Children and Diapers on Getaway (sigh)

[Bird in Jersey]

I read this thread and bottom line, there is a written policy. No need for all of the shade(trying to sound cool)! If NCL does not follow their own policy, then they need to remove the policy or enforce it. Just because others do wrong, why follow, if you know it is against policy. I pretty much avoid the pool area or have swam(above water) or used the hot tub at my own risk!!

I hope that your child gets potty trained.!! There are lots of other activities other than the pools. You can avoid the pool deck, by taking detours. It is hard for little ones to see water and not want to swim!!

[Love my butler]

The typical cruiser mentality these days. As long as I am having fun and enjoying myself the heck with these other people.

[grandmarnnurse]

We are going on our first cruise in early April with our two children, 5 and 3. I'm trying to get my three year old son out of diapers before this trip, but he is struggling hardcore. If we weren't going away I would give up and come back in a few months but because of this trip I'm sticking to it.

 

I did a quick google search but didn't see an answer come up about the kids area. If a kid is still in swim diapers are they allowed to go near the water area? And if not, what else do you do during the day with them, especially with a BFF slightly older sibling that is able to do things like this?

 

Second kids are completely different than the first.. oy.

 

The cruise lines have great children's programs and activities. Register the kids on your first day onboard and use it as much or as little as you choose, to give them some fun things to do, and you some well deserved adult time.

As for diapers in the pool area, most pools frown upon that, but perhaps it is allowed in the children's pool/water area. I would call your cruise line and ask.

Enjoy your cruise! Once you have tried it, you too will be a cruise addict! I find it the most economical of all vacations.

[Bird in Jersey]

The typical cruiser mentality these days. As long as I am having fun and enjoying myself the heck with these other people.

 

So true and so sad!

[NLH Arizona]

On our cruise on the RCCL Indy, a woman just took her kid's diaper off and gave him a bath in the kids' pool. Yeah. Seriously people!

 

OP, good luck with getting your kiddo potty trained!

On one of my Crystal cruises many, many years ago, the Captain's wife took her small naked baby into the pool. Someone obviously complained, because a crew member went over to her and she got out of the pool immediately and she wasn't a happy camper.

[dexddd]

Reminded me of an incident in the pool on one of our BA sailing in the middle of a sea day, where it was packed - where someone spotted floating "objects" :eek: in the pool water; and, maintenance/crew promptly responded to the leakage - subsequently shutting down the pool & everyone promptly vacated to dry grounds. Didn't witnessed it but happened to heard the chatter as we're upstairs in the shades @ Uptown Grill - took a while to drain, clean & re-open that small adult pool ... swimming, anyone :rolleyes:

 

I know & seen them draining the pools late night, cleaning & then filling them up again to get ready for the next day - this was gross & not best practices at all. Parents not observing the basic rules and crew assigned to work in the area not enforcing or checking for infractions against regulations.

 

As for the hottubs ... ;)

 

Maybe it was just a BabyRuth.

[Sauer-kraut]

The cruise lines have great children's programs and activities. Register the kids on your first day onboard and use it as much or as little as you choose, to give them some fun things to do, and you some well deserved adult time.

As for diapers in the pool area, most pools frown upon that, but perhaps it is allowed in the children's pool/water area. I would call your cruise line and ask.

Enjoy your cruise! Once you have tried it, you too will be a cruise addict! I find it the most economical of all vacations.

 

No, on NCL it is not allowed. It might be overlooked but it is still not allowed.

[EyeSeaEwe]

The typical cruiser mentality these days. As long as I am having fun and enjoying myself the heck with these other people.

 

Its the way the country has gone. It is all to the pint now that "I am the only person who matters, screw everyone else".

[Two Wheels Only]

Maybe it was just a BabyRuth.

 

 

"It's no big deal..." :)

[cb at sea]

I can assure you, "most" don't do it! So rude and gross!

 

However, it's not urine that is the problem....it's feces. Even contained in a swim diaper, the water in the pool is coming into contact with the diaper's contents...and contaminating the water. Probably won't hurt you unless you have a small wound, or sore, or get the water in your eyes, nose, or mouth....and then, it certainly CAN make you ill! You can think of a swim diaper as a fecal teabag....

[ncklhaus]

If you're going to photo shop a picture at least learn how to do it correctly.

 

I don't understand what you are implying. That is a photo I took with my phone. It is not altered in any way. What about the photo do you think is photo shopped?

[mnventure]

We are going on our first cruise in early April with our two children, 5 and 3. I'm trying to get my three year old son out of diapers before this trip, but he is struggling hardcore. If we weren't going away I would give up and come back in a few months but because of this trip I'm sticking to it.

 

I did a quick google search but didn't see an answer come up about the kids area. If a kid is still in swim diapers are they allowed to go near the water area? And if not, what else do you do during the day with them, especially with a BFF slightly older sibling that is able to do things like this?

 

Second kids are completely different than the first.. oy.

 

My 2nd kid, a boy, was also much different than my 1st. He also had a deadline for being potty-trained that we were getting close to (pre-school). Here's what worked for us.... We bribed him. Telling him he won't be able to swim in a couple months may not be tangible enough for a 3 year old. Here is what I did:

 

My son loved (actually still loves) cars/trucks/etc. As a 3 year old, his favorite toy was hot wheels cars (lucky for me b/c they are cheap). I took him shopping at the local store and went to the hot wheels aisle. I told him he could pick out any hot wheels that he wanted, but he had to be a big boy and go potty ...so he picked a 5 pack. He wanted to hold it...but I explained that he couldn't have them until he was using the potty. So, thinking that it was just that package, he decided he wanted a different package of hot wheels. It took a couple times and then he realized that he wasn't getting them immediately.

 

Once we got home, I opened up the 5 pack and put each one on the kitchen counter...he could see them, but couldn't reach them. I then explained that when he went on the potty he would get one of the 5 cars....but every time he had an accident, I would get to take one of his hot wheel from his room....and when he went potty and earned a hot wheel, he got all the "old" ones back before he got any of the new ones. This was a big motivator for him! I did end up taking a few of his cars, and then gave them back...and within 4-5 days he had all his old cars back and had all of the new ones. And never had another accident (and only had a couple on days 1 and 2).

 

Maybe if your child has something similar that they love and can see immediate rewards....you can have him trained in no time (and before the cruise)! Good luck!

[grandmarnnurse]

My 2nd kid, a boy, was also much different than my 1st. He also had a deadline for being potty-trained that we were getting close to (pre-school). Here's what worked for us.... We bribed him. Telling him he won't be able to swim in a couple months may not be tangible enough for a 3 year old. Here is what I did:

 

My son loved (actually still loves) cars/trucks/etc. As a 3 year old, his favorite toy was hot wheels cars (lucky for me b/c they are cheap). I took him shopping at the local store and went to the hot wheels aisle. I told him he could pick out any hot wheels that he wanted, but he had to be a big boy and go potty ...so he picked a 5 pack. He wanted to hold it...but I explained that he couldn't have them until he was using the potty. So, thinking that it was just that package, he decided he wanted a different package of hot wheels. It took a couple times and then he realized that he wasn't getting them immediately.

 

Once we got home, I opened up the 5 pack and put each one on the kitchen counter...he could see them, but couldn't reach them. I then explained that when he went on the potty he would get one of the 5 cars....but every time he had an accident, I would get to take one of his hot wheel from his room....and when he went potty and earned a hot wheel, he got all the "old" ones back before he got any of the new ones. This was a big motivator for him! I did end up taking a few of his cars, and then gave them back...and within 4-5 days he had all his old cars back and had all of the new ones. And never had another accident (and only had a couple on days 1 and 2).

 

Maybe if your child has something similar that they love and can see immediate rewards....you can have him trained in no time (and before the cruise)! Good luck!

 

That was a fabulous idea! I only wish I tried that back when I was potty training my children! Perhaps there would have been a lot less frustration! All of my children are now grown--ages 45, 44, 41, 36, 31--and even my grandchildren are beyond potty training. I guess I will pass that strategy on for future great-grandchildren! 😊

[chengkp75]

Tough call - it is not a petty or pretty matter.

In so much as the pools are chlorinated small urine accidents are overblown.

I have worked in an athletic club and serviced the pools jacuzzis and hot tubs

urine accidents while seemly disgusting do not warrant shutting down a

facility that is what the chlorine treatment is for - some cruise lines empty

the pool waters daily (nightly) and refill to specs suggested that if a kid had

done something that concerns you in a pool leave and come back the next day.

The chlorine does it work in the fresh water pools & hot tubs - the sea water

pools are drained and filled nightly and kids don't belong in them anyway.

Heck there are adults inebriated and as such that have manners that are

much worse and know better.

Number two is a matter of prime urgency and parents should be alert for that

no matter what their young one is wearing approved or not.

Remove from the pool immediately and matters attended to.

If noticeable residue alert the appropriate personnel to service the pool.

 

One very important cavet !

 

DO NOT EVER EVEN THINK ABOUT FLUSHING A DIAPER OR OTHER RELATED ITEM DOWN THE SHIPS TOILET !

 

It most certainly will jam the vacuum sanitation system and the maintenance

people will come looking for you with intent to have you walk the plank !

When this is done a whole section of the toilets on that line have to be shut

down and roto-rootered to unblock the jam. After the maintenance folks have

had a talk with you your cabin neighbors may have something to add. Oh and

airing out the pipes in the process is an oh so pleasant experience best you

not be at the scene of the crime.

 

But realize that accidents happen - be on alert to prevent matters made worse !

 

As much as you feel that urine accidents are overblown' date=' the USPH tends to disagree with you. Even though ship's pools are maintained at a higher chlorine concentration than most shoreside pools, there are strict requirements by the USPH for "infant only recreational water facilities" as USPH calls splash areas [b']designed[/b] for infants in diapers. The water supply has to be separate from all other pools, the "turn over" rate, or how often the entire water quantity is filtered and dosed with chlorine must be higher than other ship's pools, and all the water must pass through an ultra-violet light sterilizer during the filtration/chlorination process.

 

The other misconception in your post is that sea water pools are not chlorinated. Not always true. When the ship is more than 12 miles from shore, the pool may be operated in "flow through" mode, where sea water is continually pumped into the pool, and the overflow goes back to the sea, and in this mode, no chlorination is required. However, any pool, whether fresh water or sea water, when within 12 miles of shore, must be in "recirculation" mode (the water is recirculated from the pool to the filters/chlorination unit and back to the pool), and these pools must be chlorinated, even sea water pools. Since during the change-over from flow through to recirculation, the chlorine content will not be at the required level for up to an hour, the pool must be closed until the residual chlorine level is reached, so unless there are more than one sea day at a time, many ships will continue to use recirculation mode and chlorination even at sea.

 

Most ship's pools are not drained nightly, especially the fresh water ones. Sea water pools are generally drained once a week, and fresh water ones every couple of weeks. Hot tubs, on the other hand are required to be drained nightly.

[chengkp75]

To those of you who have seen this behavior on any ship, even the few that have "infant only" splash areas (Disney, RCI Freedom and Oasis class) in the "normal" pool areas, you might want to notify a supervisor that you know this is a violation of USPH requirements. That or a note to the Hotel Director stating the same, will usually get their attention, because a report of a knowing violation like this will definitely get a USPH inspection team down to the ship, and that's the last thing they want.

[jmckay331]

One thing that worked for my stubborn DD was actually not using diapers or pull-ups. We tried pull-ups with her but she thought of them as diapers so no motivation. We tried bribery but didn't really work with her did I mention the stubbornness. I tried for months (she was around two when all this started) finally when we realized that she really hated getting wet we just went to panties versus pull-ups which pull wetness away. It's a tough call because you may have to deal with some accidents initially but this method worked the quickest.. It took less than two weeks for her to start using the toilet regularly after months of refusal.

As for swim diapers in pool, didn't do that often as it was a hassle we tended to go to beach vs pool. Luckily never had to deal with no.2 in water but I'm sure at some point there was no.1. As for the gross factor, parents tend to get over this after so many diaper changes lol and often don't think about it anymore. Not saying it's ok just that I understand the thought process

 

 

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[gail-s]

Lets hope she does figure he is far enough along to just throw a bathing suit on him and 'risk it'... :(

 

There was a jerk who did that with their child on our cruise to Bermuda last summer and the kid had an "accident" in the main pool the DAY we pulled into Bermuda - which meant that the pool was closed ALL 3 DAYS that we were in port. It was horrible.

 

Don't be a selfish jerk and do that to everyone else on the trip. I would MUCH rather a child in a swim diaper than the pool being closed.

[Mistizoom]

There was a jerk who did that with their child on our cruise to Bermuda last summer and the kid had an "accident" in the main pool the DAY we pulled into Bermuda - which meant that the pool was closed ALL 3 DAYS that we were in port. It was horrible.

 

Don't be a selfish jerk and do that to everyone else on the trip. I would MUCH rather a child in a swim diaper than the pool being closed.

 

A swim diaper does not reliably contain urine nor fecal matter in the diaper. Even if they do contain the fecal matter for the most part, contaminated water is still able to enter and exit the diaper. The swim diapers simply do not swell up like regular diapers. Children not yet toilet trained are not supposed to be in the ship pools or hot tubs at all because of this, with our without a swim diaper.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Mistizoom

[Merriem]

Put these kids in regular underwear. It is the diaper industry that is keeping kids comfy being wet. They make a ton of money and no progress is made. I have four children and 3 were trained by two and one was 2 1/2. It is simple and it works because they don't like to be wet.

[Two Wheels Only]

There was a jerk who did that with their child on our cruise to Bermuda last summer and the kid had an "accident" in the main pool the DAY we pulled into Bermuda - which meant that the pool was closed ALL 3 DAYS that we were in port. It was horrible.

 

Don't be a selfish jerk and do that to everyone else on the trip. I would MUCH rather a child in a swim diaper than the pool being closed.

 

Couldn't the jerk have put his kid into the ocean instead of the pool? :confused:

[edawn]

Put these kids in regular underwear. It is the diaper industry that is keeping kids comfy being wet. They make a ton of money and no progress is made. I have four children and 3 were trained by two and one was 2 1/2. It is simple and it works because they don't like to be wet.

 

 

Exactly! Also, if you make them change their own pants, they pick it up even quicker because it's such a hassle to take off wet pants. I'm pretty sure my son hated me.

 

 

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[Barb Nahoumi]

Remember the old fashioned training pants? That's what we used for our sons, and they worked.

 

Being wet or soiled did not feel comfortable. Yes, we had to bisit lots of public restrooms with them, but the alternative was worse.

[Freckle53]

I've read far enough ahead to see you've gotten the answer on the pools/splash areas.

 

I tried to get my 3.5 year old to train fully before our cruise last week, but then backed off. The main reason was that Splash Academy will not provide any assistance with helping the kids in the bathroom. I totally understand why and that is fine, but the reality was that if my son trained, there'd have been no way he would have been able to pull his pants and underwear down and up by himself or wiped himself. We found lots to do on board and only my husband and son swam (actually just did the slides) on the ship. With 3 beach ports, we all had more than our share of water time off the ship.

[Freckle53]

Put these kids in regular underwear. It is the diaper industry that is keeping kids comfy being wet. They make a ton of money and no progress is made. I have four children and 3 were trained by two and one was 2 1/2. It is simple and it works because they don't like to be wet.

 

I'm the opposite and want no effort or stress in "training". They will all (barring any disabilities) do it eventually. My older son would not even look at the potty seat I had sitting in the bathroom from the time he was 18 months old or acknowledge it in any way. It was not a battle I wanted to fight. I encouraged it once in a while and that was it. Right before he was 4 he decided to use the toilet and was in underwear from then on and only once wet his pants when he was sick and had a fever. My younger boy will go through spurts of wanting to use the potty to pee and spurts where he doesn't. After my 1 day attempting to actually "train" him, I decided to heck with it. When he wants it, he will do it himself. Diapers really don't bother me at all.

[navybankerteacher]

We are going on our first cruise in early April with our two children, 5 and 3. I'm trying to get my three year old son out of diapers before this trip, but he is struggling hardcore. If we weren't going away I would give up and come back in a few months but because of this trip I'm sticking to it.

 

I did a quick google search but didn't see an answer come up about the kids area. If a kid is still in swim diapers are they allowed to go near the water area? And if not, what else do you do during the day with them, especially with a BFF slightly older sibling that is able to do things like this?

 

Second kids are completely different than the first.. oy.

 

"Swim diapers": a classic misnomer. Diapers OF ANY SORT - classic cloth diapers, Pampers, adult Depends - you name it, DO NOT BELONG IN POOLS.

 

Please keep your children's bodily waste away from other people.