Royal Caribbean's 5,400-passenger, 225,282-ton Oasis of the Seas features extensive onboard spaces dedicated solely to the line's bread and butter cruise passengers, the kids.
The "Youth Zone" neighborhood spans more than 28,700 square feet, and includes the Kids Avenue, a central boulevard housing dedicated Adventure Ocean (12 and under) spaces and themed play areas; the cruise line's first nursery for infants and toddlers (six months or older); and a teen area that will keep the moodiest of cruisers happily distanced from annoying younger kids. The Youth Zone will be the largest kids' facility afloat, some 4,000 square feet larger than the spaces on RCI's Freedom-class trio of ships, the current title holders.
So what can the less mature cruisers expect onboard Oasis of the Seas?
The Kids Avenue, located toward the front of the ship on Deck 14, serves as the main promenade for cruisers between the ages of 3 and 11 to access the various Adventure Ocean areas. Building on its already-established program, RCI offers arts and crafts activities, scavenger hunts, talent shows and other scheduled and guided age-specific activities to three Adventure Ocean program age groups, each with its own space: Aquanauts, 3 to 5; Explorers, 6 to 8; and Voyagers, 9 to 11.
In addition to the dedicated spaces for each of the three age groups, Oasis of the Seas also features several common play areas on the Kids Avenue. The incredible size of the ship -- some 40 percent larger than Royal Caribbean's Freedom-class trio, the former largest cruise ships in the world -- allows for these new purpose-built spaces. The Adventure Ocean Theater is the first-ever theater at sea just for kids, complete with a stage and curtains, audience seating (parents?) and state-of-the-art production equipment. Kids can take drama classes, and overcome their fear of stage fright in talent shows and theatrical productions. Of course, Royal Caribbean isn't the first to go in this direction (see Disney Cruise Line and its children's theater workshops), but it's an interesting approach.
In a twist on adult-oriented enrichment trends, RCI introduced on Oasis some new-for-kids classes in the Workshop, including creating scrapbooks and designing jewelry. As well, the line also has expanded existing programs as part of its Imagination Studio; kids can experiment with coloring (in a program created by Crayola). The Adventure Science Lab, a fully-equipped lab, is the place for conducting those delightfully rudimentary science experiments (baking soda volcano). "Play" is a circular area where the more active kids can participate in a variety of sports and games (indoor soccer, team building sports, etc.); and the Kid's Arcade is a dedicated arcade space just for the under 12's.
For the youngest passengers (six months is the minimum age to cruise on Oasis), Royal Caribbean introduced Royal Babies and Tots nursery, the first-ever dedicated nursery space offered by the line. Open daily from 9 a.m to 6 p.m. (including port days), the space serves as a fully-staffed nursery where parents can leave kids in the care of trained professionals, as well as a venue for hosting various playgroups created by Fisher-Price and Crayola. Free-time play is also offered daily, so parents and children can chill together with a variety of Fisher Price developmental toys. According to Adam Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, the line is not intending to charge for the services -- but he added that nothing is set in stone at this point. One note about the nursery: If we had to select a major weakness of Royal Caribbean's kids' programming, it would be that line has largely ignored the under three crowd -- where line's like Disney have embraced it. But that appears to have changed with RCI's Oasis nursery.
For the teens, Royal Caribbean staples Fuel and The Living Room are back on Oasis of the Seas (only larger, of course). The Living Room boasts a "mocktail" bar offering alcohol-free concoctions; Scratch DJ 101 classes, where kids can learn to spin crazy beats; and a bank of computer stations for surfing the Web. Fuel is a disco and hang out space with a dance floor. An outdoor deck space -- for open-air teenage mingling -- is adjacent to these teen spaces.
Where Royal Caribbean has really excelled in the past is in creating energetic recreation activities, including the rock wall, surf park, sports court and ice skating rink, which naturally appeal to teenagers, long one of the most difficult travel demographics to reach. While not technically part of the Youth Zone, the ship's two FlowRiders, first-ever zip-line at sea, two rock-climbing walls, SCUBA lessons and more, build on the Royal Caribbean tradition.
In addition to the child-specific spaces and other recreation activities -- and perhaps equally important as those -- the other neighborhoods onboard have their own kid-friendly offerings. The Boardwalk boasts a vintage carousel, tattoo parlor (temporary tattoos) and traditional carnival games. The Challenger's Arcade, featuring the latest video games, is also back. Pool & Sports Zone has the popular H2O Zone aquapark for the little ones as well as a zip-line that spans the Boardwalk many decks below. In the Vitality Spa and Fitness Zone, teens and tweens can enjoy a menu of spa options specially tailored for them in a dedicated space at the Vitality at Sea Spa.
The Kids Avenue, located toward the front of the ship on Deck 14, serves as the main promenade for cruisers between the ages of 3 and 11 to access the various Adventure Ocean areas. Building on its already-established program, RCI offers arts and crafts activities, scavenger hunts, talent shows and other scheduled and guided age-specific activities to three Adventure Ocean program age groups, each with its own space: Aquanauts, 3 to 5; Explorers, 6 to 8; and Voyagers, 9 to 11.
In addition to the dedicated spaces for each of the three age groups, Oasis of the Seas also features several common play areas on the Kids Avenue. The incredible size of the ship -- some 40 percent larger than Royal Caribbean's Freedom-class trio, the former largest cruise ships in the world -- allows for these new purpose-built spaces. The Adventure Ocean Theater is the first-ever theater at sea just for kids, complete with a stage and curtains, audience seating (parents?) and state-of-the-art production equipment. Kids can take drama classes, and overcome their fear of stage fright in talent shows and theatrical productions. Of course, Royal Caribbean isn't the first to go in this direction (see Disney Cruise Line and its children's theater workshops), but it's an interesting approach.
