Leaving Children alone on Board

Do you have children? If so, do you really believe your statement?

No, and yes.

If you are afraid to leave a child on board ship in case something happens to you and you can't get back, then why wouldn't you be afraid to leave a child in school in case something happens and you can't get back? In both cases there are trained professionals who will look after the child for as long as it takes.

No, and yes.

 

If you are afraid to leave a child on board ship in case something happens to you and you can't get back, then why wouldn't you be afraid to leave a child in school in case something happens and you can't get back? In both cases there are trained professionals who will look after the child for as long as it takes.

It's obvious you don't have children. Big difference between them being at school (a place they go day in and day out for 5 years, 3years or 4years) and a ship that goes to foreign countries and not to mention the thousands of complete strangers surrounding them. I shouldn't have to explain further.

Maybe. I don't see the relevance of the "thousands of strangers" because I doubt that the cruise line would let the child roam freely round the ship; they would be kept under supervision. And I doubt if a child is unable to get home from school because of whatever parental issue has kept the parents away, would be spending the night at school where it is familiar with the surroundings.

But basically, if the child is comfortable being without parents for several hours on end, then the tiny risk of a ship's excursion not making it back to the ship (I've never known it happen myself) doesn't need to be something to inspire fear. If the child is likely to worry or panic, then I wouldn't leave it in the first place.

It's obvious you don't have children. Big difference between them being at school (a place they go day in and day out for 5 years, 3years or 4years) and a ship that goes to foreign countries and not to mention the thousands of complete strangers surrounding them. I shouldn't have to explain further.

I couldn’t agree more and the poster’s further arguments only reinforce the lack of parental knowledge. Not to mention what really happens when someone does not return in time and misses the boat in a foreign country. No point in trying to explain any further as you say .

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We've never left our children behind, because for my family personally taking our children on excursions is one of the major reasons why we take cruises. However, I think there are very different levels of risk involved in leaving your kids behind. For example, on our Baltic cruise, it would seem like a much bigger risk to travel to Berlin from Warnemunde without your children (a minimum of 5 hours roundtrip by train) than to leave them behind while you visit a small city like Tallinn, which is within walking distance from the port. I wouldn't be surprised at parents leaving a child behind when the ports are small, and they aren't going far (like a lot of ports in Alaska) versus taking an excursion that travels very far away from the ship.