Splash Academy - details, experiences, sample activities, special needs

[Wanderlust...]

My upcoming cruise will be the first time using Splash Academy. We’ll have a 6 y/o girl and 7 y/o boy on the Getaway. One is a social butterfly that I expect to thrive in Splash Academy but the other can struggle with unstructured time and emotional regulation. I will talk to staff when on board but I am looking to hear any experiences you can share about special needs kids and Splash Academy.

 

I’m also curious to know what some of the activities are so I can share them with to my anxious kiddo. I’ve encountered a kid parade with pirate theming so I assume that was the kids club but looking to hear other specifics. Any other themes?
 

Are there times of mandatory structured activities or is it where you can do other activities instead?

 

I have looked through many posts but not seeing a lot of details regarding the kids club. I’ll also note that we are not forcing the kids to use the club… they are both very interested in it and making friends. 10-day on Getaway in March/April.  Thanks!!

[JeninIndy]

We have 9 and 12 year old boys and they've been visiting Splash Academy (minus 2020 and 2021 🙂 ) since they were tiny and they look forward to it every cruise. It's basically a floating day care center staffed with a friendly, high-energy young crew. When you register on the first day, you will sit down with a staff member who will take all your information and answer all your questions and even give you a quick tour if you want. It's a drop-in format so not super structured. The social butterflies might choose to do the pre-planned craft or activity, while others might play a video game or do a craft and the staff won't force them to do anything they're not interested in. Some examples of activities we've seen are video game tournaments, T-shirt design for the Glow Party, banner/flag design, pirate parades, etc. Pre-pandemic, our kids also got to star in a talent show called the Splashtacular Extravaganza, which was held in the ship's auditorium and open to all the cruisers.

When you enroll, they will give you a flyer with a schedule and all the themes for the week. That way you have an idea if the day's activities are something your kids would like. Hope they enjoy!

[Wanderlust...]

7 hours ago, JeninIndy said:

We have 9 and 12 year old boys and they've been visiting Splash Academy (minus 2020 and 2021 🙂 ) since they were tiny and they look forward to it every cruise. It's basically a floating day care center staffed with a friendly, high-energy young crew. When you register on the first day, you will sit down with a staff member who will take all your information and answer all your questions and even give you a quick tour if you want. It's a drop-in format so not super structured. The social butterflies might choose to do the pre-planned craft or activity, while others might play a video game or do a craft and the staff won't force them to do anything they're not interested in. Some examples of activities we've seen are video game tournaments, T-shirt design for the Glow Party, banner/flag design, pirate parades, etc. Pre-pandemic, our kids also got to star in a talent show called the Splashtacular Extravaganza, which was held in the ship's auditorium and open to all the cruisers.

When you enroll, they will give you a flyer with a schedule and all the themes for the week. That way you have an idea if the day's activities are something your kids would like. Hope they enjoy!

Thank you so much, Jen!! This is very helpful!

[ebheart]

We will be on Getaway in 2 weeks with my 5 year old and 2 year old, and I was wondering about Splash Academy too. Specifically about the hours, because I’ve seen them listed as 7-11pm (with extra 11-1am at a charge), but no daytime times. Being able to drop off my 5 year old while the 2 year old naps in the afternoon (like 1-3) would be ideal - since the 2 year old isn’t old enough, I don’t think we’d use it at other times.

[negn]

Just make sure you send them the first sign up night.  That seems to be where they meet each other as they’re all “ new”.  

[booger5]

11 hours ago, ebheart said:

We will be on Getaway in 2 weeks with my 5 year old and 2 year old, and I was wondering about Splash Academy too. Specifically about the hours, because I’ve seen them listed as 7-11pm (with extra 11-1am at a charge), but no daytime times. Being able to drop off my 5 year old while the 2 year old naps in the afternoon (like 1-3) would be ideal - since the 2 year old isn’t old enough, I don’t think we’d use it at other times.

On the breakaway over the summer daytime hours included 10am-12pm and 2-4pm so maybe that second time block would help for nap time. It was the slot we almost always missed because it was peak pool hours :). I also highly recommend making sure to take 5 year old first night to meet others. Then they see familiar faces at pool, other splash academy hours, etc. 

[booger5]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:08 PM, Wanderlust... said:

My upcoming cruise will be the first time using Splash Academy. We’ll have a 6 y/o girl and 7 y/o boy on the Getaway. One is a social butterfly that I expect to thrive in Splash Academy but the other can struggle with unstructured time and emotional regulation. I will talk to staff when on board but I am looking to hear any experiences you can share about special needs kids and Splash Academy.

 

I’m also curious to know what some of the activities are so I can share them with to my anxious kiddo. I’ve encountered a kid parade with pirate theming so I assume that was the kids club but looking to hear other specifics. Any other themes?
 

Are there times of mandatory structured activities or is it where you can do other activities instead?

 

I have looked through many posts but not seeing a lot of details regarding the kids club. I’ll also note that we are not forcing the kids to use the club… they are both very interested in it and making friends. 10-day on Getaway in March/April.  Thanks!!

On embarkation day you can go and sign the kids up and there is a schedule for every day and the activities they will be doing. We were on the breakway over the summer and kids were given an option on arrival. Stay downstairs for a structured activity or go upstairs and play video games or other similar type things. I also believe they could choose to move around so if tired of games, come downstairs and do the arts and crafts, etc. The staff are super friendly and learn to recognize the kids quick. I am sure they will love it. 

[curious_me]

 

14 hours ago, ebheart said:

We will be on Getaway in 2 weeks with my 5 year old and 2 year old, and I was wondering about Splash Academy too. Specifically about the hours, because I’ve seen them listed as 7-11pm (with extra 11-1am at a charge), but no daytime times. Being able to drop off my 5 year old while the 2 year old naps in the afternoon (like 1-3) would be ideal - since the 2 year old isn’t old enough, I don’t think we’d use it at other times.

So we went in 2016 and I had a 4 year old and nearly 2 year old. The 2 year old can do guppies but the parent have to be there, and I don't know if they have this still but we paid a little bit for them to have my 2 year for a little bit so we could have some kids free time. My 4 year old loved splash academy whenever it was open he wanted to go, which is mostly on sea days. My 4 year old is now 10 so I hope he still likes it as much as he did when he was 4.

[Wanderlust...]

21 hours ago, ebheart said:

We will be on Getaway in 2 weeks with my 5 year old and 2 year old, and I was wondering about Splash Academy too. Specifically about the hours, because I’ve seen them listed as 7-11pm (with extra 11-1am at a charge), but no daytime times. Being able to drop off my 5 year old while the 2 year old naps in the afternoon (like 1-3) would be ideal - since the 2 year old isn’t old enough, I don’t think we’d use it at other times.

I’ve been looking are the Getaway dailies too. It seems that on port days, it is open 7pm-10pm (or 9am-noon if port arrival is in the afternoon). On sea days, it seems to be open approximately 9am-noon, 2pm-5pm, and 7pm-10pm. 
 

Thanks for everyone’s insight! Love the idea of going there the fist night!

[Nickymouse]

We are also on the Getaway on 3/26.

My son is 7 and looking forward to splash academy.  We booked this cruise hoping there would be just enough kiddos. Did you contact NCl already? They said they would assist us with boarding and noted that we were interested in Splash Academy. 

[kitkat343]

My kids were on RC adventure of the seas last August, and they loved the kids club so much they begged us to do another cruise.  We sailed the Getaway in January, and my children were really disappointed in NCL's kids club.  We were on  the NCL Star  9 years ago and the kids club was really great then, including teaching the kids circus tricks and putting on a circus show on a small venue.  My kids really didn't like the kids club on NLC in January compared to RC because they said the RC kids club did more activities and played more games, and the NCL kids club had a lot more nintendo switch.  Now most kids are happy with nintendo switch, so its possible your kids will be happy there (my oldest went quite a bit with his group of ship friends - he's 12 and they wandered the ship and sometimes wound up in the kids club).  My 7 year old went sometimes but my 4 year old refused to go after about day 6 (she's not a kid who usually has any problems with kids clubs - on RC she was there from opening until closing each day.  Most of the other kids looked happy, but my kids said they were bored and spent very little time there, which was really surprising because the whole reason we booked a second cruise was how much they loved the kids club on the first one.    

 

My 4 year old was tall enough for the Getaway waterslides, so that's an option. Theres also a splash pad, and there is a small ropes course (not sure your kids will be tall enough for the larger ropes course).  There's an arcade but they close down the arcade package after day 2 so if that's something you need buy it early.  

 

 

[kitkat343]

23 hours ago, ebheart said:

We will be on Getaway in 2 weeks with my 5 year old and 2 year old, and I was wondering about Splash Academy too. Specifically about the hours, because I’ve seen them listed as 7-11pm (with extra 11-1am at a charge), but no daytime times. Being able to drop off my 5 year old while the 2 year old naps in the afternoon (like 1-3) would be ideal - since the 2 year old isn’t old enough, I don’t think we’d use it at other times.

Each ship is setting its own kids club hours now.  However, traditionally NCL kids clubs were closed on sea days from 12-2 and 5-7 so it is highly unlikely it would open during those times.  On our January Getaway cruise it was open 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10 or 11 (can't remember when late night starts) for sea days.  On port days, it was closed during the time the ship was in port and open its regular hours around that.

[ebheart]

Thanks everyone for the great info, it is very helpful!!!

[Luvmypups]

I’ve also heard many people tip the kid’s club staff also. Anyone with recommendations / input on when, who, and how much if we use it daily?

[styles27]

12 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Each ship is setting its own kids club hours now.  However, traditionally NCL kids clubs were closed on sea days from 12-2 and 5-7 so it is highly unlikely it would open during those times.  On our January Getaway cruise it was open 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10 or 11 (can't remember when late night starts) for sea days.  On port days, it was closed during the time the ship was in port and open its regular hours around that.

So we’re docked in Bermuda for 3 nights. Will Splash academy be closed that entire time?

[kitkat343]

4 hours ago, styles27 said:

So we’re docked in Bermuda for 3 nights. Will Splash academy be closed that entire time?

Your best bet is to ask  a roll call of previous similar itineraries sailing before you ideally on the same ship.  There are roll calls on cruise critic and Facebook you can check.  Each ship is setting its own schedule.  

Edited February 25, 2023 by kitkat343

[styles27]

12 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Your best bet is to ask  a roll call of previous similar itineraries sailing before you ideally on the same ship.  There are roll calls on cruise critic and Facebook you can check.  Each ship is setting its own schedule.  

We’re on the second sailing. We did the same cruise last year but Splash Academy wasn’t doing drop off yet because of Covid. 
 

I think I’ll call NCL and see what they know.

Thanks!

[kitkat343]

1 hour ago, styles27 said:

We’re on the second sailing. We did the same cruise last year but Splash Academy wasn’t doing drop off yet because of Covid. 
 

I think I’ll call NCL and see what they know.

Thanks!

You absolutely can try to call them.  But please note the following disclaimers on their website:

 

This is on the main kids club page:

Norwegian Spirit does not offer Youth Programs.
Operational hours are subject to change without advance notice per shipboard health and safety protocols.

 

This is the disclaimer on the FAQ:

Note: Youth program operations may vary by ship and sailing based on local regulations and continued return to service efforts.

 

I called NCL prior to my cruise to ask about the kids club hours after the FAQ disclaimer was posted, and was informed by the phone reps that each ship is currently setting its own hours/schedule and that they could not provide me with any information.  Thankfully, there was someone doing a live review from the previous sailing of my ship, and from the dallies of that cruise I was able to see the kids club hours on the sailing prior to mine, and the hours did in fact remained the same for my sailing.  I believe a roll call or live review of a previous sailing on your ship is the best possible source of information, but you can certainly try to call NCL.

 

 But please note that on my sailing they canceled the stop in the Dominican Republic and the morning in Antigua and only half of the passengers appear to have received the email notification of this change (our roll calls were filled with confused people posting they couldn't get any answers).  People who called NCL for weeks were told there had been no changes, and some of the passengers were  confused until they boarded the ship.  On the other hand, there was nothing we could do - NCL made the changes after final payment and wouldn't let me switch when I called to ask them (my kids wanted to see the monkeys in the DR and giant toirteses in Antigua, but the toirtes facility is only open in the morning) so I guess it didn't matter but still it would be helpful if we could get information.  I would have understood if there were some sort of emergency or weather related cause for the changes, but their email stated that they made the changes for environmental reasons, and they continued to advertise the cruise on their website as visiting the DR.  People who purchased the cruise after the DR was dropped weren't allowed to cancel even though the website was advertising the wrong itinerary and they weren't told by the NCL reps when they booked the cruise on the phone of the itinerary changes.  So I honestly wouldn't expect much notice about the kids club hours, and your best shot is to ask people on a previous sailing to scan the dallies or let you know.

 

Also, please note that at least the Getaway was experiencing shortages and running out of certain types of food.  Of the kids things, in the buffet they ran out of all kids cereals 3 days before the end of the cruise, boxed  skim milk at the buffet two days prior to the end of the cruise and there were no bananas in the buffett.  So you might want to bring your own supplies if there's something your kid will really melt down over or bring some supplies back to your room if there's something your kid will be really upset if they run out of.  There are small fridges in the room, with minibar items and we just put some milk and yougurt there around their minibar items.

Edited February 25, 2023 by kitkat343

[styles27]

Yes unfortunately we’ve had itinerary changes on cruises in the past with sometimes no notice.

The cruise lines are very good about putting things like changes to the itinerary in the small print when we receive our cruise contracts. 
 

Last year a week before our cruise to Bermuda on Pearl we received notice that we would leave Bermuda early and instead of 2 sea days back to Boston we had a day in Bar Harbor then a day at sea to Boston. 
Wasn’t a great time to go to Maine as it was 40 degrees in April lol. 
 

We've been cruising for about 40 yrs so we expect the unexpected. 
 

Our grandson is coming with us again this year. He’s 9 and one

of the easiest going kids I know and he’ll eat anything so running out of stuff won’t be a problem for him but I can understand some kids not liking that. 
 

Our cruise is so unique I don’t think any other NCL itinerary spends 3 nights at the same port so I guess we will have to wait and see what the folks on the first sailing before ours say about Splash Academy. I’m thinking it will be open at night only while in port. 

[Wanderlust...]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:43 PM, Nickymouse said:

We are also on the Getaway on 3/26.

My son is 7 and looking forward to splash academy.  We booked this cruise hoping there would be just enough kiddos. Did you contact NCl already? They said they would assist us with boarding and noted that we were interested in Splash Academy. 

We will see you there! Good idea to call them prior to the cruise. Will have to do that.

 

Lots of helpful details on this thread!