Teens on Disney Dream

[Debonna]

Sorry this is a ramble...

We are taking our first Disney Cruise (and our kids' first cruise ever) on a 3 night trip to the Bahamas on the Dream. My kids are - - DS, 17, on the autism spectrum (mild, very verbal, intelligent/bookish, somewhat lacking in life skills). DD will be 5 weeks away from turning 14. Very mature, somewhat introverted, loves all things Marvel, looks out for and is very protective of her older brother.

From what I've read, there's a chance my daughter will be able to attend Vibe since she's so close to turning 14?? I would really want both my kids to stay together, wherever they are on the ship without Mom or Dad. I am aware that she will be eligible for Edge, but my son definitely will not be.

Admittedly, I am a helicopter mom. Parents of older kids, how comfortable are you with the kids just roaming the ship without an adult?

How reliable is the texting feature on the Navigator app for staying in touch with the kids? Same for iMessage, as we all have our own iPhones.

If both kids are together in Vibe and I want to go get them or just check for peace of mind, is there a CM at the door that will go round them up? How will they know I'm there?

Our stateroom is on Deck 5 Aft / Starboard side. Is Vibe easily accessed from this part of the ship?

Any experience, ideas, tips, etc. would be greatly appreciated to help put this Mom at ease. Thank you!

 

[scrappinginontario]

At 13 you can give your daughter permission to go to the vibe. You will need to sign a waiver to allow her to go to the Vive.

 

[ArielRae]

I have a 13yr old Autistic son. We have been cruising with Disney since he was 22months old. He currently is aged for Edge. Every club we let them know he is autistic even though I don’t expect any issue since he is high functioning it is good they are aware.

We use our iPhones to have him text us thru iMessage since he is used to that instead of Disney’s app for texting. We haven’t had any issue with it.

You can sign off to have your daughter allowed to attend Vibe with your son. As stated above just let them know your son is Autistic and having her there can help his and your comfort level.

You shouldn’t have any issue dropping by to check on them or pick them up. As long as your not hanging around observing them counselors don’t mind a pop in to pick up or tell your kids something.

Vibe is all the way forward of the ship so I would on the first day have them practice walking to and from the stateroom to Vibe so they are comfortable and not feel lost. I also do this with my done. I make sure he spend that first day getting comfortable so I can be good that he can walk the ship alone.

 

[AZMermaid]

They will be free to leave the Vibe on their own at any time. Some of the activities encourage free roaming. My kids did a ship wide scavenger hunt and went to the Pirate Party and to the sport courts while at Edge at 10.5 and 12 so I’d have to guess it’s also part of Vibe. Now you can tell your kids not to go out if you aren’t comfortable. We told our kids that they could not go alone (I did let them go with their own new friends, just not alone alone), no going in anyones stateroom and no inviting anyone into ours.

Messaging worked decently well through the phones. My younger one used an old one and connected to the ship. Sometimes it lagged a bit.

 

[Mags2002]

Yes your daughter may be able to go to Vibe. You won’t know until you cruise though as it will depend how many teens are onboard. You will have to sign a waiver.
I have actually never experienced parents dropping by Vibe before, but you won’t be able to just wander in and check on them when Vibe is in secured programming. If you want to check on them, you will need to text one of them to come out and see you, or call Vibe directly and talk to a YA Counselor to send them out. There is no way for you to watch them while they are in there.
The entrance to Vibe is actually on deck 4. Just be aware that many of the programs and activities take place around the ship, not just in Vibe itself.
The Navigator app is fairly reliable. You can also use iMessage.
Your teens should be fine around the ship. Make sure you set some rules and that they understand them before you embark.
If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to pm me at any time

 

[greensombrero]

I’ve got 4 kids 3 in the tween/teen range 15 dd 13 ds 11 dd and 8 ds. We’ve given my older ones the opportunity to have some independence as they’ve aged, we’ve been cruising for almost 4 years now and it has been a really positive experience for them and us. One thing we love about DCL is everyone can have their own vacation!

The messaging onboard has been fairly reliable. We default to iMessage but on occasion when it hasn’t worked great the app is fine, notifications from it are just a bit spotty so you have to check it.

We have a few rules onboard we’ve set but otherwise have felt comfortable with our older ones enjoying the ship. They go to the clubs make friends go see movies and do other activities in and outside of the clubs. I have stopped by Edge many times if they were engaged and not responding to messages or I needed to check in. Never an issue to pop in and talk to them briefly but Vibe on the Dream/Fantasy has its own special area you need a Vibe enabled keycard to visit so stopping by there would be a bit trickier.

Disney Cruises are awesome, hope your family has an excellent experience. Happy to answer any follow up questions.

 

[Flcruising]

Sorry this is a ramble...

We are taking our first Disney Cruise (and our kids' first cruise ever) on a 3 night trip to the Bahamas on the Dream. My kids are - - DS, 17, on the autism spectrum (mild, very verbal, intelligent/bookish, somewhat lacking in life skills). DD will be 5 weeks away from turning 14. Very mature, somewhat introverted, loves all things Marvel, looks out for and is very protective of her older brother.

From what I've read, there's a chance my daughter will be able to attend Vibe since she's so close to turning 14?? I would really want both my kids to stay together, wherever they are on the ship without Mom or Dad. I am aware that she will be eligible for Edge, but my son definitely will not be.

Admittedly, I am a helicopter mom. Parents of older kids, how comfortable are you with the kids just roaming the ship without an adult?

How reliable is the texting feature on the Navigator app for staying in touch with the kids? Same for iMessage, as we all have our own iPhones.

If both kids are together in Vibe and I want to go get them or just check for peace of mind, is there a CM at the door that will go round them up? How will they know I'm there?

Our stateroom is on Deck 5 Aft / Starboard side. Is Vibe easily accessed from this part of the ship?

Any experience, ideas, tips, etc. would be greatly appreciated to help put this Mom at ease. Thank you!

Good questions and others gave you some good answers. I will just add that we have never been comfortable allowing our 4 to just roam the ship. But we are helicopters ourselves. Also they never want to just go and hang out at the "clubs".They have gone when there was a specific activity they wanted to do but never just to pop in. You might find specific activities or events are more enjoyable for yours than just popping in.

 

[AgentMama]

We are admittedly not helicopter parents, just expect that our kids will be respectful and follow rules. They're 16 and 17 now and have been free roaming for the last couple of years. We have set expectations of checking, when we expect to eat as a family, and timeliness for excursions, but other than that, it's their vacation too. Ours are similar to others posters and they really only go to the clubs if their is an activity they're interested in. We haven't had any issues communicating through imessage.

 

[Husker Mike]

As a parent of a 14 and 16 year olds, we generally allowed our kids free reign on the Fantasy this past summer. They generally had their phone with them, but since they can't leave the ship, we felt that there was no reason to not let them roam on board. Parents aren't really allowed into the clubs anyway, so we just had to let them go. It's a safe way of letting them be independent as they aren't really able to go far.

And frankly, it made for an amazing vacation because we ended up with a great mix of family time and couple time.

 

[msmama]

I've been letting my non-neurotypical son have free reign of the ship since he was 10 on our first cruise. There are rules - don't go in anyone else's room and don't let anyone in ours. Stay in public areas and be respectful of others (no running and yelling). Before he had a cell phone I'd leave a wipe board on the door and we'd communicate that way. If he left the place I thought he was, he would leave a message and tell me where he was going (and I'd do the same). Now we text one another through the app. It won't push the notification through but it'll be there next time I check the app.

I'm not a helicopter parent, but my son is quite attached to me (there's gotta be a name for that) so I've always tried to use the cruises as times to force him out of his comfort zone.

 

[Flcruising]

I've been letting my non-neurotypical son have free reign of the ship since he was 10 on our first cruise. There are rules - don't go in anyone else's room and don't let anyone in ours. Stay in public areas and be respectful of others (no running and yelling). Before he had a cell phone I'd leave a wipe board on the door and we'd communicate that way. If he left the place I thought he was, he would leave a message and tell me where he was going (and I'd do the same). Now we text one another through the app. It won't push the notification through but it'll be there next time I check the app.

I'm not a helicopter parent, but my son is quite attached to me (there's gotta be a name for that) so I've always tried to use the cruises as times to force him out of his comfort zone.

I fully trust our kids also. They are extremely responsible. It's some adults I question.

 

[Debonna]

I've been letting my non-neurotypical son have free reign of the ship since he was 10 on our first cruise. There are rules - don't go in anyone else's room and don't let anyone in ours. Stay in public areas and be respectful of others (no running and yelling). Before he had a cell phone I'd leave a wipe board on the door and we'd communicate that way. If he left the place I thought he was, he would leave a message and tell me where he was going (and I'd do the same). Now we text one another through the app. It won't push the notification through but it'll be there next time I check the app.

I'm not a helicopter parent, but my son is quite attached to me (there's gotta be a name for that) so I've always tried to use the cruises as times to force him out of his comfort zone.

Thank you. Can I ask, how old is your son currently?

 

[shosh1530]

We took our first cruise this summer (Wonder not Dream) and experimented with letting our 12 year old neurodivergent kiddo have more independence than usual.

He had his phone, but we never got iMessage to work. We instead used the Navigator app, but it was tricky in that he got signed out fairly regularly. I basically had to check it every time we parted and frequently closed and restarted the app to make sure he was signed in.

Aside from the sign out issues, the app worked well for sending messages. We had similar ground rules as other posters, with arranged times of where we'd all be and what time to meet up. He also agreed to message us whenever he was moving locations. He did really well with managing time, often getting to dinner and other events early and being slightly annoyed with the parents who might be one minute late.

The Wonder is a smaller ship, so that might have contributed to our comfort level. If he ever was not responding to his phone all we had to do was park oursleves near the pizza and the ice cream and he would turn up in no time! We'll have to see how we all feel if we sail anything bigger.

 

[Alicatt]

My kids were 12 and 14 land I let them wander on their own. The app was ok and they also had snapchat which was a bit better. One of the great things about being a Disney ship is how serious security is. When we're anywhere else I am a helicopter parent but on the ship, I do feel better about giving them freedom. It's a nice way to test the waters.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm an adult with autism whose traveled on DCL when I was your kids ages. When I was your DD's age, I stayed with my parents, sister and whoever else came with me so that didn't apply to me then. When I traveled at 16 and 17, my parents let me roam on the ship though someone was usually with me.

I usually keep in touch with my parents and sister if I was leaving somewhere. Another way is to highlight what activities you guys are doing in the navigator. A white board is also a good option too

 

[Debonna]

I'm an adult with autism whose traveled on DCL when I was your kids ages. When I was your DD's age, I stayed with my parents, sister and whoever else came with me so that didn't apply to me then. When I traveled at 16 and 17, my parents let me roam on the ship though someone was usually with me.

I usually keep in touch with my parents and sister if I was leaving somewhere. Another way is to highlight what activities you guys are doing in the navigator. A white board is also a good option too

Thank you for the suggestions! I am thinking to let DD and DS roam together, but never alone. And we all have iPhones so we can use iMessage to stay in touch.

 

[jimmymc]

13, almost 14 is definitely old enough to wander the ship freely. Have them learn to recognize cast members if they need to ask for help, and standard stranger danger rules apply. The app usually works well, and iMessage also works on ship wifi.

 

[Rob1872]

Just make sure that you remind them what to do if they lose their room key. When my youngest DS (on the autism spectrum) was about 14 we trusted him to be going around the ship on his own. We'd run into him happily walking through hallways and exploring the ship. One time when he had gone back into the room he accidentally left his key and mask (back when masks were required) in the room. Fortunately his older brother bumped into him wandering around the pool deck (the only place where masks were not required). He had been wandering the pool deck for about an hour because a CM had told him he needed a mask to be below decks and he didn't realize that if he went to guest services they would have printed him a new room key. (And didn't realize that if he had told the CM that he'd lost his room key and mask that they would have helped him.)

 

[Debonna]

Just make sure that you remind them what to do if they lose their room key. When my youngest DS (on the autism spectrum) was about 14 we trusted him to be going around the ship on his own. We'd run into him happily walking through hallways and exploring the ship. One time when he had gone back into the room he accidentally left his key and mask (back when masks were required) in the room. Fortunately his older brother bumped into him wandering around the pool deck (the only place where masks were not required). He had been wandering the pool deck for about an hour because a CM had told him he needed a mask to be below decks and he didn't realize that if he went to guest services they would have printed him a new room key. (And didn't realize that if he had told the CM that he'd lost his room key and mask that they would have helped him.)

Thank you, this sounds exactly like my kid.