Change in Princess policy re: kids in cabins

[Buddy604]

To respond to the question about "how will they know if an adult is staying in a cabin", I think it maybe quite easy. Look at the comments from other cruiser's. It's not hard for them to determine if the kids across the hall are on their own. It will not be hard for staff either.

Supposedly, security is going to be keeping an eye on this to identify offenders. Seems like a big job to me, but we'll see how serious they are about it.

 

Regarding connecting cabins, it's a great idea, but it would really bump up the cost for a lot of families that go the one balacony cabin and one inside cabin route, with the folks getting the balcony and the kids sleeping in the inside cabin. Either the parent would have to give up their balcony/outside cabin or shell out more for a second of the same class.

[yarlenna]

If you read my other thread - Not Happy with Princess you would understand my dilemma. I originally had two cabins booked next to each other - one for my husband and I - the other for our two kids - ages 13 and 17 and our 19 year old niece. Princess took it upon themselves to switch our cabin. Long story shortened - still to this day they have my husband and I in A427 and the kids in A410. We are not next to each other by anymeans.

 

Even though our kids are older and are all teens, I will not rest until I am back next to them. Not only are the three of them minors and my dh and I are responsible for them, in light of the recent problems, I want to be next to the kids. Princess themselves moved our cabin so we are not next to them.

 

I ask what kind of new policy is this if Princess themselves decided that we don't need to be next to our kids?? A bit of a contridiction dont you think?

I hate to bash Princess especially since we haven't even taken our first Princess cruise, but I truly wonder what is going on in their home office.

I wonder if your problem is part of "new" rules? If one adult bunks with some of the kids and the other adult with the rest.

[jealdaka]

Why not just book connecting cabins and not worry about it?

[yarlenna]

Why not just book connecting cabins and not worry about it?

They did -

[DiRi51]

So is switching cabins once you are on board - which is against policy it sounds like - any different than wearing dressy jeans to the dining room on

non-formal night?????

[Ula]

This could get very heated, I do know and I had a younger sister we did a family vacation once a year. We all shared a room. That was how my folks did it, and my sister does it with her sons now.

The problem on a cruise ship is the cabins are smaller than what we called a double double. Also there is a lack of joining rooms, and for some reason and I have often read this the cruise lines just change cabins on people. A family should be able to book their open cabins and say do not move us.

I just travel with my husband so we share a room. We can be moved around. And at our age if they said we have to split you I do not know if we would complain. That is a joke.

I do feel for cruising families. But remember if a cruise is a family vacation. then you are not on the cruise to reconnect as a couple. You would not bring the kids. The kids are your first responsibility. That is part of the parent card when you give birth.

I have yet to have problems on any cruise with young people. I think most parents keep on eye out.

[Gypsea]

Sailed alone on Celebrity a few weeks ago. They have a dead bolt on the door which I used each night and hope such a thing is on my Crown cabin. With that I feel safe but wouldn't if it were not there.

[SunDevil77]

I guess I'm not understanding the issue here. Is it that children under 15 should never be in a cabin unattended or that they should never stay overnight in a cabin by themselves? What is the difference between my 15 year old daughter periodically throughout the day going back to our cabin to change her clothes (which teenagers are prone to do quite frequently), or taking a nap, or watching tv, or showing a new-found friend something, etc. etc, and her just sleeping at night in a cabin right next to ours? Should I be with her at all times as she goes to the cabin, never letting her go by herself? It seems to me that there isn't any difference between allowing our teens to go to our cabin by themselves and staying there alone during the day versus sleeping in a cabin directly next to us at night. Which is the arrangement that we will have on our upcoming CB cruise. And I will be content with this arrangement because I know that they are well behaved kids.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I guess I'm not understanding the issue here. Is it that children under 15 should never be in a cabin unattended or that they should never stay overnight in a cabin by themselves? What is the difference between my 15 year old daughter periodically throughout the day going back to our cabin to change her clothes (which teenagers are prone to do quite frequently), or taking a nap, or watching tv, or showing a new-found friend something, etc. etc, and her just sleeping at night in a cabin right next to ours? Should I be with her at all times as she goes to the cabin, never letting her go by herself? It seems to me that there isn't any difference between allowing our teens to go to our cabin by themselves and staying there alone during the day versus sleeping in a cabin directly next to us at night. Which is the arrangement that we will have on our upcoming CB cruise. And I will be content with this arrangement because I know that they are well behaved kids.

 

I think the issue is sleeping at night alone in case of an emergency. My 3 kids who are almost 14, 16, and almost 18 had their own cabin on the 3/19 Star sailing. It was scary at 3 am that they were not in our cabin with us and we had to get them, however in our case it was also a plus since they were not in a burning cabin and didn't lose everything or suffer from smoke inhalation. During the day most are awake and about while in the middle of the night it's not the case. I guess Princess is just being cautious.

[chasetf]

I ask what kind of new policy is this if Princess themselves decided that we don't need to be next to our kids?? A bit of a contridiction dont you think? I hate to bash Princess especially since we haven't even taken our first Princess cruise, but I truly wonder what is going on in their home office.

Just an Idea.... It may not be Princess's fault. Has your TA cross referenced your reservations. My brother and I (and our wives) sail together often. Our TA always makes sure our reservations are cross referenced. We have been moved quite often. Tomorrows Dawn were were upgraded once, and our upcoming Golden we have been upgraded twice. All three times we moved we moved together. :)

[chasetf]

It seems to me that there isn't any difference between allowing our teens to go to our cabin by themselves and staying there alone during the day versus sleeping in a cabin directly next to us at night. Which is the arrangement that we will have on our upcoming CB cruise. And I will be content with this arrangement because I know that they are well behaved kids.

I understand your argument, but also hope you see CSJKIDS response from their personal experience on the Star. It's the parents who donot supervise their children (without going into the litney of missing kids, unruly kids....etc) that have caused Princess to take this action.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I understand your argument, but also hope you see CSJKIDS response from their personal experience on the Star. It's the parents who donot supervise their children (without going into the litney of missing kids, unruly kids....etc) that have caused Princess to take this action.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with parents not supervising their kids, it's for the safety of young kids at night in case of an emergency.

[tareed]

I'm sure my name is going to be "mud" also, but I have two kids, 15 and 10. We've always had them in the room with us, they share a bed and DH and I do. Granted, it's a pain in the butt when it's shower time, but we make do - hence the balcony. We use our cabin time as our catch up for the day and talk time - we are on a family vacation. We are going to Disney World in a month and I would even dream of putting them in their own room - I guess I just don't understand the logic of doing that. Oh well - to each his own. I do agree with the posters that have said you still have an obligation to be responsible for your kids and if they are running around acting like wild-indians, then you (generalized you) need to make sure you handle it.

 

Someone else made a suggestion of a baby monitor - that's not a bad idea and if ever I were to book a separate room for my kids (not), I would definitely do that. But, I probably wouldn't sleep anyway 'cause I'd be worrying, so no matter.

 

Besides, I don't want to spend the extra money for another cabin when I can use that for excursions and maybe another cruise.

 

 

 

I am booked on the crown for its first sailing along w/ 6 other families.

We all wanted to be 4 to a cabin but Princess wouldnt sale the cabins that way. They have all the "quads" they wanted and we all had to get two cabins. We have one parent w/ the 15 yr old & one with the 19 year old. But I would like to change it now to my kids (one 19 & one 15) and put my DH and me back together. We have one family that has a 16 yr old & a 15 yr old. Would they be able to be together or not according to the new rule?

[eab]

This will be interesting to see. We are booked in 2 cabins for this summer with the 3 kids listed together (ages 17, 12 and 10). But I don't mind splitting up from my husband for the nights to stay with the kids if we need to.. in fact may do so anyway. That's what we did last summer on RC. Girls cabin (balcony!) and boys cabin (inside!). There are 5 of us, so no single room on RC and Princess work for us. We were all together in one room on Disney.

[Jennifer823]

We originally booked our cruise with Mom, 14 yr old daughter and 1 yr old daughter in one room and Dad, 11 yr old son and 9 yr old son in other room. My 18 yr old sister is now coming with us and we booked her in the cheaper inside room (with the guys). Would there be a problem switching it around on the ship so that Mom, Dad and 1 yr old are in the balcony room and 18 yr old, 14 yr old, 11 and 9 yr olds are in the inside room across the hall?

 

Is this all just a matter of room keys? I mean, if mom and dad are together all the time during the cruise we have a key for each room, right?

[SunDevil77]

I think the issue is sleeping at night alone in case of an emergency. My 3 kids who are almost 14, 16, and almost 18 had their own cabin on the 3/19 Star sailing. It was scary at 3 am that they were not in our cabin with us and we had to get them, however in our case it was also a plus since they were not in a burning cabin and didn't lose everything or suffer from smoke inhalation. During the day most are awake and about while in the middle of the night it's not the case. I guess Princess is just being cautious.

 

I understand Princess' desire to be cautious, and safety must always come first, but having my 15 year old and 12 year old in the cabin right next door to ours doesn't seem to me to hamper safety. If something happens they are right next to us. That's closer than in our own house where they are even farther away from our room -- we have a pretty big house. With Princess changing these rules, I think it will make many families think twice about cruise vacations. I personally would not be interested in cramming four people into a tiny ship cabin. We have chosen a cruise for our family vacation every year for the past 5 years and love the cruising experience. A cruise offers everything we could ask for and one of the big pluses is the kids activities aboard cruises. I hope Princess realizes this and allows for some flexibility in their cabin assignment policy for families.

[CleoChase]

It really depends on the kids that are involved and the parents need to honestly assess the kids maturity level. This may mean putting the safety of the kids above the wants of the parents. I really don't think that there is just one answer to this issue.

 

However, if I had kids and was to have them in a different cabin, I know that I would want to really study the deck plans and make sure that we were on the same side of all fire doors. I do this when I am booking with my parents. I want to make sure that I am in control or at least feel like I am. I know that my parents can take care of themselves, but that does not stop me from being protective of them.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I understand Princess' desire to be cautious, and safety must always come first, but having my 15 year old and 12 year old in the cabin right next door to ours doesn't seem to me to hamper safety. If something happens they are right next to us. That's closer than in our own house where they are even farther away from our room -- we have a pretty big house. With Princess changing these rules, I think it will make many families think twice about cruise vacations. I personally would not be interested in cramming four people into a tiny ship cabin. We have chosen a cruise for our family vacation every year for the past 5 years and love the cruising experience. A cruise offers everything we could ask for and one of the big pluses is the kids activities aboard cruises. I hope Princess realizes this and allows for some flexibility in their cabin assignment policy for families.

 

My kids have always been in a different cabin from ours. I was only pointing out that Princess may be making the change for safety reasons. Yes, you are correct that they are right next door to you and I don't want to scare you or anybody else, but I do believe that Princess is thinking of safety issues, not sure why they feel that 16 is the right age, guess they have their reasons. I'm glad my kids weren't right next door in a balcony cabin since our balcony was on fire prior to the general alarm sounding and the door shattered. Had they been to the front of us, their cabin would have been on fire prior to ours and just the thought of that is enough to send chills down my spine.