roaming teens

[madisonms]

Ithink RCCL needs to consider adult only cruises.

 

That is such a ridiculous comment! It is very upsetting to hear what happened to the OP. But there are MANY good kids & teens out there who actually have manors and show respect, etc. My kids NEVER act like that. As usual and with everything else in life, a few bad apples give a whole group a bad name.

 

I guess all the kids-bashers on these boards were never kids themselves. They were born as fully mature adults.

[Catperson]

I live in Ontario and am not aware of a break from school other than one day for Thanksgiving. What break is this and how long is it? We are on the NOS the first week of December '06, and I'm assuming most kids would be quite young. I'm surprised to think people are pulling their high school kids out of school for an entire week.

[Stacylee]

Catperson,

There are teacher planning days, mid terms etc where the teaches get a few days of planning. School might be out for a Monday and Tuesday and kids would only miss 3 days. Also Columbus Day...

[Yooper38]

[Yooper is complaining about the parents that go into the school and demand that their kids should not be punished for infractions. Where are the school officials and their backbones? If they didn't back down every time a parent came in then maybe there wouldn't be such a huge problem.

 

There are so many good kids out there I just hate it when other kids make them all look bad and no my kids are not anywhere near perfect but I would WANT to be notified if they did anything like what has been reported.

Sincerely,

Pollyanna:)

 

I'm happy to report that is not the case in our school and the administration is very strict. and in some cases it doesn't matter how many times a child is suspended from school the parents will stay their course.

 

My point was not to say that schools need to take more charge. I was using what I see at school as an example of the attitude more and more parents seem to be taking. I am from the 40 ish generation also and the attitude I see in some of our kids is frankly scary. This is not an isolated problem it has become a nationwide problem. How do we fix it, can it be fixed, does it need to be fixed, some say no. I believe it will have to start within the home first.

Just my own opinion

Yooper38

[Spelling Queen]

That is such a ridiculous comment! It is very upsetting to hear what happened to the OP. But there are MANY good kids & teens out there who actually have manors and show respect, etc. My kids NEVER act like that. As usual and with everything else in life, a few bad apples give a whole group a bad name.

 

I guess all the kids-bashers on these boards were never kids themselves. They were born as fully mature adults.

 

I fail to see why Pegleg's comment is any more ridiculous than yours. Both are opinions/statements of feelings - and both are valid as such.

 

I am a parent and I love my children. But that doesn't mean that I have a difficult time understanding why not every other adult in the world would find them as fun and wonderful as I do. Or even would express the opinion that they would appreciate a cruise available that would enable them to NOT vacation with my children. This is not an insult to my kids. It does not mean my kids are bad. It means they would like the opportunity to not vacation with them. Period.

 

I also love the fact that everyone on these boards have very good - if not perfect - children. Statistically, you would think that at least a couple would have kids that are down right rotten at times. But I seem to be the exception on this board. Because my kids HAVE embarassed me at times and done things that I would have thought would have never crossed their minds! And on those occasions I can readily see why others would not choose to spend their vacations with my little darlings.

[caviargal]

I experienced this type of behavior on Enchantment a few years ago when there were almost 900 kids aboard. The staff was ill equipped to deal with the problem and I personally observed parents who were arguing with staff about their kids being allowed into adult areas, despite the signs clearly stating otherwise. No, they were not all bad kids, but the ones that were totally ruined the cruise for many pax.

 

Since then, I have seen this behavior on Adventure and Voyager and to an even more dramatic level on a recent Carnival cruise.

 

RCI has tolerated this behavior for the past several years much more than in the past. It is a shame, IMHO, that the constant competition for dollars results in such behavior being ignored. It is surely going to take a major event one day that causes a lawsuit before they will step up and fix the problem.

[Legalgal]

I am only 30 yrs old and have no children. I remember my family vacations when I was teenager. My parents ALWAYS had a long "pre-vacation meeting" (their word) with me and my brother. They went over the specifics, the possible glitches we could run into and what behavior was expected and what behavior would result in severe punishment upon our return home. While it was acknowledged that we were all to relax and have a nice time, we were not to act out and were expected to respect every other human we came into contact with. They emphasized that we were expected to multiply our manners by ten or there would be no more vacations AND severe consequences upon return home. Do these things not happen anymore? It has not been THAT long since I have been a teen. We did not do cruises as a family as that was not my parents' thing. I have some wonderful family vacation memories and I never did find out what were the "consequences" for bad behavior. My younger brother acted up badly on a trip to Disney and was not allowed any video game or television time for 3 weeks after we returned. (He was only 10 at the time and Nintendo and TV were his world then!) When he tried to point out the harshness of his sentence, my parents told him that he was expected to be on better than best behavior on vacation. He broke that rule and the punishment fit the behavior. It NEVER happened again.

 

I have grown to love cruises as an adult and usually cruise at times when there aren't likely to be many children aboard. This year, we have opted for the holiday cruise on the Mariner. I hope we do not run into this problem with teens.

[PelicanBill]

On the Voyager 10/7 sailing there were not a lot of kids in any age group...and the teens were well behaved for the first few days but got more and more unsettled as the week went on.... I think due to a lack of activities for them to do.

 

It got worst in the evening as they hung out while parents were off to the shows and lounges. There was one case of a phone damaged, and then the food spills in the halls, and some running around. It was not too bad... I was run into a couple of times and had to ask them to make way on a stair they had turned into a hangout once. But being run into any amount of times without an apology is too many. They were also playing a game with the elevator one night which was delaying its use after a show, that was uncalled for. I am not sure why they chose not to hang out in Optix, the teen club. I should have asked!

[faithwins]

O no , not this kind of post again.... :-(

 

Face it folks.... this type of thread has been done a million times before.... Thier are some truley horrible teens out thier. But thier are also some truley horrible adults out thier.

 

To the original poster.... I am truley sorry for what happened, this should not have been so and RCCL response, althought typical, was not right.

 

To the repliers... lets not go flaring on all teenagers when its 1% that are in the wrong. Thier are alot of adults that are horrible too. We should be discusing on how RCCL should make it better without throwing them off the ship (to me this is over the top unless it is something truley bad.) Such as curfews for bad kids and a crew member is required to check on them.

[fabulous50]

OP did not say "all" teens are "bad" ! Come on folks no matter how well behaved you have raised your kids to be there are those times when "stuff" happens. I believe the teens aren't the real issue here. I believe the staff of the ship need to have more empowerment to enforce pre-set standards of behaviour. For instance curfews for certain ages....diciplineary "cabin" arrest for extreme cases. And heaven forbid fines to the parents of violators for foul behaviour resulting in damage or injury. This set down all up-front and with simple easy to understand language. Who would be hurt by these simple precautions? The kids? no they would actually be expected to follow..or else. The parents? absolutely not..we all know what binding contracts are and will have our eyes opened ahead of time of the possiblities. It would be a choice the families make when choosing a cruise.

[fabulous50]

opps! i was done

[ElvisandTracey]

Raise a little hell? Hey... here's an idea. Since these kids need so desperately to let off steam after spending a couple weeks in school, maybe RCCL could place an "extreme" wrestling cage up on the sports deck and let the hell raisers let off some steam inside it.

 

 

I'm not a teen, but the extreme wrestling sounds great-can I join in??:eek:

 

In all seriousness, I have two sons-not teens yet, but still boys, and I fault the parents, not the ship-if they (parents) haven't laid down a whole set of ground rules for these kids on the cruise before boarding, and a whole set of punishments if the expectations are not met, then it's their fault that the kids misbehaved. My kids know what is expected of them, and act accordingly, as they know what will happen if they don't!! These kids sound like their parents need a good kick in the butt, right along with the teens themselves-

 

And did someone say they saw a 12 year old in the bars and casino?? Even on cruises you must be 18 to be in the casino-where was the casino staff?? I have seen staff ask for ID from kids that looked 17-20, just to make sure. My cousin sailed with us the week of her 18th birhtday on the Monarch, and twice got thrown out of the casino, even though she was less than 48 hours away from her 18th birthday-where was the staff??

 

And by the way, I myself, had I witnessed this teen mob roaming the halls, would have had a talk with the teens about their behavior-I teach high school 9th-12th grade, and believe it or not, unless they have serious problems, most kids (teens) will respond to a talking to by a non-parent, if it's done in the right way-you might not beleive it, but it's true-

 

in 2004 I was on the Monarch, and a group of 14-17 year olds from the cruise were in port (Catalina), no parents in sight, and they were all hanging out in a park by the dock smoking and cursing like sailors,( just to get attention and be annoying), -I said something to them (nicely, and not in a lame, parental way, as preaching gets tuned out instantaniously by the teen ear and brain) and they stopped-probably because they realized that I knew who their parents were from the ship!!!

 

SO I am very sorry to the person who was knocked down-somebody needed to track down the parents and the teens (together) and correct the situation.

[fabulous50]

In all seriousness, I have two sons-not teens yet, but still boys, and I fault the parents, not the ship-if they (parents) haven't laid down a whole set of ground rules for these kids on the cruise before boarding, and a whole set of punishments if the expectations are not met, then it's their fault that the kids misbehaved. My kids know what is expected of them, and act accordingly, as they know what will happen if they don't!! These kids sound like their parents need a good kick in the butt, right along with the teens themselves-

 

Ah but you see there is the rub! Parents that choose not to do this. In order to insure the comfort and pleasure of all aboard the ship - the staff must have some recourse.

[imsulin2]

I have teens, and I agree that it is important for them to be able to "let off some steam." That's why they play sports and take music lessons. It's a great way to work off some of that excess energy and stress from school. The music is calming and contributes to times of spiritual reflection. They also get out there and do required mandatory community service so that they learn that they are not the center of the universe and realize that many people in the world struggle daily to survive. When their cruise date finally arrives, they are so excited and grateful to be able to take such a lovely vacation that they completely forget about their plans for running down the halls and knocking little disabled people about. They are so busy enjoying time with their parents and each other away from the hustle and bustle that at times I don't even have to remind them not to throw furniture around the teen room or not to vandalize the phone system. Sometimes they don't even notice that they are properly and lovingly supervised at all times!

 

By the way, any teen that learns more on a one week caribbean cruise than weeks at school must live in a really crappy school district.:rolleyes:

 

AMEN!! My apologies, but when I first read Stoney's post, I thought it was a joke!! ("Let off a little steam, raise a little Hell"...??? Guess I just don't find this kind of "excuse" excuseable.

[ElvisandTracey]

In all seriousness, I have two sons-not teens yet, but still boys, and I fault the parents, not the ship-if they (parents) haven't laid down a whole set of ground rules for these kids on the cruise before boarding, and a whole set of punishments if the expectations are not met, then it's their fault that the kids misbehaved. My kids know what is expected of them, and act accordingly, as they know what will happen if they don't!! These kids sound like their parents need a good kick in the butt, right along with the teens themselves-

 

Ah but you see there is the rub! Parents that choose not to do this. In order to insure the comfort and pleasure of all aboard the ship - the staff must have some recourse.

 

But there's only so much RCI can do about bad parenting. They could threaten to put the kids and parents off the ship at the next port, but only if they have broken specific rules as stated in the contract-unfortunately, being extremely rude and obnoxious probably doesn't break any specific rules-as for knocking down this poor person, the kids (and parents most likely) would probably claim it was an accident, and there's not much else RCI could do.

[sailor05]

Ithink RCCL needs to consider adult only cruises.

 

 

I think that is a great idea. I wish someone else would have thought of that sooner.:rolleyes: Then maybe all these kid bashing/complaining threads would cease to exist. But only in a perfect world.....:cool:

[Coralc]

Also on the Mariner 10/02/05 sailing two gals from Canada in our Cruise Critic group had their Seapass cards stolen out of their bags while they were judges in the sexy legs competition. The thieves went immediately to the video arcade and started running up charges. I would guess that this crime was probably committed by teenagers, too. Apparently the ship has security video, I don't know what the outcome was.

 

I also don't know what Concord Cruiser (OP) plans to do, but my husband and I probably won't sail on a Voyager class ship again, and that includes the Freedom class. RCCL seems to be marketing them to families, that's fine. Families with kids can have them. We will attempt to book cruises while school is in session, longer cruises and stick to the Radiance or Vision class.

[ElvisandTracey]

wow-the Mariner sounds like its having nothing but problems lately, if these boards are an indication-between violent, biting children in AO, teens romaing the halls knocking people down, and theft at the pool-glad Im on Freedom instead!!!

[Spelling Queen]

I think that is a great idea. I wish someone else would have thought of that sooner.:rolleyes: Then maybe all these kid bashing/complaining threads would cease to exist. But only in a perfect world.....:cool:

 

 

Hmm, maybe if all these kids would behave in the way all CC parents think their kids behave. :rolleyes: Then maybe all these kid bashing /complaining threads would cease to exist. But only in a perfect world.....:cool:

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I just love hearing all the comments about how all the kids belonging to CC parents would never think of doing anything wrong and therefore are totally irrate that anyone would dare say anything negative about kids on a cruise ship. With all us people with our perfect kids - I can't help but wonder where these Jordans are coming from. Maybe they don't belong to anyone! They just stay on board from week to week pretending to belong to paying guests. That is why they are found roaming the halls at all hours - they have no cabins. Someone should investigate this theory. I think I am on to something!:D

[sailor05]

Kids will be kids. Period. We were all there once. There is nothing happening on these cruise ships that don't happen in every hotel in every city in every country. It's the same old dead horse being beaten repeatedly. Kids running in the hall, playing on the elevators, and of course the sin of all sins...they were in the solarium!!!!:eek:

 

There are parents who just don't care what their children do. Out of sight, out of mind. That will NEVER change. But posting/bashing people here on these threads is absolutely POINTLESS. It accomplishes NOTHING but getting everyone to be as big of a smart@#! as they can be, and to see who can out-wit or out-word the other person. It's stupid.

[Spelling Queen]

Kids will be kids. Period. We were all there once. There is nothing happening on these cruise ships that don't happen in every hotel in every city in every country. It's the same old dead horse being beaten repeatedly. Kids running in the hall, playing on the elevators, and of course the sin of all sins...they were in the solarium!!!!:eek:

 

There are parents who just don't care what their children do. Out of sight, out of mind. That will NEVER change. But posting/bashing people here on these threads is absolutely POINTLESS. It accomplishes NOTHING but getting everyone to be as big of a smart@#! as they can be, and to see who can out-wit or out-word the other person. It's stupid.

 

I guess my feeling is that each person should be allowed to express what positives and what negatives they experience on a cruise. That is the meaning of a critique. It is the people who take another's experience and try to make it personal that cause a problem.

 

I also don't think it helps to use the word stupid. Only inflames a situation as far as I can see.

[Airb330]

Sorry to hear about that. I'm 20, but I think I've been 35mentally since I've been 10 years old. I can't stand younger people who act like that.

 

Fall break? Never got that in high school and certainly not in college. All we get at U of Delaware is one day off (this Friday)...woo....:rolleyes:

[pepgin]

'Raise a little hell', 'kids will be kids' .... How does that translate into dismissing knocking an adult to the ground and running away ?? How is that ok in anyone's book ... It's not. I was on that cruise also, and I witnessed the 12 year old in the bar at 1:15am and in the casino at 2am, nice boy ... but he belonged in his cabin in his bed ... If I had seen him with his parents you can be sure I would have told them about his nocturnal wanderings. And if I had seen concord cruiser knocked down, I would have chased those 'children' all over the ship until I got some satisfaction. Bottom line parents, not rccl are RESONSIBLE for their children ... and please spare me the drunken adults .. most of us would have said something to them, but speaking to someone's child ... well that's not pc ....

 

Norma

[ElvisandTracey]

'Raise a little hell', 'kids will be kids' .... How does that translate into dismissing knocking an adult to the ground and running away ?? How is that ok in anyone's book ... It's not. I was on that cruise also, and I witnessed the 12 year old in the bar at 1:15am and in the casino at 2am, nice boy ... but he belonged in his cabin in his bed ... If I had seen him with his parents you can be sure I would have told them about his nocturnal wanderings. And if I had seen concord cruiser knocked down, I would have chased those 'children' all over the ship until I got some satisfaction. Bottom line parents, not rccl are RESONSIBLE for their children ... and please spare me the drunken adults .. most of us would have said something to them, but speaking to someone's child ... well that's not pc ....

 

Norma

 

"Not PC"-oh well!! I don't think these teens were behaving in the spirit of PCness either-I'm not suggesting that strangers try to parent kids that arn't theirs, but you can speak to them-

 

if the parents think their kids are old enough to roam about unsupervised, then they must feel they are equally old enough to operate in an adult world-part of which involves interacting with, and speaking with, adults-

 

so heck yeah I'll speak to an unattended kid if he/she is acting a fool-they actually appreciate it most of the time, as they are probably acting that way to get the attention that they arn't getting from mummie and daddie!!!

 

If their parent has a problem with it, please, come find me-I'm not shy-maybe we can work together to help their kids get some act right!!!

 

I think this may be partially cultural-some cultures don't mind "community parenting" as much as mainstream American families tend to-my husband is from Belize and tells me all the time that he was spanked by his neighbor when he was bad and his mom was not around to see it-do that here and go to jail!!!

[stoney10]

Isnt it amazing how people react............ I do feel bad about the experience you had,, Yes there are bad teens, Women, Men,, Young, Old. Lets see where do I begin, how about with me saying that kids need to release a little steam, YES they do,, they are the same as adults,, I WORK for a living too, lead a very busy life,so dont even go there.

The thought of a wrestling cage on board would be great,, my son is a pretty good wresler so I would like to watch that ( for some of you, this is called a joke)

One last thing for now, Yes my school system does stink, no prob there, but Any kid would learn more on a cruise in one week than a week of classes in school, I am not rich, live in a small rural town, and for my kids to see the ocean, these great islands, is an experience they will never forget, do you think in that same week they will remember there history lesson for the week even one year from now, but the cruise, the islands the new friendships,, a LIFETIME!