Disappointed in Cirlce C

[Westbank is bestbank]

I recently cruised with my 13 year old son. I must say he absolutely loved Circle C. I on the other hand kept questioning myself about the safety. Please let me know if any of you felt like this......

 

Circle C counselors leave the club at 1 a.m. but the club is open 24 hours. I did not like the fact that 12yr - 14yr olds are left unsupervised inside this secluded dark room down a secluded hallway. I know many of you are thinking......then your child should leave when the counselor leaves, right? Well that's what I thought too. But the majority of other parents let their children stay there til wee hours of the night. My son was made fun of because I would go there and get him at 2 a.m. (an hour after it should have closed).

 

Furthermore, I went to get him at midnight one night because we docked in Grand Cayman at 7 a.m. THE COUNSELOR told me that it was my sons vacation too and I should let him stay with the other kids as long as he was having fun. I couldn't believe my ears. I told him that he should be the one to come to my cabin at 6 a.m. to wake up my son so we can enjoy the island!!!!

[Chigirlcruzin]

I'm not a parent so I can't weigh in on the all hours of the night thing. However, no cruise line employee should speak to you like that! Vacation or not, he's your son and you get to make the rules. Glad your son had fun, though!

[funfamilyof6]

I recently cruised with my 13 year old son. I must say he absolutely loved Circle C. I on the other hand kept questioning myself about the safety. Please let me know if any of you felt like this......

 

Circle C counselors leave the club at 1 a.m. but the club is open 24 hours. I did not like the fact that 12yr - 14yr olds are left unsupervised inside this secluded dark room down a secluded hallway. I know many of you are thinking......then your child should leave when the counselor leaves, right? Well that's what I thought too. But the majority of other parents let their children stay there til wee hours of the night. My son was made fun of because I would go there and get him at 2 a.m. (an hour after it should have closed).

 

Furthermore, I went to get him at midnight one night because we docked in Grand Cayman at 7 a.m. THE COUNSELOR told me that it was my sons vacation too and I should let him stay with the other kids as long as he was having fun. I couldn't believe my ears. I told him that he should be the one to come to my cabin at 6 a.m. to wake up my son so we can enjoy the island!!!!

 

When we go on our cruises my husband and I tell our teen kids what time to be back (on or before curfew time) and they obey, otherwise they know they will suffer the consequences! Our kids are never out to 2am in the morning. This is not allowed at home and certainly not allowed on a cruiseship. Another rule we have is that nobody is allowed to walk by themselves late at night. If one is out by themselves, we have a closeby meeting place near the club (where nobody can see) so we can walk them back.

 

Don't feel bad for being a good parent and enforcing the rules, this is not Carnival's job.

[vols_159]

heck Me and my wife are only 27, 24 theres no way we can stay up till 2am.. Shes normally out by 10pm at home and vacation

[Silent Penguin]

Don't feel bad for being a good parent and enforcing the rules, this is not Carnival's job.

 

 

What she said. I don't have a problem with Carnival's policy. We have our own policy; our teenagers are to be in our rooms by midnight. By the time they are old enough to stay out later, they will probably be too old for a teen program anyway.

[Catrin]

We are provided a schedule of activities for the week.

 

Each night, we review the schedule with our kids. They have to tell us where they are going to be.

 

They are due back in the room within five minutes of the last activity ending. When Circle C or Club 02 ends, their night is over.

 

Kids should NOT be able to hang in those rooms after the scheduled activities, period. But, they hang out in hallways and often the Lido deck areas eating pizza until 3am!

 

Catrin

[combatboots2jimmychoos]

I have never made it past 11pm on a cruise. Leaving 13 yr olds alone at 3am is asking for trouble. Many parents nowadays are giving too many liberties to children and then wondering why their child is now a mommy/daddy.....

[bshow]

I recently cruised with my 13 year old son.

...

I went to get him at midnight one night because we docked in Grand Cayman at 7 a.m. THE COUNSELOR told me that it was my sons vacation too and I should let him stay with the other kids as long as he was having fun. I couldn't believe my ears. I told him that he should be the one to come to my cabin at 6 a.m. to wake up my son so we can enjoy the island!!!!

 

Wow that counselor was way out of line if he or she attempted to pressure you at all.

 

Do not doubt yourself. You do not need to justify your rules to any counselor. You are the grown-up and are responsible for your son's safety. You can see things he can't.

[Flagrant]

Hope those teams remember to wear their life vest.

[live2cruise2011]

Thank you for your post.. as we are on the Magic leaving May 13 and I as well have a 13 yr old.. and he will not be there without an adult present in the club.. as well as his brother who is 14. we will reconfirm rules several times before and after we board.. just because the staff is lenient does not mean the mom is.. as my kids know.. I have their safety in Mind.. the youngest has some mild retardation and has had 7 open heart surgeries.. so if the counselor thinks he should be left alone.. let the counselor deal with all i have to deal with if he doesn't go to bed at a decent hour.. again.. i say you did the right thing as that is what i will be doing as well

[spaceystacie2006]

heck Me and my wife are only 27, 24 theres no way we can stay up till 2am.. Shes normally out by 10pm at home and vacation

 

I agree about 11pm is the latest DH & I can stay up!LOL We are the life of the party I tell ya!!! :D :D

 

I recently cruised with my 13 year old son. I must say he absolutely loved Circle C. I on the other hand kept questioning myself about the safety. Please let me know if any of you felt like this......

 

Circle C counselors leave the club at 1 a.m. but the club is open 24 hours. I did not like the fact that 12yr - 14yr olds are left unsupervised inside this secluded dark room down a secluded hallway. I know many of you are thinking......then your child should leave when the counselor leaves, right? Well that's what I thought too. But the majority of other parents let their children stay there til wee hours of the night. My son was made fun of because I would go there and get him at 2 a.m. (an hour after it should have closed).

 

Furthermore, I went to get him at midnight one night because we docked in Grand Cayman at 7 a.m. THE COUNSELOR told me that it was my sons vacation too and I should let him stay with the other kids as long as he was having fun. I couldn't believe my ears. I told him that he should be the one to come to my cabin at 6 a.m. to wake up my son so we can enjoy the island!!!!

 

I agree set rules and stick to them and staff have no business telling you how to handle your child. Kids should not be left alone in this type of area asking for trouble some parents dont parent...........the staff leave doors should be locked........

[larkz]

I don't have a hat in this -- my daughter is an adult now -- but I know what my policy would have been for her at the age of 12-13-14. I would have met her at Circle C at 11 pm, and if there were something special going on after that (with a counselor present), then I'd allow her to stay later assuming we didn't have to get up early the next day. Case closed.

 

The old Reagan line about "trust, but verify" is important here. I always allowed my daughter extra freedom, checked up on her from time to time, and clamped down like a steel trap if she broke the rules.

[Tbay-eh]

I think it is up to the parent and child to agree on what the curfew is - it is not Carnivals responsibility. And I will tell you if my son did not come back at the alloted time I too would march down and haul his sorry butt back - too bad he was embarassed, he wouldn't have been if he followed the rules. Our kids knew what was expected of them and what the consequences were and I was not hesitant to mete out the punishment it necessary. By the way I am turning 59 next birthday and i'm never back in the cabin until at least 2AM and up at 7 or 8 having coffee and reading on the Lido. I too agree that the employee was out of line and I am sure they regret saying it.

[chelspie]

I am also in the boat (no pun intended) with the previous posters who are in bed by 10 or 11. We cruised for the first time with our 14 and 16 YO sons, and they did not participate in any of the youth activities (their choice). I personally would not have been comfortable with them staying in a late night situation like that. Lucky for me, I have a bunch of introverts, and we're all worn out after a certain amount of exposure to people. I find it bizarre that the employee advised you to leave your kid there when you came to gather him/her.

[govgurl]

Other than requiring a ship-wide curfew for kids (which I'm sure many parents would then complain was treading into their turf, and rightfully so), I don't really see how Carnival could fix the situation of kids being out until all hours. If they closed the clubs when the counselors left, the kids whose parents neglected to give them a reasonable curfew would just be running around the ship, still getting into trouble and possibly into danger. There are plenty of places for a kid to get into trouble on a cruise ship without a parent being aware, and the staff wouldn't be able to stop them. They probably leave the place open after the counselors go home for that reason, so they at least have a safe place to hang out if their parents are going to be so negligible as to not have them home at a good time. Frankly, if it was my kid I'd rather have them off in a secluded room with a bunch of kids around their age than running around the ship, getting up to who knows what with older kids or young adults who might really be into different things age-wise. Of course, if it was my kid, I'd also make sure they were back in their cabins at a reasonable hour.

 

That counselor was obviously being rude, though he/she may have been trying for a lame joke. Anyway, the point is that its not Carnival's job to parent people's kids. That means it's not their job to make sure the kids are observing bed time, and it's not their job to undermine parents. The counselor should have told the other kids to stop picking on your son and told you and your son to politely have a nice evening. As for the others who were there to all hours, well, there will always be some parents who have different rules or standards. When I was a kid, I complained all the time that my parents were "so lame" because Kid X could do things I wasn't allowed. I always got the exact same answer, "I'm not Kid X's parent, I'm your parent." I hated hearing that at the time, but now that I'm older, and I can see a lot of the negative things that happened to the kids who had "cool parents", I'm glad mine were a little strict.

[petro772]

I have never made it past 11pm on a cruise. Leaving 13 yr olds alone at 3am is asking for trouble. Many parents nowadays are giving too many liberties to children and then wondering why their child is now a mommy/daddy.....

 

Well put. ;)

[momof3cruisers]

I think the hours those clubs are open are nuts, personally. Yes, it's their vacation, but these are children we are talking about here! My daughter was 15 on our cruise. She had to be back to the room by a certain time depending on the activity. She said she was almost always the first to leave even the one night we let her stay til 1:00. Honestly, I was uncomfortable with how late we let her stay. I worried about her. I don't let her wander around by herself at night at home, not sure why I did on a cruise ship. (she wasn't really wandering, but I am sure you know what I mean.)

 

I'm sorry the other kids bugged your son. Middle schoolers can be harsh.

[RuthlessBoss]

I'm not a parent so I can't weigh in on the all hours of the night thing. However, no cruise line employee should speak to you like that! Vacation or not, he's your son and you get to make the rules. Glad your son had fun, though!

We don't know the actual conversation verbatum!, just how it was interpereted by the poster.

There was no mention of the child's curfew or maybe there wasn't one. There should have been one knowing they'd be getting up early, and knowing it would be difficult to rouse up the son in the morning.

[mbrown2097]

Sorry,

Mine aren't staying in an unsupervised club at any hour of the day. IMHO, those that do allow it, are abdicating their responsibilities as parents.

[Andoria]

I'm fairly relaxed (or negligent depending on how you want to twist it) and I don't have problems with my 13 year old son being unsupervised. I do have a problem with how late Circle C runs and that kids are encouraged to be out all hours of the night. My son was given a 1:00-1:15 curfew and I still felt like that was over the top.

 

I really wish the activities started earlier and ended at 11:00.

[Westbank is bestbank]

I'm fairly relaxed (or negligent depending on how you want to twist it) and I don't have problems with my 13 year old son being unsupervised. I do have a problem with how late Circle C runs and that kids are encouraged to be out all hours of the night. My son was given a 1:00-1:15 curfew and I still felt like that was over the top.

 

I really wish the activities started earlier and ended at 11:00.

 

That's exactly how I feel. They would offer dodge ball or basketball at midnight or 1:00 a.m. Crazy.

 

We certainly discussed the time he should be in each night and that differed depending on the circle c schedule. I just think it would help kids avoid peer pressure if carnival would close the club when the counselor leaves or if they enforced a curfew. I don't understand why there is no curfew. Even if the parents wanted to stay out and party....the child would be better off locked in their own cabin than wondering around the boat. No offense against those with girls, but I couldn't beleive the girls that age that was wandering around too.

 

We go camping often and I can tell you that most campgrounds enforce a curfew and tell children they cannot walk around the campground.

[wafflestoo]

The thing is... teenagers need a lot of extra sleep (at least mine does). I didn't pay the big bucks for a family vacation to have my teenager be groggy and tired on our island days... we snorkeled, jet skied and zip lined. He needed to be aware and awake for those activities. I said midnight for nights before ports and 1:00 for nights when he could sleep in late the next morning. Hey, if he didn't like it... he can always stay at granddad's next time while we cruise.

[donoiv]

Thank you for your post.. as we are on the Magic leaving May 13 and I as well have a 13 yr old.. and he will not be there without an adult present in the club.. as well as his brother who is 14. we will reconfirm rules several times before and after we board.. just because the staff is lenient does not mean the mom is.. as my kids know.. I have their safety in Mind.. the youngest has some mild retardation and has had 7 open heart surgeries.. so if the counselor thinks he should be left alone.. let the counselor deal with all i have to deal with if he doesn't go to bed at a decent hour.. again.. i say you did the right thing as that is what i will be doing as well

 

Not sure if this is in a later post, but the reason the counselor leaves them alone is that Circle C is technically closed.... I forget the exact hour, but it "closes" and the counselors leave... they can't lock the room because it is a muster station location and can't lock the room due to maritime law... either way, at that age, your kids can check themselves in and out anytime they want... there isn't anything keeping them in that room... or any other... It's up to you as a parent to set the rules... and enforce them.

[Rainbowfalls]

I used to be a teacher for different CDC's and also before school and after childcare services. And I could never imagine telling a parent something as was told to the OP in a joking manner or not. just based upon my experiences with children of different age groups the 9-15 is the one that really should be monitored the most. I know of different occassions where a teacher had stepped out to grab snacks for the classroom or walk a child to the lobby area and when she returned there was very much reason to be worried about ever leaving them alone again. Not that all children are this way just they are more prone to peer pressure and not thinking through of all consequences of their actions.

 

My bf has a child and we both wanted to bring her with us on our next cruise which we hope would be next year and she will be at the age for camp carnival but if she was the age for circle c I would never allow him to have her out past 10pm and to have the ablity to check herself in and out or be unsupervised. We both agree with compromising and trying to understand her perspective and reaching agreed upon rules/limits cause she is a person with feelings and we would never want to make her feel like she is, as she puts it, "in jail" but she is still a child so everything is done with this in mind.

[familycruzr]

I tell my kids what time they need to be in at night and they are in by that time. The consequences of not following the rules, you spend your time with me instead of your new friends. They are not happy since so many other kids get to stay out much later, but they follow my rules because they know I will follow through with the consequences.

 

On our last few cruisse, circle C was closed when the counselors were not there.