Leave kids on ship during excursion

[redzz7062]

I enjoyed reading all these different perspectives. Our cruise is coming up in 5 days and we are taking the 18 yr old and 17 yr old. We planned the shore excursions at a family meeting and all are going on them. I noticed someone else said the same thing about it being the kid's vacation too- I totally agree.

I am a super careful, over protective mom and would have to use the wait and see approach to leaving any of my kids on board while I was off the ship. It would depend on many things. As I've said my kids vary in ages 8 to 18 so it would truly be a wait and see thing.

Suffice to say that this cruise is for the kids (their grad present) and therefore we want to be witht them. However a mention of another poster who dumped her kids in the kiddie program - I can see her train of thought b/c I know a lot of parents like that. Maybe she just couldn't find someone to babysit for the week? Who knows?

Cool poll good discussion, no meanness (so far)..enjoying this thread.

Linda:rolleyes:

[newmexicoNita]

Interesting thread. Anyone remember the thread from a year or so ago when a now banned poster was so upset because the Kids Club was not free while in port. How was she expected to enjoy her cruise. NCL was not truthful and never told me Kids Club was not free every day all day

 

My view when my kids where young and we took them on a cruise it was for everyone. Planned our shore excursions for the whole family. We did not leave them on the ship because of any concern but because it was their trip as much as ours.

I think all of us who have been around remember her, we probably even remember her sign on name. I voted no, not in a million years. Of course my kids are grown so I was thinking more about grandkids. It isn't because I wouldn't trust the kids kamp staff, I certainly would, but I think criusing or any other vacation should be a family activity and excursions should be geared to the family. This is while the children are under teen agers. After that, they probably welcome activities they can do on their own. We have done a few tours that would have been very boring for our teen age grandkids, they have done a few that would not have interested me. NMnita aswuusnaae

[mandotsan]

If you want to go out on your own...then leave the kids at home..The Cruise lines ARE NOT babysitters and its not fair to the rest of the passengers to have unsupervised kids running around..If they are under 18..take them with YOU or stay with them. Remember the crew has better things to do then look after your kids..there are other passengers on board in case you forgot.:mad:

[nanfour]

Actually the cruise lines provide babysitting - I don't think anyone is talking about letting their kids run around the ship! We're talking about using a cruise provided service.....Some of us don't have the luxury of having someone who is able/available to watch our kids while we travel..... Plus, I think I'd wish the kids were with me every time I saw a family having fun together. In many of our cases, we WANT our children with us. We had a wonderful family vacation....I wouldn't change a thing. It's been almost a year - and all three children talk about it like it was yesterday. One of their favorite part of the cruise was the kids club. They made friends, played games, made art projects, had fun and loved it all. They went for a few hours each day, which allowed my husband and I some fun time together as well. To each their own, and for us, it worked out perfect!

 

It's funny how sometimes these threads turn into debates on "dumping" kids, and whether you should cruise with kids or not. While there are a few that "dump", many of us love cruising because we can have a great family vacation, but also have babysitting to be able to see a show late at night, visit the casino, and believe it or not - I actually found time to read a book for the first time in a year! This doesn't at all take away from our "family time". It just adds to the perfect vacation.

 

I enjoy reading every else's opinions - and sharing mine. I just think it's important that people know that not everyone who uses the kids club or babysitting services are "dumping".

[miss-riss]

I have a 15 year old and a 5 year old, and I personally would not leave them on the ship without me. It isn't because I didn't trust the kids crew or anything like that, but if there were ever an emergency and I wasn't there, I would never forgive myself.

 

Just my opinion---

[Teila]

My view when my kids where young and we took them on a cruise it was for everyone. Planned our shore excursions for the whole family. We did not leave them on the ship because of any concern but because it was their trip as much as ours.

 

DH and I couldn't agree more. At this stage with kids 13 and 10, the whole point of the cruise is to do stuff WITH the kids, as a family. Last time on the Dawn we missed the entire "club scene." Took in the show then crashed and were up and going by 7:30am the next day as a FAMILY. Some days we were on the islands before the Islands "opened." Watching the shopkeepers come out and prepare to start the day.

 

Private time came after dinner when the kids were done and went exploring, DH and I would linger over coffee and desserts and then more dessert and coffee.

 

Truth be told, my favorite memories of the cruise were those moments watching the amazement and sheer wonder on the faces of my kids as they snorkled for the first time or hiked through a rain forest or went swimming under a huge waterfall in the jungle. (Sheesh, I sound like a NCL TV commercial).

 

Looking forward to Thanksgiving on the Dawn this year!

T

[nanfour]

I agree with the concern about emergencies happening. That concerned me a lot. It concerns me in general though....my neighbors just went to the baseball game without their children. Gone for about 5 hours.....couldn't get cell phone coverage while they were at the stadium...and it worried them. What about the couple that goes to the movies and turns their cell phone off during the show? Or the couple that goes away for a romantic weekend...Again, I understand the concern is that you're in a foreign country..a bit different.... I really do get the difference. What about all those who cruise as a couple and leave their children at home? I couldn't do that...I'd be so concerned that something could happen to us on the trip, or who knows what.....so I really do understand where you all are coming from.

 

I took this all into account when making my decision....it wasn't easy....and honestly, the more I think about it now, I wonder if I was nuts! Again, it was a decision that was made, we were gone on a cruise sponsored excursion, the kids club knew where we were and we were only gone for 3 hours. The decision worked well for us. I totally understand all of you that would never do it - and I appreciate each person's decision. We all do what's right for us as parents.

[dosi]

While I understand and embrace the entire family vacation concept I do not think it has to be all or nothing. I do not attend the kids program with my five year old as it does not appeal to me. I do not expect him to sit through a show as I know it would not appeal to him. So outside of the safety issue, I see no difference if I am on the ship while he goes to the kids program or off the ship. As I stated before, I would hesitate to venture beyond eye shot of the ship as this is just my personal comfort zone. But I have no doubt in my mind that my little boy would have alot more fun in the kids program than he would shopping for tshirts or bracelets with me. I am a stay at home mom so we all get plenty of family time all year round. Trust me, I would never dream of leaving him on the ship all day long while DH and I went snorkeling or had some other type of adventure, but I see no harm whatsoever in letting him play with other children while I go buy some postcards. As for the "I could never forgive myself if something happens" concept, well that is true, but it will follow him throughout his life whether it be at his preschool, his grandparents, our best friends or kindergarten. I really do not believe he is at any higher risk of injury or damage if he is in a well run secure childrens program. But again this is only MHO. :)

[EXBRIT]

I just want to say something about the "dumping" statement.

 

My kids love the groups and they don't go because we are "dumping" them. They go because that is what they want to do. From the minute they get up to the minute they go to bed it's "When can we go to the kids club?"

 

So please drop the "dumping" attitude because it is extremely offensive and in most cases incorrect.

[rfendt]

I can't agree more with EXBRIT. My kids were the same way! They could not wait to get there. And if they had said any different, they would not have been forced to go. From the time we began planning our cruise, our kids knew that they were going to "try out" the Kids Crew club, and if they didn't like it, they didn't have to go. In our case, they LOVED it and couldn't get enough of it. As a matter of fact, my 7yr old daughter begged us to pay the extra and leave her till 1am every night! (needless to say, we only had her stay till 1am the very last night of the cruise with about 50 other kids who did so also). Very well said EXBRIT, we didnt "dump" either!

[DixieDL]

So does she not go to the kids camp either then?? I see a huge difference between leaving your child on board for an hour or two and leaving your child at grandmas for 8 or 9 days. :o But maybe that's just me.

 

We will show her the kids camp, and let her decide if she wants to play with the other kids, or hang with us. If she does go to kids camp, it will only be for a few hours here and there, where as if we left her on board during excursions, some of those are 6 to 8 hours. Didn't mean to sound like we wouldn't let her out of our site, I would just feel wrong about leaving her on board while we left :)

[ntoto2]

I just want to say something about the "dumping" statement.

 

My kids love the groups and they don't go because we are "dumping" them. They go because that is what they want to do. From the minute they get up to the minute they go to bed it's "When can we go to the kids club?"

 

So please drop the "dumping" attitude because it is extremely offensive and in most cases incorrect.

My kids loved the programs on both RCCL and Celebrity. DH and I love to snorkel but at 6 and 8 don't feel the kids are quite old enough. On the other hand we took them on a tour of Curacao that was age appropriate and they hated it. We took them on a tour of Key West and all of us loved it. We took them on a sunset bus tour of San Juan and they fell asleep after throwing temper tantrums not wanting to go. If I think they will have fun doing what we plan I take them and we have a great time. If I really want to snorkel I am not yet good enough at it to take them. We also only do half day trips. When I start to feel more confident and as they get older and less impulsive we will start taking them on more physical challenges. They have kissed dolphins with us and still talk about it. We do not "dump" them but they do like the kids' programs and and prefer to be there than in a bus visiting an island.

 

I guess the point is that there are things that are appropriate for kids and things that are not. Sometimes the activity that is appropriate for children is a tour or off ship activity, sometimes it is the children's program.

 

Just as an aside, my son refused to potty train at age 4. We tried, his preschool teacher tried, his peers pressured him, and then one day he saw me looking longingly at a cruise site on line. He saw that I was looking at the kids programs. I told him that we could not go on a cruise and he could not do the children's program because he wouldn't use the potty. He promised that he would start using the potty 4 weeks before the trip. Guess what, 4 weeks out he started using the potty, that was 1.5 years ago and he has had only 2 accidents (1 while he was asleep) since then. I strongly believe in the kids' programs as motivators. If a kid acts out on the ship we have found the promise of not being able to go to the kids program to be the most effective force for improving behavior.

[dishealth11]

What do you think would happen:

 

 

Suppose someone leaves their child(ren) onboard during their excursion. They don't return at the designated time.

 

Would NCL wait for them to return, reasoning that they can't ship off without the parents?

 

Wouldn't this be as compelling a reason to wait as when a ship-sponsored excursion is late??

[dosi]

In all honesty I do not know that the connection between the kids and the parents would necessarily be made. When you leave the ship, the scanner just registers that you have left, not that you have left without your children. So if you left the ship without your kids, and were not on a ship sponsors excursion I do believe the ship might leave without you. Certainly at some point, if you did not return, they would have to leave, kids or no kids. Now that is something to think about :eek: !!!

[dishealth11]

When children use the kids program, do they tell parents to be back by a certain time? What happens when parent is not back?

 

Is there any notification that a parent is indeed leaving the ship, while the child is staying?

 

 

In all honesty I do not know that the connection between the kids and the parents would necessarily be made. When you leave the ship, the scanner just registers that you have left, not that you have left without your children. So if you left the ship without your kids, and were not on a ship sponsors excursion I do believe the ship might leave without you. Certainly at some point, if you did not return, they would have to leave, kids or no kids. Now that is something to think about :eek: !!!

[dosi]

Well we have only left our son that one time in Cozumel. I believe we did tell the staff we would be off of the ship. However....I think realistically, even if the staff told you when you had to return, if you did not return, then at some point the ship would have to leave. They cannot hold the ship hours on end because a set of parents is missing. I mean it would be nice if they did, but I really think it all comes down to dollars and cents. Maybe they would hold the ship an hour or so, but I think that'd be it. :(

 

Other than you specifically telling the staff you are leaving the ship, I do not believe they would be made aware of this. I am sure on port days the staff would ask, but I cannot think of any reason other than personal responsiblity and common sense that would compel you to tell the truth. I don't see any way the staff knows where you are once you leave off the children.

[Tahoestarr]

Now I am more confused than ever. This is our first cruise, and I have two boys 15 and 8 years old. They are going on all of the excursions, except when it came to Victoria, I couldn't convenice them that driving around in a bus, looking at houses and gardens would be be fun. So, I agreed to let them stay on the ship for that two hours in supervised programs. Now I'm starting to doutbt my my choice! Eeeekk!

[Zeno]

Tahoestarr: Don't sweat it - 2 hours hardly constitutes dumping and your boys are a reasonable age. I think people worry about kids who are left in kid's programmes for most of the entire cruise !

[nstim]

Left our kids on board in the kids club, went ashore w/ a group. We weren't worried.

 

It was our 4th day on-board, we were comfortable w/ the staff

Our kids loved the kids club, no issues during the multiple times they attended (no problems w/ staff, other kids, boredom, accidents, etc)

The stop was Mazatlan & we were very glad we didn't take them (gritty city, aggressive vendors, very stressful)

 

We were cautious about our trip ashore, we made sure we were back w/ plenty of time to spare.

 

Our kids are 6 and 9, fairly independent, comfortable integrating into new, ad-hoc situations & groups.

[eastexascruiser]

On our last cruise in October on Elation, we took our kids with us to Progresso. We took them to Cozumel, rented a jeep and drove around the island. We went to Paradise Beach for a while then took the kids back to Camp Carnival - they were ready! My DH & I went to Dzul Ha to snorkel for a couple hours then went back to the ship. Our stop to Belize was cancelled and we went to Playa instead. We just were going to the beach. The kids begged to stay in Camp Carnival. We let them.

 

A family vacation does not mean spending every waking moment together. For us a family vacation is the entire experience from planning, packing, getting there, enjoying the stay & looking forward to getting back to home sweet home.

 

Although we spent a total of about 7 hours off ship without our children, I don't think that makes it any less of a family vacation.

 

Anyone ever been to our heard of the YMCA of the Rockies. Or been to a dude ranch? Many successful vacation venues allow a mixture of family activity & individual activity based on age and interest.

 

I don't understand the attitude that it is not a family vacation unless the family spends every waking moment together.

 

My kids would rather cruise than anything else. They love the activities at the Kid's Camp & they love to make new friends.

 

As with anything, these decisions are personal & need to be made with common sense.

[4 cruisers]

Tahoe, We've left our very mature then almost 13 year old on board in Italy! (Tuscany 1/2 day winery tour with my folks). I worried about it months before, but once on board felt very secure about it. At that point he had met a nice group of friends who were also remaining on board...it gave him an opportunity to sleep in one day, as well! Each parent knows his or her child the best...do what you feel is right! :)

[rundogrun]

Another vote for Kid's Crew doesn't count as "dumping". Granted NCL's is not open in port so we're less inclined to pay the fee, but on Disney and Celebrity my kids planned their days around the schedule. Heck this is their vacation too, why shouldn't they be able to have fun doing activities DESIGNED FOR THEM???

 

Tha being said, the question is moot as we typically skip excursions to enjoy the empty ship. We've gotten off to souvenier shop while they were in the program. For us, it was no big deal. However, if we were to do an excursion, we would plan one that would appeal to all of us rather than drag them along on something that only appealed to us.

 

I can appreciate those who feel both ways about this. It's a personal decision with no right or wrong answer.

[nanfour]

Thanks to everyone who jumped in. Glad I'm not the only one that believes that a fun quality family vacation can include the kids club. It's also nice to see I'm not the only one that felt comfortable leaving my son at the kids club while we went on an short excursion. You summed it up great - every parent knows what's best for his/her child.....what's right for one may not be right for another....

[GregInCharlotte]

I knew the majority answer would be "not in a million years"

 

Parents today, especially affluent, white, cruise vacation type parents, worship their children in way no previous generation in history ever did.

 

I have a friend who would never consider getting a sitter and taking his wife out for a quiet dinner. "I tried it once and it made my kids jealous. Besides, they won't be young very long. I'll have time with their mother once the kids are grown."

 

I've been on clearly adult interest shore excursions that were runied by bored center-of-the-universe brats.

 

Two weeks ago I observed a 'modern' American dad trying to explain the merits of impressionism to his son standing in the middle of the Van Gogh Museum. "I told you I HATE art you stupid dumb dummy!", the child yelled then slapped his dad who apologized to son because he wasn't having fun and promised to do something fun later.

[dosi]

I knew the majority answer would be "not in a million years"

 

Parents today, especially affluent, white, cruise vacation type parents, worship their children in way no previous generation in history ever did.

 

I have a friend who would never consider getting a sitter and taking his wife out for a quiet dinner. "I tried it once and it made my kids jealous. Besides, they won't be young very long. I'll have time with their mother once the kids are grown."

 

I've been on clearly adult interest shore excursions that were runied by bored center-of-the-universe brats.

 

Two weeks ago I observed a 'modern' American dad trying to explain the merits of impressionism to his son standing in the middle of the Van Gogh Museum. "I told you I HATE art you stupid dumb dummy!", the child yelled then slapped his dad who apologized to son because he wasn't having fun and promised to do something fun later.

 

What exactly is your point Greg?