New ncl kids camp policy (Live from the GEM)

[SissasMomE]

What I look for is top quality broadway-style entertainment. it's awesome to see a Broadway caliber show for free that I would have to pay a lot of money for if I was in New York.

 

It's not even close. Not by a long shot!

[SissasMomE]

Actually according to Kingofwylietx others do: We had this happen on Disney during an Easter cruise. We once had to wait until a child left before we could drop off our child. If it's for safety, I'm all for it.

 

See post #26: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2186719&page=2

 

I have never had this happen, on any cruise line. Not Princess, Not RCCL, not NCL ... not during Easter, in the summer, or over new year's.

[coldflame]

This is an issue that affects all cruisers. Even those of us who no longer have young children.

 

The second the kids club turns away families, that means more kids dispersed through the ship for the rest of us to enjoy. As in...more kids in Cagney, more kids for the hot tubs, more kids playing on the elevators.

 

NCL surely will spin this into a safety issue.,....You know, the room can't accommodate any more than 76 safely. My thoughts on that are, if the childcare room is full, you take groups of kids on excursions to other parts of the ship. You take them to make pizzas, you take them on a tour of the bridge, or on a scavenger hunt, you have them put on a talent show in the theater, etc. Just because there are more than 75 kids doesn't mean you turn them away. It means you get creative.

 

You are _willfully_ travelling in a family-oriented, kids-travel-free (sometimes) cruise line. Having kids all over the place is a possibility even if they have the youth clubs open beyond max cap. If you do not like that possibility/scenario, I kindly ask you to rethink your cruising choices.

[SissasMomE]

SwedishWeave, December will be my first commercial cruise; I have no "loyalty" to any lines. I honestly feel bad for people who have sailed NCL for years, receiving a certain level of service, suddenly finding that service is no longer available... after booking another cruise.

 

It will be interesting to hear what NCL Corporate has to say about Splash Academy and their policies.

 

 

***Not my rodeo. Not my bulls.***

 

I don't have a dog in this fight anymore either. Mine are too old for Splash Academy, but i feel bad for those that do. Cruising has been a wonderful family vacation for us for years. It allowed the best of both worlds - family time, and husband/wife time. If they are truly limiting the kids now, which they have not done in the past, then that's a shame.

[cadien]

I remember reading about this also back in March. Interesting that they supposedly started this "new policy" in March (and I'm not doubting the OP for a second), because we were on the Sky in April (spring break week for us, right after Easter Sunday). This was also a kids sail free cruise for us (booked over a year ago). We NEVER encountered any problems with getting into Splash Academy with two kids, ages 8 and 11 that week. I have no idea how many were on board that week. This new policy just really confuses me and makes me wonder if this is fleetwide or in response to the drowning on the Gem, who knows?? As many have said though, I have never had a problem with my kids being turned away on NCL, Carnival, or RCI in the past five years.

 

On the other hand, we were on the Star the same week you were on the Sky and kids were turned away every day. Especially in the 6-9 group.

[RSLeesburg]

Here is where legion3 posted this policy on the Family Cruising threads and he only got one response to his questions has anybody see this before and was from RSLeesburg:Yes. Over Thanksgiving cruise on RCI Grandeur, they were turning people away from club due to capacity. I think this only really happened on one or two nights, but when parents were registering the kids club staff were cleaning telling parents about the capacity limits, and that they would be enforced. We never had any problems, but I think the older age groups hit limits. The teens were not impacted as their room was much bigger

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46642803#post46642803

 

 

This was true :). I did post that! On Grandeur the kids club has capacity limit of 80 people, and there were over 600 kids on our cruise. But as I mentioned, other than first sea day, there never seemed to be any issues - although, people did start lining up early, maybe 15-20 minutes before the club opened to make sure their kids go in.

 

BTW, I have seen people ask about child-councilor ratio. I do not know about NCL, but RCI follow State of FL guidelines for child care facilities. I remember seeing what these ratios are, but cannot remember them now.

[NLH Arizona]

This was true :). I did post that! On Grandeur the kids club has capacity limit of 80 people, and there were over 600 kids on our cruise. But as I mentioned, other than first sea day, there never seemed to be any issues - although, people did start lining up early, maybe 15-20 minutes before the club opened to make sure their kids go in.

 

BTW, I have seen people ask about child-councilor ratio. I do not know about NCL, but RCI follow State of FL guidelines for child care facilities. I remember seeing what these ratios are, but cannot remember them now.

Thanks for the clarification.

[bangzoom6877]

Not everyone is either "sour grapes" or a "cheerleader" when it comes to NCL. There are those of us in the middle too, and just because we post our opinion on something doesn't mean we have the same exact opinion for every single thing about an NCL cruise. I am one of those people who looks at each thing for what it is. I am one of those people who is torn right now and I don't really know what to think about all of these changes. I do know that one thing I don't like is the lack of communication on the part of NCL. I am also one of those people who is not "tied" to a specific cruise line or cruise ship either. When the itinerary, ship & its facilities, and the price match up to be what DH and I consider a good value for our family, that's the one we book. We always look into NCL, Carnival, and RCI and make our decision once we get all the info from our TA.

 

And yes, I commented that this will affect us on our BA cruise in July if it happens on that ship as well. And no, it's not because I'm trying to get away from my sons. We vacation with them to be with them and enjoy family time together. But it is also their vacation and they also deserve to have some fun. And they love the children's activities onboard. It will be sad if they don't get to do any of those activities. However, I am also a parent as well as a teacher (although I teach high school), and I also understand the importance of safety. I wouldn't want my children in a small cramped area with hundreds of other children, without the proper adult supervision.

 

On that note...what are some activities a family could do together during the day, besides the pool and water slides?

[mkdreams]

Actually according to Kingofwylietx others do: We had this happen on Disney during an Easter cruise. We once had to wait until a child left before we could drop off our child. If it's for safety, I'm all for it.

 

See post #26: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2186719&page=2

 

I cruise Disney all the time and I have never seen this happen not once even when the ship was full capacity which is pretty much always. As a matter of fact I have never seen this happen on any cruise line. I'm sorry but I find that very hard to believe.