Kids books onboard and kids during term time

[cornflake girl]

Does anybody me know whether ships have children’s books to borrow? Would rather not take 7 nights of bedtime stories with me on a plane!

 

Also, do there tend be a few kids on board in term time? What do the hours of the club tend to be?

 

Sailing on Oceana in term time with a 4 year old the week after Easter holidays.

 

Thanks!

[john watson]

The Children's Club or Reef as I think it is called opens roughly 9 or 9.30 might close for lunch and closes something like 10pm. It varies with port/sea days as I recall.

 

The number of children on board reduces in term time. If you wish to know exactly how many children on board phone P&O Carnival House and they will surprisingly tell you exactly what the breakdown totals are for you voyage. This need to be done near sail date for the information to be useful not years ahead!

 

4 year olds are grouped in the 2 - 5 age group (Splashers) which sometimes becomes 2 - 8 where few children are on a cruise or high numbers of oldest group need their group thinning out.

 

There is strangely a Night Nursery for 6month old babies up to 4 years olds which runs from 6pm to 2am! Last admission is 11pm!

 

Splashers activities seem only to be run at the centre whereas older groups sometimes do an outside event like ping pong where the tables are etc.

 

Late on in the day the clubs tend to amalgamate a bit with a dvd cartoon and an impromptu grandstand of chairs, staff and bean cushions with people nodding off in the dark.

 

It is all well run and I have used the clubs on all modern P&O ships I list in signature from a 2 year old to a 14 year old.

 

Regards John

[cornflake girl]

The Children's Club or Reef as I think it is called opens roughly 9 or 9.30 might close for lunch and closes something like 10pm. It varies with port/sea days as I recall.

 

The number of children on board reduces in term time. If you wish to know exactly how many children on board phone P&O Carnival House and they will surprisingly tell you exactly what the breakdown totals are for you voyage. This need to be done near sail date for the information to be useful not years ahead!

 

4 year olds are grouped in the 2 - 5 age group (Splashers) which sometimes becomes 2 - 8 where few children are on a cruise or high numbers of oldest group need their group thinning out.

 

There is strangely a Night Nursery for 6month old babies up to 4 years olds which runs from 6pm to 2am! Last admission is 11pm!

 

Splashers activities seem only to be run at the centre whereas older groups sometimes do an outside event like ping pong where the tables are etc.

 

Late on in the day the clubs tend to amalgamate a bit with a dvd cartoon and an impromptu grandstand of chairs, staff and bean cushions with people nodding off in the dark.

 

It is all well run and I have used the clubs on all modern P&O ships I list in signature from a 2 year old to a 14 year old.

 

Regards John

 

 

 

John, thank you so much for your informative reply. I shall definitely call P&O nearer the time.

 

I’m pleased you mention the Night Nursery, any experience of a 4 year old using it? I know all children are different but it would be good to know. Do you, or anyone else, know the set up of the nursery in Oceana? The one on Azura looks very private with curtains but not so much on Aurora.

[john watson]

We used Oceana with a two year old daughter who used the facility. They have collapsible cots which get brought out of a cupboard as required you can turn up with pushchairs too. This is on a first come first served basis and get arranged in rows in a part of the club premises. The location of the Children's club on Oceana is such that you can enter the front door Deck 12 Lido Deck which involves walking towards the aft past the swimming pools on open decks. This is the obvious route but can be freezing with cold winds across deck possibly raining on you and swimming pools waving over the sides. My daughter woke up during this procedure which defeated the object. Later on in the cruise we discovered you can come up the aft stairs/lifts to Deck 12 Lido completely indoors then enter the Children's club from the rear door. This is the warm sensible dry option but is very difficult to work out if your cabin is not aft. Then your child has a chance of arriving at least sleepy if not actually asleep. I seem to think it was open plan like a dormitory but closed off in a room. Long time ago when she was two!

 

When it is dark as in night time where the ship is and at sea they point the webcam at the pools area, far end of shot slightly to left is entrance to kids club.

 

Regards John