One of the many Barbie items my five year old daughter received this past holiday season was the Mattel Barbie Cruise Ship. She opened this gift on Christmas Eve at a relatives house and wanted to play with it immediately. I tried to discourage that idea since I knew that there would be stickers that needed adhering and small parts to collect, but we eventually compromised and she agreed to play with the cruise ship as it came out of the box, with none of the accessories. I was glad to see how much enjoyment she got out of playing with the plain, unadorned ship, and knew that once all of the other pieces were brought out, she would love it even more.
The assembly of some of the smaller pieces and adhering of stickers to this cruise ship was a quick, almost painless process which took about fifteen minutes. The main portion of the ship itself needed no assembly. When closed it looks like a real ship, measuring about 14 inches high, 23 inches long and 8 inches across and it opens lengthwise to a size of about 37 inches long and 23 inches deep.
Inside you will find one side decorated with nightclub scenes with pictures of dancing Barbies and plastic molded speakers attached to the flip down floor. When the dolls are done dancing, flip over one of the panels with the club scene on it to reveal a buffet with pictures of pizza and what I think are french fries on it. There are two stools included which are the right height for sitting at this counter, or they can be used with the table also included.
When playtime is over, flip this same panel out and you will find two plastic beds, one pink, one blue, with plastic pillow and blankets attached to them. I am guessing that these beds are meant to mirror those in some of the tight cabins on real cruise ships, since the dolls just fit onto them, with little room to spare.
The left side of the ship opens to reveal the pool area and beach scenes. To fully use this area, the boat needs three "AA" batteries and the camera accessory needs two "AA" batteries, which are not included, of course. There are two two-sided scene cards which can be inserted into the back wall of this section of the ship through a slot in the top. The scenes are of Barbie and friends dancing on the deck of the ship, a walk on the beach, playing in the sand, and one of fish underwater.
Push the on/off switch to "on" and listen to the foghorn sound, make sure your chosen scene card is pushed all the way into the slot and get ready to take "pictures." Aim the camera at one of the three holes in each scene card and hold down the button on the camera for a few seconds to flash a light and hear beach sounds.
The taking photos on the ship is of very little interest to my daughter. It is sometimes difficult for her to get the cards pushed into the slot all the way, and she basically has to lie down on her stomach on the floor to aim at the holes. If she were playing on a table, it would be easier for her to get eye-level with the holes, but she plays with this on the floor, as I would think most children would. Also, as a five year old, she has a fairly good idea of how camera's work, and she was a bit confused as to why when she took a "picture" she was rewarded with a sound rather than a photo. There is a photo processing area on the ship with plastic-backed photographs of Barbie and friends, but this area does not interest her much.
Since a light bulb flashes when the button on the camera is pressed, my daughter has removed the camera from this ship and plays with it when playing house and wants to take pictures of her babies. She also likes to hold down the button and pretend it is a flashlight, but rarely tries to use it for its intended purpose.
Between the left and right sections is a small areas where the ship's wheel is. Two dolls can stand inside of it, whether the boat is open or closed, and steer the ship around the room. There are openings for windows so that you do not have to open the ship up to put the dolls in or take them out.
The Barbie Cruise Ship does not come with any dolls, but it does come with a variety of accessories such as a microphone attached to a stand where Barbie and friends can sing tunes in the night club, a small (Barbie cannot lie down flat in it) pool which you need to inflate, and a little slide for this pool.
This toy is recommended for ages 3 and up, and I would agree with that to a point. The ship itself and the larger accessories, such as the table and chairs, would be fine for a toddler to use, but be aware that there are many, many tiny pieces included in this set. Items such as flatware, suntan lotion, binoculars and soda cans could be dangerous choking hazards for small children.
One of my daughter's favorite pieces included with this ship is a lounge chair can sit atop the boat when it is closed for Barbie to get some sun while it sails across the carpet. As I was looking at this cruise ship while writing this review, I realized that we never opened the bag containing the plastic food and drink items. Included are goodies such as ice cream sundaes, tropical drinks (complete with umbrellas), pizza, a platter of pastries, and a strawberry tart. My daughter has played with this ship for more than six months without these pieces and she really did not care one way or the other if I opened this bag. Apparently, sometimes lots of accessories do not make the toy any better.
To say that my daughter was overwhelmed by Barbie items last holiday season would be an understatement. In addition to this Barbie Cruise Ship, she also received the Barbie Talking Townhouse and the Barbie Swan Lake Musical Castle as well as smaller Barbie items. She enjoys playing with this ship occasionally, but it is not something she goes for on a regular basis, so it is nice that it folds up for storage purposes.
Our Barbie Cruise Ship gets played with once in a while, but my daughter's favorite pieces are the camera and the plastic microphone on a stand, which she usually plays with without the ship. We received our boat as a gift, so I am not out any money for it, but I am not sure that I would have spent about sixty dollars for it for the amount of time that my daughter has spent playing with it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 59.99 Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
Barbie Cruise Ship is a 2002 Mattel production. Playset Box size approx. 24" wide x 12.5" high x 9-3/4" deep. Includes & Features: Cruise Ship, Real T...More at Amazon Marketplace
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