Potty trained info for Adventure Ocean 3-5 year olds... something to know

[clansac]

We just returned from the Voyager and DS is nearly 5. He has been fully potty trained since he was just a little over 2 and has not had an accident since he was 2 1/2. However, he had an accident last week and I wanted to let everyone know why and what to expect.

 

The Adventure Ocean staff is not good at reminding kids to go potty and they DO NOT allow them (for safety reasons) to use the bathroom if they are out and about on the ship. On Pirate Parade night, they didn't tell the kids this before they left to do the parade and they were gone nearly 2 hours walking around the boat, taking pictures etc. DS had to go to the bathroom and asked to go but they made him wait nearly 30 min before they got back to the room. He couldn't wait that long and just before making it back, he had an accident. Most of this info came from him, but was confirmed by the written report I had to sign giving him one strike (2 potty strikes and you're out).

 

Take your kids potty before you drop them off and remind them to go when they're there, even if YOU ARE SURE they're potty trained! DS was embarrassed and humiliated and felt like everyone was laughing at him.

[crusinmama06]

Yep, the infamous "3 strikes and your out" I came face to face with the same policy (different reasons)

 

I feel bad for your poor son. He must have been humiliated. :( And to make you sign a paper :rolleyes: .

 

They need to rework that policy. It's ridiculous. They are KIDS, not little miniature adults.

[clansac]

Heck, I still have to remind my husband to go potty before we get in the car! He's famous for driving 15 min then asking me to stop because he "forgot" to go!

 

I did ask the staff why they don't let them go potty when out and about- she said that for safety reasons, they have to maintain numbers. I understand that but I still think they should take a group of them all at once. My son's school knows how to do this on field trips so it didn't seem unreasonable.

[clansac]

Heck, I still have to remind my husband to go potty before we get in the car! He's famous for driving 15 min then asking me to stop because he "forgot" to go!

 

I did ask the staff why they don't let them go potty when out and about- she said that for safety reasons, they have to maintain numbers. I understand that but I still think they should take a group of them all at once. My son's school knows how to do this on field trips so it didn't seem unreasonable.

[clansac]

Heck, I still have to remind my husband to go potty before we get in the car! He's famous for driving 15 min then asking me to stop because he "forgot" to go!

 

I did ask the staff why they don't let them go potty when out and about- she said that for safety reasons, they have to maintain numbers. I understand that but I still think they should take a group of them all at once. My son's school knows how to do this on field trips so it didn't seem unreasonable.

[clansac]

Heck, I still have to remind my husband to go potty before we get in the car! He's famous for driving 15 min then asking me to stop because he "forgot" to go!

 

I did ask the staff why they don't let them go potty when out and about- she said that for safety reasons, they have to maintain numbers. I understand that but I still think they should take a group of them all at once. My son's school knows how to do this on field trips so it didn't seem unreasonable.

[clansac]

Sorry for the million posts, evidently the board wigged out on me!

[mchin]

Thanks for the 'heads up.' My DD will be a very young three when we cruise in April. We are working on potty training now, but I'm not banking on her being completely trained by April, so I guess we might skip Adventure Ocean this time. If she is trained by then, I don't want her to feel punished for having an accident.

[cruise kitty]

That is unacceptable on the staff's part. I was a kindergarten aide for many years and if you're going to work with a group of children you have to line them up and take them for a potty break on a regular basis and also have enough staff to safely escort a child to the potty in an emergency. Your son should not have been embarrassed in that way.

[clansac]

Don't get me wrong, he loved loved loved adventure ocean and was begging to go back today even though we're home. But that day was very embarassing and I thought that everyone needed to know so they can make their own decisions. I was surprised that they dont' even remind the kids to go potty. There's a big difference between being potty trained and being completely self-sufficient and knowing how long you can wait.

[cuppycakemom]

WOW! What a horrible policy.

 

I would encourage you to be sure an speak to someone about the incident. It's only through parents like you having incidents like that and TELLING the right people that the policy might be changed.

 

Nothing they can do about it now, obviously, but maybe if enough people have something to say about it, they would consider the fact that it's NOT a good policy.

 

So sorry for your son...big hugs!!

[prncssjyf]

WOW...

 

I am so sorry for your son! What a horrible experience for him! I agree with the others that the policy needs to be reworked and that ANYONE who works with children in the 3-5 yr age range should know kids that age need frequent potty breaks and reminders. Embarrassment actually works the opposite and may make the child regress.

 

I have a 4 yr old son who is almost completely potty trained (will ask for a pull up at night to have a BM but won't do anything when out), but he gets embarrassed very easily if he has an accident (very rare, but he does need reminders to pee every once in a while). We are leaving on Sunday, I hope everything goes OK with him and AO. Oh well, what's the worst??? I'll pull him out before I let him feel embarrassed or that he's in "trouble" if he has an accident b/c he wasn't reminded or "let" go to the bathroom.

 

If I were you I'd write a formal complaint that your son told them he had to go to the bathroom but was not allowed. When kids that age say they have to go...they usually have to go RIGHT AWAY ;)

 

Glad you and he enjoyed the rest of the trip :D

 

Jen

[Dr_DNA]

Something else to know, because it was a surprise to us. Not only do the kids have to be potty trained, but they can not receive any help from the staff. Our son was completely potty trained but needed help pulling up and buttoning his pants. We were told that they would not help with this and if he went to the bathroom but needed help, that would be a strike. So, we checked in frequently and persuaded him to go, so there were no problems. We also had him wear pants that didn't have buttons so he could at least attempt to do it himself if he had to go in between our visits.

[crusinmama06]

 

If I were you I'd write a formal complaint that your son told them he had to go to the bathroom but was not allowed. When kids that age say they have to go...they usually have to go RIGHT AWAY ;)

 

Glad you and he enjoyed the rest of the trip :D

 

Jen

 

Great point! When we had issues with AO I was going LIVE from Freedom...lol. So RCCL and the CC members got a play by play summary as it was happening. When I got home, I fired off letters to RCCL. I had a phone call back within days. (No I didn't ask for or receive any kind of restitution ;) ) I just wanted to make sure they were aware of the issues and protected the children from the problems on future FOS cruises.

 

I know RCCL monitors the board. I don't know if they look at the family cruising board. But it is a black mark against their public image as a family friendly cruisline. Carnival changes diapers. NCL pages you when a child needs to be changed. The least RCCL can do is to remind a child...not humiliate the child and the parents with a strike (which you need to sign for :rolleyes: )

[clansac]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I did write it on our comment card, on the AO comment card and mentioned it at Guest Services but more as an FYI not a complaint. I suppose I should follow it up with a formal letter to RCCl letting them know that their policy is lame and makes their staff look inexperienced. I found it quite stunning that people work with kids below 7 at all and don't remind them to use the restroom!