Nervous about getting off ship w 5 yr old in kids camp

[brenderlou]

We'll be on our cruise in a few weeks and we can't wait. Our 5 yr old is an experienced cruiser and LOVES the kids camp.

One of our stops is Colon, Panama and we are thinking of going on a 2 1/2 hr shore excursion (it is a ship excursion) that takes us to a part of the canal so we can view it from land. It seems we will be viewing for about an hour and I know our daughter would rather be at the kids camp then with us.

I just can't seem to get over the nervousness I feel at the thought of leaving her on the ship while we do this short excursion. I think about the "what ifs". etc.

DH doesn't want to leave her and I'm undecided......help!!!!

[cb at sea]

So--take her....it's not worth the "stress" if one of you is discombobulated by leaving her, although, she'll be fine and probably won't notice you're gone!

2 1/2 hours isn't too long for her to accompany you--and it's not that long to leave her...either way, do what works for YOU!

 

You can't live your life on "what ifs"!

[RoadTripFanatic]

2 1/2 hrs isn't a long period of time. She is old enough to do just fine on that excursion. I would take her with me. I left DD once on the ship and didn't handle it well at all. I was a basket case the entire time. I could even see the ship from our beach!

[imsulin]

So--take her....it's not worth the "stress" if one of you is discombobulated by leaving her, although, she'll be fine and probably won't notice you're gone!

2 1/2 hours isn't too long for her to accompany you--and it's not that long to leave her...either way, do what works for YOU!

 

You can't live your life on "what ifs"!

 

 

Good post, cb. I agree.

[Grannycb]

Ask your daughter which she would prefer. She's old enough to know if she's comfortable with being away from you for the 2 1/2 hours. She may also want to stick close to you depending on her personality. Trust that all will be fine either way.

[boulders]

I didn't like it the first time I left ds on the ship. He was 2 1/2 at the time. He was fine. I was nervous about getting back to the ship. The second time, he was 3, I was on a ship's tour on Carnival. The tour was supposed to be something like 3.5 hours. It was 5!! Again, I was very nervous about getting back to the ship as the kids club closed an hour before we got back. He was fine. Third cruise, when he was 4, if I left him on the ship, he was in kids camp, and his 13 year old brother was also on the ship. I was fine that time. :rolleyes:

 

On our next cruise, either my ds14 or dd11 will stay on the ship if ds4 is on the ship. He'll be going with us on the all day excursions to Rome and Pompeii, as well as some shorter excursions.

 

IME, if you or your husband is nervous about leaving your child on the ship, just take them with you on the excursion. Otherwise, you're not going to be enjoying your shore excursion. If I were going on a Panama Canal cruise, seeing the canal from shore would certainly be a highlight. I wouldn't want to be stressing and checking my watch and being eager to get back to the ship.

[Onessa]

DD is now 14YO and I'm still nervous when leaving her on-board when DH and I do some port exploring, so I understand where you are coming from!

 

Personally, at 5YO -- I'd haved considered the 2.5hour ship's excursion. Typically if something happens on a ship's excursion they will hold the ship -- and 2.5 hours isn't like you are going on something too far away. I've seen the kids clubs counselors in action for a long time now and am pretty confident that they would take good care of my kid (when she was younger) so that part doesn't worry me.

 

My DD was a daycare/preschool kid, so by 5YO she was pretty comfortable in the Kids Clubs. She's always been a very responsible kid, so I was comfortable that she wouldn't try anything stupid. That all having been said, my DD (even at 5YO) would have enjoyed the excursion you describe, so we probably would have taken her.

 

You know your child, make the decision that works for her.

 

Now at 14YO, we have done stuff with DD in port and dropped her back on ship in the cabin (generally to work on homework!) in ports where we are very close -- on our last trip we had no problem doing that in Rhodes and Kusadasi, but I don't know that I'd be comfortable leaving her behind while we went further away (like Athens from the port in Pireus for example)

[MMsteffey]

This is another recent thread -- what are the "what if's"? The only one I can think of is that something bad happens to the parents while on the excursion, and I'd much rather know that my 3 YO is safe on the ship with her travel docs and an emergency contact, rather than on a street with a police officer who may not speak english, unable to communicate who she is, no identification, and no emergency contact? What are all the horrible things that actually happen in the kids clubs while the parents are not on board?

[Julienatul]

We'll be on our cruise in a few weeks and we can't wait. Our 5 yr old is an experienced cruiser and LOVES the kids camp.

One of our stops is Colon, Panama and we are thinking of going on a 2 1/2 hr shore excursion (it is a ship excursion) that takes us to a part of the canal so we can view it from land. It seems we will be viewing for about an hour and I know our daughter would rather be at the kids camp then with us.

I just can't seem to get over the nervousness I feel at the thought of leaving her on the ship while we do this short excursion. I think about the "what ifs". etc.

DH doesn't want to leave her and I'm undecided......help!!!!

 

We did that excursion but privately in Colon panama that went to the locks with our 4 yr old a few months ago. She actually liked it!! We got to see a ship being moved through the canal and she thought it was fascinating. You climb these stairs pretty high up and look down over the canal. We also saw a few animals there which are not known in the US. They also point out animals, flowers trees etc on the drive there so its interesting. She did perfect the entire excursion. Take her, you will not enjoy yourself if you dont.

[Havingfun2010]

Honestly, I can not imagine ever leaving my kids with a babysitter, in a foreign country, without any way of being contacted for even a short amount of time. Take the kid with you, and enjoy.

[Badly Drawn Boy]

Honestly, I can not imagine ever leaving my kids with a babysitter, in a foreign country, without any way of being contacted for even a short amount of time. Take the kid with you, and enjoy.

 

Have to agree , no chance i would leave any my kids .Holidays / excursions are chosen with us all in mind

[Scrapchick]

We'll be on our cruise in a few weeks and we can't wait. Our 5 yr old is an experienced cruiser and LOVES the kids camp.

One of our stops is Colon, Panama and we are thinking of going on a 2 1/2 hr shore excursion (it is a ship excursion) that takes us to a part of the canal so we can view it from land. It seems we will be viewing for about an hour and I know our daughter would rather be at the kids camp then with us.

I just can't seem to get over the nervousness I feel at the thought of leaving her on the ship while we do this short excursion. I think about the "what ifs". etc.

DH doesn't want to leave her and I'm undecided......help!!!!

 

 

 

Well, what are the "what ifs?' that you're worried about?? How realistic are the scenarios you fear happening?

 

We have left our DD on board and never had a problem in 14 cruises. She's been happy and it's worked out for everyone. It isn't for every family and it's your personal choice. Parents who utilize this option are not bad parents and don't do it lightly.

 

I think it is something you are flexible about. Once you're on board, if you are comfortable with the carers on the ship and your child is happy and has playmates, and she will not be the only child on board while you take the excursion, then I don't see what the problem is. If you simply don't feel comfortable doing it, then take the child with you...

 

I've done it and don't regret it and I don't accept the argument that I don't want to spend time with my child because I left her on board. I left her on the ship because she was in very capable, supervised hands and did not want to come off with us. Her interests revolved around playing and interacting with other kids, and that meant staying in the kids club.

 

It's totally up to you, but I personally wouldn't make any decision until I was on the ship and saw how the kids club operated and met the staff. For us, it's a port by port decision, and of course, our child ALWAYS has the option of coming with us too.

[quincytoo]

Well, what are the "what ifs?' that you're worried about?? How realistic are the scenarios you fear happening?

 

We have left our DD on board and never had a problem in 14 cruises. She's been happy and it's worked out for everyone. It isn't for every family and it's your personal choice. Parents who utilize this option are not bad parents and don't do it lightly.

 

I think it is something you are flexible about. Once you're on board, if you are comfortable with the carers on the ship and your child is happy and has playmates, and she will not be the only child on board while you take the excursion, then I don't see what the problem is. If you simply don't feel comfortable doing it, then take the child with you...

 

I've done it and don't regret it and I don't accept the argument that I don't want to spend time with my child because I left her on board. I left her on the ship because she was in very capable, supervised hands and did not want to come off with us. Her interests revolved around playing and interacting with other kids, and that meant staying in the kids club.

 

It's totally up to you, but I personally wouldn't make any decision until I was on the ship and saw how the kids club operated and met the staff. For us, it's a port by port decision, and of course, our child ALWAYS has the option of coming with us too.

 

Good post, I totally agree :)

 

We left our teen at the teen zone when we were at port in Antiqua, he enjoyed the day spent at the Teen zone and his father and I enjoyed our day at Happy Church beach without him :)

 

We did spend the days together in St.Kitts and Thomas.

[ericrz]

Take her with you, or cancel the excursion. If you're nervous just thinking about it, you're going to be miserable and worried the whole time anyway.

 

I would never, EVER leave my child on the ship while I was in port.

[Jayhawk]

We left our 5 and 6 1/2 year old last year twice for about 3-4 hours each time. It was some great get away time for my husband and I (once we went horseback riding and once tubing, neither of which the kids would have been able to do.) We were with them almost 24/7 the rest of the cruise (they only went to the kids club two other times, both for short periods). I wasn't sure how I'd feel, but when we got on board, I felt really safe and like MMsteffey said, almost safer than if they were with me. You know your kids and your husband best, do whatever you feel comfortable with :) . Our kids had a great time....and so did we! It was really nice to just get some short time away since we have no family to ever watch our children for a trip with just the two of us.

[Asil65]

I would take her with me on the excursion too. I know I would be really worried the whole time and likely not enjoy myself. If you want to take excursions on your own go alone with your hubby on a cruise and leave your child home with relatives. We have taken three cruises without our kids and it truly is a great way to reconnect with your spouse.