Kids Club strict on ages?

[elmojessi]

We have three families going on a cruise in Oct and we’ve never cruised with kids before.  Im wondering if the kids club is flexible on how they split up the kids based on ages?  For example, we have a five year (who will be two months shy of six) old that is good buddies with a kid who is seven.  Would they let the five year old go to the 6-8 group?

[Fireman9302]

Probably not...in my experience.

[coevan]

really, do they check their drivers license, no problem, tell them he's 6

[steveha0801]

31 minutes ago, coevan said:

really, do they check their drivers license, no problem, tell them he's 6

Or maybe when you check the child in, they check the passenger manifest to see the child's age...

Edited February 23, 2019 by steveha0801
Typos

[klfrodo]

37 minutes ago, coevan said:

really, do they check their drivers license, no problem, tell them he's 6

Drivers license?

No, but you did prove their age with BC or Passport when you boarded the ship.

[coevan]

and the club would know this how?  I doubt if they are so strict. The kids are friends. You think they should separate friends?  Elmojessie, don't worry, have a great time. The kids will get to play together. 

[Elaine5715]

It is ALWAYS  up to the Club Crew. They may or may not make an exception based on the number of other kids.

[coevan]

do you guys really think Carnival is going to ask a 6 year old for ID? I'm pretty sure their age is not on their S&S card, if they even have one, probably not. 

[Domergirl]

The kids club knows the ages of all of the kids - obviously the cruise line has everyone's birthday.  The kids all have to be registered, and they are all assigned to a group by grade level.   

 

Sometimes they will be flexible...sometimes not.  As Elaine said, it is ALL up to the staff, and they will make the decision based on how many kids are in each group on that particular sailing...so you have no way to know in advance.   I've had them let one of my kids move up when she was a few months shy of the age group...and then I've had them say no when she was actually having her birthday on the cruise, and would be turning that age during the sailing (I got them to change their mind on that one).   But understand...they will very often say no.  Sometimes, they will also want to see how the kid does with the age group...like are they a mature 5 or a young 5.   Even if they say no, there are a lot of activities where the 2-5 and 6-8 age groups will be together, so you can at least send them during those times if they want to be together.

[Domergirl]

8 minutes ago, coevan said:

do you guys really think Carnival is going to ask a 6 year old for ID? I'm pretty sure their age is not on their S&S card, if they even have one, probably not. 

 

The kids club has the full information on every minor passenger.  Do you seriously think you just walk in and drop them off?  They know what cabin they are in, who they are sailing with, etc.  And they ABSOLUTELY know their birthday.  There is an extremely thorough registration process.  They need all medical information, allergies, etc.  This isn't just a room where you drop off a kid.  

 

And for the enjoyment of all of the kids, as well as major liability issues, they are quite strict on the age groups.  My kids have been on 15 cruises...and over the years I have seen many angry parents get quite upset when they are told "no" on this issue.

Edited February 23, 2019 by Domergirl

[OCruisers]

They have become way more strict about keeping children in their age groups with no exceptions than they once were.  

[jbethel11]

1 hour ago, OCruisers said:

They have become way more strict about keeping children in their age groups with no exceptions than they once were.  

With that being said, if you turn a specific age DURING the cruise, you should be allowed to choose the age group that you were. Let's say a 5-year-old turned 6 during the cruise, based on past experience, that child would have a choice of 2-5 or 6-8 age group.

[thehappierhomemaker]

We've done 7 cruises with kids and they've always been super strict on age. When our youngest was very young they did make an exception to let his older brother come over if he was upset at dropoff, other than that no exceptions

[tonit964]

3 hours ago, coevan said:

do you guys really think Carnival is going to ask a 6 year old for ID? I'm pretty sure their age is not on their S&S card, if they even have one, probably not. 

I take it you either don't have kids or you don't cruise with kids. Yes, they know their age. 

 

Just like you need to provide a date of birth when you book a cruise, so does the child of any age. The cruise line knows the age of every child on board and registered in the kids club. 

ETA: The kids under 12, have a bracelet they have to wear in case there is an emergency at sea and they are separated from the parents or are in the kids club, the staff take them to a muster station.

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by tonit964
Additional info

[JaxsMama]

On the Magic they asked if my 5 year old wanted to move up to the 6-8 group. He's a pretty big kid.  We declined and left him in the younger group. If you ask nicely you may have a shot. Also, if you use night owls after 10pm all the kids will be together in one room. 

[Mediterranean_Honeymooner]

I wouldn’t lie.  Like others have said, they will be able to pull up birth date.  I would go by on embarkation day before things get busy and explain the situation and ask nicely. But it’s up to them.

[coevan]

OK, my son is 32 and has not been to a kids club in 20 years. Lighten up, I didn't think they would separate friends 6 months apart. I apologize to all offended. To the OP, I hope they let your kids play together, which was the purpose of my post in the first place. 

[grandmarnnurse]

23 hours ago, coevan said:

and the club would know this how?  I doubt if they are so strict. The kids are friends. You think they should separate friends?  Elmojessie, don't worry, have a great time. The kids will get to play together. 

Actually, I did hear they are pretty strict with enforcing the age groups, as per my daughter who uses the services. I asked her recently because there is one granddaughter who will be 11 on our next cruise, and she wanted to be with her older cousins. Nope. Not allowed. But you can try and hope your ship isn’t as strict with it. 

[mom2girls]

My daughter was 2 months shy of the next group. They asked her if she wanted to move up. But, she wanted to stay with her sister. It depends on how full the ship is and how many of that age group are on board. Ask. All they can say is no. 

[mom2oneXY]

My son was 5.5 and was bored stiff in the 2-5 year old group.  The staff recognized it after the first say and asked if we were OK moving him up and we said yes.  It was a summer cruise with a ship full of kids.  My gut says if you ask to move him, they'll say he has to try out the 2-5 group first.

[nydney1]

It depends on the staff and more importantly on the kids and family.

 

We have two kids that are 14 months apart. The are more like twins. We have asked on several of the cruises to move the younger one up. We ask politely and sometimes they say yes on the spot, many more times it depends on how many kids are on board. We don't argue and neither do the kids.

 

Often by the second day the kids have either moved up to the same camp or the younger one said that she is fine where she is and has made new friends.

 

The key is to be polite and just talk to people. (Which is true in life). 

[Stacie.]

We cruised the first week in February with friends. We have 15 kids among the three families. Since there were not many other kids cruising at that time the kids clubs were fairly empty. We brought a friend with for my DS15 who is 14 but will be 15 in April. They had no problems switching him from Circle C to Club O2. There were probably about 12 teens in O2 and six of them were from our group. They also bumped up my 11 yo to Circle C with no problem and I'd guess there were about 20 kids total in Circle C. Both leaders mentioned that since there weren't many kids on board the clubs were not crowded and that's why they were able to bump them up. We were cruising with the same friends a few years ago and there were a lot more kids on the ship and they wouldn't bump their DD up into the next group of Camp Ocean. It wasn't a big deal because she was still with her older brother in Camp Ocean, just in a different section of the room. 

[cruisecraze96]

In my experience they have allowed by oldest daughter to move up a level since she was within a few months of her birthday, but they told me if she was more than 6 mo away they would have said no.  They have also allowed my niece to move down a level to be with my youngest daughter when my niece was 12, but she is very small for her age and was a better fit for the younger group still.  

 

Then again, we were turned down once for a move because they had so many kids they were not able to do the moves.  Just go in and be friendly, and if they say no don't make a fuss. 

[lizarddish]

We are cruising for the first time with our 5 kids, ages 2-12.  Our two year old will be two weeks shy of her 3rd birthday and potty trained when we cruise.  I was really hoping to drop her off with her siblings once in a while.  Has anyone had any luck getting a younger child in the kids club?  As the youngest of 5, she is 2 going on 12 but I also understand rules are rules.  TIA

[JaxsMama]

39 minutes ago, lizarddish said:

We are cruising for the first time with our 5 kids, ages 2-12.  Our two year old will be two weeks shy of her 3rd birthday and potty trained when we cruise.  I was really hoping to drop her off with her siblings once in a while.  Has anyone had any luck getting a younger child in the kids club?  As the youngest of 5, she is 2 going on 12 but I also understand rules are rules.  TIA

You 2 year old is old enough...youngest group is 2-5 year olds.  If you are asking will the almost 3 year old be allowed to move up to 6-9 year olds I doubt that.