Diamond Princess' kids programs....

Just got back from Diamond Princess. Please pose questions about the Diamond. I have Kid's patters for all 4 age groups. Mind you, these on-board activities are specific for Alaska cruises, not for the Mexican cruises later on, but I doubt basic activities will change too much. The kids' program counsellors I talked to said that as less kids get on board in later sailings, they'll adjust the kids' programs according to the number of kids on board.

On this particular sailing, we had over 200 children under 17. 22 were between the ages of 3-5.

Jennifer

Hi, Merela, welcome back. What nights were the kids club dinners? I have twin 9 year olds going on Diamond 11/20/04. Thanks.

but according to the 6-9 Patters for our sailing, the kid's club is closed from 5-7pm for dinner. So make your dinner reservations after 7pm (or the late seating) if you plan to eat without your children.

Kid's Dinner was held on the 4th day (not a formal night on our cruise) from 7pm-8pm. They ate in the Horizon Court (14F)...."we are having hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken fingers and a whole lot more..." Not sure whether the regular buffet stuff is available.

There is another Pizza and Pasta night (7-8pm) on the 6th day which is the second formal night. "Come join us in Horizon Court for some Pizza and Pasta and maybe a little dessert".

My 5YO did not want to eat with the kids' club people. She preferred to eat with us. She'll try stuff on the adult menu if I say it's good. My 3YO liked the alphabet soup on the kids' menu and he had ice cream/sorbet at the end of every meal, except breakfast. The chicken fingers and fries are to die for. You must try them.

I met a parent with 2 boys (6 and 8) and they didn't like kids' club because they are boys who like sports a lot. They bug their dad everyday to go swimming and to shoot the hoops with them. The father looked kind of tired.

Even my 5YO DD didn't want to go to the kids' club everyday. I let her go whenever she asked to go, including a port day.

I think there are lots of opportunities to do crafts and play games. They watch movies and do "sports" such as dodge ball and ping pong.

But if they make friends easily, it may be fun for your boys.

Remember to register for port day the night before if you plan to leave the boys on board while you visit the ports. But I would recommend you take the boys to the Krystal Hotel pool and spend a day there. It's in Puerto Vallarta. It's 15minute walk from the ship. Adult pay $10US pp, children are free. The $10pp can be used against drinks and food by the pool. Hotdog and fries are like $3.50, so $10 goes far in Mexico. Or you can do what my father does--he spent the $10 on drinks and goes back to the ship for lunch, then comes back out to the hotel for his afternoon siesta. The $10 will get you a wristband, so unless you cut the wristband off, you can come and go as you please.

If I remember correctly, the Mexican ports you'll be docking are filled with fun water sports tour opportunities, but I think the boys would be very happy just hanging out by the pool and have Coke and tortilla/chips.

If your children like to swim, especially on the ship, remember to bring some Eurithromyecin (sp?) for the eyes in case they get red-eyes (infection). You can get a prescription from the pediatrician. No matter what they say, the ship's pool after the 4th day can't be as clean as the 1st day.

HTH.

Jennifer

p.s. I wrote a review of the Diamond on the Princess board. Check it out.

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I just re-read your original questions. Kid's club is open from 7pm-10pm every night. It doesn't matter when the kids' dinner takes place because I would suggest you do this:

Take them to the Horizon Court for the buffet dinner at 5:30pm. Then take them to the Kid's Club at 7pm. You can then go back to your room and get dressed for a Sabatini dinner and be ready for a 7:30 reservation. Assuming your dinner is 2 hours, you can pick up your children at 10pm. If you expect the dinner to run long, you can arrange for special babysitting after 10pm with one of the kid's club counsellors. If you want to have a 3hr dinner, just get dressed up first, drop your children off at the kid's club promptly at 7pm and then take the elevator down to the 7th floor. You'll be ready for dinner at 7:05pm.

Take them to the HC again after pick them up at 10 if they are hungry. HC is only one floor down from the kids' club.

I wouldn't do Sabatini's on formal nights.