Oceaneer lab age group rules.

[sfgarb]

I have an 8 and 10 year old and would like to keep them together in the Oceaneer lab. I understand the lab is divived into 2 age groups, 8-9, and 10-12. Do they ever make exceptions so that families can stay together? Are the groups in the same room for activities anyway? Would appreciate your experiences to plan accordingly. Thank you!

 

[Castaway Stowaway]

I believe that they will let your older one "downgrade", but wont let your younger one trade up. Also if your older one decides he wants to go with the younger group, he needs to stay with that group for the cruise. No jumping back and forth. Im in a similar situation. My dss are 5&9 so i have no idea what we will do. Im sure ill figure out something! HTH

 

[Dznyjenn]

I have a similar question:

DS/14 (b-day 5 days before cruise) is a little on the socially awkward side. He has a mild autistic condition called Asperger's Syndrome, which contributes to this awkwardness. He's been doing much better with his own age group since being involved in scouts, but he's still a little picked on, and is often more comfortable hanging with his sister, DD/11. (Also a little socially awkward) He loves science, and I yhink he would get a kick out of the lab activities.

Since he doesn't seem to need to be registered for the teen club, and I understand that they will let him participate with his younger sibling...will HE be able to go back to his own age group if he sees an activity that he would be comfortable with? It's different than the various Oceaneer Club age groups, correct?

 

[zack&alexmom]

I know from other experiences with Disney (not DCL) that they are wonderful at dealing with children with special needs. It may be worth a phone call ahead of time to get a feel for the situation and then working with the club when you get there.

Linda

 

[CACruisin']

My 9.5 year old DD was able to move up to be with her 11 year old sister with no questions.

 

[spectrum-turbo]

On our WONDERful cruise in October my younger son was given the choice to move up with his older brother. Now, he is four and his brother was seven, so he [read: my DH & I ;>) ] decided to stay with the younger crowd.

 

[Vanvmom]

Because they were in the same program (the Lab), they let my 9 year old son be with his 11 year old brother (in fact they suggested it). They are in the same room, so the rules were different than they would be if you wanted a child from the club to participate with a sibling from the lab.

 

[lbgraves]

You may want to check out the kid's navigators to see what each child will be interested in. The age groups within the club & lab are split up most of the time in different areas of the ship. Just because 8-12 yos go to the lab, neither group spends all of their time there.

 

[McFamily2]

We will have DD8, DD7 and DS4 at cruise time. Are there any activities they do together, movie night, etc? Younger two would do fine alone but DD8 is on the shy side and does not like the idea of the lab. I would prefer to spend most of the time as a family but wouldn't mine a little bit of time for just my wife and I.

(I have posted similiar question before, I think if I keep asking it I will eventually get an answer I like.)

 

[lbgraves]

Sorry, but only the 3-4 & 5-7s do some play activities together...some nights it is movies in the club but the 5-7 yos were in the lab until midnight a couple nights. You can see how often they are together by looking at the navigators posted in the FAQ thread at the top of this forum. The 8-12 yos do not do any activities with the club age kids.

Have you tried signing onto your cruise's meets thread? We always maintain a website with family info & the kids have a page for each age group that has their picture & a short bio telling what they like to do etc. This gives the kids a chance to make friends before the cruise. They can email kids their own age & already have a friend on the ship when they board. It usually works out pretty well for them.

 

[CM_Mom]

McFamily2 - if your DD 8 is on the shy side she may prefer staying with the 5-7s in the club with her sister. The condition is that she can't jump back and forth. Plan to discuss the kids placement with the Counselors when you get on board. Your DS4 would be in the 3-4s but would often be in the same room with his sisters. Whether you would want to see about moving him up really depends on his personality.

The "general" recommendation is to try each of the kids in their own age group and make a move if that's not working. You know your kids best so talk to the counselors. They really are interested in finding the placement that will give them the most enjoyable cruise.

I think the idea of checking out the Cruise Meet for your sailing is also a great idea. If the kids, especially the 8 yo, could correspond with other kids her age she might really look forward to meeting them on the cruise.

 

[pdarrah]

Does anyone have any thoughts on moving a child up when there isn't a sibling involved? My DS will be 3 months from his 8th bday on our next cruise - so he isn't in that 1 month no problem to move up category. However, this will be his 3rd DCL cruise and he was in the 5-7 group for the first 2 (5yrs and 6 yrs). Since the activities really don't change that much, it will really be a "been there, done that" thing for him in the club. He tends to make friends with older kids easily and is fairly advanced academically - however, he is short for his age (10th percentile) so he would almost certainly be the smallest boy in the 8-9 group. Of course, he is used to being the smallest and it usually doesn't bother him.

Any thoughts? I have plenty of time to think about this - we won't cruise again until next January!

pdarrah

 

[lbgraves]

Just go in & talk to the lab manager when you board the ship. They want the kids to be happy in their group. They realize that some kids are more mature & others are less & may fit better into the next age group up or down.