10 year old and kids' club

[cruiser21]

If I'm honest, for a lot of kids, I don't think that its the clubs that are boring, it's more that the older kids, especially travelling on their own or the only ones that age are more self-aware and don't want to be there 'alone', but they're not quite into going up to complete strangers and making friends.
The lab especially is very much aimed at the older end with so many iPads, the animation room, craft areas, even the games available (uno, spot it, game of life, monopoly...), and when there's no planned activity there's usually large group ball games aimed more at the older kids than 3 year olds: gaga ball, 4 square, capture the flag...
It makes me laugh a little when kids say they want to go to Edge for the activities (I get that the environment is different), but the majority of the activities actually come from the lab: fourth pigs pasta, science, anyone can cook, gaga ball, animation cells...

I think it's because the kids in the Edge are all roughly about the same age, and there's less of them. It's easier for them to bond, and form friendships. Relationships are what's important to tweens and teens not so much the actual activities. The lab and club are kind of a mess with the all the different ages. That's my opinion anyway. The DCL lab and club are criticized a lot on other message boards for the age spread. Over here not so much. I know some parents like their siblings to be together, but other cruiselines break up the ages so I'm not sure why DCL can't take a hard line on that.

 

[bbel]

but other cruiselines break up the ages so I'm not sure why DCL can't take a hard line on that.

Because they don't have to.
While there might be some families that boycott the clubs because of it, they're very much in the minority. In the Caribbean on the classic ships its not uncommon to have 200-300 kids in care at once.
If they split the clubs up again it would mean that a child older than 7 cant participate in Pluto's, Marvel, Star wars - because they're in the club. Kids under 8 cant make cookies or flubber because thats in the lab...

 

[cruiser21]

Because they don't have to.
While there might be some families that boycott the clubs because of it, they're very much in the minority. In the Caribbean on the classic ships its not uncommon to have 200-300 kids in care at once.
If they split the clubs up again it would mean that a child older than 7 cant participate in Pluto's, Marvel, Star wars - because they're in the club. Kids under 8 cant make cookies or flubber because thats in the lab...

I realize DCL doesn't have to do anything. LOL . They could make those activities available to all age groups. I'm guessing you work for DCL???? It's just my opinion of the lab and Club take it for what it's worth. My kids are well out of the club age so not an issue for me anymore.

 

[anricat]

I think has to do with how many cruises as well. We've done four at this point and she's pretty much done all the activities she thought sounded cool and she's not super interested in repeating them. The activity I talked her into going to on the Magic on our last cruise was one we hadn't seen on the schedule before, it was a Rapunzel themed lantern craft. She came back with piece of construction paper with slits cut in it stapled together. (Looks like this: https://www.paperkawaii.com/2011/01/31/simple-chinese-paper-lanterns/ ) She declared that it was "boring." I can see that. I think she made something like that in 1st grade. It's really hard to have activities that appeal to a wide range of age groups. Probably for a 5-6 year old cutting paper, stapling and putting stickers on something is really fun. For an almost 9 year old, they've been there, done that!

I think it's really just a tricky age. 9-10 year olds want to feel grown up and independent. Doing crafts with 5 year olds probably doesn't make them feel that way. Hanging with older kids probably does.

My daughter is pretty outgoing and often makes friends easily. She's also pretty good at entertaining herself, which I think partly comes from being an only child. She's made some good friends on our cruises, so I don't know that that's it either.

There's really no easy answer to this. There are always kids that are going to love the Club/Lab, some who don't and some who toggle between the two depending on their age and interests at any given point.

 

[bbel]

I realize DCL doesn't have to do anything. LOL . They could make those activities available to all age groups. I'm guessing you work for DCL???? It's just my opinion of the lab and Club take it for what it's worth. My kids are well out of the club age so not an issue for me anymore.

Nope. Not anymore I escaped haha!

 

[lpandorf]

When my daughter was 10 she loved the club/lab. She's a crafty kid though and loved the crafts and sloppy science type stuff they offered. Belle came by one day and she was thrilled. At age 11 my son wanted nothing to do with it.
He tried it and proceeded to spend the rest of the 7 day cruise in the Edge.

 

[Mitura]

Our 10 yo loved the club. Except when the CM messed up his in/out privileges. We even got a call at midnight asking to pick our son up!

I didn't know that a 11 yo could go to the EDGE. Interesting.

Again I think its up to you child on how they like it.

Joe

 

[FigmentSpark]

Our 10 yo loved the club. Except when the CM messed up his in/out privileges. We even got a call at midnight asking to pick our son up!

I didn't know that a 11 yo could go to the EDGE. Interesting.

Again I think its up to you child on how they like it.

Joe

That happened to my 12 year old, too. At least it wasn't midnight, but he was so embarrassed watching 8 year olds come and go, yet he had to wait for his mom. He never went back, after that. On top of it, in the Edge, a few 14 year olds started teasing him because he had on the Lab band. But he still loved the cruise and the club and wants to go back.

 

[arielmomma]

When my son was 10 he loved the Oceaneer Lab. Last year, he was 12 and visited both the Oceaneer Lab and the Edge to take advantage of all of the activities. We leave again on the Wonder in a week. This time, my daughter will be 10. She has always loved both the Oceaneer Lab & Club and I have no doubt that she will love it again.

 

[bbel]

Our 10 yo loved the club. Except when the CM messed up his in/out privileges. We even got a call at midnight asking to pick our son up!

I didn't know that a 11 yo could go to the EDGE. Interesting.

Again I think its up to you child on how they like it.

Joe

At least it got messed up that way round, rather than a child wandering the ship without their parents knowledge.
(Although it's almost impossible to do it that way by accident)

 

[RysMomma]

Thank you everyone! I have a feeling he'll take part in some things if his sister does, but some things, he won't. Which is ok! This is our first family of four trip we've taken to Disney (and cruise) so we want family time. The last time it was all extended family and while fun, we didn't get much of our own time. So I'm looking forward to doing things with them that we missed out on last time!