worrying about cruising

[daultsmom]

I am very excited about my first cruise, however, I am cruising with my 12 year old son. Most people are telling me we both are going to have a blast, but then there are the few "nay-sayers" telling me I need to keep my eye on my son every minute of every day so that nothing bad happens to him:confused:

 

It's his vacation too, and in reading about the Carnival Pride, there is supposed to be alot of "kid-friendly" activities. What bad stuff happens on board that I need to monitor his every move? How can either of us enjoy our vacation if I am watching him like a hawk?

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Welcome to Cruise Critic daultsmom :D

 

I haven’t cruised with Carnival before, so I don’t know much about the line, but I am sure they are the same as most lines.

 

I am sure most of the "nay-sayers" have either not cruised before or have bad experiences before on there cruises or are just grumpy people!.

 

If your son is smart and knows not to talk to strangers etc…or if he fells unsafe etc.. To talk to you or a member of the kids club then both you and he will have a great time!

[Keith1010]

I am very excited about my first cruise, however, I am cruising with my 12 year old son. Most people are telling me we both are going to have a blast, but then there are the few "nay-sayers" telling me I need to keep my eye on my son every minute of every day so that nothing bad happens to him:confused:

 

It's his vacation too, and in reading about the Carnival Pride, there is supposed to be alot of "kid-friendly" activities. What bad stuff happens on board that I need to monitor his every move? How can either of us enjoy our vacation if I am watching him like a hawk?

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

There are always people who are nay sayers whatever the topic is.

 

You should establish rules with your son such as meeting you at certain pre-determined times and not leaving the children's program on his own.

 

With that said, the cruise ship is a wonderful environment for both parents and children. I can only relate the experience we had when our children were the age of your child and that was that each cruise that we took them on was an absolutely wonderful experience for them. Like their parents (us), they loved it.

 

I wish you and your son a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[figgyva]

The best rule-of-thumb is to think about is what you let your son do at the mall, at ball games, in a hotel, when on vacation in a new place. If you trust that he can go out with his friends, roam around away from you, explore places on his own for a few hours, then he'll be find on a cruise. Bad stuff can happen, but it's no different from just about anywhere else. There can be bad people of cruises, kids can get into fights, accidents can happen, but that's normal. He's old enough now to have a good idea of what is a good idea and what's not.

 

He will likely find some kids his age and spend a lot of time hanging out with them. They may roam a bit, but there are only a few places that kids will be most likely to roam on a cruise ship, and the kids areas provide the most activities just for them (beyond the pool). If you're lucky, he'll want to spend some time with you too!

 

I hope that you both have a great first cruising experience.

[rolloman]

I am very excited about my first cruise, however, I am cruising with my 12 year old son. Most people are telling me we both are going to have a blast, but then there are the few "nay-sayers" telling me I need to keep my eye on my son every minute of every day so that nothing bad happens to him:confused:

 

It's his vacation too, and in reading about the Carnival Pride, there is supposed to be alot of "kid-friendly" activities. What bad stuff happens on board that I need to monitor his every move? How can either of us enjoy our vacation if I am watching him like a hawk?

One great thing about cruising is it is stress free compared to land vacations. I am confident you will have a good time, but if you want to have a great time book one of the new Royal Caribbean ships or NCL Epic. Carnival can not compete with these for kids entertainment.

[kitty9]

Some of the naysayers are like that because they have experienced out of control kids on cruises where the parents are nowhere to be seen and the kids are acting terrible doing things like knocking on cabin doors at 3am, removing breakfast room service orders from door handles, taking over elevators as their private party rooms and things like that. Taking a cruise doesn't mean having to be tethered to your child but it also doesn't mean giving a pre-teen free reign. There is a kids club on the ship that has organized activities that kids the age of your son love. What all parents should do is discuss rules for the ship. Things like not going into anyone else's cabin, not bringing other kids into your cabin, not drinking alcohol (some really young kids have gotten into big trouble when they manage to get booze), checking in with you at certain intervals, being back in your cabin at a definite time each night and common sense rules. Also, you need to know the kids your child befriends. All it takes is one bad apple to lead your child into trouble.

[abitaturbodog]

I'm a worrier too so I understand what you're going through. I would just say that thousands of kids sail safely on cruise ships every week. Your son will be fine. Make ground rules like the other posters have suggested and enjoy your cruise!

[alj1208]

Cruising is a great vacation with a child of any age. If you are the only parent going with your son, I can't think of a better way for both of you to have fun together -- and, on occasion, separately. The kids' club is your opportunity for some adult time and your son's chance to hang out with people his own age. There are also many activities for both of you to enjoy as a family. As others have said, just make sure you set the rules, and you will both have an amazing time!

[Lyk2cruise]

I agree with all of the above posts! My children have been on 4 cruises each and have always felt and been completely safe. On Carnival cruises my children always make so many friends at the Kids Club and have so much fun with them. The crewmembers always seem to care about the safety and wellbeing of the children as well, so frett not!