dance" with all the other kids who didn't want to do an individual talent thing.
My 9 y/o had a great time. We never "sent" her to the kids program, she always asked, over and over, to go.

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So when is the next cruise?

We were on the Star Princess to Mexico last September. My DD was a month shy of 4 at the time. Since she had never attended preschool prior to this cruising experience, it was difficult for her to join in the kids' program (unfortunately for me!) without my presence.

Check the kid's platter everyday. They offer a variety of activities for the kids. They are always winning prizes and trinkets. All the Playdohs and board games are newly opened (brand new).

I can stay with my child all day in the Kid's Zone (Age 3-7) if I want to.

They have pajama nights and ice cream parties. Great fun if you have an outgoing child. They have scheduled activities every 30-45 minutes.

Remember to show up on time at the designated sign up time the first day. I was 3 minutes late (didn't know my way around the ship yet--couldn't get from one side of the ship to another) for their 7pm sign up time and had to wait until the next 8pm sign up time. They closed and locked the door promptly at 7pm and 8pm. This was not explicitly explained on the material we received on our door. Many parents were peeved because the kids were tired and hungry that first night waiting for the door to open for registration. I couldn't understand why they set the sign-up time around dinner time...and not earlier.

Since we had PC Dining, I had told our entourage of 7 people that I would meet them after I sign up after 7pm. I figure I would be done everything by 7:20pm. I had my DD with me. Since we were locked out at the 7pm session (and didn't know whether anyone would open the door for us), we didn't really finished signing up until 8:20pm. My poor DD was so hungry and my family was wondering where we went. I didn't know how I could contact them and let them know what happened to us. Luckily they went ahead with dinner without us. So if you plan to sign up your child that first night, I would recommend PC dining that first night.

I also would recommend that you go sign up that first night because I think they are very strict on space allotment. If the spaces are full, your child won't be able to participate.


Before the designated sign-up times, I did not see any Princess employee at the Kid's zone that first day.

During the signup time, the lady in charge explained the rules and regulations of dropping kids off at Kid's Zones. Each child got a free coloring t-shirt with registration.

HTH.

Jennifer

9/27/03 Star Princess to Mexican Riviera
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[This message was edited by merela on 04-08-04 at 05:00 AM.]

BTW, I also have a 2YO DS and my sister had her 1YO DD with her. We took all three kids to the fun zone during the day and let them play in the ball pit. Sometimes the older kids are doing crafts, etc...but other times, we had to leave because the older kids were jumping into the ball pit while the younger children were playing inside. Not a problem really because with close parental supervision, we just made sure to steer the younger children away from the older children.

So for those of you who have children under 3, you can still bring them into the FUN zone and use their equipment.

HTH.

Jennifer

9/27/03 Star Princess to Mexican Riviera
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