First Time with Kids

[JillianLeigh]

We have our first Disney Cruise since having kids coming up in July. Our son (9) will have checkout privileges but our daughter (7) will not. I'm worried that I'll be so stressed about missing a message on the DCL app from the kids club CMs that I won't be able to relax while my kids are in the clubs. Am I going to have to be checking my phone every 5 minutes for messages? Does anyone know if DCL notifications go through on Apple Watches? Also, my kids do not have phones of their own. If we leave one device in our stateroom for our son to contact us if he decides to check himself out, are the messages between cruisers through the app pretty reliable if he wanted to know where to find us? Or should I just tell him to have a CM message us?

 

[Mommb]

It's been a while since I had a child in the Club/Lab, so I'm not sure how well notifications work. If you are somewhere where you really would rather not have to leave quickly (e.g., spa treatment or Palo dinner) you can tell the kids' club staff, and they will try to keep your kid entertained rather than messaging you, unless there's a crisis (which is rare in older kids).

Unfortunately, we found that messaging between people onboard is sometimes spotty. We put a whiteboard inside our room and left messages there about where each person was. Our rule for our kids when they were preteens was, if you leave the Lab/Edge, you must immediately go to the room and leave a message telling where you are going and when you will be back. We spot-checked a few times, and the kids were always where they said they'd be.

 

[Rob1872]

The biggest downside with the DCL messaging app is that it didn't notify you that you had a message unless the app was open. So if I was expecting a message from my teen I'd be pulling my phone out every 5 minutes to see if he had sent a message.

I love the white board idea. We usually would set times that the kids would have to come back to the room to check-in when they were younger.

 

[kj2mom]

We were on the Dream earlier this month and I have no idea how it happened (or how to make it stop happening) but yes, I got alerts on my watch. I got messages and I got the 15 minute alerts for the event I had 'hearted' on the app.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

I haven't taken a cruise yet and my kids are too young anyway....But I thought I read somewhere that you have the option to not let them check themselves out...if you want that option to relax more?

 

[unrequited23]

I decided not to give my just-turned 10 yr old check out privileges because of the drama it would have created with his 7 yr old little brother.

 

[Rob1872]

I decided not to give my just-turned 10 yr old check out privileges because of the drama it would have created with his 7 yr old little brother.

Aww, what is the fun of being the older sibling if you can't take advantage of being older? When my oldest was 10 and got his military dependent ID card, he thought it was the greatest thing in the world that HE could escort Grandma and Grandpa on to the military annex that had mini golf but his 8 year old brother couldn't. LOL

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

We've found messaging to be reliable on our three cruises since the August 2021 restart. (These were on the Magic and the Dream.) Maybe it takes a minute or two, but it's really been fine.

My 9-year-old definitely does not have her own phone, but since she turned 9, we've been giving her an old phone of mine to use on cruises. We put it into her hands at embarkation lunch and take it away after debarkation breakfast. It's only got the DCL app and the camera on it, so she just uses it to plan her days (check movie and trivia times, etc.), message us, and take pics. If you've got an old smartphone that can connect to the wifi, I recommend this!

 

[Carohs]

Definitely relax, and don't stress about checking that thing every 5 minutes!
As long as you trust your DS with carrying said device and always notifying you of any change of ship location, I would think knowing whether or not he's in club at the moment it happens is not as pertinent. You may miss that notification, sure, but when you're ready to find him you can check your app and his latest message. Same goes if you aren't keeping tabs. Once he's out of club then he could be anywhere onboard, and the only thing you've gained is knowing one place not to look.

 

[Ronneeaght]

We've found messaging to be reliable on our three cruises since the August 2021 restart. (These were on the Magic and the Dream.) Maybe it takes a minute or two, but it's really been fine.

My 9-year-old definitely does not have her own phone, but since she turned 9, we've been giving her an old phone of mine to use on cruises. We put it into her hands at embarkation lunch and take it away after debarkation breakfast. It's only got the DCL app and the camera on it, so she just uses it to plan her days (check movie and trivia times, etc.), message us, and take pics. If you've got an old smartphone that can connect to the wifi, I recommend this!

What a great idea!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

I missed a message from the club that my DS6 had had an accident. They called around to our staterooms (we had 3 on board) and got ahold of my dad who was able to go pick him up. So they will try other methods of contacting you if they really need you.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We were on the Dream earlier this month and I have no idea how it happened (or how to make it stop happening) but yes, I got alerts on my watch. I got messages and I got the 15 minute alerts for the event I had 'hearted' on the app.

I was also getting timely alerts on my FitBit watch for events and the washer/dryer. There is a system for the ship to alert you if you have the technology.