What can kids do in Edge besides Movies, Karaoke & Video games?

[leannak]

My 13-year-old aged out of the kid clubs and she's so bummed that she'll be stuck with Edge on our upcoming cruise. She doesn't care much for electronics (doesn't like video games, etc.) and is more of an introvert who likes to cook, read, play imaginatively, etc. She'll be friendly with other kids but isn't the type to run around the ship with new buddies or play competitive group games. She usually prefers to hang out with siblings on vacations (only one is able to go with her into Edge but is young enough for the kids clubs and will definitely prefer there).

My guess is we won't be utilizing Edge, which is fine. But perhaps there are things she would enjoy that we can look for. If anyone knows of some of the best things they offer for quiet, creative kids in Edge, I'd love to have some to recommend to her. Are there crafts?? If so, what kind? What's the smoothie thing? Any cooking classes or anything?

 

[NAB]

My daughter is quiet and doesn’t do the video games either but she liked the Edge.

Smoothie time is when they make smoothies in the club and it is free instead of buying one around the ship.

They do have some drawing and crafts done there too. The first night they give the kids a list of things they might want to do there during the week and they go from there. That is why it is important to go the first night to the icebreaker thing to see what they like to do.

They played some game every night , my daughter liked to go to Said it was really funny.

They go to the sports deck, do scavenger hunts around the ship, that was her favourite.

 

[anricat]

My daughter was very reluctant to go to Edge, but had an incredible time this last cruise (her first time in Edge). My daughter tends to be similar to yours and is more of a creative type and she also tends to enjoy playing with younger kids and in the world of kids growing up really fast, just isn't into a lot of the stuff her tween peers are into. Like your daughter, she's still very much into imaginative play.

There was an activity the first night called "Taking it to the Edge" in which they basically outlined a lot of the different activities and what they entail. There is also an Ice Breakers that first night and that helped my daughter make some friends right away, which helped a lot.

She really liked Heroes and Villains (though I'm not sure what that was all about), the pirate flash mob (practice and actual flash mob on pirate night to start out the show), Brains and Brawns, Ultimate Challenge and Bingo. She sometimes likes to play video games, but really stuff that's more like Just Dance. One evening for the video games they were playing Just Dance and she enjoyed that. She also went every time that they had Karaoke. She loved "Invade Vibe" as well as the games on the Sports Deck when they went there.

 

[leannak]

Thanks for the responses!!

Is there a certain time of night they do ice breakers? Are they on the Navigator? We have late dining and will also want to watch the show (if there is one) on the first night.

 

[lklgoodman]

The ice breakers will be listed on the Navigator. My dd went to Edge for the first time last month on our Fantasy cruise. Unfortunately, there were many times she would show up for an activity only to be told they weren't doing it. She also doesn't care for video games, so she was disappointed when an activity she wanted to do was cancelled. She did make a bracelet one time, did some trivia games, and played some games on the sports deck. She also liked when some of the cms from the entertainment crew taught them a dance. They were able to perform it later for the parents. A lot of things she wanted to do were either during our dinner time or during the nightly show. I thought this was poor scheduling because there were times during the day when nothing was going on. They don't open Edge until 10am each morning. My dd gets up by 7am every morning, even during vacations, so she would have liked for it to be open earlier. We are cruising on the Magic next and hope for a better experience. My dd has always loved the Oceaneer's club/lab. She did like the CMs and met some nice kids at the Edge, so that was good.

 

[msmama]

My son was in Edge for the first time. I told him he could go where he wanted, but he couldn't play video games the entire time. He played board games a few times (clue, monopoly I remember) and there was usually a puzzle going. There was also always craft stuff (markers/crayons) on the tables. He also liked the Edge invades Vibe stuff (I don't actually know what they did when they invaded). My son had no interest in the group games or scavenger hunts. I think they did do some cookie/cupcake decorating once (my son couldn't make it to that but I vaguely remember).

I wasn't a fan of Edge - I much prefer the Club/Lab and the glimpse I got into Vibe. It was very dark and gloomy. Plus, we were on the Wonder and it smelled disgusting. A fellow parent told me it smelled like "pre-teen." I know they don't have any check-in or check out, but several times I would go in there looking for my son and they had no clue how long ago he'd left...only for me to find out it had been 5 minutes (tops) before I showed up. Or they'd say they hadn't seen him all day, even though he spent like three hours there. And we were on the PC cruise with less than 200 kids total! It wasn't like he was lost in a sea of kids.

My son loved it though if for no other reason than he had something that was special for him. So hopefully your daughter feels the same.

 

[NAB]

Thanks for the responses!!

Is there a certain time of night they do ice breakers? Are they on the Navigator? We have late dining and will also want to watch the show (if there is one) on the first night.

I believe the ice breaker is later maybe 10 ? Again it will be in the navigator.

There will be a show on the first night , since you are late dinner it will be at 6:15 and goes an hour so you still have time after that to get pictures done before dinner if you want . They will also be out for pictures after dinner as well.

First night is a variety type show. Every other night it is someone they bring on board between their shows like Wishes, Believe etc.

 

[PurplePencil]

My guess is we won't be utilizing Edge, which is fine. But perhaps there are things she would enjoy that we can look for. If anyone knows of some of the best things they offer for quiet, creative kids in Edge, I'd love to have some to recommend to her. Are there crafts?? If so, what kind? What's the smoothie thing? Any cooking classes or anything?

On the creative side, as other posters have mentioned there is usually a pirate flash mob, and on longer cruises another performing arts activity that involves a flash mob or video. There is always some form of craft set out in Edge. Sometimes it is lanyard/keychain making, sometimes animation cells or coloring.
Depending on the ship there is usually a trivia/cooking activity where tweens (and teens) answer trivia questions to get pizza toppings and then make their own pizza, and also the cookie decorating activity found in the younger kids clubs.
Heroes vs. Villains is a series of challenges/competitions that take place throughout the cruise with the objective of trying to earn points for the respective team.
There are also scavenger hunts, trivia contests, Bingo (which has the potential of winning sunglasses, lanyards, hats, etc.), sports activities on the sports deck, and a talent show.

 

[anricat]

Our daughter went straight from dinner (late/second seating) to "Taking it to the Edge"at 10 PM (where they describe the various activities that will be happening) and "Ice Breakers" at 10:30 on the very first night.

There was one time when she wanted to do Bingo and she went early (like 30 minutes) because she didn't have anything else to do and they were just starting Bingo. They said that the Navigator was wrong. They have a board in there that has all the day's activities. I recommend having your kiddo go in when they open in the morning (if possible) and taking a quick picture of the board because we found those times to be more accurate than the Navigator.

We were on the Wonder and it didn't smell. We did two open house activities with our daughter and I didn't find it particularly dark or smelly. Maybe this was fixed in the refresh the Wonder recently had?

 

[Tasmen]

We were just on the Wonder at the end of September after the dry dock. I didn't find Edge stinky at the time. That said, eau du tween is a particularly rank smell. I wouldn't be surprised if it wafted about in the air in there from time to time.

The couple times I went in to get check in on my daughter, I did see some kids doing crafts and playing board games. Yes, there were quite a few on the video games but not all.

One of my daughter's favorite activities was when they did bingo. They also played a lot of pickleball with the CMs on that cruise.

 

[leannak]

Thanks for all the great info! As it turns out she’ll be aged into Vibe by the time we get a cruise that actually sails!

 

[Clojel]

Thanks for all the great info! As it turns out she’ll be aged into Vibe by the time we get a cruise that actually sails!

Ha! Well, I'm thankful you started this thread b/c my DD will be in Edge on our next cruise. It was great to hear some positive feedback about it. Hopefully your DD will like the Vibe!