Independent 12 year old on board!

[gattfamily]

Does anyone out there have any experience with the NAVIGATORS 12-14 program? Any advice or suggestions for parents regarding children in this age group?

 

Our 12-year-old son (along with his 13-year-old buddy) will be signed up for this group in September. It is our understanding that the NAVIGATORS are allowed some independence on the ship (i.e., teen center).

 

Is it appropriate (and safe) to let a 12-year-old (and his buddy) experience "walking the ship" or "going to lunch" or "going to the pool" without his parents? How much independence should a 12-year-old be allowed on-board the ship? We will be able to to communicate via 2-way radio and scheduled meeting times.

 

 Mariner of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean), 09/2004

 

[xpcdoojk]

Yes, it is appropriate and as safe as anything can be.

 

look out.

jc

[billylen]

Not sure if you're suggesting of opting out of the kids programs altogether, but do enroll the "kids" in the age appropriate program and as you (and they) become familiar with the ship, then let them explore...

 

...bottom line no one knows your kids better than you do...(but what about that buddy?)

 

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[Sophie]

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[hstrybuf]

The kids should be fine as long as you set frequent check in times and also set down some rules of expected behavior. (and consequences if they don't do as expected) Curfew times would also be good for youngsters of that age. Kids still need limitations, and as long as they know them, they will have a good time.

 

 

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[Family of 14]

12 years old? Isn't that a 6th grader? As long as your child always has a "buddy" with him and never goes off with strangers (no different from your safety rules at home). The public areas of the ship are easy to navigate, so you should not have any trouble with them getting lost.

Please stress the proper use of the two-way radios to your son. In other words, do not let the kids have both radios for fun playing.

 

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[bplazo]

If they roam alone, make sure they know not to press every elevator button!

[ezi-amy]

We have a 13 year old son, he will be on his 8th cruise next week. He was allowed to explore the ship alone and with friends that he met on the ship since he was 10 yeas old, the only thing that he wasn't allowed to do is go swimming without me or my wife. We were on the Navigator last August and we all loved it, Make sure that they sign up for their age group program on the 1st day they will have a better chance to meet other kids, let them know that they can leave the program anytime that they get bored. Give them walkie talkies that way you can get hold of them if you need them. Make sure that you check the schedule every night so you don't miss anything. Make sure that they check the rock climbing wall, the roller blading, ice skating and the miniature golf. ** Please, Please ,please make sure that the kids behave and don't play with the elevators or make too much noise at night and that they do not disturb the other passengers They are on vacation too. Enjoy the cruise, the boys will have a great time. Cruises are my son's favorite vacations and he has been to many other places from Disney world (7 times), Universal studios, Washington DC to Niagra falls and even Vegas among others. Ezi

 

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[Maria65]

I would suggest that you have them keep to the public areas of the ship and not to go exploring down hallways where the cabins are, except your own obviously. It's more for their safety than anything. As long as they keep to areas where there are people around, I think it's safer.

 

By the end of out last cruise, I was letting my 12 yr old sign her siblings out of the kids club to rejoin us because she enjoyed the responsibility and felt confident moving around the ship. Kids need small doses of increasing repsonsibility as they grow up. Explain the rules, keep an eye on them without them knowing it some of the time, and don't go extened periods of time without checking in with each other.

[gattfamily]

Thank you for all of your helpful suggestions. I didn't expect such a wonderful response!

 

Your advice is appreciated, especially regarding signing up for activities, curfew times, hallways, elevators, talking about expected behavior, how to meet friends, 2-way radio use, etc.

Thank you again! We're so looking forward to this vacation.

 

 Mariner of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean), 09/2004

 

[marciemi]

Ezi-amy: If you can, could you pick up extra copies of the 12-14 year old kids schedule on your voyager cruise next week for me? Or post your when you get back? I'd really appreciate it, and if you see the 9-11 schedules laying out, I'd really like those too! Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

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<MARQUEE> Voyager of the Seas - 9/10/2004 <MARQUEE>

[m&m1]

Gattfamily - You have received some good advice. My daughter was in teh 12 - 14 yr. old group lat week on MOS. Her friend was there who is 13 and we had one on the ship who was 12. In addition to what you have been told, I would feel remiss if I didn;t mention the following: The 12 -14 yr. old groups can hang with the 15 - 17 yr. old groups on the back deck behind the teen area of the ship (parents are not allowed in the teen areas. We went into the arcade to see our kids, wandered back to the Fuel area to get a drink and were kicked out and had an announcement made to remember it was for teens only). That being said, I am sure each week's cruise family is different, but on our sailing there was little to no supervision in the actual teen rooms (Fuel and Living Room) and none on that back deck. There was quite a bit of lewd and crude conduct going on back there the few times we managed to get there and talk to our kids. Also my kids (14 and 17) both said there was underage drinking going on if they had wanted to partake.

 

All that being said, it was a great vacation. My kids loved it, had a blast and are ready to go back tomorrow if we'll take them. We had radios but did not use them because they are a hassle to carry around. We used check in times and allowed phone or required face to face check ins based on each child's developmental readiness. We did not see any of the horrific things I had read about - not even kids playing in the elevators. Enjoy yourselves! Oh and I have copies of most of the teen compasses if you would like me to post the activities.

 

Cruise addict in the making

 

MOS June 6, 2004

[missme2]

Do you need to bring your own 2 way radios or do they provide them for you? I was thinking about taking ours, but a lot of people said they do not work well on the ship.

[WeRBlam]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by m&m1 Oh and I have copies of most of the teen compasses if you would like me to post the activities.

 

Cruise addict in the making

 

MOS June 6, 2004<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

I would love to see the teen compasses. Can you post them somewhere or email them to me? Thanks so much!

[FinelyCruising]

I too think a certain amount of independance is appropriate. You may find that the kids may want to join in some of the next level activities in the kids programs and for the most part this is allowed by the cruise line's program. If you all decide to go that way, you might want to make sure you have the opportunity to review those activites and to set any guidelines you feel are appropriate with the kids since they will be with some older kids if they do cross over into a different group.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[gattfamily]

M&M1: I would be very interested in seeing the teen compass, thank you! Can you post it somewhere?

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the 'tweens intermingling w/the older teens group. It surprises me that there is a "no parents allowed" rule when they offer little or no supervision in the back deck.

 

I plan on having a conversation with the head of the children's program beforehand. I'm not sure what good that will do, but it's worth a shot.

 

Thanks again for your input!

 

 Mariner of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean), 09/2004

 

[gattfamily]

missme2: I've read on this board that 2-way radios work fine on the cruiseship. We're bringing ours from home.

 

I don't know if the cruiseship provides radios. I did a search on their web site and couldn't find anything; you may want to contact them directly.

 

 Mariner of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean), 09/2004

 

[xpcdoojk]

The radios work fine, but sometimes due to all of the steel structure they may not work everywhere. The Stronger GMRS radios seem to work on all ships everywhere. The FRS radios may not work perfectly on the Voyager class ships.

 

The ship may sell them, and may even rent them but they are so inexpensive buy a set at home use them and wear the novelty off. Plus they will learn how to operate them appropriately.

 

jc

[sealegs9]

We gave our kids the radios on the Majesty and Serenade. Worked ok outside -but didn't work in some indoor venues. MAJOR PROBLEM- our batteries kept running out. Each unit took 4 batteries, so we ran out after a few days (how many batteries can you pack!) Other option is to pack rechargable ones- but need second set for each while charging. There goes your cruise bargain!

My shy 10 year old (was 9 last year) felt comfortable enough to explore the ship on his own after a day on the ship. He checked it at specific times, or just met us where we were "relaxing". Never a problem on shore excursion days- kids went with us.

For older teens: (My son is 18 -will be at college when we're on VOS. Last yr, was in 15-17 group. They were well behaved, but he didn't get back to the cabin until we were almost waking up! Even though there is a curfew, the kids knew how to be quiet and hide from security.

 

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