Vibe questions

[Superdottie]

My 15 DSD will experience her first Disney cruise on the Wonder next spring. DH and I sailed sans kids a few months ago.

 

I sense she'll feel very independent on board, which is good for her but I'm hoping to give her (and me) a sense of what to expect.

 

Can teens come and go from Vibe as they want? What are the club hours?

 

If she's there can I give the CM a time to send her "home" (in other words, she gets caught up and will lose all track of time)?

 

Thank you!

[moki'smommy]

Teens not only CAN, but MUST be able to come and go as they choose in order to participate.

 

No, you cannot give the CM a time to send her "home." At 15, she is presumed to be responsible for herself. A CM may have 2 or 40 kids up there and they have far greater concerns than sending your daughter home at 3 pm. You can give your daughter a wave phone and call her when you want her to com home ($250 charge if lost or damaged!) or you can phone the Vibe and ask to speak to your daughter. Or, if she has her own cell phone, you can look into texting charges on your system--some are very inexpensive, like 5 cents.

 

Club hours general start about noon and run till 1 or 2 am. This is on the Magic.

 

What to do--she needs to go to the session on the first night. It is usually 10 or 10:30. This is the first official time to meet the cruisers. They will go over the rules and the CMs will present a list of possible activities to schedule for the week. The teens can voice their opinions as to what they do and do not want scheduled. In addition to the scheduled activities, there is a long list of games and craft activities that can be done at any time--they just ask the CM for the "stuff." And there is a lot of just hanging out and making their own fun.

 

If she misses this session, it is much harder to break into the group later as people have started making friends already. It makes the kid who misses this session the "odd man out." CMs are good at dealing with it, but you know teens.

[Superdottie]

Good to know about the first night. We'll make sure she's there. We're happy to let her come and go on her own except when we'll want her with us (i.e. dinner, which she'd happily skip if she thought she might miss something :) ). I wasn't sure if the kid's clubs were a scheduled thing (like she'd have to decide up front which activities she'd participate in). I have zero experience with them so any information is good.

 

I'm thinking the on board app on her iPod will be the best way to keep in touch with her. I assume it will work on an iPod. She'll want it with her anyway for pict and videos.

[moki'smommy]

Good to know about the first night. We'll make sure she's there. We're happy to let her come and go on her own except when we'll want her with us (i.e. dinner, which she'd happily skip if she thought she might miss something :) ). I wasn't sure if the kid's clubs were a scheduled thing (like she'd have to decide up front which activities she'd participate in). I have zero experience with them so any information is good.

 

I'm thinking the on board app on her iPod will be the best way to keep in touch with her. I assume it will work on an iPod. She'll want it with her anyway for pict and videos.

 

The Vibe group does have a couple activities that they needed to sign up for in advance. There is NO cost for anything in the programming, even for things that might have a cost outside the group. For instance, if they do "Invade the Arcade" all games were set to free play. If they have "smoothie party," each person present gets a free smoothie.

 

The sign up in advance things are because the CMs need to know how many people to prepare for, and there were only 2 that I can think of. But both of those were multi-day games so did not interfere with dinner at all. There is typically a themed activity each night that starts after late dinner. Many of the big activities are mid-afternoon...things like "Make a Movie," etc.

[Superdottie]

Thank you so much for the information. She'll be in heaven. :)

[moki'smommy]

You're welcome. Have fun!

 

In my experience, if daughter made a friend in the first day or two, it was good. If not, she'd mostly hang with me. That's part of why the first night really matters.

 

Go up with her on embarkation day. There is no "registration" for the Vibe like there is for younger kids, but they do have a list where they confirm her name and cabin number. This is not a "rush there as soon as you board" thing, but rather a "sometime during the first afternoon, just wander over there.

Edited April 17, 2016 by moki'smommy