Play Zone/Kids Club

[ChloeK]

Hello everyone, 

 

Just wondering if anyone had any updated information regarding kids clubs on Cunard? 

 

We have previously sailed on Cunard (prior kids) but now have a daughter, aged 3. We took her on her first cruise in June on a Transatlantic crossing. 

 

She adored the kids club but unfortunately, due to staffing, it was only operating for 2/3hours per day. This left us in a rather awkward position of entertaining a rambunctious toddler on a cruise line designed for relaxation and a peaceful ambiance. 

 

Does anybody know if the kids club will return to full operating hours by Christmas? We are considering the Carribean Celebration but slightly dreading 3+ weeks onboard without a fully operating kids club. 

 

Thanks!

[exlondoner]

On our QM2 cruise in July, it was advertised in three sessions, 10-12, 2-5, 6-11. I've no idea what actually happened.

[ChloeK]

Thanks @exlondoner! Hoping it is indeed back to a regular schedule 👌

[space oddity]

Apologies for hijacking, but may I ask whether/how you were able to book your daughter into the kids club sessions in advance of departure?

 

(We are taking our two children on an Eastbound transatlantic on Aug 28, and are really hoping the kids club is up and running more-or-less normally.  The Cunard webpages say that "Our numbers will be limited so we recommend registering on My Cunard before your voyage to avoid disappointment," and also "You can register your child from 15 days before sailing" ... but we're now under 15 days till sailing and I've still not found a way to register them for any kids club sessions in advance.)  

 

In any case, I'll chime back in after our crossing and let you know how the clubs are currently running!  

[ChloeK]

Hello! 

 

We found that, whilst the hours were greatly reduced, there was plenty of space onboard for the Play Zone (age 2-7) category. We did not find a way to register her for the club prior to departure. I must admit, I didn't even realise you could. 

 

The Zone has set registration times for embarkation day. I believe it is 2-4pm and then 6-8pm. It is best to make it a priority to register them as it is on a first come, first served basis. We made it our first port of call, so to speak. We arrived onboard at approx. 2pm and went straight to the kids area to register our daughter. She was the first child to be registered. It was my understanding that her place was then guaranteed for the remainder of the crossing.

 

The lady informed us that there were 12 spaces available for this age range. Of course, spaces and hours were very limited due to their obvious staffing issues. I was chatting to the lady in charge and she said that the nanny agency Cunard use just did not have any staff members left on their "books" after Covid. So they were struggling to supply Cunard with the numbers of staff they needed. Many had opted for "land jobs" during Co-Vid 19 and not returned to cruise life. 

 

If you go straight to your cabin, you will have received a daily list of activities (which is standard) and a kids welcome pack from the Play Zone. Both of these will list the times. 

 

However, due to desperately wanting to secure a spot, we headed straight to Deck 6 to register and saw these info packs afterwards 😂. 

 

On average, we were allocated two hours per day and a short evening session to allow us to quickly attend dinner but not any shows/evening entertainment. 

 

I hope this helps! Fingers crossed they are back to full operating hours once you board. 

 

I cannot finish without complimenting the staff and facilities onboard. My three year old adored the club and the staff were highly trained and exceptional. She constantly asked to go back to the "school", all day long! 

 

Wishing you a lovely journey! 

 

 

 

 

[space oddity]

Many thanks for the detailed reply! That's very helpful.

 

We did one crossing with the kids a few years ago (pre-Covid) and they absolutely loved it -- at the time the registration for the kids club was onboard as you mention, too, but they could pretty much stay all day except mealtimes.  There was also a "night nursery," which was a godsend for our youngest (who was too little for the kids club at the time).  

 

Fingers crossed that we are able to get spaces for them this time around, too!  I'll let you all know how it goes once we're back in the UK. 

[juicyjuju]

Thanks for all this great info. Does anyone have any updates on the teen zone?

[space oddity]

We disembarked yesterday in Southampton, so I thought I'd provide a brief update on the current status of the kids club.  

 

The bottom line is that it was almost back to the pre-pandemic level, and our kids had a great time.  For us, the existence of the club/zone really makes the crossing possible -- much as I love our children, the idea of entertaining them 24/7 for 7 days on a boat fills me with dread -- so I was really happy to see this.

 

All parts of the kids club (including the Teen part, I believe) were open 10-12, 2-5, and 6-11.  The night nursery was also now open (though we weren't using it) --- the staff told me it had only very recently re-opened. We registered our kids as soon as possible upon embarkation and they went every day, though not to every session.  

 

One of the staff members told me there were around 65 kids (<18) onboard, with most of those (50+) in the two older age groups.  Another interesting bit of info was that the number of kids they can actually accommodate can depend on whether or not there is a 2-year-old using the club; the required staffing ratios are different for 2-year-olds than for older children, so this cascades through to the numbers they can fit in the other age groups.  

 

One minor tidbit that might be helpful to someone: at least on our crossing, they no longer offered the 5-6 pm Chef's Galley/kids menu service, so the mealtimes were a bit awkward for people on the 6 pm dinner seating.  On our last crossing, we (and other families) sometimes liked to feed our kids early, then drop them off at the Club before heading to an adults-only dinner; now, with all the dinner options (apart from room service) opening at 6 pm, that's a bit trickier.  This time, we were actually on the late sitting -- you could start sometime between 7:45 and 8:30, and were given a different table/companions every night -- so this wasn't a big deal for us, but it bugged some of the other parents.

 

Hope that's helpful!  

[Host Hattie]

Thank you very much for the update

[ChloeK]

Thank you so much for this update! I fully agree with the fear if having to entertain a child on a boat for long periods!

 

I hope you had a wonderful trip and thank you for the tip regarding the children's tea. 🙂