safety for teens onboard

[shadowlover]

I will be travelling with my 16yo son, 13yo daughter and 12yo son. Is it appropriate to let them walk around the ship without their parents? How concerned should I be about their safety? We were also not able to get connecting cabins and I would really like to be with my husband. MY son is 6feet tall and babysits. Are they ok in a room next to us??

[Colo Cruiser]

I will be travelling with my 16yo son, 13yo daughter and 12yo son. Is it appropriate to let them walk around the ship without their parents? How concerned should I be about their safety? We were also not able to get connecting cabins and I would really like to be with my husband. MY son is 6feet tall and babysits. Are they ok in a room next to us??

 

As hard as it may be they should always be with someone, never alone. :)

[Poohjo]

My son is 17 and my daughter is 15 and they were in a cabin next to ours. We went over the rules prior to boarding so they new what was appropriate and what wasn't. We never had a challenge. They spent a lot of time with the teen club or in the pool with kids their own ages and if they weren't in the club, they were with us. I would use your own judgement on what you feel is appropriate since you know your children better than anyone.

 

Penny

[blindrid]

Agree with COLO Cruiser. Everyone will be fine but I prefer no-one being by themself, especially at night. I'm typically not one to be overly cautious but I try to stay with this rule with my wife, friends etc.

[kooljamming]

I will be travelling with my 16yo son, 13yo daughter and 12yo son. Is it appropriate to let them walk around the ship without their parents? How concerned should I be about their safety? We were also not able to get connecting cabins and I would really like to be with my husband. MY son is 6feet tall and babysits. Are they ok in a room next to us??

 

I travel with a 10 and 13 year old. While my 10-year-old daughter was always supervised, my son had a bit more freedom. He enjoyed the kids program and made friends quickly. He knew what was expected and the consequence for not following the rules. I would not take teenagers on vacation if I couldn't trust the surrounding or them to be without me. He likes being with friends so we used walkie-talkie, which helped. I am proud to say my kids behave better than a lot of adults I have seen on one too many vacations. They also know vacation with mama is a privilege and not a right:D

[shadowlover]

A walkie talkie is a great idea..didn't think of that. Did you find that it worked well on board?

[rusticfurnituremaker]

Each parent has to know their children well enough to decide how much freedom they have onboard. We left our daughter in the children's program (without us) on 8 cruises since she was 4. As she got older, she had more freedom to explore the ship with friends she met in the children's program. She knew the rules, and what would happen if she didn't follow them.

 

In the evening, we would hire a sitter from the staff. If you trust your 16 year old to sit at home, the ship should not be any different. Just set the rules out clearly as to ...stay in room? ...all go out together..whatever you feel is best.

 

I believe in safety in numbers. Responsible children should be just fine onboard. In actuality, there are very few incidents with children onboard ships. The adult drinkers are the ones who get in trouble.

 

Remember, mom and dad need this vacation a lot more than the kids.

 

As for non-adjoining rooms, we have done this before, but we had a in the room and don't open the door for any reason policy after a certain hour. We checked in on the kids more often, and they spent most of the time in our room (it was much better than theirs). They only spent time in their room to sleep at night.

[ggprincess2004]

Personally, I think that the kids in the cabin next to you or across the hall is fine. But, the rules need to be clear and the consequences for breaking them need to be clear as well (like loss of the independence the rules give them.) Our rules were:1. let us know where you are going to be during the daytime and where you are if your plans change. This is easy to accomplish by leaving a message on the phone your stateroom from one of the phones throughout the ship. 2. NEVER go to someone else's cabin under any circumstances, and NEVER have anyone come to your cabin either. 3. In the evening from dinner on, you are either with us, or you two stay together, joined at the hip, and whenever one of you wants to call it an evening, you both do. If we find that you have broken this rule, you will be stuck with us in the evening, and that might mean playing cards in the stateroom (yuck, and serious). Of course, we invoke the three toddler rules at all times, and breaking those could mean we leave you at the next port:eek:

1. Be polite

2. Don't make a mess

3. Don't whine.

 

that about covers it - our kids behaved, stayed safe and had a great time on all their cruises.

 

Hope that gives you some ideas for your situation.

[LarryL]

I will be travelling with my 16yo son, 13yo daughter and 12yo son. Is it appropriate to let them walk around the ship without their parents? How concerned should I be about their safety? We were also not able to get connecting cabins and I would really like to be with my husband. MY son is 6feet tall and babysits. Are they ok in a room next to us??

 

This is something you can certainly agonize over a lot. When we took our daughter (15) and her friend (16) on a cruise I did just that. We set ground rules and let them know our expectations and they were adhered to. I needlessly worried about things from falling overboard to kidnapping. As the cruise wore on we laughed at the anxiety we (I) put ourselves through. I think it all comes down to the relationship and trust you have in your children. It sounds as though your son is certainly trustworthy. Give him some breathing room, at least as much as you are comfortable with. I think the kids club has a means for you to stay in contact with all your kids so you can enjoy your cruise. That's why they are there. Enjoy yourselves!!

[seb530]

If, say, out 10 year old daughter goes to the kids club but then decides she has had enough or just wants to spend some chill out time with mum and dad (!) ... is there a way for the childrens club to contact you? i.e. do they give out pagers or anything?

 

Cant imagine letting my 10year old sign herself out and wander through such a large ship in the hope of finding us!! Equally dont want to think we have to keep checking on her needlessly!

 

Do the balconies lock from the inside? stupid question maybe lol

[ggprincess2004]

If, say, out 10 year old daughter goes to the kids club but then decides she has had enough or just wants to spend some chill out time with mum and dad (!) ... is there a way for the childrens club to contact you? i.e. do they give out pagers or anything?

 

Cant imagine letting my 10year old sign herself out and wander through such a large ship in the hope of finding us!! Equally dont want to think we have to keep checking on her needlessly!

 

Do the balconies lock from the inside? stupid question maybe lol

 

They have walkie talkies, but the supply is limited so get them when you get aboard.

You can restrict her ability to sign herself out - she can contact you for a pick up on the walkie talkie.

 

Balconies lock from the inside.

[lv2teach]

10 yr old ned to b e checked out of the kids club by an adult. only 13 and older may come and go as they please.

[kooljamming]

A walkie talkie is a great idea..didn't think of that. Did you find that it worked well on board?

 

We have used them for camping, cruises and at mega resorts. They work fairly well, enough to make you breathe a bit easier.

[flbeachmom]

Not sure the right age but i just read somewhere yesterday that at 9 they can check themselves out. I have 3 girls 15,13,9. We have been cruising since the oldest was 5. My oldest 2 i do not worry about they are afraid to be rule breakers and they know the mommy grapevine is very strong- they honestly think i know everything! LOL -This will be my 9 year olds first time to roam (she will have 2 friends with her) the boat. However there will be set times she has to be in kids club then i will check her out and then they can roam (within limits).

As far a leaving kids in another room I also had this question with my upcoming cruise- should my 15 &13 yr old be alone in room. After reading many post Many people brought up the fire on the star ship and that kinda made up my mind. One trick you may like and we did this on a school trip to washington-

Put kids in room and then after they lock door put up a piece of tape over the door if the tape is off you know they left the room- Hey as long as they think that is what you are doing you probably dont even have to do it!!

[tigerdadky]

I am in law enforcement and dont want to be an alarmist, but do you think pedifiles dont cruise. i would think that would be a good place for them to prey. As long as they are with big groups or when a lot of people are around they should be ok. Just dont give them too much freedom.

[wrongwaywatson]

I agree. The first year we cruised we went with friends who had 2 18 year old children with them. They stayed in a cabin by themselves. The rule was they had to stay together (1 boy, 1 girl - siblings). If they went to the dance club at night, they had to stay together. We didn't have any problems at all. The other rule, have fun with your new friends in the daytime, but you eat supper with us!

 

I would also go to the purser's desk and get an extra room key for their room for you.