At what age to wander ship without an adult?

[ennjay]

Just curious as my kids are tweens now... at what age do others let their kids explore/travel around the ship on their own?  My twins are 11 and I remember on their last cruise, at age 9, Adventure Ocean would have allowed them to self-sign-out and while we did not approve that at the time, they were annoyed at us because most of the kids were allowed to self-sign-out.  Now that they are 11 I'm a little more open to it, but still a little wary (this would be on one of the larger Royal Caribbean ships). At what age have you let your children wander around a large ship on their own?  What parameters did you set?  Did your kids have a phone/wifi?  Thanks for sharing your experience!

[INeedAMaiTai]

We have always traveled with family so there were always multiple kids; and I started traveling with them when my oldest was 2 years old.  I let my then 12 year old pretty much do her own thing as long as she checked in with me every couple of hours or so.  My then 9 year old was with her 10 year old cousin most of the time, and we would allow them to do what they wanted as long as they were together, and being courteous.  My next trip, planned for July, I'll have a 15 year old, a 12 year old, and a 9 year old.  I'll pretty much let them go and do whatever with check ins because, at least with Princess, you can pull up your phone or go to any screen and see where they are on the ship, and if they have a phone, you can contact them.  I'm not overly trusting of people, but I have found that the crew does a fabulous job of keeping watch of kids, and making sure they are safe.  From previous experiences, I know that so many of them have kids at home and miss them, that they are happy to see little smiling faces and want to be a part of it and make them smile.

 

AND... I always make sure that we discuss meals at the beginning of the day to make sure they are eating something healthy and not just ice cream and cake from the buffet; and we ALWAYS have dinner together.  I have never had an issue with them not wanting to hang out; I try to get them to do activities with me like the random games and stuff that the ship provides, like ping pong tournaments, and stuff like that.  I'm happy to give them space, cause I need it too, but I also want to make it a FAMILY vacation.

Edited March 9, 2022 by INeedAMaiTai

[Traveller20074]

Thank you so much for asking this.   at the last cruise, my grandson was 9 and he memorized the Norwegian Pearl before I did lol  He went to the buffet, and came back in about 5 minutes with cookies 🙂   I felt really comfortable letting him wander as he is was good to come back.  THIS cruise in May he'll be 17.   brother and sister are 10 and 12.  I am very disappointed that Splash Academy won't be operating as that's the reason I booked it...but...the teen program will be operating at least.  

[mjkacmom]

10ish, tell me where you are going, if you change location let me know. We have 5 close in age so they were never alone. Our first cruise was DCL, the oldest were 9 and 11 and didn’t like the club.

[Woody14]

We used about 12 (for the oldest) as our let them free line, but we had 2 kids 2 years apart and they had to be together.   The big thing for us was we wanted to know where they were going to be so a regular check in.   We did a could of planned times for this like lunch time and mid afternoon.    

It is funny now the kids are young adults and on the last cruise together they still did a regular check in with us.  Now it was more them wanting to know where we were going to be than them telling us.

I guess they are well trained and now trying to teach us.

[oyme]

Mine will be 13 this time and he'll be permitted to wander about on his own. On his last cruise he was 11. I was not comfortable with him unsupervised at that time (age 11). Every kid is different, It should be based on their maturity level and behavior, etc. My son has matured a lot this year so we do feel he's ready but at 11 for him, no way, lol.

Edited May 22, 2022 by oyme

[willoL]

Add me to the group saying "10-ish" with the caveat that it depends SO MUCH on the child. Also we only allowed roaming at sea, never in port (though I don't think the ships are meant to let them off without an adult.)

 

Mine were both fairly physically calm, thoughtful kids, and quiet-ish around strange adults, so I never worried they would climb a balcony or anything truly awful. They tended not to do the things that terrorize strangers, either, like run indoors. (I'm a fairly strict parent about manners.) I have known children who are much more prone to dangerous physical feats whom I would never let out of my sight if babysitting them at age 12... (Thinking of one particular neighbor boy 😂)

 

Also we always set fairly narrow time limits on free roaming before high school age. E.g., you can go get food from location X, but we'll expect you back in one hour or you'll lose this privilege. Like others, we always checked in with the entire family at every mealtime, though often split up to eat lunch as I prefer table service whereas DH loves a buffet. Most dinners were family sit downs.

[Skippy]

On our last cruise, the kids were 10 and 8 and they were allowed to go off together within reason, like if they wanted to go get a snack from one of the stores, that was fine, or if they wanted to head back to the room while I was still at the pool. They had to stay together though.

 

for this upcoming cruise they are now 13 and 11 and I’m going to enforce the stay together rule. My younger one looks really young for her age and I don’t want people thinking she’s 8yo and wandering around. 

[scubaslayer]

My kids were 9 and 11 on their first cruise. They were allowed to go get food from the buffet or other food places and come back to the room and a few other short trips. Also repeatedly going over to the splash area and water slides while we stayed on deck. I trust my kids but not really other people in a crowd. Now they are 13 and 15 and I will give them more freedom but it is still stick together and check in by text. Show up to get ready for dinner and in room/lights out by X time depending on next days plans etc.  A lot depends on ship size and of course the kids plus parent comfort level. Honestly no matter what decision I make, someone is going to be annoyed/mad at some point.

[ChristopherTracy]

This is interesting. I have a mid-aged teen but P&O stipulates that children have to be 13 to be left in the cabin alone I think. I would say that roaming age is anything past primary school so 11 upwards - if they are able to get to school by public transport then they are able to roam around a ship.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

8 hours ago, ChristopherTracy said:

if they are able to get to school by public transport then they are able to roam around a ship.

I concur.  Chicago public high schools don't have school buses.  But... Chicago has excellent public transit by American standards, so that's how teenagers are expected to get to school.  (They get reduced fares.) This is probably also true in cities like New York.  So if a kid can navigate a public transit system, they can navigate a cruise ship.

Edited July 15, 2022 by LandlockedCruiser01

[Itchy&Scratchy]

18 hours ago, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

Chicago public high schools don't have school buses.  But... Chicago has excellent public transit by American standards, so that's how teenagers are expected to get to school. So if a kid can navigate a public transit system, they can navigate a cruise ship.

But OP's kids are 11. They are nowhere near high school age.

 

Being able to navigate a ship isn't really a question here, is it? My child is better at navigating the ship than my geographically challenged mom, but that doesn't mean I am ready to let him roam the ship on his own, while my mom is allowed to do so.

[ChristopherTracy]

A lot of children in cities in the UK make their own way to school at senior school (11+) a lot of them on the tube or buses or trains. It is also the age where after school childcare stops so they often let themselves back into the house for a couple of hours as well - that's what I meant. 

 

But yes obviously you have to take into account how responsible your individual child is. 

[Skippy]

Just got back from our cruise. My 13 and 11 yo wandered around either together or on their own if they wanted to do different things. The 11yo was able to check in and out of the kids club herself. Half the time we found them watching tv in their room. We used the walkie talkies to try to keep contact. 

[MississippiMom]

Regardless of the age, PLEASE, on the very first day, show your child where to go or who to talk to, if they are lost.  Do not assume that they will know how to get to guest services.  Do not assume that they will understand that the crew might all have name tags, but that they could be dressed differently than expected.

 

For the very first time on our last cruise, I found a lost child.  A very sad little guy by the elevator.  I talked to him from far away, and asked if he needed some help finding his family.  It broke my momma-heart to watch him cry and to hear him tell me that he and his older brother had been playing on the elevators and stairs and had gotten separated.  I had him look over the (indoor) railing at the guest services desk two floors down and explained that they would be able to help him.  I then offered to walk down the stairs with him in that direction and I told him that I was traveling with family and he might meet one of my nephews at a kids’ event during the week.  I jumped ahead of everyone in the guest services line (because it was obvious there was an issue) and explained that he had gotten separated from his family.  It took a minute for the crew member to think about what she needed to do, but they took care of him.

 

That experience made me realize that we had always pointed out “the helpers” when traveling, but, for whatever reason, had never spent too much time on it when cruising.  Our kids knew a few spots on the ship to look for us and for us to look for them, but I can’t recall ever walking them to the actual guest services desk.  (Mine are all 20-somethings now.)

[donaldsc]

I have done 2 cruises w grandkids.  One was with my 10 year old granddaughter.  She stayed with us because it was just one of her.  The 2nd was w two granddaughters aged 12 and 10.  They were allowed to go out alone as long as they stayed together and checked in w us at defined times.  All 3 of the kids were street smart and trustworthy.  

 

DON

[flhokie]

On Harmony of the Seas last summer, 11 year old daughter aged up to the Teen Club. We all had wi-fi and she was allowed to go to/from teen club on her own, but would have to text us when she got there/left. She was allowed to explore some without us, but with a friend from Teen Club. 

 

This summer we're planning to be on Princess. She'll be 12 1/2 and will continue to have limited freedom. If they don't allow her to age up to teens, she'll be allowed to sign out of kids club (if she goes). We'll all have wi-fi again and she'll have to update us on where she is/where she is going. 

 

[jlacy1987]

We took my stepson on his first cruise in September 2019 when he was 11 and we allowed him to sign himself in and out of the kid's club area, on the understanding that he was to be either in the kid's club, buffet, room, or pool. We felt that he was pretty safe considering he couldn't go far on the ship and he liked the relative independence. We took a cruise before Christmas this year and he's now 14 and we did the same thing, although we didn't really put limits on him this time.