Adventure Ocean with 3 year olds

[cruisingwithtwins]

We will be cruising on Oasis in October with our boys who will be 3.5 years old. It is our first cruise since having kids, and the 6th for my DH and I. Does anyone have tips or itineraries for that age group? How does registration, drop off, and pick up work, as well as day vs. evening programs.

 

In general are there many kids in that age group?

 

Also our cabin is at the very back of the ship and AO is in the front, approximately how long does it take to walk end to end?

[sharktums]

You'll probably get a lot more help and attention if you post this in the Family Board.

 

There will be plenty of kids in the 3 - 5 year old age group. My daughter is 6 now and has been cruising since she was 9 months old and loves it. You can do a lot of the registration as soon as you board. Go early and get it done with. They drop off/pick up with your key card (or whoever you said could drop off and pick up).

 

It can be a walk. I remember going from the very back where our dinner was, up to Adventure Ocean to drop my daughter off, then back again and it usually took about 15-20 minutes total round trip.

[applehunt]

From the aft of the ship you will have a long walk on Oasis class.

My oldest started sailing at age 3.5 and still loves AO five cruise later. Can't get enough of it. The activities keep them very busy and you some free time :)

[springvalley]

My son is six now and in his age group they didn't have pagers for the parents, but the last time we cruised and he was in the 3-5 age group, we were given a pager in case we needed to be reached, which was nice.

 

AO is broken up into sessions, usually 9-12, 2-5, then from 7 to 10, and after 10 you pay $6.95 per additional hour per child. My ten year old stayed til midnight a few times when they had special late night activities going on. After the initial registration process, your child will be given a wristband with their muster station number of it and they wear it the whole time.

 

Each time you bring them to AO, you will sign in with your name, time of drop off and room number. Same procedure with picking up. Older kids are allowed to sign themselves in/out if specified by you during registration.

 

My kids love it year after year. We loved having a "date night" almost every night on vacation. We have dinner at 6 in the MDR then bring the kids to AO, grab a drink, go see the show, then go back and get them afterwards. We tend to select our room location based on the most frequently traveled to decks, but it sounds like it will be a hike to anywhere if you have an aft cabin.

 

Enjoy cruising with your boys! It will be an entirely new cruise experience for you guys, but it's such a wonderful way to vacation with kids. It really feels like a vacation rather than a "trip."

[cruisingwithtwins]

Thanks for the replies. I think my kids will have a great time and I'm looking forward to getting in some date nights with my husband.