Can parents go with the kids to the kids clubs?

[lovetovacation]

My dh is leery of leaving our dd4 in the kids camps on the ships. I think she would have fun. I had fun as a kid at the camps. So I was wondering, could we go and hang with her there, at least the first day to make sure she actually likes it? Thanks.

[TeresaJ]

Not sure what cruise line you'll be on, but on Carnival they have an orientation the first night where parents can check out the camp with the kids. After that, the kids go without parents.

 

My daughter who is 4 and has never gone to daycare loved the camp. I too was leary at first but I felt that she was in a fun, safe environment when she was there.

[lovetovacation]

That's good to know, I didn't realize that. Thanks.

 

Does Disney do that too?

[brenderlou]

Sure you can. We have sailed on Royal Caribbean and Century and both times I have seen parents in the camp while the kids get use to their surroundings. Also, the first day of the cruise the kids camp usually have a open house so you can register your child, meet the counselors and hang out and play. It's a great time to have your children go and experience the camp with you so when you do drop them off, they have been there before

Luckily, our 4 yr old daughter actually pushes us out the door and says "see you later" when we drop her off :D

You can always peek in as well to see if she's doing ok which I'm sure she will. I saw all the kids had a great time....hope you have the same experience. It's a great program and give you and dh some great alone time while the kids have a blast.....gotta love cruising!!!!

[chrystine]

On Carnival, definitely no. You can not even enter the facilities normally except on the first day before the programmed activities officially begin. They have a half door and they will allow your child in once you sign them in and then call your child when you arrive to pick him/her up. A few times we were allowed in during late night babysitting if our son fell asleep to come carry him but that was even rare. The counselor would usually wake him and he would stagger to the door. This is all for security purposes.

 

Other cruiselines' programs we have used seemed to be a tad more relaxed, allowing parents to come in when they drop their kids off and pick them up. However, I am not sure if they would allow a parent to stay with their child for an extended period of time during regularly scheduled activities.

 

My advice, spend some time with you daughter at the camp when it is opened on embarkation day for touring and at sign-ups/orientation that first night. If she seems interested, drop her off the first sea day and if she cries for an extended period of time, the staff will page or call you to pick her up. She will probably love it though.

[timothy998]

On our HAL cruise last month we did the orientation with DS 3, DD 7 & DS 10. They got to meet the counselors and explore the spaces while we completed paperwork. The kids don't do daycare at home so Club HAL was a great treat for them and they begged us to let them go even when it was closed. That said, we were never turned away when we stopped in to check on them the first couple of days, and the kids pretty much pushed us out the door, anyway...this was "their" cruise, too! Just let your kid(s) get going first thing and play it by ear, but if they're anything like our kids, they'll have a blast. Happy cruising!

[ceilidh1]

I think I read on here that Princess allows you to hang with your kids at the camps? I sure hope so, as my little one isn't old enough for camp (she's 2) but I really want to be able to use the facilities with her. She is old enough to be able to go and join in, but not alone. Anyone know for sure?

[Kerry's Girls]

I think I read on here that Princess allows you to hang with your kids at the camps? I sure hope so, as my little one isn't old enough for camp (she's 2) but I really want to be able to use the facilities with her. She is old enough to be able to go and join in, but not alone. Anyone know for sure?

 

Yes, for sure on Princess one parent is allowed to join their child in the camp. I have always found other parents with their toddlers there as well, so we have a ball.

 

Best,

Mia

[ceilidh1]

Awesome! Thanks, Mia...

[bracy]

We are going on our first DCL cruise in 2 weeks and here is what i have read about this issue. If you have a toddler who is not old enough for the kids club you can take them in and stay with them, so i assume you can stay in the club with an older child as well. DCL also gives out pagers at the beginning of the cruise so they can page you if your child wants to leave or has a problem. You may want to post this on the DCL web page also.

[Takemetoaspa]

We were on the Disney Magic last year. I called and asked Disney about this twice and got 2 different answers.

Once on board they let us stay for a few minutes to make sure she was ok, but they won't allow you to stay very long in there. Our daughter had just turned 3 at the time and was shy. She enjoyed some of the activities in the kids club, but we did get paged once that she wanted us. For us it was good to use for short amounts of time 1-1.5 hours at most. We would chek the schedule to see which activities she would enjoy. Have fun.

[crusinmama06]

Generally, no, parents are not allowed to hang out. On some cruise lines, Disney being one of them, they do allow parents into the camp. I don't know if they limit it "officially" but parents are allowed into the camp to see if their child is comfortable.

 

Tell your hubby that we have all been there. We have all worried about the kids in the camp. Safety wise, there should be no concerns. The camps are very safe.

 

The best thing to do with the Disney Camp, do a drop off, then walk away withtout looking back. ;) THEN, a few minutes later when she is playing, come back and look in the windows. :D Dad will feel better cause he can look in and see that she is ok.

[Peace2U]

We could visit our child on Princess but not on Royal Caribbean. It just depends on the cruise line I guess.

[lamolesky]

On Norwegian it is open door for all to check out on the first day. You go in with the kids and look around, show them all the cool things they will be doing. Let them get used to it while you talk to the counselors and register the child(ren). Then go back the first night and tell them that you will be back in a few minutes, give them about 15 minutes to see how much fun they will have. Then go back to get them and they won't want to leave! My first one (he was 4) cried the first night so we left and tried the next day, once he saw something he wanted to play with, he left and stayed. The second one (2yrs) walked in, looked around and turned to me and said, "bye ma" and walked away. So don't get nervous about it or the kids will pick up on it. They will have fun and so will you!