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Kids go to sleep...what do the adults do?


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Both sets of grandparents are onboard, too? I think that's your answer right there. they can "crash" in grandma's cabin and you can carry them back to your cabin. OR, have grandma/grandpa read nighttime stories and hang out in your cabin. I'm assuming the grandparents are "into" the kids and wanting to spend as much time as possible with them.....

 

I've always been very hesitant of cruise kids clubs, too....except Disney. Disney is fantastic. All other lines pale in comparison and just didn't make me comfortable at a young, young age. Our girls are now 8 and 16.....both with strict rules and we'll maybe try the kids club with our youngest this November cruise...... in the past, our kids have more fun w/ us than the club (except the teenager of course who, now, doesn't want to even wave at us from across the pool LOL).

 

In any event, I think you might want to tap into the grandparents....I know my kids grandparents do "rock/paper/scissors" competing for time with our kids.....

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If you have a balcony, you'll want to look at the layout of your room and see if YOUR bed is near the balcony, or, where your kids are sleeping. If it is next to the kids, it may wake them while you go in and out.

 

Sorry - I missed what cruiseline you'll be on, but in the last two rooms we were on Royal (jr. suite and balcony), they don't have a curtain to pull between the sitting area and the main bed. There is a decorative curtain there but it is like 2 feet long. We usually bring a huge mexican blanket, some bungy cords and just rig up our own curtain so that we have a little bit of light while the kids sleep.

 

My kids aren't quite old enough for RCCL's kids club, but I've seen the kids and leaders and would definitely consider it. I would assume Disney has the best programs.

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Hi all,

 

Dh and I will be doing our first cruise together with the kids (ages 3 and 6) next May. (Alaska, 7 night). I've been on a cruise before but Dh has never been.

 

My question is... Our kids go to bed at a reasonable hour (8:30pm or so) but that is way to early for Dh and I go to sleep. So what do parents do when the kids go to sleep? I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

Would anyone ever leave the kids in the room by themselves? At what age would you?

 

Get a balcony.

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Hi all,

 

Dh and I will be doing our first cruise together with the kids (ages 3 and 6) next May. (Alaska, 7 night). I've been on a cruise before but Dh has never been.

 

My question is... Our kids go to bed at a reasonable hour (8:30pm or so) but that is way to early for Dh and I go to sleep. So what do parents do when the kids go to sleep? I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

Would anyone ever leave the kids in the room by themselves? At what age would you?

 

Are you participating in your roll call? On our first cruise as a family, our daughter was 8, and I wouldn't have left her alone in our cabin, but we met a wonderful family on our roll call with a daughter the same age, and they had 'sleepovers'. Neither ever spent the entire night in the other's cabin, but it's a pretty simple task for a dad to carry a sleeping child from cabin to cabin when it's time. Fortunately for us, my mom was along as well, so she supervised quite a bit, but we also took turns with the other parents. (often one at a time) :)

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My kids aren't quite old enough for RCCL's kids club, but I've seen the kids and leaders and would definitely consider it. I would assume Disney has the best programs.

 

I think how much children enjoy one kids club over another would actually surprise a lot of people. My twins (now 6 YO) have been cruising since they were 3 YO. Last November we did a RCI cruise and just this past January we did Disney. Though they enjoyed the characters and the shows on the Disney cruise, they hands down preferred the RCI kids club. I think the big difference was the ratio of counsellors to kids with each line. As Disney targets the family more strongly (obviously) the number of kids in the club was really high and thus a larger child:counsellor ratio. On the RCI cruise on the other hand the ratio was smaller, and they felt like they really got to know the counsellors better and had more quality time with them. They couldn't stop raving about this or that counsellor or activity and never wanted to leave the club!

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Hi.. just got back from the NCL Epic with our 20 month old. We were so excited about having a balcony and packed plenty of books to read, netflix dvd's to catch up on, wine to enjoy... while our daughter slept..... but... we passed out asleep everytime! I really really tried to stay awake, but since there is no kids club for kids under 2 years on Norwegian, this meant, I spent the day chasing her around the ship all day and by the time we got to the room...all I wanted to do was sleep! :)

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I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

This is what we did. As everyone mentioned, they will not be on their normal sleep schedule. We just took turns. Also we brought along their strollers to take walks in the evening which my little one fell asleep in.

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Hi.. just got back from the NCL Epic with our 20 month old. We were so excited about having a balcony and packed plenty of books to read, netflix dvd's to catch up on, wine to enjoy... while our daughter slept..... but... we passed out asleep everytime! I really really tried to stay awake, but since there is no kids club for kids under 2 years on Norwegian, this meant, I spent the day chasing her around the ship all day and by the time we got to the room...all I wanted to do was sleep! :)

 

lol, that is me too :). We sail carnival and there is babysitting at 10pm but since my kids get up at 6am and we go, go go all day since DS is too young for the kids club, DH and I end up passing out by then so we rarely use babysitting. Id rather curl up in the bed and read a nice book or magazine

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I'm a grandparent and we take family vacations and have since my Grandson was 4 (he's now 17). One of the best parts of the cruise was spending time with just he and I while his parents went out. One night they would sit and drink wine on their balcony while I went to the casino and the next night I babysat my Grandson. We would go get ice cream, order cookies and hot chocolate from room service, and then he would fall asleep from all the activity during the day. I was his fun Grandmother. He thought the room service was the best thing ever. We had adjoining balcony cabins. When he got sleepy he would get in his bed and I would stay in their cabin or leave the door between the cabins open and sit in my cabin. Sometimes I would sit and read or watch TV, sometimes I would fall asleep before they came in. We had the balcony door secured and blocked, and the cabin door locked. He still talks about our "fun adventures" on the ship when he was a little boy. He now stays in his own cabin (across from us) with a relative or friend his age. On our cruise last summer, I found out he still orders room service every night. He now calls it a "tradition" started by me, which I LOVE hearing. The grandparents will love sitting with your little ones. Who knows, your little ones may pick up a new family tradition with the Grandparents too.

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Hi all,

 

Dh and I will be doing our first cruise together with the kids (ages 3 and 6) next May. (Alaska, 7 night). I've been on a cruise before but Dh has never been.

 

My question is... Our kids go to bed at a reasonable hour (8:30pm or so) but that is way to early for Dh and I go to sleep. So what do parents do when the kids go to sleep? I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

Would anyone ever leave the kids in the room by themselves? At what age would you?

 

1. Leave them at home

2. Send DH out for drinks and sit out on balcony (We did this all most everynight)

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  • 2 years later...

I know this is an old post but still pertinent for me. I will be doing our first family cruise next August on NCL Dawn. My kids will be 3, 7 and 9 then. I know the 7 and 9 year old will LOVE kids club, no doubts! I am nervous about the 3 year old though. He's a bit of a mama's boy, and doesn't like to leave my side much. I went to my sisters church last week for a new womans group, and tried to put him in the little playroom with the teen sitter, he was having NONE of it. Screamed and cried. I couldn't stand it, so I let him come sit with me. I'm guessing by next August he will be better and more independent (I'm hoping anyway!). Were your kids (if that age) good at camp? I am a bit nervous leaving him but I know so many of you have done it and the kids loved it. I did have some questions hopefully someone can answer?

 

1. How do they reach you if your child wants to come out of camp, or in case of emergency?

 

2. My second child has a nut allergy, are they peanut free there? Can I leave an epipen in case of an emergency?

 

3. Are there strict procedures in place (like our CORI checks) for those working within the camp?

 

Thanks in advance!!

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We either got balcony staterooms, or I sat I. The washroom to read a book. Dear hubby and I would switch off nights, and most nights em went to the kids club for a little while. I would not leave my child alone, no matter what, for no amount of time.

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For a cruise next August, there's plenty of time to work with your youngest on being less reliant on mom. Is there a pre-school that you could start with, starting slowly, maybe a day or two a week? How about you going to lunch with a friend and hiring a babysitter? There are a lot you could do to start working with your son to prepare him for the kid's club.

 

They will not give medication of any kind to any child. The child must be able to administer the epi-pen without any assistance.

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Hi all,

 

Dh and I will be doing our first cruise together with the kids (ages 3 and 6) next May. (Alaska, 7 night). I've been on a cruise before but Dh has never been.

 

My question is... Our kids go to bed at a reasonable hour (8:30pm or so) but that is way to early for Dh and I go to sleep. So what do parents do when the kids go to sleep? I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

Would anyone ever leave the kids in the room by themselves? At what age would you?

 

Enjoy a book, movie, quiet evening on the balcony with drink of choice.

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CapeCodMama1976: Last year, my girls were 3.5 on RCCL. We kept them most of the day, but tried to do a "kids club" in the evenings. We tried to build it up before we went - talk about it - show them pictures (if you can find any). We visited the club when we first got on board. My (twin) girls have been in a Montessori school since they were 2, but they were still clingy. What helped us, was to take them to a "gym" or place that has a "kids night out" back at home. We worked on "we'll be back in a little while"...etc. I don't think Kids Club will work until your child learns that he will need to be without Mom, but she'll be right back. Wherever you drop your child off, just know that s/he will settle down a while after you leave. Its hard to stand there and see them cry/scream at first.

 

I think some ships hand out pagers, some just ask generally where you are. I have no idea about the Epi Pen or other medicines (and being nut free). I recommend calling the cruiseline and asking them - they are generally pretty helpful on that stuff. From what I understand, the people in the Kids areas go through thorough background checks and they limit who can go in those rooms, they have sign-in/sign-out procedures. Its a group room/facility - so several teachers/helpers are on staff. After our first experience last year, I'm ok with taking my kids there again, and I think they will look forward to it more this year.

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Hi all,

 

Dh and I will be doing our first cruise together with the kids (ages 3 and 6) next May. (Alaska, 7 night). I've been on a cruise before but Dh has never been.

 

My question is... Our kids go to bed at a reasonable hour (8:30pm or so) but that is way to early for Dh and I go to sleep. So what do parents do when the kids go to sleep? I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

Would anyone ever leave the kids in the room by themselves? At what age would you?

I would not leave them at that age. My oldest was 12 (old enough to babysit) before I even considered leaving them. We always turned in with the kids after the evening show which meant keeping them up a little later than bedtime, but we shared family entertainment together and they were ready to go to sleep afterward. Since we are early risers it was ok for us to go to bed earlier. We would just watch a little tv...but we had kids that would just fall asleep when they were tired so we didn't have to worry about a little noise keeping them awake.

 

If your kids need quiet to sleep and you like to read, I would suggest a tablet...Easy reading in the dark.

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One of the best purchases I ever made is a small light that hooks onto my book. Our 8 year old has a 8/8:30 bedtime. I normally crash while reading with her. I then wake up and sit up in bed and read. My wife is a night owl and she goes out with our family members we cruise with.

 

An inside cabin really helps if it is light outside when sleep time arrives.

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Hi all,

 

Dh and I will be doing our first cruise together with the kids (ages 3 and 6) next May. (Alaska, 7 night). I've been on a cruise before but Dh has never been.

 

My question is... Our kids go to bed at a reasonable hour (8:30pm or so) but that is way to early for Dh and I go to sleep. So what do parents do when the kids go to sleep? I'm assuming that at least one of the parents stays in with the kids. How do you keep yourself occupied in a very small room if you have to keep it dim/dark and quiet? Is there a light you can turn on in the room that would allow for some reading?

 

Would anyone ever leave the kids in the room by themselves? At what age would you?

 

When our kids go to sleep we have some downtime, get the knapsack ready for excursion the next day, read/relax on the balcony, etc. Sometimes DH will go to the casino for a little while, or I'll go to the buffet to bring us back a late night snack. Often we are so tired we find ourselves going to sleep early too! I always sleep great on a cruise.

 

Young kids should never be left alone in the room IMO.

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Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.:)

 

There won't be any time difference for us as we live in Vancouver and we're taking the Celebrity Millie out of Vancouver. We do have a veranda stateroom, is that the same as "Balcony"? It was Dh's idea to get that since he's never been on a cruise before. I agree that we probably won't be spending too much time out there, because of the temperature and the potential for wet weather.

 

I'm fairly keen on having the kids maintain their bedtime routine as it allows Dh and I to have a couple of hours of downtime while still maintaining a decent bedtime. We will probably play it by ear though.

 

Dh is also pretty hesitant about putting the kids in the kids programs. Its fine if a parent is with them but he's a big Papa Bear when it comes to leaving the kids in the hands of strangers. The grandparents on both sides will also be with us so I we can all take turns looking after the kids.

 

Its good to know the age range that people are ok with leaving their kids alone. Personally I wouldn't even consider it and probably wouldn't until the kids are in their teens. The thought of that poor little 4yo girl who was kidnapped from her hotel room in Portugal (?) a few years ago haunts me.

 

Oh and I was going to say that the kids clubs are AMAZING!! The kids have so much fun in them, and they are safe!! No adults go in, no one gets their child out without ID. Check it out. Before you know it, your children will be going to school and it's a great way for them to interact in groups and have fun!

 

I concur that the kids' programs are wonderful and will allow your kids to be with others their age. Doesn't your husband allow the younger one to go to day care or preschool? Isn't the six year old going to school, and participating in after school clubs, sports, scouts, etc.?

 

The kids' program staff have to go through background checks, and many work at schools (if you're going during vacation times) and summer camps. There are activities that will be age-appropriate -- arts and crafts, kid movies, "junior olympics," games, etc.

 

Most likely your cabin will have info about the kids' program when you first get in. Let your hubby look through the day-by-day program, and he might want to join in (but since he's an adult, he won't be able to:D). Take him along to the registration meeting and he can check out the room, meet the staff, see the kids meet each other. Advise him that your kids might get upset if they find out they can't have play time with the other kids -- after all, it's their vacation too.

 

When my kid was little, she would ask every morning of a cruise, if "ship school" was open yet.

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