Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[Seamama]

Nice things below decks?
It may vary from ship to ship, but all I've seen were a pool table, a dart board, a basic gym like you might find at an older hotel/apartment building. And a crew pool up at the forward of the ship! (Except you know how forced perspective works to make Cinderella castle look much bigger than it really is? That. If anyone can help it, that pool is avoided! )

Aw, that's too bad! My kids saw a video about DCL and learned from that that you have your own pool, which they think is just the coolest thing. Sorry it's not as cool as that video made it sound!

 

[CMontheseas]

Thanks again, sorry to be a pest. I found it on the deck plan now! I see stairs and the mid-ship elevator for access. Will he need to have his KTTW card specially coded to get access? (That was what we had to do for Edge on the Dream)

THANK YOU!!!

Yes! Depending on how busy it is, inquire at Guest Services or with the Manager of Youth Activities as soon as you board. The "Secret elevator" into the classic Vibe is wonderful, but as there's only one that can make the trip up there it can be a little frustrating at busy periods when waiting for it to come up sometimes.

Also note that the Magic vibe is still smaller than the one on the Fantasy (and I would say... not as easily accessible. The bar is high with only tall barstools. The movement pathways around the space require squeezing past couches and beanbags!

If it's his first ever teen Disney Cruise experience, I'd recommend the Fantasy because they'll have worked out the kinks we noticed!

 

[micheleq]

Just a quick thank you for all of your answers and insights! Our first cruise was on the Magic in February of 2012 (President's Day week in the US) and my girls loved all the Youth Activity CMs We brought bags of candy to the Club & Lab the last night of the cruise (and did the same on our Wonder cruise in March) to thank everyone so I'm glad to officially know it's appreciated! For our Easter cruise next year we'll add magazines and a CD of new music to that mix! Seeing as our girls spend a lot of time in the clubs (they are 6 & 8) we like to thank the YACs. The wonderful YACs allow my DH & I to have some relaxing vacation time alone and that is priceless!

 

[dbarker]

Thank you so much for this thread. It has been very insightful and helpful.

Also, thank you for all you do.

All of the CMs aboard work very hard to make the cruises so special for everyone.

I will definitely be bringing magazines with me on our next cruise and leaving them for the crew to enjoy.

 

[crzy4dals]

Quick question for you. My family is cruising with my best friend and her family in March on the Fantasy. Kids are 15,14,13 and 10. The 13year old will be 2 months away from her 14th birthday when we cruise..... Do you think we can get her into the Vibe with the 15 & 14 year old?

 

[CMontheseas]

Quick question for you. My family is cruising with my best friend and her family in March on the Fantasy. Kids are 15,14,13 and 10. The 13year old will be 2 months away from her 14th birthday when we cruise..... Do you think we can get her into the Vibe with the 15 & 14 year old?

This is a popular question! I think I've answered it in 5 different scenarios in this thread alone!

I should make a frequently-asked bit to save everyone time reading!
For 13 year olds, typically the Counselors will want to see how mature she is and demonstrate that she's given Edge a fair shot in the first day or so. If she can show them that she's more advanced and can keep up if Vibe happens to be 80% 17 year olds that cruise or doesn't meet many kids her age in Edge than there's a higher likelihood!

However....the Managers have the final say and they often don't like to make exceptions. It's your job as a guest to continue pressing at them and the Cruise Director if this is something that is dire enough for you! (Us Counselor CMs can't do very much, so when in doubt - find a Manager and hassle em!)

 

[1stdisneycruiser]

Nothing brightens up our day quite like candy, or cookies. Anything that isn't Disney-candy (that's all we really get on board, and it's just as expensive for us!) would make us love you so much. One time guests made us these little Halloween baggies with British/Canadian candy and a whole bunch of us just cried in the back from the thought. (It's different when you don't see your beloved brands for months)

Quite honestly speaking, the candy we tend to get from the department are cheap hard-candies and tootsie rolls (they don't like to spend much).

-other great things we've received have been.... international calling cards, gift certificates/coupons to places to eat on land, magazines telling us what life's like in the outside world

-A neat idea would be to burn a CD of all the current top music on the radio just before your trip. If there's one thing we're absolutely starved for besides news, it's CURRENT MUSIC. Our internet won't let us download much/we listen to Disney Channel music alll day.


Just please, please don't hand us money. We're expected to hand it to our managers. All of it goes straight to the managers.
*To be used for parties that the management organises, it doesn't go into their pockets.

In regards to the CD would that be MP3 format? I could get 50 to 100 songs on a CD in MP3 format that should play on most CD players but if it is in CD format than only about 12 fit on a CD.

 

[CMontheseas]

In regards to the CD would that be MP3 format? I could get 50 to 100 songs on a CD in MP3 format that should play on most CD players but if it is in CD format than only about 12 fit on a CD.

Aww thanks for asking!

Our audio systems in the Club & Lab aren't quite capable of playing MP3 CDs sadly - so if we wanted to play different music while we do our hour of closing (and bleaching down every surface!), it could only be in CD format!

Goodness knows it would also come in handy in our crew-only ...nighttime recreation space. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say bar. Can I say bar?)
Imagine only listening and dancing to the same music from the previous year for months! Ex. Gangnam style. Every single night.

 

[gumbypee]

Wow I feel for you if that is what you had to listen to every night!! Lol.

 

[UmmGooD]

Aww thanks for asking!

Our audio systems in the Club & Lab aren't quite capable of playing MP3 CDs sadly - so if we wanted to play different music while we do our hour of closing (and bleaching down every surface!), it could only be in CD format!

Goodness knows it would also come in handy in our crew-only ...nighttime recreation space. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say bar. Can I say bar?)
Imagine only listening and dancing to the same music from the previous year for months! Ex. Gangnam style. Every single night.

haha This so cracked me up. Because I am in the same boat. Not because I don't have music available to me but because I am a parent of young kids and they want to listen to the same music over and over again. Gangnam style was huge and was played TOO MUCH. But have you heard "What does a fox say?" OMG stab me in the eye with a stick. It is catchy and I think it beats out "It's a small world" for songs that stick in your head and play over and over again. I have literally been at work and started singing "Ring da da ding ding ding ding" ACK!

 

[CMontheseas]

haha This so cracked me up. Because I am in the same boat. Not because I don't have music available to me but because I am a parent of young kids and they want to listen to the same music over and over again. Gangnam style was huge and was played TOO MUCH. But have you heard "What does a fox say?" OMG stab me in the eye with a stick. It is catchy and I think it beats out "It's a small world" for songs that stick in your head and play over and over again. I have literally been at work and started singing "Ring da da ding ding ding ding" ACK!

YES. It's currently a big deal in Vibe and Edge on all 4 ships now!

 

[Minniemiss]

This is a popular question! I think I've answered it in 5 different scenarios in this thread alone!

I should make a frequently-asked bit to save everyone time reading!
For 13 year olds, typically the Counselors will want to see how mature she is and demonstrate that she's given Edge a fair shot in the first day or so. If she can show them that she's more advanced and can keep up if Vibe happens to be 80% 17 year olds that cruise or doesn't meet many kids her age in Edge than there's a higher likelihood!

However....the Managers have the final say and they often don't like to make exceptions. It's your job as a guest to continue pressing at them and the Cruise Director if this is something that is dire enough for you! (Us Counselor CMs can't do very much, so when in doubt - find a Manager and hassle em!)

You can update your first post as many times as you like with FAQ's and answers.

Once a thread gets really long most posters won't read the other posts to see if their question has been answered and will ask it again.

 

[lbgraves]

Good point. It might be a good idea to copy & paste your top 10 lists to that first post since they answer so many questions.

 

[tankin]

Aww thanks for asking!

Our audio systems in the Club & Lab aren't quite capable of playing MP3 CDs sadly - so if we wanted to play different music while we do our hour of closing (and bleaching down every surface!), it could only be in CD format!

Goodness knows it would also come in handy in our crew-only ...nighttime recreation space. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say bar. Can I say bar?)
Imagine only listening and dancing to the same music from the previous year for months! Ex. Gangnam style. Every single night.

You sound like the starfish at the end of the Nemo ride at EPCOT.

PS ... I'd agree!

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

This has been a wonderful thread to read through. We will be on our very first cruise the end of March 2014 and traveling with DD16, DD10 (just 2 weeks before turning 11), DD7, twin DS6 and DD2 (just 4 weeks before turning 3) so I had lots of questions that have been answered! For those if you counting, yes that's 6 kids! We are all looking forward to our first big family vacation together. Thank you so much!

 

[DisneyLoverMomof6]

I forgot to mention we will be on the Wonder for a 5 night western.

 

[Ocallygal]

Sorry, if this is something you have already been asked (there's a lot of pages and I only have 10 days before my cruise, so I can't read it all...lol!!!)

I noticed a lot of computers. Do any of them have Club Penguin on them? My DS loved Club Penguin but hasn't used it in a while. He was asking me if they had it and I told him I would find out. My kids usually only go to the club for an hour a day (between the show and dinner so mom and dad can have a drink), so I don't mind them playing on the computer, for a little each day.

 

[CMontheseas]

Sorry, if this is something you have already been asked (there's a lot of pages and I only have 10 days before my cruise, so I can't read it all...lol!!!)

I noticed a lot of computers. Do any of them have Club Penguin on them? My DS loved Club Penguin but hasn't used it in a while. He was asking me if they had it and I told him I would find out. My kids usually only go to the club for an hour a day (between the show and dinner so mom and dad can have a drink), so I don't mind them playing on the computer, for a little each day.

Which ship are you going on? We switch out our games every so often and might have Club penguin-themed flash games (but I personally haven't seen any!). We do have club penguin games for consoles like the Wii, but no online experience.

None of our gaming can connect to the internet!

 

[Cdnmom2001]

Just wondering, my daughter will be 12 on our cruise(2 months shy of 13) but may want to stay with her brother(she's protective and they like to stay together when doing new things) can she stay with him in the club. He will be 9. They stayed in the club together last cruise she was 11 and he was 7. Hoping they can stay together if she chooses and or if she chooses to go to the "Edge".

 

[lbgraves]

Just wondering, my daughter will be 12 on our cruise(2 months shy of 13) but may want to stay with her brother(she's protective and they like to stay together when doing new things) can she stay with him in the club. He will be 9. They stayed in the club together last cruise she was 11 and he was 7. Hoping they can stay together if she chooses and or if she chooses to go to the "Edge".

The club/lab is for kids 3-12, so your DD can go there with her brother.