Current Youth Activities CM -- Ask me anything!

[CMontheseas]

Good Afternoon,
We recently had to change our cruise dates. Something about repositioning the ship or something. Anyway our original dates worked perfectly as our youngest son would have just turned 3 and would therefore be eligible for the kids clubs. With the new dates he will be about two weeks shy of turning 3. When speaking to the castmember we were told that as long as he is potty trained and comfortable being left at the club he would be allowed in. Is this in fact the case? Although not a deal breaker I know he would love the clubs and we would enjoy some kid free time. He does have an 8 year old brother and 5 year old sister that will be in the club as well.
Thanks
Paul

If I was the counselor at the computer registering him, I'd say definitely. Our threshold tends to be within a month or two of their 3rd birthday, WITH potty training. Like 100% potty training. Unless he was clearly wearing a diaper/pull-ups, or couldn't respond to speech, or was crying nonstop, the counselors would be fine approving him.

 

[disprincess4ever]

What a lovely thread! I am enjoying reading this! Anything else you can think of that would make a CM's day, let us know! That includes no food items/ things to buy onshore!
Now to your job, DCL is a company I would love to work for in the future. Being an American, I know getting onboard jobs is difficult. How hard was it for you to get a job for DCL/ what was that application like? Had you worked in a daycare before? Thank you for answering these questions, I know you have to be...guarded about what you say.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

If I was the counselor at the computer registering him, I'd say definitely. Our threshold tends to be within a month or two of their 3rd birthday, WITH potty training. Like 100% potty training. Unless he was clearly wearing a diaper/pull-ups, or couldn't respond to speech, or was crying nonstop, the counselors would be fine approving him.

Is it acceptable for a newly potty-trained 3 year old to be in the club if parents are checking periodically to help him go?

Sent from me.

 

[SacCruiser]

If we were to bring the mickey bars to the clubs do would you all share with the other groups?? Edge and Vibe? or do we need to bring them to those CM's separately?

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Hey Heather,

Not trying to plug the blog, but there is a post on there with a printable addition to the comment card. This came about because I ALWAYS mention names (restroom attendants, gift shop folks, kids club CMs, etc.) & that little two-line space doesn't cut it! I print out a few, cut in half, and then take them with us and attach them to the comment card. Last cruise, we got a post card thanking us for our kind words.

Emily

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Plug away my dear!!!

I've been on there several times and I have never seen this or knew about it so thanks!!! You bet I'll be doing this next time

You rock!

Heather

 

[CMontheseas]

Is it acceptable for a newly potty-trained 3 year old to be in the club if parents are checking periodically to help him go?

Sent from me.

Yep! Any child 3 and over, even if they're not at all potty trained, we HAVE to let them into our space. Yes, we've had 5-9 year olds with diapers with us before!

 

[sweetpeakaris]

I don't like the fact that the Oceaneers Club has such a wide age range. I don't want my 3 yr old wondering around with kids ages 8-12, do they split the kids up at all or are they free to roam the club with all ages. At the same time I feel like the nursery is too babyish, I'm lost as to which club would be best for my newly 3yr old?

 

[CMontheseas]

What a lovely thread! I am enjoying reading this! Anything else you can think of that would make a CM's day, let us know! That includes no food items/ things to buy onshore!
Now to your job, DCL is a company I would love to work for in the future. Being an American, I know getting onboard jobs is difficult. How hard was it for you to get a job for DCL/ what was that application like? Had you worked in a daycare before? Thank you for answering these questions, I know you have to be...guarded about what you say.

Oh goodness, you're right about being guarded. I will say right off the bat that as an American used to labour laws and minimum wage, and having worked at a day care and summer camps before - this is something you gotta reaaaally really love sailing/Disney to do. To put it honestly and transparently - we make 6$/hour, and work 9-10 hours a day. Every single day for months.


The application wasn't hard - just a long, long process. With medical checks and police background checks and passports and Skype interviews and real-life interviews and actually waiting for a sailing date - it took me a year! Americans in our department tend to get management positions. Knowing everything in hindsight, I would've applied to Cruise Staff!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Yep! Any child 3 and over, even if they're not at all potty trained, we HAVE to let them into our space. Yes, we've had 5-9 year olds with diapers with us before!

Will I be able to leave him in a pull-up in case of accidents?

Sent from me.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

we make 6$/hour, and work 9-10 hours a day. Every single day for months.

I would gladly sing Pocahontas, Rapunzel and Lil Mermaid songs all day (ok, ok Belle, Esmeralda, Mulan too), every 20 min (like Voyage etc) over and over and over again for $6 an hour...(less...I'll even take free cuz I'd be princesses and mermaids and singing and cruising...)

 

[CC Disney fan]

Hello CM!!!!
My son (8yo)doesn't speak english, only spanish... He is great student so he can understand many english conversations but he's a little shy to speak in a foraign languagge yet... NOT ME!!!
Do you have spanish speakers on Disney Magic? We are sailing to CC and Key West on December 4 and he's constantly asking me " It will be kids and teachers who speak spanish?"
Thank you so much!!!

 

[tb209]

Loving this thread!
We are taking our first Disney cruise soon as a party of 8 with 4 kids ages 10-13. As parents we are unsure about letting our kids go between places on the ship by themselves. Are we being too overprotective? Our husbands think that once the kids are in bed for the night, the adults can spend time in the adult clubs while the kids are sleeping in the cabin - does that happen? P.S. This momma is a worrier by nature. Anyone else can add their input as well....

 

[DonaldDuckDad]

My 6 year old loves Toy Story. Can you tell me about Toy Story Boot camp?
Thank you!

 

[coleykross]

Thank you so much for taking your time to do this!!
I was wondering what the most popular kids club activities. I have a 7 and 4 year old girls.
Thank you!!!

 

[CMontheseas]

If we were to bring the mickey bars to the clubs do would you all share with the other groups?? Edge and Vibe? or do we need to bring them to those CM's separately?

You'd technically have to bring them to Edge and Vibe separately - but it's a fairly open secret that the counselors in Edge and Vibe get the kids to bring them ice cream for "scavenger hunt" points on a regular basis. This also includes chicken tenders and pizzas, beverages - and get away with it!

Not saying this is necessarily the norm, but life's a bit more comfortable as a Teen counselor!

 

[CMontheseas]

Oh my, tonnes of questions! I'll do my best to answer everyone, just sit tight!

Will I be able to leave him in a pull-up in case of accidents?

Sent from me.

Yes, plenty of parents have done this. Often times we wouldn't know unless there was a PA- "potty accident" in our lingo.

I don't like the fact that the Oceaneers Club has such a wide age range. I don't want my 3 yr old wondering around with kids ages 8-12, do they split the kids up at all or are they free to roam the club with all ages. At the same time I feel like the nursery is too babyish, I'm lost as to which club would be best for my newly 3yr old?

Nope, we never really split the kids up by age. We do find however that depending on the programming - if it's Jake & the Neverland Pirates or a Princess activity, that the younger ones tend to congregate.

From my experience, it really comes down to their personality. Some 3 year olds will love it and play around all day with huge smiles and hugs and laughs. Others will stand by the gate and repeatedly cry for their parents nonstop. Our successful 3 year olds tend to be the most beloved -by Counselors and the other kids alike. They really look out for them, it's endearing! Successful ones tend to have spent ample time with their grownups in Open House, knowing the area and how to go to the potty when necessary. Know how to ask for help, and share.

Has your child had the experience of being somewhere without you nearby? Can they handle not seeing you for a period of time? Are they not adapted well to social situations? But even then, it could be a toss-up! One lady said her son was extremely shy and would almost definitely cry ("But I really need some alone time for just half an hour!") - and this boy ended up being such an outgoing, bubbly joy to have in our space!


Also consider what sort of cruise you're going on - if it's the Disney Dream for example, during Spring Break in the Carribbean, your 3 year old might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of children there are in the space. Think 200 or so children all around her/him. Compare that to one of the classic ships like the Wonder, during off-peak season. Barely 30 children in the room. (The nursery IS definitely too babyish for a 3-year old though, you're absolutely right. I wouldn't leave mine in there if I had a choice.)

 

[CMontheseas]

Hello CM!!!!
My son (8yo)doesn't speak english, only spanish... He is great student so he can understand many english conversations but he's a little shy to speak in a foraign languagge yet... NOT ME!!!
Do you have spanish speakers on Disney Magic? We are sailing to CC and Key West on December 4 and he's constantly asking me " It will be kids and teachers who speak spanish?"
Thank you so much!!!

Hi , now to be completely honest - make sure that he knows that there will be times when the only counselors around won't be able to speak in Spanish. We do tend to have some on staff (For example, in my last staff of 60 there were about 20 Spanish speakers) - but not everyone is scheduled at the same time/same location every day. It will really be based on luck that he happens to be in a room where one of us is also working.


Please also be aware though- that our programs and all done in English. Everything. So we find that a lot of our foreign-language speaking kids don't quite follow or aren't able to be as involved as most of the others. I know a lot of kids feel badly about this, but Disney really only does everything in English on board.

The sad thing is, that us counselors who speak more than one language aren't given any more opportunity to help or be valued than anyone else. We have American, Brazilian, Canadian, Mexican Counselors who are schooled in different languages alongside British counselors who only really speak English and nothing else. And double sadly the company continues to hire A LOT of Brits lacking language skills!

 

[CMontheseas]

Loving this thread!
We are taking our first Disney cruise soon as a party of 8 with 4 kids ages 10-13. As parents we are unsure about letting our kids go between places on the ship by themselves. Are we being too overprotective? Our husbands think that once the kids are in bed for the night, the adults can spend time in the adult clubs while the kids are sleeping in the cabin - does that happen? P.S. This momma is a worrier by nature. Anyone else can add their input as well....

This happens quite a bit actually! Play your cards right, and the kids will be too tired to do anything but sleep in the cabin! (Also, there's really nothing else for them to do at night while you're off enjoying yourselves!)

Our self-check privileges extend down to 8-year olds, if that's any indication of the safety on our ships. What tends to work is to have a big conversation with the kids to ensure that they all stick together, if anything. But seeing 9-10 year olds roam the ships on their own safely is pretty much the norm for us.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Oh my, tonnes of questions! I'll do my best to answer everyone, just sit tight!

Yes, plenty of parents have done this. Often times we wouldn't know unless there was a PA- "potty accident"

Excellent! I'm going to bring Starbursts and good chocolate and I will definitely take Mickey bars down one night!

Sent from me.

 

[CC Disney fan]

Hi , now to be completely honest - make sure that he knows that there will be times when the only counselors around won't be able to speak in Spanish. We do tend to have some on staff (For example, in my last staff of 60 there were about 20 Spanish speakers) - but not everyone is scheduled at the same time/same location every day. It will really be based on luck that he happens to be in a room where one of us is also working.


Please also be aware though- that our programs and all done in English. Everything. So we find that a lot of our foreign-language speaking kids don't quite follow or aren't able to be as involved as most of the others. I know a lot of kids feel badly about this, but Disney really only does everything in English on board.

The sad thing is, that us counselors who speak more than one language aren't given any more opportunity to help or be valued than anyone else. We have American, Brazilian, Canadian, Mexican Counselors who are schooled in different languages alongside British counselors who only really speak English and nothing else. And double sadly the company continues to hire A LOT of Brits lacking language skills!

Thank you I'll let him know...As you say I think Disney needs to hire more multilanguagge speakers to offer a great experience for kids from all over the world
I hope he will be involved on activities as much as possible and perhaps some will put a spanish counselor on our first cruise ever