Kids Clubs---HELP!!!

[kkat10]

Hello-I am looking at a couple different cruises and would like some help! I have 3 kids ages 9, 9 and 12. We are looking at either the Royal Carribean Allure or Anthem or Carnival Magic---which has a better kids club---Royal Carribean or Carnival for these ages?

[GalwayGirl03]

We are very loyal to royal and my kids LOVE LOVE adventure ocean and both Allure and Anthem have so much to keep the kids occupied you can't go wrong with either of the Royal ships!

[Athankfulheart]

I have not been on the Allure, but I have been on the Magic. I have 8 kids ( 4 are grown now) and the youngest 5 have been on the Magic. They had a fabulous time and have always enjoyed the kids clubs. As a mom, I have been very pleased as well.

[cb at sea]

I think your kids will enjoy either....both are highly rated.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I honestly wouldn't base my choice of a cruise or cruise ship on the kid's club's quality.

[Tapi]

It’s a HARD question to answer not knowing your kids likes and dislikes. My kids are 7 and 9 and they have already taken 10 cruises across 5 different cruise lines (Royal, Carnival, MSC, Disney and Holland America) and they’ve left me scratching my head a few times.

 

We paid quite a premium to sail on Disney, and I thought that they’d love it, but they’d beg to be picked up early from the kids club. On the other side of the equation, we just returned from a cheapie Carnival cruise from Mobile, AL on their oldest ship, and the kids LOOOOOOVED it. They’ve been on severe withdrawal (lol) since we returned. They’ve been telling me how much fun they had, that it was their best cruise ever (whaaaaat?),  and how much they miss it.

 

So moral of the story: pick whatever cruise YOU like. You may brainstorm endlessly and loose sleep over what cruise your kids will like the best, but you won’t really know until they are actually there. Sometimes all it takes for them to have an awesome time is one friend they meet.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Tapi

[moesyk4]

We did the Carnival Breeze with my oldest and didn't care for it...the TV was on a lot and we would send him for specific activities...like he wanted to go to a Pirate Party and they were supposed to face paint, treasure hunt, make a craft, etc. He said all they did was hand out premade crafts. I wouldn't base the whole program on that though...for us it just felt like babysitting, not enhancing his experience.

We did NCL and he loved it and asked to go back. We will try RCCL for the first time next month!

[MamatoJack]

My son prefers Carnival kids club to RCL. He will actually go to the club on Carnival, while on RCL he refuses. RCL seems to have a block of time with a group of activities listed but you don't know which of those will actually happen, so if you see something listed in there that really interests your kids it may happen, or it may not. On Carnival they list activities differently, so this is from 10 to 10:30 and then you move on to the next one. He prefers that, he knows then he wants to go for certain times. We have been on Carnival Magic and he really wants to go back on there, which is lucky since we have it booked again next year 🙂 We have not been on Anthem or Allure, we've only been on other RCL ships. I'd say it will depend on your kids a bit, do they like to know exactly what's going on or are they ok not to? As a parent, I thought both were staffed well, and set up nicely. 

[angie7911922]

All the kids clubs have good and bad things about them. Your kids will find something to entertain them on each one. Pick your cruise based on the destinations, and the ship itself, and what you like to do. Kids are opportunists - and they will take the opportunitity to find something they like to do - no matter which ship they are on!

[brookeq]

My kids have enjoyed the carnival kids club.  Our friends who we often cruise with prefer carnivals kids club to royal.  Their kid didn't like it at all on royal and wouldn't go.  

[jbethel11]

On 2/21/2019 at 12:54 PM, kkat10 said:

Hello-I am looking at a couple different cruises and would like some help! I have 3 kids ages 9, 9 and 12. We are looking at either the Royal Carribean Allure or Anthem or Carnival Magic---which has a better kids club---Royal Carribean or Carnival for these ages?

I believe kids clubs have "evolved" where they are not divided by age group, but rather by activity. 

[Tapi]

5 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I believe kids clubs have "evolved" where they are not divided by age group, but rather by activity. 

It really varies from one cruise line to another, and from one ship to another. 

 

On our last cruise aboard the Carnival Fantasy, some activities were together and some were separate. I had one kid in the 6-8 group and one in the 9-11 group. Sometimes they were in the same room but sometimes they had the 9-11 group in a conference room separate from the main kids club facilities. 

 

Last November, we sailed on the MSC Meraviglia and our kids didn’t see each other at all while they were in the club. They kept them separate the entire time, but the facilities on that ship were considerably larger with multiple rooms, each one for each age group. Plus they had Sportsplex and the Doremi Lab so the kids wouldn’t be confined to one place. 

 

On the Disney Fantasy the previous year, the kids could move around the entire (and huge) kids club and participate in whatever they wanted.

 

Last July we sailed on Empress of the Seas and all the kids of all age groups were together the entire time. But the facilities on that ship were considerably smaller; just one room to accomodate the program.

 

Its probably a good idea to check, not only the kids program for each cruise line, but also for the specific ship.

[mjkacmom]

8 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I believe kids clubs have "evolved" where they are not divided by age group, but rather by activity. 

On RCCL the 12 year old will be in the tween/teen club separate from the kids clubs.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

I believe kids clubs have "evolved" where they are not divided by age group, but rather by activity. 

Definitely divided by age on Princess, RCI and NCL, at least on cruises during school breaks, when you have more than a dozen infants/toddlers running around. At least on the ships we've been on.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[A2Mich]

Our two older kids didn’t care much for Adventure Ocean on Royal back in 2015, but that may have been due to their ages at the time.  We will see what happens next year, but I think that only the youngest may spend any appreciable amount of time there.  The two older with be 13 and 15 at the time, and they might enjoy spending a little bit of time there, as well as some time with us.

[mjkacmom]

11 minutes ago, A2Mich said:

Our two older kids didn’t care much for Adventure Ocean on Royal back in 2015, but that may have been due to their ages at the time.  We will see what happens next year, but I think that only the youngest may spend any appreciable amount of time there.  The two older with be 13 and 15 at the time, and they might enjoy spending a little bit of time there, as well as some time with us.

Once my kids were teens, tbey spent 80% of the time with other teens, more time out of tbe club than in it.

[A2Mich]

8 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Once my kids were teens, tbey spent 80% of the time with other teens, more time out of tbe club than in it.

 

 

Thanks. I kind of have a feeling it may end up being that way.  My son doesn’t worry me, but my daughter doesn’t always make the best judgment calls....