First Cruise

[jonahbear2006]

I am a wdw veteran and rundisney veteran and now we are going on our first DCL cruise. What do i need to know? We have 5 kids and my first question is how strict are they about where the kids end up? my tween and teen don't want to be separated.

[DizneyRox]

You mean the kids clubs? Pretty strict from what I hear.

[BrerGnat]

The age cutoffs are very strict. However, both the oceaneers club and lab are really one big space so they can hang out together in there. It is for ages 3-12. Anyone over 12 cannot go there and can go to the Edge. Edge is for 11-14 but kids can't go back and forth between the Edge and Club/Lab if they are 11. Have to choose one for the duration of the cruise and stick with it. If your kids are 11 and 14, for example, they can both go to Edge. Vibe is the club for 14-17. Again, a 14 year old can choose Edge or Vibe but cannot go to both, I don't think. Might be more flexible with a 14 year old who wants to go to both since there is no signing in/out for Edge and Vibe.

[Kenny1113]

The above ages are correct, however, my son was able to do both lab and edge on our last cruise. They are strict in the upper age limit (and 3 for club) but I have heard reports of kids who were close in age to the lower cutoff being able to age up if a sibling was in the group. Apparently This is subject to the CM discretion, how busy the space is and what the age mix is (ie more older vs younger kids).

As far as what to know (not sure if you already know about these)

if you take a shirt/pillowcase (usually one per child in stateroom) and markers to guest services they can have the characters (either fab 5 or princesses) sign them for you.

As a runner if you are going to castaway cay on your cruise, there is a 5k in the am.

Not sure if you drink, but DCL allows alcohol to be brought on board

[DizneyRox]

if you take a shirt/pillowcase (usually one per child in stateroom) and markers to guest services they can have the characters (either fab 5 or princesses) sign them for you.

Last July we had a couple plates signed by all the characters (got to pick from those on-board). They didn't differentiate between Fab-5 and Princess.

Is this Fab-5/Princess thing a t-shirt/pillowcase thing?

Not sure if you drink, but DCL allows alcohol to be brought on board

To clarify, you can board on embarkation day with alcohol. We do mostly Caribbean and at least there, Disney doesn't take deliveries from many (if any) ports and anything you buy on the island and lug back I think is kept until the last day of the cruise.

[Kenny1113]

Last July we had a couple plates signed by all the characters (got to pick from those on-board). They didn't differentiate between Fab-5 and Princess.

Is this Fab-5/Princess thing a t-shirt/pillowcase thing?
.

Idk what they limit/don't limit it to.when I went to guest services, I was given a slip of paper to write down my info and there was an option to select either the fab 5 or princesses. I chose fab 5 for my boys, this year I think I will try princesses for my niece.