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Question for those that have cruised with kids -


welove2cruise2014
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I’m one who utilized kids clubs on many vacations, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up about having that many kid free hours. If your child isn’t happy, I think they will be contacting you. I’ve had toddlers in vacation clubs that operate more like land based daycares, where they just deal (Beaches and a ski resort come to mind), but cruise lines tend to give up after a few minutes of unhappiness.

 

It all depends on the child. If you have a happy go lucky kid you can easily get 5-6 hrs a day of alone time. I agree you can't "count" on it - if your child is having an off day, then they are not going to want to be there - but then why would you send them? Both my boys have loved camp and spent most of their sea days, and from 7-10 pm every day in the programs.

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It all depends on the child. If you have a happy go lucky kid you can easily get 5-6 hrs a day of alone time. I agree you can't "count" on it - if your child is having an off day, then they are not going to want to be there - but then why would you send them? Both my boys have loved camp and spent most of their sea days, and from 7-10 pm every day in the programs.

I agree it depends on the child, but even the easiest going 2 year old is likely to have some cranky moments, especially in a new environment with total strangers. All of my kids were still taking at 3 hour nap at that age from 1 - 4. When my twins were born (#4 and #5), we’d go to the gym daily (free childcare), and there were many times I’d have to leave because someone wasn’t happy. My previous gym had paid childcare, and they wouldn’t be kicked out if they were crying or fussy. Too expensive with 5, unfortunately.

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My kids are going to Camp Carnival during our upcoming cruise. It's their first cruise, and I don't know if they will like it or not, but we are for sure going to try it. We actually do not have ANY babysitter whatsoever. My husband and I work total opposite shifts, and we get zero alone time together. I'm not "pawning my kids" off onto anyone. I will be enjoying some time with my husband, who I chose to marry before we ever had kids. Its a time for us to regroup and relax as a couple. They won't be there the entire time, and I would never think to leave the ship without them in port, but I have no problem not having them with us 24/7. For those of you who do things differently, don't be so quick to judge. Having a sister or parents that can watch your kids is a huge blessing and not everyone has that. I'm hoping my kids enjoy it, so that my husband and I can enjoy a few drinks and a show together. If they don't enjoy it, that's okay...we will come up with a different plan.

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My kids are going to Camp Carnival during our upcoming cruise. It's their first cruise, and I don't know if they will like it or not, but we are for sure going to try it. We actually do not have ANY babysitter whatsoever. My husband and I work total opposite shifts, and we get zero alone time together. I'm not "pawning my kids" off onto anyone. I will be enjoying some time with my husband, who I chose to marry before we ever had kids. Its a time for us to regroup and relax as a couple. They won't be there the entire time, and I would never think to leave the ship without them in port, but I have no problem not having them with us 24/7. For those of you who do things differently, don't be so quick to judge. Having a sister or parents that can watch your kids is a huge blessing and not everyone has that. I'm hoping my kids enjoy it, so that my husband and I can enjoy a few drinks and a show together. If they don't enjoy it, that's okay...we will come up with a different plan.

 

 

 

Mine loved Camp Carnival! They wanted to spend every waking minute there. They do have periods of time where they are closed though.

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We will be going to Camp Carnival first thing when we board because you supposedly have to be one of the first ones there on embarkation day to get one of the ship's mobile phones. We had this on our last cruise so if the little went to Camp Carnival and there was an issue, we had a phone that they could dial us directly anywhere on the ship. It really worked out great.

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We will be going to Camp Carnival first thing when we board because you supposedly have to be one of the first ones there on embarkation day to get one of the ship's mobile phones. We had this on our last cruise so if the little went to Camp Carnival and there was an issue, we had a phone that they could dial us directly anywhere on the ship. It really worked out great.

 

Its been about 9 years since we had to worry about this, but I never saw a situation where they ran out of phones/pagers for parents. Also, you did not get them when you boarded - you had to go to the meet and greet registration party the first night.

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As others have said, at 2 the kids clubs would generally not be available to you unless during specific times, and always with you supervising your child.

Once the child is older and fully potty trained, they are a great opportunity for the kids to have their own vacation too and you’re definitely not pawning them off, or you are, and that’s ok too.

 

When we vacation, we all talk about the things we want to do. Everyone is involved in the planning with different activities, even when our youngest was 3 and we took the kids on their first cruise (a 12 nighter). We made up our family rules for the trip (like we would explore the ports together, which dinners we would be sure to eat together, etc) and then added the flexibility that plans change. This gave us all time to do our own things separately (bc my husband and kids and kids and I are not attached at the hip and have different interests) and together.

 

We were not sure about how much we would use the kids club, but the kids instantly could not get enough of it. They could stay there till 1 am and when we would go get them after dinner or some couple time around 11 they would cry and want to stay longer and as soon as they would wake up they wanted us to take them back.

 

The kids’ idea of fun wasn’t sitting on our balcony and watching the world sail by. It was playing pirates, touring the different parts of the ship like the theater and the bridge, playing ball, etc.

 

 

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it's different for everyone.

We started cruising with our kid when he was almost 4. He did great, loved it, etc. He was still napping at that time, so I read a book while he napped and DH got to have some fun outside the cabin.

We couldn't pawn our son off onto the kid's program even if we wanted to. We want to sometimes, but he has stranger and separation anxiety, despite being in preschool since he was 2, so leaving him with total strangers was a no-go.

So, he goes with us everywhere. Even the happy hour. Thankfully, kiddo loves his tablet, and can spend hours on it quietly. He is also very well behaved during dinner - while he is watching a cartoon or playing a game with the headphones on. We've see other kids getting bored with the adult conversation and become wild after 30-40 minutes, but ours is occupied and good to go.

We don't mind him tagging along to everything. Our excursions are always beach related, so no running through Catherine's Palace or Hermitage museum until he is way older (he is 7 now).

 

Our friends' kids are totally opposite. They LOVE the kid's program and ask about going first thing in the morning. They stay there till closing time, with breaks for family time and meals. They've been cruising since they were 3.

 

On our last cruise together we didn't even see our friends' kids on the ship.

 

There are much bigger limitations in terms of cruising with a 2 yo in regards to pool use, kid's programs, babysitting, kid's potty training status... So, we left our kiddo home with the grandparents until he was potty trained while we cruised. But we missed him terribly, so he started cruising at 3.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I don't agree with you in that enjoying "adult time" such as a dinner and a show once in a while on a cruise is considered pawning their child off. What families like myself say is that it is nice to have quality child care available for a few hours, close by to enjoy some alone time along with a mix of family time. Balance is the key. When you have very young children, they are very demanding and require a lot of your attention all of the time. This leaves less time to connect as a couple. It is nice to be able to go to a show or out to dinner once or twice on the cruise. There is plenty of family time in ports, sea days, other days and nights. Most people do not drop their child off 24/7 everyday. We never had babysitters much at home or on the cruise but it was nice to enjoy a dinner or show once in a while on the cruise. My kids are older now and wont go to the kids clubs anymore but they always had way more fun and made some amazing memories when they did. Participating in a circus show, talent show, candy bingo, princess and pirate parades and scavenger hunts, disco party, Hollywood dress up parties, sports relays and games, balloon tosses and games, crafts, story time with characters, Dora and Spongebob dance party etc. They did things in the kids club that I as a parent couldn't ever provide on my own. The friendships they made there made the cruise that much more enjoyable for them. I never saw it as "pawning them off". I brought them because I wanted to spend time with them but that doesn't mean we have to be joined at the hip 24/7 to enjoy family time.

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I cruised with my 3 kids this past fall, when they were 7, 11, and 14. We spent nearly every moment together, both on and off the ship. We visited the kids clubs the first day but never used them. We had a great time and if they had wanted the kids club it would have been fine but that's just how our family operates. You do you.

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Its been about 9 years since we had to worry about this, but I never saw a situation where they ran out of phones/pagers for parents. Also, you did not get them when you boarded - you had to go to the meet and greet registration party the first night.

they don't run out of pagers because they limit the number of children of certain age on the ship. In 2016 we could not join our friends on a cruise because Princess didn't sell any cabins to families with children 4-8 years of age. They told us they reached the limit of the children in that age group and couldn't accept any more.

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they don't run out of pagers because they limit the number of children of certain age on the ship. In 2016 we could not join our friends on a cruise because Princess didn't sell any cabins to families with children 4-8 years of age. They told us they reached the limit of the children in that age group and couldn't accept any more.

 

I never knew that! I learned something new. Thanks

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We love cruising with our kids and not because there is a kids club. We have gone on 2 cruises when our oldest was too young for the clubs and 2 cruises when he went. This summer will be the 1st time in 3 cruises that our youngest is old enough to go. My kids have never been in daycare and we only go on date nights when grandparents are in town, so I may be more protective than some. However, after my oldest finished a year of preschool and I knew he could articulate well, I was comfortable with him going. His first kids club was on Disney and of course he thought it was amazing. I feel like the kids clubs are a place that kids know are special just for them and have a lot of age appropriate activities. We wouldn't force him to go and he still liked to hang out with us as well. On our previous cruises, if there was a show or activity that we all could not go to, we would switch off watching the kids. We always get balconies which helps having to spend more time in the room with the kids. Maybe we don't get to experience time by ourselves just yet, but I'm sure that time when the kids are older will come faster than we'd like. Going on cruises lets us experience traveling to new countries and making memories as a family. Of course, everyone is entitled to spend their vacations how they would like. I think maybe when your child is older and when you are comfortable with it, they'd have fun in the kids club.







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We love cruising with our kids and not because there is a kids club. We have gone on 2 cruises when our oldest was too young for the clubs and 2 cruises when he went. This summer will be the 1st time in 3 cruises that our youngest is old enough to go. My kids have never been in daycare and we only go on date nights when grandparents are in town, so I may be more protective than some. However, after my oldest finished a year of preschool and I knew he could articulate well, I was comfortable with him going. His first kids club was on Disney and of course he thought it was amazing. I feel like the kids clubs are a place that kids know are special just for them and have a lot of age appropriate activities. We wouldn't force him to go and he still liked to hang out with us as well. On our previous cruises, if there was a show or activity that we all could not go to, we would switch off watching the kids. We always get balconies which helps having to spend more time in the room with the kids. Maybe we don't get to experience time by ourselves just yet, but I'm sure that time when the kids are older will come faster than we'd like. Going on cruises lets us experience traveling to new countries and making memories as a family. Of course, everyone is entitled to spend their vacations how they would like. I think maybe when your child is older and when you are comfortable with it, they'd have fun in the kids club.







Thank you for your insight. Sounds very similar to us. And I'm sure once she's old enough to want to go to the Kids Club, it will be a different story. Lol. Right now though I wouldn't be comfortable dropping her at one even if they took kids her age. She isn't talking and we are working on social/communication (with the help of Early Intervention). We too plan to switch off some evenings and hope to book a balcony cabin for the reason you mentioned, as well as for evenings once she's asleep:)

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Fair enough to the folks whose kids were old enough to want to do kids activities. I get that. I was more referring to parents of younger children. And I certainly didn't think I came across as judgy, just making observations.

 

 

But how could anyone know you were referring only to parents of younger children? You didn't specify that. Also, you choice of the phrase "pawn off" is very judgy. Word choice is important on a forum.

 

I'm sure you didn't mean to be rude, but not hard to see why it came off that way.

 

FWIW, I went on my first cruise when I was 9 and my brother was 7. We were cruising with my mom, grandparents, aunt, and two cousins (the dads stayed behind to work since it was a 15-day cruise). And I LOVED the kids club so much. To this day, I still remember and speak of it fondly. And I'm 41 now! :'):'):')

 

I work full-time now, as does my DH. We do use family vacations as our opportunity to have dedicated family time. But I still intend to use the kids club if the kids want it -- for one important reason: to let them blow off some steam and have some fun kids' time. My kiddos are 6 and 8 and they're very much in that bickering stage. Also, the 8-yr-old thinks she's a teenager, and although most of the time she's absolutely lovely, occasionally she can get moody and everything is BOR-ING. So I think being able to go and do crafts and hang out with kids her age for an hour or two each day will be a good thing. There's still 23 hours for us to be a family.

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But how could anyone know you were referring only to parents of younger children? You didn't specify that. Also, you choice of the phrase "pawn off" is very judgy. Word choice is important on a forum.

 

I'm sure you didn't mean to be rude, but not hard to see why it came off that way.

what else will you be offended by today? She didn't call anyone bad parents, she didn't judge anyone - you took something very personally for some reason. She used the word "pawn off". Big deal. I use it all the time.

 

Also, the 8-yr-old thinks she's a teenager, and although most of the time she's absolutely lovely, occasionally she can get moody and everything is BOR-ING. So I think being able to go and do crafts and hang out with kids her age for an hour or two each day will be a good thing.

 

Comparing a moody 8 yo and a non-verbal 2 yo who hasn't been in a daycare setting before? Not quite apples and apples.

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  • 5 months later...

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