Misbehaving Children

[mudscraper]

We were inside Fenway two hrs ago. Got a tour of the place! Pressbox, Grn Monster, Awesome!:)

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

Rich

[Pearlbill]

"Twas The Night Before Cruising." (with apologies to Clement C. Moore)

 

'Twas the night before cruising and in our hotel,

The kids were all hyper, the eight "darlings" from Hell.

The bags were all packed and ready to go,

We'd paid a small fortune to escape winter snow.

 

Morning came quickly and at ten on the nose,

In our suitcases we hid all the booze in our clothes.

And Ma in her flip-flops and I in my Crocs,

Corralled all the kids to head for the docks.

 

When boarding the ship, we heard such a fuss.

"Let us on early, cuz we're Diamond Plus!

We round up the rugrats and tell them to pose

For 8X10 glossies....We'll pay through the nose!

 

We check our room number and head for our suite.

There we meet "Stuart", he'll keep our room neat.

He'll leave us all chocolates, towel bunnies galore,

We've even brought streamers to cover our door!

 

We hear a loud warning and Stuart gets flustered.

Ma is refusing to go for the "Mustard."

An egg crate is promised, if she'll follow the rules.

"Just put on your vest. We ALL look like fools!"

 

Now Billy, Now Jenny, Now Penny and Justin.

And Bobby, And Levi, And Britney and Dustin.

"Adult Pool Only" reads the sign on the wall.

But splash away, splash away, splash away all!

 

Evening has fallen, it's time to get ready.

Traditional dining. "Our waiters named Freddy."

Decked in our glitter, like a moll and a mobster,

We sit in our places demanding our lobster.

 

Dining is over, we head for the show.

Ten places to save, in the front row.

The kids aren't around, "Who really cares?"

They're out in the hallway and playing on stairs.

 

We round up the brood and head for our suite.

What fun we've all had. Day one is complete.

The kids are all snoring. We're sure they're asleep.

Ma's feeling frisky. To the balcony we creep.

 

"Brace yourself Ma!" I shout with delight.

"Let's try for another in the moonlight."

The quickie is over, we sneak back to bed.

I think of tomorrow and what lies ahead.

 

I plan to rise early and be out the door.

Ten deck chairs to save. (We'll only use four.)

Buffet for breakfast, we'll cut into line.

The kids will be hungry, and starting to whine.

 

Ten days have gone by. It's over I fear.

But from other guests, I hear a loud cheer!

With the holidays over, we're all out of booze.

"HAPPY SAILING TO ALL. WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT CRUISE!!!!!!"

 

Bill in collaboration with Pearl.

[suse]

Hope you have a fabulous cruise! Lucky you!:)

[Copper10-8]

Thank y'all:)

[ger_77]

Hello John, how are you doing? I hope you & the "child bride" have a wonderful cruise.

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

G

[Jewel99]

We have a cruise planned this October with our son, who will be 5.5 years old at the time. I have no concerns about taking him on this cruise, but I do have some personal rules I adhere to.

 

- I know the rules for dress, and my son (and myself and hubby) will dress accordingly. If we feel like being more casual, then we will order in room service or go to the Lido restaurant.

- Our son does great in many lovely restaurants and I plan to bring him to the dining room with us. I will be sure to bring things for him to do quietly if he gets restless (like colouring, practicing letters or math, etc.), and if I find that the dining room isn't working out, we'll politely excuse ourself and not negatively impact any of our tablemates - it's not like we'll starve.

- I booked set seating in the early dinner time and requested a table with another family with children. While our son quite often eats later, I would think that most people at the late seating would prefer a quieter dinner with no children, plus it means our son will have some consistency with mealtimes and will still have some fun after dinner before bed.

- If we have a really tiring day and I think my son (or any of us) won't have the patience for a sit-down dinner, we will do something else.

- While we might use the Kids Club a couple of times, my gut is our son will be with us 95% of the time. We have fun with him, and he has fun with us - just about everything is more fun with him along, and seeing the entire cruise experience through his eyes will make the whole trip more magical and fun. He knows not to run and scream like crazy, nor will he be out on the balcony hooting and hollering (he's not that kind of kid). He's a kid - and will laugh and giggle and have fun, I'm sure - but I'll be laughing along with him, I hope.

 

I know our son is young, but I truly hope I never get to the point of wanting to take a family vacation that would involve me not seeing him for most of the day or evening. I do realize that kids need some sense of independence as they get older, but what's the point of a family vacation if you're not spending it together? And also, as he gets older, we will make vacation choices that are appropriate for him as well as us. At this point, given that our son is young and pretty shy and reserved, a big cruise ship with hundreds of kids onboard just wouldn't suit him -he'd be overwhelmed. When he's older and will enjoy things like climbing walls and wave riders, etc., then we'll do another type of cruise - even if it means giving up all that Hal seems to offer over some of the other ships.

[SarasMommy]

We were inside Fenway two hrs ago. Got a tour of the place! Pressbox, Grn Monster, Awesome!:)

 

Not impressed... until you manage to finagle a bridge tour!!! ;)

[willy paul]

If you think it is bad on HA, then you do not want to try Royal Caibbean. Last October we were on a RCL ship with 300+ children on board. It was chaos in most of the ship - the dinning room, shows, corridors. That will be our last NCL cruise. The CD said two weeks earlier there were over 1000 children on the ship. Parents seem to think once on board the children are other peoples problems, no they are not. They are your children and you are responsible.

 

My favorite question of them is " do they always behave this badly or is today a special occasion?" Sometimes people do respond both positive and negative.

 

The worst occasion was with the family next door. They would let their kids climb on the balcony rail to look over the side. I mentioned that is was dangerous and you really didn't want them falling over board and the CD had asked that no one climb on the railings. The father told the child to get down and mother told me she would take care of her children and didn't need my help taking care of her children. My answer was that you will want everyones help if one of them went overboard.

[sillysailor 1955]

If you think it is bad on HA, then you do not want to try Royal Caibbean. Last October we were on a RCL ship with 300+ children on board. It was chaos in most of the ship - the dinning room, shows, corridors. That will be our last NCL cruise. The CD said two weeks earlier there were over 1000 children on the ship. Parents seem to think once on board the children are other peoples problems, no they are not. They are your children and you are responsible.

 

My favorite question of them is " do they always behave this badly or is today a special occasion?" Sometimes people do respond both positive and negative.

 

The worst occasion was with the family next door. They would let their kids climb on the balcony rail to look over the side. I mentioned that is was dangerous and you really didn't want them falling over board and the CD had asked that no one climb on the railings. The father told the child to get down and mother told me she would take care of her children and didn't need my help taking care of her children. My answer was that you will want everyones help if one of them went overboard.

 

These people sound like real morons!

[SarasMommy]

Thinking back to my first cruise, there was one 4-year-old, a 15-year-old, and then me at 30. Everyone else was older. Club Hal Director must have been a bird job on that cruise!

[RevNeal]

"Twas The Night Before Cruising." (with apologies to Clement C. Moore)

 

'Twas the night before cruising and in our hotel,

The kids were all hyper, the eight "darlings" from Hell.

The bags were all packed and ready to go,

We'd paid a small fortune to escape winter snow.

.........

 

This is PERFECT! :D

[Fishfindergirl]

Off topic RevNeal are you still doing the Hawaii trip? It is not on your Booked and Up-Coming list. But you have the roll call started.

[pipedreams62]

We were inside Fenway two hrs ago. Got a tour of the place! Pressbox, Grn Monster, Awesome!:)

 

 

Sounds great Have a great cruise. :)

 

Jay

[RevNeal]

Off topic RevNeal are you still doing the Hawaii trip? It is not on your Booked and Up-Coming list. But you have the roll call started.

 

It's booked, but I'm going to have to cancel. Too much is going on right there on those dates for me to be able to make the trip to Hawaii at that time next year. I'm disappointed, but that's the way the cruise crumbles. :(

 

I'll either shift the deposits to a quickie-cruise in January, or I'll just hold onto them and apply them to something in January 2011. Maybe Hawaii, but I doubt it ... I need to conserve Sundays off for a year or two (I took 6 off in 2008 and I'll have taken 7 off by the end of 2009 ... I'm nominally due 5 off a year for vacation purposes, so I'm going to take off 4 in 2010 and there-by try and off-set the prior two years a bit).

[dandro]

I know our son is young, but I truly hope I never get to the point of wanting to take a family vacation that would involve me not seeing him for most of the day or evening. I do realize that kids need some sense of independence as they get older, but what's the point of a family vacation if you're not spending it together?

 

This post made me chuckle. Just wait until you have 2 pre-teens...it will give you a whole new perspective on the term "family vacation". :eek:

It was about that time that DH and I decided we needed an "us" vacation to counteract the family vacation.

[COLLEYBERRY]

"Twas The Night Before Cruising." (with apologies to Clement C. Moore)

 

Thankyou Bill and Pearl, so well done,very witty and very funny. I am sure Mr. Moore would be flattered. Thanks for a fun read with my Sat. morning coffee.

[kryos]

The father told the child to get down and mother told me she would take care of her children and didn't need my help taking care of her children. My answer was that you will want everyones help if one of them went overboard.

I know this is going to sound heartless, and frankly I don't care. But that's exactly why I hesitate to comment on anyone's child's behavior. Let the kid fall overboard. It's not my problem. If his/her parents are standing right there observing the behavior and are too stupid to care, then why should I?

 

Now if the parents are not around ... and a child is in imminent danger of hurting themselves, then that's a different story. But if the parents are right there and don't see a problem with their kid climbing a balcony railing, oh well ... not my problem then.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[EduTravler]

As a teacher, I will not hesitate to say something to misbehaving children or their parents. I have paid for the cruise and plan on enjoying it. Just like if a misbehaving adult were to interrupt entertainment, or cut in front of me on purpose, etc.

What authority do cruise personnel have in controlling misbehaving children? I know this is not their primary job, but if children are disturbing others in the dining room, can personnel have them removed just lilke in a movie theater? If they are running the halls, can they be taken back to their cabin?

[kryos]

I know this is not their primary job, but if children are disturbing others in the dining room, can personnel have them removed just lilke in a movie theater? If they are running the halls, can they be taken back to their cabin?

They probably can, but betcha they won't. HAL is trying to make themselves over into a "family oriented" cruise line, and for that reason I doubt you would ever see a parent asked to remove a misbehaving child from the dining room. The staff member would be too scared that the repercussions could wind up costing him his job.

 

Sad, but true.

 

So, far be it from me to "correct" the child. And, to be honest, who the h*ll am I if HAL has no problem with it? The parent would become angry and to some extent I wouldn't blame them. My correcting the child or his parents in that situation is only going to cause a confrontation which I will be considered responsible for. So, in that case, if I am unlucky enough to draw a cruise where I have a rambunctious child seated near me, I would simply ask to be moved to another area of the dining room or take my meals elsewhere.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[willy paul]

We were on the Grand Princess a few years ago going from Venice to Barcelona and they had men and women in t-shirts marked " teen patrol" or "youth patrol", I do not remember exactly and they walked the corridors. They stopped kids from running, they stopped kids from misbeaving at the pools and they checked ID"s for entrance to the disco and any 'adult" entertainment.

 

They didn't stop them from having fun, they just controlled them from being a nuisance to other passengers. I actually like to see well behaved kids and usually compliment the parents for their childrens good behavoir. It usually get a smile and a thank you from a parent.

 

You were right about the parental attitude about climbing the rails, from other behavoir I observed I was sure the children were itimidating the parents.

[mrsltg]

I know this is going to sound heartless, and frankly I don't care. But that's exactly why I hesitate to comment on anyone's child's behavior. Let the kid fall overboard. It's not my problem. If his/her parents are standing right there observing the behavior and are too stupid to care, then why should I?

 

Now if the parents are not around ... and a child is in imminent danger of hurting themselves, then that's a different story. But if the parents are right there and don't see a problem with their kid climbing a balcony railing, oh well ... not my problem then.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Funny story. I coordinated my parish's vacation bible school this year. We had a weekend where we hosted a registration table in the courtyard area after each mass. One woman was signing her child up and said child bolted into the street in front of a car. I SCREAMED "STOP!!!" The child turned around and came back to his mother visibly upset. I apologized to him for yelling and said, "You could have been hurt - no running in the street," with a smile. The mother sneered at me, put down the form and stormed off! Are you kidding me, lady? I actually think I dodged the bullet with this child not attending the program. Who knows what variety of idiot she actually is!

 

As a parent I welcome other adults keeping an eye on my children when appropriate. Kids move quickly and parents can't see everything. If my kid acts up or says something inappropriate or is doing something dangerous, please, by all means, say something!!! I still do and I really don't care if the parents of the "golden child" have a problem with it. Man up and parent!

[timh111]

We were on the Grand Princess a few years ago going from Venice to Barcelona and they had men and women in t-shirts marked " teen patrol" or "youth patrol", I do not remember exactly and they walked the corridors. They stopped kids from running, they stopped kids from misbeaving at the pools and they checked ID"s for entrance to the disco and any 'adult" entertainment.

 

They didn't stop them from having fun, they just controlled them from being a nuisance to other passengers. I actually like to see well behaved kids and usually compliment the parents for their childrens good behavoir. It usually get a smile and a thank you from a parent.

 

You were right about the parental attitude about climbing the rails, from other behavoir I observed I was sure the children were itimidating the parents.

 

I think that's GREAT but at the same time unfortunate that the cruise line would have to hire "Babysitters" because of parents lack of concern for their kids!! I can ASSURE you, that if something criminal happend to their child, or if their kid came up missing, it wouldn't be "THEIR" fault, it would be the cruise lines!! A law suit would follow and the ignorant parents would probably get a settlement from the cruise line.

[RuthC]

One woman was signing her child up and said child bolted into the street in front of a car. I SCREAMED "STOP!!!" The child turned around and came back to his mother visibly upset. I apologized to him for yelling and said, "You could have been hurt - no running in the street," with a smile. The mother sneered at me, put down the form and stormed off!

You don't need me to say this, but I will anyway---You did the right thing.

Keep on doing the right thing, regardless of the consequences.

[sillysailor 1955]

This post made me chuckle. Just wait until you have 2 pre-teens...it will give you a whole new perspective on the term "family vacation". :eek:

It was about that time that DH and I decided we needed an "us" vacation to counteract the family vacation.

 

You are so right... believe me when your kids are pre-teens to teens they don't want to be seen with their parents. Enjoy them while they are young:D

[cruisecrasy]

I know this is going to sound heartless, and frankly I don't care. But that's exactly why I hesitate to comment on anyone's child's behavior. Let the kid fall overboard. It's not my problem. If his/her parents are standing right there observing the behavior and are too stupid to care, then why should I?

 

Now if the parents are not around ... and a child is in imminent danger of hurting themselves, then that's a different story. But if the parents are right there and don't see a problem with their kid climbing a balcony railing, oh well ... not my problem then.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

I so agree with you..well put, sure makes sense to me anyway!!

When the parents are there, then in MO also it is the parents responsibilty..I figure that if anything happens to the child because of the parents negligence, ah well, might mean one less potential future 'idiot'..because they will grow up to be just like their parents and we need less of, not more of!!

 

However, if kids are disturbing me, I wldn't bother speaking directly to the parents because if they allow the behaviour in the first place they aren't likely to correct it but I wld speak to a steward or head waiter and request that they be asked to 'settle' down or if not, then be asked to leave & failing that they be forcefully removed!!

We are not disturbing them so why shld we leave? They are disturbing us and likely many others also so the majority shld and likely wld rule IF we demand it. HAL doesn't want to offend BUT will offend the few over the many..IF folks complain and its warranted. If we don't they definately won't deal with offensive behavior from children OR (what attempts to pass for) 'adults'..!! :(

 

Isn't it worth a try, otherwise we are giving up and leaving the offenders in control..

Not acceptable, IMO anyway!!

 

Have happy cruisin'!