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Kids not allowed in pool on Divina?

mikesteg

By mikesteg,
in MSC Cruises

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mikesteg

mikesteg

Posted
Posted

This thread has a couple of references to kids being restricted in the main pool area: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2124853

 

Specifically:

 

While the signage only referred to diapered children and that children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, pool management & reception repeatedly stated that MSC's policy is that no children (potty trained included) are allowed in any pools other than the designated children's pool (not at all a pool)--even if accompanied by an adult.

 

A fellow passenger said he thought he heard there was a minimum age of 6 or 9 for the pools, but I have yet to find anything in writing about this "policy."

 

Has anybody heard or experienced this on Divina (or any other MSC ship) recently? MSC, can you comment please?

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GOLDENBONNY

GOLDENBONNY

Posted
Posted
This thread has a couple of references to kids being restricted in the main pool area: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2124853

 

Specifically:

 

 

 

 

 

Has anybody heard or experienced this on Divina (or any other MSC ship) recently? MSC, can you comment please?

 

Very strange . We had no problem at all . I think it's misunderstanding . But to be honest, pools on Divina are very deep and no shallow area so for safety reason it' would be right not to let kids under 6 to go there. I witness a little girl almost drowned and farther been busy drinking in bar. he was watching her from the distance .Area for kids pretty big around the pool so little once will have no problem .

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flhokie

flhokie

Posted
Posted
Very strange . We had no problem at all . I think it's misunderstanding . But to be honest, pools on Divina are very deep and no shallow area so for safety reason it' would be right not to let kids under 6 to go there. I witness a little girl almost drowned and farther been busy drinking in bar. he was watching her from the distance .Area for kids pretty big around the pool so little once will have no problem .

 

I thought there was a misunderstanding at first--signage says children must be accompanied by an adult---not that they aren't allowed at all--- but reception said it is in fact a policy on all msc ships that no children are allowed in any pools (could not provide it in writing or refer to where I could see it).

 

The pools are deep, but if a parent is in the water with the child (attentive/within arms length) there is no reason they should not be allowed in. The area around the pool is so shallow it really can't be considered a children's pool. Perhaps if they turned on the sprayers the area would be sufficient to occupy very young children.

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oreosmile

oreosmile

Posted
Posted (edited)
Loads of children in the pools for the two MSC cruises I've been on in Europe.

 

That was our experience on the Splendida - tons of kids in the pools

 

I think most of the kids in pools thread for MSC are about how there are too mant of them, even in pools that are supposed to be adults only!

Edited by oreosmile
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mikesteg

mikesteg

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Posted (edited)

The pools are deep, but if a parent is in the water with the child (attentive/within arms length) there is no reason they should not be allowed in. The area around the pool is so shallow it really can't be considered a children's pool. Perhaps if they turned on the sprayers the area would be sufficient to occupy very young children.

 

Yeah, these pools are not substantially different from many of hotel pools in the U.S. Very few regular (non-resort) hotels have a zero depth entry, though most have a section at 3 feet deep. However, if the user is only 3 feet tall that doesn't help.

 

A negligent parent (or 100) is not an excuse for the cruise line to prohibit children. I've saved a few kids myself, though most of them at our neighborhood pool, but I'm not sure it's a huge issue. That said, I think drownings are extremely infrequent or we'd be hearing about it all the time on these boards.

 

That's not true we have seen lots of kids in all the pools.

 

Yes, I have a few hundred photos of my kids in the pool on Divina last December. :D The question is if there is some sort of semi-official policy change that might be enforceable on ship.

Edited by mikesteg
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GOLDENBONNY

GOLDENBONNY

Posted
Posted
*following this thread.

We're looking at a spring cruise on MSC but no under 6's in the pool is a deal breaker for us.

 

 

I am sure there is more to this story :rolleyes: . Let's wait for some MSC answer or from other cruisers .All 3 pool no kids hard to belive .:cool:

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Lerin

Lerin

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So we have no official word though?

Hummm I may call MSC and find out. Not going to cruise with kids only to find they can't enjoy the water. Not worth it, even if they sail free.

 

The policy, if there is one, really makes no sense anyway. Since when is 6 the magic age to not drown? We have a local swim team that begins at age 5...I also know a few adults that can't swim one bit...

 

The no diaper rule I get.

Having 1 adult only pool also makes sense.

No kids in any pool at all? Nonsense!

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mrstrod

mrstrod

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My thought is that the other thread was started by some troll who wants to stir the pot and get people all worked up. Or possibly they had communication issues and did not understand the rules. Or maybe their children were just rotten rugrats and the staff didn't want them in the pools. LOL

 

I have been on the Splendida and the Divina and my kids were constantly in the pools. They were in the yacht club pool as well as the main pools (not including the adult only one). And we will be boarding tomorrow, I bet my kids will be in the pools all week!

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flhokie

flhokie

Posted
Posted (edited)
My thought is that the other thread was started by some troll who wants to stir the pot and get people all worked up. Or possibly they had communication issues and did not understand the rules. Or maybe their children were just rotten rugrats and the staff didn't want them in the pools. LOL

 

I have been on the Splendida and the Divina and my kids were constantly in the pools. They were in the yacht club pool as well as the main pools (not including the adult only one). And we will be boarding tomorrow, I bet my kids will be in the pools all week!

 

FYI...I am not a troll. I too thought there was a communication issue when I was told this at the pool. For the record...the crew member who said this to me said the policy was not due to people like me who was right with my child, but due to unsupervised children. We went back & forth that the signage says children must be supervised, not that they aren't allowed at all.

 

I still thought it was a communication issue which is why I asked at reception. They said that in fact it is MSC's policy that no children are allowed in any swimming pools. I asked to see this in writing & what ages are allowed in the pool. They could not provide it in writing and just kept saying it applied to all children. They said that if I wanted more than 2 inches of water in a "splash area" then I should try one of their new ships with more of a water park set up.

 

There were children in the pool all week. Most were supervised & none were out of control. They did not force any out of the pool, but if they are so adamant that the policy is no children in the pools, I'd hate to be onboard & have them decide to enforce this policy. Another passenger said he thought he saw somewhere before the cruise that children under 6 or 9 are not allowed in the pools, but I haven't been able to find that either.

 

Until I see something in writing I'm still skeptical, but reception kept insisting it is a company policy.

 

Maybe if they turned on the sprayers in the splash area they'd draw more kids to the area & out of the pools (never turned on the entire week).

 

On a side note, they never seemed go care about swim diapers despite signage. I saw them in the splash area multiple times.

 

This part of our experience was part of my post about MSC children's program on the family board. Another person posted it over here to try to get more information....reception on Divina insists it's company policy, but there doesn't appear to be anything in writing about this "policy" (at least not heat is easy to locate). Before our cruise, I found there was not a lot out there about sailing MSC with children so I wanted to share our experience. The children's program was fantastic!

Edited by flhokie
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flhokie

flhokie

Posted
Posted
Check out the online kids club registration from MSC's own website. It specifically mentions giving kids ages 7 and older permission to swim in the adult pools. It even has a photo of a child with swim goggles on!

 

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Already-Booked/Mini-Juniors-Club-Signup-Form.aspx

 

Awesome!! I could not find anything like this before our cruise---very little out there on children.

 

I would love to have had this when they kept insisting it was a company wide policy of no children in pools!

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Lerin

Lerin

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Awesome!! I could not find anything like this before our cruise---very little out there on children.

 

I would love to have had this when they kept insisting it was a company wide policy of no children in pools!

 

Actually this seems to confirm what the original post is about: no kids under 7 in the pools.

You can sign this waver for 7+ to swim which implies anyone under this age is not allowed. :/

 

Looks like we will find a different cruise line for our winter getaway.

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flhokie

flhokie

Posted
Posted
Actually this seems to confirm what the original post is about: no kids under 7 in the pools.

You can sign this waver for 7+ to swim which implies anyone under this age is not allowed. :/

 

Looks like we will find a different cruise line for our winter getaway.

 

So I guess they weren't giving me a line of bull. We won't be sailing with them again for at least 3 years then. While they don't seem to enforce this much, if at all, I'd hate to be sailing & have them decide to fully enforce--too big of a risk!

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skyking "Live from...." Rare

skyking

Posted
Posted
Actually this seems to confirm what the original post is about: no kids under 7 in the pools.

You can sign this waver for 7+ to swim which implies anyone under this age is not allowed. :/

 

Looks like we will find a different cruise line for our winter getaway.

 

Not exactly, what it implies is that it gives permission to use the pools without adult supervision. When we were on the Divina we had NO issues with out 4 year old swimming in the pools.

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oreosmile

oreosmile

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We are on the Divina now and tons of kids in the pools, with and without their parents in the water with them. Including one group of kids ithat had a toddler in diapers wearing water wings whose parents apparently felt was ok on her own. The pool attendants didn't appear to care.

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