any past cruisers out there?

[pal2pluto]

Okay, I'll confess, I'm a parent ........but there seems to be some interesting threads on the cruise line forum re: Common Grounds. You are the experts, so it makes sense to ask you, right?

If you were in Common Grounds.....Wonder or Magic? How old were you when you were there? Did you enjoy it? What did you think of the counselors? How about the games? Were they fun?

I've got more questions, so if you were in Common Grounds, I'd love to pick your brain for info........

 

[DisneyGirl421]

I've been on the Magic once.. July 2001... I was 13, and I loved Common Grounds. The counselors were great. They were all prolly in there 20s so they knew what teens wanted. The games were fun. they were a whole closet of board games, Playstation, Fuseball, and an air hockey table. All the teen activities started from Common Grounds. You could jus go there to have fun. I met so many people my own age. The first day, there is a '411' mtg where u seperate into the diff ages so u meet ppl ur age. I'm going back in July and I cant wait!

 

[DisneyGirl421]

I've been on the Magic once.. July 2001... I was 13, and I loved Common Grounds. The counselors were great. They were all prolly in there 20s so they knew what teens wanted. The games were fun. they were a whole closet of board games, Playstation, Fuseball, and an air hockey table. All the teen activities started from Common Grounds. You could jus go there to have fun. I met so many people my own age. The first day, there is a '411' mtg where u seperate into the diff ages so u meet ppl ur age. I'm going back in July and I cant wait!

 

[DisneyGirl421]

I've been on the Magic once.. July 2001... I was 13, and I loved Common Grounds. The counselors were great. They were all prolly in there 20s so they knew what teens wanted. The games were fun. they were a whole closet of board games, Playstation, Fuseball, and an air hockey table. All the teen activities started from Common Grounds. You could jus go there to have fun. I met so many people my own age. The first day, there is a '411' mtg where u seperate into the diff ages so u meet ppl ur age. I'm going back in July and I cant wait!

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

I was in CG in july 2001 for the magic and in Jan 2002 for the wonder!They are both really awesome! youhave people in there 20's watching you and they are really nice! they become your buddys more then babysitters! and the place is REALLY small! like the room. but its ok. you have to be 13 to 17 to go into CG and you mean alot of people your age! Its a great place to hang out!

 

[DisneyGirl421]

sry mine posted 3 times!!!

 

[SDAngel101]

I have on both the Magic(2002) and the Wonder(2001). Once when i was 16 and once when i was 15. Common Grounds is a great place for your teenager to meet other people. The activities they put on fit every age range (some activites are just for the 16-17 or 13-15) and are pretty fun. The counselors are really cool, there is usually one who is like the boss and then one who you really bond with. Or at least that is how i felt! I had such a blast on the most recent cruise i went on.. if it wasn't for CG i probably wouldn't have met the great people that i did!

If you have more questions you could PM me!

 

[pal2pluto]

Sounds like you all have had great times there! That's awesome! Some of the concerns on the DCL board center around a couple different things...

....like, do they really keep the 13-15 yr olds separate from the 16-18 yr olds for activities.....is that a good thing......

.....the game, The Dating Game seems to have asked some pretty personal questions recently.....what did you think of the game.....

....curfew questions, like how much freedom did your parents give you.....could you stay out until the clubs closed, or did your parents want you "home" early.........

........what was the CM's stance on smoking.........did they tell you to "just not get caught"...........

.......Did the CM's have a "signal" to alert you when a parent came in? And were parents allowed to come in? And what did you think of that?

What's your opinion????????/ What did you experience???????? You are the experts.......thanks for your info. You are the best for allowing me to ask all this...........

 

[Jhondy(210)]

i was on the magic back in august. i was 16. i really enjoyed it. had it not been for the common grounds i would of probably hated it. Ex. my twin was there with me but he did not go to common grounds and did not have nearly as much fun as i did and has no desire to go back. i'm already to go back and sooo excited because i met soo many people in common grounds.

the counselors were aweasome. they were always making sure i had a good time and making me laugh. the trip would not of been as cool with out them.

the games were really cool. they were fun but alot of the time i would rather just hang out with some of the friends i met and talk. the dances were aweasome but thats not really games.

they really don't keep 13-15 seperate from 16-18. i for one am glad they didn't because i met some good friends in the other age bracket then me. i hope they don't split us up. we can split ourselves up if we want.

as for the dating game we didn't play it.

my parents did not give me a curfew but i was usually back in the room no later then 2:30. that sounds late but it really wasn't becuase then i slept in to 9 or 10. common grounds didn't open till 11.

the stance on smoking was more of if you caught you will be kicked out. it wasn't a big don't smoke or drink speech more of you get caught your out...but really what else can they say.

we did have a parental signal it was basically someone saying heads up. that was not to hide anything more to alert people to check if its their parents. parent were allowed in. it didn't bug me because they were only in if they needed to find their teen or talk to them and then left. if they started hanging out for 15 minutes or longer that would but me.

 

[SDAngel101]

Well i know that on the cruise i went on in the summer there were some activities that were for the older teens for us to get to know each other better (mostly late at night) but then there were ones for the younger teens so they could get to know people in their age group. It is not like the 13-15 stay on this side of the room and the 16-17 on this side

The dating game didn't seem to be that big of a deal. The questions they asked weren't really that personal it seemed like to me. If you didn't want to get asked these questions, then don't play.

Cerfew... i didn't have one. Me and my two best friends (16 and 17 at the time) had our own room like 2 decks away from my parents. They gave us ALOT of freedom which was nice, but we were allways on time for dinner and spent time with them on the islands and excursions. Most of the time we were back in out room by 3 the latest.. except for on the last night where we went to watch the sun rise.

The CMs reinforced the rules on smoking and drinking (like what ages you had to be and that it was illegal and such). They said that if a CM caught you doing ethier if them that you would be kicked out (or you could be put on room lock down and have a secruity person stand outside of your room so you couldn't leave. but only if it was that serious!)

There wasn't really a signal. Everyone looked up when the door opened anyways too see if it was their friend that came in. I mean you couldn't be doing anything in the room that a parent would get mad at anyways. And right when the door opened a CM was right there to ask who they needed, and if they were just looking around, they would have to leave.

To me Common Grounds is a completly safe and teen friendly place.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

When i was on the cruse everyone from both age groups were kept together the whole time except for the dating game... That is the only time that the 15-17 year olds got to go and have a game to themself.... And that is a funny game... I was the person that was chosing so they asked "If you were to take Chelsea out on a date where would you take her?" those kind of questions.... its great to hear what they say. and what you did (i dont know if they still do it) is we were tied together for the dance and whoever stayed tied together the longest won. It was a great game.

for the curfew thing i was in by 3 at the latest.... my parents didnt really care either way. Nothing could happen... we are on a ship with CM's walking around checking in on you!

Drinking and smoking they said dont do it! and most people dont! It isnt the CM's responability that is a parent thing. If you dont want your kids doing that then keep and eye on what they are taking off the island. If the CM's cheach you will will be put in your room and kicked out of CG. Also the tell you in the '411' thing that most people on the island asking you to buy drugs are cops....

For me parents were stoped at the door asked who was needed and then that was it! there is nothing to hide in there... but CG is the teen place no parents allowed.... like some of the places on the ship there are no kids allowed!

 

[pal2pluto]

You all have been so helpful! Thanks for not "kicking me off" your board You've answered my questions and made me not so nervous about CG. I'll let all the adults over on the DCL forum know how great you've been.........

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

Thanks and have a great time when you are there~

 

[AFgirl325]

I know I'm joining this a little late, but just want to dispell the horrible rumors going around about CG.

I went on a Wonder Cruise a couple years ago when I had just turned 14 (I'm 15 now) and had the best time! I met a bunch of people who I've kept in touch with and had a great time! It was really nice having freedom, but then still having the security that Disney gives.

I can't really remember if they separate 13- 15 and 16-17 for all the activites, but I know they definitely did for the Dating Game. But the group naturally divides into the older teens and younger teens anyway, so I wouldn't worry about a 13 year old becoming really good friends with a 17 year old.

About the Dating Game... really, it was harmless, and to tell you the truth, kind of boring. In fact, my friends and I were sobored watching it so we left and saw a movie.

Curfew: I told my parents that probably I'd be out to 1 the first night, but if they wanted me back before then, I would. But they trusted me, so that was my curfew for the first two nights and I made it both nights. They extended it for me the last night to 2, and since me and my friends were so tired, I actually ended going back to the stateroom 45 minutes early!

CM stance on smoking, drugs, and alcohol: We were told "if you do it here, you will get kicked out- as easy as that." They never specifically told us not to drink or smoke outside of the club, but CERTAINLY did not encourage it (they said: "You all know it's illegal- that's no exception here.) As for drugs, we were given a lengthy explaination about how we would possibly be offered drugs on the island by US police officers-in disguise, and if we were caught buying them we'd "have an extended stay in Nassau" (care of the jail) and the Wonder would not wait for us. I thought it was very smart that they said this, and it actually happened: two of my friends were actually offered drugs from undercover Americans working for the government (clearly, they declined!).

We never had a signal for a parent opening the door. Like someone else said, if the door opened, everyone would just look to see if it was a friend. And from what I remember, the door was opened a great deal of the time.

Finally, that Wonder cruise was really one of the best times I've ever had. We went on the 3-day cruise: I spent dinner with my parents (except for the last night, where I asked them if it was OK if I stayed w/ my friends, and they said it was fine). I spent the day at Nassau with them, and I split the day at Castaway Cay between my friends and my parents. And after dinner ended, I was with my friends. So I got to enjoy the cruise with my friends AND my parents

Like I said before, it gives teenagers freedom that we all crave for, but at the same time, we know our parents will always be there. If you trust your child and set appropriate boundaries, you'll be fine, and your whole family will enjoy the cruise.

You may be thanking us for this information, but thank YOU for letting us tell you what the cruise is REALLY like for us teenagers, and not what a distorted view from people have be told. I think it's a shame people are cancelling trips because of these false rumors, so again, thank YOU!

I hope you have a wonderful and magical trip! ( no pun intended, of course!)

 

[Ali Gator]

That sums up most of it, what Katie wrote. They seperate you into age groups on the first night in order to meet some people around our own age but after that mainly everything is just all the teens together. It's a blast really and you meet great friends...::waves at Laura who already posted:: i missers you!!

Ali

 

[pal2pluto]

Just wanted you all to know.......there is a link posted on the DCL board to this thread..........you will likely have adult visitors.....and you are impressing them with your maturity. Thanks for all your responses! And you have restored their respect/faith in Disney.