Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[lbgraves]

I'm having a really hard time searching for the answer to this question and hope you can help!

What port day and time is the princess royal tea on the western Caribbean fantasy?
I sail march 29, 2014

Thanks!

You got a reply on the other thread you posted to.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3201428&page=2

 

[Joel0917]

it may have been asked...but i have a 5 year old and 9 year old that were in teh kids club 2 years ago on fantasy..2012....i know they are "mixed ages" now. Will they be together...is it a free for all? do big kids bother the little kids now?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

it may have been asked...but i have a 5 year old and 9 year old that were in teh kids club 2 years ago on fantasy..2012....i know they are "mixed ages" now. Will they be together...is it a free for all? do big kids bother the little kids now?

Oceaneers Club/Lab is ages 3-12. It's basically one big area, sort of separated into the "club" area, where activities are aimed at the 3-7 ages; and the "lab" area, where activities are aimed at the 8-12 ages. That said, anyone in the space can participate in whatever activities appeal to them, regardless of age.

 

[CraftyMommy]

I do get that you might call us the Kids Club, or Counselors "Teachers" - happens on board all the time. Or it catches me off guard that we're also considered "Cast Members". (On board, they make the distinction that only performers are Cast Members and we're CM - Crew members. A bit less special than feeling part of the big Disney Cast Member family )

WHAT?!
The people who clean up candy wrappers and sweep dirt are Cast Members at Disney World because they play an important role in making our experiences enjoyable. And you're telling me that Disney won't allow some of the people who are most responsible for making our children's Disney cruise memorable to be called a CM? I refuse to call a WDW or DCL employee anything but a cast member. Without every one of you the show can't go on. Even the people who take reservations on the phone whose faces we never see are Cast Members. And Disney doesn't think the kids club counselors deserve the title???

I'm really surprised Disney could be so rude!

 

[Gfgirl]

We will be cruising with my brother and his family. We will have three boys ages 13, 13, and 15. Is there any chance the 15 year old can stay in Edge, as his mother doesn't necessarily want the younger one moved up?

 

[cruizincathi]

We booked the "teens only" excursion at Castaway Cay for snorkeling, kayaking and biking. It says it is 4 to 4.5 hrs long. Any comments on this? How far out do they kayak? My son is experienced in kayaking in rivers and lakes but not the ocean. It was only $35...that seems really cheap...not that im really complaining ...Im just curious. He is quite excited about this and hope it does not disappoint...

Our daughter and her friend did this excursion on our cruise a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. The waters that they kayaked in was not terribly deep but still more waves than we have back home(Green Bay/Lake Michigan). It was a great way for them to do some of the activities with peers instead of parents. They joined us on the beach in early afternoon and still could enjoy beach time before we had to head back to the ship.

 

[LadyJeni]

Hello! We are sailing on the Fantasy on August 23rd in 2014. My oldest dd will be 16 and my middle dd will be 13.5 as of August 8th. Will it be possible for her go join her big sister in the Vibe? The girls would prefer to be together. Thank you for your time!

We'll be joining you on the Fantasy Our youngest DS is 14 and will be hangin' at Vibe too!

 

[Minniemiss]

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[disneyfan19712006]

As Platinum CC we can get a fruit platter delivered to our room. It is way more than three people can eat in two or three days and it needs to be eaten or refrigerated. Is this something we can bring as a gift to the club at closing?

 

[CMontheseas]

Sorry about the wait! I'll try my best to tackle some of your unanswered questions:

We booked the "teens only" excursion at Castaway Cay for snorkeling, kayaking and biking. It says it is 4 to 4.5 hrs long. Any comments on this? How far out do they kayak? My son is experienced in kayaking in rivers and lakes but not the ocean. It was only $35...that seems really cheap...not that im really complaining ...Im just curious. He is quite excited about this and hope it does not disappoint...

So this excursion can be REALLY REALLY exciting ...or really really... less-exciting and it almost always depends on 1) weather, and 2) the teens. The intensity and distance of all of the activities is dependent on their least-capable member of the group. The Counselors will keep encouraging the teens to see cool things and continue onward, but if one person is slowing down the group, they won't leave them behind.

9/10 times what ends up happening is mid kayak/mid biking/mid snorkel someone loses an earring, or the teens start complaining about getting sunburnt, or they all end up congregating in one area and talk for the whole time taking selfies. And they have a blast!

My DS is 10 and is an awesome sports kid. He plays up and can usually out play a 12 year old. Will there be any sports type things for him?

In the club/lab there are rarely any real sporty things for the kids to do considering our safety policy in our spaces. (Especially considering there are 3 year olds in the area). What I would aim for are the "Out and About" themed activities or Edge events like Dodgeball in Open House on the Sports Deck.

Hi, CMontheseas!

Are there any plans on changing activities in Edge next year? And did they get Disney Infinity for that space?

Not drastically, when it comes to activities on board it usually takes a lot of complaints before our range of activities get changed. So if everyone keeps liking the Edge offerings, we might be doing them for a while! (Believe me, we really would love to change it up ourselves, but depending on the Youth Activities Manager on board at the time, we don't always have room for creativity.)
And yes, Disney Infinity has been ordered for some of the ships (hopefully to be approved soon!)

We will be cruising with my brother and his family. We will have three boys ages 13, 13, and 15. Is there any chance the 15 year old can stay in Edge, as his mother doesn't necessarily want the younger one moved up?

Unfortunately we don't allow anyone over the age of 14 in Edge during secure programming! If they really would like to spend time together, aim for the Open House times . I would really recommend the 15 year old try Vibe out on his own however, are the boys very closely attached?

 

[CMontheseas]

As Platinum CC we can get a fruit platter delivered to our room. It is way more than three people can eat in two or three days and it needs to be eaten or refrigerated. Is this something we can bring as a gift to the club at closing?

Oh wow, I know a lot of us could really use some fresh fruit. (Believe it or not, we rarely get it in the crew mess and it's often swiped by all of the Deck crew before anyone else gets to it!)

Sadly when it comes to fruit or anything brought to the space unwrapped/needing refrigeration for the Counselors, it depends on the manager who is present at the time. You might meet a manager who will very sternly enforce Health and Safety and thank you but make us toss it out in case a child with allergies is in the space. Or, might place it in the fridge in the Manager's office and may allow us to have it after work (if another manager hasn't unwittingly eaten it all by accident! ).

It's risky, but if it goes off without a hitch those CMs at midnight will be very grateful!

WHAT?!
The people who clean up candy wrappers and sweep dirt are Cast Members at Disney World because they play an important role in making our experiences enjoyable. And you're telling me that Disney won't allow some of the people who are most responsible for making our children's Disney cruise memorable to be called a CM? I refuse to call a WDW or DCL employee anything but a cast member. Without every one of you the show can't go on. Even the people who take reservations on the phone whose faces we never see are Cast Members. And Disney doesn't think the kids club counselors deserve the title???

I'm really surprised Disney could be so rude!

It comes down to the fact that in the end, the Cruise Line really is a very distinct and seperate entity from the Parks. In very general speak, we are CM- Cast Members and are allowed to call ourselves that while we're off-duty on land or visiting the Parks.

But on paper we're Crew Members. On board, we're still Crew Members.
Which seems like a small detail at first, but it's a very important one. Especially where it comes to our benefits and things that we are eligible for. Often times, we are exempt from a lot of the same things that our counterparts on land have - we are not entitled to all of the same things a Cast Member may benefit from! Also as a Crew Member, we aren't able to transfer or move onto different areas in the Disney company the same way a land-based Cast Member can.

But we get used it after a while. Because we get to travel for free!

 

[Mom 2 Two]

We are planning to cruise in summer 2015, probably the 7-day eastern Caribbean. My question is this. The kids in our party will be ages 7, 11, 12, and 14. Can the 14 year old go to the kids clubs with the others, or will she have to go to the teen area by herself when we want to do adults only activities? Thanks!

 

[Nannylisad]

How firm are they on the ages. I will have a 12 Y/o who want to go with her 15 sister

 

[Meghatron]

How firm are they on the ages. I will have a 12 Y/o who want to go with her 15 sister

A twelve year old will not be allowed in the Vibe.

Sent from my Tricorder using DISBoards

 

[Jenntx]

What an amazing thread! Thank you for taking time to answer questions & give us so much information. We are taking our second DCL cruise in two months- first one for our kids. I am subscribing to this thread so I can read it in more detail. Thank you!!

 

[KT2038]

Hello!!

I will be starting as a YAC on the Wonder in Feb. Do you have any advice? I have no idea what to expect!!

Thanks so much!! xx

 

[NCConch]

We cruised on the Dream last week and my kids loved the Edge and Vibe. The CMs were awesome. Both kids are low-key and home-bodies but did fine.

 

[CMontheseas]

Hello!!

I will be starting as a YAC on the Wonder in Feb. Do you have any advice? I have no idea what to expect!!

Thanks so much!! xx

Yes, I do. I remember being in your shoes (I was gonna say in the same boat, lol), and I will say there isn't enough stuff online to prepare you. Feel free to Private Message me, and let me know if you'd like me to give you some super positive Disney-magic advice, or very realistic this-is-what-the-job-is advice.

But for starters, rejoice that you're on the Wonder! Life is so much happier there as a Counselor for a myriad of reasons I'll tell you privately!

 

[jcoyne4781]

Hi, My family of 4 is set to sail on the Disney Wonder out of Miami, FL on Feb 26, 2014. We currently have our youngest boy, 18 months, reserved to be in the nursery for like 3 hours on 2 of the nights we are sailing (8:00 pm to 11:00 pm) so my hubby & i can have some adult time. We were thinking of putting our older son, 4 yrs old, in the Club/Lab at the same time. Being that they are usually sleeping by 9:00 pm, does the Nursery & Lab Directors put them down to sleep or are they not allowed to sleep in the nursery/clubs. I'm doubting they will make it to stay awake til 11:00 pm.

 

[CMontheseas]

We are planning to cruise in summer 2015, probably the 7-day eastern Caribbean. My question is this. The kids in our party will be ages 7, 11, 12, and 14. Can the 14 year old go to the kids clubs with the others, or will she have to go to the teen area by herself when we want to do adults only activities? Thanks!

Hi! For the sake of ease I won't be referring to the youth spaces as Kids clubs/Teen area as that might make it a bit confusing.

The answer here is Yes/No;
As far as the youth spaces go - the 14 year old will be able to accompany the 11 and 12 year old to Edge! That space is open to tweens/teens 11-14. Unfortunately the 7 year old won't be able to join them there.

If the 11/12 year old seem more inclined to younger-themed activities, they're also welcome to play with the 7 Year old in the Lab & Club spaces!
Is it very important for the 14 year old to be with the younger ones during the cruise? If she doesn't wish to spend time in Vibe on her own without them, I'd aim for Edge and any Open House periods in the Lab or Club.

Hi, My family of 4 is set to sail on the Disney Wonder out of Miami, FL on Feb 26, 2014. We currently have our youngest boy, 18 months, reserved to be in the nursery for like 3 hours on 2 of the nights we are sailing (8:00 pm to 11:00 pm) so my hubby & i can have some adult time. We were thinking of putting our older son, 4 yrs old, in the Club/Lab at the same time. Being that they are usually sleeping by 9:00 pm, does the Nursery & Lab Directors put them down to sleep or are they not allowed to sleep in the nursery/clubs. I'm doubting they will make it to stay awake til 11:00 pm.

As far as the Nursery goes, they most certainly are able to sleep in there (considering the roomful of cribs!).

When in the Club/Lab, we don't actively enforce any naptime generally - what usually happens is when we notice a child about to keel over and fall asleep we'll make up a little nap mat with bedding in front of a movie or low-traffic area in the space.

What tends to work best is if the child lets us know directly that they're feeling sleepy and want to lie down somewhere. Or, when you're dropping him off make sure the Counselor adds a note to keep an eye out for him and prepare to allow him to sleep in the space.