John Heald is requesting input for Children's Clubs on restart

[AtSeaWithChris]

"Hello again.

I have read posts from disappointed parents and grandparents today at the news that Camp Ocean and the wonderful staff that work their will not be able to entertain and provide the children with the usual fun that is such an important part of their cruise experience

First of all I wanted to say how very sorry I am that we had to make this very difficult decision. Secondly, having read these comments I would like to say that if any of you would like to discuss your options I would gladly help you with that.

All I need you to do is to go across to visitors posts or community posts as it is sometimes called and to tell me you’re booking number and sail date and ship. I'm not going to promise anything, but I will then send this information to my colleagues to see if anything can be done.

Thank you so much"

Edited June 26, 2021 by MamallamaAndDaddy

[BoozinCroozin]

I don't have a pony in this race. But, these are strange times and cruises need to be successful, limit or eliminate risk of covid spread, and have the cruises be successful. All of these kids that would be in these programs are unvaccinated. Parents can step up to the plate and be parents. I know parents need a break from their kids, but this is what you signed up for. This is what I was concerned with by allowing unvaccinated passengers. They want their cake, they want to eat it too, and then ask for more. You got your wish. You can sail, your kids can sail, but you are responsible for watching them the whole time and making sure they are masked up. They did have the option of canceling or cruising without unvaccinated kids. This is what I said before. Your have Freedom of Choice, but not Freedom from Consequences. You got your Choice now live with the Consequences.

[1025cruise]

He's not looking for input. He's giving parents who just found this out the ability to let him know so he can contact "the beards" to see if they can reschedule with no penalty.

[ShaniBell]

Most of the specifics are for Club Ocean since none of those kids can be vaccinated.  Looks like the teen clubs are still up in the air to some degree but I'm going to go on the assumption that they will not be available to us on the Mardi Gras on the 31st. 

 

The over 12 crowd would be vaccinated so :: crossing fingers :: they leave those areas in tact so the teens can at least meet up.  if not, we'll manage.  Between the message boards, facebook groups and the Hub app we'll figure out some way for the few teens on board to meet up.

[AtSeaWithChris]

28 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

He's not looking for input. He's giving parents who just found this out the ability to let him know so he can contact "the beards" to see if they can reschedule with no penalty.

You are probably right, I reread it and I had thought he was talking about options onboard.

[lobster1313]

They still need more people to cancel to accommodate the exemptions because there are sill a number on the 7/10 Horizon sailing that haven't been processed. 

[TNcruising02]

54 minutes ago, regoodwinjr said:

They still need more people to cancel to accommodate the exemptions because there are sill a number on the 7/10 Horizon sailing that haven't been processed. 

There is no doubt with the kid's clubs closed there will even be exempted people with young children cancelling.

[1025cruise]

That seems to be the consensus. Parents are upset, especially given the short notice.

[K_e_short]

I do agree that those that cancel because of this should get a refund. I know the cruise contract says they can make changes but the Kids Club is a big thing on cruise ships.

 

My son was 12 on our last cruise and every sea day he went there. 

 

He's 14 now and will be vaccinated by our next cruise but...

 

As a parent I would not be bringing my unvaccinated children on a cruise. Schools are bad enough with kids not wearing masks properly, or even worse masks not worn at all.

[Joe817]

2 hours ago, K_e_short said:

I do agree that those that cancel because of this should get a refund. I know the cruise contract says they can make changes but the Kids Club is a big thing on cruise ships.

 

My son was 12 on our last cruise and every sea day he went there. 

 

He's 14 now and will be vaccinated by our next cruise but...

 

As a parent I would not be bringing my unvaccinated children on a cruise. Schools are bad enough with kids not wearing masks properly, or even worse masks not worn at all.

THAT..... is the voice of reason! Thank you! 👍

[BonnieH]

Is this new development for all the remaining 2021 cruises or just the first few? We are booked for a family (daughter, SIL, 2 year old grandson, me and BF) cruise in October 2021 (booked and paid for before COVID).

[deweytrader]

I can live without the kids club being open, just happy to be cruising again!  CCL need to protect themselves and their ports!  I fully understand I am a guinea pig and am willing to roll with the punches.  Just got off the Adv of the Seas and their club was open for under 12's with masks and only 12 hours per child for the week.

[lobster1313]

I think the decision was a reaction to the 2 positives on RCL which occurred a few days after final payment.

[TNcruising02]

Just now, regoodwinjr said:

I think the decision was a reaction to the 2 positives on RCL which occurred a few days after final payment.

It is actually a good reaction because I just can't see how the cruise lines can have unvaccinated kids socially distance in the kid's clubs.  I think giving parents refunds should at least help those who want to cancel because of the new changes.

[BoozinCroozin]

I consider the kids club not being open a non-issue. What would people want if jewelry shop was closed on the ship? Or Guy's Burger? Or anything else after final payment? This is more about parents not wanting to be because the club is closed. They don't want to be responsible for their kids, it is as simple as that. 

[lobster1313]

We had only planned on letting my daughter go on one night so we could go out to dinner in Aruba but that changed as soon as I saw the RCL news.  My wife and I can go out by ourselves at home so no need on a family vacation with only one of our daughter's.

[1025cruise]

While I agree that parents should parent, the kid's clubs are a very big part of the cruise experience, for the young ones. They don't want to spend all day in the pool, or on a lounger. The decision to close the clubs was made two days ago, for cruises leaving this week, so after final payment, and after the exemptions were made. Until that point, Carnival had been saying that the clubs would be open as usual. At this point, its really too late to change plans for most people. 

 

Fortunately, I have no skin in this game. I'm waiting until after cruising has really started before booking my next one. Even though I am now going on my second year where I currently would be on a ship.

 

[vwrestler171]

5 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

I consider the kids club not being open a non-issue. What would people want if jewelry shop was closed on the ship? Or Guy's Burger? Or anything else after final payment? This is more about parents not wanting to be because the club is closed. They don't want to be responsible for their kids, it is as simple as that. 

 

No, my kids loved going to camp and plan on spending a lot of time there and if 3 days after final payment, Carnival came out and said camp wouldn't happen, you're damn right we would be upset.  It has nothing to do with not wanting to parent, its getting what WE paid for.  How would you feel if the shows, Comedy club, bars, etc were not available after you paid for it expecting to go to those locations?  Yes, we can make different plans, but I would rather Carnival be upfront from the start and not keep saying it would be open.

[tap_out]

7 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

It is actually a good reaction because I just can't see how the cruise lines can have unvaccinated kids socially distance in the kid's clubs.  I think giving parents refunds should at least help those who want to cancel because of the new changes.

I gotta ask what is the difference of the kids being in school vs the kids club? Its ok for them goto school? But I do understand this is a cruise and not education. Carnival is just playing it safe cant say I blame them. I do think parents should be offered a refund though. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by tap_out

[yappy2112]

i say this as a parent and step parent of 3 grown 'kids' and one teenager. there was a time when we had to parent our kids on vacations. 24/7. every vacation. or take one without kids. and that never happened. or... RARELY happened (only once in my 25 years of parenting LOL)

 

it sucks. i get it. i do. my next cruise is planned for NEXT august (2022) with my bestie and her 2 boys and my teenage son (so... 3 teenage boys... wish us luck LOL). ALL of us are currently fully vaccinated. if we need boosters, we will of course, get them. time will tell if that is something that will be needed. We are, of course expecting things to be normal by then. but truly... who knows. we are hoping (and expecting) the teen club (im new to carnival but not to cruising, so i dont recall what carnival calls their teen program off the top of my head) to be fully functional next summer. but if its not, well, then we will have the boys with us more than we would like to. part of being a parent. better teens than toddlers 😛

 

And plenty of things that I had planned or wanted to do this past year and a half were cancelled. Concert. trips. Other events. International travel, including to visit our kids and my husband his family in Canada. I think we ALL experienced levels of cancelled plans. Some things I got refunds for ... some I did not. I certainly didn't throw a temper tantrum over any of it. Instead, I counted my blessings that none of our family and friends died in the past year.

 

Bright side to everything, you know.

 

 

[mkdreams]

1 hour ago, vwrestler171 said:

 

No, my kids loved going to camp and plan on spending a lot of time there and if 3 days after final payment, Carnival came out and said camp wouldn't happen, you're damn right we would be upset.  It has nothing to do with not wanting to parent, its getting what WE paid for.  How would you feel if the shows, Comedy club, bars, etc were not available after you paid for it expecting to go to those locations?  Yes, we can make different plans, but I would rather Carnival be upfront from the start and not keep saying it would be open.

Exactly!

[sailingships]

19 minutes ago, tap_out said:

. I do think parents should be offered a refund though. 

I would think Carnival will give the parents the option to cancel with a full refund 

[ninjacat123]

I could see how parents could be disappointed for their children's fun time but maybe this keeps them safe!

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

I never realized how many parents use the kids clubs as free babysitting until I read through the posts on Johns wall. 

[Cruise Related]

3 minutes ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

I never realized how many parents use the kids clubs as free babysitting until I read through the posts on Johns wall. 

Hmm, I recall pre-pandemic, parents had to pay after certain hours. But I could be mistaken.