Question for seasoned Kid's/Teen's crew parents.

[ChiMimi69]

Hello Fellow Parents,

 

I'll be traveling with my BFF and her DDs and my 2 DSs. Her oldest DD will be 13 by the time we sail. She currently suffers from anxiety attacks when she's not at ease. So, my BFF is wondering if her DD would even want to hang out with the others in the teen areas since she is too shy to make any friends anyway. We are hopefull this will change by the time we sail.

 

Well, a couple of years ago when I sailed Carnival, they were kind enough to allow my oldest (then 8) to spend time with my youngest (then 2) and put him at ease when he was upset. They did this several times instead of calling me back to come and get him. I greatly applaud them for that as I think they sensed how stressed out I was then and needed some R&R. :) Anyway, I wonder if NCL would do the same and allow her DD to stick with her sister and my son who will be in the kids's crew. Has anyone had a similar experience with their kids? I've not sailed NCL before to know. Also, are the kids' ages (or DOB) printed on their key cards by chance?

 

Many thanks for your input.

[youngestof9]

They will not let her. She'll be in the teen club which isn't even in the same area. They're very very strict about it. Even if it's just to "visit", they won't allow it.

 

You have to put yourself in the role of other parents. If there was a 13 year old in the kids club with my 9 year old, I wouldn't be happy.

 

In fact at our cruise critic meet & greet on Epic in February, the HD spoke and said one of the most frequently asked questions is if kids can go in other groups and he said down or up, it is not allowed. So you can't move up, even if your birthday is in 2 weeks and you can not move down. Very strict.

 

sorry :(

[SissasMomE]

Agreed - they won't allow it. They won't even allow you in there. They are very strict about that.

[Mom2B&Z]

The only time the kids are allowed to mix age groups are at set "free play" times, but even at that they sometimes keep them apart. I had to ask why my boys were being kept apart over New Years 2012 and was told they had too many kids to allow safe free play. I wish they would have just cancelled it, but they didn't.

[ladybugpug]

Hello Fellow Parents,

 

I'll be traveling with my BFF and her DDs and my 2 DSs. Her oldest DD will be 13 by the time we sail. She currently suffers from anxiety attacks when she's not at ease. So, my BFF is wondering if her DD would even want to hang out with the others in the teen areas since she is too shy to make any friends anyway. We are hopefull this will change by the time we sail.

 

Well, a couple of years ago when I sailed Carnival, they were kind enough to allow my oldest (then 8) to spend time with my youngest (then 2) and put him at ease when he was upset. They did this several times instead of calling me back to come and get him. I greatly applaud them for that as I think they sensed how stressed out I was then and needed some R&R. :) Anyway, I wonder if NCL would do the same and allow her DD to stick with her sister and my son who will be in the kids's crew. Has anyone had a similar experience with their kids? I've not sailed NCL before to know. Also, are the kids' ages (or DOB) printed on their key cards by chance?

 

Many thanks for your input.

 

No, they are very strict, sorry! I asked if my then 12 year old could hang out in the teen group with her then 14 year old sister and they absolutely would not allow it. Sadly there were very few kids around the age of 12 on the ship and they combined the younger groups. My DD went one night to the kid's club..saw it was mostly little (like 6 year olds) and never went back. I did find it odd that NCL was just fine with putting 6 year olds with 12 year olds but not a 12 year old with 13 year olds. Maybe because limited supervision in the teen group? Anyway they both still had a great cruise and I'm sure the kids you are traveling with will too.

[itravelalot]

I have to agree with all the other posters. It will not be allowed.. I haven't been on any line that allows it. One cruise my son was put in a 6-8 group and he was turning 9 on the ship and yet he couldn't be with the other group until his actual bday.. 2nd last day of cruise. So he ended up not going at all.

 

It makes sense but is somewhat annoying.. I do appreciate that they are trying to keep the children safe.:)

[Alvarado]

My son had trouble with groups and very shy so he did not care for the kids thing at all. There is plenty to do on the ship, he did a lot of swimming with me as the watchful Mom until he was 14 or 15 and then he could go alone. He was a very responsible and trustworthy teenager.. Kids who have difficulties with others are usually fairly good at entertaining themselves. I wouldn't worry just offer opportunities and see how it goes.

[nzdisneymom]

We don't have any experience on NCL so I was interested to read what their policies are. We've sailed on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Disney and each of these has allowed some movement when kids are at the cusp age between the groups, but not as a general rule - more of a individual determination based on the number of kids, the circumstances, etc. I think youth programming on a cruiseline is one of the toughest things to figure out.

 

We are looking to book Pride of America for next June and want to do it in early June before our older son has his 18th birthday so our boys can be together in the Teen club. On Disney, they now kick you out as soon as you turn 18 - so if we were sailing with them and he had his birthday in the middle of the week, reports are that he could participate up until his birthday and then out he goes.

[ChiMimi69]

You have to put yourself in the role of other parents. If there was a 13 year old in the kids club with my 9 year old, I wouldn't be happy.

 

In fact at our cruise critic meet & greet on Epic in February, the HD spoke and said one of the most frequently asked questions is if kids can go in other groups and he said down or up, it is not allowed. So you can't move up, even if your birthday is in 2 weeks and you can not move down. Very strict.

 

 

 

NCL groups ages 3-12 together. I have a 12 yr old nephew and he's a pretty hyperactive kid. I think I would be more worried about the physical safety of my 3 yr old being in the same room as some 12 year old's :eek:. So, the same can be said here. I'm just saying...:)

 

I did find this tidbit of info below useful as my youngest will be celebrating his 6th onboard. :D

Can my child move up an age group if celebrating a birthday during the cruise?

 

Children turning six during the cruise are welcome to register for and participate in the 6-9 year old age group beginning embarkation evening.

 

Children turning ten during the cruise are welcome to register for and participate in the 10-12 year old age group beginning embarkation evening.

 

Children turning thirteen during the cruise are welcome to participate in Entourage and Teen Center on their birthday. No exceptions can be made.

[Aurora2143]

Hello Fellow Parents,

 

I'll be traveling with my BFF and her DDs and my 2 DSs. Her oldest DD will be 13 by the time we sail. She currently suffers from anxiety attacks when she's not at ease. So, my BFF is wondering if her DD would even want to hang out with the others in the teen areas since she is too shy to make any friends anyway. We are hopefull this will change by the time we sail.

 

Well, a couple of years ago when I sailed Carnival, they were kind enough to allow my oldest (then 8) to spend time with my youngest (then 2) and put him at ease when he was upset. They did this several times instead of calling me back to come and get him. I greatly applaud them for that as I think they sensed how stressed out I was then and needed some R&R. :) Anyway, I wonder if NCL would do the same and allow her DD to stick with her sister and my son who will be in the kids's crew. Has anyone had a similar experience with their kids? I've not sailed NCL before to know. Also, are the kids' ages (or DOB) printed on their key cards by chance?

 

Many thanks for your input.

 

I have serious social anxiety, even within my own church.

Have you checked your roll call to see if there are any teens that will be in attendance. Usually with social anxiety, if you can make 1 friend or 2 at the most at first, it makes a world of difference. Then with that 1 or 2 friends, perhaps she will be able to hang out with others in the teen club and make other friends. Just a suggestion. :)

[CruiserNic]

On Disney, they now kick you out as soon as you turn 18 - so if we were sailing with them and he had his birthday in the middle of the week, reports are that he could participate up until his birthday and then out he goes.

 

We experienced this on RCCL, also. My sister turned 18 while on our cruise and was not allowed back in to the teen club from the day of her birthday on. When we booked we were told that the age she was when we embarked would be the age she is considered for the duration of the cruise. Wrong. The only bad part was that she had brought a friend with her who was still 17, so my sister couldn't go in the teen area and her friend couldn't go in the "adult" areas. Oh well, they just entertained themselves elsewhere on the ship.

[ChiMimi69]

I have serious social anxiety, even within my own church.

Have you checked your roll call to see if there are any teens that will be in attendance. Usually with social anxiety, if you can make 1 friend or 2 at the most at first, it makes a world of difference. Then with that 1 or 2 friends, perhaps she will be able to hang out with others in the teen club and make other friends. Just a suggestion. :)

 

Hey this is a good idea! I will speak with my BFF to feel her out for this. I just started the roll call for our sailing so, we'll see if we get some nibbles down the road. :) Thanks!

[youngestof9]

NCL groups ages 3-12 together. I have a 12 yr old nephew and he's a pretty hyperactive kid. I think I would be more worried about the physical safety of my 3 yr old being in the same room as some 12 year old's :eek:. So, the same can be said here. I'm just saying...:)

 

 

 

they're not actually TOGETHER. It's 3-5, 6-9, 10-12 and that's how it's kept. SOMETIMES the 10-12 can be mixed with the 6-9, but more often than not, they're entirely separate. 3 year olds are not with 12 year olds.

[Aurora2143]

Hey this is a good idea! I will speak with my BFF to feel her out for this. I just started the roll call for our sailing so, we'll see if we get some nibbles down the road. :) Thanks!

 

I hope it works out. In any case, have a wonderful cruise!

[ChiMimi69]

they're not actually TOGETHER. It's 3-5, 6-9, 10-12 and that's how it's kept. SOMETIMES the 10-12 can be mixed with the 6-9, but more often than not, they're entirely separate. 3 year olds are not with 12 year olds.

 

Sorry. Now, I'm :confused:. I called NCL this morning and I was told that Kid's Crew shared a common space ages 3-12. And Splash Academy broke them into the ages you note above. Essentially, I was told these are two separate programs. I asked if each group was in their own space and I was told no. Maybe the rep misunderstood me then? :confused:

[Mom2B&Z]

Sorry. Now, I'm :confused:. I called NCL this morning and I was told that Kid's Crew shared a common space ages 3-12. And Splash Academy broke them into the ages you note above. Essentially, I was told these are two separate programs. I asked if each group was in their own space and I was told no. Maybe the rep misunderstood me then? :confused:

I can speak for the Sun, Star and Jewel, who all had spaces for each age group in one general area. Within the large area, each group had their own room where they had dedicated staff and programming. There was no mixing of age groups unless a designated free play time, even then it wasn't always offered depending on numbers. (IIRC, there was some mixing of 6-12 year olds on some sports programs and cooperative games, but it was clearly laid out in the kids crew program.)

DCL does group kids 3-12 together in two large areas, with intermingling of the ages...now that was chaos!

[ChiMimi69]

I can speak for the Sun' date=' Star and Jewel, who all had spaces for each age group in one general area. Within the large area, each group had their own room where they had dedicated staff and programming. There was no mixing of age groups unless a designated free play time, even then it wasn't always offered depending on numbers. (IIRC, there was some mixing of 6-12 year olds on some sports programs and cooperative games, but it was clearly laid out in the kids crew program.)

DCL does group kids 3-12 together in two large areas, with intermingling of the ages...now that was chaos![/quote']

 

We are sailing early August so, there's bound to be a lot of kids onboard then. :D

[youngestof9]

Yup - splash academy is all one place, but each group is separate and not intermingled. It's confusing, don't worry :)

 

And you'll have lots of kids in August, so they probably won't mix the groups at all!

[FitchburgWIFamily]

We sailed in March during spring break on the Star, and there were tons of kids on board.

 

My two were both in the same age group (dolphins), and for themed play, when they were just dolphins, they used one of the conference rooms by the library instead of up in the kids club area. This is where they did the different activities like the iCarly night, or the spy night, etc.

 

For free style free play, which is where they do all the practice for the circus, they were back up splash academy, with all 6 - 12 years olds in one large play space. The smaller kids were in a completely different room in splash academy.

 

Although we never used the late night (fee based) care, I did notice that, too, was all ages.

 

My children, at almost 10 and 12.5, figured out right away how to read the schedule and how to pick what activities appealed to them and which ones didn't. There were some days they spent hours at kids club, and other days, they didn't go at all except for a little free style time to practice their circus act.

 

The teen club is on a different level on the Star, and completely seperate. My kids weren't old enough to attend, but as far as I could tell, it simply was a teens only space to hang out, without the organized activities of the younger groups. They had some special events, like dances, but during the day, I don't know what else was going on.

 

Hope this helps!

[jdvmd]

Won't allow this. They go by the ages on the manifest, which is the age on the first day of sailing.

[Jasalth]

While we haven't been on NCL yet, I can at least share experience from other lines!

 

My oldest DS has social anxiety. He doesn't quite make friends easily. We went on one summer sailing (July) and never again! Over 800 kids on board and it was just way to much for him!

 

On the other hands, our last sailing was in December. Less than 30 teens on board (he was 13 1/2 at the time). He had a blast and we rarely saw him, to the point where he ate dinner with us twice the whole time on the ship. I would have never expected it from him, but he was fine.

 

I do really think amounts have to do with it. A smaller group leads for more ability to make connections where as 400 kids finding those 1 or 2 that you really get along with are slim to none.

 

I would suggest let her go to the teen area the first night for their get together. See what happens and your BFF might be pleasantly surprised!