MSC and Costa Cruises Kids Clubs compared

Costa starts its child offerings with the Squok Club, divided into four age groups. Mini Club, for children aged three to six and Maxi Club, ages seven to 10. It’s worth noting that while Mini and Maxi, are run by linguists with experience in looking after children – the basic language of the group is Italian and often, according to cruise passengers, not everything gets translated. Both clubs run every day from 9am to 11.30pm, with three-hour meal breaks! The teen clubs are 11 to 14 and 15 to 19 – they run from 10am to 12.30am, and lay on parties and dance competitions – again, note that while there are translators, this is an Italian cruise line with Italian staff and there isn’t a guarantee that there will be an English speaker at all times with the teen groups.

MSC’s Kids Clubs are under the supervision of experienced Kids Club staff although it’s mentioned several times in their brochure that MSC caters to an international clientele and youth programmes will be conducted in multiple languages – this means that your child might find themselves the only or one of only a few, English speakers in the group. The clubs are: Mini Club – 3 to 6 year olds, Juniors Club – 7 to 12 year olds andTeen Club – 13 to 17 year olds – each has a dedicated space and is focused on art and fun activities.