By: Alicia Harriman, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
The kids club area on Wonder of the Seas is one of the most exciting sections on the entire ship! With so many different activities to choose from and areas to explore, there is sure to be something for kids of all ages, ranging from 6 months old all the way to 17!! Let’s dive into all the options available to the younger sailors at sea!
Adventure Ocean Babies: This is for children 6-36 months old and is the only room within the kids club area that comes with cost associated with it. Open from 9:00 am-1:00 am, the pricing is $6 before 6:00 pm and $8 per child after 6:00 pm. The area only accommodates a certain number of kids, so reservations are strongly suggested based on demand. With that being said, if a walk-up spot is available, you can use it without a reservation. AO Babies boasts several cribs tucked into a quiet spot for napping, as well as many age appropriate toys to play with! An area known as the Play Place is also offered as an option for little ones and family to hang out together and read books, as well as play with toys.
Adventure Ocean Juniors: This spot is for kids 3-5 years old and who are fully potty trained. It is free up until 10:00 pm, at which time it becomes $10 per hour per child. Activities that are offered to this age group are slime, arts and crafts, Rock ‘n Roll Dance Night, and several other fun options!
Adventure Ocean Kids: This area is for kids 6-12 years old. It offers a space for children to hang out and watch movies and play cards, as well as a workshop center that allows them to participate in arts and crafts, science experiments, etc. There is also a Sports Center within AO Kids that has fun activities such as Dodgeball, foosball tables, checkers, basketball and so much more! Parents can give special permission for any child 9 years or older to check into the kids club without a parent present. Any child under this age, or one without written permission, must have a parent with them to sign in.
Social 100: This area is exclusively for ages 13-17 years old. It has a snack vending machine (activated with their sail card), a Teens Compass (that let’s them know what activities are happening that day and at what time), as well as several hang out lounges/couches and even more gaming stations and electronic gaming tables! The teens can come and go as they please, throughout the day, in order to take advantage of whichever activities they would like, such as karaoke, teens night out, pool parties, and sports center.
During Port Days, Adventure Ocean is open all day long and gives kids the option to stay on the ship if they do not want to participate in any of the excursions on land. Lunch and dinner are provided during this time as well. AO also offers something called My Time Dining which is a program that allows parents to drop off their kids between 6:30-6:45 pm on Level 3 of the Main Dining area and get taken to Adventure Ocean while the parents finish dinner in a more relaxed environment and not try to hurry and finish because the kids have been done for an hour already.
There is also a family activity every day at 5:00 pm that is aimed to help kids ease into the idea of Adventure Ocean and help them become more comfortable in the setting. Things that are offered during this time are family bingo, blacklight puppet show (in the Adventure Ocean Theater), arts and crafts and scavenger hunts-just to name a few!
An important note that I would also like to mention about Adventure Ocean is that they are 100% inclusive to all children onboard the ship! While they do not offer one-on-one services, all of the staff members within AO are Autism certified and will be ready and willing to accommodate any child’s needs in order to make them feel settled and peaceful at kids’ club. A deck phone can be provided to parents of children with special needs, which allows any of the staff members to get ahold of the parent should they need to come to AO for any reason to check-in with their child. Videos are also provided to families prior to sailing, to help prepare children for the fun that is waiting for them onboard the ship! Sensory bags are available to any child who may need some different forms of stimulation, such as fidget toys or hearing protectors. All staff members have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood development (or the like) and have at least 3 years’ experience of working with children.
No matter your child’s age, interests or level of needs, there are sure to be many things that they find exciting within the Adventure Ocean and Social 100 area of the Wonder of the Seas! Please reach out to Marvelous Mouse Travels for more information or to work with a travel agent.
