Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Line has an abundance of activities for kids of all different ages. The Youth Counselors aboard these “Fun Ships” run a program called “Camp Carnival”, which is planned for four different age groups. The toddlers (ages 2-5) enjoy finger painting, watching cartoons, arts and crafts, and puppet shows. There are also babysitting services at night for this age group. The Youth Counselors looking after these groups need to know how to change diapers, as many of these children may not be toilet trained. The Juniors (ages 6-8) take part in candy art, movie time, making their own sundaes, and pizza parties. The Intermediate group (ages 9-11) enjoy scavenger hunts, sports games, and arts and crafts, while the Teens (ages 12-15) can take part in social events such as dance competitions, talent quests, and sports tournaments. There is also a special shore excursion program designed for teens, where they can go ashore and explore exciting destinations with a Camp Carnival chaperone. There are also video games available as well as GameBoy rental. Carnival ships also have a shipboard dance club where the teens can mingle from 9:30 - 10:45pm, and then at 11:00pm, they can join the Youth Counselors for late-night activities such as movies, karaoke, and games out on the deck. Carnival will only employ the utmost energetic and enthusiastic individuals with experience with youth.

Costa Cruises

The extent of the Costa Children’s Program is dependent upon the number of children on each cruise. The groups are broken up into three groups: Kid’s Club (ages 3-6), Junior’s Club (ages 7-12), and Teen’s Club (ages 13-17). There are age-specific activities which are designed by the Youth Counselors. The Costa Atlantic and Costa Victoria Caribbean sailings offer a group baby-sitting service.

Crystal Cruises

Children’s activities onboard Crystal Cruises are determined by how many children sailing. Youth Counselors are responsible for three groups; 3-7 year olds, 8-12 year olds, and 13-17 year olds. The hours of operation is dependent on the itinerary and how many children onboard. A special program is designed by the Youth Counselors before each cruise, and children also receive a daily newsletter with the scheduled activities.

Cunard Cruise Lines

Cunard ships cater more for adults, however, during the busy times such as the summer and the holiday season, there is a wide selection of activities for children to choose from. The Junior Cruises program is broken up into three groups 7-9 year olds, 10-12 year olds, and 13-17 year olds. Activities include arts and crafts, treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, talent quests, fortune telling, swimming, pizza parties, karaoke, pillow fights, discos, sports tournaments, ice-cream sundae parties, and lots more. During the quiet times, such as during world cruises on the QEII, there is only one Junior Activities Director, but during the busy times on the QEII and QMII, there will be more to accommodate the many junior cruisers.

Disney Cruises

Disney Cruises have an exceptional program and facilities for kids of all ages. There is a whole deck devoted entirely to kids, with activities beginning at 9am and finishing at midnight. Kids aged 3-7 play in the Oceaneer Club, kids aged 8-12 play in the Oceaneer Lab, while teens enjoy their own private hangout at a New York-style coffeehouse called the Common Grounds. The activities include arts and crafts, charades, parties, hunts, discos, board games, DVD nights, while there is also a video arcade for teenagers. There are many Youth Counselor positions available with Disney Cruise Lines, however, they will only employ responsible and very experienced individuals, and those who are able to cope well under pressure. You will need to be very outgoing, fun, enthusiastic, and patient.

Holland America

Holland America Cruise ships have a program called Club HAL for kids. This club provides a wide variety of activities for children aged 5-12. There is also a new Youth and Teen Center offering programs for teens. Participating children receive an activity program delivered to their stateroom and a Club HAL t-shirt. There are age appropriate activities, where Club HAL offers the youngsters (ages 5-7) opportunities to take part in arts and crafts, storytelling, ice-cream sundae making, ship tours, and bingo. The 8-12 year olds can participate in mini golf, ping pong, theme parties, sports events, and scavenger hunts. Teens can enjoy teen discos, dance lessons, arcade games, trivia contests, and movies. All activities are supervised by Youth Program Directors, who should hold a degree in either education, childhood development, recreation, leisure studies, teaching, or a related field. You will need to be very experienced with children, fit, active, and enthusiastic.

Norwegian Cruise Line

NCL has a very busy program. “Kid’s Crew” is a program that consists of sleep-away camp, treasure hunts, pillow fights, arts and crafts, t-shirt painting, cooking classes, sand castle competitions, sports, games, parties, and lots more. The Kid’s Crew is supervised by Youth Counselors who are recruited from Universities and related organizations. Before coming aboard, the staff attend a special training course on team and confidence building, communication skills, safety, and working with children who have special needs. Staff are also required to assist children on shore excursions at times.

P&O

P&O cruise ships offer a comprehensive program for children. For children aged 6 months to 2 years, there is a supervised night nursery, which runs from 6pm-2am. For 2-4 year olds, there are arts and craft activities, sports, paddling pools, and playrooms that are crammed with toys, games, and books. The 5-8 year olds take part in competitions, parties, sports, story-telling, and watching movies. They also can play in the playrooms, as well as in the children’s pool. The 9-12 year olds take part in clay modeling, arts and crafts, discos, swimming lessons, drama, and watching movies. The teens group (13-17) have the opportunity to make plenty of friends. The Aurora, Oriana, and Oceana ships have clubhouses with music, videos, games, discos, and arcade games. Aurora and Oriana have their own nightclubs where teens will have the opportunity to dance the night away. The Children’s Clubs run from 9am until 10:30pm every day. During off-peak season, the clubs may operate with only two groups (ages 2-8, and ages 9-17). Youth Counselors are kept very busy aboard P&O cruises, and therefore seek motivated and energetic individuals, who have patience, and the ability to work long hours.

Princess Cruises

Princess cruise ships offer an exciting array of activities to children of all ages. Children are welcome on all Princess ships, but facilities vary. Pacific, Royal, and Tahitian Princess do not have dedicated children’s centers, however, when there are 20 or more children aged 3-17 traveling, there will be supervised activities organized by a Youth Activities Coordinator. On the majority of Princess cruise ships, children are divided into three groups, the Princess Pelicans (ages 3-7), the Princess Pirateers (ages 8-12), and the Princess Teens (ages 13-17). The Princess Pelicans and Princess Pirateers take part in activities such as arts and craft, movies and cartoons, scavenger hunts, backstage tours, ice-cream parties, and disco nights. The Princess Teens engage in activities such as the teen-only disco, the dating game, shipboard Olympics, pizza parties, karaoke night, sports tournaments, video games, and casino night.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises

Club Mariner is a children’s program that is offered on some of the RSSC ships during the summer months and holiday seasons. The program is available on the Diamond, Mariner, Navigator, and Voyager. There is a variety of activities for children aged 6-11, and 12-17. The kids take part in arts and crafts, games, movies, hunts, and parties. The teens have the opportunity to devise their own program with the Club Mariner counselors which allows them to select and vote on activities.

Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean cruise ships offer an outstanding and exciting program for kids. Children aged 6-36 months, are invited to participate in the Fisher-Price Aqua Babies and Aqua Tots Programs. Kids aged 3-17 can participate in a wide variety of activities that are suitable to their ages. The children are broken up into groups: Aquanauts (ages 3-5), Explorers (ages 6-8), Voyagers (ages 9-11), Navigators (ages 12-14), and the Guests (ages 15-17). Activities include arts and crafts, movies, video games, sports tournaments, karaoke, scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, parties, games, discos, and lots more. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line seeks individuals who are mature and have the ability to work with all different age groups, who have a pleasant and vibrant nature, as well as significant experience with children.