AO... how safe to leave your kids ???

[dodygirl]

I am going on a family cruise in 3.5 weeks and wonder if anyone can shed some light on the AO program. I am so nervous about my kids and the railings etc...(my silly anxiety) I know I can keep an eye on them when they are with me... but how safe are the AO programs and the leaders of them ? Do they take them out on deck at all to play or do they let them get near the door to leave on their own? I worry that with the amount of children in the programs and the number of staff.. how do they keep an eye out ? My kids are 5 and 8. If anyone has any comments, I would be very greatful. Thank you in advance. :confused:

[cb at sea]

They are very safe there- that's why you haven't heard of little ones missing on the ships--it's because it's only the adults who act stupid and fall off!

Really, tho--they are trained in child-care, CPR, etc... The kids stay in their own space so they can't fall over!!!! Don't worry--the kids (especially the 8 year old,) will LOVE it!!!!

[ChristieNJ]

I'm interested in this too.....next October will be the first time we bring our daughter on a cruise with us. At that time she'll be 8. I gotta tell you though, about a month ago when we booked this, I did a ton of research on AO. Every single person had NOTHING but good things to say about the program, so that's reassuring. I am very leary about leaving her without me around on a cruise ship too! :eek: She, on the other hand, is ecstatic about the program already. I told her about it and showed her pictures and everything.

But I also would like to know if they bring them out on deck. I mean, I know on a couple nights they take the to Johnny Rockets, so I know at some point they do leave the AO area. But more info would be greatly appreciated!! :)

[ChristieNJ]

CB - what ages are your kids?

[tazdeb]

Depending on the ship, AO is located in an inside area roughly the size of 4 school classrooms. Each area is broken down into age groups. In the front of this area is an arcade, in the rear is a teen area with outside access. This area is for teens only. Depending on the age of your child he/she is not allowed to leave these rooms once you check them in. The person who checks them in must comeback to get them out. Kids 12 and over can sign themselves in/out. 90% of the activities take place in these rooms with generally 2-3 counselors per 30 kids. If they do go out, to the sports court for instance it is by way of an inside stairway and the sports court is glass inclosed. My children have been on cruises since they were 4 yrs old and love AO. The first cruise we had we had a balconey and we took them out on it and taught them the dangers of playing, running, or horsing around by them. I also let them know that if we caught them doing any of the above they wouldn't be sitting the rest of the cruise if you know what I mean. Most of my expierience has been on the Voyager clas ships and never once did I worry about them in AO....TAZ

[dodygirl]

Phew.. thank you so much taz & cb... I really appreciate you reassuring me. I am so excited but yes nervous too. I cannot wait to see all the fun things to do and I hope the kids love it. Thank you!:)

[bouhunter]

Our 7 year old loved it last winter. After checking it out and putting her in the first time, we had no concerns at all.:) Everytime we checked her in or out there was a staff member sitting at the door or very close to it. I doubt the kidds could get out if they tried.

 

She loved it so much she wanted to stay on the ship in Cozumel. Mom and Dad were able to go shopping and party at Carlos & Charlies for the day:D :D

[CaptData]

Hi, I just returned from Freedom of the Seas. My granddaughters Sam (9) and Trinity (5) both went to AO. They did not want to leave.

 

For the 5 year old my daught was given a cell phone that either group could contact her if the children wanted to leave or had a problem. Both formal nights they go to JR but you must sign up before noon for it. The older group had a play time in the H2O zone but there was extra staff on hand for it. The younger one was involved in a Pirate parade where they walked throught the Promanda sing a song they learned. The whole time there was staff around the kids to etheir safety.

 

We allowed them to stay a little late on two nights, they had so much fun. The cost after 10PM is $5.00 per hour per child. They do break it into 1/2 hour segments. If you do not pick them at 10 PM they are considered to be in the late night party zone.

 

The H2O zone closed at 8pm every night so the kids had a safe place to play in AO. The older grandchild was even in the production show Once upon a time. Her first real stage experience. She loved it.

[mauraoel]

I am going on a family cruise in 3.5 weeks and wonder if anyone can shed some light on the AO program. I am so nervous about my kids and the railings etc...(my silly anxiety) I know I can keep an eye on them when they are with me... but how safe are the AO programs and the leaders of them ? Do they take them out on deck at all to play or do they let them get near the door to leave on their own? I worry that with the amount of children in the programs and the number of staff.. how do they keep an eye out ? My kids are 5 and 8. If anyone has any comments, I would be very greatful. Thank you in advance. :confused:

 

In order to get a job with the cruise line as a staff member of AO you must have a Bahcelor's Degree in Early Childhood. The Staff is great and the kids have a blast.

 

Maura

[ChristieNJ]

She loved it so much she wanted to stay on the ship in Cozumel. Mom and Dad were able to go shopping and party at Carlos & Charlies for the day:D :D

 

Bou - Was there a way for them to contact you if there was a problem??

[vator90]

Our expierience has been that they are extremely safe. The staff is well trained in dealing with children. Also, your child recieves a wristband that is colored to corespond with your muster station, so in case of an emergency, they know where to take them. Our children echo the same everyone else's does. They dont wanna leave once they get settled in. Children under a certain age cannot sign themselves out, and only people listed are allowed to sign your child out (typically you have to show your room card the first time or two). Have fun, enjoy, and let somebody else get the kids a snack.

[cesarrcabrera]

It is very safe... I've left my 10 yo daughter every time we go, and she just loves it.

 

I'm not sure, if the 8 yo have them; but the 10 yo kids do scavenger hunts on their own around the ship. However, if this is the case, you will see it on the schedule; and they go in groups of three.

 

The late night program is very good. They will have a chance to stay until 1:00 AM, and my daughter (as well as her friend traveling with us) decided to stay there till the end every night.

 

You sign in your kid, and authorize who will be able to sign them out. Therefore you are assured that they will be there when you go... Also, in the smaller kids' groups, they give the parents a pager to locate them in case it is required.

[FunCruiser56]

AO is one of the best things on the cruise for kids and parents..our sons loved it so much they did not want to do anything else! We always felt they were safe and having a great time. We could do fun adult things and go get them and have fun family times too.

Don't worry the counselers are highly trained and will make sure your kids have a great vacation.

 

Bev

[dorothyh]

I'm not sure, if the 8 yo have them; but the 10 yo kids do scavenger hunts on their own around the ship. However, if this is the case, you will see it on the schedule; and they go in groups of three.

.

 

When we were on Voyager, we needed to give permission for my 9 and 11 yo to go on the Scavenger Hunt, so it's not like they were just going off on their own without you knowing about it.

 

The kids in all the AO groups (11 and under) needed to be signed in and out of AO; it's not like they could sneak away all that easily. For the 9-11yo, you could give permission for your child to check himself in and out if you wanted to. It was a very organized program, and the counselors seemed very much in control - and the kids had a great time!!!

 

My kids loved AO, and are looking forward to it when we cruise in January- actually my now-13yo is pretty bummed to have moved up to the teen program!!!

[LOVINCRUIZIN]

Once you're there, you'll feel more comfortable with the though of leaving them. My kids have used OA a few times, including two weeks ago on the Explorer. My 4 year old absolutely LOVED the program. It is fun and safe. Don't stress over it - wait til you get there and you'll see how compenent the staff is and how wonderful the program is.

Have fun!

[ChristieNJ]

LOVINCRUIZIN - I know you!! ;)

Thanks for the words, everyone. I try not to be paranoid but in this day & age it's hard not to be!!!! :(

[TheBeachBears]

In order to "fall" off the ship, your child would need a catapult. The railing comes up to my chest on every ship I have been on and I am six feet tall.

 

AO is great and our daughter loves it every time she goes.

[MrsPete]

In order to "fall" off the ship, your child would need a catapult. The railing comes up to my chest on every ship I have been on and I am six feet tall.

Plus the railings are mostly "angled in" so that you'd have to climb up a negative incline to go over.

Plus the plexiglass is on the inside of the rail and the iron supports are on the outside; the point: there's no foothold.

Plus in most public places, even if you went overboard, you'd land on another deck, not in the ocean.

Plus on the "main pool deck", there's plexiglass from the floor to the ceiling (otherwise it'd be so windy that it wouldn't be enjoyable).

Your kids are safe.

 

An adult who was TRYING to go overboard could do it (with effort). An adult could THROW a person overboard. A drunk could do something foolish and go overboard. Kids don't go overboard.

 

The one place kids are not 100% safe is on your private balcony. Why? Because most of those balconies are stacked directly on top of one another, so someone who "went over" would, indeed, hit the water. Plus there are chairs right there to provide a "leg up" to a little one.

[TheBeachBears]

The one place kids are not 100% safe is on your private balcony. Why? Because most of those balconies are stacked directly on top of one another, so someone who "went over" would, indeed, hit the water. Plus there are chairs right there to provide a "leg up" to a little one.

 

Yes I would totaly agree with that. Most of the AO programs are self contained, I think on Voyager class they have there own pools? The staff was soild the two time we used it.

[Sharon1313]

I'll just add one more endorsement for the AO program. Our 4-year-old daughter absolutely loved it. I was also nervous about leaving her, but the pagers, wristbands, caring staff, etc. won me over. We felt comfortable enough that on our 5th day we left her on the ship while we went on a shore excursion.

 

One note: at least as of last year, the pagers did not work OFF the ship. We left the staff our cell phone number in case of an emergency when we left the ship. But we never had any problems.

[LOVINCRUIZIN]

Hi Christie - I know you, too!

 

GUess we'll have to tie the kids up INSIDE, not on the balcony:(

 

JK, everbody. Don't call the authorities!

[ChristieNJ]

Hi Christie - I know you, too!

 

GUess we'll have to tie the kids up INSIDE, not on the balcony:(

 

JK, everbody. Don't call the authorities!

 

I can already see you're my kind of girl!! hahahaha!!! ;)