Are ages enforced for the Edge & Vibe clubs?

[Anal Annie]

I guess I don't understand why Edge kids can "visit" the Lab but Vibe kids can't "visit" the Edge. Sigh.

 

[Coastingthru]

I guess I don't understand why Edge kids can "visit" the Lab but Vibe kids can't "visit" the Edge. Sigh.

The Lab is for younger kids and everything there is more carefully monitored. The staff in the Lab watch everything going on, and can basically tell you at any time exactly where your child is and what they are doing and with whom. There is also not a huge age gap between 8-13. Finally, there is a good reason for Edge kids to want to visit the Lab. The Lab has a format based on entertaining the kids. The Edge has a format based on the kids entertaining themselves. A lot of kids from The Edge might be drawn to the cool programmed activities in the Lab.

At The Edge, kids can come and go at will and they aren't watched to the extent they are at the Lab. There is a lot more free time and just "hanging out". Allowing teenagers to mingle at will there seems more problematic. The age gap between 11 and 18 is more dramatic. Basically, though, there is just very little reason for teens to visit there as the programmed activities are basically the same. I cruised on the Magic two weeks ago with my son in The Edge and my daughter in Vibe, and they were pretty much both doing exactly the same activities every day (smoothie hour, band hero tournament, dodgeball, gender wars games), just with their own age group. Neither one of them was doing anything that the other envied.

 

[cph706]

So, it sounds as though there could be some leniency in the ages? June 2012 we'll be on the 5 night Dream. DD will be 16 & DS will 14 on June 21 (we are sailing June 10-15.) So he will literally be within a week of 14. I know my kids will want to stick together.....

Do we register them in the (very very long) youth activities line at the port? Thanks!

 

[lbgraves]

No, you can't register kids for the Edge or the Vibe online or at the port. They just show up at their club and the CM will check their name off on the list at the door that one time to make sure that their info is correct. They don't get issued wrist bands either.

 

[cph706]

Thanks for the quick reply! So when I go to register DD, I can ask if DS can be registered few days shy of his 14th birthday?

 

[FlynnRider]

Can someone who recently turned 18 still participate in any of the clubs on the ship? If not, is there anything for them to do?

 

[lbgraves]

Thanks for the quick reply! So when I go to register DD, I can ask if DS can be registered few days shy of his 14th birthday?

Yes, when you go to the Vibe talk to them. They will probably have his name and age on a list of kids close to 14 or will be able to access that information to confirm.

 

[lbgraves]

Can someone who recently turned 18 still participate in any of the clubs on the ship? If not, is there anything for them to do?

As long as the 18 yo has not started attending college they can participte in the Vibe club. If they are in college there are meeting times for 18-21 yos in the navigator for lunch and different activities.

 

[hubwriter]

Related question: We're going on the Dream next month. First time on a Disney cruise. Going with DW, DD (9 and 8) and DS (5). For the older daughter, the 9-year-old (will be 10 in June), we put that we want to check her in and out of the Lab, and wondering if that's appropriate or to let her come and go as she wants.

I know the Dream is bigger than the other 2 ships. I just worry that she'll get lost, or we won't be able to find her, or something. (Though she is excited about the prospect of getting "her own" phone while on the ship.) Any advice? OK to let a 9-year-old on the Dream just have a run of the place? Probably important to set some rules up front -- any suggestions? Thanks

 

[lbgraves]

DS was 10 when we first let him have signout privs on the magic. That was our 5th time on the ship so he knew his way around. The first day we walked him around and then told him to take us to our room, GS or the lab. He did well and so he got the priv for the 2 weeks onboard with rules. When he had to break the rules he made good choices and was quick to tell us what had happened. We were onboard with many friends so he usually had a friend to hang out with. Our DD was allowed to walk around the ship with her brother in January when they were 10 & 12. She was not allowed to go out alone...wouldn't go to the lab so that wasn't an issue. I know it is a double standard but they are different kids and their maturity level is different at age 10.

That said, I probably would not allow my 10 yo DD to walk around a new ship even with a friend her age. I don't know my way around it either so would be no help if she called me because she was lost. The kids will be 11 & 13 on the Fantasy MV and we will be cruising with friends who were on the Dream's MV. I don't know what the rules will be on that cruise yet.

 

[LKFan]

I guess I don't understand why Edge kids can "visit" the Lab but Vibe kids can't "visit" the Edge. Sigh.

I believe they can for certain activities (like Wide World of Sports). Also, many of the evening activities (ex pizza making) combined both the Edge and the Vibe kids.

The Edge isn't completly unstructured. There were many activities like animation classes, 4th Pigs Pasta Palace, pizza making, Kinect dance challenge, etc. It was all listed in the Navigator. The characters also popped into the Edge. On our 2/20 cruise, Stitch came by to pose for pictures and both Minnie and Capt Hook participated in the Kinect dance challenge with the kids.

On the second to last night, there is a "Homecoming Dance." On the last night, they show a slide show of the kids participating in the activities in the Edge that week. They also give the kids mini address books (that look like passports) so they can exchange addresses and phone numbers wtih each other.

 

[LKFan]

The age gap between 11 and 18 is more dramatic.

Obviously every cruise and group of kids is different but my 11 year old said that, on our cruise, there was a decent amount of "hooking up" at the Homecoming Dance in the Edge.

 

[fcrouch]

Just off the Disney Dream - 3-13-11 4 night cruise. Our daughter is 10 (and a cruise veteran though she's never had check out privileges in the past). Two months from benig 11 and tall for her age - 5 foot 2. First we checked her into the Lab but asked about aging up - were told to talk to the CM in charge at the Edge. We did (he already had a list of all 10 years old on the ship so he knew who was almost 11 and still barely 10). He (Edson) had no problems whatsoever with our daughter being in the Edge (which was where she wanted to be). Several other families were also there at the same time and I didn't see him turn anyone down....though he discouraged a couple of families and suggested they try the Lab first. I think our daughters height and closeness to 11 made it easy for her to be in the Edge (and I'll bet a lot of 13 year olds then aged up to Vibe as well). We weren't aware she could be a visitor to the Lab (but think that's a good thing and wish she had visited just to see and tell her younger cousins who are gonig later in the year). We were told she could not go back and forth, i.e., be registered in the Edge then register back in the Lab (even with check out privileges in the Lab she would still have had the little wrist band so that is what I think they mean by registereing). The wave phone worked just OK (but then again, I don't know how to text - especially without a full keyboard) - but she knew she had to call me even if she left the Edge to get ice cream and I was very pleased at how well she communicated with us. There was lots of "hanging out" time at the Edge but also some structured activities - she was happy to spend the evenings there while we had dinner at Palo and Remy.

 

[MinnieGi]

I'm excited to hear that Edge kids can "visit" the Lab. My now 10 yo loved the look of the lab and was a bit disappointed when she read that it ages out at 10 as she will be 11 on our cruise. She is more on the shy side and I think would like the more structured activities too. Plus her little brother age 7 by then will be in the Lab. So that would be cool if she could visit the Lab at certain times and then also do the Edge when she wanted too also.

 

[LuvEeyore]

My god daughter and her best friend will have just turned 18 and will be seniors that will both be taking college courses in high school their senior year. Will they be allowed to go to both the Vibe, chill spa and the College age activities. They would like to do a little of both and go with us to Palo. As for Remy, i told her she was more than welcome to take me to Remy for my birthday and Christmas present!!

 

[PattyCakeTV]

My god daughter and her best friend will have just turned 18 and will be seniors that will both be taking college courses in high school their senior year. Will they be allowed to go to both the Vibe, chill spa and the College age activities. They would like to do a little of both and go with us to Palo. As for Remy, i told her she was more than welcome to take me to Remy for my birthday and Christmas present!!

As long as they stick to Vibe (teen only activities) they can get their Vibe cards, but if they decided to hang with the older crowd (18+) they won't have access to Vibe. Hope that helped

 

[Michelle_R]

My son will be 10 1/2 at the time of our sailing. I know he won't want to be separated from his sister (she will be 12). There's no way that she will move down to the lab. She's really looking forward to the tween room.
Sounds like they won't allow them to be together in the tween room?

 

[traceyjayne]

My son will be 10 1/2 at the time of our sailing. I know he won't want to be separated from his sister (she will be 12). There's no way that she will move down to the lab. She's really looking forward to the tween room.
Sounds like they won't allow them to be together in the tween room?

It is worth asking when you board to the CM at the tween room, I will certainly ask as my son is also 10 yrs and 8 moths and very tall and mature for his age, on our last cruise he was only 9 and he was able to do self check in and out on the magic and he was cool with that idea. We even found him in cabin one day having ordered room service lunch and he was fast alsleep on bed! He did tip the server too!! LOL

 

[lbgraves]

My son will be 10 1/2 at the time of our sailing. I know he won't want to be separated from his sister (she will be 12). There's no way that she will move down to the lab. She's really looking forward to the tween room.
Sounds like they won't allow them to be together in the tween room?

Probably not. In January DD 10 1/2 who didn't want to go to the lab at all because she has been there done those activities too much was not allowed to go to the edge with her 12 yo brother.

 

[melonz]

We even found him in cabin one day having ordered room service lunch and he was fast alsleep on bed! He did tip the server too!! LOL

That is sooooo cute

Sounds like what my DS 10 would do too.