Robin & Dan Posted May 16, 2007 #26 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Does Carnival have a similar 'strike' program? This is disturbing to me. While we don't 'pay' for kids camp on top of the cruise, except for slumber party, we pay for it, and unless my child is harmful to another child or to the counselors or destructive, etc... I expect for him/her to be able to go to kids camp. Not wanting to participate in an activity, a potty accident, crying because they were harmed, are these really reasons to have a child not come back to kids camp? I know a child not wanting to participate in a new activity can be disturbing to the rest of the group but isn't this their vacation too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted May 16, 2007 Author #27 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Does Carnival have a similar 'strike' program? Not that we ever heard about! That was my "bad" Gabriella's last cruise Carnival Elation in December. That's what I kept telling the counselor at AO. That Gab was JUST at Camp Carnival in December and they had NO problems with her. And the counselor said that's because "Camp Carnival isn't as activity centered, she would be free to run around more." :rolleyes: Gabriella spent MUCH more time at Camp Carnival than AO that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
addicted2cruizin Posted May 20, 2007 #28 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I am sorry to hear about your bad experiences with AO. My children have been in AO on several ships starting at age 4. I do not remember anything about the strike system. We have alway had posive experiences where my children refused to leave AO at closing time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostie Posted May 23, 2007 #29 Share Posted May 23, 2007 WOW! That's so harsh. Guess I'll be leaving RCCL off my list for good now. I already had reservations as we wanted to sail them last summer and they wanted to charge for my son, who would have been 8months even though he couldn't partake in any of the activities, use the pool, I was even told that out of the UK I would have had to bring my own food for him! Not good RCCL, not good at all. Ditto, I was trying to book an 8 nighter on RCCL and they wanted to charge me ADULT fares for a 6 & 2 y/old. I would have to pay over $6000 for the four of us for an INSIDE CABIN. My 2 y/o would not even be able to participate and they don't eat as much as adults so why do I have to pay an adult fare? The lady said "that's the way it is." I said I'll go with NCL then and my 2 y/o CAN participate in their program. She said "OK". NCL was $4000 and that's for a 14 night back to back cruise. With all the bad press about RCCL's kids program, I'm glad I chose NCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcheme Posted May 23, 2007 #30 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Just thought I would add to the voices of those who have had very positive experiences with RCCL and children. We've been on three cruises with RCCL with our son, starting at age 3. I don't remember much being said about the "strike system", but I can understand that they are not able to tolerate certain behaviors. Seems like a few of you have had experiences with bad AO staff members, which is unfortunate. I can understand the idea of giving strikes for potty accidents, as they state up front that the children must be potty trained, and they are not equipped to be dealing with diapers, changes, helping kids wipe themselves, etc. I can also understand them not accepting a child into the "pirate parade" if he/she doesn't show up on time. As tragic as it may have seemed for the child at the time, they always (at least on the cruises I've been on) give you plenty of notice of the schedules and when you need to be where, if you want to participate in certain activities. I deal with a lot of scheduling of things in my job. I don't deal with children, but still, when you set deadlines for something, you always have people wanting you to make an exception for them. And when you start making exceptions, people start to expect it and take advantage of your bending the rules. You usually eventually have to say NO to them, even if it may seem harsh. Now I do think they should be somewhat lenient, if you were say a minute or two late, but I think they should draw the line at some point. Anyway, my son has had a ball in Adventure Ocean on three cruises now, and we've got another one planned in February. I have no worries at all about cruising w/ RCCL w/ kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted May 23, 2007 Author #31 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Ditto, I was trying to book an 8 nighter on RCCL and they wanted to charge me ADULT fares for a 6 & 2 y/old. I would have to pay over $6000 for the four of us for an INSIDE CABIN. My 2 y/o would not even be able to participate and they don't eat as much as adults so why do I have to pay an adult fare? The lady said "that's the way it is." I said I'll go with NCL then and my 2 y/o CAN participate in their program. She said "OK". NCL was $4000 and that's for a 14 night back to back cruise. With all the bad press about RCCL's kids program, I'm glad I chose NCL. Yep that's actually the case with ALL cruiselines except Disney and NCL. You actually pay a reduced "3rd and 4th" passenger rate. But you're right, it is the same for adults as it is for children on Carnival, RCCL, HAL, etc. Have a great cruise! I would love to do 14 nights. Feel free to bring me along and I can babysit! :D ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmgaritty Posted May 23, 2007 #32 Share Posted May 23, 2007 I can understand the idea of giving strikes for potty accidents, as they state up front that the children must be potty trained, and they are not equipped to be dealing with diapers, changes, helping kids wipe themselves, etc. I can also understand them not accepting a child into the "pirate parade" if he/she doesn't show up on time. As tragic as it may have seemed for the child at the time, they always (at least on the cruises I've been on) give you plenty of notice of the schedules and when you need to be where, if you want to participate in certain activities. I deal with a lot of scheduling of things in my job. I don't deal with children, but still, when you set deadlines for something, you always have people wanting you to make an exception for them. And when you start making exceptions, people start to expect it and take advantage of your bending the rules. You usually eventually have to say NO to them, even if it may seem harsh. Now I do think they should be somewhat lenient, if you were say a minute or two late, but I think they should draw the line at some point. Anyway, my son has had a ball in Adventure Ocean on three cruises now, and we've got another one planned in February. I have no worries at all about cruising w/ RCCL w/ kids. Alcheme, I agree with you....the line has to be drawn somewhere.... As I Mom, I appreciate the strike system. Since your child should be potty-trained for RCL's, an accident should be a strike - it is unsanitary for other children. It has probably been implemented for those parents that have presented a child as potty-trained when they truly weren't. I think behavior should be appropriate for the venue, if a child cannot behave and is disruptive to the group, they should receive a strike. It does sound that the rules weren't necessarily applied in the appropriate fashion for Cruisinmama I would find it hard to believe that a cruise line doesn't have a discipline system, for their protection and the protection of the children participating in the program. Both Princess and HAL have a "code" that they follow if a child is a behaviour problem. Is it 3 strikes? I'm not sure, but on both cruises with my daughter, an individual on each cruise was asked not to come back to the program. One for repetitive biting, the other for hitting. As a Mom, I was glad that children were protected and shielded from children that weren't ready to be on their own, whether it was a new environment or their normal behavour. Anyway, have a great day :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmgaritty Posted May 23, 2007 #33 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Yep that's actually the case with ALL cruiselines except Disney and NCL. You actually pay a reduced "3rd and 4th" passenger rate. But you're right, it is the same for adults as it is for children on Carnival, RCCL, HAL, etc. Have a great cruise! I would love to do 14 nights. Feel free to bring me along and I can babysit! :D ;) HAL does have an infant rate (I'm not sure if its under 12 or 24 months) and a third/fourth passenger rate. I think they do restrict the number of infants on a sailing. It wasn't something I expected on HAL! Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted May 23, 2007 #34 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Why shouldn't a child or infant be charged the regular 3rd or 4th pax rate? Any third or fourth pax will be in the cabin - requiring additional cleaning, towels and bedding. All but the youngest infants will eat some food (and most will throw a bit more on the floor than the average adult pax, requiring additional cleaning and maintenance in the dining rooms). Most importantly, the child is a pax as far as taxes and port fees are concerned. The child is also a pax as far as maximum capacity is concerned - your 6MO on a capacity sailing of a ship may be displacing another 'adult' 3rd or 4th pax. While your child does not eat as much, your child will not drop as much in the casino, will not buy as many bingo cards, and will not purchase as many fru-fru alcholic drinks at wildly inflated prices - so displacing an adult pax will have a healthy impact on the ship's bottom line for that cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry's Girls Posted May 23, 2007 #35 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Ditto, I was trying to book an 8 nighter on RCCL and they wanted to charge me ADULT fares for a 6 & 2 y/old. I would have to pay over $6000 for the four of us for an INSIDE CABIN. My 2 y/o would not even be able to participate and they don't eat as much as adults so why do I have to pay an adult fare? quote] I do understand the cruise line's point of view - one of the enjoyable things about a cruise is that there is one price no matter what you're going to participate in. When I cruised with my husband when he was ill, he also couldn't eat or enjoy any of the acitivities, but it was worth it to us to just spend the time together relaxing at sea. I feel the same way now when I cruise with my twin toddlers - it's worth it even though I pay the full fare for one of them and the 3rd person fare for the other. Also, as others have mentioned - my girls don't spend much in the casino, so the cruise line has to make up for that! Best, Mia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katerkat Posted May 29, 2007 #36 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Does RCCL take just-under-3s in the AO? My son will be two months shy of his third birthday on the cruise... I was thinking about letting him go (if they let him) because he LOVES other kids. He's starting a day(care) camp this summer and will be going to "school" three days a week in the fall, so he'll have the type of experience...but he is VERY active and I don't know how well he'll do in seating activities. (One of the reasons we're sending him to "school" and "camp"!) I know they have to be potty trained, which we're hoping to get done this summer as well. (It helps that his two best friends are already trained and he wants to do everything they do!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostie Posted May 29, 2007 #37 Share Posted May 29, 2007 No they do NOT. Have to be three. They will know his age when you board so don't bother trying to lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted May 29, 2007 Author #38 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Does RCCL take just-under-3s in the AO? My son will be two months shy of his third birthday on the cruise... I was thinking about letting him go (if they let him) because he LOVES other kids. He's starting a day(care) camp this summer and will be going to "school" three days a week in the fall, so he'll have the type of experience...but he is VERY active and I don't know how well he'll do in seating activities. (One of the reasons we're sending him to "school" and "camp"!) I know they have to be potty trained, which we're hoping to get done this summer as well. (It helps that his two best friends are already trained and he wants to do everything they do!) Yeah sorry but they won't take kids under 3 at all. This seems to be one rule they do stick to. And the pp is right, they do have all of the kid's ages listed. And to be honest, after having that experience with Gab. I wouldn't want my 2 year old in AO. The activities would just too much for an active 2 year old. Sorry :( And Gabriella does attend preschool too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted May 30, 2007 #39 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Yeah sorry but they won't take kids under 3 at all. This seems to be one rule they do stick to. . . This rule is based upon the liability insurance the line has. RCCI coverage stipulates a minimum age of three. They could purchase different coverage, but it would impact their bottom line. There are health and sanitation codes that prohibit them from dealing with kids who are not potty trained. If they wanted to change that, they would need to change the facilities in AO. Since most children are not fully trained until they are around 3YO, it really doesn't make sense for RCCI to purchase more expensive liability coverage for a very small number of additional children. It's simple cost benefit analysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katerkat Posted May 31, 2007 #40 Share Posted May 31, 2007 No they do NOT. Have to be three. They will know his age when you board so don't bother trying to lie. :confused: I don't recall saying I was planning on lying about his age. Like Michele said, though, it doesn't sound like something he'd do well in right now, though he might be different in nine months. (But still just shy of the age requirements.) Oh well, he'll have his little cousin to play with and he'll probably live in the pool anyway. (ONLY if he's fully potty trained by fall, of course!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostie Posted May 31, 2007 #41 Share Posted May 31, 2007 :confused: I don't recall saying I was planning on lying about his age. Like Michele said, though, it doesn't sound like something he'd do well in right now, though he might be different in nine months. (But still just shy of the age requirements.) Oh well, he'll have his little cousin to play with and he'll probably live in the pool anyway. (ONLY if he's fully potty trained by fall, of course!) I didn't mean for that to sound rude, I'm sorry I was so blunt. I just ran into the same problem with Disney cruise line (my DS is 2 also). He is big for his age and I was going to try and sneak him in but my mom told me they'll know his age and when we board. I decided on NCL instead b/c they take kids 2 and up. I'll try Disney when he is older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ufgrad98 Posted June 12, 2007 #42 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Hi. We are just back from the FOS June 3rd sailing. My son, who is 4 years old (his birthday was the first day of sailing), absolutely loved the kids program. I was concerned about the whole strike system thing, but he didn't get a single one. We did casually ask if Marlene was there and she was still there but she did not appear to be working with the 3-5 year group at all. I saw her face painting the first night and then we never saw her again, so I assume she was with the older kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted June 12, 2007 Author #43 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Hi. We are just back from the FOS June 3rd sailing. My son, who is 4 years old (his birthday was the first day of sailing), absolutely loved the kids program. I was concerned about the whole strike system thing, but he didn't get a single one. We did casually ask if Marlene was there and she was still there but she did not appear to be working with the 3-5 year group at all. I saw her face painting the first night and then we never saw her again, so I assume she was with the older kids. THANKS for the update about Marlene! I wondered if she would be working with the young ones. Glad your son had such a great time! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaysue Posted June 18, 2007 #44 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Great thread - did not know about the RCL strike system Thanks jaysue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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