What is childrens policy for siblings-plz help

[smiseel]

I'm planning a cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I have 2 grandchildren. Their ages are 6 and 8. According to written policy, the children would have to be in 2 different age restricted camps. I would like to keep the girls together. The TA explained that I would have to take this up with the people onboard the ship. I won't take the cruise if I can't keep them together. Has anyone else had this problem and if so, were you able to resolve it?

Thanks,

Jane

[karatemom2]

Princess is very strict about the age requirements and children are not allowed to move up into higher age groups. They do seem willing to allow older children to move down to a younger group so the 8 year old might be allowed to go with her sister to the younger group but you would need to request that when you register them onboard. I'm not sure there is a way of getting an absolute answer before you cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree they will not make an exception to this onboard. :)

[Familycruzer11]

They are strict about going "up" as previous poster has said, but might be flexible about going down an age group. The groups are:

"Princess Pelicans" (ages 3-7)

"Shockwaves" (ages 8-12),

 

Depending on when you go, if there are lots of kids on board, there is a good chance the girls will make lots of friends in their age groups. We've never had a problem with this and have kids in different groups.

 

I've yet to meet the kid who didn't have a great time on a Princess cruise (there may be some.. .just never met one ;) ).

 

If you do excursions and such, the kids club may only be a few hours a day anyway...

[DrivesLikeMario]

We had a similar problem. Our youngest son was just 4 weeks shy of being 8 yrs. old & was not able to go up to the next higher group to be with his brother & the other kids in that age group. We followed Princess' rules as told to us by the program coordinator who was not willing to bend from them AT ALL. After trying the 4-7's and being miserable, we were resigned to the fact that he was just going to skip the program for that cruise.

 

When dropping off our older son at his program, the camp counselors for the 8-12 yr. old group asked us to let our younger son be in their group because they had very few kids & needed another one to even out the teams. They were really happy to have him, he got along great with the other kids and everyone was happy.

 

So - yes, they are very strict about the rules, but there are instances where the rules are a bit flexible, depending on the camp counselors.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I know that they will sometimes allow the kids to go down one age group so the 8 year old may be allowed to go in the younger group but they won't usually allow them to go up a group.

Honestly though, would the 8 year old want to be grouped with the 3 to 7 year olds? I know my kids wouldn't have wanted to do that at that age.

 

You won't be able to get a firm answer until you're on board. We're cruising over spring break with 3 seniors who are graduating. One is already 18 and the other two are turning 18 the day we disembark and 3 days after that and Princess won't tell us whether or not the 18 year old will be allowed to go into the teen club since she's still a senior in high school we have to wait until we're on board to find out the answer.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Carolyn - My teens have never seen them check ID or even ASK how old the teens are in that area. It's a very lax & laid back area. They do seem to like to get the 'kids' around 20 out of that area, but I've never seen them question those that are younger. Good luck - I hope it works out for you! ;)

[smiseel]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I truly appreciate it!

Jane

[rebeccalouise]

I doubt that your grandkids will be traumatized if they can't be together. In fact, the older one might like getting away from the younger one and doing age appropriate things. My son has readily gone to the kids programs on all the lines and loves them.

 

On the day of embarkation there is a meet and greet with the youth staff and they describe the programs. There is usually a free play time on the day of Embarkation with the parents (or in your case Grandparents) present. This helps the children to aclimate and to meet other kids their own age.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't worry yourself. All the lines have two groups, some are 3-6 or 3-7, and 7-9 or 8-12. That's just the cut off and most cruse lines (if not all) do abide by them.

 

Now we did a 14 night cruise on Celebrity in May of 2005 and there were only two kids in the 7-9 age group- so they just lumped the 3-6 in with the 7-9 but these two groups coexist in the Fun Factory on Celebrity (youth facility houses all the kids 9 and under)

 

So if you are doing a cruise off season- that may be the case with Princess- but I doubt it. The area for the 3-6 group on Princess has tiny little work tables and is very pre-school. The older kids are in a different room.

 

My son loved the kids program on Princess (he loves all of them) but after giving your dilema further thought- go with Celebrity because the 3-6 and 7-9 sign into the same facility and the kids will spend some of the time there together. If they go to dinner with the kids- both age groups are sit in the same area for dinner. So the two kids can eat together. I think Celebrity will be a better fit for you in this regard. I also think the 8 year old will have a blast with the older kids and vice versa. Once my tablemates (very shy) nine year old tried out the Fun Factory- she had the time of her life and wished she had joined days earlier.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Carolyn - My teens have never seen them check ID or even ASK how old the teens are in that area. It's a very lax & laid back area. They do seem to like to get the 'kids' around 20 out of that area, but I've never seen them question those that are younger. Good luck - I hope it works out for you! ;)

 

Thanks!

Our friends daughter will be thrilled if she can join her friend (she's traveling with them) and my son in the teen club. The almost 18 year old is too young for the nightclub so we were hoping they could hang together in the teen club.

[Colo Cruiser]

I know that they will sometimes allow the kids to go down one age group so the 8 year old may be allowed to go in the younger group but they won't usually allow them to go up a group.

Honestly though, would the 8 year old want to be grouped with the 3 to 7 year olds? I know my kids wouldn't have wanted to do that at that age.

 

You won't be able to get a firm answer until you're on board. We're cruising over spring break with 3 seniors who are graduating. One is already 18 and the other two are turning 18 the day we disembark and 3 days after that and Princess won't tell us whether or not the 18 year old will be allowed to go into the teen club since she's still a senior in high school we have to wait until we're on board to find out the answer.

 

 

They absolutley will not let an 18 year old in the teen club. Does not matter if she is in high school, she will be an adult. :)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Urrgggggg. My reply was vaporized!

 

Anyway, what I said was that I suggest you go ahead and book the cruise. When you get to the cabin on embarkation day, you'll find packets of info for the girls. Let them read them and I'm sure that any apprehension may disappear. And maybe there really isn't a problem about them being separated. After all, they are in different classes at school, unless they go to a tiny school or are homeschooled. Maybe the older girl doesn't want to hang with six year olds. And they'll see plenty of each other at meals and joint activities.

[Host CJSKIDS]

They absolutley will not let an 18 year old in the teen club. Does not matter if she is in high school, she will be an adult. :)

 

Hopefully they will be like Disney and since she is still in high school allow her in. We sailed Disney right after my daughter turned 18. They allowed her to go to the teen group or be in the areas for 18, but she had to pick one. She tried the teen club briefly and then the over 18 and opted for the over 18. Once she did that she was never allowed back in the teen club.

[Colo Cruiser]

Hopefully they will be like Disney and since she is still in high school allow her in. We sailed Disney right after my daughter turned 18. They allowed her to go to the teen group or be in the areas for 18, but she had to pick one. She tried the teen club briefly and then the over 18 and opted for the over 18. Once she did that she was never allowed back in the teen club.

 

This becomes a liability problem once they become an adult and I would not want any 18 year olds with my kids in those programs. But you can always try. :)

[Host CJSKIDS]

This becomes a liability problem once they become an adult and I would not want any 18 year olds with my kids in those programs. But you can always try. :)

 

It's not my daughter so it really isn't about me.

 

Why wouldn't you want an 18 year old that is a senior in high school (like many 18 year olds are) in with other teenagers in a teens club? They're together in school all day long and at various school events/parties so I don't really see the difference. Your kids would be in the club with my son who turns 18 years old 1 week after we return and our friends daughter's friend who turns 18 the day we disembark, isn't this the same thing? Frankly I'd rather have high school seniors in the teen club than in Skywalkers at night.

 

Again, it's not about my child since he's still under 18 for our cruise. I only hope that Caroline is allowed in since her friend she's taking with her and my son can go in. If not, the girls will have to find other things to occupy their time which I'm sure will bring some adults complaining that they're not in the teen club!

[Colo Cruiser]

It's not my daughter so it really isn't about me.

 

Why wouldn't you want an 18 year old that is a senior in high school (like many 18 year olds are) in with other teenagers in a teens club? They're together in school all day long and at various school events/parties so I don't really see the difference. Your kids would be in the club with my son who turns 18 years old 1 week after we return and our friends daughter's friend who turns 18 the day we disembark, isn't this the same thing? Frankly I'd rather have high school seniors in the teen club than in Skywalkers at night.

 

Again, it's not about my child since he's still under 18 for our cruise. I only hope that Caroline is allowed in since her friend she's taking with her and my son can go in. If not, the girls will have to find other things to occupy their time which I'm sure will bring some adults complaining that they're not in the teen club!

 

 

I understand what you are saying but there has to be a line drawn and 18 is it. What if they were 21 and still in high school (bad test scores), would it still be OK for the 21 year old male to be around a daughter? I think not. It does not matter. If you make an exception then it opens the door for all kinds of other incidents. :)

[cruisemom42]

I have cruised with my son through various age groups on Princess (he's now a teen). I have found them to always adhere to the age groups listed. Perhaps they may be flexible in some instances but I've NOT found that to be the case. (I'm fine with it, some others I've talked to while traveling weren't so happy.....my feeling is that a rule is a rule.)

 

If the OP goes, I think you should go with the expectation that they will be separated, rather than the hope that they won't be.

 

My experience with the teen club is that they aren't so lax as another cruiser experienced. My DS has always had to go (with me) on the first day and sign up. Then he has to sign in and out whenever he's doing the teen activities.

[Tennessee88]

Speaking from personal experience- When I turned 18 (last year) I cruised with a younger cousin who was still under 18 and they allowed me to go into the teen club- in fact they never even questioned if i was under 18.

 

The tendancy* for the older teens is to meet on the first or second night of the cruise in the teen club and then hang out together (not in the teen club) - so if they are being super strict and dont let her in- they will probably see a group of teens about their age hanging out around the ship and can meet them then.

 

Just my personal experience but if she isnt doing anything to cause problems (which im sure she wldnt be) then there wldnt be any reason for the staff to question her age

[DrivesLikeMario]

That's been what we've seen from first-hand experience too - they let those that are over 18 into the teen's club but absolutely not into the night club. They do check IDs as you walk into the night club and they are very strict about that, but not with the teen's club from what we've seen.

 

It could be that some counselors are more by-the-book than others. Maybe that's why there's a difference in opinion here. We've just never seen them check IDs for the teens club at all. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, it just hasn't been our experience. :)

[Desert star]

We had a different experience. Once my son turned 18 they would NOT allow him to be in there. They have a list of teens on board.

I think it is more of a liability thing, the same with the younger kids, we were told they book counselors based on the number of kids they have in each group. They have to have one per so many children, if you start moving kids it throws that ratio off.

I still think they should at least have a meet and greet type of thing for the 18-20 year old set. They kind of fall in the middle.

[Tina G]

OP, WHY do you want the girls to be kept together? Just curious. I was the older sibling who was always expected to "take care" of the younger ones. I grew to resent it, and I would have loved a program that separated me from my family responsibilities!:confused:

[Tennessee88]

We had a different experience. Once my son turned 18 they would NOT allow him to be in there. They have a list of teens on board.

I think it is more of a liability thing, the same with the younger kids, we were told they book counselors based on the number of kids they have in each group. They have to have one per so many children, if you start moving kids it throws that ratio off.

 

I still think they should at least have a meet and greet type of thing for the 18-20 year old set. They kind of fall in the middle.

 

On the last few cruises we have been on there is a meet and greet for 18-20 yr olds. I believe it was a party in skywalkers one of the first evenings. So they are trying something for that age group, but it is kind of hard since we are stuck in between per se.