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

[weluvMM]

Sorry for the second post, but I am so upset by this. WHy can't they have visiting hours but still secured? I wonder what the heck happened to prompt this.

 

[princessmom29]

Because this is already a problem for us. I want to book Palo for dinner. My son wants to attend the Lab during that time. According to the DCL response, we are supposed to check the Navigator the evening before to determine if the Lab will be doing Open House during the time we have Palo reserved. This is not what we signed on for when we booked the cruise. We signed on for a cruise where my son had a space where he could go that was age appropriate. Now that may or may not be the case on a certain night.

That is what I have already and will continue to voice my concerns to DCL about. I am completely open minded about the Open Houses. But I would like a set schedule that we can plan around, and I feel like the late evening is not a time for the Open Houses to take place at all.

Exactly. I am a planner. I have a 10th anniversary dinner booked at Palo. I don't want DD stuck somewhere she would rather not be because of this new policy. DD is also a planner. She has looked at the navigators, and there are several activities she was looking forward t o doing INDEPENDENTLY. Looks like she probably won't have that chance for some of them. Mom or Dad will have to be there. I am complaining now because I want this fixed BEFORE we board. There is no reason to have 6 hours of open house time a day. It is excessive, and we need to know BEFORE we board when the open houses will be so we can plan our vacation. The simplest solution would seem to me to be the 3-6 every day option that was used on at least 1 cruise on the Dream. It would be a time most people couldl make and wouldn't interfere tool much with secured programming.

 

[bledsoedoc]

To me, the Kid's Clubs are like " camp" or school. They are a place for kid's to play, experience new things and stretch their wings. They don't need their parents around in those settings. There should be an initial open house to get them comfortable and perhaps a few short other ones for kids to show parents what they have been doing or allow little ones the chance to experience it. Then, parents should stay out!

So what you are saying is we should all have to be like you because otherwise it might inconvenience you. You see no room for compromise. You get both rooms scheduled for you while we get none.
My child will do some secured programming but we had originally planned when we booked our cruise to participate as a family in some of the scheduled events. During unsecured we will be able to but during secured programming we won't. No big deal. Disney makes daily changes in everything it does. Navigators change. You truly could never make plans in advance that you knew wouldnt change because you don't find out the daily schedule until the night before. And don't forget about the weather. Our entire itenerary is up in the air at the whim of mother nature. Flexibility is the name of the game and really will make your vaca much more fun. What? The line for peter pan is 1 1/2 hours...lets go ride these 4 rides instead....
So those who say we have the WHOLE ship...so because you say so, we can use your cabin,' the dining rooms, the galley, the bridge, the adult areas, the teen areas, the staff areas...that is part of the whole ship.
We do plan on using other parts of the ship. We are excited to see they have a game room so we won't miss out on our nightly board game that we love to do as a family. Daddy and little man will most definetly do build a paper airplane. And our family will likely do Disney trivia and songs. We will never use the adult dining or pool. I might do something in the spa if it works out for my family and I will probably do a cooking show, again if it works out for my family. But our son also will want to cook with ratatouie, dosido with snow white, ect...he actually does not know what he wants because we are not telling him until we arrive at the port and check in. The ultimate of flexibility on his part. Then we get off the ship and he thinks the limo is taking us back to mco, he gets surprisre part doux, 5 days in the parks...but I digress.
My point again is compromise and flexibility makes for less stress and a wonderful cruise. You threaten to go to a different carrier...is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. No carrier has the childcare hours that dcl offers nor the space, even with these changes. And disney is listening to all the families and is still modifying as it goes. Give them a chance. Disney tweaks to perfection and understands there is more than one view.

 

[bledsoedoc]

The club and the lab have been advertised for ages 3-10 since before I booked our cruise. I just pulled out my planning info. Looks like it has been advertised that way since around 2009. Just fyi.
Another option is to go back to the old way, both rooms opened and adults could stay. I hope that the idea of allowing adults to stay does not sit well with anyone...

 

[Wadekind]

So what you are saying is we should all have to be like you because otherwise it might inconvenience you. You see no room for compromise. You get both rooms scheduled for you while we get none. Yes, with DCL a large part of the sales pitch for DCL is the exclusive kids clubs. KIDS clubs not mommy and me time or daddy and me time but a place designed for kids and filled with kids playing together not parents.

My point again is compromise and flexibility makes for less stress and a wonderful cruise. You threaten to go to a different carrier...is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. No carrier has the childcare hours that dcl offers nor the space, even with these changes. And disney is listening to all the families and is still modifying as it goes. Give them a chance. Disney tweaks to perfection and understands there is more than one view.
The long club hours were a selling point for us. With the recent changes, the DCL club hours are more like the other cruislines which is a reduction of services not an enhancement.

Just like the adult areas there are always some who want to change the exclusivity of an area because it doesn't suit what they want. I do not think DCL should compromise on anything. The website clearly states these area are for kids only and if someone books hoping they will be the exception and then is upset when they are told no then too bad.
The kids clubs as originally set up were a big reason we booked DCL and the current changes will have me considering other cruise lines.

 

[sabrecmc]

I honestly don't mind the idea of some expanded "open house" hours for the kids' club, particularly for the 3-5 year old set. I wouldn't have minded the chance to participate with my 3 year old on some of the kids' club activities on our first cruise when I just didn't feel she was quite ready to be left in the club by herself. So, say, Heffalump Hunting and Finding Tink from 7am-10am would've been great...

But based on the Navigators and actual hours that recent cruisers have shared, it seems DCL is devoting huge chunks of time to the open houses. If I'm following this correctly, this means that a 9 year old in the Lab may be stuck in the Club Do Si Do-ing with Snow White or a 3 year old may be in the Lab with Wii games if they are in the secured programming...that doesn't seem ideal at all. Having huge blocks of time for open house where either the Lab or Club is closed, especially during peak times, just seems like overkill to me.

I have a 6 year old now, so I'm honestly not too worried about her, as she happily floats between Lab and Club activities, but I can definitely see it being an issue for the older/younger ends of the spectrum when activities that aren't really age-appropriate are the only things available in secured programming.

I said before that on our first cruise, DD was just barely 3 and after attending the open house on the first night, I just didn't think she was ready to be left on her own, so I didn't leave her there. We had plenty to do as a family. Heck, between nap, meals and meeting characters, we couldn't fit in everything I wanted to do!

I'm not opposed to the idea of open houses entirely, just feel that it needs to be balanced with what the clubs are really for, which is kids-only time. Have some early morning hours for families, especially those with young children, to enjoy the club and help the child feel more comfortable. Then secure the Club and Lab for the rest of the day and no parents allowed. Maybe add some additional family activities outside of the Club and Lab, like the preschool dance party.

 

[princessmom29]

I honestly don't mind the idea of some expanded "open house" hours for the kids' club, particularly for the 3-5 year old set. I wouldn't have minded the chance to participate with my 3 year old on some of the kids' club activities on our first cruise when I just didn't feel she was quite ready to be left in the club by herself. So, say, Heffalump Hunting and Finding Tink from 7am-10am would've been great...

But based on the Navigators and actual hours that recent cruisers have shared, it seems DCL is devoting huge chunks of time to the open houses. If I'm following this correctly, this means that a 9 year old in the Lab may be stuck in the Club Do Si Do-ing with Snow White or a 3 year old may be in the Lab with Wii games if they are in the secured programming...that doesn't seem ideal at all. Having huge blocks of time for open house where either the Lab or Club is closed, especially during peak times, just seems like overkill to me.

I have a 6 year old now, so I'm honestly not too worried about her, as she happily floats between Lab and Club activities, but I can definitely see it being an issue for the older/younger ends of the spectrum when activities that aren't really age-appropriate are the only things available in secured programming.

I said before that on our first cruise, DD was just barely 3 and after attending the open house on the first night, I just didn't think she was ready to be left on her own, so I didn't leave her there. We had plenty to do as a family. Heck, between nap, meals and meeting characters, we couldn't fit in everything I wanted to do!

I'm not opposed to the idea of open houses entirely, just feel that it needs to be balanced with what the clubs are really for, which is kids-only time. Have some early morning hours for families, especially those with young children, to enjoy the club and help the child feel more comfortable. Then secure the Club and Lab for the rest of the day and no parents allowed. Maybe add some additional family activities outside of the Club and Lab, like the preschool dance party.

ITA!!!!! Open houses shouldn't ke away from what the clubs are actually intended to provide, kids only activities that are age appropriate.

 

[princessmom29]

So what you are saying is we should all have to be like you because otherwise it might inconvenience you. You see no room for compromise. You get both rooms scheduled for you while we get none.
My child will do some secured programming but we had originally planned when we booked our cruise to participate as a family in some of the scheduled events. During unsecured we will be able to but during secured programming we won't. No big deal. Disney makes daily changes in everything it does. Navigators change. You truly could never make plans in advance that you knew wouldnt change because you don't find out the daily schedule until the night before. And don't forget about the weather. Our entire itenerary is up in the air at the whim of mother nature. Flexibility is the name of the game and really will make your vaca much more fun. What? The line for peter pan is 1 1/2 hours...lets go ride these 4 rides instead....
So those who say we have the WHOLE ship...so because you say so, we can use your cabin,' the dining rooms, the galley, the bridge, the adult areas, the teen areas, the staff areas...that is part of the whole ship.
We do plan on using other parts of the ship. We are excited to see they have a game room so we won't miss out on our nightly board game that we love to do as a family. Daddy and little man will most definetly do build a paper airplane. And our family will likely do Disney trivia and songs. We will never use the adult dining or pool. I might do something in the spa if it works out for my family and I will probably do a cooking show, again if it works out for my family. But our son also will want to cook with ratatouie, dosido with snow white, ect...he actually does not know what he wants because we are not telling him until we arrive at the port and check in. The ultimate of flexibility on his part. Then we get off the ship and he thinks the limo is taking us back to mco, he gets surprisre part doux, 5 days in the parks...but I digress.
My point again is compromise and flexibility makes for less stress and a wonderful cruise. You threaten to go to a different carrier...is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. No carrier has the childcare hours that dcl offers nor the space, even with these changes. And disney is listening to all the families and is still modifying as it goes. Give them a chance. Disney tweaks to perfection and understands there is more than one view.

Most of us just cannot operate that way. I refuse to go into an epensive, once ayear vacation with NO plan whatsoever. Not happening. You can plan, and have backup plans for weather and unforseens. I don't want to have to wait to board to know when DD will have access to age appropriate programming. I want to know hw will have a place to go when we plana Palo ressie that HAS to be booked in advance. If they are going to do advanced bookings for things like Palo, Remy, the Spa ect., they need to let us know when our kids are going to be jammed into one club with all ages so we can plan around that. I am not opposed to open houses, but as there seem to be very few families taking advantage of them, I think the amount of time allotted is clearly excessive.

 

[bledsoedoc]

Most of us just cannot operate that way. I refuse to go into an epensive, once ayear vacation with NO plan whatsoever. Not happening. You can plan, and have backup plans for weather and unforseens. I don't want to have to wait to board to know when DD will have access to age appropriate programming. I want to know hw will have a place to go when we plana Palo ressie that HAS to be booked in advance. If they are going to do advanced bookings for things like Palo, Remy, the Spa ect., they need to let us know when our kids are going to be jammed into one club with all ages so we can plan around that. I am not opposed to open houses, but as there seem to be very few families taking advantage of them, I think the amount of time allotted is clearly excessive.

How do you know that few families take advantage of open houses? I have been reading threads on dis and other boards that say that it varies, as does the number of kids in secured programming. And you can book Palo in advance because there is always secured programming with activities for all ages. Per this and other threads.

 

[LadyOfNawlins]

If they are going to open up the KIDS CLUBS and make them family clubs for part of the day every day, I wish they were for shorter amounts of time and with set schedules. I can plan around that so that my children will not have to be miserable in an overcrowded kids club.

Yes, Disney can make changes anytime they like. They make the rules. However, some parents didn't like the way things were run before and complained which then precipitated this change. I didn't complain before because I didn't have a problem with the system. Now, I have a problem with it, so I will complain. Hopefully, Disney will hear our complaints now and find a better solution than what is being reported from first-hand accounts!

FYI: I looked at the navigators from the Mexican Riviera and 1/3 of the kids club time had scheduled open houses (excluding the first day which has historically been open for a large chunk of time). 90 total hours for the clubs/labs being offered with 31.5 of them spent in open houses.

 

[LadyOfNawlins]

How do you know that few families take advantage of open houses? I have been reading threads on dis and other boards that say that it varies, as does the number of kids in secured programming. And you can book Palo in advance because there is always secured programming with activities for all ages. Per this and other threads.

I haven't seen this anywhere on the Dis. One person (on this thread) said that she didn't know about it before the cruise, and when she asked her child, her child said it was very crowded. Other than that, not too many people have talked about the amount of people utilizing either side.

 

[LKFan]

But based on the Navigators and actual hours that recent cruisers have shared, it seems DCL is devoting huge chunks of time to the open houses. If I'm following this correctly, this means that a 9 year old in the Lab may be stuck in the Club Do Si Do-ing with Snow White or a 3 year old may be in the Lab with Wii games if they are in the secured programming...that doesn't seem ideal at all. Having huge blocks of time for open house where either the Lab or Club is closed, especially during peak times, just seems like overkill to me.

I have a 6 year old now, so I'm honestly not too worried about her, as she happily floats between Lab and Club activities, but I can definitely see it being an issue for the older/younger ends of the spectrum when activities that aren't really age-appropriate are the only things available in secured programming.

I'm trying to keep an open mind about this and figure out how we're going to make this work for our family but, you're right, as a parent of a 9.5 year old, it is hard to see him enjoying himself in the Club when the Lab is Open House.

If you look at the Navigators that were posted from December, the second day at sea, when the Lab is in open house for four hours, the activities listed in the Club (secure programming) are:
Charades
Slide Fun
Before the Last Petal Falls (craft)
Storytime with Belle
Parachute Games
Sliding Fun

It would be nice if they added activities in the Club for older kids (8-10 year olds) and publicized it in the Navigator.

This is a long thread and I'm not sure who posted it but someone said that a couple hours in a club the child doesn't prefer isn't going to kill them. No, it won't kill my kid but we're going to have an issue if my husband and I have spa treatments planned and we tell him that we're going to drop him off at the Club.

He's been on enough cruises and can read the Navigators well enough to know that he wouldn't enjoy Storytime with Belle and Parachute Games. We'll argue about it in the morning and force him to go anyway but it will be on our minds while we are at the spa. Instead of going to the adult pool or Cove Cafe for a little alone time after our treatment, we'll feel the need to go pick him up. That is, if we haven't already been paged by the Club with a message that he is bored.

I don't want to have to negotiate with my kid to get him to go to the kids clubs and I don't want to have to resort to allowing him to bring his DS or a book so he doesn't get bored and keep calling us.

Disney made changes. They are frustrating and there is nothing I can do about it but I wish they had activities for both age groups in the secure programming and that they listed it in the Navigator.

 

[True Romance]

I haven't seen this anywhere on the Dis. One person (on this thread) said that she didn't know about it before the cruise, and when she asked her child, her child said it was very crowded. Other than that, not too many people have talked about the amount of people utilizing either side.

I have read from several reports, on the Wonder, that the open house was virtually empty in the club. Her husband and child were the only ones in there for the Where's Tink activity, usually a very popular activity.

I can't tell you about the Dream, have not seen any reports.

 

[EnchantedTikiGal]

I'll add to this thread as well. I'm really ticked over the schedule, not the fact that they HAVE open house. It's totally unnecessary to have the Lab open house on Friday and Saturday night, and Friday until midnight?! Likewise, if you have young children, having the club open house all afternoon and night on the first Sea day?

Our Palo dinner is booked during Saturday's Lab open house. If my 9yr old cannot sign himself into the lab during the open house, I will be having to cancel our Palo dinner.

I will not make him stay in the club and do activities designed for the 3-5 yr old age groups. I'd like to know how they plan on keeping the 9-10 yr olds entertained in the club, because from everything I've read and seen, he'll be miserable being stuck in there with the little kids.

This all didn't bother me THAT much, and I'm willing to work around it, until I saw the late night and evening hours. What else are 9 and 10 yr olds supposed to do if we'd like to go have a Palo dinner or go to a lounge? It's not fair to make them sit in the stateroom for hours while we go to Palo.

 

[justhat]

Because this is already a problem for us. I want to book Palo for dinner. My son wants to attend the Lab during that time. According to the DCL response, we are supposed to check the Navigator the evening before to determine if the Lab will be doing Open House during the time we have Palo reserved. This is not what we signed on for when we booked the cruise. We signed on for a cruise where my son had a space where he could go that was age appropriate. Now that may or may not be the case on a certain night.

That is what I have already and will continue to voice my concerns to DCL about. I am completely open minded about the Open Houses. But I would like a set schedule that we can plan around, and I feel like the late evening is not a time for the Open Houses to take place at all.

But if this was published in advance, and a lot of people saw the conflict, it would likely be near impossible to book Palo during the "acceptable" times unless you were platinum or concierge.

I think the bigger problem though is that they often have to change plans before/during a cruise, and people would be going insane, saying they booked based on X and now it's Y and their plans are screwed.

Exactly. I am a planner. I have a 10th anniversary dinner booked at Palo. I don't want DD stuck somewhere she would rather not be because of this new policy. DD is also a planner. She has looked at the navigators, and there are several activities she was looking forward t o doing INDEPENDENTLY. Looks like she probably won't have that chance for some of them. Mom or Dad will have to be there. I am complaining now because I want this fixed BEFORE we board. There is no reason to have 6 hours of open house time a day. It is excessive, and we need to know BEFORE we board when the open houses will be so we can plan our vacation. The simplest solution would seem to me to be the 3-6 every day option that was used on at least 1 cruise on the Dream. It would be a time most people couldl make and wouldn't interfere tool much with secured programming.

Your daughter is 8yo. She will most likely be fine in either club. I have a daughter that age and she is fine in both clubs, as are the friends she makes every cruise. They switch back and forth all the time.

3-6pm daily would NOT work as, like I've said, that is a super popular time on sea days, as well as port days with people dropping off in clubs after excursions/before dinner.

Rotating times though, that DOES work as it can accommodate everyone.

So what you are saying is we should all have to be like you because otherwise it might inconvenience you. You see no room for compromise. You get both rooms scheduled for you while we get none.
My child will do some secured programming but we had originally planned when we booked our cruise to participate as a family in some of the scheduled events. During unsecured we will be able to but during secured programming we won't. No big deal. Disney makes daily changes in everything it does. Navigators change. You truly could never make plans in advance that you knew wouldnt change because you don't find out the daily schedule until the night before. And don't forget about the weather. Our entire itenerary is up in the air at the whim of mother nature. Flexibility is the name of the game and really will make your vaca much more fun. What? The line for peter pan is 1 1/2 hours...lets go ride these 4 rides instead....
So those who say we have the WHOLE ship...so because you say so, we can use your cabin,' the dining rooms, the galley, the bridge, the adult areas, the teen areas, the staff areas...that is part of the whole ship.
We do plan on using other parts of the ship. We are excited to see they have a game room so we won't miss out on our nightly board game that we love to do as a family. Daddy and little man will most definetly do build a paper airplane. And our family will likely do Disney trivia and songs. We will never use the adult dining or pool. I might do something in the spa if it works out for my family and I will probably do a cooking show, again if it works out for my family. But our son also will want to cook with ratatouie, dosido with snow white, ect...he actually does not know what he wants because we are not telling him until we arrive at the port and check in. The ultimate of flexibility on his part. Then we get off the ship and he thinks the limo is taking us back to mco, he gets surprisre part doux, 5 days in the parks...but I digress.
My point again is compromise and flexibility makes for less stress and a wonderful cruise. You threaten to go to a different carrier...is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. No carrier has the childcare hours that dcl offers nor the space, even with these changes. And disney is listening to all the families and is still modifying as it goes. Give them a chance. Disney tweaks to perfection and understands there is more than one view.

Yes, that is exactly the mentality. No flexibility. Must be their way or it's bad.

Just like the adult areas there are always some who want to change the exclusivity of an area because it doesn't suit what they want. I do not think DCL should compromise on anything. The website clearly states these area are for kids only and if someone books hoping they will be the exception and then is upset when they are told no then too bad.
The kids clubs as originally set up were a big reason we booked DCL and the current changes will have me considering other cruise lines.

I don't think the website states "No parents allowed". So if you haven't sailed with DCL before, you might not realize it is designed for drop off only.

Most of us just cannot operate that way. I refuse to go into an epensive, once ayear vacation with NO plan whatsoever. Not happening. You can plan, and have backup plans for weather and unforseens. I don't want to have to wait to board to know when DD will have access to age appropriate programming. I want to know hw will have a place to go when we plana Palo ressie that HAS to be booked in advance. If they are going to do advanced bookings for things like Palo, Remy, the Spa ect., they need to let us know when our kids are going to be jammed into one club with all ages so we can plan around that. I am not opposed to open houses, but as there seem to be very few families taking advantage of them, I think the amount of time allotted is clearly excessive.

Planning is one thing. Planning every single second with no room for change is another. You can plan and your child will be fine when you are at Palo/Remy/whatever. If she's bored, pick her up when you're done. If she makes any friends on the ship, shouldn't be an issue where she is as she can hang with the friends. 8yo girls do lots of chatting and not so much structured activity anyway.

I'm trying to keep an open mind about this and figure out how we're going to make this work for our family but, you're right, as a parent of a 9.5 year old, it is hard to see him enjoying himself in the Club when the Lab is Open House.

If you look at the Navigators that were posted from December, the second day at sea, when the Lab is in open house for four hours, the activities listed in the Club (secure programming) are:
Charades
Slide Fun
Before the Last Petal Falls (craft)
Storytime with Belle
Parachute Games
Sliding Fun

It would be nice if they added activities in the Club for older kids (8-10 year olds) and publicized it in the Navigator.

This is a long thread and I'm not sure who posted it but someone said that a couple hours in a club the child doesn't prefer isn't going to kill them. No, it won't kill my kid but we're going to have an issue if my husband and I have spa treatments planned and we tell him that we're going to drop him off at the Club.

He's been on enough cruises and can read the Navigators well enough to know that he wouldn't enjoy Storytime with Belle and Parachute Games. We'll argue about it in the morning and force him to go anyway but it will be on our minds while we are at the spa. Instead of going to the adult pool or Cove Cafe for a little alone time after our treatment, we'll feel the need to go pick him up. That is, if we haven't already been paged by the Club with a message that he is bored.

I don't want to have to negotiate with my kid to get him to go to the kids clubs and I don't want to have to resort to allowing him to bring his DS or a book so he doesn't get bored and keep calling us.

Disney made changes. They are frustrating and there is nothing I can do about it but I wish they had activities for both age groups in the secure programming and that they listed it in the Navigator.

Have you considered giving him sign in/out privileges? Then he could leave the club if he's bored, text you on the wave phone to tell you where he's going, and all is well. And again, will he not make any friends? Cause then he wouldn't really need to bring anything, he could hang out with the friends. Or use the computers or gaming system in the captain's closet.

I'll add to this thread as well. I'm really ticked over the schedule, not the fact that they HAVE open house. It's totally unnecessary to have the Lab open house on Friday and Saturday night, and Friday until midnight?! Likewise, if you have young children, having the club open house all afternoon and night on the first Sea day?

Our Palo dinner is booked during Saturday's Lab open house. If my 9yr old cannot sign himself into the lab during the open house, I will be having to cancel our Palo dinner.

I will not make him stay in the club and do activities designed for the 3-5 yr old age groups. I'd like to know how they plan on keeping the 9-10 yr olds entertained in the club, because from everything I've read and seen, he'll be miserable being stuck in there with the little kids.

This all didn't bother me THAT much, and I'm willing to work around it, until I saw the late night and evening hours. What else are 9 and 10 yr olds supposed to do if we'd like to go have a Palo dinner or go to a lounge? It's not fair to make them sit in the stateroom for hours while we go to Palo.

I'm guessing no one uses the sign themselves out option? Don't get me wrong, I don't plan on letting my 8yo sign herself out, but then she won't care where she is. I know many people are comfortable with that so it seems like a valid option if your child will be so miserable.

 

[LadyOfNawlins]

Yes, that is exactly the mentality. No flexibility. Must be their way or it's bad.

This is hilarious to me!

According to you, all of us that are upset by the new change are unable to be flexible, and we are being selfish by only wanting it our way. I have seen a lot of people say have the open house for 2-3 hours every day but have it be the same time every day and publicize what those hours will be. Yet, every time that suggestion is made someone says but that time doesn't work for ME OR MY FAMILY. That sounds very much like no flexibility and must be their way or it's bad.

I have plenty of flexibility and realize that what works for my family doesn't work for everyone. All that I am asking is that Disney limit the time to 2-3 hours every day during non-peak hours and publicize it so that I can make plans accordingly. I know for a fact that my oldest child will not want to be in the secured area while open house is going on in the other area. She doesn't like crowds, and that will be too much for her.

 

[justhat]

This is hilarious to me!

According to you, all of us that are upset by the new change are unable to be flexible, and we are being selfish by only wanting it our way. I have seen a lot of people say have the open house for 2-3 hours every day but have it be the same time every day and publicize what those hours will be. Yet, every time that suggestion is made someone says but that time doesn't work for ME OR MY FAMILY. That sounds very much like no flexibility and must be their way or it's bad.

I have plenty of flexibility and realize that what works for my family doesn't work for everyone. All that I am asking is that Disney limit the time to 2-3 hours every day during non-peak hours and publicize it so that I can make plans accordingly. I know for a fact that my oldest child will not want to be in the secured area while open house is going on in the other area. She doesn't like crowds, and that will be too much for her.

I don't think I saw anyone say that set times wouldn't work for them. I am suggesting that certain set times wouldn't work for the majority, like 7-9am or 3-6pm. Many people just don't get up that early. I, unfortunately, do as all my kids are extreme morning people and up by 6:30am at the latest. Everyday. Regardless of when they go to bed. So I'm up for that, but many people aren't Also many people, including me, are coming from opposite coasts, so even if they typically get up early, it would be hard. Again, my kids don't ever get affected by that, unfortunately.

3-6pm is rough too, as that is, IME, a very crowded time in the club. Sea days it is packed then cause family time is usually done by then, port days it is crowded because people get back from excursions and drop the kids off to either go back out and shop or get ready for dinner. People with early dinner often want the time to shower and get ready for dinner. Or anyone with Palo might want that time to feed their kids, shower, get changed, etc. So having an open house then, everyday, might be rough. Again, not for me, as I have a toddler who wouldn't be happy in the reef then, if it is even open then, which it isn't always. But for many people.

But by rotating the times, everyone can be accommodated. I don't know why you can't see that. That way early risers have a chance, night owls have a chance, people bored in the middle of the day have a chance, etc. And those not using the open houses don't have to plan something at the same time everyday. So non-open housers who have kids who sleep in won't be affect by morning hours, those with early to bed kids won't be affected by the night hours, those who want to swim or see a movie won't be affected by midday hours. I just don't see how anyone loses in that situation.

 

[True Romance]

Okay, I just spoke to Riley (sp?) a Guest Services Supervisor in the call center. She was the only person I could get to talk to. I was hoping they would give me a number of shoreside Youth Activities, but no go.

I believe that shoreside and shipside do not communicate too much. She assured me during the open house times that we could still check our kids into that club and it would be secured for them. The open houses were created for parents that wanted to see what their kids were doing and take pics and enjoy the activity with the kids during those times. Riley said that the kids still should be scanned in and secured during these times, even if the parents do not want to stay.

I told her that was not the case, that was not happening. That we have been told the doors are left open, there is no scanning in and out of kids, there is no security during the open house. She said it is not supposed to be that way but each sailing is different and it is up to the Youth Activities onboard. She told me that I can talk to a CM onboard and tell them I just want to leave my kids during the open house and it will not be a problem. I told her that I just wanted to get across that I was really unhappy with the policy that parents HAD to attend with their children. Riley said she would look into the open houses and voice my concern to management.

I really think DCL reservations and management should read these boards, I feel more informed then reservations.

When I get onboard in Feb. I am going straight to the Club to talk to the supervisor. I am going to let my feelings be known if the open houses are long and unsecured. They should know right away about the dissatisfaction. I am definitely not going to wait to write it on my comment card. Riley said rules/procedures change from cruise to cruise, ship to ship and it is all up to Youth Activities onboard. The more I hear about, it I do think this is a cost cutting measure. Maybe they don't have enough staff to work each club and this is their way around it?

Has anyone in the recent sailings left their 8+ child with signing in/out privileges in the open house without a parent?

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

I haven't seen this anywhere on the Dis. One person (on this thread) said that she didn't know about it before the cruise, and when she asked her child, her child said it was very crowded. Other than that, not too many people have talked about the amount of people utilizing either side.

This is their exact quote...

We cruised after the policy change and I didn't know anything about it until I came home and read about it on the disboards. Then I looked at my navigator and asked my child what happened. He said it felt very crowded when they came over to the lab, but it wasn't too bad when they went to the club it wasn't so bad. He is 10 years old and spent all of his free time in the clubs.

I would take a deep breath, not say a word to your kids, and see how it goes. I'm glad I didn't know about it because I would have worried and been upset, and like I said, I didn't even notice.

We were on a Dec. 18 Dream cruise and it was a sold out cruise with tons of kids because school was already out.

I think that is a completely different tone and expression that what you posted.

 

[LadyOfNawlins]

I don't know why you can't see that. That way early risers have a chance, night owls have a chance, people bored in the middle of the day have a chance, etc. And those not using the open houses don't have to plan something at the same time everyday. So non-open housers who have kids who sleep in won't be affect by morning hours, those with early to bed kids won't be affected by the night hours, those who want to swim or see a movie won't be affected by midday hours. I just don't see how anyone loses in that situation.

And I don't see why you can't just see that for those of us that are planners, not having set times doesn't work. My family (and apparently lots of other posters' families on here) feels that we will be losing in this situation because we cannot schedule a couples massage or Palo brunch or dinner because it may be at a time that is scheduled to be open house and my children will be miserable.