Insight on Adventure Ocean Changes

[RCCL Fan]

So I've heard the word on the street is RCI is changing Adventure Ocean's set up.  Kids no longer divided by ages.

 

I've been looking around (but i have trouble searching with the new site design) and am wondering if anyone on the ships that have converted can weigh in on the program and their thoughts on it.

 

At first blush, it sounds like an awful idea, but I'm waiting to see how it's implemented and would love to hear what others think.

 

**posting here rather than family cruising board as I'm looking for royal caribbean cruise parents to weigh in**

[John&LaLa]

30 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

So I've heard the word on the street is RCI is changing Adventure Ocean's set up.  Kids no longer divided by ages.

 

I've been looking around (but i have trouble searching with the new site design) and am wondering if anyone on the ships that have converted can weigh in on the program and their thoughts on it.

 

At first blush, it sounds like an awful idea, but I'm waiting to see how it's implemented and would love to hear what others think.

 

**posting here rather than family cruising board as I'm looking for royal caribbean cruise parents to weigh in**

 

Look at the Oasis refurb information on the website

 

It's a little vague. Most of the chatter seems to come from the new deck 14 layout 

Edited July 9, 2019 by John&LaLa

[nicstress]

I like the change frankly. As a parent of 2 boys who are close in age but often get separated in the kids clubs and it is very stressful to worry about stuff like that. My boys want to play together. So I am excited. No more complaining from my little guy!! 

[RCCL Fan]

On 7/9/2019 at 2:44 PM, nicstress said:

I like the change frankly. As a parent of 2 boys who are close in age but often get separated in the kids clubs and it is very stressful to worry about stuff like that. My boys want to play together. So I am excited. No more complaining from my little guy!! 

 

So you've been on a ship that has made the change?

 

Or do you just mean you like the idea of no divided ages?

 

I understand the no more divided ages, but I'me trying to get some insight on what it looks like and how it works.   If 3 year olds and 12 year olds are playing in one room or is there some kind of division based on activity or what

[Ashland]

Well I certainly don't like the idea of 3 year olds mixed in with 12 year olds.

This is the first I've heard of this possible new change...and hoping it's wrong or has been misunderstood so far as to how it's going to work.

[lovescats5]

We try to cruise when there are few kids on board, even though my granddaughter is with us.  I know that at Adventure Ocean there have been several kids and then very few kids.  What they have done is put all the kids in one room and then find games they can play.  I have seen them also split the kids up but not into the age groups they specify, as in 2 age groups into one.  This has been difficult some times because my granddaughter is now 12 and in the past she has been in the same room with the younger kids, so I would say I did not like the idea of the older kids in with the younger ones.  Maybe it will depend on when because during school holidays or summer I can see where you would need to split up age groups to make it easier to handle the kids.  Will be interesting to see what is said by the people who experience this.

[JinxyB]

I don’t see how they will do this with the current configuration of adventure ocean.  I don’t know what they have done on the Oasis regarding physical changes to the AO rooms- can someone enlighten me?  The kids are in separate rooms depending on age so unless the rooms all connect, then I don’t know how they are doing this??

 

We went on Disney last month and their kids club was very large, with two huge rooms connected by another play area with many different nooks and rooms so the kids could do what they wanted.  They also had scheduled activities for the kids, but they weren’t forced to participate. When you checked your kid out they use the gps in the wristband to find where exactly your kid is.  I think it was either 3-11 or 3-12, then the older kids had their own teen clubs in separate areas of the ship. It sounds like Royal is maybe trying to do this?  I can see thus being problematic for a 3 or 4 year old being mixed in with much older kids 🤷‍♀️

Edited July 11, 2019 by JinxyB

[nicstress]

15 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

So you've been on a ship that has made the change?

 

Or do you just mean you like the idea of no divided ages?

 

I understand the no more divided ages, but I'me trying to get some insight on what it looks like and how it works.   If 3 year olds and 12 year olds are playing in one room or is there some kind of division based on activity or what

No. But do you really think a three year old and 12 year old will be interested in the same activities? Not a chance. And they would probably not allow it unless they are related. I think 12 is actually with the teens on RC anyway. But regardless, they are reconfiguring the areas and will at least allow a seven year old to play with their 10 year old sibling or 5 and and 7 year old , etc which currently is not always possible and is really silly IMO. The littles will not be in danger. 

[RCCL Fan]

5 hours ago, nicstress said:

No. But do you really think a three year old and 12 year old will be interested in the same activities? Not a chance. And they would probably not allow it unless they are related. 

Well --- actually it happens on smaller ships.   On the smaller ships where AO is just one room, due to the space lay out they will combine ages.

 

We were on a cruise where there was a young man who was 10 who had some aggression issues and he was playing with other kids and got upset and he got physical.   A 4-year old playing with them  thought it was a game and wound up getting kicked in the face before the counselor could stop it. 

 

I was at guest services as all the parents were there meeting with managers and the parents of the 10 year old were told he would be given "one more chance"  and the parents of the 4 year old didn't agree he should be allowed to play with their daughter.

 

 

Similarly on Vision of the Seas, they had more kids on board than AO could handle.  They would accept as many as they could and shut the doors. It was a bit of an open play free for all.  My kids refused to go back, saying it was a zoo and not fun.  They said kids were fighting and it was nothing like they're used to.  (multiple AO's under their belts)  We took it as there was just  too many kids on that sailing.

 

It could totally be an isolated thing, but it  made me think at the time, having the divided up rooms really helps eliminate this stuff.

 

Now, I have a traveled with our daughter and her cousin who were in different age groups and had no issue switching them to the same group.

 

Our daughter also was once in her age group where 95% of the kids in her age group were boys who wanted to play dodgeball and all athletic games, which wasn't her thing.   We asked to move her one group down so where there were more girls who were doing more arts & crafts and it wasn't an issue.

 

I LOVE the AO staff and have had wonderful experiences in AO with my kids. 

 

I am not being critical of the change.   I don't know what it is. 

 

I'm simply asking if anyone who has experienced it can shed some light on what the experience was like to help us get a better understanding as there is little to no information online to explain it. 

 

I trust RCI, I just was asking our cruises who may have experienced it to provide some insight. 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by RCCL Fan

[atricks]

We did Navigator of the Seas back in April (The final S. Caribbean cruise before it switched to the 3/4 night routine), which has the one room for all.  It just didn't work well, although it was packed with Kids (to capacity multiple times), but the staff were still good.  Basically 3-5 should not be with the 6-11 year olds, it was too chaotic.  I think oasis may be splitting it up that way, which hopefully works better.

 

Overall, we did NOT like the Navigator setup for AO.

Edited July 12, 2019 by atricks

[RCCL Fan]

2 hours ago, atricks said:

We did Navigator of the Seas back in April (The final S. Caribbean cruise before it switched to the 3/4 night routine), which has the one room for all.  It just didn't work well, although it was packed with Kids (to capacity multiple times), but the staff were still good.  Basically 3-5 should not be with the 6-11 year olds, it was too chaotic.  I think oasis may be splitting it up that way, which hopefully works better.

 

Overall, we did NOT like the Navigator setup for AO.

  This is what I was looking for --- thanks for your input.

[Clarea]

7 hours ago, atricks said:

We did Navigator of the Seas back in April (The final S. Caribbean cruise before it switched to the 3/4 night routine), which has the one room for all.  It just didn't work well, although it was packed with Kids (to capacity multiple times), but the staff were still good.  Basically 3-5 should not be with the 6-11 year olds, it was too chaotic.  I think oasis may be splitting it up that way, which hopefully works better.

 

Overall, we did NOT like the Navigator setup for AO.

 

This is the post dry dock version of AO, right?  Due to moving the fitness center to the original AO area?

[Woodmnky]

How this works will really depend on how they reconfigure the AO areas. It works on Disney to have everyone together because there are so many different areas within the clubs to play in and it tends to attract those of different ages to different areas. For example older kids tended to head to the Star Wars or Marvel areas whereas the younger kids tended to play more in the Toy Story and Tinkerbell areas. 

[nicstress]

I just found this description of the new AO on Allure after dry dock. It looks like 3-5 will have the option of a separate area like the babies and tots. Everyone can breath easy. 

"New Adventure Ocean, where kids can choose their own adventures across a new layout. The makeover brings to life interactive and personalized activities and features in areas like The Arena for friendly competition in interactive games; The Play Place with whimsical rooms featuring climbable creations; The Workshop for science, tech fun, and hands-on art; the Hangout, to try gaming consoles; AO Babies for babies and tots, as well as experiential activities at the AO Junior space designed for 3- to 5-year-olds.

[flhokie]

If DD was younger, I would hate this change. We did Disney when she was 4. After 30 minutes in the kids club there she begged not to go back. It was ages 3 - 12 and it was a complete free for all with a few counselors standing around. It was very disappointing! At least it seems like RCCL is offering a separation for ages 3 - 5. 

 

DD is now 8 and would be fine with either 6 - 8 or 9 - 12 so it isn't as big of a deal for us. 

[Ashland]

4 hours ago, nicstress said:

I just found this description of the new AO on Allure after dry dock. It looks like 3-5 will have the option of a separate area like the babies and tots. Everyone can breath easy. 

"New Adventure Ocean, where kids can choose their own adventures across a new layout. The makeover brings to life interactive and personalized activities and features in areas like The Arena for friendly competition in interactive games; The Play Place with whimsical rooms featuring climbable creations; The Workshop for science, tech fun, and hands-on art; the Hangout, to try gaming consoles; AO Babies for babies and tots, as well as experiential activities at the AO Junior space designed for 3- to 5-year-olds.

I'm not 100% sold on this idea at all so we'll see when we cruise with the grandkids (two 3 year olds & two 6 years olds) in May 2020 on Harmony.

 

We have loved the AO in the past so will certainly be comparing this new set up. Not even sure this will be on HOTS when we cruise.

[nicstress]

Until HOTS is due for a drydock, you won't see this.