Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[WallaceFamily]

This question reminds me of some of my best, favorite memories working in the youth spaces on board, and I'll gladly answer why:

I think a lot of people can stand to a learn a lot from watching how children interact with other children with disabilities. When I first started I was always nervous and a bit worried for them - after all, kids can be cruel sometimes (As you can imagine, we tend to get our share of Make-A-Wish children as well) - and so I tended to keep a close eye whenever anyone with physical disabilities was on our spaces to step in, just in case anything that amounted to teasing or exclusion happened.

What I've experienced first-hand over the past few contracts as a Counselor has made me have so much faith in our next generation, it's insane! What I mean is that these kids, without fail, have openly embraced their peers with physical disabilities and go on to do so much more about making their cruise special than I would've been able to as a CM.

Some examples are:

-The 4-year old Deaf girl who this other 4-year old boy was crazy about and always played with her despite never speaking

-The little boy with a breathing tube who the older kids would sit with during programs

-The 5-year old in a wheelchair who the other girls worked together to put on a princess dress and helped push her around at the Royal Ball. (Cinderella confessed in the hallway later on that she almost cried seeing that!)

-The 8 year old with leukemia who made friends with two new "sisters" who held her hands for the whole cruise whenever they walked from one part of the room to the other

-The blind tween dude whose first dance was with every girl in Edge!


It always starts off with innocent, maybe blunt questions from the other kids: "Why does she walk like that? Why is he wearing that? How come she won't talk to me?" But then, when answered they simply say: "Oh, ok".

And I don't mean to get your hopes up or anything, but I gotta say watching these very nonjudgmental interactions between the kids was far more magical than -dare I say it - Mickey Mouse doing the same thing! It's wonderful that he's social, that will go a long way in making that first introduction to the other kids. Hope he enjoys the cruise!

This is making me cry as I sit here at Panera. Kids are wonderful, aren't they?

I just spent the last two days reading this whole wonderful thread. I learned a lot. Thanks!

 

[WallaceFamily]

We are boarding the Fantasy on Dec 14, 2013. If I see that you have stopped posting here, then maybe you might be cruising with me, right?

My girls are 9 and 7. They will not have check out privileges.

If I did give my 9 year old check out privileges, can she check out her 7 year old sister?

 

[Krs1300]

(The department has 'potty accident' clothing - but for toddlers!)

How does this work? Do people get charged if they have to use accident clothing? I can't imagine clothing is just given away for free??

PS- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for taking your time to do this!! It is helpful beyond belief!

 

[vwrosebud]

Thank you for all this helpful info!

 

[bumbershoot]

Which means that if the most intrepid 4 year old came marching up to the Club unattended and wanted to come in, we could let her (and most likely sending a message to her grownups in case they weren't aware)!

And I watched that happen on the Dream...they actually didn't let her in until they got ahold of a parent. I'm not totally sure the girl's account showed that she was allowed to go in/out on her own, and she wasn't being very talkative about what she wanted.

It always starts off with innocent, maybe blunt questions from the other kids: "Why does she walk like that? Why is he wearing that? How come she won't talk to me?" But then, when answered they simply say: "Oh, ok".

I have seen that countless times both in college when I did some work with kids in the Adapted PE program, and while at the Y the last 4 years. As long as parents don't overreact to the blunt questions from kids, the kids work it out really well amongst themselves. And even when the child isn't able to communicate, if the parent answers the question instead of being weirded out at the bluntness, it goes well. It's neat.




OP, if I'm reading things right, the Club/Lab (specifically asking about the Dream, in case it's different on different ships) is 3-12, meaning THROUGH 12, right? So until the 13th birthday, the Club/Lab is an option?

 

[CMontheseas]

We have never been on a cruise before and just trying to get an idea of how been the kids clubs are? Also on average how many kids? specifically edge on the Dream and the lab? Thanks!

How does the Out and About work? 10 yos can participate in Edge activities? Thanks

Do you mean to ask how busy the youth spaces can be?
It's difficult to say how many kids we have on average because it fluctuates over the course of the day, (sometimes sharply within half an hour!) and even then it changes day to day.

But a very rough idea is that on Port Days, expect anywhere between 5- 80 kids in the Oceaneer Lab during the day, on Sea Days anywhere from 60 - 200+ depending on the scheduled activity.

As for Edge, look at 0 - 15 on Port Days, 5 - 40 on the busiest Sea Day!


-For Out and About, this is at the discretion of the Manage of Youth Activities from ship to ship, but these tend to be categorized as an "Open House" activity on the Navigator, and thus participants outside of the age range can join in. It'd be a good idea to ask a manager at one of the Open Houses on the first day what their policy will be for that cruise.

 

[CMontheseas]

We are boarding the Fantasy on Dec 14, 2014. If I see that you have stopped posting here, then maybe you might be cruising with me, right?

My girls are 9 and 7. They will not have check out privileges.

If I did give my 9 year old check out privileges, can she check out her 7 year old sister?

When a child receives "Self-Check" privileges, it means just that - they can check only themselves out at any time.

What you're referring to is Pick-up Authorization also known as "Authorized Adult" in order to retrieve any non Self-Check child out of the space. Sadly, this is only granted to guests 13 and older (even if they're not technically adults!).

So your 9-year old won't be able to take her sister out, HOWEVER she'll be able to leave and fetch you to come get the younger one - which tends to work well with some families, provided they know where to find you!

 

[CMontheseas]

How does this work? Do people get charged if they have to use accident clothing? I can't imagine clothing is just given away for free??

PS- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for taking your time to do this!! It is helpful beyond belief!

Oh potty accidents. So the way this works is that the spaces keep a limited stock of child basics - that is youth-sized plain white tees, elastic shorts, and grey toddler onesies that have "Youth Activities" written across the front in block lettering.

If a child has a PA (potty accident) in the space, and no one responded to our calls at all, we'd have to make a decision to change them, place their soiled clothing in a special bio-contaminant bag to be given to the grown-ups later, and redress the child in our "PA Clothes" so they can freely use the space while we keep trying to contact their family.

In the event that there are no more PA clothes available or if the parent is on their way with a change of clothing, the kid will remain in or near the restroom in an isolated area to prevent....spreading.
crazy2: Unless the child attempts to run away around the area. Do I ever have some really nasty "spreading" stories. Poor Stitch never wanted to roll around on our floor again. )


Technically parents are told to have the clothing laundered and returned to the space. In many cases where it's been soiled beyond cleaning (i.e.: blood), it gets incinerated and destroyed. Some CMs might tell the family they "may" get charged for unreturned PA clothing, but I have no idea how much/if guest services follows through with it. I think it's largely an honor-system thing, but I suppose if someone really wanted a free onesie that says "Youth Activities" on it they could get away with it!

 

[CMontheseas]

OP, if I'm reading things right, the Club/Lab (specifically asking about the Dream, in case it's different on different ships) is 3-12, meaning THROUGH 12, right? So until the 13th birthday, the Club/Lab is an option?

You got it! They'll be able to enjoy our spaces up until they turn 13. If this happens over the course of the cruise, the system picks up on it and precisely at midnight of their birthday, their access will be deactivated and they will be asked to return their wristbands or risk getting charged.

 

[bumbershoot]

You got it! They'll be able to enjoy our spaces up until they turn 13. If this happens over the course of the cruise, the system picks up on it and precisely at midnight of their birthday, their access will be deactivated and they will be asked to return their wristbands or risk getting charged.

Thanks. Back prior to our February cruise I think there was some wording on the site that confused extended family so it was thought their eldest would be aging out of the club/lab at 11. Glad to know there was a misunderstanding. Not sure if it will make a difference in plans but it's always good to know the full info!

 

[twindaddy]

This question reminds me of some of my best, favorite memories working in the youth spaces on board, and I'll gladly answer why:

I think a lot of people can stand to a learn a lot from watching how children interact with other children with disabilities. When I first started I was always nervous and a bit worried for them - after all, kids can be cruel sometimes (As you can imagine, we tend to get our share of Make-A-Wish children as well) - and so I tended to keep a close eye whenever anyone with physical disabilities was on our spaces to step in, just in case anything that amounted to teasing or exclusion happened.

What I've experienced first-hand over the past few contracts as a Counselor has made me have so much faith in our next generation, it's insane! What I mean is that these kids, without fail, have openly embraced their peers with physical disabilities and go on to do so much more about making their cruise special than I would've been able to as a CM.

Some examples are:

-The 4-year old Deaf girl who this other 4-year old boy was crazy about and always played with her despite never speaking

-The little boy with a breathing tube who the older kids would sit with during programs

-The 5-year old in a wheelchair who the other girls worked together to put on a princess dress and helped push her around at the Royal Ball. (Cinderella confessed in the hallway later on that she almost cried seeing that!)

-The 8 year old with leukemia who made friends with two new "sisters" who held her hands for the whole cruise whenever they walked from one part of the room to the other

-The blind tween dude whose first dance was with every girl in Edge!


It always starts off with innocent, maybe blunt questions from the other kids: "Why does she walk like that? Why is he wearing that? How come she won't talk to me?" But then, when answered they simply say: "Oh, ok".

And I don't mean to get your hopes up or anything, but I gotta say watching these very nonjudgmental interactions between the kids was far more magical than -dare I say it - Mickey Mouse doing the same thing! It's wonderful that he's social, that will go a long way in making that first introduction to the other kids. Hope he enjoys the cruise!

SO True. I have worked with children with disabilities at various age levels, and it is often the parents that freak out over the blunt questions. Once those are out of the way, kids are wonderful, nearly all of the time. In general, that is why I like children with special needs to be as mainstreamed as much as possible. Other children learn too.

CM, a question. What is the best thing I can do to recognize a CM. Tell the cruise director in person, fill out the survey with their name, email Karl Holz (seriously). What gets you the most kudos/rewards/ect...

 

[CMontheseas]

Excellent question, this sometimes ties into a CM moving upward sooner in the company too, so it's important!

The comments in the survey are a real start, guest services bunches together all of the ones with comments in the same department and these are sent to each manager (who can choose to post them up, like ours do sometimes!).

The next step is gushing about that CM to the Cruise Director - enough that it will be something that sticks in their mind. A once saw an entertainment person marched over to the cruise director in the atrium by admiring guests who went on and on about how she made their cruise special. Next contract, she became a Character Manager!

Next step up from that is a well written letter that can be copied and sent to Guest Services, The office of the Cruise Director, and to DCL shoreside. These kinds of letters (if not too long) get published in the fleet newsletter and result in SO many accolades and perks!

 

[twindaddy]

Excellent question, this sometimes ties into a CM moving upward sooner in the company too, so it's important!

The comments in the survey are a real start, guest services bunches together all of the ones with comments in the same department and these are sent to each manager (who can choose to post them up, like ours do sometimes!).

The next step is gushing about that CM to the Cruise Director - enough that it will be something that sticks in their mind. A once saw an entertainment person marched over to the cruise director in the atrium by admiring guests who went on and on about how she made their cruise special. Next contract, she became a Character Manager!

Next step up from that is a well written letter that can be copied and sent to Guest Services, The office of the Cruise Director, and to DCL shoreside. These kinds of letters (if not too long) get published in the fleet newsletter and result in SO many accolades and perks!

I will do all next time, easy enough to do.

This may seem silly, but is an actual, real, mailed letter better than an email?

Quick question: What do the kids clubs CM's do on debark morning? Do you have to haul luggage?

 

[Seamama]

...and I think it's important for youth to see males in that kind of joyful and playtime-based leadership position.

Sent from my Tricorder using DISBoards

YES! I agree with this 110%!

 

[CMontheseas]

I will do all next time, easy enough to do.

This may seem silly, but is an actual, real, mailed letter better than an email?

Quick question: What do the kids clubs CM's do on debark morning? Do you have to haul luggage?

Not a silly question - I know across the board they'll prefer emails so that they could get back in touch with you right away and be able to copy + paste the guest remarks easier to the necessary people. But while you're physically on the ship, a tangible letter/card will go a farther way and is much more memorable than the slew of emails they normally get!


---
As for debarkation/embarkation day.... this is luck of the draw really. What you don't see at the end of the cruise is the staff tasked to clean like mad long after closing. We're got to bring all of our trash down, all of the art and unclaimed crafts get incinerated along with the hundreds of unclaimed photos we take (we can't do this any earlier on in the cruise in case a guest wanted it!).

Whoever isn't on cleanup has to wake up at 6am the next morning to be on "wave" duty - which means stand in the atrium and put on a Mickey glove and stay in that fixed position for 4 hours. They often put really cheery young-looking people on that so it's harder to yell at them for debarkation delays in the port. (What's funny is that a surprising number of guests incorrectly assume the person on wave duty is friends with Mickey Mouse!)

For those not on wave duty, we could be asked to wake up at 7am and help with swiping your Key to the World Cards as you leave.
Or wake up at 8 am and get ready to prepare the registration area in the terminal.


Everyone else not assigned to those duties wake up at noon to help prep the youth spaces for Open House. This of course, depends ship to ship and what each management decides is best for the staff!

 

[Julz226]

I was reading about Pixie Hollow. My son (who will be 4 when we cruise) LOVES dress up and imaginative play. Are there dress up options for the boys too? If not, he's perfectly happy to put on princess dresses (it's not uncommon to see a all of the boys in his preschool class running around in princess dresses since that is their only dress up option)

Was considering purchasing some "costumes" for him to take along on the cruise but don't want to overpack or waste the money if it's not going to be an issue.

Will other kids or CMs give him a hard time for that?

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I was reading about Pixie Hollow. My son (who will be 4 when we cruise) LOVES dress up and imaginative play. Are there dress up options for the boys too? If not, he's perfectly happy to put on princess dresses (it's not uncommon to see a all of the boys in his preschool class running around in princess dresses since that is their only dress up option)

Was considering purchasing some "costumes" for him to take along on the cruise but don't want to overpack or waste the money if it's not going to be an issue.

Will other kids or CMs give him a hard time for that?

There is at least a Buzz Lightyear costume on the Dream because my son was in it every single time I picked him up from the club!

Sent from me.

 

[CatManDoo]

Quick question CM. IF the kids are in the Club/Lab during the time blocked out for dinner, are there still activities and things for them to do? I ask because we have second dinner seating and there is a day where my wife and I will need the kids to be in the clubs from 4:30 until about 6. They obviously won't be eating dinner in the clubs, so I want to make sure they will be able to just hang out and play even though most kids might be eating dinner? Probably a stupid question, but I'm an OCD planner.

 

[mariab]

What special craft/ activities will there be on the Dream Holiday time cruise. We are leaving on the 1st. ? Also how do I make sure that whatever crafts my 3 y/o does I get. I feel like he missed out on bring things home. He would never have gotten the little green DCL bag if I hadnt ask ? Makes me wonder what else he did we didnt get.
Thank ahead of time! Specially for all your time!!!

 

[CMontheseas]

I was reading about Pixie Hollow. My son (who will be 4 when we cruise) LOVES dress up and imaginative play. Are there dress up options for the boys too? If not, he's perfectly happy to put on princess dresses (it's not uncommon to see a all of the boys in his preschool class running around in princess dresses since that is their only dress up option)

Was considering purchasing some "costumes" for him to take along on the cruise but don't want to overpack or waste the money if it's not going to be an issue.

Will other kids or CMs give him a hard time for that?

Excellent question! It's an important one too, because it really tends to divide people staff and guests alike as far as "gender roles" and "letting kids play" go. (Seriously, there were over 4 meetings devoted to this during my past few contracts on board! I'm glad to see that Disney has a very progressive policy on this and letting kids be happy playing however they wish. )

Yes there are dress-up options available for boys to wear. A lot of us CMs try not to use the terms "boy-costumes" and "girl-costumes" as it can be problematic, as you can imagine. Instead what we like to say is whether that costume was worn by a male or female character and that they're free to wear whatever they like.

Male characters whose costumes we have include: Captain hook, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Peter Pan, Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, Captain America. This depends on availability from ship to ship, there tends to be far more dresses and captain hook jackets than any of the other costumes!


I'm glad you're open to him being able to wear princess dresses if he wishes. Be aware that it won't be the CMs or other kids who will give him a hard time for it, but other parents! (Even one very upset woman who pulled a dress off of her son and left him crying in the middle of the Oceaneer Club and yelled at the CMs to forbid him to go near the dresses. Not a happy time.)


I've heard some pretty unkind remarks from many adults- but surprisingly the majority of the time, the little boys wearing princess dresses continue playing, unfazed!