Kids Club

[saeefamily4]

I can't seem to get a reply from Carnival, so I am turning to you guys for help. I have an 11 year old and 8 year old (both girls). I have enrolled them in the kids club on the Carnival Fascination but in doing so I noticed that the age groups are from like 6-8, 9-11, 12 +, etc. My question is: Will they allow my 8 year old to go with my 11 year old (they are practically inseperable sometimes). Any feedback would be appreciated.

[SadieN]

No. The rules are very different for those age groups. Starting at age 9 the kids can sign themselves in and out. Several of the activities, scavenger hunt, are on they're sent out in small groups with no adult.

[Barbluvstocruz]

I'm sure the club schedule varies from ship to ship so I can only tell you about our experience on the Pride last month...My boys were 8 & 9 at the time so they were in the different age groups. I did not allow my 9yo privileges to sign himself in/out. They only went a few times to the club, but when they did the 6-8 and 9-11 year old groups were doing activities together. So, my boys were together the entire time they were there.

 

It will tell you on the daily schedule when the groups are combined.

 

Hope that helps a little.

 

Have fun! :)

[chiefillini99]

They typically do not but if you talk to the counselor when you go the first day they may let your youngest go up a group if they show they are mature enough to do so. We had this happen on our last cruise where my son was 11 and his cousin was 12. They are in the same class in school and the counselor was very understanding. Just no that the rule is no and if the counselor decides against it then that is it.

[saeefamily4]

Thanks for the replies...

[mousey]

From what I've gleaned from this board on this subject...they are pretty strict about not allowing kids to switch between the age groups. And one of your children is 3 years older than the other. However, it never hurts to ask...just be prepared for them to say no.

 

Our DS never liked the kid's clubs and didn't go to them until he was able to get into the teen club. He liked that because he was able to go and meet up with other teens and hang out other places on the ship than the actual club itself. We cruised with him every Spring Break from the time he was 9 until he was 19. His routine when we got on-board was to go to the game arcade and he would make friends almost right away. Then the kids would hang out by the pool, play ping pong (we always brought our own paddles and balls so that if he wanted to play when they were no longer handing out equipment...he could still play), play games in the arcade (we limited him to $10 a day for this), play games in the library, have lunch together. There was always plenty for the kids to do other than the kid's club. He never got into trouble until he was a teen and he and his friend we had taken along with us broke curfew. We nipped that in the bud quickly by making them come back to the room with us the next night and not letting them stay out on their own. Worked like a charm and there was never a broken curfew after that on any of the remaining cruises we took.

 

It's kind of different with girls I think. We let the DS be on his own and make his own decisions (with some basic rules in place) because we knew he was mature enough to do this. As an only child he was very independent and never gave us any cause to worry..until that one time when he and his friend broke curfew. Unfortunately, I wouldn't treat a daughter exactly the same way. I would always want her to be accompanied by a friend at all times. I would never allow her to be alone on the ship...especially at night. Only you know your girls' level of maturity as to whether you would allow them this kind of freedom if in fact they can't be together in the kid's club and so wouldn't want to go.

 

I really hope that the Carnival counselors will allow the girls to be together. However you might want to ask yourself, because it's more likely the older girl would have to go with the younger one's group than them allowing the younger one to go into the older girl's group, if the older girl would be bored to death with the younger kids. It wouldn't be fair to her...unless like I said, you know your kids so maybe the older one wouldn't mind.

 

However it works out...I hope you and your family have an awesome cruise!:D

[bingo3]

A lot of people seem to ask for this to be done and if Carnival did it for everyone, then all the groups would be combined pretty much, thus negating the need for age groups and then major problems. So, I can see why they would say they do not allow it. I can also see where they would make exceptions if the numbers are low enough, etc. I can also see where they might combine some programs depending on numbers/ages and the activity.

 

So, I guess the answer is, you can ask, but the answer may be "no" and you have to understand that and understand why. It is just like school, there is a cut off age/birth date, and that is the way it is.

 

I am glad I am not a counselor and have to deal with this each sailing.:)

[jcearth]

There is a possibility that you could move your 8 year old up to the 9-11 age group. However, the decision is made by the Camp director - that person alone has the power to allow such a move. You would only be able to move a child up to an older age group -- they never allow children to move down, unless the child has special needs, and it is more appropriate for the child to be in the younger age group. At Camp Orientation, make a request with a counselor or the director to move your child up an age group. I have been able to move one of my children up before -- they agreed to the move on a trial basis, and he did fine the entire cruise (there was another child on the cruise who asked to be moved up, but the child did not do as well and ended up being sent down to his original age group).

 

Whether your request is successful or not is dependent on a few different factors, such as the amount of counselors, time of year, amount of children on the ship, which way the wind is blowing, etc. Be nice, respectful, and also prepared to accept whatever decision the camp director makes.

 

Also note, as a previous poster stated, that a lot of times these 2 age groups will be combined, especially if there are not a lot of children on board.

 

One final note - you may get some responses from people on here that will accuse you of being an entitled, me-first person to whom the rules do not apply. If this happens, just disregard what these people say. There is a contingent of folks on the various message boards that believe that children do not belong on a cruise ship, even though Carnival markets itself heavily to families.