Kid's Club

[evelyn51]

Are the participants taken in the pools? If they are may they opt out of pool activities?

 

Any experience about the clubs appreciated.

Edited June 6, 2015 by evelyn51
Thread title Club

[Cruisin' Chick]

You need to be more specific about the cruise line and age of the child.

 

We've only been on Carnival and Princess, and on both of these lines, children are never taken to the pool by the kids' program counselors. The parents are expected to do this and to supervise their kids (there's usually not any life guards on duty).

 

As far as I know (and again, this is just based on our experience), kids aren't taken out of the kids' program rooms for too many activities. The only times I can think of when my daughter was taken anywhere: cookie decorating activity in the casual dining area, passenger scavenger hunt (the kids are given a bingo type of graph with descriptions such as passenger wearing green tee shirt, passenger who hates pineapple, etc., and they ask passengers to sign off on the squares that fit them; usually it's in teams and not by themselves), family activities such as family karaoke. On the two lines we've been on, there's kids' dinners -- you drop off your child in the casual dining area where an area was reserved for a "private party." Afterwards, the counselors will take the kids to the program rooms for the evening activities.

 

And there isn't a requirement that your child come to all the sessions (the rooms may close for mealtime so the staff can eat) or even come every day.

 

For more info, you can also check out the web site for the cruise line you're going on.

[Shmoo here]

I'll just toss in that on Disney the kids in the club are not taken to the pools, either. Talking about the kid's club for the younger kids and the tween club.

[RSLeesburg]

RCI does not take kids to pool either.

[gerif]

RCI does not take kids to pool either.

 

Nor does Celebrity. Actually I don't believe any of them do. Way too much potential liability.

[cadien]

Not Norwegian. They do take them to the basketball court.

[Ashland]

RCI does not take kids to pool either.

Agree...this is not a liability they would undertake...many other activities to keep your child safe and occupied when in their care.

[evelyn51]

Thanks for all replies. Our grandson is going to be 9. We took him on his first, and only cruise (Disney) he loved the Kids Club; This winter we'd like to take him on a RCCL but not if the kids "had" to go in the pools.

Edited June 7, 2015 by evelyn51

[cb at sea]

Kid's clubs do NOT take the kids to the pool..too dangerous. If you want your child to swim..YOU must take them and be responsible for them.

 

Kids club activities are indoors and have nothing to do with water. On ALL cruise lines!

[SadieN]

Only once (HAL 2003) were our kids taken to the pool on a cruise.

 

It was a very unusual cruise in many ways.

Edited June 8, 2015 by SadieN

[john watson]

Are the participants taken in the pools? If they are may they opt out of pool activities?

 

Any experience about the clubs appreciated.

 

In my experience cruise lines do not take children to the pools as a club activity. The reasons for this are liability and not having control over the whole pool and whosoever might be in it. The only exceptions I have come across to this is where the ships design has a pool next door to the children's club. This would be a paddling (or wading) pool specifically reserved for the children's club or one a bit deeper but only the size of a couple of bath tubs again next to the club and exclusive to it.

 

No club in my experience ever forces a child to do an activity he or she does not want to do. It is their holiday and the end game is keeping them happy and entertained during the cruise and telling their parents we want to cruise again next year.

 

Regards John

Edited June 8, 2015 by john watson