Need feedback/suggestions for 2 and 5 yr old for Royal Caribbean-Rhapsody of the Seas

[chenj78]

Taking the Rhapsody to Alaska this August. Our group will include my two little girls, who will be 5 and almost 3 at the time of sailing. Can anyone offer any feedback on the Just for Babies and Tots program for the 2-year old and Just for Kids program for the 5-year old? Did your kids have a good time? Want to go back? Didn't care for it? What types of activities? How was the staff? Any other suggestions to keep the little ones occupied? Any good shore excursions or activities for this age group? Thanks in advance!

[natical]

I took my son when he was five and he couldn't get enough of it. Would beg to go to camp! They'll love it!

 

 

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[TxEx2x]

We cruised to Alaska on the Rhapsody last August, and my 3 yr old LOVED the kids club. We were there the last week in August, and there were not many kids on the ship. The counselors in the kids club were WONDERFUL with him, and they had a lot of activities to keep him busy. They had 3 sessions a day and different themes with different activities each session. They did tons of crafts- it seemed like every time he left, he came back with a craft.

 

We especially enjoyed having the kids club available at night. We opted for anytime dining, and would put him in the kids club before going to the big sit down dinner every night. We tried taking him a couple of times, but he just didn't have the patience for it.

 

Also on the ship, he enjoyed swimming in the pool. It was cold, but he loved it. We had a couple of really sunny days that made it tolerable for the adults. The other thing he loved on the ship was just finding some empty deck space and running his toy car all around.

 

Not sure what size room you are getting, but a surprise for us was just how small the interior stateroom was. (We've cruised Princess before and felt that the room was better configuration and a little bigger.) It was TIGHT! And there was no way he was going to sleep on the top bunk, so we just made him a pallet on the floor each day. The balcony rooms were MUCH bigger and would have worked better for us had we not been worried about him opening the door himself and climbing up on the chairs.

 

As for shore excursions, the best thing we found was the Project Playground in Juneau. It is a couple of miles from the port, so we rented a car for the day and drove there. It was awesome! It was built by the community of Juneau and it had so many things to play on. It was great to just hang out on a bench and watch him run and play. It was definitely a highlight of the trip for him! You can also go to Mendenhall Glacier. If you have a car, then you don't have to worry about the shuttles or timing your visit to miss crowds. There are several easy walking trails at Mendenhall, and some folks even saw a bear while we were there.

 

In Skagway, he loved playing on the caboose and train cars behind the train depot. We also did a hike out to Yakania Point just beyond the airport. We had a stroller with us for that one, and just parked the stroller when the trail got too rough. He LOVED climbing on the huge rocks and exploring. We even saw a whale swimming in the distance and had a sea lion frolicking on the shore nearby.

 

Enjoy your trip! I'm dreaming about doing it again this summer!

[chenj78]

Thanks so much for the info. It was very helpful!

 

 

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