Kids Club Question

[mombg20062009]

This will be my first time on a disney cruise and with kids (DD6 and DS9). I think we will be giving our son the option of checking out of the club when he wants, but my question is for my daughter. When she wants to leave, can she just let a CM know and will they call us or do they only call for emergencies, crying etc.? I don't want them to feel like they "have" to stay, but would like for them to try it out. Thanks for any information! I have learned so much from these boards. I appreciate it!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This will be my first time on a disney cruise and with kids (DD6 and DS9). I think we will be giving our son the option of checking out of the club when he wants, but my question is for my daughter. When she wants to leave, can she just let a CM know and will they call us or do they only call for emergencies, crying etc.? I don't want them to feel like they "have" to stay, but would like for them to try it out. Thanks for any information! I have learned so much from these boards. I appreciate it!

AFAIK, they can just let the CM know, and they will contact you - I believe via the WavePhone.

 

[Dave2425]

This will be my first time on a disney cruise and with kids (DD6 and DS9). I think we will be giving our son the option of checking out of the club when he wants, but my question is for my daughter. When she wants to leave, can she just let a CM know and will they call us or do they only call for emergencies, crying etc.? I don't want them to feel like they "have" to stay, but would like for them to try it out. Thanks for any information! I have learned so much from these boards. I appreciate it!

She can let a CM know she wants to leave and the CM will send a text on the Wave Phone.

 

[anricat]

Just reiterating that they can let a CM know to call you. Just tell your DD ahead of time and go over it if she can be a little shy/introverted. My daughter can be a little shy with adults she doesn't know, but it worked fine and she did let a CM know a couple of times when she was ready. Once she was ready and then when I arrived she changed her mind because they started a new activity she liked!

 

[KashasMom]

My own personal opinion....I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable letting a 9 year old wander the ship. Just because it's "Disney" doesn't mean anyone should be lulled into a false sense of security.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

My own personal opinion, as a former child whose parents cruised extensively, if you think your 9 year old is responsible enough to check himself in and out, please let him do so. The freedom and sense of responsibility I got from being an independent child on a cruise ship was a very important part of my youth and I would not like to see another child denied that experience because of some irrational parental fears.

 

[bumbershoot]

My own personal opinion....I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable letting a 9 year old wander the ship. Just because it's "Disney" doesn't mean anyone should be lulled into a false sense of security.

FWIW, no one before your post had mentioned that the 9 year old would just leave. They have said that the child will go and ask a CM, and the CM would send a message to the parents. If that is being done, it means the child does NOT have sign-out privileges (they don't contact parents if the kid can sign him/herself out), and the child then waits for the parents to get them.

If you are traveling with other family and friends, I recommend considering listing them as being able to sign your kids out. We had an extended family trip and my second cousin and my son wanted to leave. We had not put each other on the list, so while we could sign our son out, my cousin had to wait and wait until his parents or grandma (my aunt) came to get him. If we had been on the list we could have gotten him and he wouldn't have had to wait so long.

 

[E ticket rider]

My own personal opinion, as a former child whose parents cruised extensively, if you think your 9 year old is responsible enough to check himself in and out, please let him do so. The freedom and sense of responsibility I got from being an independent child on a cruise ship was a very important part of my youth and I would not like to see another child denied that experience because of some irrational parental fears.

I do agree that it comes down to is the child responsible enough. Of the 5 DCL cruises my kids have been on, 4 of them have been on Dream-class ships. On our last cruise on the Dream, we gave our son self check-out privileges and he used them liberally. Early on in the cruise, he got turned around and looked lost. An observant CM ID'd his situation and took him back to the Lab and asked him if he wanted to try to get back to our cabin again or if he should text us to come get him. He was a bit flustered, so he had the CM text us to get him. That didn't stop him from checking himself out, but keep in mind that some of the hallways will look the same and it is very easy to get turned around and a little lost if you don't have a good knowledge of the ship.

 

[livie1205]

My dd 9 knows her way all over the ship but I do not let her sign out ( no judgement on people that do at all) . I just don't want her walking around the ship on her own, we do the dream and its a huge ship. I trust her but it's other people I don't trust. It's disney but there are still bad people. It's all what you are comfortable with. Have a great cruise!

 

[ajgardner]

The OP was asking a question in regards to her 6 year old child and if the CMs would contact her if the child wanted to leave. Nowhere did she ask for advice about her 9 year old child's option to have self check out. That is her own choice as the parent and she knows what the child can handle and what she is comfortable with. The opinions given are unsolicited and unnecessary. Her question was answered and there is no need to turn her thread into a debate about what she (a person you do not know) should do with her own child (whom you also do not know) - especially when it was never asked.

 

[bumbershoot]

Aha, I read it totally wrong. I thought she was asking about the 9 year old, who I thought was a girl.

And no one is actually debating the questions you think are being debated. On my part, it was just a mis-read and subsequent confusion over the response by someone who read it right.

 

[KashasMom]

There have been more than one incident of Disney CMs molesting girls on cruise ships. Since it is the OPs first Disney cruise, maybe she feels it is safer than other ships. I really don't care if anyone asked for my opinion or think it's irrational, but sh*t happens. There are plenty of bad people around, even on a Disney cruise.

 

[livie1205]

I did not see anyone doing that, just giving their own experience. I know with my reply I made it clear that was just what WE do, your post was the only one sounding like a " debate" I did not read any replies stating that she was bad parenting. I don't tell anyone how to parent their children. Posters answered the question and added their own info in a polite way.
I do also agree with previous poster saying that even on DCL something bad could happen ( and has) it is 100% what OP is comfortable with, I am sure someone would call the parent if asked but things can slip through the cracks ( rare times I'm sure) . I am not a helicopter parent but being out of the country and on a ship I am a bit more cautious.

 

[Tiffylv]

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[mombg20062009]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the replies. We have not made up our minds about our DS9 yet. But, since they can just tell a CM that they are ready to leave and the CM will text us- I just may have him do that for this first cruise. Thanks again for your help!

 

[KristiMc]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the replies. We have not made up our minds about our DS9 yet. But, since they can just tell a CM that they are ready to leave and the CM will text us- I just may have him do that for this first cruise. Thanks again for your help!

You can also start out with him not having check-in/out and if you feel like he is comfortable with the ship then you can change it. We gave our 9 year old (at the time) the privilege but it was his second cruise on the same ship and he knew how to get around. Though he was only allowed to leave the club and go back to the room and contact us. We didn't let him roam on his own. Our older son was in the Edge and we gave him a wave phone to keep in contact with us and that worked well.

 

[DahliaRW]

Yes, they will contact you if your daughter asks, so let her know that. Also, if you have reservations for adult dining or the spa, let them know when you drop off. If your daughter wants you, they will try to redirect her and keep her busy for the duration of the time you ask so that you are not interupted.

With my daughter, I found that the first time she went to the kids clubs she had us paged after about 10 minutes. It was totally a "will what they said will happen actually happen and they'll come to get me" type of thing. I didn't let her go back for an hour since she had me paged. Then, she wanted to go back, and she never had us called again! So sometimes kids just need the reassurance that they can have you come if they want, and then they find they don't actually want you to come!