Questions for parents who have sailed with kids on Allure

[WillandStacey]

Wife and I are previous RCI cruisers but it's been at least 10 yrs and we didn't have kids with us, we are going on the Allure Dec 8th 2013 and will have our 5 and 13 yr olds with us for the first time on a cruise vacation.

 

I realize our 13 yr old will be interested in the majority of what we do but the 5 yr old we "hope" from what we read will love the adventure ocean, she is very outgoing and loves preschool, kindergarten and is never bashful at public parks or play places.

 

Wife is wondering when we take the 5 yr old to AO, how do they notify us in case there is a problem? Also is AO open on days we are docked, we wouldn't be leaving the ship but might want to enjoy some pool or deck time etc and wasn't sure if they use pagers, beepers, text messages, 2 way radios or ?

 

What times are this ocean adventure open and does it "fill up" to where your child can't go in due to max occupancy if you aren't in by say noon or something? Can you take them out for a family lunch then take them back or are there max hour limitations per child per day?

 

Another question comes in with drinks, our 5 yr old loves red koolaid, doesn't matter the brand she calls it red juice, if its red she drinks it, but she will drink pop, oj or milk too. I thought about bringing some of the red juice packets to mix into a glass of water for her or something, the 13 yr old loves pop, so guessing we will do a soda pass for her, but what are the options for drinks onboard that would not require a specific "pass".

 

I personally do not drink pop but am curious what we can drink onboard too or will we need some sort of drink pass too? We don't drink alcohol really but I did like the bananna fruity one we had 10 yrs ago, had maybe 4-5 that week added to our card.

 

When it was just us years ago we flew by the seat of our pants but she wants to plan a bit more with the kids coming, knew this was the place to come search, ask, learn.

 

Bill ;)

Edited November 23, 2013 by FTLOSM

[nicknboone]

When we first cruised our son was 8. He spent all of his time in Adventure Ocean. He loved every part of it. It won't be crowded when you are sailing because it is not a school vacation. The younger children are kept in the care of the workers and can only be signed out by the parents. you can do this whenever throughout the day as often as you want to sign her in or out. There is a meet and greet usually the first night so you can meet the staff and they will explain the program. They even have late night (slumber party) so mom and dad can enjoy night life. That was a few times during the week. Our kids did not cruise on oasis class, but the programs are the same on each ship, with nicer facilities on the newer ships. It is an awesome time and place for a child.

[Jmillsarch]

We sailed Allure in May with our then 4 and 3 years olds. They undeniably LOVED Adventure Ocean. We went there the first day and registered them and they gave us a cell phone for our 3 year old. They told us they only give out phones to call parents for 3 year olds. They never had to call us.

 

We only used Adventure Ocean while at sea, and I'm not sure about the hours. We never had any issues with it not being opened when we want to take them.

 

I'm sorry I can't answer too many of your questions, I can only reiterate how much our kids loved it. On our last day our kids didn't want to go to the H20 kids water park they wanted to go back to Adventure Ocean. This made for a great last day in the Solarium.

 

We going back on Allure in January and all are kids keep talking about is Adventure Ocean.

[waterbug123]

Wife is wondering when we take the 5 yr old to AO, how do they notify us in case there is a problem? Also is AO open on days we are docked, we wouldn't be leaving the ship but might want to enjoy some pool or deck time etc and

 

Can you take them out for a family lunch then take them back or are there max hour limitations per child per day?

 

what are the options for drinks onboard that would not require a specific "pass".

 

I personally do not drink pop but am curious what we can drink onboard too or will we need some sort of drink pass too? We don't drink alcohol really but I did like the bananna fruity one we had 10 yrs ago, had maybe 4-5 that week added to our card.

 

 

1. AO is open on port days and as I recall it is usually open straight through, whereas on sea days it is usually open for a few hours in the morning, closed around noon for a break, then reopen for afternoon hours and then evening hours.

2. During the hours it is open, you can take your child in and out as you desire; there is no "max" hours per day per child.

3. Free beverages include tap water, milk, coffee, tea, iced tea and lemonade. There is also juice (not fresh squeezed, that's an extra charge) at breakfast, and sometimes there is a fruit punch drink along with lemonade but I never drink that so don't look for it and can't tell you how prevalent it is.

4. You do not need to get a drink package. If you are only talking about having maybe one fruity drink by the pool each day, don't worry about getting a "package." It will be cheaper to just order a drink here and there a la carte.

[Wilda]

We are on this sailing also...please check out the roll call as there are several others sailing with younger children http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1657025 Prior to boarding the ship your 5 year old will be given a bracelet identifying her muster station. That way the AO staff knows where to take her in case of a ship emergency.

 

You can sign her up the first day at AO, deck 14, forward. You will be asked who can sign her in and out of the club. Don't know about the phones since we never got one. What we did was drop by an hour after dropping our GS off. We did this the first couple of days and always saw a happy kid playing with the others! You will be able to see her and confirm smiles :D They are very flexible with pulling the kids out in the middle of a session. You might have reservations (Cupcake Cupboard for example) for another activity so don't worry about having to keep her signed in for the duration of a session.

 

On sea days AO is open from 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10. You can keep them checked in after 10 pm for a small fee.

 

We had to tear our GS out of AO every visit...he loved it. You might want to mosey over to the Family Boards. There is a wealth of information over there as well as posted activities for each of the age groups of 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11 year olds. Have a terrific cruise:)

Edited November 24, 2013 by Wilda