Kids Club open houses - newbie question

[bumbershoot]

I don't think I feel comfortable with the idea of my tweens being in the club when random adults are allowed to come in and out.

But if there is a creep who wants to befriend my child, open house seems like an opportune time.

The counselors are in there. Other kids are in there. Other kids’ parents and siblings will be in there.

A random adult who is up to no good is the most stupid random adult ever, to try something in that environment.

Vegas and Disney parks and cruise ships are THE places where you’re going to get caught if you’re up to no good.


Put your kids in martial arts. I’m a fan of aikido. My son found his voice there. They literally practice screaming “NO!!”at an adult. That is excellent practice. They learn how to use their bodies to throw someone bigger off balance. This is a good skill. They develop strength of all kinds.

In a place so heavily populated with GOOD people, all a person needs is that practiced loud voice and having the element of surprise, to get the good people to come running.

That is far better than a zillion rules or being afraid of all adults.

Oh and read Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear. Excellent book. All about trusting that inner voice. Kids are especially good at hearing that silent background music when creepers approach. (As long as we aren’t hammering out that instinct by forcing our kids to kiss Uncle Jimmy when their spidey senses are screaming NOOOO about him, of course.)

The Open Houses were a big drawback on our cruise. It seemed like they were always having “Open House” and my kids didn’t even go there very often. Maybe 4-5 times for an hour or two the whole cruise and at least half those times ended up with an Open House at some point. They were really disappointed because then they were stuck doing activities on only one side so they couldn’t do what they came there to do. There were a few more times they considered going, but saw it was an Open House time and decided not to go. I really don’t understand the purpose of all of the Open Houses. Have one the first day and maybe a small window on the second day in case you missed it on embarkation day, but then that should be it. I thought the whole point was to have a special spot just for kids?!? We were a 3 day cruise, so maybe it shuts down more on the longer ones, but after hearing such great things about the Kids Clubs, I was actually a little disappointed.

Things don’t always work linearly. Sometimes kids are tired and freaked out the first day or so and don’t go at all.

This isn’t a Disney story, but on our first royal cruise it was the 4th week of vacation, and my son and I had been sick for two weeks of the three prior, and were still recovering. He was still sleeping a TON, and was exhausted beyond meals and lazing in the sun, for almost three days of the cruise. So he showed up in the kids club on either the 3rd evening or 4th day. He’s an extrovert and a joiner so he had no issues, but another kid might have needed an open house time.

The first time we encountered an issue with open house on DCL we were irked. If it’s OH you can’t leave a younger kid alone there. (Except that he was of the age where he could have checked out alone, so I get confused on that one) When we got home and checked out the boards I discovered that if the lab was closed the club would be open. If only the CMs has told me that.

But that taught us something. That along with some other irritations we’ve had with oceaneers have taught is how to use the schedules better.

So for your next cruise, you’ll know it better and everyone’s expectations will be set properly. You won’t be surprised by the OH and will just send them to the other side, and they’ll know what’s going on on that side.

 

[Lilsia]

You need to be aware that not all Edge activities take place in the Edge club space. They sometimes go up to the sports deck or do scavenger hunts around the ship. That will put them around random adults. During Open House times, there are counselors there in the club, and honestly, there aren't a lot of random adults wanting to hang out in the Edge. You're more likely to see random adults checking out the Open Houses in the Oceaneers Club so they can see the Star Wars area.

Exactly, plus when they are old enough for the Edge, they are free to come and go as often as they like. My daughter said that they would always go and do ice cream runs. Most kids that age are roaming the ship unsupervised because they are plenty old enough to.

 

[Lilsia]

I read reviews about people who have specific rules set up for their tweens about using only specific elevators (one that only goes to the edge I think),

There is one elevator in the mid ship set of elevators that goes up to the Edge. It is still used by everyone but the kids can scan their card to take them up to the Edge like someone would do for a concierge floor. It is NOT and Edge only elevator. I have 2 teen daughters who have been cruising since they were little. We have had zero issues with their safety. Teach them to be smart about their surroundings and stick to the more populated decks.