Anyone else's children not enjoy Oceaneer's?

[princesscate]

We were on the Dream and DD wanted to explore the Clubs ... Well she came right out ... She said it was too loud - kids running around crazy and the staff she felt were pushy and trying to force her into a game they were playing (she said one of them grabbed her by the bow on the back of her dress - I can't confirm or deny, so I did not make a big deal). But she refused to go and do anything in the clubs after that. She is 11 and I finally coaxed her into Edge on our last day and she liked it much better. Our friends' DD who is 7 also had a less than enjoyable time in the kids clubs. So just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience or is it just us?
(Note: We did have an awesome time! It's just the kids clubs were not the place for our DD but she did midship detective and was able to find her way around the ship pretty well!)

 

[saraheli]

Our first cruise we traveled with another family whose kids did not like the club. after a half hour our friends would inevitably get the text on their wave phone "XXX would like to picked up" and of course 15 minutes later I'd get a text on my phone that my kids wanted to be picked up bc their friends had left. We sailed again this summer, without friends just us, and my kids loved the clubs. They would beg to stay when we'd go pick them up after dinner and always asked to go back during the day. So to answer your question yes some kids don't like it. I can tell you this, if my kids didn't like the club this time around, we'd probably be done with Disney cruises. The reason we have a 3rd cruise booked is because its so easy to spend family time with the kids but then have 2 hours every night to have some adult time. It really is a perfect mix.

 

[hubbard53]

my son has always loved them. We cruise solo so he always has to make new friends and has no problem doing so.

 

[thumpie's mom]

On the cruises when she was younger, my daughter really enjoyed the kids clubs.

 

[Weedy]

It's always a good idea ( even more so if your kids are older) for them to go to the club the 1st night. Friend groups are formed. Events are picked.

 

[Pens Fan]

My son only enjoyed the clubs once he was old enough for Vibe. His comments were similar to your daughter's about kids being loud, not following the rules, etc. He also commented that the CM's didn't seem to care how crazy the kids were acting. Was all of this true? Who knows? As an only child, I really think it was just too overwhelming for him. He was used to playing with his friends at home, but that was always in a controlled setting with parents around to make sure it didn't get out of hand. He was used to hanging out with us on vacations anyway, so that's what we did. We all had a great time, just spending time together as a family.

On our last two cruises he was 15 and 17 and absolutly loved Vibe. He spent several hours there almost every day. It was the first time DH and I actually explored the adult areas of the ship, which was nice. To me, the clubs are a nice option, but they aren't a huge factor in determining how much we enjoy our cruise. We take a lot of non-cruise vacations and there certainly aren't any clubs there, and we have just as much fun as we do on a cruise.

Bottom line, some kids aren't going to enjoy the clubs, but you'll still have a good time. You're on a Disney cruise !!!

 

[3Down1Up]

I have found that as my kids got older, they enjoyed Oceaneers less. When they were in the 5-8 range, they enjoyed activities there. But beyond that age, their feedback was "uninteresting" or "babyish" or "boring". Maybe it's them - maybe it's the kind of activities there. When my oldest turned 11, she went to the Edge and LOVED it. My younger ones haven't gone to Oceaneers on our last two cruises, and for our next cruise they will be old enough for the Edge and are excited to try that.

 

[AU Dre]

My son (6) did not enjoy the club. I think it was just that he did not know anyone there and it was a little overwhelming for him. I think if he would have had a sibling or friend in there it would have been better. I think this time around I might try to let him go during one of the more planned events they have there to let him get used to it. The first time we dropped him off it was kind of packed in there and was one of the first nights at dinner time, so I think he got a little case of being shy with it being so busy like rush hour traffic.
It really was not a big deal though. He enjoyed dinner time with us in the dining rooms. Our servers were great to keep our dinner moving so it did not take a really long time to get through dinner. We had a great time on the cruise and never really had a time we needed to have him in the club.

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

Every kid is different. The clubs can be noisy and crowded, and I can definitely see where it would make some kids uncomfortable, even intimidated.

For us, the kids' reactions to the clubs have been different on every cruise. We started cruising DCL when my DD was four, and my DS 7. She is a shy extrovert, he is an outgoing introvert (I know, strange combos, but true). Our first cruise, she pretty much refused to go to the clubs, so she only went when we ate at Palo, and the last night (at which time we had to force her out because she had finely warmed up and was having a good time). The DS happily hung out at the club, mostly at the computers.

The second time she was 7 and he was 10, kind of the same situation, although she happily used dine and play every night because we had second seating and she was happy to have any excuse to leave, but preferred to hang with us during the day. DS happily hung out at the lab, the arcade and the ping pong tables.

Finally on our last cruise, she was 10 and he was 13. The first night, they both found a group of kids to hang out with and we barely saw them except when I requested their presence (at a minimum, they had to come to the show and eat dinner with us every evening).

This time, she is 13, he is 16 (yes, we seem to cruise every 3 years). She can't wait to go to the clubs, and is especially looking forward to the open houses at the Vibe (she has gotten past most of her shyness). He's not saying much, but part of the problem is he is "in love" and will not be able to talk to the girlfriend for a week .

I do agree with some of the PP who note that it is important to go to the clubs the first night, that is when kids are most likely to make friends. I will note that the last cruise, DS didn't even make it to the Edge before he found friends. We were in one of the clubs before dinner, and there were a couple of blondes checking him out! He ended up hanging out with them for most of the trip.

 

[grumpyskirtgirl]

My boys (7, 9) loved the lab, HATED the club (Magic). Only went there when the lab was open to all and they were forced too. My 9 year old is autistic and loud noises, kids running around like crazy would send him immediately into an episode so I was very concerned. And if a castmember grabbed him to force him into a game with other kids, oh forget about it, nightmare city.

That said, they both LOVED it. My oldest son just LOVED Super Sloppy Science. He also loved to hang out in the corner and "drive the ship". My youngest said that he played on the treasure chests ( various video games I think???) whenever he could and would sit and join group activities when he was interested. They didn't bond with any of the castmembers, but no surprise there.


I think some kids will like the clubs and some won't. My kids definitely liked it, but certainly didn't spend the bulk of the day there.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've learned to trust nothing that DS tells me about the clubs, LOL.

He says they NEVER announce the activities, they NEVER try to get the kids to join in...your daughter says she was grabbed in order to join in. I'm guessing that the truth is somewhere in between, and it's all in the eye of the beholder. (and we aren't the owner of that eye, LOL)

My son has liked it a lot, my son has been a little bored. On our first DCL cruise when we had cousins onboard, he barely spent any time there, because his cousin would get totally bored. (he has autism and he just couldn't handle the clubs in any way, shape, or form) Once the cousin wanted to go, my son wanted to go. My cousin's parents are a lot nicer about having plans interrupted than we are, so the cousin had something fun to go do, while my son ended up sticking with two very annoyed parents, LOL. We had talked and talked about "when you're in the club it means we have plans and we will come get you, do not call unless you're sick". (I'm overstating but that was the basic conversation we had over and over with him) For us, going withOUT a friend/cousin was perfect. But he's an extrovert and a total joiner, and he doesn't mind playing with girls, so he does really well in the clubs.


Anyway, it can vary from sailing to sailing, how much he likes the clubs. I would never let one reaction change our future plans.

 

[lisamarie12]

My DD was 4 and she did not like the club much on our May Fantasy cruise. I think she figured out that if she told them she wanted to go, they would call us and she would get attention. She would go, but was usually good for 1-2 hours, tops. But when we came to pick her up, she would be engaged in an activity. Perhaps we should have just ignored the text and waited to see if they texted again, but I did not really think we could. I think if we had though, she would have stayed and forgotten that she wanted picked up.

It may be her age, but she enjoyed kids clubs on our prior cruise (Carnival). And she goes to a baby sitter with other kids, does team kids at church, etc. Maybe once she starts pre-K in August (big sigh) things will look up.

 

[annacali]

My two girls (ages 10 and 12) did not enjoy Oceaneers at all. I got them in the door once and they were done in less than an hour. We did an open house at Edge and they liked that better-unfortunately our cruise was too full for Edge to allow my 10 yo in during regular hours. So we just didn't use the kids clubs. We still had a totally wonderful trip.

 

[lcvb]

My two girls (ages 10 and 12) did not enjoy Oceaneers at all. I got them in the door once and they were done in less than an hour. We did an open house at Edge and they liked that better-unfortunately our cruise was too full for Edge to allow my 10 yo in during regular hours. So we just didn't use the kids clubs. We still had a totally wonderful trip.

This was exactly our situation. I've now given up asking my girls!

 

[aprincessatlast]

Anyway, it can vary from sailing to sailing, how much he likes the clubs. I would never let one reaction change our future plans.

This for sure! It is hit or miss depending on cruise. The cruise 2 years ago our oldest was with us all the time and would only spend 30 minutes in club. The last one we went on we were fortunate if we saw him for 30 minutes on sea days. So it definitely varies.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Our DD had absolutely no interest in the club/lab. We insisted she go when we dined at Palo brunch/dinner, but no other time after that. Interestingly, when she was finally able to go to the teen club, she loved it (went there every night until closing time.) She now enjoys the 18-20 group.

 

[EvieBug]

So what's going on at Edge that's so fascinating, I wonder?

I'm really hoping my kids like the club/lab, because I will be a sad panda if I have to spend my entire vacation figuring out ways to amuse my kids while trapped in the middle of the ocean. Ha!

 

[Tiffylv]

.

 

[SwimMom2]

Hm, context is helpful here. I think it really helps to look at pictures and videos of the kids clubs and talk about what goes on there before your child goes. Also discuss when you will come back, even with the little ones. Try to time visits for times when your child is receptive, encourage them to join in the activities, and DO NOT overuse the clubs. That will maximize the likelihood that your child will enjoy the clubs.

I don't find it at all surprising that some kids don't like it. This is true for everything in life. Kids are individuals. It might help to frame it positively with them but that's no guarantee they will love it right away.

I can see how an 11 year old would prefer Edge. When you are 11, being surrounded by little ones can be overwhelming/annoying.

 

[DISNEYMOMTO1]

On our first cruise on the Magic, my DD was 8 and did not enjoy the clubs at all. She did meet a friend and the friend loved the clubs. I am a single mom and I think DD was afraid that I wouldn't have any fun without her. Every time she went to the club I would get something 15 minutes later "she has a tummy ache" or "she doesn't feel good" which was a load of crock. She went 3 times for about 15 minutes each time and that was it. However, I would never NOT go on DCL because she didn't like the clubs. We had an awesome vacation. Did I get to go to PALO? No, but the vacation was about us being together.

Our next trip is in February and she will be 17 (yes, a lot of time between cruises, lol). She has met a friend who is also going on this cruise and they text, chat, instagram, etc. and are both excited to hang out. Will she go to the Vibe? She has plans but seems to think if might be "lame". we'll see, LOL