Do you cruise without your kids?

[ajagent]

We do now. We told our kids that they could not cruise until they were 21. We agreed that we would pay for their first and then the rest was up to them.

[K.T.B.]

I couldn't cruise with my kids even if I wanted to!

 

Mine are furry! :D 6 ferrets, 2 cats.

[reeree313]

but with that being said, the kids get to cruise once a year as well. My husband and I cruise once or twice by ourselves and the kids come once. They also get one land vacation just mom and the kids every year too.

 

Do I feel guilty? No way.

 

Do I miss them? Terribly, but we need adult time sometimes, right?

[JO-TRAVEL ALOT]

My husband and I take our big trip every Thanksgiving. We started this tradition about 8 yrs ago because he can't vacation in the summer and the kids get 4 days off so it makes it easier to find a sitter for them. But, we also take family vacations and I take the kids places with my girlfriends and their kids. I am remarried and I think both my hubby and my kids deserve to have alone time with me. That being said we did family cruise in Feb, doing girls and kids in June, and doing our couple trip at Thanksgiving. My kids are used to our big Thanksgiving trips and don't say a thing about it at all. I will say they are teenagers and do like to cruise alot.

[beshears]

Yes, I cruise without my children as they are "grown." Also, I don't have to pay their way.:)

[GAMOM4]

I keep coming back to this post, and debating about posting a comment. I think holding your ground about not supplying the son his own cabin (at YOUR expense) was a good decision.

 

Yeah we never even thought about getting him a cabin by himself...there is no way we could afford it and even if we could I wouldn't pay that extra amount for a solo cabin...I would gladly pay his way if he could find someone to be in the cabin with him.

The only real sad thing about this is..him & his daddy actually have more fun on a cruise than me and his daddy (lol) because they like to play ping pong, and putt putt golf and all that kind of stuff that I don't do....but like I said I feel like it is back to the way it was before we had children and before we have grandchildren one day in the future.

[Lorriepie]

In 3 days will be our first cruise without the kids!!! It was a suprise from my DH for our Anniversary and I am very excited though a bit nervous leaving the kids;)

 

 

Enjoy!!!

 

The first time we spent more than 36 hours away from children was after 16 years of being married. After a few days (the world had not come to end or fell off it's axis) I told everyone I met that we didn't have children for 2 weeks. I mean everyone...bartenders, toll booth operators, cooks, store staff, everyone. We laugh, and say that people I met had a party the next weekend and talk about the crazy lady they met w/o kids for 2 weeks. Those memories are priceless.

Again enjoy your couples time!!!

We cruise with the children. I am looking into an adult cruise for us in the future. I will not feel guilty because a happy mom & dad make happier children.

[ray98]

I have several times. I have always believed it was good for just mom and dad to get away occasionally and enjoy each other. I have seen too many couples drift apart and later divorce because I believe they did not put the effort into making sure they still connected. They spent every moment running kids to soccer, baseball and dance which left no time for each other. One day they ended up seeing their spouse as their "kids mother" instead of the one they fell in love with.

[the_monkey]

Ours have always cruised with us, and probably will until they are on their own. Then they can still come if they want, but they'll be paying their own way. :)

 

But, we went to Japan for 15 days without them in '07, and they went to Disney without us in December of '11. They had no interest in Japan - the Daughter specifically told us she didn't want to go on that 13 hour plane ride because "it would make her butt hurt", lol! - and we had no interest in going to Disney, so they went with other family members.

 

I suppose we could cruise without them, but there are fewer distractions on a ship (no Internet! no computers! no cell phone service! no cats/dogs/house/store to tend!) so at this stage of our lives, we'll see each other more than if we're home. They'll be gone soon enough. :)

[bplazo]

I would not take a cruise without taking my daughter, however, we did cruise when she was a baby or toddler because I do not think that it was an appropriate age.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Do like others and bring them but dont parent. Just let them do whatever.

 

Kidding. whatever you do, I hope its a good cruise.

[MommaOf3Princesses]

I have several times. I have always believed it was good for just mom and dad to get away occasionally and enjoy each other. I have seen too many couples drift apart and later divorce because I believe they did not put the effort into making sure they still connected. They spent every moment running kids to soccer, baseball and dance which left no time for each other. One day they ended up seeing their spouse as their "kids mother" instead of the one they fell in love with.

 

As my kids get older I see how this could happen.....and i agree with you. Whether it be a cruise, weekend getaway or even sending the kids to grandmas for a night, parents need couple time sometimes!