Princess Kids Program

[synewton]

We took my son on the Grand Princess when he was 3 years old. He could hold his bladder for a certain amount of time but he really wasn't realiable with the potty training. So what we did was send him in a pull-up, make sure that he went to the bathroom right before we dropped him off, carried a beeper and never left him longer than 2 hours. The beepers do not work off the ship so even though we did leave the ship, we just wandered around the shops that were within walking distance and never stayed away over 2 hours.

 

The counselor's bottom line to me was - I can not change diapers. If the child says they need to go to the bathroom, I will beep you. If I smell something , I will beep you. I didn't ask what would happen if he had an accident, since I was sending him in a pull-up.

 

Sonia

[merela]

Soprano -

 

I fully understand and would not try to "sneak" them in. I was just wondering if anyone had asked while they were on the ship. If the 3-6 year old was a small group maybe my 2.5 year old could join.

 

The 2.5YO could definitely join the 3-6YO if one of the parent is present. In my opinion, the activities they do for the 3-6 YOs are more for 4-5YOs--coloring, crafts, and watching movies. The 2.5YO would be lost in there without a parent present. The Kids' Club counsellors have a list of every kid on board in their age category. The 2.5YO wouldn't be on that list.

 

When my son was 32M old, I spent a fair amount of time in the kids' club doing the same crafts as my 5YO DD with my 32M old. I even helped my 32M DS colored his t-shirt. But really, I would rather lounge around in my cabin watching a movie with my son playing next to me than hanging out in the kids' club with him.

 

**********

5 months later, we went on another Princess cruise. This time, my son had turned 3 and was completely potty trained for 2 weeks. But the first day we went to the kids' club, I knew he wasn't ready. First, he had never gone to a preschool; second, he doesn't really go to the potty without mommy prompting him. So unless I want to go to the kid's club every 90 minutes to tell him to go to the potty, DS is not ready for the kids' club.

 

So to make the long story short....even if your child is 3, he/she may not be ready for the kids' club unless they've had preschool experience and they know how to go to the bathroom all by themselves without any help.

 

I can't wait until our next Princess cruise in 4 weeks. This time, I know my almost 4YO son is ready for the kids' club.