Cruising with a 4 and 6 year old

[scrpnstmp]

Hi everyone! I have been reading these boards for a little while now and decided it was time to jump in. DH and I just returned from our cruise aboard the Enchantment. We loved it! We want to take the family next year and since we have never cruised with little ones before, I have a couple of questions.

 

First, how exactly does the Adventure Ocean program work? Do you drop the kids off and then pick them up at a designated time? Do they stay with the program the entire time or just when they want? Meal times....do they eat with the group or do the parents take them to the Windjammer or dining room and then take them back to the program in the evening? Are kids this age allowed in the dining room? What happens on formal night?

 

Any help will be appreciated. I apologize if this post is a little long or a repeat of subjects previously covered.

 

Thanks.

[shirleygr]

Hi, we just took our kids ages 4 and (almost) 6 on a 4 night on the Enchantment. They loved it! This was their third cruise, first time on RCI. Yes, kids are allowed in the dining room. My girls enjoyed dressing up and the extra attention from the waitstaff. We had early seating and this works very well with the hours for Adventure Ocean. They are open from 7 until 10 every evening, after 10 AO is available as group babysitting. My girls never stayed past 10 and that was fine with us since we were tired too!

You can find lots of information on AO on RC's website, but I can tell you they are open for various hours everyday-depends on if you are at sea or in port. You can leave your kids in AO while you do an excursion or you can take them with you off the ship. On port days, AO will feed your kids if you are off the ship during lunch. On sea days, you pick your kids up for lunch and can bring them back later. They can be at AO as much or as little as you want.

Oh, and AO does offer a dinner at least one night during your cruise so you and your dh can plan a romantic dinner one night--maybe at one of the specialty restaurants.

Hope this answers a bunch of your questions. I'll be happy to answer anything else I can if you have more.

[Onessa]

Four and six are great ages for the AO program!

 

How Adventure Ocean program works - The program has posted hours. While they may vary by iteneary/ship there is typically a morning, an afternoon, and an evening component. There are various programs separated by age, and your child will get a "compass" each day with his/her program's schedule. While many kids want to be dropped off first thing and picked up at the very last minute, you can drop off/pick up at any time during the posted hours of operation.

 

Meal times? Typically meal times are outside of the AO program hours. Dependent upon the length of your cruise, your kids will have the option to eat dinner with the AO group one or two evenings. If you arrange to have your child in the program while you are ashore, they will lunch with the kids.

Otherwise your kids are with you for meals. It is up to you to determine what dining option works for your kids. Some parents do specialty dining (Pizza or burgers), some do Windjammer, some swear by room service, others will bring the kids to the dining room. Many folks in the early seating will have the kids entre's served with the appetizers and then one parent will excuse themselves and "whisk" the kids off to AO when it opens at 7:00. The wait staff is pretty used to this and are quick to accommodate the slight break in timing.

The kids have most of the same options that the adult pax have. Most ships have age rules for the "extra charge" speciality restaruants - so check those guidelines out and be certain to abide by them.

 

Formal Night? Just like other pax, your kids can join in or opt out. Again it is up to you. Many of the "eat dinner with the counselor" sessions dovetail with the formal night.

 

RCCI also offers in-room sitting and after-hours programming in AO for additional charges.

 

Search through older threads here and in the "Family Cruising" tread for more info. Hope your family enjoys the trip!

[scrpnstmp]

Wow! What quick responses! Thanks for the info! I sounds like we should just pick and cruise and go for it. The AO program sounds like a lot of fun. I think the boys will like it and it will give their mom a bit of a break so that she can enjoy her first cruise also. I'm sold! Now I just need to pick where to take them.

 

Thanks, again!

 

Joanne

[DrSeuss]

My son will be six a month after we sail. I notice the clubs are 3 to 5 or 6 to 8. Do they have any le way in case the younger group is full of 3 year olds and he may be better suited to the older group?

[Rala]

DrSEuss, this question has been discussed before and it seems to depend on the number of kids in any one age group and the maturity or lack thereof of the child in question and to some extent the flexibility of the staff. It seems some have been able to move their child to another age level and some have not. Good Luck!

[shrimp0]

4 and 6 are great ages for cruising!!!! We have taken our son at ages 5, 6 and 7.

 

Each night you will be given the compass for the next day. There will be main compass ( for adults and all general activities on board) and there will be a compass for each age group for the children. You can plan your activities each night... if there is something the adults want to do.... you can find what is happening at that same time for the children. The Adventure Ocean program will be open from 9-12 and 2-5 on sea days. 9-5 on port days and every night from 7-10... with 10-1am open but with a charge per hour for each child. On port days, the children can stay in AO for the whole day... if you have an excursion or other things planned... and they will be given lunch.

 

My son has some favorite activities that he looks forward to each year. He loves pirate night, circus on the seas, playing gaga ball and kids karaoke/disco night.

 

For dinner, you can do it a few ways. If you really want to bring your children to the main dining room... you can request first or second seating and just bring your children to the table. They will be more then welcomed in the dining room. If you would rather have an adult dinner each night... or your children dont care to join you... you can request late seating for dinner and take your children to the Windjammer at 6 for their dinner and then bring them to the kids club at 7 when they open. You are then free to dine without the children at the late seating at 8:30. The kids program will have a few nights where the kids can dine with the AO staff at Johnny Rockets or other venues on none Voyager class ships. This dining time is at 6pm and the kids are brought to AO for you for the evening.

 

You can search around for some kids compasses to get a better feeling of the kinds of activities and times. You can use AO as much or as little as you want. Just be sure to pick up on time!!!! We like to spend time with our son when we cruise... but there are times that he would just rather be with his friends in the kids club!!!!

[DrSeuss]

thank you

[scrpnstmp]

Thanks, Wendy. Between your comments and those from Shirley and Onessa we have a better idea of what to expect. This has helped a lot. THANKS to you all.

[shirleygr]

Thanks, Wendy. Between your comments and those from Shirley and Onessa we have a better idea of what to expect. This has helped a lot. THANKS to you all.

You're welcome. And have fun picking your family cruise!