Splash Academy/ Kids Crew raising age to 3!!!

[Aladdin1968]

We have eaten at the Specialty restaurants alongside families with small children and even infants. Most are well behaved as they have experienced fine dining with their parents.

 

If you can't stand to spend 2 hours with your kids, you should have thought about that before you had them.

 

This not the point the OP wanted to address. I smell some old fashioned trolling and thread hijacking here. :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, NCL makes a major mistake here and to me it seems they know this. Check out the ambiguous info on kids activities on the various NCL websites. I guess this will make a lot of parents think twice before booking with NCL way ahead.

Edited December 12, 2012 by Aladdin1968

[NengEuis]

When they announced it last February, we canceled a cruise and will go back when our youngest turns 3. They now have the same rules as Disney...3 AND potty-trained. I don't have problem with it, though. It's their business to run. We get to decide whether to patronize them or not.

[che5904]

Anyway, NCL makes a major mistake here and to me it seems they know this. Check out the ambiguous info on kids activities on the various NCL websites. I guess this will make a lot of parents think twice before booking with NCL way ahead.

 

As I said above, that is what I find a bit odd. This has been in the works and has been on trial for almost a year now on a few ships. I really haven't seen over the top wonderful posts on the great "improvements" made. I really think NCL may want to rethink all the "improvements" they have put in place. Do I think it will stop parents from booking...no probably not, but it may stop them from being repeat customers if the kid's crew does not Wow their little ones.

 

As for the age cut off, I'm not seeing that as a huge deal breaker one way or another, they have to have a cut off somewhere and that happens to be it and parents can take heart since their 2 1/2 yr old will eventually be over 3.

Edited December 12, 2012 by che5904

[che5904]

It I wanted to do the wine tasting at 1pm but now wont be able to unless I bring along my 4 and 7 year-old (which I never would do). .

 

Don't give up hope, what is scheduled one week in a daily may be completely different the next week. Our wine seminars were held at 2pm on our last sailing on the Star.

 

So if you've seen this posted in a daily from one sailing it may not be the same for yours.

[JinxyB]

I am just back from my first NCL cruise and was able to utilize the kids club for a few hours each day for my 2y/o. I'm pretty bummed they won't accept 2 y/o anymore as I really enjoyed my cruise... This leaves me stuck with Carnival for the next year as they are the only ones who accept 2 y/o in kids clubs. I thought NCL kids don't have to potty trained? Is this a new rule? I'm hoping my son will be trained at 3 but won't book NCL if they have imposed this rule.

[Vyhanek]

Actually NCL hasn't accepted 2 year olds for that long. I know when my girls were 2 (this is like 8 -10 years ago) NCL accepted kids only at age 3 and above. So they tried with the 2 year olds and clearly for some reason it didn't work.

 

As far as closing during the day, NCL has always done that.

 

if you are looking for better Kids Club policies with more CUSTOMER flexibility then you need to try another line. Just from my experience. Here are examples:

 

* On PORT days, NCL does not offer regular Kids Club programing during the day. You can pay for "babysitting" but the regular kids club with planned and structured activities does not run. For some reason, NCL doesn't think this is important. However, you go to Carnival, RCCL, Princess - they run Kids Club on port days just as any other day. Regular structured activities and certainly there is no expectation for parents to pay more $$ for babysitting for care during this time!!

 

* NCL absolutely will not be flexible with you trying to get your child into a different age group. Say your 11 year old is turning 12 in 3 weeks and wants to be in the older group. Say her cousins are in the older group, say they live cross country from each other. They come on vacation to be together and now NCL forces your almost 12 year old to not be with her cousins in this group. This scenario happens all the time on NCL. They absolutely will not be flexible, even if your kid misses the cut off by one week.....So much for Freestyle?!? They are not customer focused. But if you go to Carnival, RCCL, they will work with you. They will TRY to work with you I have learned. If they can work it so the girl above can be in the same group with her cousins who live cross country they will try. They are customer driven. NCL Kids Club is not.

 

* Another blaring big difference is feeding kids meals. Dinner specifically. NCL offers on one night the opportunity to sign up for dinner with Kids Club. They take about 20 kids and if you weren't one of the first 20 to sign up then too bad. Some cruises have 600 kids! Imagine how many people want this service!! But you go over to RCCL or Carnival and every single night if your kid wants to eat with the kids at Kids Club they can. You just show up, they go to the Buffett and eat together. it's no big deal. Certainly no freakin sign up sheet for 20 kids! Again, it's customer focused. Its not about parents wanting to drop their kids off every single night for dinner, it's about having the option on any given night to do that. After several sit down meals, kids themselves don't want to be put thru that. The kids themselves want a quick meal at the buffet so they can go play. Again, CUSTOMER FOCUSED is the key piece missing here.

 

I don't know what to tell you about a 2 year old. I think 2 year olds are a bit on the young side for the activities of the Kids Club. I think starting it at 3 is probably a good idea.

[djmess]

Actually NCL hasn't accepted 2 year olds for that long. I know when my girls were 2 (this is like 8 -10 years ago) NCL accepted kids only at age 3 and above. So they tried with the 2 year olds and clearly for some reason it didn't work.

 

As far as closing during the day, NCL has always done that.

 

if you are looking for better Kids Club policies with more CUSTOMER flexibility then you need to try another line. Just from my experience. Here are examples:

 

* On PORT days, NCL does not offer regular Kids Club programing during the day. You can pay for "babysitting" but the regular kids club with planned and structured activities does not run. For some reason, NCL doesn't think this is important. However, you go to Carnival, RCCL, Princess - they run Kids Club on port days just as any other day. Regular structured activities and certainly there is no expectation for parents to pay more $$ for babysitting for care during this time!!

 

* NCL absolutely will not be flexible with you trying to get your child into a different age group. Say your 11 year old is turning 12 in 3 weeks and wants to be in the older group. Say her cousins are in the older group, say they live cross country from each other. They come on vacation to be together and now NCL forces your almost 12 year old to not be with her cousins in this group. This scenario happens all the time on NCL. They absolutely will not be flexible, even if your kid misses the cut off by one week.....So much for Freestyle?!? They are not customer focused. But if you go to Carnival, RCCL, they will work with you. They will TRY to work with you I have learned. If they can work it so the girl above can be in the same group with her cousins who live cross country they will try. They are customer driven. NCL Kids Club is not.

 

* Another blaring big difference is feeding kids meals. Dinner specifically. NCL offers on one night the opportunity to sign up for dinner with Kids Club. They take about 20 kids and if you weren't one of the first 20 to sign up then too bad. Some cruises have 600 kids! Imagine how many people want this service!! But you go over to RCCL or Carnival and every single night if your kid wants to eat with the kids at Kids Club they can. You just show up, they go to the Buffett and eat together. it's no big deal. Certainly no freakin sign up sheet for 20 kids! Again, it's customer focused. Its not about parents wanting to drop their kids off every single night for dinner, it's about having the option on any given night to do that. After several sit down meals, kids themselves don't want to be put thru that. The kids themselves want a quick meal at the buffet so they can go play. Again, CUSTOMER FOCUSED is the key piece missing here.

 

I don't know what to tell you about a 2 year old. I think 2 year olds are a bit on the young side for the activities of the Kids Club. I think starting it at 3 is probably a good idea.

 

As you stated, you haven't cruised NCL for the last 8-10 years. Well since 2007, I have cruised exclusively with NCL with one exception on the Oasis in 2010. Since 2008, my son has been on 7-8 NCL cruises. Always in the 2-5 and 6-9 age ranges. ALWAYS since 2007, the kids club on Sea Days was open 9am ish to 10:30pm with NO closures. Port Days were closed except for the hourly Port Charge Fees. They also did the one night where kids were taken to dinner and a show if you signed up. We always did. I never, nor would I ever leave my kid all day. We get a weekly schedule, decide as a family what activities he wants to do and try to coordinate the kids, adults and family activities. Never having a problem.

 

Since implementing the "NEW" Splash Academy, they took away the 2 y/o, took away the dinner and show, took away kids talent show, took away the free T-shirt given to kids and colored on the last night and now on at least some ships have begun closing for the traditional lunch and dinner times during Sea Days for a total of 4 hours.

 

What they added. Port Play is now free, except for 1 hour at lunch and 1 hour at dinner times when docked in a port. They teach some circus tricks (jugeling, plate spinning, a yo yo thing, and a few other things) and then have a kids Circus Show. Unless you were on the Epic at Thanksgiving where they cancelled the Circus activities. Weather permitting they may take the 6-9 age group to the basketball court for some outdoor playtime.

 

I've been on 2 cruises since the implementation of the "NEW" program so am talking from personal experience

[swimmingotter]

This not the point the OP wanted to address. I smell some old fashioned trolling and thread hijacking here. :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, NCL makes a major mistake here and to me it seems they know this. Check out the ambiguous info on kids activities on the various NCL websites. I guess this will make a lot of parents think twice before booking with NCL way ahead.

 

No trolling here. Just observations...............

[ClaireAndMike]

Sounds like a lot of hassle, unsure of a solution. Maybe leave the kids at home? Then again, I don't have kids. What do I know? :confused:

[Shayhooper]

We have eaten at the Specialty restaurants alongside families with small children and even infants. Most are well behaved as they have experienced fine dining with their parents.

 

If you can't stand to spend 2 hours with your kids, you should have thought about that before you had them.

 

Yikes! Really? I don't believe the OP was talking about just 2 hours.

[lovetrauma]

I returned from my 11/7/12-11/16/12 Cruise onboard the Gem. The Kids Club was Open everyday Port or Sea from 9am-10pm. It didn't close at all. Not sure if and when they are changing it to close certain hours.

[Huxley'sCruisers]

I returned from my 11/7/12-11/16/12 Cruise onboard the Gem. The Kids Club was Open everyday Port or Sea from 9am-10pm. It didn't close at all. Not sure if and when they are changing it to close certain hours.

I was on the sailing after you. Splash Academy (which still accepted 2 year olds at the time), closed on Sea Days from 5-7pm for the 2-5 year old group ONLY. It was also closed on port days during the pre-stated mealtimes (12-1pm for lunch, 5-6pm for dinner) when we were in port, because you had to sign up in advance and pay for those hours. Otherwise it was open and you could come and go as you liked.

[che5904]

I was on the sailing after you. Splash Academy (which still accepted 2 year olds at the time)' date=' closed on Sea Days from 5-7pm for the 2-5 year old group ONLY. It was also closed on port days during the pre-stated mealtimes (12-1pm for lunch, 5-6pm for dinner) when we were in port, because you had to sign up in advance and pay for those hours. Otherwise it was open and you could come and go as you liked.[/quote']

 

So if I'm understanding this correctly it only closes once for 2 hours on sea days and twice for 2 hours each on port days and only for the youngest group?

[Huxley'sCruisers]

So if I'm understanding this correctly it only closes once for 2 hours on sea days and twice for 2 hours each on port days and only for the youngest group?

Close (sorry if I wasn't clear): It closed for 2 hours on sea days (5-7pm) for the youngest group.

 

It closed for the breakfast/lunch/dinner hour if we were in port for everyone (all age groups). The timing was listed in the Freestyle daily, but it applied for dinner in San Juan (in port 3-9pm), and lunch and dinner in St. Martin, only lunch (I think) in St. Thomas, and breakfast and lunch in Samana. It was only closed for an hour at a time then, but your child could be there provided you sign up in advance (the night before).

[bdklein]

There is a good reason that the Kids Club is closed from 12-2 and 5-7......It is called lunch and dinner time. Why wouldn't you want to spend mealtimes with your children? NCL is very family friendly.................

 

OK, I will bite. We went on a family cruise last year on NCL. Me, wife, and 2 kids (11 and 8 year old girls). We ate ZERO dinners together as family. So my wife and I got to enjoy nice mellow dinners, where we wanted to eat. We did spend family time together, mostly during the day.

 

And why did we not eat dinner together? Because in the evenings both kids wanted to spend their time in the kids club. So they rushed down some food from the buffet, and then into the kids club.

 

It worked for them and worked for us.

[newmexicoNita]

To answer this from what I have read on CC, so take this as you will. Some kids love the kid's crew, just as some love summer camp. It does not take a child 2 hours to eat, as a matter of fact some can wolf down a meal in about 15 minutes flat if they are anxious to get back to something. So parents take their child to eat, then wish to have a nice meal themselves without their little ones but have to wait until the club opens again.

 

And for those that say "take your kids to eat with you", I can't count the amount of threads I've seen that say "drop your kids at the kid's crew then go for dinner because we don't want to be bothered by children dining near us" :eek: :rolleyes: (not my words BTW).

 

I think the closing hours are meant so the councilors can have a break as well as the kids. Maybe I am sounding like a old crabby lady, but if you want to take kids on a cruise, you should plan to spend a good part of the time wtih them. We did a family cuise a couple years ago with our ggranddaughter. She loved the kids center but she also spent a good part of thetime with her mommy, daddy and the rest of us, plus we had tours almost daily. BTW, she was just about to turn 4.. As for the 3 and up, most of the lines, say 3 and up. This is something for parents to consider when they decide cruising would make a great family vacation..

[Nclbella]

We were on the Epic during Thanksgiving week, I feel like people are posting half the story. Also, we cruised Disney Fantasy in June, so even though they did not close a few hours a day, they absolutely will not have a child under 3, or a child that is not potty trained.

 

During sea days they were closed from12-2, and 5-7. We were fine with that, our girls 5&8 were also fine. We did not put them in until 2 or 3 and gave tubby, dinner, during the 5-7 break. Then we had dinner,peacefully. Again, what is the big deal that they close? They are open from 9-10:30 every port day, even when they have lunch or dinner, if you did not sign you child up for the meal service, then your child does not get a meal, however, the club is open for them to enjoy.

 

We were very satisfied With the balance of the kids club. As our kids say sometimes we need a break a break from them, and sometimes they need a break from us. JMTC.

[Nclbella]

I think the closing hours are meant so the councilors can have a break as well as the kids. Maybe I am sounding like a old crabby lady, but if you want to take kids on a cruise, you should plan to spend a good part of the time wtih them. We did a family cuise a couple years ago with our ggranddaughter. She loved the kids center but she also spent a good part of thetime with her mommy, daddy and the rest of us, plus we had tours almost daily. BTW, she was just about to turn 4.. As for the 3 and up, most of the lines, say 3 and up. This is something for parents to consider when they decide cruising would make a great family vacation..

 

As far as I know, the counselors do not get s break, but they have to set up and decorate for the upcoming night activities. It is so cute, our girls LOVED the slumber party theme!

[welshgirl]

We recently came back from NCL Spirit with a 4 year old ( grandson) and the closure times were torture for us. Reason: he loved it so much he was counting the time to go back and after all this is his holiday too so we didn't see much of him :-(. Fantastic programme and if I was a full time mum I would welcome the opportunity for my own free time and not love him any less. Win win all round x

[luddite]

Anyone else ticked off about this? apparently with the new Splash academy the age for unsupervised play is raised to 3... Most people wanted this lowered yet now they are raising it that you can't drop the kids off under 3... this is my 3rd cruise and I thought i was going to finally have a break... now my son will be 2 years and 10 months and wont be able to be dropped off.. what gives NCL!???!!

 

It's a safe bet that getting tired of diapers is a factor.

[che5904]

It's a safe bet that getting tired of diapers is a factor.

 

You do realize you are responding to someone who posted in Dec. 2012?

[luddite]

You do realize you are responding to someone who posted in Dec. 2012?

 

Gosh. I hope they changed the kid's diaper since then.:eek:

Edited January 18, 2014 by luddite

[che5904]

Gosh. I hope they changed the kid's diaper since then.:eek:

 

bahahaha :D

[serene56]

We recently came back from NCL Spirit with a 4 year old ( grandson) and the closure times were torture for us. Reason: he loved it so much he was counting the time to go back and after all this is his holiday too so we didn't see much of him :-(. Fantastic programme and if I was a full time mum I would welcome the opportunity for my own free time and not love him any less. Win win all round x

 

most cruiselines shut down for the lunch and dinner time (12-2) and 5-7

Makes the family meal times together - especially with so many kids with allergies today.

 

I cant imagine camps being opened all day- counselors need breaks from the kids too,