Circle C question

[iluvcruises]

Can anyone give me some insight of their experience with their kids going into the Circle C Club? Will be sailing on Liberty. My daughter is 12 so on the lower end (ages 12-14). Is there always supervision and what kind of activities are there? I guess I just feel a little nervous now that she is out of the "kids club". Thanks for any info!

[moongal]

When I took my 13 yr old there was no supervision. Everyone went the first night and groups were formed and they left the Circle C room and were running all over the ship. I was quite upset trying to keep up with where she was, and trying to follow. (Our first cruise and there was no hub app) (this was 2 yrs ago) after that it was basically just the kids meeting up at the Circle C and then leaving the Circle C to run around the ship completely unsupervised.

 

There was some dance going on that first night at the Club 02 (the older teen club) and the Circle C girls were being snuck into the Club 02. I was actually watching my daughter the entire time and she knew it so she didn't try to sneak in.

 

I never saw any Circle C employee watching the kids ever. After the 2nd night I didn't let my daughter go back as I did not want her running all over the ship completely unsupervised.

 

I was in the minority though as the gaggle of girls my daughter wanted to run with had no limits or curfews and could go anywhere and everywhere.

 

For me I did not feel comfortable at all with this. Now for my son it might have been different. But Circle C is basically just a meeting place and the the kids just do what they want.

 

They do have an official schedule of planned activities for the kids but they never happened and the kids wanted no part of the planned stuff. Just wanted to run around loose on the ship.

 

That was my experience. This was on the Magic.

 

 

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[Drose716]

My daughter was 11 on our last cruise, but while touring the ship on day 1 the kids saw one of the counselors playing Minecraft in the Circle C room & had to go in to investigate. We all got to chatting & my daughter ended up weaseling her way into being upgraded to Circle C.

 

They were only supervised inside the camp room or on camp sanctioned "trips". They are free to sign themselves in & out. After the first night, they form groups of friends & "enemies" & rarely want to go to the formal camp room again.

 

We had the app so i could text my daughter. She let her phone die night 1 & it took 45 minutes to track her down. I was not pleased. The counselors are no help since the kids can sign themselves out, they don't question where they are heading. I finally found a whole lot of them playing games in the library. After her talking to on night 1 you can bet that phone never died again & my texts for location checks were promptly answered. We also had some issues becauae she was the youngest in the crowd & while she was a mature 11, she wasn't fully ready to play with the big kids.

 

She'll be freshly 12 when we cruise next m2onth & will have to be Circle C now. She's getting the app again & she's already gotten a talking to about how she will answer, will be checked up on & if I find her to not be respecting other cruisers she will lose all freedoms.

 

My advice is go into it knowing there is minimal supervision. Get the chat app if your child has a phone & set the expectation that they WILL answer & you will be watching & checking in. I will say last cruise I did tend to find them out of the way in the library or a corner of lido not really bothering anyone. I occasionally observed the couselors checking in the areas they commonly hung out also. You know your kid & you know what they're ready for. While my daughter has her moments, i know i can trust her to be respectful & not be the kid pressing all the buttons in the elevator or trying to sneak into places she shouldn't be. She knows the consequence if she's caught breaking the rules is a strict 7pm curfew that I will publicly & embarrassingly enforce :halo:

[kctwinmommy]

We've had a little different experiences, but I think it's just how our son is and how we are. Yes, we want to know he's safe and having fun, but I don't need to know where he is all the time. He's earned our trust, so we've given him that freedom. Yes, the supervision is less than others (from what I'm told, he never went on a cruise when younger than 12). But they meet up the first night and kind of meet kids who they like to hang with. Then he would meet up with them in the club, and then sometimes they'd go to the pool, lunch, etc... Other times they'd hang in there and play video games. We had times to check in during the day, he always had to be back for dinner (although they usually close during the dinner hours), and then had a curfew to be back at the end of the day. He never had a cell phone until recently, so we didn't use the Hub app with him.

 

It really will depend on what you feel comfortable with, what you trust your child to do, etc... It also depends on the time of year you're sailing and how many kids there are. The one cruise we did in November had a very small amount of kids, so they were all hanging out together mostly. But the summer ones have a lot more kids, so they tend to break into smaller groups. And he has no desire to be in the O2 club, so he wasn't sneaking into anything there! LOL!

 

It's just important that you set the rules and limits before you even go, then your child knows what to expect and what they can do.

[A&Jfamily]

My son has been cruising since two and was almost 13 the last time he was in circle C in December. Though he has had sign/in out privileges since 9, he preferred the camp structure. I think that is in part to do with age; in Circle C it is critical to allow them to go the first night and make a group of friends. I also had to do with the fact that it was a Christmas cruise and it seemed like almost every activity was geared toward preparation for the Christmas show or some kind of crafty thing. He is an athlete through and through and that stuff just doesn't appeal to him. He ended up hanging out a lot with his 18 year old brother, who was also missing Club O2. When you are not into the party scene, it is harder to meet like people in this age range.

 

All that said, I think the most important thing is to know you child. Is she a follower or an individual? Is she an independent thinker and a rule follower or a dare devil and rule bender? Mine has always been an easy, well-mannered, mature, knows right from wrong and follows the rules kinda kid. So even at 9, I was OK with him having the privileges; it started out with "you are in camp,your room or with us." At 9 they can do the scavenger hunts so he knew no one was allowed in his room (they are across the hall from our balcony) and he was not to go in anyone else's room. We have never had an issue and pass him many times throughout the day or observe him from a distance and he is always polite and behaving.

 

By now, he has the run of the ship - but it is easy to find him - just go to where the sports are. Both have to be showered and ready for dinner by whatever time we set - usually about 6 pm. We always have dinner as a family and do shore excursions together. They love the cruise vacations because they can really make them their own.

 

I know people are fearful of allowing their child about for fear of predators. But that isn't how the predators work. They are either known to the child (priest, uncle, camp counselor, coach etc) where they can groom the child and ensure silence, or they are snatchers. The first type is by far the most common and isn't traveling with you, hopefully, and even if they were, the behavior is already happening. The second type, snatching, doesn't work on a cruise ship. Where are they going to abduct the child to? How are they going to hold them for extended periods of time? Their risk of being caught is enormous. And more importantly, how are they going to know the comings and goings of your child? It just not a workable scenario.

 

So my advice is set rules, provide structure, list harsh consequences (my kids know they would be confined to cabin without electronics for violations) have check-in times etc. and allow her to make some friends and have a small taste of freedom. It's going to happen sometime in life and best to start small in a controlled environment where it is easy to observe and control. JMHO