So how do you keep a little one entertained and happy on board a cruise ship?

Firstly we should explain that we are lucky to have a very confident and social 2 1/2 year old. So on embarkation day, we headed up to the children’s club, initially out of curiosity having previously never ventured to these areas and also to see what was on offer.

Being organised I had pre-downloaded the registration form prior to boarding and completed it at home, this was not necessary though as the staff had plenty available and were more than happy to sit with you to help complete. We found the staff to be very friendly and happy to explain all the facilities all whilst our daughter was having the time of her life in the soft play. They also provided a free gift for signing up – a reef lunchbox which we thought was a nice touch.

 

What did surprise me however was that for our cruise they had decided to merge the 2 age groups so 2-4 and 5-8 year olds combined!

I was reassured by the robust process in place for signing children in/out and the necessary security. We were able to have up to 4 people signed up as responsible adults so it meant we were able to sign up Aunty and Grandad who were travelling in our party. Why might this be necessary – we’ll both myself and husband are prone to seasickness so in that circumstance, it would be good to have others.

The children’s club is open on sea days for morning session starting at 10 am, afternoon at 2pm and evening at 6pm. On port days they start from 2pm.

On our first morning, we ventured up at 09.45 ahead of the morning session. Earlier than scheduled start time but we had been strongly advised places available on a 1st come 1st served basis and sea days tend to be the busiest. Our little one was always happy to go in – she enjoyed soft play, colouring, and singing. On observation, they had stations planned out each time with puzzles, games, art and play-doh.

A reassurance to us was the fact the staff were willing to support our little one with toileting. With her being newly potty trained we took up with us her usual change bag with wipes, spare underwear and change of clothes.

The strangest thing for us was having a couple of hours as adult time – what do we do? what are we going to talk about? We took full advantage and headed to the Glasshouse on 1 occasion and had a gin flight in the Planet bar. Neither places being ideal with a noisy toddler in tow.

Does it work for everyone – perhaps not but is it worth a try – absolutely. The children do not need to stay for the whole session, you can sign your child out whenever you like so if half an hours is what works then that is fine. If you are worried you can call the children’s club at any time to check in and in some instances they can provide you with a pager to alert you if you are needed back. The activities are tailored to the different age groups and we observed lots of staff on hand.

In addition to the children’s club, there are family activities highlighted in the cruise planner. These include the live lounge early evening for a children’s disco or family bingo if the sea air hasn’t tired them out enough ….