Will 9 & 12 year old like Disney cruise?

[treloarf]

My kids loved the cruise 4 years ago & they want to go back. But I was wondering especially for my 12 year old boy if he would be bored.

Any comments appreciated.

 

[tvguy]

My 12 year old daughter loved it on the Magic. However, as with the cruise the year before on HAL's Amsterdam, both she, and her 16 year old brother didn't use the kids clubs. They prefered the adult activities. Other that an hour for wine tasting on the Magic, we were together 24/7 for the entire cruise. It was nice to be our kids friends, not mom and dad for a week.

 

[3DAN]

I have an eight year old daughter and a 12 year old son. My daughter was in heaven the entire time. I suspect that on our next cruise we will never see her as she will be in the oceaneer lab the whole time . My son says he loved the cruise. I am not sure that it was as extreme as my daughter. He did play basketball a lot and we also hardly ever saw him, but I am a little concerned. I think because of his size, he is 5 ft 8, He feels out of place with the younger crowd at the oceaneer lab. Next time I will try to get him into the stack. He will be 13 in 8 months and that will correspond to about the relocation cruise that we'
re on. Hope they will let him in the stack.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I thought my 12 year old DS didn't have a very good time on the cruise. While on board he didn't spend much time in the clubs and seemed to prefer to stay with us and play bingo & stuff. When we got home he couldn't wait to go again! He's really excited about our upcoming cruise in April....he'll be 14 then so maybe he'll enjoy the teen crowd more....

 

[Mjasp]

We just got back in September, we were on the 10 night cruise, we traveled with our 12 yr old DD and 8 yr old DD. My 12 yr old LOVED it, she was hanging with friends she met, both girls and boys. My 8 yr old DD, did not like the lab at all, she spent her time with us, in the pool or in the arcade. I am going on DCL again in 2 years, but am hoping to try either Carnival or RCCL before then, I heard their clubs are awesome, so we will see.

 

[bassoongirl]

My kids were 12 and 9 for our cruise last February. My 9 year-old DS had a great time! He loved the arcade, the Goofy pool, the Mickey slide and the friends he made through the DIS Boards. My 12 year-old DD spent a lot of time on her own during the cruise and had a hard time hooking up with girls her age. I thought she might not have had that great a time, but when I mentioned about going on another cruise or doing a different trip, she said the cruise was the best trip she had ever been on! She definitely wants to go again. I guess everyone enjoys their time on the cruise in a different way!

I think your kids will love the cruise!

Gayl

 

[NCRedding]

My 12 year old DD spent a good bit of time by herself on this last cruise--she went to the Lab occasionally, but had a great time on her own--maybe it had something to do with her age, since I see similar thinkgs on the thread for the same age?? When asked, she also loved the cruise, and can't wait to go back.

 

[ksjayhawks]

Our ds was 11 1/2 and he loved the clubs. He made some new friends and they loved the freedom of being able to sign in and out and go do other things. He is ready to go again.

 

[tchoney]

The last cruise we took my boys were 6, 10 and 11. This time they will be 9, 13 & 14. I was a little concerned that they would not enjoy it. The first time we cruised they didn't spend anytime at all in the clubs because they could not stay together. They roamed the ship, created adventures for themselves, swam, played pingpong, basketball, shuffleboard and had a fantastic time. I hope on our next cruise, May 2005, they will have just as great of a time. My only concern is that this may be our last disney cruise. My boys are really interested in the Royal Carribean commericals showing the climbing wall, putt putt and skating rink. Unless Disney does something to entice the older children, we will have to try another cruise line after May.

 

[KerryM]

My two girls were 9 and 11 when they first went on their Dis Cruise (4 years ago), the first year I tried really hard to get them to join the kids club, making them both try it just once to see how they felt.

I thought that would be where they would get most benefit out of the cruise, but I was wrong they never went back to the clubs.

The next three cruises they said they just wanted to be with us, do the bingo, the shows, we played boardgames etc, second dinner sittings, everything was together as a family and they think the cruises were the best ever.

I am sure your kids will enjoy it, if you let them find their own level.

 

[huckster]

my dgs 10 LOVED IT keeps asking can we go every year grandma!!

 

[scrapcreator]

We just got back and dd (9) loved it! She spent some time (parts of the afternoon and after dinner) in the Oceaneer Lab and had a great time. She came to dinner with us (late seating) every night. We had other kids her age at our table.

I saw quite a few older kids who looked like they were having a wonderful time hanging out together. I think they enjoyed being independent in a safe environment.

Jeanne

 

[Kanga]

My 11 yr old DS loved the LAB on our September cruise. My husband had to wait up every night for him to come back to the cabin - we just about had to drag him out of there. He did however, make friends on the first night.

My 9 yr DD was another story - we let her have sign out privleges - the first two times she went to the Lab she liked it, but one morning my DH and I were having a late breakfast at Topsiders, and we received a "page' that she was returning to the cabin. We headed back, and saw her running off down the hall. The cabin steward was in our cabin cleaning up - and she didn't know what to do - and she FREAKED out. We had a devil of a time to get her back to the club. In retrospect, we should't let her sign herself out. When she was actually in the Lab she enjoyed herself !
I think if they make friends early on it helps also.

 

[shmora]

My 12 and 14 year old boys loved it.

Shmora

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

We've sailed 3 times now with kids at varying ages - and one cruise the kids were that age. Each time they loved it but for different reasons.

That is one of the great things about the DCL cruise. The clubs are great but there is also space for them to chill out by themselves, with parents (and without all of the day to day hustle & bustle of "real" life), or with a friend or two.

At that age DS was in the Lab CONSTANTLY. He made a friend the first night and we could barely drag them apart at dinner and end of the night.

DD was more independent - she loved sitting on the verandah and watching the ocean go by/reading. Or being at the pool with friends she made through the Lab but not necessarily doing the official Lab activities. We always made sure at least one parent from the group that formed was at the pool when they were.

I'm sure they will love it.
Deb

 

[Sarahsal]

My 11 yr old and 8 yr old dds had a better time this trip than when they were 9 and 6. The 11 year old had a bit more autonomy and the 8 yr old liked being with the older kids.