Kids Club NCL Epic-french speaking 9 yr old

[annbel0909]

Hi,

 

I could do with some advice/tips.

 

A group of us (14) will be sailing the Epic on 6th April. We have 5 children in our group. A 15 and 16 year old (girls)who get along great, 12 and 14 year old (boys) who are looking forward to using their "european charm" on the american ladies ;) and then there's my 9 year old (boy) who feels a bit left out.

 

He doesn't mind hanging out with the adults but I was thinking of trying to convince him to check out the kids club. Problem is we are french speaking. He understands very basic english. I'm afraid he'll be left out. Do you know if the staff on the Epic speaks french ? Also what are the age categories for the NCL kids clubs? What kind of activities do they do?

 

I really want him to have a great time. All advice is welcome:)

[boulders]

I haven't cruised on NCL, but on many of my cruises there have been Canadian staff in the kids clubs. The vast majority of Canadians have at least a basic command of French, and usually better. I've also seen staff from French-speaking countries in the Caribbean. They do seem to try to get staff who can speak more than one language. Have him go to the kids club on the first night so that he gets comfortable with it.

[sun~]

I haven't cruised on NCL, but on many of my cruises there have been Canadian staff in the kids clubs. The vast majority of Canadians have at least a basic command of French, and usually better.

Completely and utterly untrue. Most Canadians, the vast majority do not speak French or have even the basic command of French. Do not assume the the Canadian staff at the kids club can speak French - in my experience there are lots of Canadians who work in the kids clubs. Cruise lines hire staff who have their ECE certificates.

 

It is a shame that the OP is not travelling during the school break time from Quebec (march or the end of February) where there would be a good chance of some French speaking kids on board.

[2Littletime2]

We have travelled extensively with our bilingual (french/english) children and have had no difficulty finding cruise staff who speak French. That's not to say that every children's program has a specific language capability but in our experience french was reasonably common. Not as common as it is in Canada but certainly common enough to manage. We have found that the secret to success with the kids programs is to ensure that your child attends the first night get together, they do a great job of breaking the ice and we've noticed a major difference when we have missed this part. Good luck!:)

[annbel0909]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all your replies. We are travelling in April because that's when we have spring break in Belgium.

 

I'll be sure to have him attend first night meeting. He's very sociable so he should be OK. If not, lots of time with mum and dad:)

[dijid]

I can't speak for the Epic staff, but the Jade kids club has staff that speak French. Assuming the staff stays on it when it switches to Europe, I would expect at least someone to be French speaking.

 

The harder part will be getting him included in the activities. My kids are bi-lingual (French/English) and my son translated for several of the French only speakers so that they could participate in group activities. Game shows, egg drop and others were conducted in English.

[boulders]

Completely and utterly untrue. Most Canadians, the vast majority do not speak French or have even the basic command of French. Do not assume the the Canadian staff at the kids club can speak French - in my experience there are lots of Canadians who work in the kids clubs. Cruise lines hire staff who have their ECE certificates.

 

It is a shame that the OP is not travelling during the school break time from Quebec (march or the end of February) where there would be a good chance of some French speaking kids on board.

 

I completely disagree. In Ontario, a basic understanding of French is required to graduate high school.

[notentirelynormal]

I would also contact the cruise line in a advance. They may have staff available that do speak French but working in another area. I was born and raised in Canada and couldn't speak enough French to invite you into the house. Neither could my friends and relatives who still live in Canada. French is a east coast thing.

[annbel0909]

I completely disagree. In Ontario, a basic understanding of French is required to graduate high school.

 

Wow, I did not want to createthis kind discussion with my topic;)

 

I know, as I live in Belgium, how difficult the matter of different languages within one country is