SCUBA- leave 5 YO on board?

[sunflower girl]

My DH and I disagree on this topic, so I am asking...has anyone gone SCUBA diving and left their child on board the ship? I am not really comfortable with this, even going on a ship's excursion and my Dh thinks it is fine. DD will be 5 when we cruise, not old enough to make it to the next port alone. We MAY be cruising with friends but they have not confirmed yet.

 

We are looking at the Carnival Legend, GC, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel...not sure if that matters or not.

 

thanks!

[mkad1109]

My DH and I disagree on this topic, so I am asking...has anyone gone SCUBA diving and left their child on board the ship? I am not really comfortable with this, even going on a ship's excursion and my Dh thinks it is fine. DD will be 5 when we cruise, not old enough to make it to the next port alone. We MAY be cruising with friends but they have not confirmed yet.

 

We are looking at the Carnival Legend, GC, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel...not sure if that matters or not.

 

thanks!

I would not leave my kids behind on the ship, but that is just my opinion. I unfortunately am the type to think of all the things that COULD (but probably won't!) happen! I would leave them behind with my mom or adult friends since they are older now, but when they were only 5 I worried too much. Please recognize all of what I am saying is about ME. I think they probably would have been fine with being left behind as they were not the skittish type, I only worry for you because if you are nervous now it probably won't get better on the ship and you may not have as good a time as you hope while scuba diving. I think you are right to feel hesitant. You might be better off waiting until she is a little older or else go snorkeling with her.

 

 

Once when I only had two kids (we have 4), my DH and I left them for a weekend trip to go out to the Hamptons (about an hour away from where we live). I didn't feel the need to go, but DH wanted to go so I away we went for the first (and end of story is ONLY) night away from them. We had a great dinner, our first movie since getting married and a restful sleep. When I woke the next morning and called mom to see how they were doing my heart broke. Luckily DH understood who he married, and we went home after staying for lunch (Mom insisted we not show up until after lunch!).

 

Long winded way of saying follow your heart. If it doesnt feel right it probably isn't. Trust me it's such a SHORT time that they are here...the story I told happened 14 years ago and it seems like yesterday. Now I am staring at sending my DS off to college! Good Luck with whatever you decide to do!

[cb at sea]

If you decide to leave your child at the kid's club while you do an excursion, they will be fine. The folks are well-trained and responsible. That being said, if you don't feel comfortable, then you won't have fun. Take the child and sit on the beach with him/her while your husband scubas! That's really your only other option! It's a matter of hubby or children....which is more important???? (I vote for hubby! Kids aren't happy/well-cared for if the parents aren't "in sync"!)

I guess it's something that isn't "cruise specific"--who would come first in your life...the love of your life, or the "result" of the love of your life???? Talk to your hubby about this one...you need his imput!

[mobster75]

Are both of you planning on doing the SCUBA excursion? (Are you both certified divers?).

 

If you are both looking to dive, I would imagine the Kid's Club would be a good place to leave your 5 yo DD while you are on the excursion.

 

Are you afraid of missing the ship in case the excursion runs long and your DD being alone (in Kid's Club care) until the next port of call? Is the excursion cruise line organized or did you book it independently?

[jemy70]

When looking at various excursion choices for our cruise, a lot of fun sounding ones did not take younger children, so I was mulling over this same scenario. This is our first cruise, so I have no experience, but I am pretty hesistant to leave them on the ship while we are off on shore somewhere. I know they would be fine in the kids club, and since it's open during port days, obviously other people do it, but I am pretty sure we will take them with us when we get off the boat and forego those excursions that they can't do. We are trying not to get carried away by signing up for too many activities anyway, so it narrows down our choices nicely! :)

[sandytoes03]

Are you worried about missing the ship? If you do an excursion through the cruise company you don't have to worry about that. What port will you be in? Sometimes you are in a port until 11pm at night (Nassau) and if that's the case, missing the ship shouldn't be a worry. ;)

[yvqchick]

are you sure you are even allowed to leave the ship while your kids are at the kids camp? I thought I had read somewhere that you couldn't.....I wasn't looking to do it (personally wouldn't dream of it unless I was leaving her with family) but it seems like something I read before.

Just wondering

[mactrio]

My DH and I disagree on this topic, so I am asking...has anyone gone SCUBA diving and left their child on board the ship? I am not really comfortable with this, even going on a ship's excursion and my Dh thinks it is fine. DD will be 5 when we cruise, not old enough to make it to the next port alone. We MAY be cruising with friends but they have not confirmed yet.

 

We are looking at the Carnival Legend, GC, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel...not sure if that matters or not.

 

thanks!

 

My son is 9 years old and I would never leave him on the ship while we would be in port. Too many things can happen. Car accident, boat accident and then my child would be alone with strangers in a foreign country. No way!!!!

 

This is only my opinion; but if you feel the need to ask....you already know your answer. Bring your child with you to the dive site and let hubby dive while you watch her and then switch out and he can watch her while you dive.

Good luck with your decision.

[sunflower girl]

are you sure you are even allowed to leave the ship while your kids are at the kids camp? I thought I had read somewhere that you couldn't.....I wasn't looking to do it (personally wouldn't dream of it unless I was leaving her with family) but it seems like something I read before.

Just wondering

 

 

That really would have been nice, but Carnival allows you to leave your child at kids camp and go on an excursion. First thing I checked (and was hoping for). I was thinking of Eden rock in GC, walking distance from the tender pier and a shore dive...still do not feel good about it...maybe DH will change his mind. She can snorkel well, so we will be doing that at the other ports - TOGETHER!

[sunflower girl]

Are both of you planning on doing the SCUBA excursion? (Are you both certified divers?).

 

If you are both looking to dive, I would imagine the Kid's Club would be a good place to leave your 5 yo DD while you are on the excursion.

 

Are you afraid of missing the ship in case the excursion runs long and your DD being alone (in Kid's Club care) until the next port of call? Is the excursion cruise line organized or did you book it independently?

 

yes - we are both certified divers

 

yes - i am worried about missing the ship, even if we take a ship excursion and here being in KC care until we could get to the next port...yes I know they are trained and trustworthy...but still...she will be 5.

 

I have not booked anything yet...as DH and I are still "discussing" it.

[JEH]

DW and I have been married 32 wonderful years and if we have learned one thing its to do things as a family especially on a vacation. Our sons 26 and 28 still talk about our adventures together.

 

We cruised for the first time 15 years ago on American Family Cruises which went bankrupt shortly after our cruise. Back to my story, the cruise had some ex Major League ball players who were going to coach the ship's baseball team in a game against kids from the Dominican Republic when the ship docked there. We gave our sons both pretty good ball players the choice to go and play the game or go to the beach with us. They chose snorkeling at the beach with us and still talk about what a great day they had. By the way the ships team got crushed. The point I'm trying to make is that you and your husbands alone time will come soon enough. Enjoy your chance to explore and swim with your daughter.

 

DW and I are leaving for our annual Valentine's Day cruise on Princess to the Panama Canal and would love to have our sons with us but at least we have the memories of our only cruise so far as a family.

[mobster75]

yes - we are both certified divers

 

yes - i am worried about missing the ship, even if we take a ship excursion and here being in KC care until we could get to the next port...yes I know they are trained and trustworthy...but still...she will be 5.

 

I have not booked anything yet...as DH and I are still "discussing" it.

 

What are the hours your ship will be in port on that day?

 

How far away is the dive op? How long will it take to get there?

 

If you're considering boat dives, how long is the boat ride out and back?

 

Are you looking to do a typical 2-tank dive run or just a 1-tank?

 

What kind of dive profiles are you looking to do? How deep are you looking to go?

 

I'm trying to get an idea of how tight this will be timewise. I would imagine shore dives would give you a lot more wiggle room since you don't have the boat time.

 

Would it be a deal killer for one of you to go on the dive excursion and the other to stay with your DD and maybe go snorkeling with her instead?

 

I'm going to be facing a similar issue on my cruise in January as I'm certified, but my wife is not and I'd like to squeeze in 1 or 2 dives but we'll see what happens.

[Paumavista]

Part of the fun of a vacation is doing fun things....not necessarily spending 24 hrs a day together.

 

Do you send your child to day care or ever leave them with a babysitter? - Honestly this is no different except potentially that the "babysitter(s)" you are leaving him with have training, certification, and extensive background checks.

 

Yes, vacations for us means family time and we always travel with at least some of the "9" children. But because dear husband and I don't travel without at least some children we need at least some time for ourselves.

 

If you can stop worrying long enough...do it. If not at least try a little to get away alone together for a few special activities.

 

Have a great trip!

Judy

[msmayor]

My opinion really is dependant on the type of activity.

 

If you were leaving the ship to go shopping or touring fairly nearby, where you could break away from the tour and return to the ship easily...I'd probably go, knowing that with cell phones the ship folks can reach you in the event of an emergency and you can get back on board to attend to your child.

 

But on a scuba dive? I can't imagine that there's any real way to interrupt that tour if you are needed back on the ship for your child.

[CanadianTwosome]

I'm a little confused... What option are you considering other than leaving her in the Kid's Club? Would you instead take her along and leave her on the dive boat while you're diving, or would you choose another excursion?

 

I'm not going to make any comment about what I would do, because it's not me - and my daughter was old enough to join us for scuba diving this year, so YAY!

 

Anyway, as far as going on the excursion goes, I think it would be better to leave her in the Kid's Club than on the dive boat. The dive boat will be run by an outside company from the port and will be B-O-R-I-N-G for anyone not diving, let alone a 5 year old. The Kid's Club will have supervision that you will have met and had ample opportunity to speak to, and an environment designed for kids where she'll undoubtedly feel comfortable. Since you're planning on a ship excursion rather than private, the only thing that will keep you from rejoining her on the ship is if one or both of you are injured - in which case someone from the cruiseline will take care of her and any arrangements - rather than 'some guy' on a dive boat. (whom I'm sure would be very responsible, but on the cruise ship, they have access to more information, personal items, and emergency information, as well as having protocol in place for this type of unforseen event).

 

Otherwise, your option is to choose another excursion where she can join you. Of course, if your friends come along, you may have another option - unless of course they decide to dive with you! :p

[kimmimom]

they will NOT leave you behind. If you are going diving for a reasonable amount of time (3-5 hours), she will be fine in kids club (assuming she likes it to begin with). It really is okay to go out for a few hours on your own to do something that would be hard or impossible with a 5 YO along and you may not normally have an opportunity to do). We did tours and I offered to let my 6 YO come to the beach with me and my older child or stay at kid camp and she CHOSE kid camp. I also left my 2 YO in kid camp so I could take my 11 YO to the beach that day. My dh was on a tour of the ruins with other family. We were gone for maybe 2 hours and it was fine. Like someone said, it is like leaving your child with a babysitter and if you do ship tour you will NOT be left.

[sandytoes03]

It's all a matter of what you're comfortable with, but lots and lots of parents leave their kids on the ship and go out for a while. It's true, you never know what could happen, but it could also be just fine.

[katieabb]

are you sure you are even allowed to leave the ship while your kids are at the kids camp? I thought I had read somewhere that you couldn't.....I wasn't looking to do it (personally wouldn't dream of it unless I was leaving her with family) but it seems like something I read before.

Just wondering

 

Does anyone know if this is true for RCI Adventure Ocean? I don't see anything about it on the web site, but maybe it's not posted there- ? I, too, am going through this dilemma. We're going on a 10 night cruise, in which we'll utilize the club while on the boat, but for the most part be with our kids the entire time, and we wanted to do a zip line tour in Costa Rica that's 4 hours. It's close to the ship. I was really hoping on finding posts on here from people who have successfully and happily left their children for an excursion. I don't feel 'guilty' for not spending 100% of my time with my kids, my concern is safety. What's their procedure for contacting parents on an excursion- ? Does anyone have experience with leaving their kids for an excursion?

[Quisty]

I have a 4 and 5 yr old. I would NEVER leave them onboard while I got off. What if something happens and you are late getting back to the ship? What if................................? NO! DON'T DO IT!!!!!!

[MamaParrotHead]

I'd book one port for SCUBA for DH and then you can watch your kiddo, then in another port, do the SCUBA yourself and it's his turn to entertain her. It isn't like you're keeping one another company or talking or anything while diving...bring your camera and talk about your dives with one another after the fact. I've heard Belize and GC both have excellent diving. I'm no SCUBA diver, but to me, that's an excursion that's a bit more risky than the normal island tour...I'd be worried about something SERIOUS happening to one or both of you, and then where that may leave your kiddo.

 

JMHO.

[scubagolfer]

I'd say Belize is out, we dove Belize from a carnival ship and we were gone the entire length of stay, we took the tender to port, 10 minutes on shore then onto a dive boat for 1.5 hours or so out and the same back. Diving Belize is ofter accomplished by live-aboard because the barrier reef is further out than one might expect. The dive operator brought us straight back to the ship because we were running late. There would have been NO way for us to get back to the ship in an Emergency or injury of a child, something we can all agree that we would want to be there for. In the event of a Child emergency if the dive operator still had divers in the water he couldn't leave them for the emergency. There are just too many things that can go wrong!

 

I cannot speak for Rotaan, However I would believe that Eden rock in GC would be the best in the event that you plan to leave your child on board, It's excellent diving and has always been a favorite of ours....The last 2 out of 4 times we saw turtles, profile is nice and easy. Eden rock is just a short walk from the pier. The staff there are fantastic! they have their own equipment to rent so really all you need to take is towels, so after you can just take the tender back to pick up your child and still have time to walk around in town before the ship leaves. A 5yo is old enough to be upset she didn't get to see the island in the event that you got back to the ship late and it leaves without that princess shirt she wanted in the del sol store

 

 

ask Carnival, maybe it's not a rule that is advertised but in the event they find out that you are diving maybe they might ask you not to dive. maybe there actually is a procedure in the event that you are injured to get the child to their parents on the island, If they allow parents to leave the ship on excursions with children in kids club there has to be a way to reunite families. I would have to believe they have already thought of the worst that could happen..........with all of that said I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving our children on board

[CruisinEurope]

My DH and I disagree on this topic, so I am asking...has anyone gone SCUBA diving and left their child on board the ship? I am not really comfortable with this, even going on a ship's excursion and my Dh thinks it is fine. DD will be 5 when we cruise, not old enough to make it to the next port alone. We MAY be cruising with friends but they have not confirmed yet.

 

We are looking at the Carnival Legend, GC, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel...not sure if that matters or not.

 

thanks!

 

i haven't read the whole thread yet - so I may be repeating views of others.

 

We're just back from a trip where we left our DD (7) on board while we went out in Malta.

 

PRIOR to actually DOING it - I swore up and down that I would NEVER in a zillion years EVER leave her on board... but I was wrong.

 

A few things factored into our decision:

 

1) it was our last port stop on a 12 night cruise, and by then I was VERY comfortable with the kids club. Had it been our FIRST stop (or even second) I probably would not have done it.

 

2) she was pitching the biggest hissy fit and REALLY wanted to stay IN the kids club. Had she been fine with going, then we would have brought her along. It was, essentially, HER choice that she wanted to stay on the ship.

 

3) we checked w/ the kids club before leaving her (sometimes you may have to "pre-register" w. them to see if there are spots available - but on our cruise there were very few kids, and on that particular day, it was just DD and one other girl in the club while in port).

 

I asked about:

 

- bathroom usage (there is one there in the club)

- lunch/ snacks (they provided snacks and took the kids to the buffet for lunch)

- activities (since it was just dd and a 4 year old, they each got to do whatever they wanted to do. DD played games w/ the counselor,watched a movie, drew and played w/ legos.)

 

 

Oh - I should also clarify that we were in Malta - and not far from the ship at all. we took the HOHO bus around, and could have easily gotten back to the ship via cab within 1/2 hour if need be.

 

When we got back from our excursion, we checked in on DD thinking she would want to come out and hang with us.

 

NOPE!

 

She wanted to stay in the empty kids club since "she was Queen of Kids Club" for the day and didnt' want that cut short for any reason.

 

 

And - for the record - we asked DS (5) if he wanted to stay in kids club or come with us. We EXPECTED him to opt for kids club, but he chose to have some "alone time" with us instead. (the rest of the cruise, we couldn't get him OUT of kids club, so this surprised us).

 

 

So - really - my advice is to not make up your mind NOW.

 

Get there, get a feel for the kids club and how your child reacts to it. Talk extensively w/ the counselors about your questions/worries and see how you feel.

 

Then trust your gut.

 

ENJOY your cruise!

[scubagolfer]

Certainly, every parent has comfort levels, CruisinEurope I could certainly see that I myself could? maybe convince myself to leave the ship under the circumstances you suggest, However you could easily get back to the ship, It takes considerable time to get divers out of the water, unmoor a dive boat, make certain that everyone is accounted for on said dive boat and then get back to the ship in the event of an emergency at kids club. In the event that ...lets say the two parent divers are injured in say Belize, I'm not certain where the decompression chamber is but in the event that someones life is on the line a diver can find himself hundreds of miles from the cruise ship getting medical attention at a larger hospital inland. That would be hundreds of miles from their child in kids club. I certainly would believe that GC is an option for diving for you, either boat or shore diving because of the short distance from the cruise ship.

[kitty9]

It is absolutely NOT true that the ship will wait, even for a ship's tour, if the group is late. I've had more experiences when a ship's tour was late, and because of conditions beyond their control, the Captain had no choice but to leave the port and leave those on a ship's tour behind. The only sure thing is that if you miss the ship and are on a ship's tour, they will pay for everyone to get back to the ship, while if you're on an independent tour and you miss the ship, the cost is all on you. But, don't kid yourself that a ship will wait if a ship's sponsored tour is very late. It's the same if you fly to the port for embarkation, using the cruise line's air program. If flights are late, the ship will wait for a short time, but they will not wait hours.

[jonathansburden]

If you are traveling with other family members, I would defiantly do it! When we were in Cozumel on the Valor last week, DH & I really wanted to do the Dolphin Trainer excursion. Unfortunately, it was not a 7 month old appropriate excursion. So we left DS with my sister for the day. They walked around the pier then went back to the ship. I made sure the people at Dolphanaris knew that we were on the ship and had to be back at a certain time and they had us back 20 min. before we had to be back on the ship. Everything worked out great, DS had a great time with my family & DH and I have memories that we will treasure forever :)