Kids in room next door

[ShelbysMom]

Connecting means there is a door connecting the cabins inside the cabins. Adjoining means that the cabins are next to each other, but does not necessarily mean that there is a door connecting them.

[Theresa522]

Connecting means there is a door connecting the cabins inside the cabins. Adjoining means that the cabins are next to each other, but does not necessarily mean that there is a door connecting them.

 

 

Thank you! :) .

[IBoz]

We (myself, DH, DS (13) and DD (8)) are sailing on Carnival Legend on 6/22/08. We have two connecting balcony cabins, with my MIL and FIL in an adjoining cabin. DH and DS are booked into one cabin, and DD and I in the other. Once on board, we will ask the steward to put the beds in one room together for DH and I, and leave the kids beds as singles. The kids' cabin will be between our cabin and MIL & FIL, and the connecting door to our cabin will be open most of the time.

 

On this ship, which is a Spirit class ship, there were also some pairs of connecting cabins at the front of the ship where one cabin was a balcony and the other was an interior. We opted not to do that because the balcony didn't look quite big enough for the 4 of us, and I find the ride smoother if we are mid-ship. However, if our kids were younger, we would have done one of those pairs of cabins.

 

We also used to cruise on the Conquest class ships (Conquest and Liberty) in the Family cabins (I think this is the 6E cabin, but I am not positive). Each child had their own key card.

 

Just my opinion, but I would not have gotten the two cabins unless they were connecting. DS is fairly responsible, but I don't think it would be fair to make him the guardian over his sister at night. It is his vacation, too. Also, God forbid anything were to happen. Too much to ask of him at this age.

 

I find it hard to find that balance of teaching the kids some independence and how to think for themselves, while maintaining the control I think they still need at their respective ages. But the reality is that they are still KIDS, and kids do stupid things sometimes - even the best of them. I want that connecting door!

[Crusin6]

I know everybody seems okay with this, but I would not let my children stay in their own cabin without a connecting door (that would be left open at all times.)

 

Here's the scenario that plays out in my mind: My son brags to someone in the arcade that he and his brother have their own room. This person follows my son to his cabin and pushes their way inside when he opens the door with his card key. My son is abused, abducted or worse.

 

I would never be able to live with the guilt. It's my job to keep them safe and I don't believe that giving them their own room is safe.

It is great to hear some sense being spoken here. We always book adjoining rooms for me DH and 4dd's. If you don't think people watch you like hawks then you are not very realistic. When we walk with our very beautiful, VERY CONSERVATIVE dressed dd's we get stares like you wouldn't believe. You would think we had identical quadruplets! That being said, just book a ship that has adjoining rooms. It is a no brainer. If the ship can't accomodate us, then we find one that will. Also, we NEVER travel with anyone else, so no in-law demands. Grandparents love their grandkids, sure, but for some reason the selfish side of them emerges when they are paying and even though they kids are young, the grands expect mature behavior, etc etc etc. and the grands expect it their way or no way. Also, there are numerous crew members that could potentially have access to the kids cabin and face it in some cultures, 14 and 15 years olds are considered adults. Don't keep your head in the sand about this. My kids do not need the pressure of some crew member or fellow passenger (who are total strangers,btw) trying to befriend them. Let alone know they are staying in a room that does not adjoin their parents! I just can't believe that parents cannot share space with their kids. It is a family vacation not a honeymoon. Yes Yes I know you work all year ETC ETC, but please it is your kids safety we are talking about.

[Crusin6]

With regard to my above post, I meant CONNECTING cabin NOT ADJOINING cabins. My mistake;)

[Crusin6]

If you give your son a key to your cabin, this exact scenario could happen in your cabin...if he came back to an empty cabin.

Did she say she was giving her son a key? I didn't read that. Did I miss it? This person is speaking sense NOT non sense. Kids belong in connecting rooms not adjoining rooms not across the hall rooms! End of story. You all know I am right here.:confused:

[quincytoo]

I am not sure if this is a new policy...We just got our baggage tags and such for our upcoming cruise on the Sapphire Princess and while I was reading the Cruise and Answer book it said that children could have their own room as long as one of the children was a mandatory 16 years of age.

 

I couldn't even imagine leaving my 16 year old be alone in a stateroom that was not connected to my stateroom let alone any younger children.

 

If the door was connected from the inside (not the balcony) then yes but I think I would just pay for a suite large enough for us all.

 

To be honest, many might think I am over cautionous, LOL, I can't sleep properly until my soon to be 20 year old is home for the night.

[Crusin6]

I am not sure if this is a new policy...We just got our baggage tags and such for our upcoming cruise on the Sapphire Princess and while I was reading the Cruise and Answer book it said that children could have their own room as long as one of the children was a mandatory 16 years of age.

 

I couldn't even imagine leaving my 16 year old be alone in a stateroom that was not connected to my stateroom let alone any younger children.

 

If the door was connected from the inside (not the balcony) then yes but I think I would just pay for a suite large enough for us all.

 

To be honest, many might think I am over cautionous, LOL, I can't sleep properly until my soon to be 20 year old is home for the night.

More parents should think like this! It is amazing the lack of supervision some kids get from their parents on cruises. Yes, I know you have to let kids grow up, just not sooner than they are ready for. Another no brainer.

[ShelbysMom]

Did she say she was giving her son a key? I didn't read that. Did I miss it? This person is speaking sense NOT non sense. Kids belong in connecting rooms not adjoining rooms not across the hall rooms! End of story. You all know I am right here.:confused:

 

If the kids don't have their own keys, then the parents will always have to be with their kids, since they won't be able to get into the cabin themselves.

 

If this were the case, with the kid not having his own key and thus never having the opportunity to be followed back to his cabin, then I doubt that she would have been concerned about the scenario that she outlined happening. It only makes sense if she planned on giving her son a key, connecting cabins or not. So the key, while not mentioned specifically, was certainly implied, and critical to the scenario outlined.

[mjmalino]

Whereas I understand your concern, this entire idea of the kids being across the hall has been very well discussed not only between my DH and myself, but with my in-laws (who are coming along--by the way, we invited them, we are all paying our own ways, and they are very laid back, so I am not expecting any issues) and we have made some decisions based, in part, because of the sleeping arrangements. First of all, yes, my kids will have their own keys (they like to have them) and there will be an extra key for our cabin and the kids. However, we do not believe in allowing the kids to roam free around the ship! When they enter a cabin, it will be with either my husband, myself or my in-laws.

[solesman]

We're booked on the Carnival Valor sailing on Sunday, mar 9th. We have a balcony room for the DW and I and a inside across the hall for DS(13) and DD(7).

 

We've gone over the rules clearly for the last month or so. NO ONE other than them or us are allowed in the room. They are to tell NO ONE their room number or that there in no adult SLEEPING in there. The 7yo is not allowed to be in room by herself. The 13yo will have a room key, she will not. We are taking a baby monitor and walkie talkies. Hopefully they'll work okay.

 

The 13yo will be able to sign himself out of Camp Carnival for treasure hunts only and we must know about them ahead of time. And, when he does sign out, he is NOT to go to the room unless we know about it first. This may change throughout the cruise, depending on what's going on or if he's acting responsible with the initial rules.

 

The 7yo cannot, of course, sign herself out. She'll either be at CC or with us. She will NOT be in her room unless one of us is in either room.

 

I can appreciate some of the concerns mentioned in posts above and we always keep these dangers in mind when making any decisions like this. But, we also talk to our kids about this a lot. They are given strict rules at home covering this and know that if any are not followed, any to all "freedoms" will be taken away.

[Poodlecrazy]

In my experience cabin stewards are more than happy to accommodate any mix of child / parent in adjoining cabins. Never experienced connecting cabins, they never seem to be available when we book! I think even the agents know exactly what you are doing when you book 1 adult and 1 child in one room and another set in another room. In fact, on a previous cruise by the time we booked there were only single cabins left and my daughter was allowed to book into her own cabin. My cabin was adjoining and we were the only two on our corridor.

 

In terms of whether or not children of a certain age *should* be left in a neighbouring cabin then it comes down to each individual parent and what they are happy with. I work on the presumption that the mix of potential problem people is the same on a ship as it would be at home and I make decisions accordingly. A mature 15 year old may make better judgments than an immature 18 year old, only the parent knows this.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

P

x

[ShelbysMom]

In terms of whether or not children of a certain age *should* be left in a neighbouring cabin then it comes down to each individual parent and what they are happy with. I work on the presumption that the mix of potential problem people is the same on a ship as it would be at home and I make decisions accordingly. A mature 15 year old may make better judgments than an immature 18 year old, only the parent knows this.

 

 

I agree. It definitely depends on the child - and the parents.

[Crusin6]

Whereas I understand your concern, this entire idea of the kids being across the hall has been very well discussed not only between my DH and myself, but with my in-laws (who are coming along--by the way, we invited them, we are all paying our own ways, and they are very laid back, so I am not expecting any issues) and we have made some decisions based, in part, because of the sleeping arrangements. First of all, yes, my kids will have their own keys (they like to have them) and there will be an extra key for our cabin and the kids. However, we do not believe in allowing the kids to roam free around the ship! When they enter a cabin, it will be with either my husband, myself or my in-laws.

Exactly, could not have put it better. Kids do not enter cabins alone! Of course we are fortunate that our dd's feel the same way as we do and want to spend their vacation days with us making family memories! And yes, we do use the kids club but only for short time periods. like when the older dd's and dh and myself want to go to say afternoon tea or when the younger dd's want to do some thing that is on the club schedule. They always eat with us,then stroll the ship with us, usually we attend the 8:30 show, peruse the photos, stroll a bit more, do pizza or something like that. Do DH and I go out after? Well, we certainly could leave the 17yo in charge but then again that would mean dh and I would be up quite late and tired in the morning because since our next cruise is the western med, we want to enjoy the ports and again keep on making those family memories!;)

[betsifur]

I grateful that I've got a 15 year old who is responsible and mature enough that I can trust her to be across the hall from us during the night without things falling apart. We plan to make liberal use of the on-ship childcare, so that we all get a vacation - the only time she'll be "responsible" is when they are asleep, and even then we'll be readily available. At home, she regularly babysits for us and others without incident. Statistically, children are much more likely to be harmed by their own parents or people they know, than by random strangers. If you are convinced the world is full of predators, by all means do what you feel comfortable with for your own kids. However, it does not make someone a bad parent if they are not wracked with paranoia.

[Poodlecrazy]

I grateful that I've got a 15 year old who is responsible and mature enough that I can trust her to be across the hall from us during the night without things falling apart. We plan to make liberal use of the on-ship childcare, so that we all get a vacation - the only time she'll be "responsible" is when they are asleep, and even then we'll be readily available. At home, she regularly babysits for us and others without incident. Statistically, children are much more likely to be harmed by their own parents or people they know, than by random strangers. If you are convinced the world is full of predators, by all means do what you feel comfortable with for your own kids. However, it does not make someone a bad parent if they are not wracked with paranoia.

 

Couldn't agree more. Everyone has to make their own judgments. Personally I think my daughter and I (I am a single parent) are much happier and healthier for a slightly more relaxed attitude from me. I'd drive myself mad if I went into all the what ifs!! :o