11 yr old - tweenage area?

[The4mousekeeters]

Hey there, cruising the first week of May on the dream. We've cruised on the Dream before, but our daughter was 6 and loved being in the oceaneer club. And we loved that area! But now she is 11. Don't know anything about the preteen area. Any experience or thoughts? Not a huge fan of sending her to hang out with people who may be older than her and mixed genders. There's a big difference between a young 11 and 13. Was also wondering if she could go play with her six-year-old brother in the oceaneer's club if she wanted to? Just kind of trying to figure out what we may be comfortable letting her do on her own. Thanks in advance for help!

 

[NelleBelle]

She can still go to the Oceaneer's club (12 and under, I believe) if you feel she is not yet ready for being with older kids. My kids were the exact opposite and hated the Oceaneer's club when they were younger! It just depends on what you and you child are comfortable with. This last cruise, my kids wanted nothing to do with Edge--they just wanted to hang out with mom and dad (which was great but I was so looking forward to some adult-time at Satellite Falls)

 

[JWG]

Our daughter (10) hated the Oceaneer Club/Lounge. She felt like the oldest kid there and that all of the activities were geared toward younger kids. She did the "Anyone Can Cook" in the lab and said there were a lot of 4-5 year olds making it hard.

Way too late into the cruise (2nd to last day) my wife stopped by Edge to see if they'd let her in (she's young for her maturity level, August birthday so all of her friends are already 11). They did and she had a blast. The activities are still somewhat structured and monitored. For example, while my wife was looking into it, they made anyone NOT participating in the Pictionary event leave.

At 11, your daughter can register for both so she can do what she's most comfortable with. When we go next, our daughter will be 12 and I'm sure will only do edge.

 

[sgtbtlbailey]

We went on the Fantasy in February with our 12 year old daughter and 5 year old son. We gave our daughter permission in the system to check herself in and out of the Oceaneer Club/Lab and Edge so she could spend time with her brother if she wanted or be with kids her own age. She did feel a little old in the Oceaneer Club, but still had fun doing things with her brother. The couple of times she went to Edge, she was either bored or just found the other kids to be on a completely different plane......(she said they were all closer to the high end in age and were more interested in running around the ship and being obnoxious). I think it probably has a lot to do with the type of kids that are on the cruise at the same time as you, but it was nice that she had the choice to do whichever she wanted or hang with Mom and Dad, which she chose most often.

 

[Kerri Whitmire]

My son is eleven, and we are getting ready to sail on the Dream again. I am not sure that I want to give him permission to sign himself in and out of the kids club. It worries me for him to be alone on the ship going from one place to another. Am I being over protective?

 

[EOD K9]

My son is eleven, and we are getting ready to sail on the Dream again. I am not sure that I want to give him permission to sign himself in and out of the kids club. It worries me for him to be alone on the ship going from one place to another. Am I being over protective?

No, you're being a parent. My daughters have been on four cruises starting at ten months old. On their next cruise they will finally be able to move up out of the nursery. I'll be concerned that, being just under 4 years old, they will be run over by the bigger kids. As I said, you're being a parent.