How many kids would like onboard?

[UKLady]

I have just come back off the Star Princess and being from the UK we were not aware it was spring break!

 

Our ship was full of children of all ages however most of them weren't a problem, it was nice during the days at sea watching them enjoy themselves playing in the pool and spending quality time with parents and grandparents.

 

There were a small group of males, however, aged around 14-16 who were slightly troublesome, they took over elevators, threw things at passengers climbing the stairs, yelled at performers in the princess theatre.

 

My question - where were the parents? Are the kids really the problem or is it the parents who tend to relinquish all responsibility for their children or their whereabouts the second they get on board.

 

Other than a few incidents our cruise was not at all affected by the number or children on board however I agree with previous posts that they should not really be in late dining. I would add that they should not be allowed to roam the ship late at night unsupervised, but again that comes down to parenting.

[UKLady]

I have just come back off the Star Princess and being from the UK we were not aware it was spring break!

 

Our ship was full of children of all ages however most of them weren't a problem, it was nice during the days at sea watching them enjoy themselves playing in the pool and spending quality time with parents and grandparents.

 

There were a small group of males, however, aged around 14-16 who were slightly troublesome, they took over elevators, threw things at passengers climbing the stairs, yelled at performers in the princess theatre.

 

My question - where were the parents? Are the kids really the problem or is it the parents who tend to relinquish all responsibility for their children or their whereabouts the second they get on board.

 

Other than a few incidents our cruise was not at all affected by the number or children on board however I agree with previous posts that they should not really be in late dining. I would add that they should not be allowed to roam the ship late at night unsupervised, but again that comes down to parenting.

[cruisemom42]

Just ask yourself one thing. Would my parents bring me on a cruise when I was younger. With the price alone back then the answer was probably no for most of us. I think that it is great that parents can enjoy their children on a cruise now adays and not have to shell out thousands of dollars.

I certainly couldn't do it when my children were younger but we did go on plenty of other vacations.

 

Actually, my parents and grandparents DID bring me on cruises -- I went on my first 7-day cruise with my grandmother when I was 7 and many more throughout the next years (I think my grandparents were the original discount and last-minute cruise shoppers!). Of course, I was expected to behave well and I knew what the consequences would be if I didn't! And back in "those days" I don't think most ships even HAD elevators, or maybe only a couple -- no one really used them.

 

I guess you could say that I am proof that the cruise lines' current emphasis on marketing family cruising works, because now I enjoy bringing my own son on cruises (often with his grandparents in tow) and I hope he will have as many fond memories as I do when he is an adult (and brings his family -- and so on, ad infinitum).

 

As far as sitting on the stairs goes -- funnily enough we did the same thing as kids and teens; of course back then there were many places on board we were NOT welcome and no such thing as a teen center! However, we didn't block anyone from passing and certainly would get up to let anyone go by. I've found the same to be true now as then. If you ask politely, they will move (and that's more than I've seen at many after-dinner shows where some [usually older] adult is trying to save 8 seats!!)

 

My bottom line: I've cruised several other lines and I really LIKE Princess's emphasis on the whole family -- you find a real mix, not JUST kids (like Disney) or the older set (like HAL). It's the best fit for us.

[CruisinFools]

We have no kids and therefore, our personal world does not involve children or their activities. While I prefer an adults-only cruise (mainly because we just don't have that much in common with a lot of adults whose worlds DO revolve around kids, parents who take their children on vacation), we've never been "bothered" by children on board. They've always been very well-behaved and seemingly entertained. I've been on cruises where there weren't activities specifically for kids and those poor kids just look terribly bored. IMO, if you have kids and want to take them on vacation, make sure that there's something for them to do.

[margeg]

Lucky you.

 

For our cruise I was told by Princess there are going to be 588 passengers under 18. :eek:

 

Drew

what cruise are you going on??? I hope its not ours!!!

[tdf799]

Since my spouse is a teacher, our cruises are during holiday periods and there are typically many children. By and large they are great and well behaved, when supervised, and that tends to be the problem. Many parents think that a great vacation for them is getting away from their own children while on the cruise. The advent of renting personal communication devices, in addition to being annoying when kids are talking to other kids, extends the parental leash to the length and breadth of the ship. And forget about Princess enforcing any of the rules they publicize, do they want to be the bad guys, heck no. Other passengers have to suffer in silence or risk a confrontation with a clueless parent. Kids will always be kids and I never blame them. Rude, ignorant parents are everywhere.

[kdinkus1]

I agree with Mary Poppinz! My husband and I have taken several Carnival cruises and the young adults (drinking age!) were more immature and rude than most of the children! I will admit that I do enjoy less children but most of them I have found to be sweet and stay out of our way. So.. if this poll was between children or drinking age young adults, I guess I would vote for the latter. Maybe it was only on Carnival that we experienced the worst!

[cruise fairy]

Just ask yourself one thing. Would my parents bring me on a cruise when I was younger. With the price alone back then the answer was probably no for most of us. I think that it is great that parents can enjoy their children on a cruise now adays and not have to shell out thousands of dollars.

I certainly couldn't do it when my children were younger but we did go on plenty of other vacations.

I have yet to be on a cruise where the children were unruly, obnoxious, or just a pain in the *#*. I am happy now that I will be bringing my children (who are adults now) and my GRANDCHILD on our next cruise.

I do agree though about the fac that children should not be at 2nd seating for dinner. Heck, I would be hungry and cranky too.

I get tired of reading all the bad rap children are getting on this board because of maybe just a couple. I could tell you stories about adults that we have encountered on board at times that would make these children look like angels.

If you don't want to cruise without children you can always go on an adults only Carnival cruise and see who gets waisted first and throws up overboard and make our children look like saints.

This is just my opinion so give it a rest.

 

You are too funny.....but I so agree with you. I guess I've never really paid attention to the children on the cruises we've been on.

I don't particularly prefer to travel with parents of obnoxious children.....the kids get it from somewhere:cool: . Most kids learn their behavior from their parents or react to the response they receive from other adults. Yes there are always a few kids that misbehave, but far more parents that misbehave!

Now I haven't been jumped on in a swimming pool or shoved out of the way by rude teens or small children, well, maybe stepped on my small children. I guess I've been lucky with my encounters with children:)

I always enjoy the adult only end of the ship or my private balcony when I want to get away from everything, kids on the ship are no big deal to us.:D

[dan40]

NO CHILDREN, except those conceived during the cruise.:D

 

Dan

[June Bug]

But I have to remind each and everyone of you, that even if children don't behave....it all falls back on the parenting...so the Poll should really be:

 

How many good parents do we want on board!!

My answer would be, ALL of them!!

 

Have a great cruise and remember anyone from 1 - 100 can misbehave!

Thanks,

June

[lkmamom]

But I have to remind each and everyone of you, that even if children don't behave....it all falls back on the parenting...so the Poll should really be:

 

How many good parents do we want on board!!

My answer would be, ALL of them!!

 

Have a great cruise and remember anyone from 1 - 100 can misbehave!

Thanks,

June

 

Could not have been better said June!!! IMHO this is the key to all of the child/teen issues while cruising.

Linda

[bplazo]

The bratty children that you see acting up will grow up to be the obnoxious drunken adults you see on the cruise.

[Tania]

Any number of well-behaved AND supervised children are welcome in my book:)

[Decali]

I'm not a kid hater. Actually have a couple of my own but wouldn't take them on a cruise.

 

My wife and I have been on cruises with lots of kids and others with very few. We were on one with a huge group of high schoolers and they were very well behaved and not a problem at all. No rowdyness or rude behavior that we saw. On the other hand, we've seen other times when that wasn't the case. All it takes is a few troublemakers to make life miserable for everyone else on board.

 

Cruising used to be pretty much an adult oriented vacation. Even now most of the activities are more suited to adults than children. Personally, I don't think that cruising is an ideal vacation for some young children or even some teenagers. Dedicating 2,500 sq.ft. or so of ship space for childrens activities doesn't magically turn the ship into Disneyland.

 

When it gets down to it, even a very large ship is pretty confining and if you have high energy young people unsupervised and bored, some of them will find ways to blow off steam in ways that aren't always good for others.

[fakeanne]

I'm a teacher. So, when it comes cruise time, I need a break.

[Tania]

Last July on the Star I found a note in my cabin ne evening. Apparently some children were throwing plates off the ship like frisbees. The note said that children caught doing this again would be escorted off the ship WITH THEIR PARENTS at the next port.

 

I wonder if the children cooperated, and if they didn't, did Princess follow through?

[LARGIN]

The longer the cruise, the less number of kids..

The colder the cruise, the less number of kids..

The summer, holidays and spring break, the greater number of kids..

[edYYZ]

The longer the cruise, the less number of kids..

The colder the cruise, the less number of kids..

The summer, holidays and spring break, the greater number of kids..

Yup. A lot of people on April cruises mentioned that they "lucked out". I'm not sure about other parts of the world, but really in North America you get school holidays during Christmas, mid June to the end of August, and mid February (reading week) to mid March (march/spring break). Not so much luck as just scheduling away from the breaks. Really, universities in Canada are done by the end of April, so the summer starting from early May can have "drinking age young people", but the two May cruises I've been on seemed devoid of this age group. Then again, "the colder the cruise, the less number of kids".

 

And there probably is a lot of money in family cruising. A family that books a cruise brings more passengers onboard than just a couple, especially since many families book as a group with their extended families too. They also help the cruiseline capture some future customers now.

[llandaff]

The longer the cruise, the less number of kids..

The colder the cruise, the less number of kids..

The summer, holidays and spring break, the greater number of kids..

 

 

Sounds like my perfect cruise would be something like two months somewhere in the Arctic Circle in November. ;)

 

Vicki.

[spongerob]

I find it interesting that nearly 3 out of 4 respondents selected a 10% cap on children or less. This is more or less what Princess reportedly limited the total number of children to prior to the Carnival merger, except of course for holiday sailings. Perhaps that level provided the greatest overall satisfaction for everyone concerned - families and adults.

 

Of course, this observation is made with the knowledge that this poll is every bit as representative as all the others. ;)