Children: unseen & unheard?

[anniecat]

just back from the Amsterdam to ALaska...400 kids on board. I'm not thrilled by kids, get easily annoyed with bad behavior, and can't stand parents who don't respect others...that said, I had NO problems with the kids, the 17 y/o's dressed like freaks seemed to have fun playing with the younger kids, never saw anything but a smile, no running around or stupid behavior. even the parents removed their babes when crying started. A GREAT CRUISE :D
anniecat

[anniecat]

just back from the Amsterdam to ALaska...400 kids on board. I'm not thrilled by kids, get easily annoyed with bad behavior, and can't stand parents who don't respect others...that said, I had NO problems with the kids, the 17 y/o's dressed like freaks seemed to have fun playing with the younger kids, never saw anything but a smile, no running around or stupid behavior. even the parents removed their babes when crying started. A GREAT CRUISE :D
anniecat

[Roboat]

Well, certainly all boys under the age of 30 should be banned, not only from cruise ships, but from appearing in public.

Little girls should be allowed to cruise for free. My wife and I will babysit. As grumpy as I try to be, I simply cannot sustain it with little girls.

Oh I suppose, on RARE occasions, a little boy can be cute too, but only in brief periods measured in nanoseconds. Then he usually begins putting or pulling something into or out of his nose, or eating someone else's gum which has been stuck under the table.

This is not just my opinion - I WAS a boy, so I know this for a fact. Plus I have numerous grandsons (5 or 6, I don't recall) and one precious granddaughter.

[Vicar]

Roboat,



I had a cute little girl once, then she turned 17 and drives me crazy *LOL*

The phone calls, the bathroom, the boys, the clothes, the shopping, the whining,

[RevNeal]

[QUOTE]The phone calls, the bathroom, the boys, the clothes, the shopping, the whining,[/QUOTE]

...the wedding. :D

[carmzav]

We didn't notice any problems with children on our cruise last week, until the next to the last day. Does Club HAL end early or something?? That day at sea, there seemed to be children running and screaming everywhere! The game room, up to that point, had been a quiet place where adults were playing cards. We ended up leaving the area because the unsupervised children were so loud.

Generally speaking, I don't mind [b]well behaved[/b] children anywhere . :D I could tell some stories about my experiences in restaurants and grocery stores though! ;)

The only thing I noticed last week, other than that one day, was the parents who brought their infant along. The baby was quiet the whole time, but I was walking through the casino and noticed Dad changing the baby's diaper on the sofa, which is just gross!! I guess he figured that the sofa would be reupholstered for the next person who wanted to sit on it. :rolleyes:

[Vicar]

Thanks REV!!!!!!! *LOL*


MY blood pressure just shot up to 190/100.

My doctor told me when it gets to 200...SELL *LOL*

Do you know any nice sons of oil or cattle barons down there in Texas you could fix her up with *LOL*

[Orcrone]

[quote name='Vicar']Roboat,



I had a cute little girl once, then she turned 17 and drives me crazy *LOL*

The phone calls, the bathroom, the boys, the clothes, the shopping, the whining,[/QUOTE]Mine turned 17 on Sunday. AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!

[Vicar]

Orcrone,

*pouring you a stiff drink*

CHEERS!!!

May God go easy on us

*LOL*

[Roboat]

Ah yes, I have 2 daughters myself, both past 17. They taught me a lot, including how dumb it is not to keep my razor under lock and key so as not to have it ruined shaving their legs, or lost forever among the COSMETICS.:eek:

[Vicar]

Haven't had a problem with the razors , her and GF use those lady shavers so they leave mine alone. The make up is pretty out of hand though (For both her and GF) I don't think either one of them has the same color nails twice in the same week *LOL*

What still amazes me though is that her and her three friends together don't add up to a size 10 dress size and yet they can get together and eat a weeks worth of groceries while watching a movie. :)

[RevNeal]

[QUOTE]Do you know any nice sons of oil or cattle barons down there in Texas you could fix her up with *LOL*[/QUOTE]

LOL ... hardly. I know some sons of high-tech barons and banking barons, though ... but they're all married. :) Sorry! :D

[Lisa63]

[quote name='carmzav']We didn't notice any problems with children on our cruise last week, until the next to the last day. Does Club HAL end early or something?? That day at sea, there seemed to be children running and screaming everywhere! The game room, up to that point, had been a quiet place where adults were playing cards. We ended up leaving the area because the unsupervised children were so loud. [/QUOTE]This is one [B]major[/B] problem I have with the kids' programs on most lines. Children over a certain age (usually as young as 8 or 9) are able to sign themselves out of the program. While parents can refuse to provide such permission, it seems that most allow this, which results in the youngsters running unsupervised throughout the ship. We stopped using kids' programs for that reason, and our son (now almost 11) stays with us. Fortunately, he doesn't mind, and we like the "family vacation" aspect.

[quote name='carmzav']The only thing I noticed last week, other than that one day, was the parents who brought their infant along. The baby was quiet the whole time, but I was walking through the casino and noticed Dad changing the baby's diaper on the sofa, which is just gross!! I guess he figured that the sofa would be reupholstered for the next person who wanted to sit on it. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]Yuck... that's inexcusable, IMO. When our son was little, we took care of those needs in the privacy of our cabin. Also scary is that this Dad could not have properly washed his hands afterwards. Again, yuck!

[Vicar]

REV,

Thanks anyway,

Well I sent a picture of her and a nice letter to Prince William , lets see what I hear from him *LOL*

[dst]

How about if we interview the parents first to see if they watch their children or let them run around the ship like animals.....that is the real problem! Parents go on vacation and forget they brought the children

[Vicar]

DST


Hey married lady :)

Haven't seen you in a while. I know you said the cruise was great , I am glad :)

How is everything goin?, How is married life?

The only thing is if they are the kind of parents who let their kids run wild on a ship, they will probably be the type to lie about it to the interviewer *LOL* see its a double edged sword *LOL*

[Roboat]

It finally occurred to me that this issue of kids is not really a cruise-related question. And neither are many other issues dealing with civility, discipline, attitude, the good ole' days, seniors, genXr's, dress codes, and the general decline of civilization.

The only thing they have to do with cruising is that for a week or two we are a microcosm - with a huge range of opinions and practices. Forced to live in a confined area, in the presence of others, for a week or two, we experience our differences much more directly.

When you factor in that, for many of us, a cruise is a large expenditure of money and vacation time, we can get a pretty good head of entitlement going.

Maybe anything that bothers us a little on land will bother us a lot on a cruise if we don't temper our expectations with healthy dose of tolerance, mutual respect, and rum.

Now I say We, but of course I'm just being polite. I mean everyone else. :D ;)

[dst]

Hey Vicar:

Yes I feel like an old married lady as well :)
The cruise was wonderful and although there were a few things it by all means was still a great honeymoon. The problem is that since I got back I can't seem to catch up at work; so I have had to cut my time on these boards *LOL*

you guys are cracking me up on this thread, I may never have children....

[Vicar]

DST


Glad married life is agreeing with you :) and that you had a good time.

For all the times my daughter makes me crazy , it is nothing compared to all the times she has made me so happy and proud. I think you will be a wonderful Mom. :)

[ekerr19]

[quote name='MandyGirl'][color=darkorchid]I had understood on some cruiselines that this was already in practice. When the card is swiped, then it flags the crewmember of the passenger's alcohol-status. (I've also read before on one line where if over 18, parents can sign a waiver for beer/wine but not the hard stuff).[/color]

[color=#9932cc]This is HAL's alcohol "policy":[/color]
[url="http://www.hollandamerica.com/guests/category.do?category=children&topic=under21"]http://www.hollandamerica.com/guests/category.do?category=children&topic=under21[/url][/QUOTE]
Mandygirl-

HAL's system does show the age of the person and this was a big bone of contention with me on our last cruise.

For some strange reason, they listed my son and pax #1 (instead of my DH), my daughter as pax #2 (instead of me) - DH was #3 and I was #4.

My "son" (actually DH) should never been allowed to charge alcohol to pax #1 - but did. This also happened to a number of different families.

I almost hit the roof when I received a "pre" print-out of Kyle's (my 16-yr old) cabin charges showing all the alcohol - until I realized it was actually DH's... they never did get it straightened out. :(

[divinggirl]

[quote name='anniecat']that said, I had NO problems with the kids, the 17 y/o's dressed like freaks seemed to have fun playing with the younger kids [/QUOTE]The 17 yo's were dressed at all? [b]Wow[/b]...wait, I guess you [i]were[/i] in Alaska! ;)

[dst]

Vicar: I'll be still coming to this wonderful thread to get parenting advice from all of oyu! **LOL****