Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[cpeters]

We don't let the kids go anywhere near the water on Castaway, especially since we don't connect to it! So don't worry- the kids don't get to swim with us (but they do get wet in our fountain splashpad! )

Security is taken SO seriously on Castaway, to the point where you can see many of us physically standing by all gates and borders all day. We call this 'glorified security guard duty' and don't really get to interact with the kids - but! Don't think we're just standing around alone! We're an added line of security defense for the kids!

What you should be concerned about is sunscreen. Put loads on. Maybe give a little bag with a travel sized one and teach your children how to apply it. For maaany reasons, we aren't allowed to ever be seen applying sunscreen to a child!

Thanks so much for the answer. I think (fingers crossed) that coming from you (CM) she will feel better about it.

 

[moomy-san]

You mentioned that the new ships have less structured craft time- do the kids still have access to some supplies to do on their own? My 9 year old Loves all the different crafts on the Wonder (4 cruises and never a repeat!) I think she'd be bored if she can't do crafts on our Fantasy cruise in Feb!!

 

[CMontheseas]

You mentioned that the new ships have less structured craft time- do the kids still have access to some supplies to do on their own? My 9 year old Loves all the different crafts on the Wonder (4 cruises and never a repeat!) I think she'd be bored if she can't do crafts on our Fantasy cruise in Feb!!

I know Counselors on the new ships keep asking and asking to do more things, so it's really up to whoever's in management at the time whether it's a priority for them! I find that on the dream we gave out more coloring sheets, and the crafts the kids did tended to be creations they made on the computer and printed out.

On the Magic & Wonder, we did all kinds of sand crafts and puppets and foam projects. We tended to have more leeway about being creative and taking out supplies for the kids to use than they do on the newer ships! Just one of those little differences that the classics retain to keep up with the fancy new ships

*Also: Tell the managers while you're there that your child would like to do more crafts and that they're important! A lot of things we hope to change doesn't quite happen until enough guests say so!

 

[mariab]

When we cruised last nov (dream) our 9 year old who turned 10 17 days later was not allowed in to edge ( I didn't make a stink of it) But we had his brother in it who was 11 and we wanted them together, but nope no help from the CM. then when we cruised in april (wonder) he was 10 and no questions asked he was good to go! We are cruising again the end of october (dream) and the customer service agent told me that since he was in the 30 day period there would be no problem. Is this a standing RULE. If it is not I will be making a stink right away, because we probably would have waited 17 days to go on the cruise otherwise.
And if this helps anyone I do believe some 10y/o kids great in edge. I know my son was bored as can be and did not want to even return to Oceaners lab on the dream....which made for a few arguments being his older brother was in edge having a blast. On the wonder both kids made friends and enjoyed edge and all the activities to the max!
Thanks for your help!!!

 

[CMontheseas]

When we cruised last nov (dream) our 9 year old who turned 10 17 days later was not allowed in to edge ( I didn't make a stink of it) But we had his brother in it who was 11 and we wanted them together, but nope no help from the CM. then when we cruised in april (wonder) he was 10 and no questions asked he was good to go! We are cruising again the end of october (dream) and the customer service agent told me that since he was in the 30 day period there would be no problem. Is this a standing RULE. If it is not I will be making a stink right away, because we probably would have waited 17 days to go on the cruise otherwise.
And if this helps anyone I do believe some 10y/o kids great in edge. I know my son was bored as can be and did not want to even return to Oceaners lab on the dream....which made for a few arguments being his older brother was in edge having a blast. On the wonder both kids made friends and enjoyed edge and all the activities to the max!
Thanks for your help!!!

I'd love to say that the Customer Service Agents have everything 100% accurate all the time - but know that the rules about what the spaces can and can't really accommodate tend to differ sometimes between ships. It would make sense that a smaller, laid-back classic ship would've likely allowed it sooner than a newer ship that would be jam-packed with kids.


However! If he's 10 as of right now and assuming his birthday's in the next few months, that's well within our reasonable allowance to be put in Edge. (Under 10, we....really don't! Even newly-10 year olds are a stretch) If a CM gives you a hassle speak to a manager immediately and tell them about how he was approved in the past on another vessel by another manager and demonstrated his maturity for Edge. That'd be the ticket.

 

[Richatlaw]

Hi there! Thanks so much for answering everyone's questions!

I have a 3.5 year old who I'm pretty sure will not want to be left without us in the Club. We'll follow your great suggestions to get him ready and will definitely come to the open house on the first day, but I'm pretty sure he will resist at least a little bit when we try to leave him. Will a counsellor be able to take him into the club when we leave him at the gate? He's more likely to warm up if someone kind of takes him by the hand and shows him that there is fun to be had, sort of takes him under their wing if you know what I mean. Once he's occupied he'll be fine! Just wondering what I can expect when we go to leave him at the Club.

Thanks!

 

[CMontheseas]

Hi there! Thanks so much for answering everyone's questions!

I have a 3.5 year old who I'm pretty sure will not want to be left without us in the Club. We'll follow your great suggestions to get him ready and will definitely come to the open house on the first day, but I'm pretty sure he will resist at least a little bit when we try to leave him. Will a counsellor be able to take him into the club when we leave him at the gate? He's more likely to warm up if someone kind of takes him by the hand and shows him that there is fun to be had, sort of takes him under their wing if you know what I mean. Once he's occupied he'll be fine! Just wondering what I can expect when we go to leave him at the Club.

Thanks!

As long as it's not during an overly busy time (like, the first morning of a Sea Day), that can usually happen! But be aware that the way we're scheduled, if we're at the front desk, we're pretty much fixed at that spot and shouldn't leave (so that the gates are always monitored). Likewise, the Counselors standing in various parts of the room can't quite leave their designated little space or risk getting in trouble! If you observe us during secure programming time you'll see this in action.


What tends to work well is we'll allow a grownup to accompany the child in for a few minutes, and walk with them up to one of us in our designated standing locations and then we'll be able to spend time with him!

But if you're lucky whichever counselor has the ability to float around and watch the floor - will be close by and be able to do it!
( "we call this group anchor duty" - guests often ask us why we keep asking for support from a "GA" and this is what we say it stands for.)

 

[lbgraves]

When we cruised last nov (dream) our 9 year old who turned 10 17 days later was not allowed in to edge ... We are cruising again the end of october (dream) and the customer service agent told me that since he was in the 30 day period there would be no problem. Is this a standing RULE. If it is not I will be making a stink right away, because we probably would have waited 17 days to go on the cruise otherwise....

It probably wouldn't have made a difference if you had cruise right after his 10th birthday. The rule is for 30 days within the designated ages of the group, so within 30 days of turning 11, not 10, for the Edge. DD was 10 1/2, had outgrown the lab and was not allowed to participate in the Edge. She ended up just going around the ship with her brother [12 at the time] and staying in the room when we went to Palo because she didn't want to go to the lab. Letting 10 yos outside of that 30 days is an exception that varies from cruise to cruise. On our 3/23/13 Fantasy cruise we saw lots of 10 yos turned away at the Edge the first day. When I asked the CM about that he said usually they don't allow it unless it is a slow time and the cruise isn't fully booked with kids.

 

[debtdb]

You all do a great job. You all work very hard and I love getting to know some of you. I know this might not be in your area but what happened to pub night ?

 

[mouseearstx]

What is the policy about children with "unruly" or in teacher speak "challenging" behaviors? I ask this because, as the parent of a newly 3 year-old I am worried about bigger children who are rough around little ones, in a non-accidental way or just plain mean. If a child is rough, or bullies other children, what does DCL do? Or do they do anything?

My DD will have her 8 year old brother with her, but he's pretty mild mannered and not at all confrontational.

 

[CMontheseas]

what happened to pub night ?

Do you mean this? - Pub skit? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCKU0ztV4rw
I know it doesn't always happen on shorter cruises, if that's any help!

What is the policy about children with "unruly" or in teacher speak "challenging" behaviors? I ask this because, as the parent of a newly 3 year-old I am worried about bigger children who are rough around little ones, in a non-accidental way or just plain mean. If a child is rough, or bullies other children, what does DCL do? Or do they do anything?

My DD will have her 8 year old brother with her, but he's pretty mild mannered and not at all confrontational.

Good question! As of this year, our registration forms have FINALLY changed to address this more clearly - with an "unacceptable behavior" policy parents must agree to. Before this, it was much harder for us to be able to be able to bar any violent children exhibiting bullying behavior from entering our spaces.
It's a very delicate thing that we're expected to handle without upsetting any parents. And of course, for everyone's safety and to avoid further dispute on board we don't identify the culprit to you. (This probably doesn't mean your child won't be able to point them out!)


But again, considering the nature of it being a Disney space this never really happens to the younger kids (it's moreso adolescents/teens who haven't quite learned to use their words to settle conflict!). We do see our share of little ones being rough with each other when playing "pirates" or when foam blocks come into play. But that's when we'd swoop in and have a chat with them and they really always end up being friends again a minute later!

 

[FrogandToad]

Oops--duplicate post! See below:

 

[FrogandToad]

Thanks for your super helpful description of Toy Story Bootcamp! Could you briefly describe some of the other club activities that are listed in the navigators--particularly those that would appeal to younger kids and/or involve characters? Some of the titles are pretty self-explanatory, but others don't reveal much.

 

[gr8estg8r]

Hi CMontheseas,
thanks for all the useful information. We are getting ready for our first Disney cruise on the Fantasy on Dec. 7th. Are son will be 2y 11 months and we switched to Disney because Norwegian was so strict on 3yo only in their kids club. We were told that if he was potty trained there wouldn't be a problem. Plus his 5 year old brother will be in there with him! Well after a few weeks accident free I am proud to announce that he is fully potty-trained! Yay.
Now here is my question: While my son is now fully potty-trained, sometimes when he takes down his pants his foot comes out (mainly when doing number 2). He has problems getting his pants back on right. Will a cast member help him occasionally, or will they call me to help get his pants back on. I know the policy is that he needs to be fully independent, but this is really the only thing he needs help with sometimes.

One more question. Do the characters come to the club and dance with the kids? My sons are looking forward to this from the DCL dvd. My youngest son want to dance with his "girlfriend" Minnie that he met at Disney World this past May. (She flirted with him and tried to take his bunny blanket .
Thanks for the info in advance.

 

[CMontheseas]

Thanks for your super helpful description of Toy Story Bootcamp! Could you briefly describe some of the other club activities that are listed in the navigators--particularly those that would appeal to younger kids and/or involve characters? Some of the titles are pretty self-explanatory, but others don't reveal much.

Sure - which ones in particular? There are a lot of programs (and I'm not feeling superly ambitious to list all of them right now - been studying all day! )

He has problems getting his pants back on right. Will a cast member help him occasionally, or will they call me to help get his pants back on. I know the policy is that he needs to be fully independent, but this is really the only thing he needs help with sometimes.

One more question. Do the characters come to the club and dance with the kids? My sons are looking forward to this from the DCL dvd. My youngest son want to dance with his "girlfriend" Minnie that he met at Disney World this past May. (She flirted with him and tried to take his bunny blanket .
Thanks for the info in advance.

This happens from time to time with lots of children - you can imagine what it's like having to help countless little ones back into Princess dresses after they "go"! BUT if you'll remember, we can't see what's going on in the restrooms. If we hear a child crying for help, or if they come walking to the doorway half-dressed, we immediately call over another female counselor to help out. We can never help kids get dressed on our own...for obvious 'perception' reasons. But in pairs, we're covered!



For specific programs, like the Do-Si-Do or the Aloha Luau or Royal Ball, for sure Snow White or Stitch or Cinderella will be there to teach the kids how to dance. All other times.... the characters won't necessarily dance unless they really felt like it. Pluto might dance at his Pyjama Party, Tinkerbell might dance at her talent show -it's up to them!

As for our dear friend Minnie, we don't have any programs with her specifically though, so we can never "count" on her being with us at a scheduled time. She DOES from time to time pop into the Club or Lab if she's on a stroll around the ship though, and if a particularly good song is on she might come dance with the kids! But... again, maybe she'll just pop in there to give hugs.


If your particular cruise has a "Character Dance Party" navigated, that might be a good chance to dance with her, or even if she's doing a set Meet-n-Greet you can ask her if she can dance with him for a little bit. I'm sure she'd LOVE that more than signing another autograph.

 

[FrogandToad]

Thanks! A one-sentence description of each would be sufficient.
Crusin' with Crush
Big Top Fun Time
Picture This
Mickey's Puzzle Playtime
Memory Wall
Treasure Hunt (Scuttle's Cove)

 

[ggfred32]

Oo ooh oo....I have a non kiddo related question.

How is the "ranking" ordered as far as CM's go for rooms?

 

[ggfred32]

I hate my phone sometimes....wasn't done....

Ok. How does it work below decks? Who is "important" Who gets better rooms and treatment? Who gets to come up on the guest decks?

I know your answer will be Disney filtered. I know that there is a hierarchy. Who is top and who is bottom?

 

[ggfred32]

I realize you are British and might not fully get my California lingo. Not literally top bunk and bottom bunk. More like, what CM's are treated almost like guests, and who is treated like help?

 

[redmomof4]

You'd technically have to bring them to Edge and Vibe separately - but it's a fairly open secret that the counselors in Edge and Vibe get the kids to bring them ice cream for "scavenger hunt" points on a regular basis. This also includes chicken tenders and pizzas, beverages - and get away with it! Not saying this is necessarily the norm, but life's a bit more comfortable as a Teen counselor!

Kudos to them for being creative!!