Kids who like Edge, and kids who don't like Edge

[CisforCookie991]

On our first (and only) Disney cruise, my 11 year old decided to spend the entire time in Oceaneers and didn't go to Edge. He said there weren't many kids his age in Oceaneers but he was perfectly happy. Then he did finally meet a kid his age, and that kid told him that Edge sucked. I got the impression that this kid was looking more for activities than just socializing, so maybe that's why he didn't like Edge. Then my son talked to a friend at school who has been to Edge twice, and he also said it sucked. He may have been a little young the first time? I think he was 10 and went with his siblings. But he said that, both times, the kids there were jerks. So now my son is convinced that he will hate Edge because his very tiny sample size is 100% anti-Edge. Is Edge more suited for certain personality types? Can anyone tell me more about their kids' experiences in Edge, both positive and negative? Thanks!

 

[scrappinginontario]

My daughter tried both Edge and Vibe (was 13 at the time) but found she preferred to hang out with me. She's on the shy side so finds interacting with new people more challenging unless they come to her.

I think Edge and Vibe both offer great options but are easier (based on my experience only with my daughter plus 2 other friends with similar personality kids who have also cruised Disney) for kids who are more outgoing and ready to reach out to get to know other kids.

I will say my niece sailed with us when she was 15 and we rarely saw her other than for dinner. She met a group of friends day one and they were inseparable for the entire cruise!

There are less planned activities and more time for socializing.

 

[lanejudy]

It really can depend on the other kids on your particular cruise. If your kid is 11 and the other kids in Edge are mostly older 13-14; it might not be a good fit. Another cruise with a lot of 11-12 yr olds at Edge could be a different experience entirely.

That said -- make sure your son goes to the Ice Breakers event (intro/planning/whatever they call it now) the first night. That's when the kids seem to make friend/groups and it can be really hard for a kid to "fit in" if they miss this event. This is when they plan the activities for the cruise.

 

[Mango7100]

DD is 10 and went to both Edge and Oceaneers on our cruise in July. Her first trip to edge the first day she didn’t like because it was mainly boys playing video games. And it was a bit different because the counselors were more hands off with that age group (as I expected) but she wasn’t use to that having only been in Oceaneers. But Oceaneers was too many younger kids so she tried Edge again and had fun because she found some kids to make bracelets with and play Mario Kart. So I think it is very dependent on what other kids are there and what activities they are doing. She just needed to find 1-2 people who wanted to do the same things she did.

 

[Mango7100]

Oh and also on the Wish they had a time when only Edge could go to the Incredibles inflatable course and she loved that. She went through it so many times and she had fun racing other kids. So some of the excursions around the ship that Edge does may be worth trying to get a different experience

 

[auroralark]

My 11 year old didn't care for Edge either. She made friends with some 10/11 year olds at Oceaneers and spent a lot of time there.

 

[otten]

On our first (and only) Disney cruise, my 11 year old decided to spend the entire time in Oceaneers and didn't go to Edge. He said there weren't many kids his age in Oceaneers but he was perfectly happy. Then he did finally meet a kid his age, and that kid told him that Edge sucked. I got the impression that this kid was looking more for activities than just socializing, so maybe that's why he didn't like Edge. Then my son talked to a friend at school who has been to Edge twice, and he also said it sucked. He may have been a little young the first time? I think he was 10 and went with his siblings. But he said that, both times, the kids there were jerks. So now my son is convinced that he will hate Edge because his very tiny sample size is 100% anti-Edge. Is Edge more suited for certain personality types? Can anyone tell me more about their kids' experiences in Edge, both positive and negative? Thanks!

I think Edge can be great on longer cruises. My daughter loved Edge on our 11 night Europe cruise. On our 4 night recently though it seemed very meh even bad. Scheduled activities didn’t happen and the counsellors didn’t really engage at all and since there was never anything happening, no one went.

Or maybe it’s a ship thing because after multiple cruises on the classic ships we found the youth activities stuff on the Wish very unimpresssive overall.

 

[Flip flops in winter]

I agree that the longer cruises are just better for Edge. I haven't been able to drag my middle child out of there. She loves it and I don't consider her very outgoing. She has some social anxiety but whoever the cast members are there have just been very welcoming and encouraging and the games and activities are really fun for her. She's made friends at Edge that she still talks to a couple of years on. I also recommend attending the ice breakers session. She just turned 13 and we let her go to Vibe on our last cruise and it was a disaster. She met older kids (16 year old boys) that she had no business hanging around. Lesson learned!

 

[CisforCookie991]

Thanks, everyone! This is all really helpful info. Our next cruise is longer (7 night), and he'll be in the middle age for Edge. He's used to friends +/- 2 years, so if I can get him to go to the first night, I think he'll be ok.

 

[soniam]

Our son loved Oceaners at 8. Didn't really like either, especially Edge, at 11. Loved Vibe at 16 and 17. These were all 7+ night cruises in the summer.

 

[lklgoodman]

My dd tried Edge on 3 different 7 night Fantasy cruises. She didn't care for it. She said a lot of time it was mostly just kids playing video games while other kids just watched. She's not a gamer so she found this boring. On another cruise anytime she'd go for a planned activity it would be canceled. So after a few days she stopped going and hung out with another girl she had met there. She had always loved Oceaneer's and had fun at Vibe on our last cruise.

 

[CisforCookie991]

So what I'm hearing is that Edge is a lot like middle school - boring for some, miserable for others, and everyone is just looking for those one or two people they can hang out with to survive...

 

[msmama]

I've only seen Edge on the Magic and Wonder and they are the most dark, dank, SMELLY places I've seen on DCL. As one Dad told me once when we were both checking on our kids at the same time, "it's the smell of middle school, lol."

That said, my son loved it (though he only liked it once he was bumped out of club/lab age before that he preferred club/lab). My son isn't very social yet he always found someone to play a board or video game with. I felt like the counselors were still good at getting them to participate. Like I said, my experience is only on the smaller ships.

However, it could also be a timing thing. On our last cruise (TA) Vibe didn't really get started until late in the afternoon/ evening and into the night and my son prefers to do dinner & show with me (and then often early bedtimes or watching a move in the room).

 

[NileNellie]

My son (age 11) loved Edge on the Fantasy, hated it on the Wonder. It was mainly given the size difference-it's a lot larger on the Fantasy and I think he felt more comfortable spreading out, and the counselors seemed to be much more involved in getting kids together.

 

[CamColt]

My youngest loved the Edge, starting when he was 11. I think that, and the freedom that came along with it is what got him hooked on cruising. When he had just turned 14 we sailed with our neighbors, including another14 yo boy. They could have gone to the Vibe with their older brothers but after trying that out they opted for the Edge, and still had a blast.

 

[mcd2745]

You never know. Our two kids were completely different with the clubs. Our son didn't really like Oceaneer's and we used to get messages (on the old Wave phones ) that he wanted to be picked up not long after dropping him off. Our daughter would spend all day, every day in Oceaneer's if we let her. However, when she aged out and was "Edge-age", she would go and leave shortly after, saying all the other kids were weird...or there was nothing to do, etc. Our son, who didn't like Oceaneer's, liked Edge so much more.....and Vibe even much more than Edge, and I feel like we only saw him for dinner. Edge, in particular, is such a difficult age group. Very hard to come up with activities that are not too "kiddie", but at the same time, not too mature for the either.

At the end of the day though, as others have alluded to, I think it mostly boils down to sort of the "luck of the draw" with regards to the other kids on your particular sailing. We've done a lot of cruises, and not just DCL. Sometimes, they never really connected with anyone. Others, they made friends they still keep in touch with years later. I do agree with those who say it is vital kids go to Edge/Vibe night one. Often, groups/cliques are formed that first night and if your child is not there, and therefore not part of any of those groups, it can be difficult to make connections.

 

[shosh1530]

We had her first cruise this summer (7-night Wonder) and at first my 11 year old thought the Edge was boring as it seemed not much was going on. He did Oceaneers our first full day but then got bored.

He gave the Edge another try on day 3 and then wanted to go all the time. It was less about the activities that happened there, but more about meeting with some buddies and then doing things around the ship with them. He is a gamer kid though so he enjoyed things like just watching others play games.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Can kids at edge get in and out as they please or you need to pick them up?

 

[lanejudy]

Can kids at edge get in and out as they please or you need to pick them up?

There is no sign-in/sign-out at Edge, the kids come and go as they want.

If you need to have a more secure option for 11-12, you will need to restrict the child to the Club/Lab without check-out privileges.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

There is no sign-in/sign-out at Edge, the kids come and go as they want.

If you need to have a more secure option for 11-12, you will need to restrict the child to the Club/Lab without check-out privileges.

Thank you. Is the club/lab always egde or is. Oceneeers club?