How much time did your child(ren) spend at Splash Academy

[cruisecritiquer]

This will be our DS's first cruise. He's ten. I know! What took us so long? I guess we were pretty selfish just cruising along without him and leaving him with grandma.

 

Anyway, although I love my DS, he is an only child :o and I know he will want to interact with other children. However, I don't want it to seem like I'm just dumping him off somewhere while we go have a good time. :)

 

How much time do your kids spend at the Splash Academy and do they enjoy it?

 

We do have several excursions planned but I'm talking more about the "at sea" days and in the evenings.

[RobinSie]

We are taking our kids, 6 & 8, on their first cruise in 6 weeks. My kids love hanging out with other kids and being in structured programs. They currently go to their school's latch-key program and we also have a local "drop-in" day-care that they beg to go to. Without a doubt, my kids will want to spend every waking moment in Splash Academy. We have some definite family activities planned, but other than that, we will let the kids pretty much decide how much time they want to spend in SA.

 

Here's to many happy sailings! Hope you all have a great time.

 

Robin

[mitsugirly]

My daughter has been on 2 cruises so far. She was 3 at both cruises. In 2 months, she will be on her 3rd cruise and she is now 4 years old.

 

We wasn't sure how she would react. She has always been with us since she was born. We do not send her to a sitters or anything...so you say "attached". She is not an only child, (2 brothers and 1 sister), but like I said she's now 4 and her older siblings are 17-26 years old. So, kind of an "only" child, at least in her age group.

 

We introduced her to the kids club, showed her around the play area, and she got to meet the counselors there on the first day. (That's the only day parents are allowed in there). After her first night there, she constantly BEGGED to go. She loved it so much. In the morning, it was the first thing she ask to do. When she was there, we would check on her every hour and usually pick her up at around 2 hours. When we would pick her up, she would cry to stay. We would go to get her food, she would beg to go back. The only time she was happy being away from there was if she was at the pool (which we tried to do as much as we could there to keep her with us). Then of course on port days she was always with her. I think the longest we might have left her in there before was maybe 4 hours (white hot party night) and we did check on her.

 

My point...she loves the kids club that much. We pretty much have to drag her away from there. :D Don't feel like you are dumping them off if it's something THEY enjoy. It's their vacation too. My daughter still talks non-stop about cruising, the ports, everything we've done, and the kids club. She says she can not wait to go back and "make more things". (They give you their folder at the end of the cruise were they have made things all week long. They do A LOT of activities with them). :) Never a dull moment in the kids club. The people there are AMAZING!

[knitlady037]

My 2 granddaughters ages 6 & 9 LOVED the kids club on the Star. They never wanted to leave.

[Hopes4]

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This will be our DS's first cruise. He's ten. I know! What took us so long? I guess we were pretty selfish just cruising along without him and leaving him with grandma.

I don't think it's selfish at all. I was a stay at home mom for many, many years. The few vacations we took were just hubby and I until recently.

Anyway, although I love my DS, he is an only child :o and I know he will want to interact with other children. However, I don't want it to seem like I'm just dumping him off somewhere while we go have a good time. :)

I would play this by ear and not worry what anyone else thinks. If your son wants to be there a lot, let him (if it doesn't interfere with family plans.) It is his vacation too, it would be nice for him to enjoy it his way. Naturally, if he doesn't like it, I would not insist he attend.

How much time do your kids spend at the Splash Academy and do they enjoy it?

My own son has no interest in it, but my cousins kids loved it and always wanted to go back ASAP.

We do have several excursions planned but I'm talking more about the "at sea" days and in the evenings.

Everyone has an opinion, my best advice is to do what feels best for your family.

[Snowrose]

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My own son has no interest in it, but my cousins kids loved it and always wanted to go back ASAP.

 

Hopes4, how old was your son at the time and do you know why he wasn't interested in SA?

[Hopes4]

Hopes4, how old was your son at the time and do you know why he wasn't interested in SA?

 

He was 11. His disinterest has nothing to do with the quality of the kids club. It's just his personality. We signed him up the first time but he never went. The 2nd trip, we asked again and he still didn't want to try it out so we didn't even register him. He did enjoy doing some of the family activities, like pizza making and Nick trivia. He loved the cruises....his way - I was OK with him spending time with us, hanging in the room, finding a friend, playing games or him roaming around (with limits and check ins) exploring for short periods of time.

[NYteacher]

I have a ten year old son who is an only child as well. We took him on his first cruise when he was six. It turns out it is a super family vacation because it combines family time with adults only time, and everyone is having a lot of fun.

 

He asks to go to the kids' club all the time! This past August he did not have such a great time because his age group was very "challenging". That's teacher-speak for filled with brats. My son reported it as "there really are some crazy kids there.". This is the first time this has happened so I am confident in saying its an anomaly. I told him he could just hang out with us, but he was soon back at the club--the pull is really strong.

 

Do NOT feel guilty for having him enjoy himself as you guys are enjoying yourselves.

[djmess]

This will be our DS's first cruise. He's ten. I know! What took us so long? I guess we were pretty selfish just cruising along without him and leaving him with grandma.

 

Anyway, although I love my DS, he is an only child :o and I know he will want to interact with other children. However, I don't want it to seem like I'm just dumping him off somewhere while we go have a good time. :)

 

How much time do your kids spend at the Splash Academy and do they enjoy it?

 

We do have several excursions planned but I'm talking more about the "at sea" days and in the evenings.

 

My son is 9 and has cruised 10 times. He loves the kids club and most times when I pick him up, I need to wait til he finishes something. He also loves to hang with me at the pool and other places. Don't feel like you are dumping your son. My son is also an only child. He plays very well by himself and also loves to meet others in the club. It is a great balance for us. He gets his kind of vacation, I get mine, and we get our together time.

 

On Norwegian, when they are 10 (my son can't wait for this) they are in the 10-12 Tweens program. They will be allowed to sign themselves in and out of the club after I think participating for 2 hours. Don't worry, YOU have to give permission for this option. Since you are cruising during a peak time (Thanksgiving) I will venture a guess there will be many, many kids and your son will meet some new buddies he will want to pal around with. If you let your son sign himself in and out, be prepared and set up some guidlines before hand. Magnetic whiteboard on the cabin door (I'd put it on the inside so other kids won't erase), sticky notes. There are phones at the kids club and outside of elevator areas. Your son could be required to leave you a message on cabin voicemail the time he left kids club and where he is going. with messages everytime he leaves and goes to a new place. These are just some ideas I have thought about for next year when my son is 10.

 

Have an awesome cruise and if you have any other questions, please ask. i will try to help and even ask my son his opinion if you would like it

[crusinmama06]

It really depends on YOUR son's personality. My girls are going on their 13th cruise (Epic) in a few weeks. I have to schedule time OUT of the kids club because they LOVE IT.

 

They have been cruising since they were infants. I literally have to drag them out. On the last cruise in August, my youngest was injured during a game in the club (not an NCL ship) and she was upset because I wanted to keep her out the next morning.

 

HOWEVER, I have seen my fair share of posts from moms who have kids that say they just weren't interested.

 

My kids are the opposite ;)

[K L B]

As you can see from the responses, you just never know. It is totally dependent on the individual child. My son (our only child) is 9, and we do a combo of land vacations and cruises each year. On land, he wants nothing to do with kids clubs. It doesn't matter how fancy they are with games, pools, etc. but on a cruise ship, he seems to love it. He doesn't like long periods there, but we will request to not go to dinner with us. He prefers a quick buffet meal and off to the kids club while we do a longer dining room meal. He also might drop in for an hour or two during the day. It really depends on if he meets someone that he wants to hang out with.

[cruisecritiquer]

Thanks for all of your input. It is very much appreciated. My son is very sociable and he has no problems walking right up to children and introducing himself in an effort to make new friends. I'm an introvert so the thought of that makes me very uncomfortable. ;) Hopefully, he'll find some kids at the club that he can enjoy. I don't mind him hanging out with us. I just don't want him to say "I'm bored" two days into the cruise. ;)

[BusyBlond]

We took DD on her first cruise @ 8. She LOVED the kids club and wanted to go every waking moment. LOL She had more of a social life on that cruise than I did. I felt like her designated drop off person. LOL all I did was shuttle her to and from the kids club activities. She had a GREAT time!! We did require her to eat with us at dinner everynight and we went ashore in port as a family.

[GORDONCHICK]

My DS is 11 & has been cruising since he was 3.5. He loves going to the kids' programs. He wants to get up, eat & then go - most of the time they don't open until 9am. On sea days when we are eating lunch, I'll ask if he wants to go back or spend the afternoon in the pool/on the water slide. 50% of the time, he'll pick the kids' program (more if the weather is cool). He always eats dinner with us, but rushes through to go play after dinner (which we consider adult hot tub time).

[cruisecritiquer]

My son is 9 and has cruised 10 times. He loves the kids club and most times when I pick him up, I need to wait til he finishes something. He also loves to hang with me at the pool and other places. Don't feel like you are dumping your son. My son is also an only child. He plays very well by himself and also loves to meet others in the club. It is a great balance for us. He gets his kind of vacation, I get mine, and we get our together time.

 

On Norwegian, when they are 10 (my son can't wait for this) they are in the 10-12 Tweens program. They will be allowed to sign themselves in and out of the club after I think participating for 2 hours. Don't worry, YOU have to give permission for this option. Since you are cruising during a peak time (Thanksgiving) I will venture a guess there will be many, many kids and your son will meet some new buddies he will want to pal around with. If you let your son sign himself in and out, be prepared and set up some guidlines before hand. Magnetic whiteboard on the cabin door (I'd put it on the inside so other kids won't erase), sticky notes. There are phones at the kids club and outside of elevator areas. Your son could be required to leave you a message on cabin voicemail the time he left kids club and where he is going. with messages everytime he leaves and goes to a new place. These are just some ideas I have thought about for next year when my son is 10.

 

Have an awesome cruise and if you have any other questions, please ask. i will try to help and even ask my son his opinion if you would like it

 

That sounds scary! I will be sure to ask about that. I'm bringing walkie talkies on the cruise as well so I can keep track of him.

[karen119]

My DS7 cruised for the first time at 3 on the NCL Dawn and he loved every second of it. Last year, we did the DCL Dream and I had to tell him they closed earlier because I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed at midnight (they were open until 1am). He can't wait to go to SA on the NCL Jewel in less than two weeks.

 

If your son loves it (as mine does), go to pick him up about 10 minutes before you really need to get him out of there. It'll take at least that long for him to finish up whatever game he is playing and he'll STILL ask to stay longer. LOL

[RYMOMA]

He was 11. His disinterest has nothing to do with the quality of the kids club. It's just his personality. We signed him up the first time but he never went. The 2nd trip, we asked again and he still didn't want to try it out so we didn't even register him. He did enjoy doing some of the family activities, like pizza making and Nick trivia. He loved the cruises....his way - I was OK with him spending time with us, hanging in the room, finding a friend, playing games or him roaming around (with limits and check ins) exploring for short periods of time.

 

sounds just like my DD...in a week she will spend more time in SA, unless she finds a buddy...