Kids clubs, age by age
If you are the grandparent doing the childcare, this is the section of the ship that decides whether you get an afternoon to yourself. Here is what each line publishes, including the rule that catches families with toddlers.
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Cruise kids clubs are complimentary and generally take children aged 3 to 17. Celebrity's Camp at Sea covers ages 3 to 12 and requires children to be fully potty trained, with no nursery for under-threes. Royal Caribbean runs a nursery for ages 6 to 36 months at a published $9 to $12 an hour.
Kids clubs are free on every major line, and they are the reason a multigenerational cruise works at all. But the age bands, the hours and the exceptions differ enough to matter, and one rule in particular ends holidays before they start.
The published age bands
| Royal Caribbean | Adventure Ocean, ages 3–17, with different activities by age group. Teens 13–17 get their own complimentary space, named Social100, Social020, Living Room or Fuel depending on the ship. |
|---|---|
| Celebrity | Camp at Sea, ages 3–12 only, split into Shipmates (3–5), Cadets (6–9) and Captains (10–12), plus a separate teens club. |
| Princess | Three named spaces: ages 3–7, ages 8–12 in The Lodge, and 13–17 in The Beach House. |
Under threes: this is where lines really differ
Royal Caribbean is the one with a nursery. Royal Babies & Tots takes children from 6 to 36 months, on select ships, at a published $9 to $12 hourly fee. It is the only paid children's service any of these lines publishes a price for up front.
Celebrity has nothing for under-threes. They publish that Camp at Sea is "for ages 3-12 only" and that they do not offer nursery services, while the minimum age to sail is 6 months. So on Celebrity, a baby or a two-year-old is with you all week. Plan the holiday around that rather than discovering it on day two.
Princess publishes that "Children younger than 3 can explore our centers with an adult" — so you go in with them, which is a nice thing but is not childcare.
Hours, and the evening question
Princess publishes the clearest hours of the three: complimentary 9:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 10:00pm. That midday gap is real, and it is lunchtime, so plan for it.
Evening group babysitting on Princess runs 10pm to 1am for ages 3 to 12, at $5 an hour per child. That is a published price, which is rarer than it should be.
Celebrity publishes that Camp at Sea runs daily on port and sea days, with extra hours at lunch and dinner when the ship is docked, and late-night sessions 10pm to 1am that can be bought in the app before the cruise or onboard, per hour per child. They do not publish the amount.
Royal Caribbean publishes a capacity limit rather than a timetable: on one of their regional pages, only 15 children at a time in the room for ages 3–11, and a maximum of 8 in the nursery. If you have your heart set on a particular session, turn up early.
Which line for which child
- A baby or toddler under three: Royal Caribbean, because it is the only one of the three with a published nursery. Book the nursery hours the day you board.
- Three to twelve, potty trained: any of them. Princess publishes the clearest hours and the cheapest published evening care.
- Three but not potty trained: not Celebrity. Check with Royal Caribbean about the nursery instead.
- Teenagers: Royal Caribbean and Princess both publish dedicated teen spaces. Celebrity's Camp stops at 12 with a separate teens club.
What I would actually do on day one
Walk the children to the club before you need it. Every line does an open house on embarkation afternoon. A child who has already seen the room, met somebody and found the good toys goes back willingly on day two. A child dropped into a strange room on a sea day does not.
And register them properly at that open house, rather than at the moment you want to go to dinner.
Questions I get asked
Is the kids club really free?
The daytime programmes are, on all three lines. Nurseries and late-night sessions are charged.
Can I leave a three-year-old for the whole day?
Within the published hours, and remembering Princess's midday gap. Capacity limits mean a place is not guaranteed at a given moment.
What if my grandchild will not settle?
They will come and find you. That is what the phone in the cabin and the app messaging are for.
Do the clubs run in port?
Celebrity publishes daily sessions on both port and sea days, with extra hours when docked. Princess publishes that the programme is complimentary during port days.
What about a child with additional needs?
Ask the line directly before you book, and put the request in writing. That is a SailsAnyway subject more than an AI Cruise Granny™ one.
Where these facts come from
- Royal Caribbean, children and teen activities
- Royal Caribbean, cruises for kids and teens
- Celebrity Cruises, Camp at Sea FAQ
- Princess, youth programmes FAQ
- Princess, Camp Discovery
Ports change their rules and their prices. Check the official pages above before you sail.
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If stairs, gangways and tenders are a problem, there is a whole section of this site for you. Sails Anyway covers accessible and limited-mobility cruising properly instead of squeezing it into a paragraph: what each pier actually asks of you, which tender ports are a problem and why, the special-needs forms and the deadlines that catch people out, and how to choose a cabin you can move around in.
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