Help with Kids Crew Info

[Brenda33]

I am thinking of cruising next year with my 5 year old son. I am interested in the Kids Crew. How it works, etc. I am mainly concerned with the babysitting from 10-1. I have previously cruised on Carnival and they had a great kids program and babysitting service. If anyone could compare that would also be great. I thank you in advance for all your help.

Smile,

Brenda :)

[2Cruise4Ever]

We sailed on the Dawn last year with our then 2yo DD and 7yo DS. Both were in the kid crew many times. And, both were in the group babysitting at least twice. They absolutely loved every aspect of it. As soon as we told them we were going back on the Dawn next year, they both asked if they could go in the kids crew. We found the counselors to be well educated and more than qualified to watch our kids. They had many, many organized activities and plenty of free time.

 

The first day, they hold an informational meeting for all parents and kids. And, they offer a tour of the kids crew area. After that, the hours were (if I remember correctly) 9:00 a.m. to 12 Noon, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00, 7:00 to 10:00 and then group babysitting from 10 until 1:00 a.m. Basically, the group babysitting is pretty much free play and movies and all the kids are together. During the kids crew hours, they are separated out by age group with organized age appropriate activities. The kids crew program is free. The group babysitting is $5 per hour per child with a $2 discount for the second child of the same family.

 

Enjoy!

[Brenda33]

Question.....can the kids sleep between the hours of 10 and 1 am during the group sitting?.....they did on Carnival. Or do they have to be awake and playing during these late night hours? Thanks again for your help.:)

[2Cruise4Ever]

Well, we always sent them in comfy clothes so that they could fall asleep if given the opportunity. However, they were both wide awake every time we went to pick them up. I did see other parents carrying their dead-asleep kids out around the same time we arrived. So, it is possible. My kids just won't go to sleep if there is any activity whatsoever :) If I recall, they actually had a pajama night one night where all the kids wore their PJ's and brought pillows, too. The counselors do not encourage the kids to stay awake, but I remember the movie being pretty loud. So, I guess it depends on whether your son is an easy sleeper. If he can fall asleep in the middle of a crowded room full of conversing adults, then he'll have no problem being able to fall asleep there. However, be warned: he may not WANT to ;)

[Brenda33]

Thank you for your help. When we were on Carnival, the kids were in a room with pillows and blankets watching a movie and almost every child fell asleep.....and if not, they kept them quiet. So I guess this is my biggest concern. Thanks again for your input. :)

[tacruise]

We went with two kids on the Dream to the mediterranean. I guess they check to see how many kids are on board each sailing, because there was only 1 counselor for the kids on our ship. They had let the other counselor off the ship.

 

This young woman was very sweet and energetic, but was in charge of all the kids all the time from ages 6 months to teenagers. (There were about 15 on board)

 

We did not have separate activities, and they were always in the kids room.

 

Also, just something to remember. There are no kids club hours while the ship is in port. The day time kids club is only during at sea days.

 

We never used the group babysitting service, because we were usually exhausted by the 10:00 kid pick up time anyways.

 

PS. The ships crew loved having kids on board and went out of their way to please them and keep them happy. They would let them have a PBJ for an appetizer followed by chicken nuggets for the meal. They kept track of what they liked, and made sure to make them feel special.

 

You are sure to have fun, as are they.

[lovemygirls]

My 2 girls ages 4 & 7 used the kids program on the Dawn 2 wks ago. They loved it. They were there all the time! We did the group babysitting as well, and that worked great. We usually picked them up around 11:00-11:30 pm. They took them to two of the shows, took them to dinner one night and just did lots of activities. The last night was a pajama party. They wore there pajamas so they thought that was fun.

There were 600 kids on the ship that week, so my kids had so much fun, as you can imagine.

Also, the Dawn did have kids crew hrs. during port days, but there was a charge. I think similar to the group babysitting charge.

Enjoy your cruise!

[ImpulsivePuppy]

this is a very cute thread! and useful too! Can't wait to sail with DS (2) on the Sun in only three weeks!!!! Can the kids go from evening kid's crew to the babysitting with out parents stopping by? I'm just curious in case DW and I want to go straight to the show or dancing right after dinner one night. Thanks!

[T1130]

My dd is also 5 and loved, loved the kids crew. We only saw her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I never had so much free time on my hands. She never stayed for the group babysitting because she was wiped out by 10:00. The counselors were awesome.

[lovemygirls]

Michael,

Yes, the kids can go right from the Kids crew to babysitting without the parents. Atleast on the Dawn. All we had to do was sign them up for babysitting by 8 pm that night.

Enjoy your cruise!

[2Cruise4Ever]

Lovemygirls ~ Usually, you have to sign up by 8:00 the night before you intend to use the babysitting service. But, since you had so few kids on board, you probably could have just walked them up there at 10:00 if you wanted to. Sounds like you all had a blast!

[Brenda33]

Thanks for all your input, but I still have a major issue bugging me.....the issue is if they have quiet time from 10 pm to 1am. Trying to figure out if my son will get any sleep, as he did on Carnival. He would suck his thumb and grab his blanky and when I picked him up around 1 he was sound asleep and I just strolled him (in stroller) back to the room and tucked him in. It was a great system. I am so concerned that he may be awake til 1a.m when I pick him up and then be cranky the next day. Thanks again for your help......:)

[lovemygirls]

Brenda,

It's hard to say if your son would sleep or not. We picked our kids up between 11:00-11:30 pm, so most of the kids were still actively playing. It is possible though, that some fell asleep after that. If your son is tired and wants to sleep, then I'm sure he will. I don't think on the Dawn though, they actually had a "quiet time" to sleep. If someone wants to sleep than I'm sure that was fine. Most of the kids didn't look like they wanted to sleep though. What I did with my 4 yr old and you might want to try this. I gave her a nap everyday in the late afternoon. This way she was able to stay awake and not get cranky at night. She never gave us a hard time going to bed because she was so tired from all the day & night activity. She definately needed the nap each day or she would have been so miserable. I wouldn't stress over it. Just see how it goes.

[IMACRUZRNOW]

Thanks for all your input, but I still have a major issue bugging me.....the issue is if they have quiet time from 10 pm to 1am. Trying to figure out if my son will get any sleep, as he did on Carnival. He would suck his thumb and grab his blanky and when I picked him up around 1 he was sound asleep and I just strolled him (in stroller) back to the room and tucked him in. It was a great system. I am so concerned that he may be awake til 1a.m when I pick him up and then be cranky the next day. Thanks again for your help......:)

 

I think it depends on the ship. We were on the Star a while back and they had a big room with floor pillows. When the kids got tired they would go back there and watch a movie.

 

I didn't use the Wind that late, but based on what I saw of the KC facilities, it wouldn't accomodate a specific 'quiet' area.

[Kuffam]

We were on the Pride of Aloha in January 2005 and the Disney Wonder December 2005 and DD (5) preferred POA Kid's Crew over Disney's children programs. We found the counselors to be personal, energetic, and happy about their work. At Disney the staff just seemed to be there to do their job. The Pride of Aloha's facilities were simple, but the kids were happy with it.

[SissasMomE]

We are looking at the 5-night Pearl cruise for Easter. Is the children's program open on the first night for babysitting, or is it strictly just orientation?

[2Cruise4Ever]

Dont' know for sure. But, I believe all cruises have only orientation the first night. I could be wrong. They didn't have any program the first night on the Dawn when we went last Summer.

[Vyhanek]

Thanks for all your input, but I still have a major issue bugging me.....the issue is if they have quiet time from 10 pm to 1am. Trying to figure out if my son will get any sleep, as he did on Carnival. He would suck his thumb and grab his blanky and when I picked him up around 1 he was sound asleep and I just strolled him (in stroller) back to the room and tucked him in. It was a great system. I am so concerned that he may be awake til 1a.m when I pick him up and then be cranky the next day. Thanks again for your help......:)

 

 

At ten o'clock they will put on a movie and pull out bean bag chairs. The kids that WANT to can watch the movie, the kids that want to can sit in a bean bag chair and go to sleep. They put no pressure on the kids to do anything after 10pm. I don't think they even had any organized activities, just adult counselors to watch the kids and the movie playing. My tired kids slept in those bean bag chairs every night until I picked them up at midnight. Ten o'clock is very late for my girls but they usually napped for a bit during the day. Falling asleep on the tenders, or on a lounger at the beach or while getting ready for dinner in the cabin. They squeezed in enough sleep here and there.

[Brenda33]

I am thinking about cruising this November on Dawn without my 4 year old (next Nov. with him on Gem)....so I will check out how the kids club works then.....hopefully I will find that he will get some sleep......Hopefully. LOL :)

[lovemygirls]

Sheri, The kids crew started the first night at 7 pm, and went until 1:00am. Earlier in the day it was just for orientation. This was on the Dawn, every ship could be different.

[SissasMomE]

Sheri, The kids crew started the first night at 7 pm, and went until 1:00am. Earlier in the day it was just for orientation. This was on the Dawn, every ship could be different.

 

 

Thanks. We just got off of the Rhapsody (Royal Caribbean) and they did NOT have the kids club opened on the first night. Our last Easter cruise on the Grandeur, also Royal Caribbean, they DID have it open, so I was just curious how Norwegian did it. This will be our first Norwegian cruise.

[2Cruise4Ever]

Sheri, The kids crew started the first night at 7 pm, and went until 1:00am. Earlier in the day it was just for orientation. This was on the Dawn, every ship could be different.

 

That must be new because they didn't have a program the first night when we went last summer. I hope they do that now. It would be nice for DH and I to have a quiet meal the first night out by ourselves especially if they're still doing 1/2 price the first night :)

[KeystoneCruiser]

Sheri, The kids crew started the first night at 7 pm, and went until 1:00am. Earlier in the day it was just for orientation. This was on the Dawn, every ship could be different.

 

The regular kids club is from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.. Group babysitting begins at 10:00 and goes until 1:00 a.m.. They will charge you if the child is there past 10:00 p.m., even on the first night. (happened to my sister in law in 2005)