Leaving Kids in Camp

[TXKatfish]

We are traveling Carnival Conquest with our 4 & 3 yr old. I know they are setup to keep kids in the camp while the parents go on excursions, but I had not considered it for us (kinda freaks me out a bit to be away from them like that). I've recently had friends assure me that Carnival is completely setup to accommodate our situation and, as long as we take a Carnival sponsored excursion, they can contact us via the tour operator if there is any type of emergency. I'm now semi-considering it when we go to Grand Turk, because my DH and I want to snorkel the reef, but can't take the kids to do that. Has anyone here have experience with leaving the kids behind? Did it give you anxiety like it is giving me right now? :) TIA for your help!

[kitkat343]

We haven't done it, but we've gone on a lot of private tours and never had a problem returning to the ship on time.  I would honestly imagine the kids club would be able to contact you on a private tour - you could just get the phone number of your tour guide ahead of time, and I'm sure if they need you, they'd contact you.  Have a great trip!

[Athankfulheart]

I have never left little ones behind at camp, but I'm not sure that I would be opposed to it. We're just fresh out of little ones at our house now =D
We use private tours, so the age limits are never what they are with ship sponsored tours. We've snorkeled a bunch with them though.... Some of our littles just swam along with us, tethered to our side. One of mine wasn't fond of the water, so we put him in a life jacket and onto a float and just pulled him behind us. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

depends on your kids. Mine tried the kid's club on his first cruise (he was 3), he lasted 20 minutes, was hysterical after that and so far refuses to do kid's club again. He is 8 and has been in many cruises since then.

I am projecting, but I couldn't imagine leaving him in a kid's club for hours at a time, while we go ashore by ourselves. He goes with us and we do beach days. He loves water and sand... Sure, we had to sacrifice snorkeling for the first couple of years, but now he snorkels with us.

 

[cb at sea]

Play it by ear....see how they like the clubs...and if they're content, then go ahead.  If they are clingy and don't want to be in the club, you can adjust your day...

If you're going to be worried the entire time, you won't have fun.  So give the club a try and see how it goes.

[gerif]

Just because they can contact the tour operator doesn’t mean they can get you right back to the ship, especially if you are out on a boat snorkeling. What about all the other people on the excursion?

[Kerry's Girls]

I have left my girls in kid's club while going ashore privately - not even on a ship's excursion.  In my thinking, they are safer even than being ashore and well cared for.  If there somehow was an emergency with them - though unlikely - the medical staff would take care of them and I would get to them as quickly as possible - just like when we're apart at home.  If something happened to me, then I'd be happier that they're safe on the ship.  They will be with all the other kids whose parents are off on excursions.  I think the option is one of the wonderful things about cruising vs a land-based vacation.   Of course, everyone has different comfort levels - you can plan on it and then make your final decision once you're on board.  Have a great trip! 

[teachingforme]

My son has stayed at kids club (Princess) last year while the 6 adults went on a dune buggy excursion. He was not old enough to participate. we made sure the rest of the excursions for that cruise included him. He loved staying behind.

He was 6 years old and got to hang with the big kids (10 and 11 year olds). But I teach 5th grade so he is use to hanging with kids that age when I do after school clubs/tutoring.

[legaljen1969]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 10:36 AM, gerif said:

Just because they can contact the tour operator doesn’t mean they can get you right back to the ship, especially if you are out on a boat snorkeling. What about all the other people on the excursion?

Your answer is not helpful or even responsive to her question.  It's pretty much what I expect, a crabby answer from a person who probably believes no children should be on cruises.

 

[legaljen1969]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 8:35 AM, cb at sea said:

Play it by ear....see how they like the clubs...and if they're content, then go ahead.  If they are clingy and don't want to be in the club, you can adjust your day...

If you're going to be worried the entire time, you won't have fun.  So give the club a try and see how it goes.

Yes, give the club a try maybe one evening if you can do a specialty dinner or something and see how that goes. I agree that some kids are super independent and love feeling like they can have their own special place to go on vacation.   Others really are clingy.
 

It can also depend on the group in the kids clubs.  Sometimes your child may be the oldest, right on the threshold of aging up OR maybe the youngest and should actually be with a younger group. I have found the cruise lines to be pretty strict about the cutoffs when my nieces have cruised. That can add some dynamic to the experience.   If that's the problem though, talk to the staff and maybe something can be done. 

Like CB at Sea said, if you're worried the whole time you won't have fun.   Just give it a try, especially maybe if you have a port before Grand Turk where you can maybe just step off and walk around the shops and have a quick lunch and then get right back on.  That might be a good test.

 

[cabin4three]

do you currently  leave your 3 & 4 year old  in nursery/childcare/school.  If they are used to a childcare setting then they may be OK to be left in the kids club.

As other posters have said, give them a day or two to see if they are happy and what the other kids in the cub are like (one child can change the entire feel of kids club/activity  for the better or worse)

Does the kids club run all day (some cruise lines close at lunch). I have never been brave enough to leave our kids "alone".   But eldest  is 12 so I may be brave  on this summers cruise 😣

One option would be to choose an activity that each of you really wants to do and go separately so that one of you is on the ship at all times.

[mjkacmom]

22 hours ago, legaljen1969 said:

Your answer is not helpful or even responsive to her question.  It's pretty much what I expect, a crabby answer from a person who probably believes no children should be on cruises.

 

I think it’s helpful, and something to think about. Children that young can be really hit or miss with the clubs. I’ve put my kids in them a lot, land and sea vacations. My oldest ended up with a fever on a ski trip at 8 months old, and on another ski trip when she was 8 years old in ski school (ironically our only 2 ski trips). I’m glad they were able to contact us and shorten our day. I don’t think I’d be comfortable doing a snorkeling excursion, but would leave the ship and give them my cell.

[SimplyMarvie]

We left our 3 and 5 year olds in kids club on their first cruise while we were in Key West. We took a quick wander around, got some alligator bites and had a chill day. I'm not opposed to leaving them in kids club, but I think doing it in a foreign country when we were more than just a walk away from the pier would probably freak me out too much -- I totally admit that this is a personal problem, and that generally I'm way more free-range with my children than this. It's something about the international border that freaks me out. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 5/30/2019 at 2:15 PM, legaljen1969 said:

Your answer is not helpful or even responsive to her question.  It's pretty much what I expect, a crabby answer from a person who probably believes no children should be on cruises.

 

wat? Are you serious? I agree with gerif, and for the record - we cruise with our kiddo, because of our kiddo.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

8 hours ago, cabin4three said:

do you currently  leave your 3 & 4 year old  in nursery/childcare/school.  If they are used to a childcare setting then they may be OK to be left in the kids club.

not necessarily. My kid has been in preschool/school/after school since he was 2, yet he refuses to go to kid's club on the cruise.

[Spunky946]

Personally I wouldn’t do it.  Too many hat ifs.

[TXKatfish]

Thank you everybody for the great feedback. I neglected to mention in my original post that we also had other relatives on this cruise who were not interested in the snorkel adventure and were staying on the ship or only getting off to shop for an hour or so. We played it by ear - both boys LOVED the kids camp and were happy to stay there (I had issues getting them to leave sometimes). We elected to go on the excursion with the knowledge that other relatives were close by should they be needed. I don't think I would have gone had this not been the case, but if it works for others then that is great. All other excursions we went on were age appropriate for the boys, and everybody had a great time.

[kitkat343]

2 minutes ago, TXKatfish said:

Thank you everybody for the great feedback. I neglected to mention in my original post that we also had other relatives on this cruise who were not interested in the snorkel adventure and were staying on the ship or only getting off to shop for an hour or so. We played it by ear - both boys LOVED the kids camp and were happy to stay there (I had issues getting them to leave sometimes). We elected to go on the excursion with the knowledge that other relatives were close by should they be needed. I don't think I would have gone had this not been the case, but if it works for others then that is great. All other excursions we went on were age appropriate for the boys, and everybody had a great time.

I’m so glad everything worked out!

[kj_connections]

Has anyone done this (leave their kids in camp to go on an excursion) with RCCL?