Splash Academy is the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Youth Programme. This covers a range of ages in three specialised groups. Turtles are age 3-5 years, Seals are age 6-9 years and Dolphins are age 10-12 years. The majority of the kid’s club’s activities take place on Deck 5 (although there are parades and sports activities in other parts of the ship).
Splash Academy is the ideal place for kids to enjoy creative play, sports and loads of activities. The areas allocated to these activities is huge. There’s plenty of seating and loads of big screens for movies and computer games on the PS4 and Nintendo Switch platforms. You can drop off the children during supervised Group Sitting on port days or in the evening and make it a night out with dinner and a show.
Themes
On board ship it can be difficult to keep children entertained. The staff are fully trained Youth Counsellors in Splash Academy. They are highly skilled at leading and providing activities. Themed activities on Norwegian Bliss can include:
- Hollywood at Sea
- Cowboys at Sea
- World Domination
- Pirate Plunder
- Infection at Sea
- Spies at Sea
- Wacky Tacky
- Glow at Sea
- Pyjama Party
- Superheroes
All of these themes include parties, interactive games, and problem-solving tasks. Between the groups there’s lots of sports activities between groups, including:
- Lighthouse Cricket
- Circus Skills School
- Shoe Golf
- Air Hockey
- Foosball
- Table Tennis
Splash Academy Registration
Splash Academy and Entourage (teen club) are complimentary programmes. A parent or guardian needs to complete a one-time registration for each child/teen age 3-17. Children/teens can then participate as frequently as they wish. The Youth Staff need to know if your child has allergies and/or is taking any medications on the Registration Form. Identification bracelets are issued to children aged 3-12 when they register for the youth programmes. They are then worn for the entire cruise. The bracelet is colour coordinated for each age group, and displays the child’s safety muster station and any allergies.
Turtles, Seals and Dolphins
Turtles, Seals and Dolphins are looked after in different groups by dedicated counsellors. However there can be free play mixed sessions allowing siblings to interact. The children need to be dropped off at their designated times, usually from 9am, with late night fun zone from 10:30pm to 1:30am costing $6 per hour for a first child and siblings costing $4 per hour. Splash Academy usually closes during lunch for two hours and again at dinnertime for two hours allowing children to dine with their parents.
On port days, while you are ashore, you can leave children in the Splash Academy. However a contact with a specially-provided phone must remain on-board at all times in case the child needs attention.
Important Information
By arrangement parents can allow their 10-12-year-old to sign themselves out of Splash Academy after two hours of participation. They recognise that 12-year-old pre-teens need special attention and programmes. The Dolphins’ Youth Counsellors offer more mature games/theme nights and they also timetable Entourage Take-Overs allowing the Dolphins to enjoy the lounge, video games, air hockey, foosball and music videos.
For more information please visit Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Youth Programmes page here.
