Has anyone else had issues with the new Oceaneer's club/lab policies?

[squirrel]

But DCL is not responsible for them during the open house sessions--the parent is.

From the posts it appears that if the club is open for open house the lab is open for all of the children club age and lab age. Therefore there will be children from the two mixed together in one area supervised by CM's.

 

[mammacaryn]

There is always (like 9 am to midnight) a location with secure programming. Both the lab and the club are large areas where multiple activities can take place simultaneously. During the same programming hours as have long existed, this is the place where you can drop off your children.

The open house schedule is the time that you can go in and play with your children. Open house is not a drop off; YOU are responsible for supervising and assuring the safety of your child if you choose for them to attend that session.

Yes, this is a new policy--started about a month ago. Bottom line, NO adult other than those who are DCL CMs will be in with your children during "Secure" programming.

Yes, this is a MAJOR change from the last 13 years when parents have been welcome to sit in on kid sessions, take photos, etc. Read between the lines.

Is this just on the Magic and Wonder? When we were on the Dream it was free flow throughout lab/club (since its really just one big space) and all the ages checked in at the same area.

 

[kcashner]

What are they doing with the staff, looks like cost cutting measures to me?

This is not a cost cutting measure; it is a safety measure.

My understanding is that it is on all ships and that it started almost exactly a month ago...so if your cruise was before that, you were on the "old policy."

 

[threewilmingtonwalls]

I am about to cruise and I am confused.

SO you can't leave your kid when there is an "open house"? Or is that a parent can go in?

Hard to imagine when a 3 and 10 year old could safely play free in the same room.

As far as I have been able to tell, the answer is NO, you may not drop off during Open House. That is strictly for children accompanied by parents. Which means that YES, they will then funnel all the "in-care" children into one location (whichever is "secured programming") all ages 3-10 together. It's hard for me to imagine also, and very disappointing for us.

My DD was not at all a fan of the Lab, as there were too many "older kids hogging the computers and even the bean bags at movie time." She will be disappointed at being forced to go there during Open House at the club. I may not have booked DCL had I known this was going to happen.

 

[mammacaryn]

This is not a cost cutting measure; it is a safety measure.

My understanding is that it is on all ships and that it started almost exactly a month ago...so if your cruise was before that, you were on the "old policy."

The lab and club aren't seperated on the Dream like the other two ships though. I don't understand how part of it could be "secured" and part not be.....will be interesting to see how all the policies for the kids clubs change/adjust once again once the Fantasy is up and moving. I'm sure this won't be the last of the changes. We have been on 3 cruises in as many years and there have been little tweeks each time.

 

[lbgraves]

Thanks for this info!

Looks like I am not going to like this change. My 10 year old will be 1 month shy of being 11 when we cruise. Will I be able to move him to the Edge to avoid this open house stuff?

There have always been open house times in the Edge area. They are listed in the Navigators as "out and about" times in the Edge. During those times all kids who are not 11-13 need to have a parent with them to participate.

 

[TBellz]

Seems like a good change to me. Even though I agree that 3 year olds and 10 year olds shouldn't be in the same group, I really don't like the idea of any parent being in there with my kid, taking pictures, etc. even more than that. I assume that's why there's this new policy.

Hopefully DCL works out the kinks and can publish the open house times ahead of time for each cruise so parents can schedule accordingly.

 

[threewilmingtonwalls]

Seems like a good change to me. Even though I agree that 3 year olds and 10 year olds shouldn't be in the same group, I really don't like the idea of any parent being in there with my kid, taking pictures, etc. even more than that. I assume that's why there's this new policy.

Hopefully DCL works out the kinks and can publish the open house times ahead of time for each cruise so parents can schedule accordingly.

Absolutely true! It is the lesser of two evils, for sure.

 

[mammacaryn]

On the dream all those ages intermingle (at least on our March Cruise ) Thats why I am curious how the separation thing works on this ship. Even though all the kids are allowed together, kids gravitate to the activities that are age appropriate for them.

I too, have no problem with adults not being allowed in the areas.

 

[Spart02]

So are the "open house" times just a time to play with your kids in the areas? Or do they still offer planned activities during the "open houses"? For example, do they still offer art projects or baking times during the open house times, or are those activies only offered in the "secured" areas? We leave in 2 weeks and I would love to hear from people who have experienced this new concept on the Dream.

 

[joyceyw]

I'm kind of amazed at the length of the open houses. IMO seems like too much time!

I totally agree, what's the purpose of having it, if most of the time is parent participation.

 

[joyceyw]

Can someone clarify what is going on

Open House - Parent participation, no drop off. All kids in one area from ages 3 -10

Secured - Drop Off - No parent participation, not even to "check on" their child? If so this is complete and utter BS. But before I get completely upset, I'll wait for clarification. Kids are grouped by age?


I thought the club was for one age group, and the lab was for another age group.

I'm on the Wonder - So when one club is OH, then the other club is Secured? Meaning if I need secured my child who is 3 will be lumped into a group of 3-10 year olds? How is this worked out? Are there clear and seperate groups in the one club or all the children there to "fend" for themselves?

Finally, can someone just be transparent about why this rule changed? I'm new to Disney and the insinuations are difficult to figure out and it would be nice to know the exact problem to help me process this change.

I was under the impression when I researched and then booked this cruise more than a month ago, that my child would be in a club that was age appropriate and not necessarily in a mixed group with older children. Again, I wont rush to getting upset, but I'm starting to feel some kind of way about what appears to be changes in how I thought it was going to be.

 

[JodyTG]

I am also upset about the excessive Open House times. Especially since I have been hearing that hardly anyone goes to open house and the secure area is PACKED. This change is what is making me hold off on making our December reservation. We may end up booking RCL or CCL because of this.

 

[deanimal]

I didn't have any problems checking in on my three year old during secured times, I just went to the gate and told them I wanted to ask if she wanted to stay and they let me right in. Someone said you could come in with your child for "five minutes or so" but I didn't really see anyone checking on it or enforcing it. I got the feeling they were all sort of getting used to the new rules and changes.
I found that the open times were pretty packed on the first couple of days, then empty after that. My husband said it was just him, my daughter and the staff there for "where's Tink" on one of the port days.

 

[Mcky36]

Ugh....I'm not a fan of this new policy at all. They really should limit the open house times because the these areas are not big enough to acomodate all those kids in one place while a smaller group occupies the side having the open house.

My 5 year old doesn't like the lab and only wants to go to the club. So now we are going to have huge issues when the club is having an open house and he has nowhere to go but the lab.

So frustrating that it looks like one side or the other is blocked off for Open House for huge blocks of time . I really hope this gets tweaked before our cruise next month!

 

[threewilmingtonwalls]

Can someone clarify what is going on

Open House - Parent participation, no drop off. All kids in one area from ages 3 -10

Secured - Drop Off - No parent participation, not even to "check on" their child? If so this is complete and utter BS. But before I get completely upset, I'll wait for clarification. Kids are grouped by age?


I thought the club was for one age group, and the lab was for another age group.

I'm on the Wonder - So when one club is OH, then the other club is Secured? Meaning if I need secured my child who is 3 will be lumped into a group of 3-10 year olds? How is this worked out? Are there clear and seperate groups in the one club or all the children there to "fend" for themselves?

Finally, can someone just be transparent about why this rule changed? I'm new to Disney and the insinuations are difficult to figure out and it would be nice to know the exact problem to help me process this change.

I was under the impression when I researched and then booked this cruise more than a month ago, that my child would be in a club that was age appropriate and not necessarily in a mixed group with older children. Again, I wont rush to getting upset, but I'm starting to feel some kind of way about what appears to be changes in how I thought it was going to be.

I agree with you! When I cruised on the Magic last year and when I booked my upcoming cruise 14 months ago, the Club/Lab descriptions were definitely more clearly outlined as being Club for younger kids (3-7, maybe?) and Lab for older kids (7 or 8-10). While the 3-10's were "allowed" to intermingle, the programming for each location was geared toward the separate age groups. Also, the schedule on the Navigator had a designation for each activity on the daily schedule as being "appropriate" for specific age groups. Now when I look at the DCL website, the descriptions are just 3-10 for the Club AND the Lab. Interestingly, they have a different CM to child ratio for older/younger kids:

"Disney's Oceaneer Club counselor-to-child ratio is:

1:15 for children ages 3 to 4
1:25 for children ages 5 to 10"

I don't see how they could possibly know how many of each age group they are going to have in any given hour. It seems to me that this information was only accurate when the Club and Lab were still divided, so to speak. Some might say that the 3-10's have always been together, and while that may be true, DCL has definitely targeted age groups separately in the past - in spaces geared specifically toward them.

I can't imagine that they will be doing separate activities by age groups during the times when one club is on open house. Last year, when my DD would occasionally stay late into the evening (we had second seating dinner), they would close the Club and move everyone into the Lab together. Any activities during that time were still age-appropriate for Lab (older) kids, even though half the children were preschoolers. I'd come in to find my little girl sitting by herself at a table, coloring, because the big kids were doing something that she couldn't (like painting their fingernails, for example.)

 

[True Romance]

I am not a fan of the new Open House times either. I wrote DCL to express my concerns. This is the mail I got back from them today. I suggest everyone write to them, this is the only way DCL will make changes, but passengers voicing their concerns.

Thank you for your email.

Your thoughtfulness in sharing your observations with ways we can improve our Youth Activity experiences is much appreciated.

Please be assured that your thoughts will be shared with management.
Input from our Guests is a valuable tool in determining ways we can make visits more convenient and enjoyable. This is very important to us, as we are committed to offering a cruise experience that meets the Disney standards of excellence and provides the type of magical vacation our Guests have come to expect.

We look forward to sailing with you and your family in February.

Have a Magical Day!


Email Guest Services
Disney Cruise Line

 

[Mcky36]

I am not a fan of the new Open House times either. I wrote DCL to express my concerns. This is the mail I got back from them today. I suggest everyone write to them, this is the only way DCL will make changes, but passengers voicing their concerns.

Thank you for your email.

Your thoughtfulness in sharing your observations with ways we can improve our Youth Activity experiences is much appreciated.

Please be assured that your thoughts will be shared with management.
Input from our Guests is a valuable tool in determining ways we can make visits more convenient and enjoyable. This is very important to us, as we are committed to offering a cruise experience that meets the Disney standards of excellence and provides the type of magical vacation our Guests have come to expect.

We look forward to sailing with you and your family in February.

Have a Magical Day!


Email Guest Services
Disney Cruise Line

I'm definitely going to send an email.

P.S. I just noticed we are on the same cruise and our kiddos are VERY close in age!

 

[squirrel]

"Disney's Oceaneer Club counselor-to-child ratio is:

1:15 for children ages 3 to 4
1:25 for children ages 5 to 10"

Wow, those are high ratios! Here for daycare/before and after school care the ratios are:

1:8 for 3-5 yr olds
1:15 for 6-12 yr olds

I see no problem in the evenings moving the little ones over when there aren't many children. But to put them all together to do the open house at the other club/lab is asking for trouble.

We did that at one of the daycare's I worked at. At 5pm everyone moved into the 3-5 program for the last 1/2 hr. The school aged kids may not have liked it, but it was safer for the younger ones as the toys didn't have tiny pieces.

Doesn't the newer ships have a conference room? Why don't they do the open house activities in there. The conference room can't be booked the whole cruise.

How were the activities handled before? Were the kids that were in the club/lab without a parent not allowed to participate in the activity?

 

[Yokelridesagain]

Finally, can someone just be transparent about why this rule changed? I'm new to Disney and the insinuations are difficult to figure out and it would be nice to know the exact problem to help me process this change.

The simple answer is that no one here knows. There has been a lot of speculation about a prior incident in which a "special needs" adult who was for some reason allowed in the teen club began harassing a 15 year old in and out of the club.

There was clearly a decision made by legal that adults should not be allowed access to the unsupervised minor children of others. Whether it was related to this incident, another incident that no one here knows about, or just general principle, we don't know.