13 year old in Common Ground??

[mog]

Okay, I know I am probably being an overprotective mom, but we just booked a cruise for this winter and my oldest will just barely by 13 (just by a couple months). Is he going to be okay in Common Ground or should I ask if he can be in the Lab with his brother? He is pretty outgoing and gets along well with most other kids, but he is not as "worldly" as some other teenagers!
Do they keep the younger teens (13/14) apart from the older ones? What kinds of activities do they do, or do they just hang out in that Common Ground room?
Thanks for any input!

 

[mickey minder]

Bump. Do 12 year olds (or younger) ever slip in? How restricted is this area?

 

[pfishgirl]

There is a Teen area for 13-17 year olds. On the Wonder it is called the Aloft and I think on the Magic it is called the Stack... I have never been on the Magic but as for the Wonder, my son (14) had a great time. They play playstation, watch TV or Movies, There's board games and the were gicen a Free Arcade night. Twice my son came back to the room at 2 am. They even played a Man Hunt game called Gotcha.. There is always counslors in the room and my son said there was never any trouble. Hope this helps a little..

As for do 12 year olds get in, probably. There is a special Teen Navagator given out to all the 13 + kids. The counslers were given a Master List of all elgible kids and then delivered the Navagator to our room...

 

[yamahaboy]

ok i kinda know alot about this...im 15 and have been in common ground on the magic when i was 13 and the stack when i was 14. i highly doubt thell let your older son drop down...and he wouldnt like that very much (i would think)....when i was 13 i felt VERY welcome with the older kids...the always included everyone...maby it was just the kids on that ship but i had a great time...the 2nd time was alot more fun...i found a couple of kids and us 4 or 5 pretty much hung out the whole time...as for you 12 year old going into the stack...im not sure on the exact number of months but if he is with in either 2 or 6 months of his 13th birthday they will let him in on a "trial" basis...if he is good then he stays...if he is causing problems then they will ask him to leave...outta the kids i hung out with one was 12 and almost 13 and there was no problem at all. if u need anything els let me know.

 

[april2005]

How about for a 14 year old girl? She's not in to playstation or video games. Is there something to keep this age group of girls busy? (and I'm not talking boys!)

 

[yamahaboy]

yes there is ALOT for everyone to do...there is always something going on and if you dont want to do that you can do what ever you want...shell meet people the first day and she wont have to stay in the stack the whole time...i meet people the first night and wasnt in the stack every min of my crusie..we would pretty much meet up there every day and do our own thing. most people dont even play playstation or video games..i personally think its stupid- you can do that stuff at home. but thats just me. shell have a great time...my cruise would of been very boring if i didnt go to the stack. your daughter will have a great time.

 

[jgalecpa]

As to the 12 year olds:

Our DD was 12 years and four months.

Even though her sister was 15, they would not let her up to the "stack" (common Grounds).

We did cajole them into letting her go on the Cozumel catamaran cruise (which turned out to be terrible, according to most).

She felt too old for the lab, and they kept her out of the stack.

I gues that's why they call them "Tweens"

She will be fourteen next Xmas, so we'll se the difference.

Jim

 

[jtiufekchiev]

Just back from the 1/9 Wonder and had a great time. Hardly saw my two older ones. They loved the feedom and independence of the teen loft. Most of the kids were their age and the counselors were great with them. I gave my kids the walkie-talkies so they could reach me whenever and they were very useful so I could check on them or arrange meeting places. My daughter especially liked the scavenger hunts and game competitions, and planned events. She made friends quickly yet she is not particularly outgoing. The kids were really bummmed to come home because I don't give them that much freedom here in the real world. Good luck.

 

[april2005]

Thanks so much! I think she'll have a good time if she makes the effort to meet new people. Looking forward to our April cruise!

 

[mog]

ok i kinda know alot about this...im 15 and have been in common ground on the magic when i was 13 and the stack when i was 14. i highly doubt thell let your older son drop down...and he wouldnt like that very much (i would think)....when i was 13 i felt VERY welcome with the older kids...the always included everyone...maby it was just the kids on that ship but i had a great time...the 2nd time was alot more fun...i found a couple of kids and us 4 or 5 pretty much hung out the whole time...as for you 12 year old going into the stack...im not sure on the exact number of months but if he is with in either 2 or 6 months of his 13th birthday they will let him in on a "trial" basis...if he is good then he stays...if he is causing problems then they will ask him to leave...outta the kids i hung out with one was 12 and almost 13 and there was no problem at all. if u need anything els let me know.

Yamahaboy
Thanks for the information. Coming from someone who was in there when they were 13 - glad to hear that you felt welcome and not out of place with the older teens. Did they have many planned activities? Were they with all the kids or split into 2 age groups? What kind of planned activities did they offer for you? (My son wants to know).
Thanks to everyone who gave information!

 

[yamahaboy]

no they did NOT split the teens up..i noticed that on my second cruise that there was alomst like 2 groups but not exactly..the older kids and the younger kids..but everyone was very nice to eachother..some of the activities were gotcha,they had a dance hip hop class (all the girls loved) and then every night there was dances..i was haning out with 12 year olds the last cruise who were in the stack and they werent outta place at all...maby it was cuz they looked WAY older than 12...i donno but they had a great time too. evertyhing was great tho.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

we are surprising our kids with a cruise while we are at WDW for Feb break, we did the 3 day in August and it was fun for our 4 year old, now 5, our daughter was 11 at the time and hated the 11 year old club, she is 12 know, and stupid me thought they had something for the 12-14 year olds (middle school ages). She is into playstation, nintendo, sports, computer (internet/AIM). I was hoping they would allow her into the older group, but sounds like they wont. The worst part is she is 5'6", so towers over most her age, so she is always treated older.

Guess she will just hang with us.

 

[yamahaboy]

whens her bday...i was on the the march 5th cruise last year and i was haning out with a 12 year old in the room and her bday was aug 7th she was in the club no problem. and that was over 5 months....now that i think bout i think the cut off is 6 months b4 the bday. let me know when her bday is and ill let you know what i think

 

[ClarabelleCow]

thanks - she won't be 13 until September. I think she may be stuck!

 

[3DAN]

I have a similar problem. My son Billy is 12,seventh grade. He is five feet ten inches tall. Works fine in school, but every time we go to eat, we have to make a big scene in order to let them know that he IS only twelve. He still has six months before his birthday. Next cruise is May 14, Hope there won't be any probs with the Stack.
Bill

 

[ClarabelleCow]

I have a similar problem. My son Billy is 12,seventh grade. He is five feet ten inches tall. Works fine in school, but every time we go to eat, we have to make a big scene in order to let them know that he IS only twelve. He still has six months before his birthday. Next cruise is May 14, Hope there won't be any probs with the Stack.
Bill

I know, doesn't it stink!!!! I really feel for my daughter, being tall, very thin and athletic, I have enough of a hard time finding clothes for her that don't make her look like a "hooch", but are stylish and appropriate for a 12 year old. She wears a juniors 1/3 or womens 2 (to have such problems!!!!) She as so unhappy when we did the first cruise in August, (same trip), I amhoping this time she will be happier because her cousin and aunt and uncle are with us. I just hope some more kids are on the trip!!!! Or that they let her bump up to the 13+, she wouldn't do the games, just the sports stuff!!! Especially on Castaway Cay!

 

[3DAN]

Clarabelle, Do you happen to know if the stack or aloft have Dance Dance Revolution? It seems to be all the rage. Billy got one at Best Buy and he and his 9 year old sister love it. Some of the kids(particularly boys)don't seem to be interested. Make sure you check with the councilors upon embarkation. It would be tough for Billy to hang with kids much younger than him (I am going to make sure they know he is in seventh grade).
Bill

 

[hmneal]

We were on the 1/2/05 Wonder. My middle dd's were in Aloft quite often. One was 2wks short of being 13. They had to get it approved but let her in.

They did have a number of activities that were seperated by age (13-14, 15-17) such as scavenger hunts, etc. The almost 13yo went and loved them!

She wasn't as comfortable when they were all together but she did try it a few times.

Holly