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Question for those that have cruised with kids -


welove2cruise2014
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And I certainly didn't think I came across as judgy, just making observations.

 

I think if you look at your "pawn daughter off on some strangers" remark, you can see why many people read it as judgy, which is out of place in a forum where we're all trying to help each other. Referring only to parents of younger children doesn't make it less rude. Some couples with toddlers enjoy some alone time on a cruise while their tikes enjoy toys and other kids - see how that's different from "pawn kids off on strangers"? Anyway, have a great cruise. If you take a walk with your daughter asleep in stroller at night, you can enjoy the lounges, a quiet corner or nice strolls on deck - it's amazing what they'll sleep through when the ship is rocking a bit.

 

Best,

Mia

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My kids and grandkids cruised a few years ago. The older at the time was 3 11/2 and the younger 1 1/2.

They were on the Allure.

Of course, the younger doesn't remember much!

But the older didn't stop talking about the kids club for a long time after returning home. For him it was a big treat.

Often while he was there, they availed themselves of the baby-sitting services for the younger.

One evening at dinner in the mdr, she had a meltdown and her mom whisked her to the baby-sitting. As soon as she recognized the place, she was all smiles!

 

This summer we are all going to Alaska on the Solstice. Our grandkids will be 7 and 5. They are very excited about the kids'club.I think there will be lots of fun and interesting activities for them. Celebrity also has family activities which include the grown-ups!

 

An aside to the Pawning Off comment.

 

When our kids were growing up, I was a stay at home mom and introduced my kids slowly to mom and tot, then two mornings without me, then every morning and finally full nursery school. In those days we would have been horrified to put our kids into full day daycare while babies. But my grandchildren all started at about 18 months. And my observance was that they learned so much so quickly, both socially and educationally. Times have changed!

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I gave up my teaching career to be a stay at home mom of my daughter until she was school age (restarting my career from the bottom now). I have no problem "pawning her off on kids club" to have some time with my husband. She LOVED it on both our cruises (3 and 5 yrs old).

 

Children (of all ages) benefit from parents with a solid marriage (or single parents with some sanity left) more so than they benefit from never having been separated from their parents.

 

To each their own. But don't judge until you (and your marriage) have survived toddlerhood, preschool age, school-age, and the teen years. Then, you can look back and decide if your way was the better way. But...odds are your way will change many times in that time span as you realize you really knew nothing way back when. Also, add a few more needy, demanding, needy children to the mix and see if you never "pawn them off" for a night out or a couples meal.

 

It's all so rosy and pink in the beginning...

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It's all so rosy and pink in the beginning...

 

SOOO true. I am raising 2 very different boys (about to be 20 and 14) and even though they are almost 6 years apart, parenting is the toughest most rewarding job there is. You learn as much from your kids about yourself as they do about the world from you. The first was "easy"...until it was obvious he was ADHD and then his brother arrived. I can't imagine raising 3 or more - more power to those that do!

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My now 17 year old enjoyed the kids club when he was in his single digits. His brother who was 5 when we were on Oasis of the Seas 3 years ago not so much. So we didn't force him to go. We cruise in 3 weeks so we will try the now 9 year old out in the clubs again. If he doesn't like it he won't have to go. Not going to force him. Good thing now is the 17 year old can watch him if Mom and Dad want to go out.;p;p;p

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We just went our first family cruise in Feb and we have 2 children. The oldest is 8 and the youngest turned 5 a few days before our trip. We wanted to wait until our youngest was old enough to go to the kids club because we knew she would love it (she loves going to preschool 3 days a week)

We knew going into the vacation that first and foremost it was a “family vacation” and we would spend most of our time together, but we reserved dinner at a steakhouse for one night and knew they would have no issues going to the kids club. They were happy with spending time with us and also happy with going to the kids club. It was a great family vacation because we got to spend some adult alone time and then we also got to make memories as a family together.

I don’t feel that we “pawned them off” to other people. We felt comfortable and so did they in doing to the kids club...and that was the most important part. When they asked to go, we let them....even for two night owl parties, and when they didn’t want to go we didn’t force them. We loved cruising when we didn’t have children, and we love it now too. That’s the great thing about taking a cruise, you can make it be whatever vacation you want it to be. Just keep an open mind, check out the kids club for yourself, and see if it’s something your child would want to do. Who knows, they might surprise you and really want to go...if not, then at least you tried it.

Have a great trip!

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We are a family of 3 and love cruising. We love hanging out in the waterpark areas, eating fancy dinners together, bonding in the close quarters of the cabin, exploring new places, trying new things - all together! That said, DS is an only child and can only go so long without interaction with other kids. He is social and loves meeting and playing with new kids in the kids club and I'll be honest - DH and I enjoy having a little time to ourselves. We always give DS a choice in the evening - Do you want to go play some mini golf or catch a movie? Or do you want to check out Camp Ocean? 75% of the time he chooses Camp Ocean. As an only child myself, I remember going on vacation with just my parents and LOVE all the memories of places and new things, but I also remember being crazy lonely at times. I feel like with cruising we get the best of both worlds.

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I also meant to add that your child's cruising preferences may change as they get older. We started cruising with DS when he was 15 mo. old. 1st cruise he couldn't particiapte in anything by the parent supervised play time (which was so awesome since who wants to lug toys on vacation!). The following year we tried kids' club a little. He sort of took to it and it was nice to have a little time with DH. Every year after he started wanting to spend more and more time there. The most he spends in there is a few hours after dinner in the evenings and maybe an hour on sea day mornings.

 

Also, part of what makes it a vacation to DH and me is date nights. We don't use sitters at home and don't live near family to help out. We don't get date nights very often so we take advantage while on vacation! Again - best of both worlds! Family vacation with dates nights for mom and dad!!!

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Our son has been in nursery on two different Disney cruises when he was 2.5 and 3.5 (not fully potty trained to go with 3+ in main Kids Club). We did not use the nursery a lot, but really loved having that option on occasion.

 

We are doing our first RCI Cruise with 8 yr old DS and 3 yr old DD next year and just like Disney, plan on visiting the kids area Day 1 to check it out, speak to the counselors, and look at what they have to offer.

 

I think it is great to have that option. I’m a SAHM and we rarely have sitters and zero relatives that are able to help. I like the option of just trying out the services to see if kids like it or not. Plus what may work (or not work) for a 2/3 year old will be different for a 3-5 year old and so on. There is nothing wrong with folks using the nursery/kids club. There is also nothing wrong with not wanting to use it, but maybe go have a look first?

 

Also, with siblings, even though they would be in different rooms, I suspect our DD will be interested in playing with other kids like her big brother. Again, I may be wrong, but I’ll take cues from them at that time to decide, not before we even leave.

 

 

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We prefer to spend time with our kids also. Personal preference I guess.

 

We'll be cruising when our youngest is 2.5 and knowingly chose a ship with no care for kids under 3. Oh well, my little would never want to be left with strangers anyways. We'll just take turns for nap and early bedtime.

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Different strokes for different folks

 

We typically don't use the kids club. My kids aren't usually interested in it. My 10 year old has been on 11 cruises and maybe gone to the kids club twice. He just doesn't want to. My 6 year old has been on 7 cruises and she likes the kids club better, so she will go once in awhile. I never make them or pressure them. I do encourage them though because I think it looks fun! But my kids usually love to eat in the dining room and love to go to the shows and love to hang out with the family (we travel with extended family who live 600 miles away so we don't see them all the time). So they don't *need* it. Some kids would be bored out of their mind with those activities and really need the kids club to have fun.

 

My 20 year old nephew has been on like 17 cruises and he used to absolutely love the kids club. He would go as often as he could. He was telling me last week on our cruise how sad he still is to have aged out of it. He loved meeting new people and it's just harder when you age out.

 

But also, you're allowed to have some adult time. It's okay to take time for yourself. It's healthy and good for you. There should be no guilt about that. You are more than a parent. I think my marriage could benefit from my husband and I having time to hang out just the two of us - without the kids! My kids just don't agree with this! ;)

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We cruise more as a couple than we do as a family. When we sail as a couple we cruise to relax. When we sail as a family, we go with one set agenda "have fun".

 

Now, some background here... My family consists of myself, my hubby and our 8 children now ages 25,24,22,20,17,15,13 & 11. We started sailing when I was pregnant with the youngest. We discovered cruising a little late, but we are trying to make up for it. The kids ( in some combination) have sailed 4 or 5 times in the past 11 or 12 years, so just often enough to know what they are missing when thier parents leave them home and go without them.

 

We are a homeschool family and we have always spent a ton of time together both at home and involved out in common activities. We have never really had access to "babysitters" while raising our children, so until the older kids became of responsible age, we didn't really have many opportunities to just be husband and wife. I have birthed my youngest 4 babies at home and have been very much what you would call an "attached parent". In my case, that resulted in secure kids who have never been afraid to venture out there and live.

 

With that said, we have always given our children some freedom to plan out what thier "have fun" looks like on a cruise. For some that means most of the camp schedule is highlighted and for others that means few things are. None of them have ever been afraid of joining with the kids activities. None of them have ever elected to stick by our side for the week. My teens have elected to join or not join with the teen club after seeing who the crowd consisted of. They love meeting people and having fun, but they don't find it fun to just sit around and be teenagers LOL, so they pick and choose. They do many of the general shipboard activities as well.

 

I suppose if I had a small child who got upset about going to the kids club and could not be comforted then I would not have forced them to go, but I have never had that experience.

 

As my husband likes to remind our children " Your mom was #1 long before I met you and she will be #1 long after you leave, so I'm always on her side" :DThey have grown up knowing that they are loved, treasured, but they are not number 1.

 

Practically speaking, we always have dinner together in the dining room and occasionally we will bow out to the buffet or specialty place altogether. We also always do excursions together. Our family has other meals together in "parts" or small groups most times now and does activities in the same way. It is more work than relaxation to keep up with everyone, keep the younger ones safe and accountable to our standard of behavior etc... but that is why we have more couple cruises than family cruises. It would be simpler to keep everyone together all the time, but it wouldn't make for the optimum experience for all.

 

Long story short, I'm not gonna judge anyone for the way they do things. As long as everyone is safe and happy with thier choices, what else could matter ?

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We go on family vacations to spend time together as a family. That being said our kids do go to the kids club maybe an hour or two a day on sea days. They enjoy it and during that time we either go play in the casino or get a massage or on our last cruise I packed and my husband napped!

 

Our kids enjoy the time they have in the kids club socializing with other kiddos!

 

 

 

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Hello! Congrats on surviving parenthood with a toddler! One thing that wasn't said (and I might feel more strongly about this than others because my kids were in daycare) is that a family vacation is for the kids, too! My husband and I LOVE to travel, but we cut back when our kids were small. When our girls were 5 and 2, we went on our first cruise. Our oldest was a little shy, so we didn't know how she's react to the Kids Club, but she wanted to try it. She LOVED IT! She didn't stay all day--we looked at the schedule and arranged pick-up times; once, they contacted us and said she wanted to leave early, but she still says that was the best part of the cruise. The second time we dropped her off, the two-year old asked, "Where's my playroom?" So we went to the nursery (which cost extra) and they let her look around. She promptly started playing with another kid, and since there was space available, we asked if she wanted to stay awhile. She said yes, so we went to an adults-only restaurant for lunch. When we went back to get her, they informed us she was taking a nap! When we got home, they both told everyone about how there was a special place just for them on the ship.

 

Since that trip, we've gone on two other vacations, and the first things my daughters ask when we start planning a new trip is "Do they have a kids club?" :)We make sure to let them know it's always their choice whether they go or not, and we don't plan any adults-only time, just to be safe. But the staff at all of them has always impressed me. (SIDE NOTE: we went to a resort in Germany, where the staff didn't speak the best English; my oldest still loved it, because they were so interactive and boisterous in didn't matter what they were saying.)

 

Bottom line, it can't hurt to try it, but you won't be in the minority if you keep your child with you, either. It's your vacation--anything goes!

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Well 2 is still very young. Most programs don’t start until 3 I believe. But different families use the kids clubs in very different ways. Kids have different personalities. Shy kids might not utilize the clubs as much as more social kids might. I know some will get on, sign their kid up and not see them again for the majority of the cruise. Many have a limit where after a certain number of hours they must leave for 2 hours. But otherwise they are there for meals, etc. Others use it as a way to supplement their kids experience, just like you might like to go to bingo, or a class. My kids are going on their 5th cruise, with 2 more planned. They have been sailing since 2 and 4 and are now turning 9 and 11. We do all shore excursions together, we eat all three meals a day together. Then we balance the rest. My kids love the kids club. Ours has activities like scavenger hunts, talent shows, silent discos, science challenges, games, art. They have a printed schedule of each days activities and the times blocks. So on a Celebrity for example, the free (no charge time) blocks are 9-12: (lunch 12-2 charge time) 2-5; (dinner 5-7 charge time), 7-10; ( slumber party 10-1 charge). We never do the paid times. You do not have to go in for the whole block either. You can go in for just 1-2 hours if you like. So generally we get up have breakfast on a sea day. Head for the pool for family swim until lunch. Then after lunch the kids might go to the club from say 2-4. Come back, shower we go to dinner and they will either come to a show with us or go up to the kids club until 9 or 10. Some club activities like silent disco, s’more and lawn games, bingo were family events and parents and siblings and grandparents are included. Other days my kids thought the morning block was more fun and so afternoons they swam with us. I think of the club more like a camp. There are days they only go evenings after dinner, especially on port days. I think you can balance family with some activity time. When they are younger they will still need naps etc. so maybe they just go for an hour or two at night. My kids get upset when I try to take them out of the club. They have made some nice friends and play with them by the pool and even keep in touch with a few.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

This has been a great thread. I'm a divorced mom, cruising with my two boys, almost 9 and 10 this month for their first cruise.

 

Our goal is to have the most fun possible. I told them I'll take them to the kids club, then check back in an hour or so to see how it goes. One or both can choose to stay or go with me. Dinners together for sure. Comedy for sure. Ports for sure. Other than that, if they think it will be most fun to hang out in the club, awesome!

 

Now I'm slightly worried I'll be ditched and wandering around solo! Haha! I think I can handle it!

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Kids seem to like spending some time with other kids. I've never believed that my DH and I am so very entertaining that our child would want to spend 24/7 with us. The children's programming ship-board is generally very good and as a bonus there are other kids there.

 

It is not necessarily "pawning" your kids off as much as it is part of the great process of letting your child grow and develop. They can socialize with other people their own age, play games, do some messy crafts.

 

Our daughter is now in college, but has travelled with us her entire life - including many cruises (her first cruise was when she was about 3YO). She's made friends with kids her age from across the country, from Great Britain, Portugal, South Africa, and lots of other places. She has kept in touch with several of them.

 

Even as a young adult she enjoys spending time with us (and we like spending time with her as well).

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My boys were much older on their first cruise (10 & 14), but the rule was that they had to go on excursions with their dad and I and they had to eat dinner with us. Other than that, they were free to spend their time in the kids/teen clubs or elsewhere provided they let us know where they were at all times. We had walkie talkies with a text feature, so they had to text us if they were leaving the kids club and going to the cabin or getting food or whatever. They could not under any circumstances go in to anyone else's cabin. Worked out great for us.

 

If you want to take your 2yo on a cruise and spend all your time with him/her, then that's what you should do. It's your vacation and your vacation dollars.

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Ahhh, to be a parent of a single 2 year old again. Your kid is probably just starting to talk in sentences, you can pick them up mid-tantrum and put them to bed, all non-medical problems can be solved by sleep or eating. My favorite time as a parent has been the low stress time of having one young toddler.

 

For the record, most cruise lines kids clubs are for ages 3 and up. So, not something you need to worry about with a 2 year old.

 

When your child is older and able to say: I want to go to the kids’ club, you’ll understand why people send their kids to kids clubs on cruise ships. It’s especially easy to send them off after hearing this is boring, can we leave now, are we done now, this tastes yucky, MOOOOMMMMM sissy hit me, MOOOMMMM B won’t stop poking me, MOOOOMMMM sissy is breathing too loud, MMMOOOOMMM B won’t stop picking his nose and eating it. Need I go on?

 

 

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Exactly. We travel to spend time as a family. I don't look down on those that do, but we were happy that our kids had no interest in the kids club. Our kids weren't as young as yours (10 and 6 on our last cruise) but we managed , did things together and still could do what we wanted. We had an amazing cruise and have 2 more booked.. again, without kids club.

 

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OP, we also cruise to spend time together as a family! Or we do now anyways. We will be going on our second cruise with our son when he is 18 months. We both work demanding jobs at home and he is in daycare full time. We have date nights at home at least once a month and that is good for us. We love spending time with our guy on vacation since we don’t always have uninterrupted time at home.

 

 

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My 1st cruise kids were 2 and 5 and would not stay in the kids club, tried it once, that was it. It was a bit hard to keep them entertained on the ship, it was a smaller ship. We did 2 Disney Cruises when they were 5/6 and 8/9. They could not wait to finish meals to go to the kids club. They wanted to spend a good deal of their time there, and it allowed us to relax. We did all the ports together and dcl of course has lots of family entertainment. It’s their vacation too so not going to force family time. This time they’ll be 10 and 13, I think 10 yo will still like some time I kids club, not sure what the13 yo will do but I plan to give him freedom

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We are taking our daughter, who will be 2 on the 24th of May, on her 2nd cruise on June 2. We intend in dropping her off at Camp Carnival every day for 5 or 6 hours so mom and dad can have time to themselves. That will still leave lots of time for us to have fun as a family. We also have 2 excursions booked, one just for mom and dad in La Romana, and one for the whole family in Aruba. We are also dining in one of the specialty restaurants without the little one and dining in another one as a family.

 

We are using Camp Carnival and all of the time that our daughter will be there and away from us as a time for her to socialize with other kids, since she only goes to either of the grandma's for "daycare" and she does not go to school or daycare yet. We are so excited for this cruise and we think it'll probably be our best one yet.

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We are taking our daughter, who will be 2 on the 24th of May, on her 2nd cruise on June 2. We intend in dropping her off at Camp Carnival every day for 5 or 6 hours so mom and dad can have time to themselves. That will still leave lots of time for us to have fun as a family. We also have 2 excursions booked, one just for mom and dad in La Romana, and one for the whole family in Aruba. We are also dining in one of the specialty restaurants without the little one and dining in another one as a family.

 

We are using Camp Carnival and all of the time that our daughter will be there and away from us as a time for her to socialize with other kids, since she only goes to either of the grandma's for "daycare" and she does not go to school or daycare yet. We are so excited for this cruise and we think it'll probably be our best one yet.

I’m one who utilized kids clubs on many vacations, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up about having that many kid free hours. If your child isn’t happy, I think they will be contacting you. I’ve had toddlers in vacation clubs that operate more like land based daycares, where they just deal (Beaches and a ski resort come to mind), but cruise lines tend to give up after a few minutes of unhappiness.

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