10-12 age group counselors?

[ChattyKathy]

I have two questions:

1-Does anyone know what the ratio is for the 10-12 age group? How many counselors are in there with the kids?

AND, also;

2-How many kids are accepted before the club is considered 'full'...?






TIA!


Kath

 

[lbgraves]

There are 11 counselors shown on the 10-12 navigator. All kids in that age group that are booked on the ship are considered in the club. According to the passporter the ratio is 1:25 in the 8-12 age group.

 

[ChattyKathy]

So, are you saying that there could be 275 10-12 yr olds onboard?
11 counselors X 25 = 275
Can that be right? whew!

 

[lbgraves]

No, remember they don't work 24/7. They work shifts so there are probably 5-7 working in the lab at one time. There are also 8-9 yos in the lab at the same time. The 5-7 yos have activities in the lab as well. They have different areas that the age groups go to for activities but they mix during free time.

 

[kajohn]

They only allow so many kids in each age group onboard, so if you have a reservation, there is room in the club/lab for your child.

There will be LOTS of kids on board. When we sailed last year on the Magic the first week of February (non holiday week) there were 800 children on board.

That being said, the number in the lab at any one time will vary greatly depending on the activity. I had 2 children in the 5-7 age group and 1 in the 8-9 group. The 8-9 group had much fewer children participating in the activities than the 5-7 group. I would assume that the 10-12 group would probably have even less participation since that age is free to check themselves in and out of the club when they chose.

 

[lbgraves]

Kelli, Your post reminded me that they announced at the final kid show that there were over 800 kids on board 3-12. I was amazed since it definantly hadn't seemed like that during the week.

 

[ChattyKathy]

Thats a lot of kids!!!
I still don't like the idea of them letting the kids sign themselves in and out....Guess I'm too overprotective or old-fashioned...
Owell...





Kathy

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by ChattyKathy
Thats a lot of kids!!!
I still don't like the idea of them letting the kids sign themselves in and out....Guess I'm too overprotective or old-fashioned...
Owell...

Have they changed this policy in the last 3 years? I'm wondering because when my DS15 was 12 yrs old he went on a Disney cruise and at that time the parents were given the OPTION of either allowing the children to sign themselves in and out OR making the children stay in the club until the parent came to get them. I know this for a fact because my DS15 (12 at the time) wasn't allowed to sign himself out, he had to wait until my ex-DH came to get him out of the club. (I don't really blame my ex-DH for that because I don't know if I'd have let DS out alone on the ship at that age either. But apparently a lot in that age group were allowed to sign themselves out when they wanted to leave).

 

[ChattyKathy]

That sounds like a better idea to me....Giving the parent the option to do either...
I mean, some kids are more mature then others. You just dont know nowadays. Until I get on board and check out the situation- I just dont like the idea.
Thanks for the info thou, I'll have to check into seeing if that option is still available...


Kathy

 

[cruisnfamily]

My DD was in the 10-12 age group on our 9/13 cruise. The parents definitely had the choice on whether to allow them to sign themselves out or not.

 

[professorandmom]

About the ratio: we were on a full ship in July and the group size varied based on the activity (my twins were 9 at the time). Most of the time it was about 3 staff and about 10-16 kids involved in an activity. I was ALWAYS pleased with the staff ratio and interaction.

In addition, I encourage you to read the boards as the club and lab posts come up and then make the decision about sign out rights when you are on the ship. It is a different world and the perspective is NOT the same as when you are at more public play areas....very difficult to describe.

My experience was this: after reading LOTS of posts (OK, I booked 18 months in advance) I decided to allow them to sign out only if they went together (we had also met a DIS family who had children of similar age), paged me to tell me where they were going and, if they went somewhere else, they had to go to the room and leave a post it note on the mirror. I explained before we got to port that, no matter what, any violation of the rules and they would lose any sign out options...that was a threat that worked well. In fact, once I was out on the veranda (door shut because it was so warm) and the kids wanted to know why I hadn't put up a post it note on the mirror! See what you think when you get on the boat, explore and watch your children as they walk around the ship. How well can they figure out where they are? I think it will be easy to be comfortable (whatever you decide) after a day on the boat.

Most of all, have a great time.
Barbara

 

[kcashner]

Most of this information has been covered...but...this will be our 10th trip on the Magic. My daughter has been of an age for the club and an age for the lab, and this time will be her first in the teen program. Except for the first time, we have always sailed off season. That being said, I have always been very pleased with with staff/child ratio. In the 10-12 group, there are usually 3 staff members with 12-20 kids. The reason for 10-11 counsellors listed on the navagator is that they work in shifts. During "free time" there are 3-5 counsellors in the lab, but this time frequently includes ages 8-12. Obviously, they don't know exactly how many kids will show up at any given time, but I've always been satisfied with the child/staff ratio.

The parents always have the option of allowing the child to sign themselves in/out of the lab or making it a parent sign in thing. The minimum age for child sign in option has changed a couple times over the years. You can also add this option during the cruise if you are not comfortable with it at the beginning, but later decide that it would be a good thing for your child.

The only problem I've ever had in the kid program is that my child HATES the wrist bands. She gets them to do it loose enough that she can take it off when she's not in kid programming! We did have a counsellor use what we consider to be a bad word...in fact, my daughter told one of the Disney execs about it along with the counsellor's name. I added that I had told my daughter that different countries have different ideas about what constituted a swear word. The exec agreed that different countries have different standards, but DCL expects the counsellors to adhere to US standards as most of their guests are from the US, and use of that word was not accpetable. He told my daughter that it "wouldn't happen again!"

The Club is the area for younger kids (3-7) and has a more counsellors. This is a really great area, and my daughter absolutley loved it. As with most things, when she was 7, she wanted to be in the lab. On our last trip, the lab was "boring" and she can't wait to be in the teen program. At age 9. she looked back fondly at her days in the club.....