Can you leave children on board?

[dsaurus]

I noticed that Disney has babysitting. My husband and I love to scuba dive and I was wondering if we could leave our 3 1/2 year old on the ship for a couple of hours if we wanted to do a short diving excursion in the bahamas.

[suezyq50]

I am sure you will get lots of comments. The concern is if something happens to your child and you can't be reached. Some wouldn't have a problem, others wouldn't even think of it. I think I would get a feel and see what the ship personnal say. We took the kids with us when we left the ship.

[PoopDeckPappy]

The pager they gave us allowed us to be reached off the ship. I was pleasantly surprised. Since you'll be underwater that won't work. But if you're doing the excursion via Disney then I'm sure they will be able to reach you (i.e., have someone get you in the dive area). Of course double check.

[DrSeuss]

We have left our ds on board under the supervision of the youth activities team. I feel they have doctors and nurses on board to deal with an emergency, they have my mobile number and i leave him at school under a similar level of care. Of course he comes of most of the time but for a few hours each trip he is very happy to play and not shop! Jmho.

[chrystine]

Yes, you can leave your child onboard at the Oceaneer Club or Lab when you go out on your scuba excursion. The DCL youth staff is more than capable of taking care of your child and the staff/children ratio is usually better in port since less children are in the program during those times. They will feed your child, too, if he/she is there over lunch or dinner time. As DrSeuss said, there is medical staff onboard in case of an emergency. Actually, when you think about it, children are probably "safer" and have quicker access to better medical care/facilities onboard a cruise ship than in some of the ports we visit. We usually allow our son to stay onboard in the youth program once a cruise (he loves it and wants to stay). It is also nice for us parents to have some alone time and to particpate in excursions or activities geared towards adults :)

[kittykitty576]

:eek: Leave your kid on a ship while you're in another country :confused:

 

Don't get me wrong, I have left my child in daycare while my husband and I went to dinner... but, a cruise... in a different country... is different. In order to be treated by a physician, a guardian has to sign! What if, for whatever reason, the excursion didn't return... even sponsored by Disney... and the ship left port? Then, your child would be in international waters without a parent or guardian. OMG, how scary for the child!!

 

Having used the kids club on a cruise before, I know that they have a *top notch* staff. That is not in question at all... I would just question the wisdom of the decision to disembark in another country without your child.

[Ten4]

We left our daughter who was 5 at the time on the ship to walk around Nassau, which I felt was fine. When you do the excursions they take you off on another boat to your location. I'm sure if it's a Disney excursion they could get in touch with you. You may want to call and ask for a better answer.

[Host Mick]

:eek: Leave your kid on a ship while you're in another country :confused:

 

Don't get me wrong, I have left my child in daycare while my husband and I went to dinner... but, a cruise... in a different country... is different. In order to be treated by a physician, a guardian has to sign! What if, for whatever reason, the excursion didn't return... even sponsored by Disney... and the ship left port? Then, your child would be in international waters without a parent or guardian. OMG, how scary for the child!!

 

Having used the kids club on a cruise before, I know that they have a *top notch* staff. That is not in question at all... I would just question the wisdom of the decision to disembark in another country without your child.

 

Any physician will treat any child in an emergency.

You do have a point about leaving the kid on the ship in a foreign country. Disney does keep track of their excursions and won't leave without those guests aboard but still ... I wouldn't go shopping afterwards.

I'm sure that the crew would take care of your kids if you missed the ship but you'd get some sort of bad parent of the year award and your kid would have something to blame for everything that goes wrong in the future.

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

:eek: Leave your kid on a ship while you're in another country :confused:

 

Don't get me wrong, I have left my child in daycare while my husband and I went to dinner... but, a cruise... in a different country... is different. In order to be treated by a physician, a guardian has to sign! What if, for whatever reason, the excursion didn't return... even sponsored by Disney... and the ship left port? Then, your child would be in international waters without a parent or guardian. OMG, how scary for the child!!

 

Having used the kids club on a cruise before, I know that they have a *top notch* staff. That is not in question at all... I would just question the wisdom of the decision to disembark in another country without your child.

 

 

I would never leave my child buts that me I'm very over protective I even stay in the school yard with her in the morning lol, but after reading your post more reasons to be freaked out about cruising, ah ship leaving with out us, I was already paranoid about pirates and sinking. Luckily Disney has more fun to keep me distracted

[travelfr33k]

We left our pre-teen on the ship (she was too into the clubs to leave) while we walked around Naussau. Only for about an hour, though. And we had the pager with us the whole time. Not sure if we would go on a long excursion though.....

[ducklite]

We left our daughter who was 5 at the time on the ship to walk around Nassau, which I felt was fine. When you do the excursions they take you off on another boat to your location. I'm sure if it's a Disney excursion they could get in touch with you. You may want to call and ask for a better answer.

 

FYI--DCL doesn't run the excursions, rather they outsource to local businesses. I wouldn't count on them being able to contact you in an emergency.

[VillaHappy]

So the short answer is yes, you could.

 

I've never left my 5 month old baby in the care of my mom and dad, and went to Hawaii for two weeks with my husband, but I've known someone who has.

 

I've never even left the country with my husband on a trip, and left my kids behind with family or friends...but I know several couples who have.

 

Our kids always come with us when we travel :D

 

I have, however, left my children in the care of a cruise line for a few hours while going on an adults only excursion.

 

It's all in what you are comfortable with.