Taking kids age 6 and 8 on AOS

[RN7997]

We are cruising on the AOS in April of 06 and taking our 2 sons age 6 and 8 with us. Couple of concerns. First we are going to be in an inside stateroom with pullman beds for them. Are they pretty safe. My 6 year old will just be turning 6 in March before we sail and he is small for his age, a whooping 40 pounds. I'm worried about the beds. I heard they have rails, is that true?????

I am 27 and husband is 29. We want to enjoy this trip as a family cruise, but I still definately want to enjoy the nightlife and some time without the kids. I know they have a kids program. Has anyone used it? How are the activities etc??? Any suggestions for how to balance this cruise with kids and how are their babysitting services??? The kids program is free part of the day right?????

One more thing I see this meet and mingle thing on this site. I'm new to talking but have watched some of the posts. Is this something we could participate in????

Thanks for any info,

Chrissy

AOS Aruba route April 2, 2006

[CCJack]

I traveled with my boys ages 6 and 9 on Navigator 2 years ago. A great trip, they had a blast, and we are booked on another cruise. We had no problems with the pullman beds, they have rails... About the worst that would happen is the your kid sits up in the night and hits his head on the ceiling, but that would not be a big deal.

 

The kids activities are very good on RCL. My kids pretyy much hung out with me, so they did not go to the kids club very much. However, I do know that they are will run and organized.

[rozmat]

My two grandsons were around your sons ages when we took them on the Explorer or the Seas.

They both loved the Adventure Oceans club, so much, that they couldn't wait until after desert at dinner, to go back and see their friends.

 

One night the staff dressed them up as pirates and they went into the late seating dinning room singing for the passengers. There was also a show they gave in the promenade one day, plus talent shows, where each child won "First Place medals. The activities are well planned and the staff conducting the program are wonderful and it shows that they really enjoy children.

 

My grandsons met a lot of different children that they still e-mail from several countries.

 

They stayed with their parents in an inside statement, with the bunk beds, or Pullman beds, and thought this was great fun. There are bars to prevent rolling out of bed. And I think there was a ladder too.

 

The program was free until 10:00 at night. There are hours during the day when the club closes. Around lunch time and dinner time, though they did offer dinner with the staff a couple of nights. They took them to Johnny Rockets. On formal nights, I think.

 

After taking them ashore in the 1st port, they convinced us to let them stay in the program the next port. They enjoyed it more than doing what the adults wanted to do. Visiting the beaches or shopping.

 

Any other questions, please ask away.

[RN7997]

Thanks for the helpful info. We are going with a group. We are scheduled for late dining. What do you suggest as fars as the kids at this age. Do parent take them in the main dining or feed the kids and then go to dinner alone?? Do you know anything about late babysitting and the rates????

Chrissy

[atljoo]

Thanks for the helpful info. We are going with a group. We are scheduled for late dining. What do you suggest as fars as the kids at this age. Do parent take them in the main dining or feed the kids and then go to dinner alone?? Do you know anything about late babysitting and the rates????

Chrissy

 

Chrissy,

 

I would reconsider late seating. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but if your kids are used to eating dinner at a normal time (6-7 PM) late sitting is too late IMO. My little one, who was 6 at the time, was falling asleep every night at late-seating dinner on the Disney Wonder in 2004 (It was all we could get because we booked 2 weeks out). In July 2005 we went on the Explorer and did early seating. It worked out much better. Heck, I can barely last past 7:00 now without eating:eek:.

 

Ultimately you're the children's parents so it's up to you.

 

Atljoo

[wrinklesandme]

Chrissy,

If you are going with a group, and your kids are the only ones, you can stick with the late seating, just feed them earlier. I've heard of parents taking their kids to Windjammer for dinner, and then sending them to Adventure Ocean while you go to dinner. If you want to have a family dinner, then you might want to reconsider the later seating. Just keep in mind that there are options.

 

AO is free until 10pm. After that, it's $5.00/hour per child and I believe it's open until 1am. Your kids will beg to stay as they will want to be with their friends. At their age, you really don't need an in-room babysitter, if that's what you are looking for.

 

AO is also open while in port. Some kids stay while their parents tour. My kids have always gone with us while in port as we tend to do things they would enjoy.

 

During your Sea Days, AO typically closes for lunch and dinner. Other than that, it's open for the kids and there are scheduled activities for them the entire time. You will get a list of activities every day.

 

Enjoy!

Leigh

[dad son team]

Like a previous poster said, late seating will probably be too late for 6/8 yo's. My DS is fine at early seating, but would be miserable during late seating, plus the kids program opens again at 7pm and they might prefer to be there. It all depends on what you family priorities are. While cruising, I want to expose my DS to different foods and entertainment, so he is in the dining room with me every night except 1 to go to JR's with his friends, then he will go to show some nights with me. He enjoys the production shows, and some of the headliners depending on who is performing. Then he can go to AO after that and I go to have some adult time. It is really something that you will need to adjust once you are on the ship and see what the schedule is. Maybe some nights in the dining room and maybe some nights to the show or maybe some nights both.