Where was your 7th Grader?

[westjones]

Has anyone cruised with a 7th grader? If so, were they in the Lab or in the Teen Club?

Thanks,
DJ

 

[RonnieJo66]

We are cruising this October and our daughter will be in 7th grade. She will be going to "The Stack" with her 15 year old brother. The Stack groups are broken down by age. The 13 - 15 year olds together and the 16 + together.

Hugs,

RonnieJo

 

[mouseclick1]

On our last cruise, my younger son was in 7th grade. Since he was still 12, he was signed up for the lab. He never went, though, since his brother was 14. We tried to get them to go to their own clubs, but neither of them wanted to. Instead, they went to movies, played basketball, and did other things together to keep busy.

 

[lbgraves]

DD will be 12 in 7th grade but DS will be 13 since his birthday is right after the cut off here. Hmmm...I hadn't thought about that before.

 

[westjones]

DD will be 12 in 7th grade but DS will be 13 since his birthday is right after the cut off here. Hmmm...I hadn't thought about that before.

I have been thinking about it TOO much! Actually, my twin DDs will be in the Lab this year because they will be 12 and in 6th grade. BUT I am trying to decide if we want to cruise in 2007 (expecting the dates to open by September if they are like last year, and we book early, so I need to decide in the next couple months what we are going to do).

I don't want my girls in the teen club, but they will be 13 because here in Indiana we start kids late to school, so even though they will be in 7th grade, they will be old enough for the teen club. It seemed to me that on our last cruise, there were several 7th graders in the older Lab group.

Others have said they have been able to put their 13 year olds in the Lab (you can move down one year/group). I think I would feel better if they were to do that, and I am telling them that there will be many other 7th graders in the Lab also.

So that is why I want to hear where others have put their 7th graders (regardless of their age).

I know they break up the age groups in the teen for 13-15, but honestly, I don't want my 13 year old 7th grade girls in with 15 year old high school kids.

Thanks for posting everyone.
DJ

 

[miclen]

We are sailing in August and my DD just turned 13 (8th grade next year). My DS is 11 and will be in the lab. DD wants to be with her brother so I called and DCL said she could also go to the lab. Another friend has a DS who is only 12 and he wants to go to the Stack. I think it depends on where your child feels most comfortable and it seems that DCL will try to accomodate them.

 

[westjones]

We are sailing in August and my DD just turned 13 (8th grade next year). My DS is 11 and will be in the lab. DD wants to be with her brother so I called and DCL said she could also go to the lab.

That is great to hear! I don't think I can register them 'online' for the Lab since they will be 13 and I think the automated system probably wouldn't work (defaulting them to the teen group), but we could register them once we get onboard.

I already told my twins that if they want to go on the cruise in 7th grade they have to go to the lab instead of the teen place.

Actually, then they were 10, I put them in the 8-9 year old group and it was fine (they turned 10 the day we boarded). It usually works better for my kids to be with kids there age or younger. I'm glad Disney is flexible with where you place them.

Thanks!
DJ

 

[ivanova]

My DD was 12 in 7th grade so even though we didn't cruise at that time she wouldn't have been old enough to be in the teen club.

When we did do our first DCL cruise she was 13 1/2 (8th grade) and did go into the teen club (and loved it).

 

[Momeska]

Maybe it's me but I get the impression from this thread that some people think there's evil going on in the Stack. Both my DS13 & DS17 spent a lot of time up there, though separately. They both loved it. There is CONSTANT supervision up in the Stack. They have at least two CMs up there or with the group (i.e. teen excursions) at all times. Teenagers are not all bad!

 

[westjones]

Maybe it's me but I get the impression from this thread that some people think there's evil going on in the Stack. Both my DS13 & DS17 spent a lot of time up there, though separately. They both loved it. There is CONSTANT supervision up in the Stack. They have at least two CMs up there or with the group (i.e. teen excursions) at all times. Teenagers are not all bad!

No! I don't think there is 'evil' going on. It is just my girls have had a rather sheltered life. We live in a small town in the midwest. My girls haven't watched PG13 movies (only G and PG). We homeschooled up until 5th grade (now they go to public school). My kids only listen to 'G' or 'PG' rated type music (usually Disney Mania CDs). So I don't see them being ready to be around high school kids when they are in 7th grade.

I know kids their same age in their new class at school who are ready (or would want to) hang out with high school kids already. But we are taking the whole 'growing up' thing slowly.

I am sure by the time they are in high school, the teen group will be fine for them. They just need a couple more years to be 'kids'.

DJ

 

[tvguy]

The clubs seemed great, but my 12 and 16 year old prefered to do other things. And there were plenty of things for them without going to the clubs, so you have lots of options.

 

[kaceyisme]

We will be on the 8/28 Wonder cruise, and my son will be in the Lab. He will be in 8th grade in the fall, but he won't turn 13 until the end of October. I asked, and was told that he could go into the teen group if he wanted, but since this is our first cruise, he wants to experience the fun in the Lab, and there is time for the teen group next time (and then, we wouldn't have a choice).

 

[westjones]

We will be on the 8/28 Wonder cruise, and my son will be in the Lab. He will be in 8th grade in the fall, but he won't turn 13 until the end of October. I asked, and was told that he could go into the teen group if he wanted, but since this is our first cruise, he wants to experience the fun in the Lab, and there is time for the teen group next time (and then, we wouldn't have a choice).

I think that is great! Another reason I would like my kids be to able to go to the Lab in 7th grade is because they are remodeling and adding to the kids spaces, and I would love for them to get the chance to experience the new spaces. The time after that when we go (and I am sure we will go again) we won't have a choice and they will have to move to the teen area.

I am SO glad to hear there will be 8th graders in the Lab too. I will tell my girls that also so they realize there will be other kids their age there too.

DJ

 

[kcashner]

DCL operates by age, not school grade. My DD has been in each kid venue--club, lab, and now the Stack based on age. She chose to celebrate her 13th birthday in The Stack.

Ok, she's been a relatively sheltered kid in some ways, and is very mature in other ways. She was educated at home until this year except for the classes she takes at a local university. Thus, she has been in a class setting with 18-20 year olds, but her only "same age" experience was at church--frankly, she finds most kids her age to be rather superficial.

Both of our cruises (13th birthday and one since) have been great. There is always a counsellor in The Stack--she says they are "teen aged wanna-bes." There are relatively few scheduled activities, but there is a long list of things the kids can do--just ask the counsellor for supplies. She loves the Stack, and spends most of her time there. In fairness, our cruises were during the school year, so there were relatively few teens on the ship. The kids are broken into age groups like the younger kids are.

So...basic question...where is a 7th grader? It depends on age. Would I place an early 13 year old in the Stack? Absolutely. Think about it. Would your new 13 really want to be in the 10-12 year old group??????

On our second cruise after she became 13 (she was 13 years, 6 months), there was a small problem with a certain young man who didn't want to take "no" for an answer. It was very promptly handled by the staff. DD was given a "code" to give the counsellor if she had any more problems with him. He was talked to and told that he wouldn't be allowed to return if he bothered her again or if he retaliated in any way.

 

[my3kids]

Lab since he was 12.

 

[DVC Jen]

Yikes.. so when we cruise next year and I have a 13 and 17 yr old they still won't be able to be together? They will be seperated inside the teen area?

The whole reason we have waited until next year was so they could be together.

They are not going to want to be seperated at all. As a matter of fact my oldest whom is VERY shy would probably rather be with the younger kids so she could be with her sister than being alone with her own age. Is this possible?

 

[westjones]

Yikes.. so when we cruise next year and I have a 13 and 17 yr old they still won't be able to be together? They will be seperated inside the teen area?

The whole reason we have waited until next year was so they could be together.

They are not going to want to be seperated at all. As a matter of fact my oldest whom is VERY shy would probably rather be with the younger kids so she could be with her sister than being alone with her own age. Is this possible?

When I look at the navigators that have been posted, I don't see that many times they seperate the two age groups. Maybe there are more times than they list, but it looks to me (based on the navigators) that they are usually together.

Here is a website that has some old navigators posted. Wish there were newer ones to look at, but this will give you an idea:

http://www.dcltribute.com/navigators/bahama_4day_sea/kids.htm

You have to scroll down to the teen group listed on the left and click on the page you want to look at to see their activities.

DJ

 

[kcashner]

There are very few scheduled activities. Some of these are in the separated groups. At all times when it is open, teens are free to "hang" in The Stack. That means computers, DVDs, CDs, dancing, crafts, just talking or whatever they want to do. They are all together for this.

The level of flexibility seems to vary with the number of teens, but generally the younger teens hang with the younger, the older ones hang together. Of course, siblings can choose to be together all the time if they desire.

 

[jfeasel]

On our last cruise (7 day) my daughter was going into the 7th grade and we let her sign herself in and out of the lab. This was fine with her because she didn't feel confined. She also did a lot of the movies.

 

[Dancind]

I would be careful telling your girls that there will be other 8th graders in the Lab, because there probably won't be. 8th graders are 13-14 years old, and they will be in the Stack. My DD went to the Stack for the first time last Christmas, she was 13 1/2. She found several other 13 year old girls to hang out with, and they stayed in the Stack for most of the activities. She liked to be there for the late night dances. As long as they're in there, they are supervised. I'd let your girls try it with the stipulation that if they leave the Stack, except maybe to get pizza etc., they are to come back to the cabin. Some of the older teens took to hanging out in the stairwells and top deck together, and I wouldn't have been happy if mine did that. We checked on her, and we knew where she was.