Does anyone keep their children with them the whole time?

[foxycleopatra]

Hello!

 

After reading many posts concerning cruising with children, I am wondering if everyone uses the children's daycare programs. I do not judge anyone for their choices, but find it amusing that some think that just because we are not going to use the daycare (or whatever you call it), that we will be "joined at the hip" or something. I have also read posts where someone said something about the apron strings being too short. I do appreciate suggestions that my children may enjoy the children's programs but I am wondering if we will be the only ones who will spend the entire cruise together. We may change our minds about things once on the ship, who knows....

[jerin]

Last cruise we were on was a 3 day 'booze cruise' ... the kids' program staff were not able to control many of the children there, so ours lasted 5 minutes before asking to be let out. They were with us for the rest of the cruise.

 

It's up to my children if they want to do the kids' programs or not. They may all go, some might go, or none might go -- we'll take them the first night and let them see what they think. We're not counting on them using the programs, although knowing my youngest, I'd be surprised if she didn't go to the programs at least some of the time, but she often surprises us.

 

People are amazed that I don't use daycare or preschools or schools either, and spend all that time with my kids. I generally do like being with my children, and would be fine if they wanted to stick with us the whole time, though I think that we could all use a bit of a break now and then, since we don't get one on a regular basis like parents and children who do school have.

[cb at sea]

Some do, some don't! It's generally up to the kids...most children enjoy having other kids to play with! Sometimes, they'll form friendships that last and last!

[GirlWriter]

I may be considered overprotective, but as long as my child is so young (toddler), I wouldn't be any more comfortable dropping him off at a cruise line daycare that I haven't screened/interviewed than I would be dropping him off at a daycare down the street from my home that I don't have any knowledge of. I must admit to being surprised at how willing others are to leave their baby in the care of total strangers -- just because it's a cruise doesn't mean the standards for childcare relax, at least in my way of thinking. If I wouldn't do such a thing on land, why would I do it on a cruise ship?

 

Now, when he gets older, and can communicate well enough to tell me if anything amiss happens, I might ease up a bit. We'll see. :o)

[Kerry's Girls]

On our first few cruises, my twins were too young for the kids program, so we spent every moment together and had a wonderful time. As soon as they were old enough though, they started participating in the "kids club" (at 2 on Carnival). Over a week together on a cruise, they need a break from me as much as I need a break from them - it's good for all of us.

 

Best,

Mia

[crusinmama06]

On our first cruise, I couldn't even imagine leaving my child with strangers. Period. End of story. My kids have never been out of my sight. Have never been in day care. I worked in a home office for 11 years before I actually started working outside the house and allowed the grandparents to pick the kids up after school and take them for an hour.

 

I am the epitomy of the overprotective mom. ;) Can you believe that it took about 7 years before I allowed my child to sleep overnight at Grandma's house? Yeah I am THAT bad.

 

So before our first cruise, I said there was NO WAY the first born was going to the kids club. I ended up allowing her to go for a couple of hours - total, the whole week. And I basically hovered outside the door the entire time.

 

Over the years, I have loosened up. I have seen the security onboard. I have seen how tight the security is. The cameras. The locked doors. And I have come to see that there is very little that could go wrong. HOWEVER, I had to see it IN PERSON, MYSELF. No one could have convinced me otherwise.

 

So is it possible for you to stay the entire week with yours child -- OF COURSE. There have been cruises where my youngest didn't love the club, so she stayed with us. We have had a great time doing other things onboard. My oldests chooses to go to the club. That's HER CHOICE, not mine. I don't just dump her there.

 

So its not like you have to send your kids off to the club.

[NEcruisers????]

This will be the first time we have taken the entire family on a cruise, but we have taken our daughter with on a previous cruise. She spent a very limited amout of time in the kids club as she is special needs and was not potty trained. It was a nice break for us, just to go to dinner as a couple, but we did miss her! When we arrived back to pick her up, she was all smiles and giggles, having loved the clubs noise, commotion and all the attention! This cruise we will have all three girls along, and we will let the two younger choose when and if they go. I am thinking they will go more than not, but if they choose to stay back with us, that will be fine.

However, I will NOT leave any one of them on the ship while we go ashore. It is too risky! Afterall, we are traveling as a family, and want to see and do things as a family.:)

[RoadTripFanatic]

DD loves the kids center. I have to put my foot down to keep her with us on the cruise. :) She usually wants to eat dinner with us while we are on the ships. Some days at sea she wants to go swimming others she just wants to go play with the kids. She is an only child and she loves hanging out with the other kids. I think it's a personal preference. You won't be the only parents who do not send their kids to the center. It's up to you.

[iamaqt2]

It sounds like most of you have younger children. I have a 10 and 14 year old.

 

My 14 y/o would rather shoot herself in the foot than spend the entire cruise with the family. She'll sleep in, get room service and meet up with us after an hour and a half of primping. And then we might get a couple of shore excursions and all dinners(mandated) out of her. The 10 year old only goes to the club if there is an activity he wants to do, and we highlight those the night before so we know what activities to plan the next day. The rest of the day we spend together.

 

Wait till they're teens and you have no choice but to cut the cord :D

 

I say do whatever YOU are comfortable with. It all comes down to how comfortable each individual is with the environment. We don't have the right to judge each other for our decisions... parenting isn't done by the book and none of our kids came with a manual (although they should).

[junglejane]

It sounds like most of you have younger children. I have a 10 and 14 year old.

 

My 14 y/o would rather shoot herself in the foot than spend the entire cruise with the family. She'll sleep in, get room service and meet up with us after an hour and a half of primping. And then we might get a couple of shore excursions and all dinners(mandated) out of her. The 10 year old only goes to the club if there is an activity he wants to do, and we highlight those the night before so we know what activities to plan the next day. The rest of the day we spend together.

 

Wait till they're teens and you have no choice but to cut the cord :D

 

I say do whatever YOU are comfortable with. It all comes down to how comfortable each individual is with the environment. We don't have the right to judge each other for our decisions... parenting isn't done by the book and none of our kids came with a manual (although they should).

 

I loved this post! My DD's are now 9 and 13. Our younger DD has always loved the kids programs, whether it was on Princess, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. We don't "dump" her there. She begs to go there. There have been many sea days when I have gone back several times to ask if she wants to go swimming or something, and she says "NO" in no uncertain terms. She is having too much fun to leave! By contrast, our 13 year old tired of the kids programs several years ago. She wants some independence. On the one hand, she enjoys the shore trips more than the younger one does (whether DIY or ship-sponsored). On the other hand, while onboard she wants some freedom to do her own thing. We set rules, limits and reporting requirements. But we also have learned to "cut the cord" a little!

[shines57]

Just out of curiosity, are the camp counselors screened? I would assume that they aren't pedofiles or anything but how is one to know??

[cb at sea]

I'm sure they're "screened"....as much as you can. I can't recall a single incident of any kind of child abuse, neglect or pedophilia on a ship. At least, not from a counselor...from some cruise member who 'lured" a child into the bowels of the ship.....but that's quite rare.

[GirlWriter]

Just out of curiosity, are the camp counselors screened? I would assume that they aren't pedofiles or anything but how is one to know??

 

My concern exactly. It's easy enough for those types to "slip in" through the screening processes here in the US, even with our sex offender lists, background checks, etc.; I have no idea if even those minimal screening processes are in place in the countries from where the cruise ship crew members are hired.

 

And, even with all that, I still feel funny leaving a baby with a total stranger, even a perfectly nice and nonperverted one.

 

Like I said, though, I can understand the kids' club programs for older kids. They are able to communicate with you, have more options for defending themselves, etc., so I would worry less.

[iheartbda]

I'm sure they're "screened"....as much as you can. I can't recall a single incident of any kind of child abuse, neglect or pedophilia on a ship. At least, not from a counselor...from some cruise member who 'lured" a child into the bowels of the ship.....but that's quite rare.

The "bowels" of the ship are strictly off limits to pax and are watched closely. Anyone other than crew are escorted out of there immediately.

[akcruz]

My concern exactly. It's easy enough for those types to "slip in" through the screening processes here in the US, even with our sex offender lists, background checks, etc.; I have no idea if even those minimal screening processes are in place in the countries from where the cruise ship crew members are hired.

 

And, even with all that, I still feel funny leaving a baby with a total stranger, even a perfectly nice and nonperverted one.

 

Like I said, though, I can understand the kids' club programs for older kids. They are able to communicate with you, have more options for defending themselves, etc., so I would worry less.

 

While I trust that the staff is well screened, the other thing you need to remember is that the counselors are not there with the kids all by themselves. There are usually more than just 2 or 3 counselors, especially with the younger kids.

 

My kids fall into the can't drag them out the clubs category. Yes, they are much older now, but they have been going to clubs such as this since they were toddlers (ski areas, too young to be on the mountain themselves). I do love my kids and am protective of them but mom and dad do need some time as well :D. My opinion only by having some time for me it makes me a better a mom overall!

 

Do whatever works for you and your family. It is really nobody else's business how you handle it. Just go and enjoy.

[decoste45]

On our last cruise (NCL Jewel) in October/November last year our little guy who was 2 1/2 then was sooo excited to go to camp.

 

Something happened on the 2nd day, I never did find out the exact details but pieced together from what he told me, the counsellor told me and one of the older kids who saw everything. They made my little guy go into the haunted house they had set up for Halloween. I guess he was so scared and upset that he was crying for 45 minutes. They gave us a phone with a dead battery and couldn't get a hold of us... even though when we signed him in we wrote down what restaurant we were going to!

 

We even called the kids club becasue we were all waiting in the atrium area as they were planning a parade for the Trick or Treating... they were 45 minutes late - which we came to find out was because Mitch was so upset that they couldn't leave.

 

I was sooo mad and told the Counsellor that anyone who has any dealing with children would know that a 2 year old would be too young to understand Halloween and that forcing him into the Haunted House was a stupid thing to do. They seemed to really not care. Not even an apology.

 

After that (2nd day of a 14 day cruise) he would NOT go back, as soon as we took him near the door to the club, he would start crying and begged us not to leave him.

 

I did put in a complaint, but who knows if anything came of it.

 

We have an 11 night cruise planned on the Jewel for next year and our LO will be 4, so I am hoping to give the camp another try as I am sure that different counsellors will be on board.

 

In summary, we were hoping to have some alone time while he was at camp, and that didn't happen. Did we still have a wonderful avaction? Absolutely!!! Being with our LO is fun, and if he decides that he doesn't want camp next time, we are fine with all of us being together the whole time.

 

Have a great cruise!:D

[European_CruiseGirl]

We do keep our DD with us for the whole time and most likely will keep her for until she's 10+ yrs.

 

The reason for this is that although she has two "first languages" neither of them is english which seems to be "the" language for the kids programs. No way would we put our child in a place where no-one would understand what she was saying or she would not understand what the others were saying.

 

It's a shame really because I'm sure that at the age of 6+ she would most likely enjoy spending some time at the kids program playing with other kids.

[iamaqt2]

European Cruise Girl,

 

You shouldn't let language be a barrier to her enjoying some activities with other children. My son's school has many English as a Second Language students, and many of them have not mastered English yet. However they seem to get along just fine playing with the other kids on the playground and generally having a good time.

 

You could always discuss your concerns with the counselors, and try a half hour activity at first to see how it goes. You might just be surprised!

[Mack2]

When my kids were little, we signed them up for the Kid's program with the intention that it would just be an opportunity for them to do something without us.

 

Give it a try, if they like it.. great, if not... fine.

 

So, my kid gave it a try... it was okay... he wasn't dying to go back, but he did want to go at certain times (like when there was a Character thing happening, we were aboard Disney)

 

I do chat with the counselors... I ask them how long they have left on their contract, did they go to college, what was their major.

A lot of them say education... who knows, really... but at least they know to try to make you feel better.

 

In my experience though, these counselors are pretty good for the most part. My eldest son has a special need. He's partially sighted (juvenile macular degeneration)... we make sure to inform the counselors, and he really enjoys the camp thing still... once he's a teen? I dunno what's gonna happen.

[Cuizer2]

Hello!

 

After reading many posts concerning cruising with children, I am wondering if everyone uses the children's daycare programs. I do not judge anyone for their choices, but find it amusing that some think that just because we are not going to use the daycare (or whatever you call it), that we will be "joined at the hip" or something. I have also read posts where someone said something about the apron strings being too short. I do appreciate suggestions that my children may enjoy the children's programs but I am wondering if we will be the only ones who will spend the entire cruise together. We may change our minds about things once on the ship, who knows....

 

It is your vacation. Quit worrying about what others do on their vacation. And don't believe everything you read here either. This forum is loaded with experts on everything from nuclear reactors to world politics and how to raise your child. The problem is, most of these people actually know a lot less then they think they know.

 

Do what you you feel comfortable doing. And yes, I have spent an entire cruise with the kids. I've also been on cruises where the kids went to the children's program. They and we had fun in both cases.

[Wavesprite]

The "bowels" of the ship are strictly off limits to pax and are watched closely. Anyone other than crew are escorted out of there immediately.

 

Ummm, this isn't entirely true. A friend of mine spent almost her whole cruise week with a "employee/officer" in the crew area of the ship.....

 

As for the original question. I don't see anything wrong with having your child with you the whole time. Last cruise my son was 7 and my daughter was 3 almost 4. My son wanted to be in the kids club the whole time. He loved playing with his new friends, and all of the activities. My daughter on the other hand wasn't so keen. She was with us about 95% of the cruise. I think that the kids club is a nice, safe alternative on the cruise ship for them to go and have fun and mingle with their peers "if they want to". It's not a dumping ground. Afterall, it's your children's vacation, too.

 

We are cruising in October, and I believe (but maybe not) that my daughter will like it more now that she's almost 6, but if not, she can be with us.

 

Oh, and some background. Our children have never been in daycare, or even had one babysitter (other then Gramma).

[Lady_Jag]

My daughter (age 4) just took her second cruise last month. We used the kids' program a couple of times, but she didn't want to go nearly as much as she did last year when she was on her first cruise. I'd say she spent at least 90% of the time with us this last cruise.

 

Usually, hubby and I would take turns staying with our daughter at night when she went to bed. One of us would go out and see a show or have coffee with our friends, and the other would stay in the cabin, tuck our little one in, and watch TV, read a book, or get things together for the next day. Most nights, we'd order room service and have a little bedtime picnic, which my daughter thought was just sooo cool. LOL!

 

So don't stress. The camp is there if you want to use it, but no one says you HAVE to use it. You will all have a great time no matter what you decide. :D

[MamaParrotHead]

We only had two sea days our last cruise (my kids' first cruise, DD10 and DS6). And taking the hours Camp is shut down (I thin it was 12-2 and 4-6), plus dinner that we ate together, plus getting up a bit later on sea days and having breakfast together, they really weren't in Camp all that long anyway. But when they weren't there, they begged to BE there, LOL. They had a blast and it was nice to have a bit of adult time thrown in there as well.

[junglejane]

I do appreciate suggestions that my children may enjoy the children's programs but I am wondering if we will be the only ones who will spend the entire cruise together. We may change our minds about things once on the ship, who knows....

 

I think the key here is that we parents all need to be flexible and do what's best for our family and our child in any given situation. We always have to assess and adapt! What works one time might not work another time. I would just encourage you to visit the children's program, meet the counselors, look at the list of activities, and then decide. For several years, our younger DD liked to be in the kids program the maximum amount of time possible. Recently, as she has gotten older (she's now 9), she has gotten pickier. Now she looks at the lists of activities and decides to come for some events and not others.

 

Also, am I the only parent here whose kids sometimes don't get along with each other?:o I find that it promotes family harmony if my two DD's have some time apart. Especially on sea days! :)

[iamaqt2]

Also, am I the only parent here whose kids sometimes don't get along with each other?:o I find that it promotes family harmony if my two DD's have some time apart. Especially on sea days! :)

 

HAHAHAHAHA :p

 

I have a 14 yo DD and 10 yo DS...... it's like oil and vinegar with some Nitro and C2 thrown in! I've fixed more broken doors than I can count because of those 2 slamming them and pushing them open between them!

 

I have to separate them for my sanity.