Self Check out of Camp Ocean - advice please!

My wife and I are on the fence about letting our 9 yr old son get self check out privileges.

 

For those of you who have sailed with 9 yr olds, what did you do, and how did it work out? Are there any camp activities that require sign out privileges? (such as a scavenger hunt).

 

Do they have self check in privileges also? We also have a 6 year old, so if we do let him check out, he'll want to go back to his brother, and not the cabin.

We have an 8 year old... Just check in check out with a parent. No need to allow the self check out. The activities on the ship are considered still part of the group and under their care...

On the Dream the scavenger hunt is an unsupervised activity and did need sign-out privileges. We decided not to allow our 11 year-old to sign-out since the ship is like a small town with a few thousand people.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Purvis1231
typo

On the Dream the scavenger hunt is an unsupervised activity and did need sign-out privileges. We decided not to allow our 11 year-old to sign-out since the ship is like a small town with a few thousand people.

Am I correct in that the grouping is 9-11? Or is it 10-11? Wondering if my 9 yr old group would be doing the hunt. I know that he would love it, if we were to allow him to do it.

No way would I allow my 8 1/2 yr old self-check out privileges.

 

I'm going by camp and other activities at home. Those don't allow a child that age to leave without a parent so why would it be any different on a ship? There are several thousand strangers on board. No.

On our last cruise with kids, my oldest was 9 1/2, and we did let him have self check-out privileges with certain constraints...he had to plan ahead, had to come find us and tell us immediately, no visiting others' staterooms, etc. etc. By day 2, we knew that if he wasn't next to us or in the club, he was either hustling up ping pong matches with bored dads next to the toddler play area, or he was eating his weight in Guy's burgers. We live in a big city and my kid is street smart, so it wasn't a big worry to us.

 

In the end, you know your kid better than anyone here -- if your gut isn't comfortable with allowing self check-out, then plan each day with your kiddo around what activities they're interested in and go check them out as needed.

I would have let my kid have self check out priviledges at that age. But he is extremely mature and not at all boy like. I wouldn't have the slightest worry he would cause trouble or a ruckus or do anything dangerous. My only worry would be the other passengers posing a danger to him. But I could get around that easily by having him contact me through the HUB app when he was leaving the club.

8.5 do not have that priviledge

 

it starts at 9 and yes they need your permission to sign in and out

 

they do scavenger hunts. and told to stay in public areas not allowed in the cabin spaces

 

at 9 years old they can follow those directions

they should be allowed on deck 5, 9, 10 and the sports deck

 

she knows where we are because we give her a copy of the fun times highlighted where we will be at any given hour.

she knew dont let me catch her just wandering.

 

she had a ball

 

camp will not take them swimming

 

the 6 year old will have no clue what the 9 year old is doing

that is a separate area of the ship.

camps are 2-5 and 6-8 which are next to each other-- not one kid is allowed to leave that camp without a parent the 9 year old can not pick him up. and because they are in separate areas-that is a good reason to allow sign in/out privileges.

We just got back from a cruise where we let our boys (9 & 10) have this privilege because we wanted them to do the scavenger hunt. We also have a 6 yo. The rule was- follow the plan. So when we dropped them off on day 2 we said, “ok, we will be back at 5. You are NOT to sign out”, etc.

 

I was napping so hubby was picking the kids up. I like to pick up 15 minutes before closing of the club. He waits until the last couple of minutes.

 

The boys barged into the room, woke me up. They were frantic. They said, “Mom! You forgot to pick us up! Mrs. so and so at kids club told us to sign out and come get you!”

 

I check the clock.... 10 minutes until camp close. I said guys, where’s your sister? You don’t need to be picked up for another 10 minutes. They said the same thing— a camp staffer told them to sign out and come find a parent because we’d forgotten them.

 

So, my daughter was at camp, sobbing because she thought we forgot about her, and her brothers abandoned her. And my husband was furious.

 

I went back to camp when they reopened. I asked the staff about this. They point blank told me it’s what they have all the kids do 10-15 minutes prior to camp closing if they have sign out privileges. I immediately revoked the privilege.

 

And my kids will never get it again.

 

 

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My wife and I are on the fence about letting our 9 yr old son get self check out privileges.

 

For those of you who have sailed with 9 yr olds' date=' what did you do, and how did it work out? Are there any camp activities that require sign out privileges? (such as a scavenger hunt).

 

Do they have self check in privileges also? We also have a 6 year old, so if we do let him check out, he'll want to go back to his brother, and not the cabin.[/quote']

 

 

We cruised on the Magic in January; I had myself convinced that my 9 year old daughter would not have self check privileges until I got to Camp and realized she would not be able to participate in the scavenger hunt (she had a blast). I allowed her self check privileges and did not regret it. She met a few other girls on the ship that she became friends with and they would meet at Camp and then disburse. My daughter also had the Carnival Hub App on her phone and she was to message me each time she left camp and each time she changed locations. You can also go by camp at any time to see if they checked in/out throughout the day and I would visit the areas of the ship to make sure she was where she told me she would be.

 

The girls spent most of their time grabbing ice creams, playing on the water slides (with adult supervision) participating in the activities put on by the Cruise Director (Dr. E), going to the arcade, playing ping pong, basketball and visiting the Library to play board games. Some nights they even had dinner together at the Lido Buffet.

 

Also, the kids are not allowed to check themselves out after 10pm, so if you send them to "Night Owls" you have to check them out, they are not allowed to leave without permission.

 

We still keep in contact with one of the families (we are in the US and they are in Canada), the girls FaceTime frequently, we are planning to visit them next month, and we are booked on our next cruise together.

i dont know if i would allow the 9 year old to roam freely most of the day. but like i said there is not many places they can go if they are aware NOT to go into the decks with cabins spaces-- nor are they allowed to walk new friends back to the cabin for any reason whatso ever-- they are still strangers

Let me ask you this, if you were home and he was somewhere else in the town you live in, would it be OK for him to just leave that place, on his own say so? Would he be allowed to roam with other stranger's kids (like in you do not know the parents or what their values are) and be part of a group that you have no idea who they are? If that is how you roll at home, then have at it!!! A cruise ship is a small city, with lots of people. There is always that group of rowdy kids or misbehaved kids that are running the ships it seems on every cruise. Where are those parents??? My guess is serenity and they let the kids sign themselves out :rolleyes:.

 

DS is 15.5 now so not an issue, but we never let him sign himself out, we would check in with him periodically and if he wanted to go somewhere else or meet up with other kids (and we were very particular who he could hang out with). He was fine at 9 hanging at the club but some days he wanted to hang at the water slides or other areas too. We would ask him in the mornings on sea days, many of the kids he usually hung out with were at the water slides or pool and we were always there anyway.

Am I correct in that the grouping is 9-11? Or is it 10-11? Wondering if my 9 yr old group would be doing the hunt. I know that he would love it' date=' if we were to allow him to do it.[/quote']

 

Camp ocean sharks is 9 to 11. They do the activities together.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Purvis1231
typo

We just got back from a cruise where we let our boys (9 & 10) have this privilege because we wanted them to do the scavenger hunt. We also have a 6 yo. The rule was- follow the plan. So when we dropped them off on day 2 we said, “ok, we will be back at 5. You are NOT to sign out”, etc.

 

I was napping so hubby was picking the kids up. I like to pick up 15 minutes before closing of the club. He waits until the last couple of minutes.

 

The boys barged into the room, woke me up. They were frantic. They said, “Mom! You forgot to pick us up! Mrs. so and so at kids club told us to sign out and come get you!”

 

I check the clock.... 10 minutes until camp close. I said guys, where’s your sister? You don’t need to be picked up for another 10 minutes. They said the same thing— a camp staffer told them to sign out and come find a parent because we’d forgotten them.

 

So, my daughter was at camp, sobbing because she thought we forgot about her, and her brothers abandoned her. And my husband was furious.

 

I went back to camp when they reopened. I asked the staff about this. They point blank told me it’s what they have all the kids do 10-15 minutes prior to camp closing if they have sign out privileges. I immediately revoked the privilege.

 

And my kids will never get it again.

 

 

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Wie had the same experience with them being told to leave and we were waiting in line. I understood the concept in order to cut down the line, but they (kids or the counsellors) didn't know we were already there. My youngest was already not loving and barely liked camp. After that, he refused to go back. He was worried that they would make him leave and he wouldn't know where to go.

Sign out privileges start with the 9yo group. Those under can’t have it.

 

 

 

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We let 9 yo sign out but he knew the privilege only extended to the group scavenger hunts and if he was leaving with his older brother. The scavenger hunts are both kids favorites and they only have an hour. It worked well for us.

My daughters are given the privilege of signing out. And yes we call it a privilege as it can be revoked at anytime.

 

When they reached the age of 9 the following was implemented:

Highlight the activities you wish to do.

When you leave Camp, your first stop is to the room. Here you will check the fun times, which has been highlighted with parents activities. Or there will be a note. Then you go to where the fun times/note says.

You will leave a note to say where you are.

Under no circumstances are you to wander other cabin floors, nor cabins. No one comes into ours or you into theirs. No pools, water slides or water activities without a parent.

My daughters don’t have a phone on land so the app is no good for us to message!

 

We always make good relationships with so many crew, that I often I have crew come and say, I just saw x over there! Very helpful!

 

With Miss eldest now 12, I have relaxed a rule or 2, i.e she now says after breakfast, i’ll meet you at x for lunch. But pool, slides etc and no one in our cabin still applies.

 

Whatever you choose, make sure you are comfortable and let the kids know it’s a trial basis

I never allowed self check out but my son never asked for it or knew about it. By the time he was 12, he didn’t really go to camp as much, but when he did, he stayed until he reached us thru the hub app and we met him at pizza or at the cabin. I wouldn’t do it for a child in the 2-12 age group, I am still a bit reluctant to let my son go around the ship for long alone at 14, but he had a little more freedom now to do so. Picking him up was always our preference and we made sure to check the schedule to ensure he was in activities that he found enjoyable at camp. He never wanted to leave he enjoyed it so much.

 

 

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Thanks all for the various perspectives. We are still debating.

 

I think one of the hardest parts of parenting is deciding when they are ready to handle freedoms. We still have 37 days to decide.

 

Can we grant/revoke the sign out privilege throughout the week as we see fit? A trial basis could be one possibility.

We allowed our oldest at age 10 last year check herself in and out. She had a device with the Hub app and would message us immediately if she was leaving. She was under strict direction as to where she could go (to our cabin, to find us, or to grab something to eat—no roaming the ship, no water area without adults, absolutely NO cabins other than ours and NO hallways with cabins). She was really great about it!

Thanks all for the various perspectives. We are still debating.

 

I think one of the hardest parts of parenting is deciding when they are ready to handle freedoms. We still have 37 days to decide.

 

Can we grant/revoke the sign out privilege throughout the week as we see fit? A trial basis could be one possibility.

 

Yes you can revoke and we did once. Miss then 10 went from camp to pizza instead of straight to the room. Although a minor and no harm incident, she broke the rules. For the next day she had no privileges.

 

Maybe suggest that they have to stay for the whole activity, and can leave at a set time. That way they can meet you at that time but still have the thrill of signing out themselves. As they (and you) get more confident more leeway is granted.

 

Also make sure they know how to get from Camp to your room by themselves!

 

And I agree with the decision, more often than not, it’s us that aren’t ready!

I didn't see mention of it, so I will share. We bring walkie talkies. When they leave camp, they ping ours with where they are going or ask to meet us where we are. It is a check in, but still allows them freedom to leave camp.

We let our 9 year old do it. She had been cruising since 5 years old and already knew how to get back to the cabin. She knew the rules about checking back in with us. It worked out fine, but I guess it depends on the kid.

 

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My wife and I are on the fence about letting our 9 yr old son get self check out privileges.

 

For those of you who have sailed with 9 yr olds' date=' what did you do, and how did it work out? Are there any camp activities that require sign out privileges? (such as a scavenger hunt).

 

Do they have self check in privileges also? We also have a 6 year old, so if we do let him check out, he'll want to go back to his brother, and not the cabin.[/quote']

 

Our last cruise, last month, included our 9 year old son. We did not allow him check out privileges. Despite being in a closed environment (the ship), it's still too big with too many people that we don't know.

It has been years (DD now 20) but she was around 9 when we went on our first cruise with her and we talked to her and with the counselors about that, we did let her do self check out ONLY when they did the scavenger hunt and if she had at least two others with her. Worked great! Most of the time she was with us anyway and once her and a friend (who's family sat at our table, did not know them before the cruise) wanted to get hamburgers so we said yes (they asked in advance). She made a lifelong friend on that cruise! We also made sure she knew EXACTLY how to get to the room without us (she had the ship layout down pat within an hour, I still got lost 2 days later!) just in case. We also made sure she knew where we would be at a given time. She is a smart girl now and was then too!