dawn kids club - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

ilivewithmonkeys · 02-01-2008, 09:53 AM

Any recent Dawn cruisers with input? My kids are 9 and 12. thanks, M

sue miller · 02-01-2008, 10:31 AM

Norwegian's fun and flexible Kid's Crew and Teen Club programs are designed for kids from age 2 to 17. The well-trained counselors offer an age-appropriate array of fun-filled options so kids can get as much excitement out of the cruise as their parents do.
NCL's Kid's Crew Program
Activities are organized according to age group.
Junior Sailors (ages 2-5)
Junior Sailors are amused by storytelling, T-shirt painting, arts and crafts, face painting, magic shows, and Circus at Sea. Outdoor and indoor games provide endless hours of fun.
First Mates (ages 6-8)
Onboard NCL, First Mates participate in wacky cooking classes, decorative T-shirt painting, sing-alongs, and poolside root beer float parties. The "Kid's Crew" program also coordinates on-shore activities including a treasure hunt and a sandcastle building competition on NCL's private island.
Navigators (ages 9-12)
Navigators test their skill at Sega and video games and search for treasures on scavenger hunts. Evenings are filled with pajama parties, movies and camp-outs with flashlights and tents.
Teens (ages 13-17)
NCL entertains Teens throughout the daytime and into the evening. By day, Teens enjoy pool parties, volleyball and basketball, the Newlymet Game, and trivia contests. Evenings are filled with NCL's Broadway-style shows and spectaculars, line dancing, teen disco (not available on all ships), and special theme parties.
Program and age groups are subject to change.
Kid's Crew Program
The "Kid's Crew" program includes a plethora of supervised games, T-shirts for design painting, and a Mom and Dad's Night Out. Children receive their own Cruise News detailing daily events. A complimentary chef's hat, also included in the program, is essential for creative cooking classes where children can make decorative pizzas or cookies. NCL's autograph/scrapbooks make perfect mementos of the kids' experiences and friendships. Junior cruisers can even celebrate their birthdays on the high seas with NCL's special "Kid's Crew" birthday parties. NCL also offers eight delicious children's menus to tempt the most finicky eaters. And of course, there's always peanut butter and jelly on hand, just in case. The fleetwide program is available year-round and is free of charge.
Kid's Crew Staff
An exceptionally qualified staff of trained counselors run NCL's "Kid's Crew" program in a safe and secure environment. The staff attends special training courses on team and confidence building, communication skills, safety, and working with children who have special needs. Babysitting In addition to regularly scheduled hours on days at sea, including 7:00pm - 10:00pm, NCL's "Kid's Crew" program is available on port days for Group Sitting from 9:00am - 5:00pm, and every evening from 10:00pm - 1:00am for a nominal fee, providing children with even more occasions to enjoy the creative activities that have been specifically designed for them.

ilivewithmonkeys · 02-01-2008, 02:01 PM

I hope to find someone who has recently been onboard. We've sailed NCL before, my daughter met a friend and loved it, my son not so much. They won't be in the same age group this time. There was a little too much coloring for an active 6 year old last time.

ThatBrunette · 02-01-2008, 02:08 PM

M,

We're going to have to find a kid just coming off the boat and ask them. I am surprised at the lack of personal information about the kid's club. Promise me you, or your kids, will post a review about the club when you get back. My cruise isn't until June but, I'll post one, too! :-)

ilivewithmonkeys · 02-01-2008, 06:02 PM

I hope jimswims see this, because he cruised in the fall with kids, I think. If I remember correctly, your kids are younger than mine? I just read a new review on the "dark side" that had a 2 and a 5 year old, and her kids had a great time. Her kids really enjoyed the kids club, and the kids pool, so that's good news.
I promise to come back and tell all!!

jimswims · 02-01-2008, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilivewithmonkeys

I hope jimswims see this, because he cruised in the fall with kids, I think. If I remember correctly, your kids are younger than mine? I just read a new review on the "dark side" that had a 2 and a 5 year old, and her kids had a great time. Her kids really enjoyed the kids club, and the kids pool, so that's good news.
I promise to come back and tell all!!

Hello,
I just saw this post and I will try to answer. I hope it helps. I may have to ask my 2 "experts" for more info.

I have been on the Dawn 2 times. The kids were with us in August and we were on the 2-day in October with friends and the kids stayed with my in-laws.

My kids are now 13 and 9 but were 12 and 9 when we cruised. There were lots of kids on the ship....I mean several hundred.

My daughter (9) says "the staff was really nice. We played lots of games and went into a ball pit. We did tee shirt drawing, had a pillow fight and pajama party on the last night. We played soccer, dodge ball, word games, and other fun stuff where you moved around a lot. We also did a pirate parade and had a talent show where we got to sing for the parents."

My son (age 12) said that the Kids Crew is really cool. They also played games and moved around a lot. His group did a scavenger hunt. That is about all I could get from him.

Both said that they did see a movie or 2 but not too much sitting around. The Kids crew staff did take them to the show one night. They also had a late night pool dance party with the band by the pool just for kids. That was a lot of fun.

My daughter and son both preferred the Kids Crew on the Dawn over the Spirit. They both really liked the Spirit Kids Crew too.

Please ask if you have any more questions. I will be glad to help and ask my experts!

jimswims · 02-01-2008, 10:05 PM

I forgot to mention that our kids did not use the Kids pool on the Dawn. They thought that it was way to little for them. It really was. The Spirit pool was great for them. The Dawn is much smaller and really geared to the young ones.

The arcade was also fine on the Dawn. It was huge on the Spirit however.

We really had a great cruise on the Dawn. We loved the ship and the AB suite was a great cabin for our family.

We were booked on the Spirit this year but cancelled and re-booked on the Carnival Miracle. This will be our kids 5th cruise and first on a line other than NCL. We will be back on NCL later in the year and summer 2009.

ilivewithmonkeys · 02-02-2008, 11:19 AM

Yeah! real kids off the Dawn!!
I'm happy to hear they thought the kid's crew on the Dawn was better.

Our last night on the Spirit, my son didn't even want to go, but after the program started, he decided he wanted to go to do the tshirt thing. The staff was not very kind to him (in front of us!) they were finishing that activity, and acted like it was a big deal to let him come in and give him a shirt. He was only 6, and his feelings were hurt.

HUGE mistake on the final night when Mama Bear is standing there prepared to tip you big money.

Lucky for them, DH is not a Mama Bear, and pointed out that this sailing was filled with kids, (it was Easter) as was the previous one, and they were obviously exhausted, so they still got their big money. (minus a teeny bit, after all they hurt my cub!!)

So, back to the Dawn. My kids loved the arcade on the Spirit, it was huge! How big is the one on the Dawn? Half the size? Did it take real quarters or tokens? (enquiring minds need to know!) My son is thrilled to hear they played dodgeball and soccer, 2 of his favorites! I read in a review somewhere that there is chess on one of the upper decks. Did you see this? I'm guessing it's a chess set tucked somewhere? (DH and DS love chess)

Did your kids swim in the regular pool? It's saltwater, right?

Thanks so much for the help! Mary

cruisinstacy · 02-02-2008, 11:30 AM

I would love to hear what someone has to say about the 3 - 5 yr olds. Our son will be 4 at the time of sailing and we are trying to decide between NCL Dawn and Carnival Liberty.

jimswims · 02-02-2008, 11:41 AM

Hello Mary,

I would not have been happy with the Kids Crew staff either if they did this my one of my kids!

My son says that he thought that the arcade was about half the size of the Spirit's. He said that the games took tokens and quarters (I think he does not really remember so saying both was his answer, lol!!!).

The pool was salt water and the kids swam in it frequently. They are used to salt water, we live less than 1000 yards from the atlantic ocean. I did not think that the pool was overly salty.

There is a giant chess set on the deck above the pool deck on the side. I think that I remember it being near where the Star Bar and Cagney's is.

Any more questions, ask away, I will try to answer.