Kidless Cruises

[MikeNJ1109]

Seeing the rather emotional back and forth on this subject, I'm getting the very distinct impression that "this horse has been whipped to death".

 

May I suggest that we all agree to disagree and let this thread die it's own natural death?

 

Michael

[Traveling Bob]

Boy is this a touchy subject that's going a bit overboard (pun intended). I'm not a fan of kids and I wanted to KILL the 5-yo in the pool on the Majesty who would NOT STOP SCREAMING (in THE most high-pitched voice), "MIRA, MIRA MIRA MIRA, DAAAAAADY" even though daddy was 2 feet from her... I hated the teens on the Liberty who walked into me and COMPLETELY ignored me because they were never taught to say, "excuse me," or I'm sorry, and just congregated on the stairs. I hate the 13-yo on the Youtube video who spent god-knows-how-long riding up and down the centrum elevator with his friend videotaping everyone who got on the elevator and screamed, "How y'all enjoying y'all's creeeooooooze?!" Clearly annoying 75% of the people.

I LOVED sitting in the adults-only solarium on the Enchantment and watching a pile of kids come at my friend and me because they were in the middle of a scavenger hunt and needed us to do something for them.

I LOVED the two kids who were under 12 at my MDR table on some ship years ago. I LOVED the kid who had problems with the Sprinkles machine and I helped him and he said thank you.

 

It's not kids...it's kids who are bored or have crappy manners.

 

I agree.

What I'm wondering about is why the daddy who was 2 feet away didn't say anything himself? I had a similar situation on Princess last month. The parents of a child having a tantrum at the next table in the MDR just sat there eating as if they didn't hear the kid. Yet in an identical situation on QM2, the mother got up, apologized to everyone around and took the child out. My worst experience was on RCL out of Barcelona where bands of teenagers were performing every annoying type of public behavior that you could think of. The Cruise Director even had to stop the show in the main theatre because the teens were causing such a racket. When they were removed, the parents (who were there) complained that their children shouldn't have been removed!

 

So, my rant is not so much at the kids, but the parents who let them do it, either because they don't know any better or think that having paid the fare, they are not responsible for their children's annoying actions.

[amybeth4]

I agree.

What I'm wondering about is why the daddy who was 2 feet away didn't say anything himself?

 

Because the kid wasn't having a tantrum. She kept jumping in the pool and asking her dad to MIRA (look at her) and he was loving it. Then she'd be in the pool and she would do some trick and scream MIRA DADDY! They were next to each other playing.

 

But it went on for over 30 minutes and it was piercing.

[Caliterp07]

We talk about this on the CC Family Board (in great detail). Here in my school district, they encourage something called a Family Week. It is one week of excused vacation during the school year. I know, not everyone has this. Other districts in other states are more strict. My kids create their own video documentary of their travels. It was originally created for their own classroom -- but it usually makes the rounds through the entire grade.

 

The last docu DVD had the teacher (a male) in tears. :o lol

 

Don't cringe, my kids are at the top of their class. I assure you, they are fine. ;)

 

I think I'm biased because I teach math, which builds on itself so much. In a week, we cover a whole chapter from the textbook. If the student is self motivated and willing to make up all that homework when they get back, that's great--but most often I see them just write off that chapter as gone and move on (and since I'm responsible for 150+ kids, I don't have time to reteach it all to them). Unfortunately then, they end up with a skill gap that affects the rest of the school year (or beyond).

 

With the little guys, where you're learning more about the world than specific topics, I can see how it would be more flexible and you could learn neat things. Especially if you did historical excursions or learned about the currency in other countries or things like that.

[amybeth4]

OK Mimi. Now I see. You just seemed a bit harsh in your other response. Very "I don't care about people like you."

 

I don't really know how rude it is to request a different table. After the first night? Nah, I'd give it a 2nd chance. After two nights of it? I might, if I was THAT bothered.

 

I really wished I had changed my last MDR table on the Liberty but I never did. But it wasn't because of rude kids.

[ChiMimi69]

Actually we did enjoy the cruises tremdendously. We acted to remove the annoyances and were quite pleased. If we hadn't been, obviously, we wouldn't return. Better that than to take it all week and then complain endlessly about how cruises are horrible. And trust me when I say that RCI doesn't think I'm out of place on their ship (what with the excursions, bar tabs and speciality restaurants). It's family oriented: I'm sure you'll be surprised to find that my husband and I ARE in fact a family even though we have no kids at this point.

 

Anyways, I'm just about done with this topic. To sum up my points, in my opinion, the original poster didn't commit a sin by asking about childless cruises. And if it does "burn you" that kids disturb some people, well, welcome to a free world. I have to sit next to ill-behaved kids in planes, and you have to deal with dirty looks. 'Tis our lot in life, Mabel!

 

 

When did I ever mention the OP. My comments weren't against the OP as the post never referred to kids as 'hellions'. Oh, and let me say that dirty looks don't bother me, because I don't live life seeking approval from others. ;) 'Tis MY lot in life, Honey! :D

 

I need say no more on a subject that is CLEARLY out of your territory! See ya on the LOS! :D

[Captain Jake]

You can not win on these threads.I once said that I prefer an adult only table in the MDR and was lashed out by some loon who said her kids were smarter than 95% of the adults:rolleyes:

:cj

[crusinmama06]

Because the kid wasn't having a tantrum. She kept jumping in the pool and asking her dad to MIRA (look at her) and he was loving it. Then she'd be in the pool and she would do some trick and scream MIRA DADDY! They were next to each other playing.

 

But it went on for over 30 minutes and it was piercing.

 

Oh yeah I think there would have come a point that even I would have said "For the love of all good things and holy would you LOOK AT HER DADDY!" :eek::eek::eek:

 

LOL!!!!! Yep, that would classfy as annoying! I love my kids dearly, but annoying is ANNOYING. And I can call it as I see it.

 

On Disney Wonder, there was a kid jumping into his dad's arms right next to the sign saying NO JUMPING (over and over, at least 20 times). Yes I took a picture and included it in my review. :D

 

With the little guys, where you're learning more about the world than specific topics, I can see how it would be more flexible and you could learn neat things. Especially if you did historical excursions or learned about the currency in other countries or things like that.

 

Oh yes, I understand where you are coming from. I say that I am taking my kids out for now. And actually, this may be the last year. My oldest is entering middle school. So this may be the last year for our school year cruises. Only time (and the grades) will tell.

[amybeth4]

LOL, Mama...I couldn't yell at the padre to mira at the kid, because he WAS paying attention to her. So it was more, "For the love of all things good and holy, tell her to stop screaming!" But of course we weren't gonna say anything. We just kept looking at each other saying, "GOD I wish that kid would shut up," lol.

 

And of course we couldn't move because we had great seats for this show. Had we gotten up we would've been forced to leave altogether. So it was the lesser of two evils. :)

[ChiMimi69]

OK Mimi. Now I see. You just seemed a bit harsh in your other response. Very "I don't care about people like you."

 

I don't really know how rude it is to request a different table. After the first night? Nah, I'd give it a 2nd chance. After two nights of it? I might, if I was THAT bothered.

 

I really wished I had changed my last MDR table on the Liberty but I never did. But it wasn't because of rude kids.

 

I'm sorry if that's the way I came across. :o I'm sure no parent wants to ruin anyone else's vacation either and the last thing we want to deal with is a cranky child at dinner time. I commend those [parents] that do what we can to remedy the situation with as little fuss as possible because there are those who don't. But, even when we do, there are always those cranks out there who you never win with. So, I stopped trying to understand them. :D

[ChiMimi69]

Amy...

 

I'll answer, I once was waiting for Adventure Ocean counselors to load the kids into elevator after the Pirate Parade when 2 older women stepped out of the adjacent elevator. One look at the other and said "I came on this cruise to get away from THAT and here they are!"

 

So I responded "Funny, I came on this cruise to get away from cranky old biddies and yet, here YOU are!"

 

The kids were doing nothing, the counselors were loading them onto an elevator, yet that woman felt the need to make a snide comment -- for no reason.

 

The reason I tell this story is, it goes both ways.

 

If my children are misbehaving -- and with my youngest-- there WILL be times, I will remove her from the situation immediatly. I will not allow her to bother another diner. She is not allowed to get up from her seat -- period. So it would never escalate to the point where another person would feel the need to move. Ever.

 

But some feel that the mere presence of a child is enough to interupt their meal -- that is ridiculous. :rolleyes:

 

I too have seen your posts and I'm GLAD to see you on this thread Michelle!

[CruiserInMD]

You may be able to avoid many school-aged children before and after summer break and around holidays, but not under 3's. Make sure not to take the Enchantment 12 day cruise I'm taking in December because I'll have my then-19 month old with me :)

 

I totally understand not wanting to take a vacation with a bunch of kids around, but it takes extra planning and perhaps extra cost to arrange such a thing. As others have said, RCI caters to families, as do most cruise lines, so if you want to avoid children, that's not the way to go.

 

As far as not being 'those people with THAT kid', we chose My Time dining so we can get out of there quicker if our son has had enough, and would also leave the dining room if he were upset. Or take him back to the room or somewhere else more private on the ship if he were not behaving during another time (nor will he step foot into a pool or the solarium). Heck, that's what we do ordinarily anyway, but you can't trust all parents will unfortunately.

[crusinmama06]

And of course we couldn't move because we had great seats for this show. Had we gotten up we would've been forced to leave altogether. So it was the lesser of two evils. :)

 

Yeah I think some Drink of the Days would have been the only thing to lessen that situation. ;)

 

I too have seen your posts and I'm GLAD to see you on this thread Michelle!

 

I have the day off, not usually here during the weekday wreaking havoc. :D

[ChiMimi69]

LOL, Mama...I couldn't yell at the padre to mira at the kid, because he WAS paying attention to her. So it was more, "For the love of all things good and holy, tell her to stop screaming!" But of course we weren't gonna say anything. We just kept looking at each other saying, "GOD I wish that kid would shut up," lol.

 

And of course we couldn't move because we had great seats for this show. Had we gotten up we would've been forced to leave altogether. So it was the lesser of two evils. :)

 

LOL!!!!:D Too funny. I've been there with my little guy (who's still just babbling mostly) but, the words he can say, he's says them boldly. Geez! How loud (and often) can a baby say hi and bye. But, this Amy, would have been rough for me too. You poor thing. LOL!

[Gilgo Surfer]

I was on the Explorer in April of '09. One crew member said they had about 7 times the average amount of kids on that cruise. Not that it ruined the cruise but there were some issues.

 

There were kids yelling down to me from a floor above. I don't remember what they were saying but when I looked up they were saying, yea were talking to you and things like that.

 

There were about 15 kids in one hot tub and several in the adults only tub next to it.

 

There was an on going problem all week with do not disturb signs and room service cards being either switched from one door to another or removed and thrown on the floor. I found this one interesting considering all the activities there are for kids.

 

We had the late seating for dinner which was very nice. There were very few kids, in fact I didn't see any in our area of MDR. We happened to meet the family who had the same table and waiter in the earlier seating, we asked them if he did all the magic tricks for them and they had no idea what I was talking about. I asked the waiter why he didn't do this for the early tables he told that there were lots of kids and it was very chaotic and there was no time for that.

 

In the end it was just a few small things that certainly didn't ruin our cruise but having about 700 kids on the cruise certainly did not enhance it either.

[twoputt.plusone]

QUOTE]Heck, that's what we do ordinarily anyway, but you can't trust all parents will unfortunately.

 

And there you have the crux of the problem all summed up in one short phrase. ;)

[ChiMimi69]

As a teacher, I cringe at how many people are saying they take their kids out of school for vacations just because it's cheaper. I hope you're having them do homework on the plane or doing enrichment work on the ship (or that they're home schooled and you can take a break whenever).

 

Whenever students have missed a week of class, they inevitably come back pretty far behind. If the child gets sick, there's not much you can do about it, but when parents deliberately plan for their child to miss a week of instruction, that's hard for me to stomach. (Albeit this is from a middle school teacher perspective...)

 

 

I know, but, it can't be avoided on my budget. :( I have a pretty stressful job and I'm a single mother. Life is tough enough without having to give up my annual vacation too. No disrepect to our teachers everywhere because I highly commend you all for what you do.

 

My oldest is entering the second grade. And I do insist on taking along the homework assignments for the week to do every morning before he can go to AO and planes are for reading a good book. His teachers have been very accomodating and will prepare some enrichment work for me to cover during the week. But, if my child was at all behind (or falls behind) in his grade level, no cruise. That's the rule. So, it's an incentive for him to do better in school actually. :)

[spanner14]

Seeing the rather emotional back and forth on this subject, I'm getting the very distinct impression that "this horse has been whipped to death".

 

May I suggest that we all agree to disagree and let this thread die it's own natural death?

 

Michael

 

Nice try, but I'm guessing this one will run for a little while yet :)

[tip]

"The One Who Must Be Obeyed" and I are knocking at the door of sixty (it will be answered in a few months) and have just retired after 38 years of being educators.

 

Our daughters are now 28 and 30 and we did take them on cruises during high school and college breaks, but now it is just the two of us.

 

We have never been bothered by having other children on cruises. On the contrary, we enjoy seeing them having a good time.

 

I guess that some folks are like W.C. Fields. That is they just do not like children and small dogs!;)

 

On the other hand, the chain smokers on the balcony next to ours is a story for another thread!

[tracyanns]

I think the title of this thread should be...A cruise for Non-Ignorant and Attentive Families...

 

Our last cruise I was AMAZED at the number of kids that were CONSTANTLY screaming and the parents just totally pretended they were not there...well, they were the ONLY ones...I can tell you that I saw one little girl about 4 years old....she was in a stroller and EACH time I saw here she was crying unless her mom was letting her run around like an animal...which is OK in certain areas but she actually ran right into a bar server and the tray missed her head by about an inch when he dropped it...and what happened...the mom yelled at the waiter for almost hitting her daughter...I would have liked to hit the mom...

 

I have found that for the most part it is not the children that are the issue, it is the parents...they are the ones we should not want to cruise with...lets put the kids on a ship with their grandparents...for some reason kids listen when they talk...

[catlady27]

I just thought this was funny :D

 

[whenthecatsaway]

If you want to cruise with minimal kids, it's pretty hard when you're talking about the Caribbean, unless you go on a more upscale line, like HAL or a luxury line line Crystal.

 

Even when you cruise when school's in session, there are often parts of the country that have time off from school. Many people may not have heard of "Jersey Week" which occurs the first week of Nov. There are a LOT of families from NJ that cruise to the Caribbean that week. Then there's President's Day Week in mid-Feb. LOTS of northeasterners on cruises and massive amounts of teachers, lol. Then you start getting into spring break which is all over the calendar.

 

I'd definitely think that the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and then all of January would be quite safe, however.

 

When is Jersey Week this year Amybeth?? In two words, I think my holiday may have been ruined :(

[amybeth4]

When is Jersey Week this year Amybeth?? In two words, I think my holiday may have been ruined :(

 

cat, it should be the same this year as last year, which is the first week of Nov.

 

Don't let your trip be ruined. Look at it this way. Even if the ENTIRE state of NJ took off that week and went on a vacation, there are a LOT of places for people to choose from, so they won't ALL be on your ship. :)

 

I really didn't find an ENORMOUS amount of kids on my ship last year. I think my friend discouraged us from cruising the same week this year because our H2O Zone was closed from day two through the entire cruise. So ALL of the kids on the ship had to hang out by the main pool. But that wouldn't normally be the case. :)

[bplazo]

We have always cruised in the fall or winter months and there are alot less children on board and I do not ever remember any child acting up on the ship (except for the four year old snorkeling in the adult hot tub).

[whenthecatsaway]

cat, it should be the same this year as last year, which is the first week of Nov.

 

Don't let your trip be ruined. Look at it this way. Even if the ENTIRE state of NJ took off that week and went on a vacation, there are a LOT of places for people to choose from, so they won't ALL be on your ship. :)

 

I really didn't find an ENORMOUS amount of kids on my ship last year. I think my friend discouraged us from cruising the same week this year because our H2O Zone was closed from day two through the entire cruise. So ALL of the kids on the ship had to hang out by the main pool. But that wouldn't normally be the case. :)

 

Nothing against New Jersey obviously, just would prefer less kids [ie none at all]on board! We're sailing from Bayonne to Southern Carribbean on 7th November :(