The Oceaneer Club

[SaskMommy]

I just booked our very first cruise, and we are going to be doing the Western Caribbean on the Magic in February. I am very excited, and having a million questions as I do, I figured this was the best place to get a bunch of info! One of my main questions is about the Oceaneer Club. I know that it starts at 3 years old, but I'm wondering how firm that rule is. At the time we will be on the cruise, our older daughter will be 5, and our youngest will be less than a month shy of 3. Would she be permitted to participate in the club, or would they say not until she is TECHNICALLY 3? I just don't want to split the girls up, it would make things a lot more complicated and they would be a lot less comfortable on their own. Any ideas about this? Thank you!

[Griet]

I haven't been in this situation before, but I read on the Disney Mom's Panel that they may make exceptions on a case-by-case basis for kids who are just shy of age limits. Your 3 year old would have to be potty-trained. Good luck!

[jelbnl]

DCL's rule in that situation is as long as your almost 3 YO is fully potty trained (can do EVERYTHING themselves, undressing, redressing, washing hands, etc, the counselors aren't able to help in ANY WAY) allowed in, as she's a month away from her birthday. You won't be able to register before you sail, you'll have to wait until onboard.

[SaskMommy]

Oh that's awesome. Thank you!

[CarsonValleyCruisers]

Saskmommy,

 

We had a similar situation on the Disney Magic last February 2009. My daughter's were 6 and 8 at the time. To my disapointment, Disney would not allow them in the same kids area (One in the Oceaneers Club and the other in the Oceaneers Lab). My older daughter was fine; however, my younger daughter wanted to be with big sis and play with her and would not go to the younger club by herself. This was one very disappointing aspect of the Disney Cruise Line. Had I known they were so strict about this, we would have waited to book until the kids are a little older. As it was, my wife and I only experienced a one hour message together without the kids. We never experienced the "Adult" shows or pool for that reason.

[SaskMommy]

Eeek, I hope that doesn't happen. That will really suck if it does. Hopefully whoever is deciding that day will be in a good mood!

[jelbnl]

Eeek, I hope that doesn't happen. That will really suck if it does. Hopefully whoever is deciding that day will be in a good mood!

 

DCL recently changed the way the clubs are run. Yes there are different age groups, but all activities are now open to all ages in both clubs. They might not allow younger ones to participate in activities they deem over their age level, but generally kids in different age groups can now play together!

[vparrish]

Read the article here on CC dealing with cruising w/children. There is a lengthy write up about Disney's new policy in the kids clubs. It makes good sense. Again, Disney responded to the concerns of their customers.

 

/va

[Pollyo]

We sailed the Magic last August 09 to the Western Caribbean with a 2 1/2 and a 6 year old. Disney is awesome with kids and meeting the parents needs. My son was able to go with my 6 year old into the Oceaneer club kids area. He could only go in the younger age group play area, but he did not have to go to the nursery. He was not fully potty trained and he was not in pull ups, yes he was in diapers. I put him in for short periods of time and once he did have an accident and they just paged me. They were AWESOME!!! When you are registering your kids in the waiting area before you get on the boat tell them the situation. I told them my son was in potty training process and he would be in for short periods of time.

 

The kids club is open with great hours of 9 am to sometimes 1am. You can leave your kids in the club and you are allowed to go off the ship. We did this in Cozomel. We went to the mall that is a stone throw from the boat. This allowed us some adult time. My daugher loved the club and went frequent. You can put the kids in the kids club on the private island. In the afternoon we put both kids in while we explored the island and had a quiet lunch. Disney was great. You pay more for the vacation but you get so much more!

[gatzsd]

We sailed the Magic last August 09 to the Western Caribbean with a 2 1/2 and a 6 year old. Disney is awesome with kids and meeting the parents needs. My son was able to go with my 6 year old into the Oceaneer club kids area. He could only go in the younger age group play area, but he did not have to go to the nursery. He was not fully potty trained and he was not in pull ups, yes he was in diapers. I put him in for short periods of time and once he did have an accident and they just paged me. They were AWESOME!!! When you are registering your kids in the waiting area before you get on the boat tell them the situation. I told them my son was in potty training process and he would be in for short periods of time.

 

The kids club is open with great hours of 9 am to sometimes 1am. You can leave your kids in the club and you are allowed to go off the ship. We did this in Cozomel. We went to the mall that is a stone throw from the boat. This allowed us some adult time. My daugher loved the club and went frequent. You can put the kids in the kids club on the private island. In the afternoon we put both kids in while we explored the island and had a quiet lunch. Disney was great. You pay more for the vacation but you get so much more!

 

 

Pollyo -

 

For your 2 1/2 year old what time amounts did you leave him in for? I imagine you had some good chunks of time if you were able to leave the ship. Are they still able to page you once you are off the ship? My concern is I will have a 3 year old (just turned by the time we take the cruise) and I don't know if she will be fully potty trained by then. Some of the excursions are all day - so I am guessing they would want her in the nursery if we are leaving her all day?

[Pollyo]

Like I said "Disney was AWESOME". The one thing I should have done was pull ups. When my son had his accident they just changed him and put him in a spare set of pants with a new disney pullup. My son was not fully potty trained but on average he can can go a few hours without needing to go potty or have an accident. I think I put him in for 2 hours at the most ( I had time to eat at Palo, and in Cozomel there is an outside/inside mall right next to the boat). i was planning on putting him in the nursery, but on the phone the DCL operator told me to talk to the cast memeber. She told me that they will accomodate a family. My problem was that my son would not want to be with the babies. Talk to a cast member when you sign up your children or better yet call the cruise number and talk to a representative. The one thing I noticed about the disney cruise is that they wanted the parents to be happy. Every person working there went out of the way for my kids to put a smile on their face. My son has severe allergies and they went above and beyond for them. You pay more money but you get way more services.

[Cruisingw/Family]

Actually, we learned last month when we cruised that Disney changed the rooms and it was HORRIBLE for our children. Now, the child must be 3, but can go into either the Club or Lab. This is probably great for the little ones but terrible for our 9 1/2 year old who was paired wit a 3-4 year old in an activity. She also couldn't get on any computers due to the little ones and the activities in the room seemed to be geared to the younger kids.

 

Needless to say, the experience was a major turnoff and, though the main reason we booked on DCL, rooms they only entered 3 times during the entire cruise. I have spoke with a manager, completed the onboard and online surveys, and written Disney to voice our disappointment. For those with siblings, this might be great but, I cannot recommed a Disney cruise for families with 9 year olds!

 

Good Luck!