Honestly, the situation in the kids clubs is not the dangerous, Lord of the Flies free-for-all that people are making it out to be!!!
As I said, we were on a full cruise that the cruise director told us included over 1300 children. We went in and out of the clubs often, because our kids wanted to be in there so much that we would stop by and check on them from time to time. Not because we were worried, but because we'd be moving on to a new activity and were just checking in to see if they were still having fun, and because it was fun for us to see what they were doing.
Every single time we were there - every single time - we saw kids that were busy, engaged and having fun. Never heard a child crying. Not once. Never saw a child alone. In the Club AND the Lab, there were CMs everywhere playing with the kids. There were no groups of kids roaming around and making trouble. The CM-to-child ratio is excellent, seriously they're everywhere! There is even an unfortunate soul whose job it is to stand outside the restroom and make sure everyone is okay and washes their hands on the way out (this person also monitors the corridor between the Club and Lab).
My youngest is 4, and he's shy. It takes him a bit to warm up and get involved without his brother. By the end of his first time in there, the CMs were calling him by name. He stayed mostly in the Club, but it was so helpful for him to be able to go to the Lab (that's where his 7-year-old brother preferred to be, playing video games). Even in the Lab, CMs engaged him. One time we went in to see them, my little one was in the Lab learning to make Disney characters out of Play Doh, and another time he was having a dance party with Stitch.
No, it's not strictly structured like a school or a daycare. The kids can pick and choose their activities and not be shuttled from A to B to C, but I think that's the point - it's their vacation, too. While not strictly structured, that does not mean it's unsafe. Those CMs know what is going on at all times. They take very good care of the kids. There are no gangs of evil 10-year-olds stalking and bullying the 3-year-olds., honestly there aren't. If a child was making trouble, the CMs would take care of it, and if it kept happening I can assure you that child would not be welcome anymore.
Oh, and one more note about the "tweens" who can use the Lab if they want to, I did chat with a CM about that. She told me that almost none of them do, and the ones who do are kids who like the interaction with the adults and come only for scheduled activities that interest them. When a tween checks in, all the CMs on the floor in the Lab are aware of it and they are monitored. I saw this myself, one checked in when we were dropping off my son, and a CM walked the boy to the activity he had come to participate in (a cooking activity).
They don't ever leave the confines of the club when they do this because one end is in the lab and the other is in the club. They cannot leave the supervision without checking in/out with the CM at the desk.
Otherwise, the buffest on DCL are terrible IMO but the sit down meals are pretty good and the service and atmosphere are fantastic. I would say food quality is about what I expect from a cruiseline and on par with Princess or Carnival. RCI's food was much worse and Celebrity's faaaaar better.
and I'm not even a huge chicken lover 
