Kids in Cabin Across the Hall?

[Atty]

What would the youngest age you would think is appropriate to have your kids in a cabin across the hall? Would your answer change if the cabins were adjoining?

[Cruising Golfer]

I would sooner take my puppies, than to take kids. But if you must I would say Eight and over would be fine... As a long time Vegas Local, I would just leave them at Circus-Circus and pick them up when I get back!!! (just joking):D Enjoy your cruise... C.G.

[cruiseryyc]

I wouldn't leave my kids alone in the room across the hall until they were 16-17. If your child decides to go for a wander in the middle of the night, you don't know where they might end up.

[Atty]

I would sooner take my puppies, than to take kids. But if you must I would say Eight and over would be fine... As a long time Vegas Local, I would just leave them at Circus-Circus and pick them up when I get back!!! (just joking):D Enjoy your cruise... C.G.

 

As another local, I wouldn't even leave myself in Circus Circus :)

[cb at sea]

I would do connecting cabins until the kids were at LEAST 17....even tho the halls are NOT wide...they're really close...but you really can' t hear what's going on when they're across the hall.

I know it's tempting to do a balcony for the adults, and NO balcony for the kids (and I think that's perfectly fine...they aren't paying for it!!!) but until the kids have some sense of "danger"...and little kids just don't have that capacity...I'd do connecting rooms.

[sun~]

As another local, I wouldn't even leave myself in Circus Circus :)

 

How true! You couldn't pay me enough to stay there!:p

 

As for the OP question. We started letting our lads stay across the hall when they were 11 & 13. After all they don't stay in our bedroom at home. Cabins (even mini suites) can get really crowded. One bathroom is a problem.

 

We register the cabins as one adult and one child per cabin, the sort the keycards out at the front desk. It is a very common thing to do.

 

The lads never "wandered the halls" or got into any mischief. It did make it a more comfortable cruise for all of us.

 

I always tipped their cabin stewards extra (more than what I leave for us) as the boys are definitely messier, even with the fear of god put in them from me!

 

Now my lads are 16 & almost 20. At their age they will hang around with friends and sleep in til 11. That is when is so much nicer to have two cabins.

[janabm81]

We've always had our kids in a separate room. The first cruise our youngest was 8 and we did a connecting room. Unfortunately, the kids deemed both rooms as theirs so it was a bit wild.

Ever since though we've done a room across the hall...first time the kids were 9, 11, and 13 and we've never had a problem. We always make sure to get a key to their room and they know how to use the ship phone from room to room if they need something.

[jerseygirl3]

Celebrity's S-class ships are very innovative and it is possible to get side by side cabins that have an interlocking outer door (it forms sort of a vestibule) and you can then keep both cabin doors open.

[Martini Mom]

Personally, I would do adjoining rooms, but not across the hall. On our last cruise they stayed next door with G'ma. That was trouble. They went back and forth and back and forth. Drove me more nuts than just having them in my room.

 

Also, I think it depends on the maturity of the child. Some younger kids are more mature and can be trusted earlier and some teens are immature and sneaky. You know your kids.

[matj2000]

We do connecting rooms but our kids are 5 & 9. I will do across the hall rooms in probably 2 or 3 years...

[kitty9]

Question: How do you know that your kids in a room across the hall aren't sneaking out and getting into who knows what kind of activities?

[chipmaster]

Ah, what is appropriate, tolerated, or legal :D

 

I've booked multiple cabins with one adult in each and depending on age did the key switcharoo.

 

I don't know your kids maturity so can offer no guidance there. My experience is we had no problems getting second or even third cabin keys for parties under the same booking ;)

 

 

FWIW we started allowing our kids to sleep acoss the hall by themselves when our oldest was 13.

 

What would the youngest age you would think is appropriate to have your kids in a cabin across the hall? Would your answer change if the cabins were adjoining?

[SadieN]

Question: How do you know that your kids in a room across the hall aren't sneaking out and getting into who knows what kind of activities?

 

When they came back from the kids activites I would have them call me and then I would call them back. This made sure that they were IN their cabin.

 

When DD went on a marching band trips the chaperones would use blue painters tape across the door jam and door. If the tape was unstuck the kids got in BIG trouble. Obviously for this to work you need to be awake beofre they are.

[Marie51]

What would the youngest age you would think is appropriate to have your kids in a cabin across the hall? Would your answer change if the cabins were adjoining?

 

15 minimum.

Adjoining cabins wouldn't be any better....kids are still in a separate cabin. Connecting cabins.....yes.

[Travelcat2]

Most cruise lines REQUIRE that a parent be in the same cabin as a minor child. Therefore, rooms across the hall would mean one adult in each room. While the cruise line cannot police your actions, should there be a problem, they would not be liable.

 

I cannot believe this question is being asked. Responsible parents do not leave their minor children alone over night on a ship with hundreds/thousands of strangers.

[cruisekap]

Actually RCCL does not insist in an adult in each room, however, the rooms have to be either connecting, adjacent or across. However, I do agree that young children shouldn't be alone. We have taken several cruises with the kids. The first one, they were quite young 7,9 and we shared a room. Very tight.... wouldn't recommend it. However, we did have a balcony. After that we decided on adjoining inside. We lost the balcony but my kids were "weirded out" (their words, not mine) about having their own balcony. We are booked in March and have finally decided that they are old enough to be across the hall (15 and 17). We will have a balcony once again. :D

 

Even when adjoining we went to bed before they did and we always insisted that they check in with us.

[xxHadleyxx]

I think it really depends on the kids. Some are very capable of handling this at pretty young ages. Others are more likely to get into trouble, fight amongst themselves or simply be scared. Some of that also simply depends on how much experience the kids have with travel and cruising (those who do it a lot are probably going to be more comfortable).

 

I believe the first time my kids had their own room they were 10 and 12--though I would have felt comfortable doing it that way when there were as young as 8 and 10 (on ships they knew well and if the room were right next door or across the hall).

 

As to the "legality" of it. We have always been upfront when booking about what our plan is and also 100% upfront with guest services when switching the key cards around. We have always been told it is fine and there just has to be an adult technically attached to each cabin so that they can make the adults and kids stay together in the event that the kids misbehave or become ill, etc.

 

As to how do I know they are not sneaking around? Well, I guess I cannot be 100% positive of anything (then again the kids might be able to quietly sneak out from the same cabin if they were really determined). I am not there when my kids get out of school either (and where we live they can be released hours early if there are sick teachers, etc with no call made home from the school) but they have never given me any reason to worry about them handling themselves appropriately and coming home when they should. Why would on the cruise ship be any different? I have pretty darned trust worthy kids who love cruising and would not want to jeopardize their chances to keep doing so by doing something stupid. 4 cruises thus far with their own cabin has worked out just fine. The only issue we have had is remembering to pack 2 of every toiletry and dividing it all up into the "right" suitcases.

[Morgsmom]

well reasoned, NHDisneyLover, and great comment about the packing separate toiletries!

[Marie51]

We do connecting rooms but our kids are 5 & 9. I will do across the hall rooms in probably 2 or 3 years...

 

In 2 years your 5 year old will be 7. Are you saying that you would leave a 7 yr old in a cabin alone?

 

Would you put your child in a hotel room alone at the age of 7? Good grief!!!

[Happy ks]

We started putting our kids across the hall from us when they were 10 and 13. We had no problem with them at all (OK, once the son stayed out too late).

 

I'd like to point out that TravelCat2 is wrong, RCI only made us reserve the cabins with one adult, once onboard they were happy to change the keys. What we did was have a blank extra key (no charges were allowed on it) made for the kids room, so we could enter any time we wanted to.

 

If we had felt as though our kids couldn't handle this, if we felt as though our kids would find trouble, you can bet we wouldn't have done it. Our kids stayed with us almost exclusively during cruises, rarely did they go to the kids clubs. They would even hang with us in our cabin and watch TV until bed time. We did not allow them to wander the ship alone.

[Atty]

Most cruise lines REQUIRE that a parent be in the same cabin as a minor child. Therefore, rooms across the hall would mean one adult in each room. While the cruise line cannot police your actions, should there be a problem, they would not be liable.

 

I cannot believe this question is being asked. Responsible parents do not leave their minor children alone over night on a ship with hundreds/thousands of strangers.

 

The question is being asked to simply make conversation. As my DW and I use our cruises as our "alone" time, we usually don't bring our kids with us (we have other family vacations) and the one time we brought one of our daughters, she stayed with us. I am a firm believer in the idea that parents need a chance to get away from the kids from time to time. Plus, my kids love the time they get to hang with the grandparents and aunts and uncles.

 

As for the comment that "responsible parents" do not permit this behavior, I find that statement a bit holier than thou. What about a class trip to say Washington DC where a bunch of kids are all in a hotel with say 5 teachers/parents? The kids would have rooms without an adult. At some point, you have to trust that you taught your children well. Just because they are technically an adult does not mean that they are mature enough to handle any situation. Likewise, I've seen 10 year olds that I'd trust more to be "left alone" than some 20 year olds. I also think there is something to be said that when they are younger (8-13ish) they are more likely to be safer because you can still put the fear of God into them about behaving whereas when they are teens, they are more likely to rebel and push limits. Finally, what about babysitters? If you go out and leave your kids with a babysitter who is somewhere between 13-17, wouldn't you say that the babysitter would be mature enough to have a room where the only thing they would be doing is sleeping to themselves? Keep in mind that we're talking about letting the children run loose around the ship all day alone. When the time comes that I think my youngest daughter is old enough to cruise and we took both, if we got adjoining or across the hall cabins, the only time they would not be with us or in the kids program would be at bedtime. I have a much bigger problem with the kids who are around the ship all day by themselves and not in the kids program.

[laumicmah]

A while back I posted something on a thread like this and I said that CCL won't let you book a cabin without 1 person being 25+ years of age. And boy did folks jump all over me, saying yes you can...we do it all the time. Huh! Anyway, last year we put DH with boy in 1 cabin and Me with girls in a cabin next door (not connecting, but would have liked that). It was tough for the DH an I (no alone time...you know what I mean) and the boy cabin was gross and DH could not find anything and kept complaining to me, which drove me nuts. We will switch up on our August cruise and put DH and his friend in the inside- while DH, Me and the girls will be in a balcony across the hall. The boys are 14 and are very lazy...video gamer...shy types and I know they won't be sneaking out for anything. We considered getting 1 OV (for DH and I) and 2 insides (don't think CCL would have let us book that though), but I didn't feel comfortable leaving my 2 DDs (age 12) in a cabin alone and probably won't for a few more years. So, I'd say go with connecting cabins if the kids are under 13. Just my opinion.

[CrashandCari]

On one of our cruises we had the boys in an inside cabin across the hall - one was 15 and one was 11. Sneaky as it was we told them that the cruise line kept a record of every time the door to the cabin opened.. coming AND going and if they were to open that door after a certain time (e.g., 1AM) we were going to know about it. That worked like a charm. It was only last year we finally told the 15 year old (now 20) that we made it all up. He was floored. Said it totally kept the thought of sneaking out away lol.

 

That being said.. it really all depends on how much you trust the children. If they are kids you can trust at home being on a cruise should be no different. For the the most part the the kids are so busy doing their own thing on the ship we hardly saw them except for breakfast and dinner (which was insisted upon).

[navychica]

Many kids start babysitting at 13... Why is having them across the hall from you such a big deal then?

 

My parents left us three oldest kids in an inside on a separate deck when we were 18, 14, and 12. We were completely fine with it, appreciated the trust we were given, and behaved. I'd say a room across the hall would be fine if the oldest was 13-14 or so.

[Chief Vette]

On one of our cruises we had the boys in an inside cabin across the hall - one was 15 and one was 11. Sneaky as it was we told them that the cruise line kept a record of every time the door to the cabin opened.. coming AND going and if they were to open that door after a certain time (e.g., 1AM) we were going to know about it. That worked like a charm. It was only last year we finally told the 15 year old (now 20) that we made it all up. He was floored. Said it totally kept the thought of sneaking out away lol.

 

That being said.. it really all depends on how much you trust the children. If they are kids you can trust at home being on a cruise should be no different. For the the most part the the kids are so busy doing their own thing on the ship we hardly saw them except for breakfast and dinner (which was insisted upon).

 

I'd fall for that. The cabin stewards make mysterious entrances and exits thoughout the day and evening to cleanup, make towel animals, turn down service...