Excursions for adults. Kids on ship.

[Baronent]

This is our first Disney Cruise. If my wife and I wanted to do an excursion and leave the kids on the ship, is that possible? I know on our past cruises they had kid camps that we were able to leave the kids with while we took an excursion. (Before anyone blasts me for wanting to do an excursion alone, with my wife, just know that my kids are not neglected. They have an amazing life and we are with them more than most parents!) I know some people out there would want to say "spend time with your kids, don't pass them off to others to watch them!". If you are one of those people, you crack me up, and this question is not for you.

 

That said, can the kids stay in the program for a few hours, while in port, while we take an excursion?

[OceanLiner]

No judgment here on wanting to get some time away, which is one of the reasons that DCL is so appealing in that you and the kids can have great separate activities.

That being said, leaving the kids on the ship while you do a shore excursion can be a bit problematic for two reasons:

1. The child has an emergency while on the ship and you are on the shore.

2. You are late getting back to the dock and the ship is gone. Don’t think that this doesn’t happen, and while it’s bad enough for you to be left behind, now you need to deal with your kids being alone on the ship. Traffic jams, vehicle breakdowns, or just poor excursion planning can make you late and your children all on their own.

[Baronent]

Oceanliner, very interesting. I am normally a nervous wreck to begin with and even "I" did not think about that. On all the cruises we have taken the kids, I never worried about that. Now I have another thing(s) to worry about! HAHA.. :-( Ok, let's say we just wanted to take an hour walk off the ship. Are the play areas available to them while we stroll around? They are safer on the ship than on land!

[OceanLiner]

Walking off the ship for an hour or so is well within the bounds of safety. Our general rule is that without the kids we don’t walk beyond the sight of the ship. That way we don’t wander to far away, which we are very prone to do.

The Oceaneer’s Club should be fine for supervising the kids.

[Host Mick]

This comes up from time to time. I've never seen anybody comment on whether or not they've talked to the Club supervisors on their opinion of whether or not parents can or should leave the ship while the kids are in the Club. If you're on a DCL excursion and they know it. It's not hard for the ship to get a hold of the excursion rep if they need to. It also solves the problem of missing the ship. They won't leave while an excursion is still ashore.

 

Has anyone ever talked to the Kids' Club people?

[mymollysue]

I would say to stick with a ship excursion, that way they are able to reach you if needed and the ship won't leave without you. The clubs are open on port days so there shouldn't be a problem.

[Baronent]

Mymollysue, good advice.

[dclmom]

We have done this on a longer excursion, with no issues. By the way, if you book a DCL excursion the ship will wait for you and they know you have kids in the club and know how to reach you. We made sure to do it that way. The kids had no problems either, one in the Club one in the nursery. We were gone from about 9 until 2ish.

[mommb]

When we cruised on the Magic a few years ago, my son (then 8) said he'd rather stay on the ship in the Oceaneer's Lab than get off in Cozumel. So, my husband and I spent an hour or two walking around near the ship with our 4-year-old daughter. We told the Lab staff where we were going, and they had no problem with it. I would be a little more leery with a much younger child who might suddenly want a parent.

 

Because there are a lot of excursions that either won't accept kids or wouldn't interest them, I'm sure the Club/Lab staff is experienced in dealing with kids whose parents are off the ship. I agree with the advice that if you're straying far enough that you can't see the ship, you should take a Disney excursion so that (a) the ship won't leave without you and (b) the ship knows how to find you in case of a dire emergency.