Crazy planning mom

Yes, it is.

 

Dealing with a misbehaving child is a part of parenting. If a parent will just let behavior slide and say "kids will be kids....", that parent isn't parenting. If a parent will let little Johnny run up and down the halls on a cruise ship, that parent isn't parenting.

 

Wrong , parents do correct their childrens behavior. The issue is it may take multiple corrections or a child may may be especially tired especially on a trip and slip up. Then, the holier than thou crew is waiting to pounce.

 

Nobody is claiming that a child must be perfectly behaved 100% of the time. That would be impossible. The issue is that too many parents don't want to parent for fear of being "too controlling, too mean, embarrassed" etc.

 

Untrue.

 

 

 

 

The best posts in this thread (besides the comedic ones ;)) are from parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles, etc. Those posters have experience and understand that if negative behavior goes unchecked, it will just get worse over time. There is no excuse for a child running around in a restaurant, running through the halls unsupervised, etc.

 

 

 

That's a totally different topic. There are both rude seniors and misbehaving children. The fact that one exists doesn't excuse the behavior of the other.

Wrong , parents do correct their childrens behavior. The issue is it may take multiple corrections or a child may may be especially tired especially on a trip and slip up. Then, the holier than thou crew is waiting to pounce

Parents were parents when you were a kid. Parents are not parents now. They are afraid to discipline their kids, and expect everyone else to be "tolerant" to their bratty behavior. The entitlement attitude is just ... amazing.

Nope . The problem isnt lack of parenting.

Back in the day , everyone was expected to have kids. Now, people have a choice and many choose not to. Thats fine but you cant expect the whole world to change for you. People who have not had children love to second guess parents.

Its so easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. Also, lots of seniors forget what it was like to have small children. I have seen many more rude seniors that misbehaving children in my travels.

Wow. Your defensiveness is preventing you from clearly understanding the topic of discussion. First of all, I'm not sure where you read that I expect children to never misbehave. Second the topic of this discussion is why PARENTS think kids running in hallways is okay - not "reasons we hate children." I don't even blame the children!

 

My opinion is that parenting has become very lax in many ways, and parents tend to chalk bad behavior up to "kids will be kids." You say that you "disciplined" your son, but I don't think teaching manners and courtesy actually requires discipline so much as it requires education. As I stated before, I believe that children want to do the right thing. They just need to be told what the right thing is.

 

Again, the problem is not the children. The problem is the parents who think this behavior is okay.

 

As an example, I have two friends that both have 5 year old daughters. Last week while having lunch at one friend's house, her daughter came to the kitchen table while we were talking and stood silently until her mother finished her sentence and said "Excuse me Mommy, can I ask you a question please?" & then proceeded to ask if she could change the TV channel. Contrast this with my other friend who simply cannot spend even five minutes on the phone without her little one at her knee repeating mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy continuously LOL So, you really can't tell me any of this is the kids' fault. ;)

Your example of your friends childrens behavior belies a lack of understanding. The first child was more polite because you were physically there. The second child was more whiny because you werent physically present and she was. It was harder for that child to understand why the mother wasnt paying attention to her when she was in the room you werent physically there. Young children have trouble with abstract concepts. Anyway, you cant deduce whether either of these kids have behavior problems based on the limited examples you supplied. Spending a random moments with these children does not give enough evidence to make a determination.

My point is that even the best behaved small child will have moments where they misbehave. Of course, parents need to discipline. You have every right to dislike kids. You dont have the right to expect a kid-free environment. Kids are part of the world the same as you. If you have that little patience for them, then you should try to avoid them. You cant take a family oriented cruise line during school breaks and not to expect to see them. You can't go to Applebees and Walt Disney World and not to expect to see them.

Why did you start this with "sorry"? You're not actually sorry, right?

 

The interior stateroom hallways on a cruise ship are not the same as a public restaurant, no.

 

Make the world a better place; be aware of your surroundings and show some respect for other people.

Well, I have a terrific son who is now a teenager and I certainly disciplined when he needed it. However, I think that people have become more intolerant towards children. They certainly werent that way when i was a kid.

This kind of general attitude is sadly one of the things that has gone wrong with the world. It's like saying "Expect to encounter considerate, kind & thoughtful people? Well then, better stay home."

 

Kids (or people in general) are not perfect, so I think folks are generally ok with an occasional unruly toddler, etc. But this thread addresses an increasingly prevalent practice of just letting "kids be kids" no matter where they are or who it affects. Why is the answer for people to go elsewhere rather than using the close quarters of a cruise ship as a great opportunity to teach children how their behavior may impact others? My experience with kids is that once you DO explain things to them, they are happy to comply and even feel accomplished once they do. ("See how quiet I was, Mommy??") :)

No problem with my attitude. Your example of how to talk to a child shows your lack of understanding. The problem is with people like yourself who expect children to never misbehave. If you are going on a kid-friendly line, you have to expect children. Noone is telling you to stay home but perhaps you should sail Celebrity or HAL. Your expectations via vi children are not reasonable. I have raised a fine young man. I have disciplined him and he turned out well. But I'd be lying to say that he never acted out and I remembering the second he did getting disapproving looks from intolerant people. That is the problem with society. Too many intolerant people.

It's interesting that you use the word "corridor" each time instead of "hallway". The former word de-emphasizes the fact that people might be trying to sleep on the other side of those doors.

 

The *hallway* runs past people's homes for the week.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether kids should be running, playing, and not looking where they're going in cruise ship hallways, but at least we have some parents admitting they're fine with it. Usually no one speaks up like that in these threads, or if they do it's to tell us that, while obviously we should sail on a different line since we are grouchy kid-haters, *their* kids are angels.[/quote

Sorry you wouldn't visit a McDonalds or an Applebees and expect it to be child free and quiet. So, if you expect to avoid hordes of children, don't sail the Breakaway during Spring Break or Summer.

I may get flamed for this, especially since I can't imagine that the parents who allow this don't have a clue at how intrusive and annoying it is. But, just in case parents really have no idea, I am putting this out there. I am clueless as to why any parent thinks it is ever okay to let their children run up and down the hallways on a cruise ship. I know they are kids, and we should let them be kids...But, isn't it more important we teach them to be humans first? It is just not appropriate or considerate at any time of day to be running down a hallway outside of other people's cabins. Do you not realize how loud and annoying the constant thumping of feet running past someone's cabin door must be. And, it doesn't matter what time of day either. If someone is trying to relax in their cabin in the middle of the day or early evening, that is their right, and there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be running around in the hallways ever.

I am going to go against the grain here. My DS is a mostly polite nice teenager. However, when he was a toddler he was very hyperactive. Of course, I disciplined him but toddlers can be wild. Of course, We waited to take him on his first cruise until he was 6. By then, he had calmed down and sat nicely through dinner. However, We couldn't wait to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Florida until he was 6. We did get some nasty looks. Anyway, My DS who was 3 and I were on a flight from FL to JFK. The older lady who sat in our row complimented me on his behavior. Then when we landed at JFK we were stuck waiting for a gate to pull up to for an hour and he lost it.

So, anyhow I think people need to be more tolerant of children. That doesnt mean parents don't need to discipline their kids. They do but older folks and Those who are child free need to be more accepting. I would advise traveling when school is in session and taking longer cruises if you wish to avoid them. There are some lines that tend to attract less families.

The only day the main pool was crowded when we took our Epic Western Med. cruises was on the one sea day.

That day was quite crowded because everyone was on the ship. Besides the pool and the water slides, our son enjoyed the sports court and the giant chess set.

I reserved car rentals at Kahului in Maui and Lihue in Kauai through discount hawaii car rentals. Is the rental car shuttle from the ports provided Discount Hawaii Car Rentals or the car rental companies. Can you prepay for the car rentals when booked through Discount Hawaii Car rentals?

Definitely pick the 7 night Brilliance. Its one more day and better ports. If you are on the west coast, why not consider a cruise departing from there?

In Rome, a specialty is Cacio e Pepe which is pasta dish with black pepper. When we stopped in Cannes, I went to Antibes which was lovely and enjoyed quiche and macarons. Enjoyed some sangria in Palma. Check out the port of call forums.

Pickup a Rick Steves book.

Following.

Kids are off from school here in NY until April 18th . You may want to avoid until after that.

Definitely get the thermal spa pass for the Escape and the 3 specialty dinner package. I got both on the Epic and it was worth it. The spa was lovely and quiet. Get them ahead of time on your cruise planner and make dinner and show reservations 90 days out on the cruise planner.

You are a very good daughter in law! I agree with getting your nails done together

Please let us know how you enjoyed your cruise

:D Loved the video. Your little one is so cute.

I took the Epic in the Med. We enjoyed it. We did know about the unique bathroom setup on the Epic ahead of time. Epic is a ship that people are very split about it. We enjoyed it though. Burn the Floor was great. Epic offers a spa pass. The spa was great and RCL doesn't seem to offer a thermal spa pass. Although as someone else pointed out, the ship is less important on such a port intensive cruise.

I liked Palma. It was a relaxing port. A lot of people went to the beach. We went to the aquarium and the beach adjacent to it. It was a great day after some heavy duty touring days.

Is this safe to do if I park in the Ali garage

Great video. Spoiler Question- did you reserve Wonderland ahead or just showed up? If you reserved ahead, did it give you different options as to whether you had the whole meal or not? What time did you go?

We did the Epic out of Rome (Civi). My son was 13 at the time. It was a good age to take him to Europe. He was old enough to appreciate it but he wasnt yet totally repulsed by his parents. He enjoyed the sports court, waterslides and bowling alley on the Epic. He enjoyed the excursions, too.

He loved Capri (Naples) and Cannes. Definitely arrive a few days early to spend sometime exploring Italy. We did and dont regret it. We got to see lots and were adjusted to the time difference.

Fly in 2 bites early and see NYC. The cruise terminal is a few blocks from Broadway.

I agree with the other person to keep the 820 flight and book a one way later flight home. Last year, I messed up my flight plans and this is what the airline agent advised me to do. He said it would be cheaper just to leave the original flight and then book another one way than to change the flight with all the rebooking fees.

I have seen cruises depart from Venice and and then end in Barcelona or vice versa. I dont know if Norwegian has them but I have seen them for other lines. They are usually longer 10 days or more. Then, arrive in Venice a couple days earlier and stay a couple days after in Barcelona.

Check here for Turtle Bay reviews

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60651-d87158-Reviews-Turtle_Bay_Resort-Kahuku_Oahu_Hawaii.html

Please note that Turtle Bay is located on the island of Oahu. Oahu is not "The Big Island" but has the largest city- Honolululu.

Here are some links to hotels on the Big Island (the island of Hawaii)

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g2219999-Kohala_Coast_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii-Hotels.html