Policy change Oceaneer Club and Lab

[Bibbidi_Boo]

They shouldn't have caved to the complainers. There was likely a silent majority that was happy with the previous policy.

They probably shouldn’t have and because of it they designed the wish with only one club.

 

[Kwami]

I'm sure that they could split the Wish club into two separate areas if they really wanted to.

But, after looking into NCL's club, it seems that Disney isn't alone with a single club for ages 3-12, so maybe there's some real demand out there for the combined club.

 

[DCLMP]

I was specifically responding to multiple posts that said siblings (or cousins) or similar ages to my niece and nephew wouldn't play together in the kids clubs.

The post you quoted was about middle school ages Nothing to do with siblings playing together that makes it hard to tell what you referring to.

 

[DCLMP]

It’s definitely not being forced on anyone (I was told it never was-or at least on my ship) and they have not forced siblings to split up if they don’t want to.
DCL does not want 11-12 year olds out of Oceaneers, they are trying to find a solution to many of them either not wanting to go at all or saying they are bored with minimal programming geared to them.
No one is sure how long this will be in place for or if/when policy will actually change. I am sure that DCL will not change this without doing due dilligance and asking for feedback from kids, parents, CMs and Managers

If they are bored with the Oceaneers club then why aren’t they in the edge? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have two different programs for 11-12 year olds.

 

[Cheburashka]

after looking into NCL's club, it seems that Disney isn't alone with a single club for ages 3-12, so maybe there's some real demand out there for the combined club.

Or it's just cheaper, and it's easy to say "industry standards" when someone else is doing it.

 

[Mags2002]

If they are bored with the Oceaneers club then why aren’t they in the edge? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have two different programs for 11-12 year olds.

Each of the youth spaces has a crossover age; 3,11-12 and 14. This is to cater for different stages of development/maturity, and different interests. Some 11 and 12 year olds feel more comfortable being the eldest of the group and love the programs in the Club/Lab, while others are the opposite and would prefer to be in Edge. That way they can also float between the two if they choose

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Each of the youth spaces has a crossover age; 3,11-12 and 14. This is to cater for different stages of development/maturity, and different interests. Some 11 and 12 year olds feel more comfortable being the eldest of the group and love the programs in the Club/Lab, while others are the opposite and would prefer to be in Edge. That way they can also float between the two if they choose

In our family, my older child (exactly 2 years older than her brother) is extremely shy and clingy, and will refuse to go to any club on her own. It’s actually part of the reason we gravitated to Disney from other lines with rigid, narrow age categories. She will probably stay at Oceaneers until she’s 12 and then happily transition to edge with her brother (assuming they still prefer Disney to other lines as tweens).

Having said that, I also think 3 to 12 is ridiculous, And I would have been nervous about leaving a four or five-year-old (or perhaps even my six-year-old without his 8yo older sister) in that environment for very long, especially on our holiday sailings where there are hundreds of kids and (IMO) not enough supervisors. We didn’t sail Disney before the clubs were merged, but the original age split sounds about right. If we couldn’t take my daughter to a club alone for a year, I would not have expected Disney to merge them for us. I get that it’s harder for families with close siblings 3+ years apart.

 

[supergirl04]

My kids are 10 and 12. They are best friends. This policy sucks for us.

 

[DCLMP]

Each of the youth spaces has a crossover age; 3,11-12 and 14. This is to cater for different stages of development/maturity, and different interests. Some 11 and 12 year olds feel more comfortable being the eldest of the group and love the programs in the Club/Lab, while others are the opposite and would prefer to be in Edge. That way they can also float between the two if they choose

The poster said 11 and 12-year-olds get bored in the lab that's why DCL is doing it.... the solution seems easy to me to move up if you are bored.
It's asking a lot to have a cruise line accommodate each kid's personality.

 

[dreamer17555]

The poster said 11 and 12-year-olds get bored in the lab that's why DCL is doing it.... the solution seems easy to me to move up if you are bored.
It's asking a lot to have a cruise line accommodate each kid's personality.

It might be more complicated than that. It is easy to have a child that is "bored" at oceaneers but lacks the maturity to navigate all the freedom that comes with moving up to Edge. My son (and many other children) have invisible disabilities that might mean a parent wants them in a space where they cannot check themselves out unless the parent grants permission. At age 11, my son would elope when he could... they even lost him even at school twice but at least they knew he was in the building (doors all locked). It might be more about safety than simply personality...

 

[o&smom]

So glad my DD got to experience the clubs as they were. She had a blast all the way from 3 to 11. Now she loves the Edge.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm sure that they could split the Wish club into two separate areas if they really wanted to.

But, after looking into NCL's club, it seems that Disney isn't alone with a single club for ages 3-12, so maybe there's some real demand out there for the combined club.

Since when has NCL’s club combined 3 - 12? I thought it was 3 - 5, 6 - 9, 10 - 12, then teen.

 

[SteveH]

It’s a sad and upsetting topic, but a significant amount of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by older children. I just sat in on a safety session put on by our school and they mentioned that early adolescence is the peak age for child offenders—increasing at age 12 and the then plateauing and dropping after age 14. They also said that juveniles are responsible for about 40% of the assaults on children under the age of 6.

Age 3 to 12 is just way too big of developmental range, and no matter where you cut it off, some siblings are going to have to be separated. Safety needs to come first.

This is exactly what went through my mind when I saw this post, child on child accounts for roughly 20-25% of abuse. IMHO an age range that wide is just asking for problems. I am left to assume that since most of the incidents they probably see take place in international waters we'll never see a true accounting for the number of true abuse issues that may take place. Disney would be wise to stay ahead of the issue, it wasn't that long ago a youth worker onboard a Celebrity Cruise was arrest for child molestation.

 

[Kwami]

Since when has NCL’s club combined 3 - 12? I thought it was 3 - 5, 6 - 9, 10 - 12, then teen.

I don't know. Their website just says that Splash Academy is 3-12.

 

[mjkacmom]

I don't know. Their website just says that Splash Academy is 3-12.

Ah, but they are usually separate groups (turtles, seals, dolphins).

 

[Kwami]

Ah, but they are usually separate groups (turtles, seals, dolphins).

Good to know. Thanks!

How strict are they? Do they let siblings and cousins stay together when they would normally otherwise be in different groups?

 

[mjkacmom]

Good to know. Thanks!

How strict are they? Do they let siblings and cousins stay together when they would normally otherwise be in different groups?

They’re pretty strict but I’ve heard of times they let kids age down if it wasn’t too crowded, but no flexibility in the teen club.

 

[DCLMP]

It might be more complicated than that. It is easy to have a child that is "bored" at oceaneers but lacks the maturity to navigate all the freedom that comes with moving up to Edge. My son (and many other children) have invisible disabilities that might mean a parent wants them in a space where they cannot check themselves out unless the parent grants permission. At age 11, my son would elope when he could... they even lost him even at school twice but at least they knew he was in the building (doors all locked). It might be more about safety than simply personality...

I think that's kind of up to the parent to deal with that. I don't think you can expect a cruise line to alter programming to accommodate a few kids with invisible disabilities.

I think it's fine the way it is. The bored kids move into the Edge and the kids that aren't capable of having freedom stay in the Oceaneers club. It seems pretty simple. No way to make every parent happy or accommodate every kid's problems

 

[dreamer17555]

I think that's kind of up to the parent to deal with that. I don't think you can expect a cruise line to alter programming to accommodate a few kids with invisible disabilities.

I think it's fine the way it is. The bored kids move into the Edge and the kids that aren't capable of having freedom stay in the Oceaneers club. It seems pretty simple. No way to make every parent happy or accommodate every kid's problems

Or Disney can do what they are currently piloting which is offering some activities just geared to the 11 & 12 year olds. The OP on FB even admitted she misunderstood and they are allowed to participate with all the children but they also now have some things just geared to them. How is that a bad thing?

Also I think you are underestimating the number of children with invisible disabilities. 1 in 36 children in the US have Autism Spectrum Disorder and there are other invisible disabilities that don't fall under that label.

I still think 3-12 is too far of a spread age wise. Even 3-10 (11-14 for Edge) seems a bit too broad IMO but as of now Disney isn't actually restricting them from hanging together as was initially reported. They are simply offering more for the older ones in Oceaneers.

 

[Mags2002]

As per a friend of mine in Youth Activities, right now nothing will be changing so there is nothing to worry or debate about at this stage. If and when there are changes in the future, DCL will announce them.

I think that every child has the right to feel included in YA programming. No, they can’t cater everything to each individual child, but I would hope that there is something each day that every child is excited to participate in