Splash Academy Concerns - NO problem on BA 7/19 sailing

[akba15]

I had read about splash academy reaching capacity on recent cruises then I got "the email" before we left stating there were a large number of children on the 7/19 Breakaway sailing we would be on. I envisioned long lines and them being closed out. This turned out to be totally unfounded.

 

I had 2 children both in the "Seals" group (age 6-9). They went all but 2 evenings, a couple of mornings, and did a port play lunch and afternoon. We never had more than 2 people in front of us signing in their children and capacity was never reached to my knowledge. This age group used the "Bliss Lounge" a lot which was not a problem - only "odd" that it was in the middle of the Casino.

 

The staff at Splash Academy was wonderful and my kids begged to go! The adults in our party had reservations for Rock Of Ages one night and I was concerned that Splash Academy would not yet be open to drop off the children as they would not be attending the show. The staff told me (and we received a message on our room phone that day) that because we had show reservations we could drop them off a half our prior to the show starting. It worked out great and we had plenty of time to get to the show and get good seats.

[bangzoom6877]

I had read about splash academy reaching capacity on recent cruises then I got "the email" before we left stating there were a large number of children on the 7/19 Breakaway sailing we would be on. I envisioned long lines and them being closed out. This turned out to be totally unfounded.

 

I had 2 children both in the "Seals" group (age 6-9). They went all but 2 evenings, a couple of mornings, and did a port play lunch and afternoon. We never had more than 2 people in front of us signing in their children and capacity was never reached to my knowledge. This age group used the "Bliss Lounge" a lot which was not a problem - only "odd" that it was in the middle of the Casino.

 

The staff at Splash Academy was wonderful and my kids begged to go! The adults in our party had reservations for Rock Of Ages one night and I was concerned that Splash Academy would not yet be open to drop off the children as they would not be attending the show. The staff told me (and we received a message on our room phone that day) that because we had show reservations we could drop them off a half our prior to the show starting. It worked out great and we had plenty of time to get to the show and get good seats.

 

We were on the same sailing and had a terrific experience with Splash Academy! My boys went every day, multiple times! We also never had to wait for more than two people ahead of us, even when dropping them off at opening. We anticipated long wait times, which was to be expected with a summer sailing, but never encounter a wait of more than a few minutes if even that long.

 

My son Jonathan was in the Seals group as well. He is 8. We also thought it was strange that they went to Bliss Lounge, located in the middle of the casino, but we were happy they accommodated the children with enough space to enjoy their activities. My son Philip was in the Dolphins group. He is 10. Some mornings they went to Entourage Teen Club, for the hours before the teen activities began. He thought that was really cool!

 

We never got an email stating that the Splash Academy might be at capacity due to a large number of children onboard that week, but I did see a letter to the left of when you walk in to check in/out, in one of the shelves, which stated this. It was never a problem. The staff was wonderful in there too. They definitely earned their extra gratuity from us! :)

[Snowrose]

I remember the OP that discussed changes in Splash Academy said they had the parents waiting in line to take numbers to get into the Academy. Am I right in thinking you folks didn't have to do that?

Edited July 30, 2015 by Snowrose

[akba15]

Never had to wait more than two people; never had to take a number; the staff was WONDERFUL! I had gotten totally crazy worried before going that I would be waiting in long lines and wondered what to do when the adults had a dinner and the kids were planning to go, etc. All of my worries were completely unfounded. It was totally the opposite!

[legion3]

Never had to wait more than two people; never had to take a number; the staff was WONDERFUL! I had gotten totally crazy worried before going that I would be waiting in long lines and wondered what to do when the adults had a dinner and the kids were planning to go, etc. All of my worries were completely unfounded. It was totally the opposite!

 

Well hopefully every NCL cruise is like this.

[Bobstam]

We are cruising on the Escape in Feb 2016, we will have our grand children ages 6 & 8, we are curious if when the kids are in Splash Academy is there any communication if the kids want to leave, will the staff find the parents somehow?

[legion3]

We are cruising on the Escape in Feb 2016, we will have our grand children ages 6 & 8, we are curious if when the kids are in Splash Academy is there any communication if the kids want to leave, will the staff find the parents somehow?

 

Generally, no, not for kids of that age. We had an NCL suite phone that we could carry around the ship and they could call us if needed. If they have phones, like CCL, they were really supposed to be for younger or special needs kids.

 

they can of course request an announcement be made shipwide but unless you hear it...they can also call your cabin, if you are there...

[Bobstam]

Ok, well I am not too worried about it just curious how it would work. They both are so excited to be going on a cruise, they talk about it everyday so i am sure they will have a blast in the splash academy.

[garnet115]

Ok, well I am not too worried about it just curious how it would work. They both are so excited to be going on a cruise, they talk about it everyday so i am sure they will have a blast in the splash academy.

 

 

When you sign them in, you will be asked where they can find you if they need to. If you have the calling features of the iconcierge app enabled on your phone, you can give them your iconcierge number, and they will use that to contact you if necessary.

[legion3]

When you sign them in, you will be asked where they can find you if they need to. If you have the calling features of the iconcierge app enabled on your phone, you can give them your iconcierge number, and they will use that to contact you if necessary.

 

See I never have cruised with this Iconcierge app before and usually turn my phone off and don't carry it around. So there you go.

 

the problem with telling them where you'll be is what if your not there? I might plan to do one thing then...change on the go...

Edited October 12, 2015 by legion3

[garnet115]

the problem with telling them where you'll be is what if your not there? I might plan to do one thing then...change on the go...

 

Agreed. That's one of the reasons I like having the app. In that circumstance it gives me greater peace of mind and added flexibility so I don't feel tied to any one place on the ship. Of course, now that my dd is old enough to have her own phone, she texts me when she wants to leave. That's a mixed blessing as sometimes she doesn't give things enough of a chance and wants to leave within 30 min of drop off.

[Bobstam]

Sounds great, now can you clue me in on the app, I do have it on my smartphone but it's not activated till I board the ship? I assume there is a charge for it, do i have to do anything with Verizon to use the text at sea? I am not very tech savy so any advise you can give me would be GREAT!!

[Sauer-kraut]

Bobstam,

Another way is to let the grandchildren know when you drop them off you'll come back in an hour to check on them. That way they have to at least be there a bit to 'get in the groove' of the Splash Academy and if they decide they don't want to stay after that, at least they tried. AND you don't have to be locked in one place for the whole day/hour. If they are enjoying themselves let them be and decide when to pick them up after looking at the kid's Daily.

[Bobstam]

Great advice, to be honest my grandkids will not the problem it will be worrying about them, they are very independent kiddos so i know they will have a great time and most likely to be annoyed when we pick them up as they will not want to leave. Hate wishing my year away but so excited for this cruise.

[garnet115]

Sounds great, now can you clue me in on the app, I do have it on my smartphone but it's not activated till I board the ship? I assume there is a charge for it, do i have to do anything with Verizon to use the text at sea? I am not very tech savy so any advise you can give me would be GREAT!!

 

Correct - you must have it downloaded in advance, but won't be able to activate it until you are on board. While on board, you can put your phone into wi-fi only mode so that you are only accessing data through the ship's wifi and not incurring charges on your data plan. NOthing you need to worry about with Verizon. Once you connect with the ship wifi, you will be able to activate the iconcierge app. You can sign up for the texting/calling feature on the messaging section of the app - $7.95 per device. (FYI - you can use other features in the app without paying, but must pay if you want to use the call/text functions.)

[cadien]

We are cruising on the Escape in Feb 2016, we will have our grand children ages 6 & 8, we are curious if when the kids are in Splash Academy is there any communication if the kids want to leave, will the staff find the parents somehow?

 

 

Both times our son wanted to leave, it was in the evening and he was simply tired. We'd told them where we were eating when we dropped him off and they called the restaurant. Earlier this year.

 

No idea whether they would have tried something else if we hadn't been there after all, but I can't imagine what their options would be.