Thoughts on Edge?

[Delrea]

Last time we cruised my daughter thought Edge was just terrible. When we go next daughter #2 will be Edge age. Can you share your thoughts and experiences on Edge? And vibe to if you want. We have lots of great Oceanears club experiences!

 

[disneygeek401]

I have been to Edge and Vibe before when I was younger. The Oceaneers club space is really nice for kids because it is well themed to the different movies like Marvel and Star Wars. Edge/Vibe aren't like that, but they are pretty cool teen hangouts. They are both open later. Edge til 1 am, Vibe until 2 am, and they do fun Teen activities. Scavenger hunts around the ship, video game tournaments, games, boy v girl competitions, movies, so much more. Vibe on the newer ships has a small pool deck and all of them have a smoothie bar. Overall they are really fun spaces. Check DCL Blog if you want to see sample activities from pre-covid times. No one knows if they will be the same in post-covid world, but it is a good baseline

 

[FightingIrishman]

We usually hit Edge right after lunch embarkation day to get the kids acquainted with the staff and to check everything out. We also have the kids go to the ice breakers activities to meet other kids. The more time you get them in Edge, the more likely they hit it off with a few others and usually have an awesome cruise in the Edge activities. If you don't get to know anyone else the first day or two, it can be a big miss.

 

[T & R]

Depends on the ship. My 2 oldest love Edge and Vibe on the Dream class ships but not so much on the classic ships. From what I've been able to see the Edge club on the Magic was so small compared to the Dream class. It can also depend on the cruise itinerary. If you have a cruise during the school year with a low number of kids, then they might not have a good of time. Sometimes a good group of kids can make all the difference in the kids clubs. Some may have to go more than a time or two until they get comfortable with the kids clubs. Only time we see our kids is at dinner and they live in those clubs while we're onboard. They complain when we try to get them out and rush through dinner so they can go back. That's a good sign and a credit to DCL.

 

[BartmanLA]

On a sailing on the Magic with my brother and his family his 2 kids were in both Edge and Vibe, I worried they wouldn't have fun or enjoy the experience but surprisingly my nephew (13 at the time) spent a lot more time there than I thought he would, he made some really good friends on the first day and we rarely saw him again the rest of the cruise. So it's hit or miss I guess, depends on what the kids are expecting or how social they are. But as many have stated, Disney could step up the engagement for the teens more on board, especially the kids that are "Edge" aged. Seems like they're sorta of being forgotten.

 

[PurplePencil]

Edge (and Vibe, to a certain extent) is really dependent on the counselors and kids. The Edge space, especially on the classics, is a hang-out/Arcade space. Unlike the Clab, there aren't many activities to do outside of structured programming. That being said, there are video games, some form of a board game, and a craft always available in the space. Once tweens get to know each other, the dynamic changes and Edge becomes more of a meeting place. The tweens will pop in and out to see who's around before heading off to a movie, meal, or the pool. Some examples of Edge activities include Video Games, Bingo, Scavenger Hunts, Gaga Ball, and crafts. Since Edge kids are within the weird middle school age, the counselors tend to be slightly less involved than in the Clab, but still more involved than in Vibe; they will usually encourage participation in activities. Not to gender stereotype, but the girls tend to engage in quiet activities like animation cells and other crafts. In contrast, the boys tend to be loudly involved in video games and Gaga ball, which sometimes seems intimidating and scares of quieter individuals. If there's a craft or activity that your daughter enjoys, she can always ask a counselor. They're usually more than happy to get that craft, play a card game, or start up a round of a game.

Vibe has a slightly different "vibe" (excuse the pun), and from my experience, the teens hang-out in Vibe more than tweens hang-out in Edge. For activities like Heroes vs. Villains, Bingo, Trivia, and Gotcha! there's a slight competitive atmosphere, but its definitely in a fun way. One of Vibe's big draws (that hopefully will continue when cruising resumes) is Smoothie Hour, which Edge sometimes gets to participate in. The counselors in Vibe really try to get to know the teens while maintaining a chill vibe, and the counselors contribute positively to the overall experience.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them (I also have posted a couple other times about Edge and Vibe specifics)o

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

Depends on the cruise, depends on the kid... but I will say that we have one more outgoing son and one more reserved, but both of them love Edge. When structured activities aren't on, counselors seem to have a good sense of when to hang back and when to get involved with a little social engineering.

 

[daedelus]

Completely agree that it depends on the kids and counselors. We've had great and awful experiences with both Edge and Vibe. It feels like the counselors are not enabled to or are afraid to address the "popular crowd" or the problem kids, and it can sour the experience for all the kids. But we've also had times where we never saw our kids as the group was really good.

The most important thing is that they give it a fair chance. One of my kids has a tendency to immediately write off anything they're not instantly enamored with. But if they give it a chance, they end up liking it. So time will tell. Once we can cruise again!