Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[twindaddy]

A little something extra:

If you really want to go above and beyond and thank a youth counselor (for free! Without having to pack anything!), it's by giving them a Mickey Bar.

Did you know you can have as many of these as you want on the ships - for free? Did you also know that we as CMs never ever get to have them unless a guest directly gives us one? In fact, when the kids get to have them for a program/activity and there are a bunch left over - we have to toss them all in the trash.

Heartbreaking. Mickey Bars are actually a big deal for us. We dream up clever ways to sneak one on our last day but never obviously do it. But one time, a pair of guests asked for a whole bunch of Mickey Bars from room service and promptly brought it down to us at closing time in the Club. You should've heard the cheering that ensued around the room.

I am doing this on my next cruise, how many should I bring? How many staff I usually on duty?

 

[jennyjinx3]

This is an awesome thread, thanks OP! We are doing our first cruise on Nov 14 Dream and I will remember all these tips!

 

[twindaddy]

Oh not a problem! When I met these lovely Disboards families at work, we heard the same thing - but a big part of why you won't hear a lot from us on board is because we're not allowed to. Even when you see us around the ship, it's against the rules for us to really speak candidly like this or risk punishment. A wee bit Draconian, but it's all to do with keeping up the show!


I'm really not sure about the room stewards - I know that as a tipping position, many of them generally want cash more than snacks or trinkets. Sadly I don't quite see them all gathering and sharing things as a department like others might (it might be a cultural thing!)

And I'm half American/half English! Which is I suppose a fairly general representation of our department

What ship were you on?

I was on the Wonder last year, and one of the youth counselor CM's had the funkiest hair, everyone in the club loved it. The second to last day, it was shaved. I grilled him till he finally admitted management made him cut it off. That went right into the comment card, and I told the Cruise Director it was bunk when I saw him. This man is an all star in the kids club, a celebrity when spotted around the ship, and you complain about his shaggy hair.

Also, one of my dining CM's noted my wifes favorite chapstick in her purse and said how much she missed it. So when we got home, I mailed her some. Do you think it got confiscated? We put a nice letter in it also...

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

A little something extra:

If you really want to go above and beyond and thank a youth counselor (for free! Without having to pack anything!), it's by giving them a Mickey Bar.

Did you know you can have as many of these as you want on the ships - for free? Did you also know that we as CMs never ever get to have them unless a guest directly gives us one? In fact, when the kids get to have them for a program/activity and there are a bunch left over - we have to toss them all in the trash.

Heartbreaking. Mickey Bars are actually a big deal for us. We dream up clever ways to sneak one on our last day but never obviously do it. But one time, a pair of guests asked for a whole bunch of Mickey Bars from room service and promptly brought it down to us at closing time in the Club. You should've heard the cheering that ensued around the room.

I got chills reading this!! WOW and thanks for the great idea and see below!

I'm SO going to do this.

DITTO!! I see a run on Mickey Bars now - lol!

But wait, there's more!


I'm so glad to hear all kinds of appreciation from everyone! The thing is, we don't quite hear it at work - at the end of every cruise the Cruise Director tends to come out at the end of the last show and ask everyone to thank all of your CMs on board with a big round of applause. Sadly, none of us ever really hear that applause. The first time I was off work and got to see the show on my own and hear everyone clapping - for us - I could've cried in my seat!


What we REALLY value most -or rather, what our supervisors/managers value - beyond sweet treats and things, are those Comment Cards. Yep, innocuous little things with a little area to scribble "Who made your trip enjoyable".
Please, please try your best to remember our names. And write our names down.

These count for so much more than you'll ever know. Maybe it's a dinner in a guest dining room, maybe it's a voucher in the merchandise shop, maybe it's an excursion, maybe it's just for that feeling of pride you get when your manager reads it out at the team meeting at the end of every cruise.
(annnd if you're going to use that space to thank a Disney character, also make sure to remember what day/time it was - so that we know ...who to recognize, if you catch my drift)

Keep those questions comin, everyone! They're great!

I agree - a great reminder to do this every day and not just on DCL or WDW. It's amazing what a little thank you or mention of a name will do for someone. It's touching to hear what this means to you and how this will impact you. After our Alaskan cruise, I wrote my first letter to DCL to mention our asst. server (by full name) and received back a nice letter from DCL to thank ME. I try and mention every CM that has truly meant something to us during our sailing because I know it matters. TIP/SUGGESTION - we need more room to write! lol

Great suggestion on the magazines so thanks for that tip too!

Nice "meeting" you!

Heather

 

[CMontheseas]

I am doing this on my next cruise, how many should I bring? How many staff I usually on duty?

At the end of the night, there's generally about 10 of us. (May vary, depending on what's happening that evening/ what ship you're on!) I wouldn't try it in the middle of the day - there could be 20-30 of use roaming about on the floor/ we wouldn't be allowed to touch it anyway!

 

[twopeasonepod]

MICKEY BARS FOR EVERYONE!!!

Thank you for doing this! We always always always bring tons of chocolate covered macadamia nuts, mac nut kisses, and special candies from Hawaii to give to CMs at the Lab, at Bingo, and in the bars. Of course we also give them to our servers and stateroom host. I'm so glad to hear that you like them.

I always have tons of magazines (anywhere is a long flight from Hawaii!), and now I know what to do with them!

 

[CMontheseas]

What ship were you on?

I was on the Wonder last year, and one of the youth counselor CM's had the funkiest hair, everyone in the club loved it. The second to last day, it was shaved. I grilled him till he finally admitted management made him cut it off. That went right into the comment card, and I told the Cruise Director it was bunk when I saw him. This man is an all star in the kids club, a celebrity when spotted around the ship, and you complain about his shaggy hair.

Also, one of my dining CM's noted my wifes favorite chapstick in her purse and said how much she missed it. So when we got home, I mailed her some. Do you think it got confiscated? We put a nice letter in it also...

Sadly I've been moved around the ships quite a bit! Do you remember his name? It's funny, we like to think that we get away with a lot more infractions of "Disney Look" on the ships than they would in the parks. But I'm not surprised management asked him to!


Also sadly, sometimes mail doesn't quite reach us the way we'd hope. Unless it's verrrry specifically addressed 100% correctly to the tee that the company expects it, it takes ages. Or it shows up on another ship. Or it hangs around the mail storage facility and by the time it reaches your ship, you're already home! (This results in slightly disappointing holidays and birthdays that we get used to )

 

[SailingScout]

This is so awesome that you are doing this! Everyone has had great questions and your responses have been very helpful.

My question is not so lighthearted, and I'm a bit hesitant about asking, but it's something I have been thinking about a lot lately as we plan our upcoming cruise. Our son will be in the clubs for the first time (age 4) and I'm a bit worried. This may be because of my background working in news, reading too many police reports, and unfortunately knowing all too well the terrible things that happen to children. It also may be because a parent on a previous cruise planted the seed, saying they would not allow their young child in the clubs. In any case, I'm wondering about guidelines CM's are given in regards to older and younger kids being around each other. I am admittedly nervous thinking of my son being around 10 and 12 year olds, and I don't feel there is a way to bring up this topic without it veering into touchy areas. To condense into one question, How do I know my little boy is safe in the club and not being taken out of a CM's view by someone I don't want him to be alone with?

 

[1BabyForBec]

THANK YOU for taking the time to write us and answer our questions!!

This is so awesome that you are doing this! Everyone has had great questions and your responses have been very helpful.

My question is not so lighthearted, and I'm a bit hesitant about asking, but it's something I have been thinking about a lot lately as we plan our upcoming cruise. Our son will be in the clubs for the first time (age 4) and I'm a bit worried. This may be because of my background working in news, reading too many police reports, and unfortunately knowing all too well the terrible things that happen to children. It also may be because a parent on a previous cruise planted the seed, saying they would not allow their young child in the clubs. In any case, I'm wondering about guidelines CM's are given in regards to older and younger kids being around each other. I am admittedly nervous thinking of my son being around 10 and 12 year olds, and I don't feel there is a way to bring up this topic without it veering into touchy areas. To condense into one question, How do I know my little boy is safe in the club and not being taken out of a CM's view by someone I don't want him to be alone with?

I'm so excited to leave our 3 year old daughter in the Club (if she'll stay) so we can have some adult time but this question has crossed my mind too.

 

[CMontheseas]

This is so awesome that you are doing this! Everyone has had great questions and your responses have been very helpful.

My question is not so lighthearted, and I'm a bit hesitant about asking, but it's something I have been thinking about a lot lately as we plan our upcoming cruise. Our son will be in the clubs for the first time (age 4) and I'm a bit worried. This may be because of my background working in news, reading too many police reports, and unfortunately knowing all too well the terrible things that happen to children. It also may be because a parent on a previous cruise planted the seed, saying they would not allow their young child in the clubs. In any case, I'm wondering about guidelines CM's are given in regards to older and younger kids being around each other. I am admittedly nervous thinking of my son being around 10 and 12 year olds, and I don't feel there is a way to bring up this topic without it veering into touchy areas. To condense into one question, How do I know my little boy is safe in the club and not being taken out of a CM's view by someone I don't want him to be alone with?

I'm glad you asked because I wondered about that myself when I first came to work- the thing with our Oceaneer Lab and Club is - you're absolutely right, nothing really prevents a 3 year old from running up to a twelve year old kid and kicking him in the shins. It's a big ol, shared space in both areas.

That said however, from my time on board at least, the wee ones and the older kids simply don't interact. It's like the kids separate themselves on their own into little groups (with the odd sibling-exception). From my experience, 10+ year olds generally want nothing to do with the little ones and will actively move away from them in the rooms so as not to be associated as a "kid", oddly enough. And the kids are always in our sight (except when playing Hide-and-Seek of course)- there's always two of us in even the smallest areas. We tend to keep a more vigilant watch on our youngest ones - they need more assistance with things and tend to get upset far more easily. Also they're just adorable and hilarious and believe in so much Disney magic.


Where you NEED to be cautious however, and one place we really aren't allowed to be in - are in the restrooms. CMs are never allowed to remain in there, can never be alone in there (male CMs always need a female present, at that), and we never allow any other grown ups in there. Which presents a big challenge to us - if we even step in there to help out a child, we get disciplined. Technically, whatever the kids get up to in the restrooms is out of our supervision.

If I was quite concerned about this at all, I'd tell a manager on the first day and see what they thought. If it meant them keeping a closer eye on your son themselves, it's definitely been done!

 

[jenerra11]

THANK YOU for taking the time to write us and answer our questions!!
My son just turned 18 last month. However, he's not your average 18 year old(Kid at heart). Disney said that he is too old for Vibe and that he will have to go to the adult areas. Now my son doesn't want to go on the cruise because he feel as though he wouldn't have anyone around his age to hang with. Is there an exception to this rule?

 

[wickedpixie13]

Thanks for all the information! This is great! If I want to bring goodies for you hard-working CMs, should I just bring a bag to the club when I drop my kid off? Or at guest services addressed to the Oceaneeers Club staff? I so appreciate the kids club, but I don't know how to show that appreciation, other than comment cards.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Are you sure the CM's won't look at me like I have two heads if I try to give out Mickey Bars?

 

[Silverfox97]

TIP/SUGGESTION - we need more room to write! Heather

Hey Heather,

Not trying to plug the blog, but there is a post on there with a printable addition to the comment card. This came about because I ALWAYS mention names (restroom attendants, gift shop folks, kids club CMs, etc.) & that little two-line space doesn't cut it! I print out a few, cut in half, and then take them with us and attach them to the comment card. Last cruise, we got a post card thanking us for our kind words.

Emily

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[SailingScout]

I'm glad you asked because I wondered about that myself when I first came to work- the thing with our Oceaneer Lab and Club is - you're absolutely right, nothing really prevents a 3 year old from running up to a twelve year old kid and kicking him in the shins. It's a big ol, shared space in both areas.

That said however, from my time on board at least, the wee ones and the older kids simply don't interact. It's like the kids separate themselves on their own into little groups (with the odd sibling-exception). From my experience, 10+ year olds generally want nothing to do with the little ones and will actively move away from them in the rooms so as not to be associated as a "kid", oddly enough. And the kids are always in our sight (except when playing Hide-and-Seek of course)- there's always two of us in even the smallest areas. We tend to keep a more vigilant watch on our youngest ones - they need more assistance with things and tend to get upset far more easily. Also they're just adorable and hilarious and believe in so much Disney magic.

Where you NEED to be cautious however, and one place we really aren't allowed to be in - are in the restrooms. CMs are never allowed to remain in there, can never be alone in there (male CMs always need a female present, at that), and we never allow any other grown ups in there. Which presents a big challenge to us - if we even step in there to help out a child, we get disciplined. Technically, whatever the kids get up to in the restrooms is out of our supervision.

If I was quite concerned about this at all, I'd tell a manager on the first day and see what they thought. If it meant them keeping a closer eye on your son themselves, it's definitely been done!

THANK YOU for your response! It was very thorough and just what I needed. I had forgotten to bring up the bathroom issue, so I'm also glad you mentioned that.

 

[luapgib]

Good Afternoon,
We recently had to change our cruise dates. Something about repositioning the ship or something. Anyway our original dates worked perfectly as our youngest son would have just turned 3 and would therefore be eligible for the kids clubs. With the new dates he will be about two weeks shy of turning 3. When speaking to the castmember we were told that as long as he is potty trained and comfortable being left at the club he would be allowed in. Is this in fact the case? Although not a deal breaker I know he would love the clubs and we would enjoy some kid free time. He does have an 8 year old brother and 5 year old sister that will be in the club as well.
Thanks
Paul

 

[Meghatron]

A little something extra:

If you really want to go above and beyond and thank a youth counselor (for free! Without having to pack anything!), it's by giving them a Mickey Bar.

Did you know you can have as many of these as you want on the ships - for free? Did you also know that we as CMs never ever get to have them unless a guest directly gives us one? In fact, when the kids get to have them for a program/activity and there are a bunch left over - we have to toss them all in the trash.

Heartbreaking. Mickey Bars are actually a big deal for us. We dream up clever ways to sneak one on our last day but never obviously do it. But one time, a pair of guests asked for a whole bunch of Mickey Bars from room service and promptly brought it down to us at closing time in the Club. You should've heard the cheering that ensued around the room.

We did this on the WBPC this past spring for the CMs in the Lab, Club, and Nursery. I was unprepared for the stunned reaction from the CMs and it was one of the best moments of our trip, because we were SO grateful to all of them for their work and nothing seemed good enough to express our thanks. The Mickey Bars thing was a whim we came up with after learning from a CM at the Staff Lunch in Triton's that y'all don't get the bars EVER. Room service tried to balk when I ordered that many on the last night but I refused to give up.

 

[CMontheseas]

THANK YOU for taking the time to write us and answer our questions!!
My son just turned 18 last month. However, he's not your average 18 year old(Kid at heart). Disney said that he is too old for Vibe and that he will have to go to the adult areas. Now my son doesn't want to go on the cruise because he feel as though he wouldn't have anyone around his age to hang with. Is there an exception to this rule?

Oh man, if there's anything our management is super strict on regarding age groups - it's this one. No exceptions, sadly. We (the counselors) think it's unfair sometimes, but we can't do anything about it. I remember one girl turned 18 halfway through the cruise and just like that- she wasn't allowed in to hang out with her new friends anymore.

I know, to compensate the Cruise Staff does 18-21 get togethers that are so crucial to go to on the first day or so. And we recently added way more "Open House" time in Vibe (to get around the rule a bit). But it's a real bummer, I know what being 18 on a Disney cruise feels like. Tell him to go to those 18-21 events as much as he can!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

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.

Thanks so much!!! I had been debating whether or not to do candy bags for the YA this time since it is so close to Halloween. Another idea I had were drink mixes (like Starbucks Via and Crystal Light).

Sent from me.

 

[CMontheseas]

Thanks for all the information! This is great! If I want to bring goodies for you hard-working CMs, should I just bring a bag to the club when I drop my kid off? Or at guest services addressed to the Oceaneeers Club staff? I so appreciate the kids club, but I don't know how to show that appreciation, other than comment cards.

With anything on board, it's best to bring stuff straight to us/the department! Guest services tends to...take time to send things our way. Gotta love em though!