What If We Don't Use the Kids Club?

[Kimberly9701]

I read a few comments yesterday that have been making me think, which is never a good thing

Here's the question-
I am not planning on my son using the kids club more than twice on our 7night Fantasy Western Caribbean.
Once while I do a Palo brunch and a little spa time.
And again when I run the 5k.

So the discussion was if DCL or WDW is a better vacay for kids. We are doing 4 nights at the contemporary after our cruise (I know people say you shouldn't go to WDW post cruise, but I don't want the Thanksgiving crowds of the pre cruise week). In said discussion were statements that if your kids don't frequent the clubs then DCL is a waste.
The thing is-- the entire reason we chose DCL is because of the family entertainment outside of the kids clubs. If that wasn't the case we would be doing an entirely different itinerary on another line.

Experienced DCL travelers- will there still be enough for a 6 year old to enjoy?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Absolutely! The problem my daughter and I always run into is that there is too much to do. There will be two or three things happening at the same time that we want to do and we have to choose one.

But don't sell the kids clubs short. From the way you phrase it, it sounds like you view them as babysitting. You phrased it as "using the kids clubs" rather than "going to" or "spending time in" the kids clubs. The clubs are way more than babysitting. Characters come in for some programs. It's an opportunity to make friends. DD wants to be in the clubs. So see how your son likes the clubs on the first day. Have him go for a little time that first night. If he has fun there, then you might find he wants to be there more than twice.

 

[Stasia5]

I have sailed on DCL 5 times. They were all 7 or more days each. My kids love the kids clubs, but there is certainly plenty to do if you don't want to utilize them. I have sailed on the Fantasy 3 times. If you like to spend your time on deck, there are the two pools, Aqua Duck water coaster, splash pads, mini-golf, basketball and ping pong. You can search online for the personal navigators from prior cruises. There are several activities throughout the day. There are always movies, both on deck and in the theater, evening shows, crafts, trivia, etc. So yes, there should be plenty for a 6 year old to do.

 

[Skiton]

Yes, there will be plenty for him to enjoy. My kids loved the club on our first cruise, and were a little more luke-warm about it for the second one. By the third day they were really only going when we needed them to be supervised (they were 7 and 8). There is still so much to do. The mid-ship detective agency, family game shows, evening entertainment, pirate night, rotational dining...all of it was designed with families and kids in mind. When we cruised RCCL 18 months ago, they still had fun, but it wasn't the same. Much of the entertainment on RCCL is geared more toward adults, and it either inappropriate or boring for kids. Don't get me wrong, there was still plenty for them to do, but DCL does it a lot better.

 

[bumbershoot]

The clubs are part of the entertainment. They are fun. There are ther kids to play with and run around with and do activities with.

Unless you have an extreme introvert (like me) he should check it out. (And actually even I might have had fun on a cruise ship kid club, had that been part of our existence when I was little, despite my introverted shyness)

 

[MotherKnowsBest]

Yes there is a ton to do! My DD (7) loves everything about the ship. The pools/water slides, characters, shows, ports AND the kids clubs. My DS (5) basically wants to go to the kids clubs from open to close. We force him to do some stuff but it's his vacation so we mostly let him do his own thing.

You may be surprised how much your DS wants to go. But there is a ton to do otherwise.

 

[lvnjden4ever]

My 7 year old did not enjoy the Kid's Clubs the way I thought he would. He went once on the first day for an hour...and never wanted to go back. He said it was just a bunch of kids fighting over the video games. I tried to get him to try again, but he was really put off by it. He still had a good time though, watching shows, onboard activities, movies in the theater, and hanging out at the pool. We took him to play Bingo. Plus, we did some excursions at the ports.

I wish he would have enjoyed the Kid's Club because I kept reading about how everyone's kids LOVE it. He's usually very social, so I was surprised of his reaction. But I don't think it took away from his experience. He became tearful when we stepped foot back into the house because he missed the ship!

My 13 year old on the other hand loved Edge, I rarely saw him (I did make dinner mandatory for him though) and he would come back to the room at 1:00am. He was the one that I thought would hate the clubs. He literally made 5 friends before we even went for the muster drill.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I agree with Maggie's mom. Give it a chance. The best thing about the clubs are the connection kids make with other kids. We have been on dcl for years.my grandson who is now 14 hAd used the clubs since he was 4 or 5. He loved it from the start. The shows and the characters are great but there is nothing like having a kid want to go to the clubs because he is afraid he is missing something. We had to drag him out to see the show and have dinner with us. Also when you only use the clubs like a babysitter there's little chance for him to build a connection to the counsellors or other kids.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Thanks for the reponses!
It's not at all that I'm against the clubs, and we are planning on going to open house the first night.
My reasons are pretty selfish- I'm the sole parent and I have a very hectic schedule...as does my son. While on vacations I try to pack in as much QT as possible. I don't know how many years I have left of being considered his 'favorite person to hang out with' lol.
Last year on our WDW trip I think he would have loved Lilo's playhouse at the Poly..in 9 nights I never even told him it existed..However this upcoming trip I am going to try to book a morning pirate cruise for him. I don't know if I would consider that WDW trip as QT (mostly because I just tried to do too much) which is why I started planning a cruise on DCL right after we returned- it seemed like the perfect combo of family time and Disney entertainment with a little less stress than the parks.

 

[Anisum]

The clubs are there as part of entertainment for kids but there are so many activities you can do together outside of the club. I went on DCL for the first time when I was ten and I rarely spent time in the clubs because I was more interested in what my mom was doing. You'll have to see how it goes day to day because some kids become so engrossed in the clubs that they don't want to see you and others want to go for specific activities and then hang out with their family. Regardless of how much time you decide to let your son spend in the clubs I believe that you will have a wonderful time together and that it will be well worth the trip.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Thanks for the reponses!
It's not at all that I'm against the clubs, and we are planning on going to open house the first night.
My reasons are pretty selfish- I'm the sole parent and I have a very hectic schedule...as does my son. While on vacations I try to pack in as much QT as possible. I don't know how many years I have left of being considered his 'favorite person to hang out with' lol.
Last year on our WDW trip I think he would have loved Lilo's playhouse at the Poly..in 9 nights I never even told him it existed..However this upcoming trip I am going to try to book a morning pirate cruise for him. I don't know if I would consider that WDW trip as QT (mostly because I just tried to do too much) which is why I started planning a cruise on DCL right after we returned- it seemed like the perfect combo of family time and Disney entertainment with a little less stress than the parks.

That's understandable. I'm a single parent as well. On our first cruise, I was a little disappointed that we didn't do more things together, but my DD's enthusiasm for the clubs made up for it. She was having so much fun in the clubs and I decided I wanted to let her do what she wanted. On our last cruise, DD spent less time in the clubs and more time with me, voluntarily. I think the length of the cruise factored into that. Our first cruise was a 7 night on the Fantasy with 3 sea days so we had a lot of time on the ship. We'd do a couple activities together each day, but then DD would be begging to go to the clubs. Our last cruise was a 3 night on the Magic with one sea day and a day at CC. Since we had less time overall, we crammed more together activities into the time frame.

 

[Kimberly9701]

The clubs are there as part of entertainment for kids but there are so many activities you can do together outside of the club. I went on DCL for the first time when I was ten and I rarely spent time in the clubs because I was more interested in what my mom was doing. You'll have to see how it goes day to day because some kids become so engrossed in the clubs that they don't want to see you and others want to go for specific activities and then hang out with their family. Regardless of how much time you decide to let your son spend in the clubs I believe that you will have a wonderful time together and that it will be well worth the trip.

Are the activities for the club listed on the navigator? That would be perfect for him to attend a few special activities...and hopefully the same kids at a few of them.

 

[Kimberly9701]

That's understandable. I'm a single parent as well. On our first cruise, I was a little disappointed that we didn't do more things together, but my DD's enthusiasm for the clubs made up for it. She was having so much fun in the clubs and I decided I wanted to let her do what she wanted. On our last cruise, DD spent less time in the clubs and more time with me, voluntarily. I think the length of the cruise factored into that. Our first cruise was a 7 night on the Fantasy with 3 sea days so we had a lot of time on the ship. We'd do a couple activities together each day, but then DD would be begging to go to the clubs. Our last cruise was a 3 night on the Magic with one sea day and a day at CC. Since we had less time overall, we crammed more together activities into the time frame.

This was good to read! We have 2 days at sea..so I'll see how it goes..I'm hoping that he likes the club, but not enough to want to spend all of his time there. I do know that we'll have ginger bread house making on one of our days, and he's a huge pool/slide fan..so I see a lot of time on the pool deck. Are most of the family activities mainly in early evenings?

 

[lanejudy]

It's not at all that I'm against the clubs, and we are planning on going to open house the first night.

"Open house" will be in the afternoon on embarkation day -- both Club and Lab until the muster drill, then one of those until early/main dining. After about 6pm both are in secured programming. I only mention this so you don't plan to attend with him on the first evening because you won't be allowed by that point. There will also be open house times scheduled for at least one hour each day in each of the kids' spaces.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Kimberly9701]

"Open house" will be in the afternoon on embarkation day -- both Club and Lab until the muster drill, then one of those until early/main dining. After about 6pm both are in secured programming. I only mention this so you don't plan to attend with him on the first evening because you won't be allowed by that point. There will also be open house times scheduled for at least one hour each day in each of the kids' spaces.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you for the info!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There will be plenty for the family to do together, even if it is your or your child's preference not to use the kids' clubs.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

This was good to read! We have 2 days at sea..so I'll see how it goes..I'm hoping that he likes the club, but not enough to want to spend all of his time there. I do know that we'll have ginger bread house making on one of our days, and he's a huge pool/slide fan..so I see a lot of time on the pool deck. Are most of the family activities mainly in early evenings?

No, there's lots of family activities throughout the day. Moreso on sea days than port days. But a good portion of the evening is taken up with family time between dinner and the show. Below is a link to Navigators for a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. You can click on each day's Navigators and see what all is offered.

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...-cruise-from-port-canaveral-december-26-2015/

 

[Kimberly9701]

No, there's lots of family activities throughout the day. Moreso on sea days than port days. But a good portion of the evening is taken up with family time between dinner and the show. Below is a link to Navigators for a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. You can click on each day's Navigators and see what all is offered.

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...-cruise-from-port-canaveral-december-26-2015/

Thank you!!!

There will be plenty for the family to do together, even if it is your or your child's preference not to use the kids' clubs.

Thanks! I feel a lot better after reading all of these posts.

 

[wcw57]

DGD, then 6, was in club twice. She enjoyed it and did some cool stuff...but it was a FAMILY vacation and we spent time with her doing things together

 

[quickcat]

We have never used the Kids Club or lab- ever (in 10 Disney cruises, not once- no kidding!). We have gone in them when its open to all but we have never left my son or daughter there. My daughter is 7 and just doesn't ever want to go and it doesn't bother me one bit. Actually, I guess we never really asked her if she wants to go and stay there without us. We do so much other stuff that really, there isn't too much 'extra' time for it No, I don't visit the 'adult only' areas but once the kids are grown, I'll hopefully have plenty of time for that then.