DevilinaBluDress

One of the best parts of Blu was the couch end seating. Will really liked being able to lean on the tall end during our meals.

Will was the one who opted to forgo the Internet on the ship in lieu of more excursions! Until he decided that, I was planning to use it in the early morning while he slept like we had done on our last cruise. We managed to find Internet free or low cost in 3 of the 5 ports, so we were both happy.

Another tactic I learned early on when traveling with Will is that he can really only do one big activity/excursion per day. More than that is really asking for a meltdown and neither of us want that.

Upon reflection, there have been two types of vacations that have worked the best for us: cruises or renting an apartment/house/cabin for a week. Both have the advantage of sleeping in the same bed every night. I like cruising because I don't have to do any dishes. ;-)

Molly

The relaxation room was a nice convenient place to read and watch the ship arriving in port while my son slept in.

Molly

All gone :-(. Details in my last day report.

Really loving the review and how you use you tube for the pictures instead of putting them into the thread

 

Well done on the weight loss

Thanks so much! I'm having fun making the videos. It makes it easier to share than the 1000+ photos and videos I took on this trip.

-Molly

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.tell me who were the cruise and activity directors. Was it Ben and Martin? they are both fantastic!!!

 

thanks, Luvs to sail

Boston Ma

thanks

Patti and Shawna

Day 6: Barbados

We started our day with a room service breakfast. Will had pancakes and tea. I had mistakenly just written an "x" next to the various melon plates and ended up with 2 of each! Luckily, Will likes melon, too. Of special note, my typical salmon plate breakfast was not available on the printed menu, so I wrote it in hoping that it would be delivered. I figured if it wasn't, I'd pop up to the buffet and get something to supplement my melon. It was a pleasant surprise when I found under one of the cloches - my salmon plate! Thanks, Celebrity!!!

We had 9:30 am reservations at a nearby gourmet chocolate factory in Barbados for a chocolate tasting and tour. The ship was delayed getting cleared, so we were among a lot of people trying to get off the ship as soon as it was cleared. The ship was docked pretty far from the port and they were running shuttles. I was afraid that the shuttle would be too slow because it looked like they were being hampered by all the foot traffic. So we hoofed it. Once out of the shopping area, we followed the directions to the warehouse area where Apagey Chocolate Factory was. We were about 10 minutes late, but they were just starting as we arrived. It was a small batch operation and the tour/chocolate tasting was hosted by the owner. There were just two other couples on the tour with us. We got to sample some amazing chocolates - my favorites were the rum/caramel/coconut-filled one and the almond one. I had planned to buy about $100 worth of chocolate to bring home, but he didn't have that much packaged yet. The owner said if I returned around 3 pm, I could get the chocolates then.

So, back to the ship we went for lunch at the Bistro on 5. I had the cowboy & French crepes and Will had the Buffalo and Spanish crepes. They were yummy!

Our assistant waiter from last night told us that there was free wifi at the port, so after lunch, we went the port. We found a bench to sit on and to surf the 'net. It was so overloaded that it took several tries to connect. Will realized that he forgot his laptop and went back to the ship to get it. I spread out our stuff to save his spot on the bench. This is when I had the most unpleasant encounter of the whole trip. There were two ships in port, so there were a lot of people coming and going. At one point while Will was getting his laptop, a mother, father and their two young daughters (about 7&9) sat at the other end of the bench. The daughters sat on my stuff that was saving Will's spot. It wouldn't have been a big deal except they never asked (parents or kids) if I would move my stuff or even make any effort to be courteous. I asked politely if they wouldn't sit on my stuff because I was saving the spot for my son who would be returning shortly. Mind you, there were plenty of empty benches around. Instead of apologizing or just moving to an empty bench, the father starts shouting and making a big deal about it all. I pointed out that there were empty benches near by, but instead they moved to another occupied bench all the while complaining loudly to the person sitting on that bench about me. Just when I thought it was over, another person comes to my bench and sits down. Just as the new person sits down, the father starts yelling over to him not to sit next to the mean woman and that I'll cause trouble. It was so embarrassing and upsetting. (and where was Will -he was taking a long time getting his laptop!) I kept thinking what a horrible example he was being to his daughters. Finally they left and Will reappeared and we spent the next hour or so sending emails and Facebooking.

It was time for me to get my chocolates, so I left Will at the port while he was still surfing and got my thermal tote and a bag of ice. Back at the factory, I met the owner's small son - a real cutie! Filled up my tote with chocolates and on my way back to the ship I ran into one of the other couples from the tour who were headed back to get their chocolates. We chatted for a bit and touched the third rail a bit about politics -we didn't agree about a potential presidential candidate. I actually thought he might be pulling my leg since it was April Fool's Day. It turned out he wasn't and we agreed to drop the subject and wish each other a pleasant journey!

Back on board the ship, with the chocolate stored in the fridge, I wanted a stiff drink. I went up to the pool bar and ordered the drink of the day thinking it was a reduced price and would be covered by my classic drink package. Turns out that it wasn't covered, but the bartender let me have it anyway. Another thanks for great service, Celebrity!

Dinner in Blu again - by this time we are mainly following the waiter's recommendations unless an ingredient or preparation are not in my diet guidelines. Always spot on and wonderful!

After such a day, it was nice to just relax and read in the Persian Garden - a nice Aqua Class perk!!

A short video recap:

Molly

Another great daily wrap-up and video. So you went snorkelling rather than Zip Lining. LOL!

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

The Zip line was sold out! I do want to try that sometime, too. Will had a bad experience zip lining, so I would have to do it solo.

-Molly

it would be nice to see a picture of the name tags...i'm not very imaginative when it comes to crafty things. They sound wonderful though.

if you have a photobucket account or web picture hosting account, you could upload a picture and post it on here.

My day started early today, so I went down to my second cabin (the Relaxation Room, if you recall) and watched the ship come into port at St. Kitts. It was such a peaceful and relaxing to start an adventurous day for me.

Went back to the cabin to warn Will that his room service breakfast would be there soon. Will had an 8:30 am massage scheduled with Tamara. Once I knew he was up and ready, I went and had breakfast at Blu - my usual smoked salmon plate, no onions, and wheat toast instead of a bagel. I then checked back in with Will before I disembarked to go on the Snorkel St. Kitts excursion.

Once off the ship, I had trouble finding the right excursion group. Turns out I was 45 minutes early this time! So I headed off to explore the town a little (no shops were open in port, yet.) Getting back into port was a little difficult and nerve wracking because I only had my driver's licence and not my sea pass. I retraced my steps and found the sea pass just as a local was about to pick it up. Phew!

Back in port, I easily found the tour group and met Steve another solo snorkeler. Steve and I chatted all the way to the first snorkel site. I've been meeting such interesting people throughout this trip!

This snorkel excursion had a lot more snorkel time at two locations. At the first site, I saw coral, fish, sting rays and then saw the biggest creature I'd seen yet, a spotted eagle ray which was about 8 feet long and 4 feet wide! Breathtaking! The second snorkel location was a shipwreck. Apparently, it had blown ashore during a hurricane 8 years ago. We were warned to stay away from the shoreline because the sea urchins were plentiful and the water was shallow over the rocks where they were. I spent some time over two coral formations watching the colorful fish swimming about when another giant eagle ray came up from the crevice right below me. Another breathtaking moment! Back on the boat, one of the crew who was also snorkeling said he had never seen so many eagle rays on one day.

All good things come to an end and I headed back on the Equinox to get some lunch and, hopefully, hear how Will's morning massage went. We had planned to see each other after lunch, but he was eating a Mast burger in the Aqua Cafe when I went there for my lunch. Will told me that his massage was wonderful and was changed from an aromatherapy one to an energizing one because the aromatherapy oils would have not been good for his back (acne) according to Tamara the therapist. Will gets massages regularly at home, but this one was a bit longer and on a cruise ship!

After lunch and a shower, I decided to relax watching the movie of the day, Bad Words. Only two other couples were in the Celebrity lounge watching the truly awful movie with me. After the movie, I stayed for the port presentation and almost won the Tanzanite necklace raffle (off by 1.)

Will and I ate, as usual, in Blu for dinner and then went to the night Hot Glass show for the first time. What an unique special treat to have those artists sharing their talent and expertise on the ship! Will had his Kindle with him and a beautiful woman sitting near us asked Will what he was reading. This led to an interesting conversation with Ariana who turned out to be one of the contortionist entertainers on board. She told us a little more background about the glass show, the artists who were her friends, her book recommendations, her time on board (3 years so far) and much more. We plan to see the Equinox show later that week now that we know one of the performers and where she'll be on stage.

That just about wraps up day 5. Here's the video:

Congrats on your weight loss Molly...You look terrific!

Thanks so much!

Very nice review. I too enjoy your style.

 

Kudos for you for taking your son by yourself on a cruise.

 

I have a son with Aspergers so can relate a bit.

 

You are lucky to have met Bev aka Nanatravel. We met her here on CC and also cruised with her and Sid. She was very very gracious and helpful to my wife and I when we were looking to relocate near her in South Carolina. Invited us to her home and took us around for several "tours'.

 

LOL, Bev, you know I'm always lurking somewhere. Say hi to Sid and Mark for us.

 

Louis aka Luigi

Thanks, Louis! My husband is a Louis (Lou), too. My son, Will, and I travel a lot together just the two of us. I think our first Will and Molly trip was when he was 7 years old. He's very easy to travel with as long as we have a plan. As I mentioned, cruising is a fabulous way to experience new places and activities while still having a great place to stay and eat every day. I hope we'll get to know Bev a little better on a future cruise. I think we'll be adopting Celebrity as our preferred cruise line, although we heard a lot of great things about Royal Caribbean, so I think we might try that, too.

-Molly

Hi Kevin,

Thanks so much for your kind comments! I try to read about your adventures as soon as you post, too. I want to try zip lining sometime because of your reviews!

-Molly

Day 4 Monday St. Thomas

Leisurely breakfast in Blu. I put my contacts in and realized that I forgot to pack non-prescription sunglasses. So off the ship to go

shopping for sunglasses. Here's a quick top - go past the first few shops to find the exact same sunglasses for $10 instead of $13. Walking back to the ship, an ambulance came racing down the pier and the paramedics went aboard. I hope whoever that was for is alright.

Back at the cabin around 11 am, I checked the excursion tickets. They said our excursion was at 8:30 am! We missed our excursion. Adding stress to an already stressful situation, I accidentally locked myself out of the safe! Security came in about 15 minutes and unlocked the safe. 10 minutes to get down to the gangway and ask if we can get on the 11:45 excursion. The shore excursion woman said, "I saw that 7 people missed the first excursion and worked with the tour to get you all on the 11:45 am trip." Wow! I was blown away by this service. Once again, Celebrity came through!

The Champagne Catamaran Snorkel Tour to St. John was wonderful! It started with a 20 minute open air ride to the marina. It was a little like a roller coaster ride up and down the steep hills and narrow roads. Then onto the catamaran. It's a barefoot tour, so be prepared to remove your shoes (and worries) before boarding the vessel. Joe, the Captain, was funny and gave great instructions (especially for this first timer.) We sped over to Honeymoon Beach on St. John. We were given the options of jumping in, climbing in, dingy to the beach or staying on the boat. First timers were recommended to dingy to the beach. I had brought along a water viewer for Will because I was doubtful that he'd snorkel. Will waded in about waist deep and proclaimed that the water was too cold. Luckily, Suzanna from the crew had just arrived back at the beach with the dingy to ferry Will back to the boat. Meanwhile, I had a marvelous conversation with Roger, who owns (with his partner, Bill) an independent living company. Now it was time to try snorkeling! OMG! snorkeling is wonderful! I saw some beautiful fish, sting rays, and coral. I want to snorkel again! Will loved the time on the boat. On the way back, rum punch, mimosa, tropical juices,bread, cold cuts and cheese were offered to eat. This was a fantastic excursion for us because it was a nice blend of boat, beach and snorkeling.

A side note about swim gear: I needed to get new swimsuits for this trip. I'm very pale, sunburn easily and am over 50. I found what I think we're the best suits on Lands End's website : swim leggings/ swim crops with zip up rash guards and a sports bra. They cover up, but are kinda fun, too, with the added bonus of looking like street clothes. I put a picture in the video, so you can see them full length. Will also wore Lands End swim trunks and a men's rash guard top. Neither one of us had a sunburn on this trip!

After dinner at Blu, Will and I stopped by the excursion desk and I booked a snorkel St. Kitts excursion for tomorrow. We then went to the spa to book a massage for Will. We had cell service in St. Thomas, so we also spent quality time on the 'net and calling home.

Day 4 video:

-Molly

Molly, I'm loving your "Trip Report" and video recap. I recall meeting you and Will when I was giving out the name tags. I'm Bev! I know how the name thing goes. My son too has mild autism and likes his quiet time. Loud noise bothers him as he has extra sensory issues and great hearing unlike his dad!

 

You look fabulous since your weight loss. Love the hair, color and make-up, so flattering.

 

Can't wait to see and read more.

Bev!! I'm so sorry that I confused you with Pam. I am so bad with names!! I'm trying, though. Your name tags were great! Thank you for making them for our group! Also, thanks so much for the gracious compliments. Since the weight loss I feel 20 years younger. The last 25 years have been being there for my kids, now I'm able to concentrate on myself and I'm having a lot of fun. Cruising is great for people on the autism spectrum, IMO. It's very predictable. Same bed every night. Will loved seeing the menus in the morning to decide what he was having for dinner. We could preview excursions and other ship events. I knew he was safe (most of the time) so I could relax. I think having the Blu restaurant was a big plus because it was smaller and quieter than the main dining room. We also avoid the buffet because of noise and it's so large and overwhelming, although Will found the pizza bar which he liked.

-Molly

I tried to use the stairs up and elevator down as my doctors have advised me because of my really bad ankles. Having a cabin on the 11th deck and the restaurants on deck 5 gave me many opportunities to climb the stairs to get some cardio.

Day 2: Formal sea day, Saturday

I woke at 6:30, did my StrongWomen workout in the fitness room. StrongWomen is a routine that needs hand and ankle weights. The fitness center had hand weights, but no ankle weights. I asked one of the trainers and he suggested using the pulley machine. I am so uncoordinated that, even with his instructions, I couldn't get the hang of the machine. Not a big deal, I just did it without the ankle weights.

Checked in at th cabin, Will was still sleeping. I went down to get a tea at Café de Baccio, checked-in at the cabin, Will was still sleeping. I took my tea and Kindle to the relaxation room. Finished my tea, checked in at the cabin and Will was gone. I took a fantastic, albeit quick, shower. By the time I was dressed, Will came back to the cabin. He'd already eaten breakfast at Blu and stopped by the library where he found the latest graphic novel by a favorite author (score!) I then went to Blu to eat breakfast on my own. I had the smoked salmon plate- no bagel. I met a couple from FL by way of NYC who said this was their third time on the Equinox. I asked for their much do list which included the galley and ship tours. They also like the casino.

Then off to the Cruise Critic get together. Pam (LadyDivit) made some awesome name tags. I wore mine most of the day and it helped spark conversations. Thanks, Pam! I had a chance to ask one of the ship staff if we could have a tour of the bridge. She said that she'd put us on a list and if they have a bridge tour, we'd get an invitation. Will and I spoke with a couple who weren't CC, but we just in the sky lounge waiting for trivia. We then spoke with a couple of women from the UK one of whom had spent a vacation in Kohler, WI golfing. I wish we could have met more CC folks, but it was then time for the Taste of Equinox where the specialty restaurants gave presentations and some hard sales for booking meals. Just a small sample from each restaurant of the actual food.

We decided to eat lunch in the main dining room today. We were immediately seated with two other, very nice, couples. I found it strange that they didn't ask if we wanted to sit at a 2-top. We were just led to a table presumably with the last 4 other people who showed up at the same time. One of the couples, I didn't see for the rest of the trip but the other, younger couple from Atlanta I ran into quite a few times over the 10 days. I wish I had written their names down because I am so bad at remembering names!

Make-up party. I volunteered to be the model for the make-up party. I've lost 120 lbs in the last 2 years and rarely wore make-up so I need all the help I can get. As the model, I had my formal make-up done. I bought the foundation and eyebrow make-up as well as had pictures taken. I never felt more beautiful.

It was so much fun to dress up for once! It was a lot of fun to shop thrift stores to find some formal clothes in smaller sizes than the last time I dressed up for a formal night. I even convinced Will to have his picture taken. We spend most of the time avoiding the photographers on board because Will doesn't like flashes in his eyes. Take a look at our formal photo in the video. I think we cleaned up pretty well, even if I do say so myself! I included a side-by-side of me in 2010 and this year so you can see the 120 pound loss, too. As a total aside, I think the Celebrity photo was better (clearer, better lighting and background) than the Princess one from 2010.

Excellent dinner at Blu. We shared pheasant and the lamb. Lamb was excellent the pheasant was dry. Met a couple of other diners from Canada who shared a university/steel plant connection -small world. These ladies were another couple that I ended up running into many times on the ship. They were really big Hot Glass Show fans.

We went to the theater production, but left early because Will was unimpressed. Spent a little time together at the Passport bar then back to the cabin for the night.

Classic beverage package notes: unless you are really picky, there is good wine included in the Classic beverage package. The sommelier in Blu would recommend a paired wine for your courses, if you asked. I was also able to have my brandy old fashioned from most bars. Later on in the cruise, I ordered a drink of the day thinking that it would be a reduced price and covered in the Classic bev. package. Apparently it isn't, I learned the hard way.

Day 3 Sea Day, Sunday

I woke up feeling like death warmed over. Did I drink too much last night or was it sea sickness? I think a combo of both. I ate some breakfast and retired to my stateroom for a anti-nausea pill and bed. Felt a bit better by lunch time which we had in the main dining room. This time we were seated at a 4-top with two ladies from Texas. The service for lunch was really poor. Wrong dishes, forgotten desserts, mysterious wine served that wasn't ordered, etc. Will said that he'd rather not eat in the main dining room again for lunch.

In the afternoon, was the Roll Call Slot Pull. It was very popular - 3 machines going and it was crowded and loud. It was $15 per person, 4 "pulls" each. Some other people won big which was a good thing because most of us lost. For each machine, the biggest winner and biggest loser each won a prize. Will won a die key chain for being the biggest loser on our machine. It was lots of fun. I stuck around for a while and then heard that we broke even which made me think that I wasn't getting any money back so I left. Apparently, it meant that we each would get our initial $15 back. Many thanks to Pam for tracking me down to return our money!!! Our roll call was the best!

Will and I tried to make it to dinner at Blu by 5:40 so we could sit near the window. Because we ate our wonderful dinner early, we made it up to the Sunset Bar for the first time to see the sunset and take pictures.

The production show on Sunday night was a Beatles tribute band. I went early to save a seat for Will in the back (bar seat) row in the theater. Those seats are much easier for Will because he can move a little without bothering nearby seats. The Beatles are one of Will's favorite bands, so I found it odd that he wasn't there at the start of the show. This was one of those times that I wish I had a way to contact him easily. Other guests kept asking about the saved seat and I felt really guilty about turning them away. I recorded the first few songs and then gave up and went back to the cabin to find Will watching his DVD. Oh well, best laid plans don't always work out. To get a small taste of the show, take a look at this video report of Days 2 & 3:

-Molly

Hi Madison,

 

I made the mistake of watching your video first before reading your introduction. Watching the video I am thinking, "Boy this lady sure has a young looking partner. LOL! I figured it out. Looking forward to reading and seeing more. I do like your use of the words Trip Report.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

LOL!!! I guess I am a cougar because I married a younger man (6 months younger to be exact.)

BTW, I love your trip reports. I used many of the photos to help prepare my son for our trip.

-Molly

I'm in the process of sorting through my pictures and videos and decided to share my journey with you through words and video. My son Will and I were lucky enough to have an ultimate "Will and Molly trip" for Spring break this year. Will is 18, a high school senior who is autistic and we've often traveled together for Spring break, usually to places we can drive to from our home town of Madison, WI. This year we turned it up to 11! Spring break cruise!

Here's our journey, Day 1:

Stayed at (Not) Comfort Suites Airport. We had arrived at midnight to learn that the room I have reserved with two beds turned into a 1 bed room. Needless to say, we didn't sleep much sharing a small bed. I'll clear up the mix-up post trip. No need to dwell on the negative.

We walked (about 1/2 miles each way) to M&E Marina Deli for breakfast which we found on Yelp. Nice NY style deli with bagels, omelettes and egg dishes. My poached eggs were perfectly done served with rye toast, sausage patty and home fries (6.50). Will had an everything bagel with cream cheese (5). On the walk back to the hotel, we shopped at the Dollar Tree and CVS to pick up some last minute stuff (fun and/or necessary like sunscreen.)

We hung out in the hotel room. Will took advantage of the hotel Internet since he decided that we were not going to use our OBC on slow WiFi. (This was a big deal, BTW, for him to not have Internet for the whole trip.) I re-packed some of our stuff to deep-six the winter jackets and unearth our swim gear.

Checked out and requested a cab to take us to the port. There was a gentleman in line before me who requested a cab that could hold 4 adults and 10 pieces of luggage. When told that the cab would be a car and that they had no vans, he insisted on just 1 cab. It was both comical and amazing to watch as they managed to squeeze in ( not unlike what it must be like loading a clown car.) Our cab ride was fairly uneventful (12.50 fare + tip).

Embarkation was smooth, although Will almost plowed down an elderly couple when we were separated briefly. While waiting in the short Aqua Class line, I reminded him to defer to the elderly because even if he said excuse me, they might not hear him (like his Grammie) or be unsteady on their feet ( also like his Grammie). From what I could see of the early embarkers, this may be of concern.

We ate in the Aqua Café. Will had a detox (blueberry) smoothie and deviled eggs ( one of his favorites) and I had miso salmon that was delicious. We then headed to our cabin 1518 on deck 11. We met our cabin steward, Marlan. Will set up his laptop to continue his writing that needed Internet (play by post Dungeons and Dragons.) I explored the ship, taking some pictures including menus to share with Will. Stopped by Café de Baccio to pick up a couple of sweet treats and brought them by the cabin.

Our bags were by the cabin door so we brought them in to start unpacking. Off to muster in the Equinox Theatre. Back to room to unpack some more. Then I started feeling movement. Holy cow, it was already sail away. I retrieved our giant bubbles bought at the Dollar Tree and showed Will how there wasn't any need to do anything but hold the wand because the wind would "blow" the bubbles. Handed the wand to Will who flicked it and the wand broke in two with the important part dropping into the water. Oh well. I hoped we wouldn't get fined. Note to self- cheap store has cheap quality.

Finished unpacking while taking long breaks to lounge on our balcony. Changed for dinner in Blu. It was busy the first night at 7 and we were seated in a fairly dark corner. At first, it seemed like it was a forgotten corner, but once we were "found", we were treated with attentive service. I was concerned that Will wouldn't like the menu at Blu, but he loved the meal proclaiming it much better than what he typically had on Princess. Phew, that went well and I needn't have worried. Will and I both had the blue cheese soufflé, corn soup. For our entrée, I had the filet mignon and Will had the chicken. I asked the sommelier for a Pino grigio to start and she suggested a Shiraz to pair with the filet. Both were covered (as was Will's Coke) in the classic beverage package. For dessert, we had the dulce de leche which was scrumptious.

After dinner, we decided to go back to our cabin. Will wanted to hook up his computer to the TV to watch a DVD. Even though there was an empty HDMI port, the TV would not change the input source. By this time, I was already in my PJs so Will went to find some tech support. A tech support crew member came to the cabin with a "super" remote that could unlock the input so Will could watch his DVD. Yay! I was so exhausted, that I crawled into bed, put my ear plugs in, and put my eye mask on and fell asleep while being gently rocked by the boat. I *think* Will watched his DVD.

Here's our video for day 1:

MadisonMom (Molly & Will)

You should be able to bring your shakes on board. Perhaps you could get a note from your clinic?

For protein on the go, I eat Quest bars.

I really like hearing everyone's favorite strategies! Thanks for the tips. Three weeks till we sail on the Equinox.

First time Celebrity cruiser looking for your tips. On an S class ship, where do you like to eat lunch? I've seen on this board that most eat at the Oceanview lunch buffet and a few eat at Bistro on 5. Anyone prefer the Aqua Café? Are there other venues open for lunch or snack when you board?

The Easter bunny cannot swim, so sometimes he cannot get on board to make deliveries.:p

Bring your own eggs on, that is what we do.

LOL! Thanks for the explanation and tip!

Is Easter observed typically on the ships? Are there special menus or activities?

Also, these boards have past menus and daily schedules that you can download and share to get an idea of what to expect.

My son, now 18, loves to cruise. Same room, same bed, posted menus, activity schedules are all bonuses. I recommend traditional seating so you'll have the same time, table and waiters. We usually get a mini suite or suite so he can hang out in our room as a quiet area. We sit on the aisle for shows so if we need to make a quick exit, it's less intrusive to others. We've used the teen clubs for small amounts of time when he was under 17. They give you a pager. The first day we would introduce our son along with a 1-pager that describes his likes and some challenges.