Children: unseen & unheard?

[RevNeal]

Come on gang, each of us were once children and none of us were perfect.

Let us be a little open minded. While I don't think an infant should be on a cruise. I have no problem with little children being on cruises.

 

I agree with Jesus:

 

"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children...." (Mark 10:14a KJV)

 

I agree ... make 'em suffer. ;)

[lipoppop]

I keep count of people who annoy me on my cruises. The count to date:

 

children - 2

adults - 782

 

Most HAL cruises have few children especially if it is not vacation time. You have a lot of choices if you do not want to be with many of them.

 

As for me I'm waiting for my daughter to let us cruise with our grandsons. So far she and her husband have hoarded them on cruises. I am so proud of their behavior I would love to show them off to my travel mates.

[swmichigan cruiser]

We try not to cruise when there will be a lot of kids on board like summer and during spring break especially young teenagers that aren't properly supervised. That being said we have taken our grandson on two cruises and we enjoyed having him on both of the cruises the first one was on the Norwegian Sky when he was about 3 1/2 and this past spring on the Zuiderdam when we was about 4 1/2. This last cruise he was with us the whole time and that was ok because we knew before going about him being to young for Club Hal and frankly we wanted him with us and we tried not to put him in a position to effect our fellow passengers. We never ate in the dining room we either had room service or ate in the Lido. If we went to a show we tried to sit where we could get him out quickly without bothering anyone else if he wanted to leave. Even that turned out pretty good because he called up to be on stage by Barnaby (juggler/comic) and he did a pretty good job. Main thing is everyone should respect the other people there around but that doesn't always happen no matter what the ages are.

[Mary Ellen]

Another non-voter here. There have been children on all of our cruises - never a problem that we've noticed (and since we don't have children, we'd probably notice). Since HAL doesn't attract TONS of kids, as other lines market more to the 'family' cruise, and we usually sail when school is in session, I see no reason to fix what isn't broken.

[MandyGirl]

It would be nice if HAL would offer one or two specific sailings for "over 18". Not change their policy - just offer a couple select sailings of "adult only".

 

Although I absolutely love teaching the 150+ adolescents I see each and every day of the schoolyear, I do actually like to take a vacation away from students (just like some parents like to send their two kiddos off to the grandparents every so often). The only time I can cruise is obviously when schools are not in session - when most cruises have an increase in the Club HAL population. I had read years ago about Celebrity having sailings such as this during certain times of the year, but have not looked into it recently. Even if the students are well-behaved, it would still be an extra-nice "vacation" (just being on a cruise is an incredible vacation!!!). Regardless, most kids I have seen on cruises have been well-behaved and respectful of other passengers. However, I have seen evidence of vandalism on our Celebrity cruise, kids that didn't understand that lines in the buffet are there for a reason, and so many kids in a hot tub that adults couldn't squeeze in even if they wanted to try! But they are adolescents and sometimes they don't make the best choices we as adults would like for them to. Overall, from my experiences, HAL has definitely had the most well-behaved kids (and adults!).

[Lisa63]

I didn't vote either... mainly because our son was 11 months old on his first cruise and 20 months old on his second. He's now nearly 11 years old and has taken over a dozen cruises with us.

 

sail7seas is right -- a child will not learn how to behave in public without practical experience. Even at 11 months old, our son was generally quiet in the dining room. We prepared him for a couple of months prior, by taking him to restaurants with us, starting out with diners and working our way "up."

 

Like any kid, he wasn't perfect. On those rare occasions when he would get cranky, we immediately removed him from the dining room, show lounge (where we sat in the back for a quick exit), etc.

 

Even now, we rarely use kids clubs as we view cruising as a family vacation and enjoy spending time together as a family. And our son knows what we expect of him and almost always complies. :)

[ryansmemom]

I am also unable to vote given the options of this poll. I agree with the people who feel that the children are being blamed for the poor job their parents are doing. This is unfair to the children. Parent's are responsible for the behavior of their offspring, regardless of the age of said offspring.

 

Well mannered, respectful people of any age are welcome company in any situation, in my opinion.

 

Linda

[AnonymousCruiser]

I tend to agree with Mr. Granger from the BBC's "Are You Being Served?"

 

"Children are better seen and not heard ... and preferably not seen."

 

In particular, boys can be a scourge on the human race. They should be nailed into a barrel at the age of 6 and fed through a bung-hole until they turn 16. At age 16 one should bung up the hole, toss the barrel overboard, and have the captain take the ship to flank-speed.

 

 

 

 

;)

I hope you are kidding. I don't want to go into it, but this post, and your last post about the suffering of children, left me with a bad vibe...maybe it's the combo of your profession and attitude toward children.

[InterestedBystander]

I hope you (revneal) are kidding. ...this post, and your last post about the suffering of children, left me with a bad vibe...

Aw, c'mon -- surely parenthood has not left you so humorless that you can't spot a tongue-in-cheek jibe!

[cactuslady]

I think I will have had my fill of children by the time I arrive on board, after spending two or three long flights to the port with the little one just aft entertaining him/herself by constantly kicking the back of my seat. :eek:

 

Notice how I am assuming this will happen.

[RevNeal]

I hope you are kidding. I don't want to go into it, but this post, and your last post about the suffering of children, left me with a bad vibe...maybe it's the combo of your profession and attitude toward children.

 

Dear AnonymousCruiser,

 

I'm very sorry that I've left you with a bad vibe. That was not my intention. I placed multiple emoticons -- especially the wink ;) -- in my posts relative to children because I am MOST DEFINITELY jesting. I am not being serious.

 

Please understand this: I would never harm, frighten, abuse, or touch in an inappropriate manner any child, EVER. If ANYONE is aware and ashamed of the horrible things that some clergy have done to children, it's those of us who wear basic black. I am sickened by the abuses, and by those who commit these crimes, and pray for those children who have been harmed.

 

Nevertheless, there are many clergy who, out of fear of anyone thinking that they would want or think of doing anything evil to a child, will avoid children at all costs. Not only do they take all of the reasonable steps to ensure that there is never even the appearance of anything wrong happening, but they even go so far as to ignore children, shunning them and never having ANYTHING to do with them. While I take care to make sure that each and every boundary is in place (and not just with children, but in my relations with adult women and men, too), I nevertheless do love and care for the children of my parish. I don't feel particularly comfortable around large groups of kids, but for some reason children do seem to like me, trust me, and respond well to me. I sometimes liken it to people, though disliking cats, find themselves adopted by a cat as a pillow. My pretense, on this board, to loathing the little beasts ... eh, er, children ... is just a SHOW for the fun of it. It's NOT serious.

 

That is ... it's not serious until the Club HAL kids start acting up; then, I'm one of the first to show them the joys of skeet shooting from the rear Sports deck. :D ;) ;) (nudge nudge).

[superstein61]

There were over 400 kids on the 7/31 Zuiderdam sailing - and I never noticed them. No problems whatsoever from the kids. Now a few pushy seniors is a whole another story.

 

Give me kids over a few pushy seniors who feel entitled to everything anyday. More on this in my upcoming review :)

[ekerr19]

I hope you are kidding. I don't want to go into it, but this post, and your last post about the suffering of children, left me with a bad vibe...maybe it's the combo of your profession and attitude toward children.

Oh my gosh.. I think you must have the wrong impression of Revneal. I guess it is a long standing "joke" about the way Revneal reacts to any posts about kids.....

 

The fact remains - you will not find a more kind hearted, generous or fun-loving person on these boards than Revneal.

 

If you take the time to go back and read his posts, I think you will see this, I hope you do.

 

Revneal is truly an asset to these boards - I think he actually loves kids ! He can cruise with ours ANY time! :D

[Nasmas]

I didn't vote either. I've only been on one cruise that children were any problem at all. It was spring break and on the Veendam in 1996. There was a family group with several children all ages that didnt' join any of the other children but set out to make it the cruise from hell for a lot of us. They were disruptive in the dining room and were in the Lido pool throwing silver. I really thought the HAL crew and staff should have done a better job of controlling this unruly bunch. The only ones that weren't bothered were the parents. They just let them go. They ran through the halls squealing (for lack of a better word) and got up on stage before the shows thinking they were entertaining (NOT). It was awful. We didn't cruise for a few years after that because they totally wrecked our cruise. We did finally go back and have never had the problem again. I wrote about it but I don't know if it caught anyone's attention. Even the crew commented about how untamed this bunch was. I didn't hold it against all children because most of the time they are seldom seen & rarely heard. I think the parents should have been taken to the wood shed.

[jazzsea]

I picked "7 or older". By that age they can be involved with "Club Hal" and can enjoy interesting and fun activities aboard ship.

 

Our grandchildren are 5 and 7. When our granddaughter is 7 we plan to take her and her older brother to Alaska, but not before.

 

When she is 8 we will take them to Disneyworld. When they are a little older, we will take them to Hawaii where we own a timeshare.

 

I feel sorry for the babys and the toddlers that are on ships. Their schedule is disrupted and everthing around them is different. No wonder they cry and are crabby.

[Nasmas]

[quote name='jazzsea']I picked "7 or older". By that age they can be involved with "Club Hal" and can enjoy interesting and fun activities aboard ship.

Our grandchildren are 5 and 7. When our granddaughter is 7 we plan to take her and her older brother to Alaska, but not before.

When she is 8 we will take them to Disneyworld. When they are a little older, we will take them to Hawaii where we own a timeshare.

I feel sorry for the babys and the toddlers that are on ships. Their schedule is disrupted and everthing around them is different. No wonder they cry and are crabby.[/QUOTE]I agree. I know some parents think they are doing the kids a big justice by taking them to all of these exotic places, but please wait until they're old enought to know what they're seeing. Babies are great but there are some places they dont' fit. I feel so sorry for the poor little things on airplanes when they cry because their baby ears are hurting and everyone on the plane is ready to kill the parent. I know flying with babies is sometimes unavoidable but it seems there could be something done to make them more comfortable.

[RevNeal]

Dear ekerr19, thank you so much for your very kind words; I appreciate them greatly. I sometimes forget that not everyone is aware that I'm a great big cut-up, and that one can't always take what I say seriously -- particularly not when I'm talking about children on cruises.

[QUOTE]Revneal is truly an asset to these boards - I think he actually loves kids![/QUOTE]

Oh NO ... you've "outed" me!!!! :D
LOL
I do love children, especially when they're someone else's and I can grin at them, play a bit with them, spoil them ... and then hand them BACK to their parents. I've been told that I'd make a great grandparent, :) and that's fine by me ... I just don't want to be a parent. :)

I suppose there are TWO things about children that "bother" me: yelling (squealing) and swarming. Anything more than 4 kids behaving in frenetic fashion constitutes a swarm, and yelling -- or, more accurately, squealing -- is any sound above general talking that contains qualities of ear-drum piercing magnitudes.

[JoeCruisin]

In this day and age I prefer it when a reverand, and any other member of the clergy, refrain from using the words "boy" and "bung-hole" in the same sentence.

[RevNeal]

[QUOTE]In this day and age I prefer it when a reverand, and any other member of the clergy, refrain from using the words "boy" and "bung-hole" in the same sentence.[/QUOTE]

Yikes!
That's was actually a paraphrase from Mark Twain. The "bung-hole" is NOT part of a person's body ... it's the hole in a cask, keg, or barrel through which liquid is poured in or drained out. I never thought about there being a vulgar slang meaning that someone might misconstrue that I had some sexual intention. If someone is going to think that way, or attempt to launch accusations against me for the usage of such a term, then perhaps I should be even more paraphrastic in my citation of that reference from the great Mark Twain.

I'm sorry if I upset anyone.

[bdmarine]

I will refrain from my usual remarks about children aboard ship. I am sure that all the participants on this board have perfectly behaved children and that the children who have annoyed us in the past had good cause to interfere with our vacation.

I selected 16 and above, but would have selected 21 and above if it had been available.

[CrabbyHarper]

I can't vote on that poll either. My last cruise over Easter break on the Maasdam was pretty bad because of the unsupervised kids and feral teen-agers. BUT there were some kids who were absolutely delightful! I'd hate to see an across-the-board ban on kids.

Pity the poor staff who have to cope with trashed cabins, kids frolicking in the passageways at 2:00 am, infants in diapers in the pools and hot tubs, kids who sit in the front rows at the evening entertainment and heckle the performers - all in the absence of parents. There has gotta be a better way to encourage parents not to be such boors and to take their parenting responsibilities more seriously...but I sure don't know what it is!

In the meantime, I'll continue to sail HAL - two cruises booked on the Maasdam - YAY! but I am going to avoid any possible school breaks.

[saltydog28]

revneal-Your comment about bung-hole brought back a funny memory for me. I was at a small dinner party and a man was telling a story about some wine he had made.
He used the term bung-hole. I turned to my husband and asked , is that a dirty word?, my husband looked at the floor, shook his head and said no. The man was mad I interruped his story, and was madder still when I said 'well, what is it?'.
There are alot of words I don't know the meaning of--bung-hole isn't one of them.
Can someone tell me the origin of the word?
Take care,
Pat.

[jhannah]

[quote name='jazzsea']I feel sorry for the babys and the toddlers that are on ships. Their schedule is disrupted and everthing around them is different. No wonder they cry and are crabby.[/QUOTE]And this is exactly why taking them on a vacation like a cruise should be postponed until they are better equipped to handle and understand it.

[RevNeal]

[QUOTE]I don't know the meaning of--bung-hole isn't one of them.
Can someone tell me the origin of the word?[/QUOTE]

"Bung" = "A stopper especially for the hole through which a cask, keg, or barrel is filled or emptied."
Origin of the word: Middle English "bunge," from Middle Dutch "bonge," from Late Latin "puncta."

The "hole" is the opening in the barrel through which it is filled or emptied, which one "bungs up" with a plug that one waxes tight.

[dakrewser]

[quote name='jazzsea']I feel sorry for the babys and the toddlers that are on ships. Their schedule is disrupted and everthing around them is different. No wonder they cry and are crabby.[/QUOTE]
As do I, which is why I started this. THe only thing worse is to see the infants and toddlers at Disney World/Land who are no more than excuses for their parents to fulfill their own childhood fantasies.