Kids ID bracelet?

[ellp]

Please forgive me if this has been asked before...:)

 

Would it be necessary to have my kids wear some sort of ID when they go cruising with us in a couple of weeks? (They are 3.5yo and 6yo).

 

Its unlikely that they will be apart from us but things do happen and if we were ever separated, I'd like to know that they have our (their parent's) names as well as room number.

 

If it is a good idea, should I look for a wrist band or something else? Where would I find such a thing? Would the cruise ship have something like that, for that purpose?

 

Oh, and we'll be on Celebrity, if that matters...

[akcruz]

All cruise lines that I have been on REQUIRE kids under 12 years old to wear 'muster bracelets'. They have information about what muster station they belong to in case of emergency, don't remember exactly whgat else. They are the plastic type that either goes on the wrist for older kids or on the ankle for little ones.

 

Upon boarding a table will be set up with the 'kids club' staff where they will have the bracelets to put on the kids.

[notentirelynormal]

All cruise lines that I have been on REQUIRE kids under 12 years old to wear 'muster bracelets'. They have information about what muster station they belong to in case of emergency, don't remember exactly whgat else. They are the plastic type that either goes on the wrist for older kids or on the ankle for little ones.

 

Upon boarding a table will be set up with the 'kids club' staff where they will have the bracelets to put on the kids.

 

Just an FYI - Princess does not give bracelets to kids.

[russianmom]

On NCL they only wear the bracelets while in the Kid's Club. They take them off when are are picking the child up.

[newbiecruiser09]

ON RCI our DD (7) was given the muster bracelet when we boarded. When the kids were littler and we went to WDW, we got them these rubber (like the Livestrong)bracelets that had "Mom's cell phone XXX-XXX-XXXX" inscribed on them. Our son wore his on his arm (he was 7 at the time) and DD wore it on her ankle (I think she was 2 or so) If I can find the website I'll post.

[Mom2B&Z]

But I did teach both boys (who were 3 and 5.5 yrs) our cabin number and drilled it into them that anyone wearing a uniform on ship was a trustworthy and safe person to ask for help. (We made the analogy to police/paramedics/fire at home.) I was a little surprised, but DS2 was able to rattle off the cabin number when asked, as well as our muster station (which I did not think of before embarkation). I also made sure they knew their full names, as well as our full names (rather than "Mommy and Daddy" which isn't all that helpful ;))

The other thing you can do is write either your cell or cabin number on the inside of their shoe with a Sharpie. I know I've used a safety pin to attach our airline itinerary to the inside of their sweaters while flying, but that wouldn't necessarily work well on a ship.

I didn't teach them our cell number because the phone wasn't on while we were on the ship. I figured the cabin number would be better, because at least a staff member could figure out who they were by searching their security system.

[jac1976]

It depends on the cruise line if they get bracelets. We just were on Disney and the kids only received the bands when they registered for kids club, and my children (and many others) did not keep the bands on all of the time because the bulky alarm part made it uncomfortable.

 

One option is to get these temporary tattoos. They are waterproof and come with a waterproof marker so you can write your information on them. The nice thing about these is that you can use them anytime and anywhere, so they don't have to be tossed when your vacation is over.

 

With my kids I just drilled the name of the ship and our stateroom number into their heads, so if they got lost on or off the ship, they could tell someone where they needed to go. Luckily we never needed it.

 

The other thing to do is to ask at guest services what happens to "Lost Children". On Disney they take any child who is lost straight to the kids club.

[O2cruise_again]

Please forgive me if this has been asked before...:)

 

Would it be necessary to have my kids wear some sort of ID when they go cruising with us in a couple of weeks? (They are 3.5yo and 6yo).

 

Its unlikely that they will be apart from us but things do happen and if we were ever separated, I'd like to know that they have our (their parent's) names as well as room number.

 

If it is a good idea, should I look for a wrist band or something else? Where would I find such a thing? Would the cruise ship have something like that, for that purpose?

 

Oh, and we'll be on Celebrity, if that matters...

 

We sailed X last year and our kids were given bracelets as soon as we boarded. Although it was the Kids Club staff giving out the bracelets, children received them whether or not they participated in kids club activities.

[RoadTripFanatic]

When DD was 4 we went to Disney by ourselves. I was scared something would happen. I bought a dog tag (heart shaped) and had Mom's Cell xxx-xxx-xxxx written on it. You could put just the cabin number on the tag. We either looped the tag on her shoe laces or her belt loop. I'm not a fan of putting identifying info on a child.

[alj1208]

We were on Celebrity's Eclipse in March with our 4.5 year old DS. They did put a bracelet on him, BUT, it was not an identification bracelet. It only had his muster station number. So, if you want your child to have ID, you should purchase your own bracelets or consider writing on their arm/hand with a Sharpie.

 

We didn't find it necessary to do this, but we have only one child, and we had him with us at all times except when he went to the kids club.

[Cuizer2]

Please forgive me if this has been asked before...:)

 

Would it be necessary to have my kids wear some sort of ID when they go cruising with us in a couple of weeks? (They are 3.5yo and 6yo).

 

Its unlikely that they will be apart from us but things do happen and if we were ever separated, I'd like to know that they have our (their parent's) names as well as room number.

 

If it is a good idea, should I look for a wrist band or something else? Where would I find such a thing? Would the cruise ship have something like that, for that purpose?

 

Oh, and we'll be on Celebrity, if that matters...

 

The ship will put a "bracelet" on the children as young as yours. It will identify their muster station. It will not identify your child by name or cabin number. It is the same type of wrist band that you get if you go to a water park. There is no way to pull it off - it has to be cut off.

 

The children will not need any other ID while on the ship. However, they will need proof of citizenship in order to board the ship on embarkation day. After that you can put that document in the room safe.

 

I would not recommend that they have anything easily visible that identifies them by name or cabin number. Their muster station assignment will be enough for the ship's crew of know the approximate location of their cabin. From that they can look at the security pictures to find your children and from that identify both parents and the cabin number.

 

If you are concerned, write your last name on the inside of the wrist band before it is put on your children. You do not want to provide too much information and by putting it in the inside it can be read, and from that the ship's crew will have no trouble identifying you, even if your last name is Smith.

[G&TQ]

Check out this site.

 

http://www.totsafe.com/proddetail.asp?prod=4002101

 

Lots of great stuff.

 

 

Also take a picture every morning and or when ever the change clothes. That way if you need to report they are missing you have a shot of exactly what they were wearing.

[Ashera0]

Does Nyone know what the ID bracelets on carnival are like? Do they just have the muster station or also the name and cabin?

[ellp]

Thanks for the info folks! Much appreciated...

 

I do have a follow up question. Consider me naive, but why wouldn't you want your child's name and room number on their ID bracelet? I'm talking about a discrete tag that you wouldn't be able to able to get that information off of, without actually handling the tag itself closely. For example, like the tag that a PP linked to: http://www.totsafe.com/proddetail.asp?prod=4002101

[Cuizer2]

Does Nyone know what the ID bracelets on carnival are like? Do they just have the muster station or also the name and cabin?

 

The bracelets just have the muster station.

[Cuizer2]

Thanks for the info folks! Much appreciated...

 

I do have a follow up question. Consider me naive, but why wouldn't you want your child's name and room number on their ID bracelet? I'm talking about a discrete tag that you wouldn't be able to able to get that information off of, without actually handling the tag itself closely. For example, like the tag that a PP linked to: http://www.totsafe.com/proddetail.asp?prod=4002101

 

Cruise ships are like small towns, carrying 2,000 to 6,500 passengers plus crew. Even if only 1% are people you should worry about, that still works out to 20 to 65 people per ship plus a small percentage of the crew.

 

A child should not be wearing too much identifying information for the same reason a child should not be wearing too much identifying information at home. School children are told not to wear clothing with their name on it because someone could use that information to fool them into thinking that they are a friend.

 

Bad things happen to good people on a ship just like bad things happen to good people at home. There is no reason for the child to have any information on them that will make that easier.

[Cuizer2]

Does Nyone know what the ID bracelets on carnival are like? Do they just have the muster station or also the name and cabin?

 

Here are a couple of Carnival wrist bands ...

 

 

Note here that one girl opted to have her wrist band on her wrist (yellow arrow) and one opted to have it on her ankle (blue arrow) ...

 

 

Here are a couple of Royal Caribbean wrist bands ...

 

 

 

These two kids had different muster stations, which is why they have different colored wrist bands.

[mikesteg]

Here's another one:

(clickable for big picture)

 

Note that this was still at the evac drill, roughly 30 seconds after it was put on him... :eek:

 

Since they will be going to Camp this time, we'll need to keep them on somehow. I do like the totsafe ID bands, but they love to undo velcro at the moment. Anything with a steel wristband and a padlock? ;)

[Cuizer2]

Here's another one:

(clickable for big picture)

 

Note that this was still at the evac drill, roughly 30 seconds after it was put on him... :eek:

 

Since they will be going to Camp this time, we'll need to keep them on somehow. I do like the totsafe ID bands, but they love to undo velcro at the moment. Anything with a steel wristband and a padlock? ;)

 

It looks like a finger band to me ...

 

[milton333]

We are considering a temporary tattoo called a safety tat. http://www.safetytat.com Not just for the cruise, but if, god forbid, our child were to be separated during travel or in the ports.

 

I would not put a cabin number on it (IMO, too much risk of attracting attention from the wrong kind of person, kwim?). I also wouldn't put the child's name on it for the same reason (e.g., "if this person knows my name, he must be safe" kind of issue). I'd put a parent's name and maybe cell phone number, though.

 

I personally think they're interesting for things like school field trips, days at an amusement park, etc. I also like the idea of being able to identify any allergies.

 

ETA: I agree with what's posted by Cuizer2 above re: the security issues with having the child's identifying info on the safety tat. I think having a parent's name and number is safe because it's not enough to allow a predator to target your cabin, and not enough to convince a child that the predator knows the child ("hi, little boy, I know your mommy Jane Doe" is not going to convey the same impression as "hi, Johnny, let me take you back to your cabin 1123"). But I want enough useful info on there to allow a good person to help return my child. No muster drill bracelet at the airport, and it's going to be meaningless in a foreign port, too.

[Ashera0]

Thank you everyone! It never occurred to me how a child's name on the ID bracelet could be used to trick them!!! I am now thinking to just get the ID bracelets with only 'mom's cell number xxx-xxxxxx' on them. I used to attach a tag to my son's shirt when we went to amusement parks that had his name on it along with my contact info....will never do the name part again.

[mikesteg]

My recollection is that many of the "don't talk to strangers" videos give the example of "Your mommy XYZ asked me to pick you up". Knowing mommy's first name is a big point of familiarity for a child.

 

Besides, I'm not sure there is much point... anybody who calls my cell is not going to hear "Hi"... the first thing out of my mouth is "do you have my son/daughter????" A first name won't help substantially to find me should the cell number(s) be illegible.

 

I'm thinking of going with "If you even think about hurting me, my daddy will throw you overboard. Seriously. International waters." :D

 

More seriously, on a ship the portfolio number should help. That is intended to identify an individual w/o the security problem of printing the cabin number on a card. Seems like that would work well for a lost child. Any other time: cell numbers.

[koalagurl]

We have used these in the past for Disney trips: http://www.callmecuffs.com/