Info on children's areas?

[Blue Eeyore]

Its been 10 years since we cruised on the Wonder. We had a 2-year-old in the nursery at that time. Now we will have one 12, one 8 and one 6. Here are my questions:

What areas will my kiddos be in?
How does it work?
They used to give pagers, what do they do now?
What can I say to my children who are reluctant to be w/o their parents? I've heard that once they give it a try, u don't see them too much, true?
What do I do with them when we do Palo? How do they eat dinner?

If you could answer my questions, offer advice or send me a link, that'd be SO great, Thank you soooooo much!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

The 12 year old can go to Edge or the kids clubs. Oceaners Club and Lab are for ages 3-12. The kids clubs will call or text your wave phone that you carry with you from your cabin. It is good for the kids to go the first night and meet other kids in there.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

What areas will my kiddos be in?
How does it work?
They used to give pagers, what do they do now?
What can I say to my children who are reluctant to be w/o their parents? I've heard that once they give it a try, u don't see them too much, true?
What do I do with them when we do Palo? How do they eat dinner?

As mentioned above, all 3 can be in the Oceaneers Club/Lab, but the 12 year old can also go to the Edge. You can pre-register your kids online during the online checkin process, but you will need to pick up the kids club magic bands either in the port terminal or at the club onboard. All the kids clubs have open house on embarkation day from the time boarding starts until about 5:00 or so. I'd recommend you take your kids to visit the Oceaneers spaces during that time. I think that would help your kids who might be reluctant to go.

The clubs use the Wave phones to communicate with parents so make sure you carry that with you.

For a Palo dinner, the clubs do offer food during a set time, but you might want to feed your kids before you drop them off at the club. Either get them something from room service or from the pool deck.

 

[cmph]

One thing you might consider is letting the older 2 carry their own devices for texting on the DCL app. My 11yo had her ipod with her; she got a small cross-body DCL bag (from the disney store online) for Christmas and carried it in there b/c our ladies' clothes do not always have pockets! We borrowed an old cell phone from my in-laws for DS8 to use purely for texting. I wiped it out before we left, so if he somehow lost it, life would go on. He didn't, and I should have known he would be so excited to have it that that wouldn't be an issue! Anyway, it gave both of them the ability to text us directly, which they preferred. Plus they could check themselves in and out, so they always had a way to communicate to us where they were and what they were doing.

My kids were the "not interested in the club" ones. They were frustrated that they could never do the two things they wanted in one trip there, b/c one side or the other was always closed off. They didn't like how crowded it could get, and some times were turned away from organized activities that were already overrun with other kids. Their last straw was when the CM took my daughter's ipod (playfully) after she observed her texting on it and then sent me a bunch of nonsense texts. (DS was texting me "That's not 'sister', that's the employee!") That was weird and totally not cool with my kids, and they never returned to the club/lab. However, they LOVED the cruise. I swallowed by nervousness and let them have autonomy as long as they stayed together. They ate their weight in soft serve and were happy to be in charge of taking their own breaks to watch cartoons in the stateroom. I was a little bummed they didn't utilize the kids' clubs, tbh, but I got over it and we all enjoyed ourselves. It'll be fine whether they love the clubs or hate them!

 

[bbel]

As others have said, they can all be together in the club/lab and your 12 year old can also go to Edge. The older two are old enough to be self-check outs (they can all check in by themselves), if you give permission (even if they are Edge age you still have to give permission for this), Edge is come and go as they please and there is no checking in or out. The 12 year old can go between both spaces as much as they like and don't have to chose.

If they want to leave and tell a CM, then a message will be sent to your Wave Phone, there will be two in each stateroom. Yes, kids can communicate with you via the app, but if theres ever an emergency or there are any questions from a CM, then the WP (or room phone) will be the only way they can contact you.

On all the ships now, the club and lab are connected so they can move freely between both as much as they like when they are in secured programming. If you have dropped the kids off and one side goes into Open House, then all children that are checked in will be safe in the side that is in secure programming.

Once in they can do what they like, all organised programmes and activities are (should be) announced and usually all counsellors around will encourage children to join and at least give it a go, but they are also able to use the iPads, wii, crafts, games if they choose to. There are counsellors in every room, at the gates and outside the bathrooms.

If your worried about kids not wanting to go in, check out the OH times, which go on in both spaces up until the drill on the first day. Parents can also come in for a few minutes to get kids in if you really need to when dropping off. As to whether they will like it, you won't know until you get there. As first timers, your kids have probably never been in an environment like it before. Ive had parents say their kids are going to hate it and will want to leave within minutes and they have they end up having to drag them out, and also the opposite way around.

Dinner is served usually around 6 every day but will be on the navigator (apart from embark day) and any kids in care will be offered food, but if they're not going to be there are that time, or you want to be sure they eat and want to know what they eat its best to feed them before hand from room service or the pool deck.

If you are going to Palo (or the spa, or just want some time apart from the kids) you can let the CM know when you check in, they can make a note of it and that way they will refrain from contacting you (unless its an emergency, obviously), and redirect the kids and entertain them.

 

[Mommb]

When my kids were young and my husband and I dined at Palo, we had early dining and booked Palo during the later dining time. We took the kids to dinner, sat with them, and then walked them to the Oceaneer's Club and went to our dinner. On later cruises, after my son turned 12 and showed he was responsible about letting us know where he was going and when he would be back, we sent the kids to dinner by themselves in the main dining room, where the servers treated them very well and they knew we'd be asking our table mates the next night if there had been any problems.