Hi Jaimie,
Last year my wife and our friends (10 of us, with 4 kids, ages 5, 6, 7, 8) went on the Navigator of the seas. And this past May My wife, daughter and I went on the Majesty of the Seas out of LA.
Let me tell you that Royal Caribbean is the second best cruise line for kids in my opinion. Second only to Disney. Their Adventure Ocean program is awesome.
What they do is have a couple of separate groups. Ages 3-6, Ages 7-11, and 12-over. And they have different areas and different programs for each group. Every night they have a different theme, like one night is Pirates night where they make bandanas and paint their faces. Then they take the kids on a Pirate Parade.
Some or most nights the kids can eat with their friends at a separate dining area (usually a closed off area of the buffet).
My daughter was reluctant to go at first, but after one night of fun, we could not get her out of the place.
There will be a time to pick them up, usually 10 p.m. but for a small fee per hour per child they will watch your kid longer.
So once on board, go to Adventure ocean and sign up your kids. There will be a new printed schedule each day so that you know what is going on. And I think that once your child is registered they will send you this schedule each day in your cruise navigator.
Have fun, RC is a great cruise line for kids.
If you want to talk more about this or have other questions, please feel free to contact me.
Angelo
