Tell be about the kids clubs

[mjp0499]

I will be sailing with my 9 year old on the Sapphire Princess in November. Was wondering on experience and helpful hints.

[karatemom2]

I will be sailing with my 9 year old on the Sapphire Princess in November. Was wondering on experience and helpful hints.

 

We also have a 9 year old and we have been extremely impressed with the quality of the children's program on Princess. It is superior to any of the other lines we have traveled on, including Disney. The counselors are very engaging and the activities are fun and age appropriate. Your child will be in the Shockwaves group and they offer the California Science program for that age range. It is really excellent. The kids get to participate in fun experiments (even disect a squid!) and they learn while they are being entertained. On the day you board you and your child will receive a schedule of the daily activities in the club for your entire cruise which is really helpful in planning with your child the events and activities they don't want to miss. I'm sure your child will have a great time!

[Iamcruzin]

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess in May of 2006 with our two sons who were 10 and 13 at the time and our niece who was 5. All of them were with children of their own age group and they each had the time of their lives. I recall at one port we stopped at my SIL left my niece on board while we went ashore. My 10yr old son also dissected a squid. They made friends that they still keep in touch with via text messaging. The staff was great keeping the children entertained and since we went when school was still in session it was not over crowed so they got a lot of attention. They never ate dinner with us because they were always rushing to get back to their group. The only evidence that we have of the children being on this cruise with us are the pictures we took. As far as vacations go it was the best of both worlds. We will be sailing on CB this November and I am curious to see how things will play out . The boys are now 13 and 16 so they will be in the same group. Let’s just say they are not the best of friends at home.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My daughter really enjoys the kids' program. She was 7 when onboard the Sapphire for an Alaskan cruise. The one thing to note is that at the time you're going, in mid-November, there may not be a lot of kids onboard. Just something to be prepared for. There may be some homeschooled kids or some in year-round programs (but I think they usually have their break in October). More likely more kids would be going in late November during Thanksgiving week (fewer days to take off from school) or in late December.

 

My girl was on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Star Princess in February and was one of only three 5-yr-olds. The program was very pared down with fewer activities.

[3GR8Sons]

My sons were 8, 11, 13 on our last cruise (Coral Princess) and the older boys enjoyed some aspects of the kids club. They really liked the evening activities but were not as crazy about the things they did during the day. They are sports kids and were not interested in some of the crafty stuff (but my niece loved that stuff). They sometimes went to the basketball courts, or pool together during the day instead of the kids club.

 

At night they had a karaoke night, poker tournament, guitar hero tournament and other similar activities. My kids rushed through dinner to attend the events they liked. There is something for everyone.

 

I had them read through the schedule and identify the things they wanted to do with the kids club. We don't force them to use the kids club, but they wanted to go there quite a bit, especially at night (and for afternoon ice cream).

[mizLORInj]

My son and his friend were 17 on the Carib Princess 2 years ago. They had a blast. I saw them only when we happened upon the pizza station at the same time, and took excursions.

[napls2]

My kids have been on 3 princess cruises and one time they got to go make a fruit pizza with the head chef. They did not get to disect a squid, but have seen that on the website. When you get on the cruise they will put a packet for your child's age group telling you everything that they will be doing everyday. My kids pick and choose what they want to do. They are 11 and we have given them sign in/out privileges as long as they tell us where they are. T-shirt coloring every time, lots of games, ice cream parties, some sort of olympic contests, dancing, casino night. They usually come home with some sort of trinket or souvenier from the kids room. My kids started in the kids rooms when they were 9 and look forward to checking it out when they get there. They always make friends that they email after returning home.

[mjp0499]

Gald to hear that it is a quality program. Our first time cruising without the older kids to help to entertain. This makes me feel better.

[caribbean blue for me]

My little guy has been on 2 NCL and 1 Princess cruise. On Princess he LOVED the kid's club. He would rush us to get him there. On NCL we made him try it a few times but he had no interest in returning. I don't really know what the difference was to him but he definitely preferred princess.

 

Our little guy is 9 and our next cruise is Princess!