Kidless Cruises

[Hunwolf]

Club Med - San Salvador Island

 

They would love to take your reservation for a kid free vacation.

[bplazo]

I really like your post. It would be nice if the cruiselines offered more adult areas and enforced it. The kids have their clubs which do not include adults.

 

Working in a restraunt for alot of years you see all kinds of bad behaivor (adult and children but mostly children) and it so appreciated to see parents that are good at being parents. Today I had two youg children about 2 and 5 running and screaming through the tables and the grandpa just let them do it and occasionaly would go check on them. I tried to stay in the back as much as possible! Thank goodness it was the end of the day. Because of this, I enjoy my quiet time.

[dbowe5]

I really like your post. It would be nice if the cruiselines offered more adult areas and enforced it. The kids have their clubs which do not include adults.

 

Working in a restraunt for alot of years you see all kinds of bad behaivor (adult and children but mostly children) and it so appreciated to see parents that are good at being parents. Today I had two youg children about 2 and 5 running and screaming through the tables and the grandpa just let them do it and occasionaly would go check on them. I tried to stay in the back as much as possible! Thank goodness it was the end of the day. Because of this, I enjoy my quiet time.

 

The cruise lines don't want to upset all those future cruisers so they don't want to upset the parents! You are right, it boils down to the parents and what boundaries they set. I'll be taking my 7 month old on a B2B in July next year - so I'm sure will be loved and loathed in equal measure by people on the cruise. If my baby is making a nuisance of itself I will take it back to the cabin - simples!!

 

Also, don't agree with adults not wanting to join the kids clubs - what if they have really cool toys!!:D:D

[bplazo]

The cruise lines don't want to upset all those future cruisers so they don't want to upset the parents! You are right, it boils down to the parents and what boundaries they set. I'll be taking my 7 month old on a B2B in July next year - so I'm sure will be loved and loathed in equal measure by people on the cruise. If my baby is making a nuisance of itself I will take it back to the cabin - simples!!

 

Also, don't agree with adults not wanting to join the kids clubs - what if they have really cool toys!!:D:D

 

I did sneak into the teen club one time to "spy" and it was very nice in there :). However, my daughter told me to leave that it was just for teens! I still would peek in the windows!

[Wilda]

Clipped from another travel board:

 

"All New Jersey public schools will be closed on Thursday November 4 and Friday November 5, 2010."

 

Many parents take the fact that the schools are officially closed for two days and decide that it means that they have the whole week off.

 

I doubt that you will see any of these people on your cruise, whenthecatsaway. :)

 

 

Well if my experience in WDW is a barometer, then you probably will see fuller ships with folks from NJ populating them;)

[Johnny Yen]

The kid is not going to miss anything in those few days of school, but they are being taught a valuable lesson....

 

When you have a serious responsibilty, it's no problem to forget about it as long as it's for something FUN!

 

Keep planting those seeds for an American workforce that doesn't go above and beyond, believes too much is never enough, and calls in sick to go fishing.

 

Sad.

[kakey30]

Sometimes you need to call off work to go fishing!!!

[catlady27]

I just love how all the parents reacted. The post was a simple one, do they offer kid-less cruises.

 

The OP never said he/she hated children, never said that they all mis-behaved, never said that he/she wouldn't sail on a cruise that had kids. Just wanted to know if Royal ever offered one.

 

Everyone, parent or no parent, has times where they just don't want to be around children. It doesn't make them a bad person, it just makes them human. Royal even recognizes this which is why there is an adults-only solarium.

 

Just to pose another question...Would every married person get upset if someone asked if Royal offered "Singles" cruises? It wouldn't mean that that poster couldn't stand to be around married people, just that they were looking for one cruise that catered to singles.

 

Just because a cruiseline typically caters to families does not mean that they could not have 1 week that was for adults only, and/or 1 week for just single people. It would still leave 50 weeks where families could sail.

 

I know the perfect solution for those wanting to go on a cruise without kids :) Take a gay cruise. From what I have heard, those are adult cruises - TA DA - problem solved and you're welcome :D As a matter of fact, the Allure is booked in either Feb or March 2011 for a gay cruise.

[Johnny Yen]

I know the perfect solution for those wanting to go on a cruise without kids :) Take a gay cruise. From what I have heard, those are adult cruises - TA DA - problem solved and you're welcome :D As a matter of fact, the Allure is booked in either Feb or March 2011 for a gay cruise.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q54LJ5RsqRw&feature=youtube_gdata

[tammymacb]

I'm a parent who also enjoys my adult only time.

 

DH and I take a solo trip yearly of our choice ( like a small dive hotel in Grand Cayman, this year - Monday!- it's 9 days at Sandals St Lucia ). We've discussed a "just the two of us" Med Cruise as DD doesn't want to fly, and if we chose to go, we'll probably go on Celebrity.

 

We also do a "family" trip every year with our 13 yo DD. She gets to pick, and no, I don't go "OK..we did 2 weeks in Grand Cayman so you get to do 5 days of tent camping!" I let my daughter choose. A few times we've gone to WDW. But, more often she chooses a cruise. She'll be on her 9th cruise when she boards the Allure in January, and her 10th is booked on the Disney Dream next year.

 

So, I totally *get* wanting to get away, but if I was going to do it, I sure as heck wouldn't pick RCCL for that trip. It's just too family oriented and fun. But, that's just my opinion.

[Mack2]

Clipped from another travel board:

 

"All New Jersey public schools will be closed on Thursday November 4 and Friday November 5, 2010."

 

Many parents take the fact that the schools are officially closed for two days and decide that it means that they have the whole week off.

 

I doubt that you will see any of these people on your cruise, whenthecatsaway. :)

 

 

Actually, that particular week in New Jersey boils down to a TWO day school week, because election day always lands on that Tuesday, the first week of November.

 

Some schools in the southern half of the state close for the entire week. Our school district uses those two days (Monday and Wednesday) as half days for parent/teacher conferences.

 

 

Needless to say, many families from New Jersey are traveling that week.

 

 

 

For the member cruising out of Bayonne for 12 days to the southern Caribbean, you'll find yourselves on a ship with very few kids... maybe pre-school aged toddlers, but not many...

 

Like most have stated, cruises during school sessions and greater than 1 week tend to be sparsely populated with kids... so the elevators are safe!

[graceinmelbourne]

We are going on a cruise in September to the mediterranean with our two kids aged 10 and 13. It is school vacation time in Australia at that time which is why we chose to go then. We expect that there will be very few kids on board as it is the beginning of the school year in the U.S. and UK etc. It would be nice if there were at least a few other kids their age around. I hope we don't get any 'looks' from other people when they see there are kids on board as they might have expected September to be a 'child free' zone. Kids that misbehave and disrupt others do so because their parents let them or ignore them when they do. We would not let our kids do anything to annoy other passengers. They are normally very well behaved and polite so I hope the other adults there are happy to have them around.

[funat55]

No need to be snotty...

 

I'm just saying, as a teacher of middle school math students, it is not possible for my kids to make up a week of missed classes through visiting a foreign country. It sounds like you're planning ahead and will hopefully be getting missed assignments to work on during the trip, or alternative assignments to cover the work (which makes me think that you're talking about little guys, where it's a lot more flexible).

 

I'm sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way. I've had far too many parents come "talk" (read: yell) at me for their students being behind/doing poorly on exams, yet these are the same parents who think that family vacation is more important than their child being in class each day.

 

I wanted to respond to you to say that I appreciate your point of view. Sorry if I came accross as snotty but it was the part where you said "but when parents deliberately plan for their child to miss a week of instruction, that's hard for me to stomach. (Albeit this is from a middle school teacher perspective...) that rubbed me the wrong way. Its not that we are choosing to go at a time that is deliberately designed to ensure that the kids will miss a week of school. But it is the only time that all of us can get together as a family (we have 12 cabins booked so far). Some cruisers have the luxury of having a life so fexible they can vacation whenever they want. Others have to work around seniority issues and other scheduling problems. In a perfect world we would not take the kids out of school. The best we can do is plan ahead and try to make sure that they keep up with their studies while on vacation. By the way, to the original poster, sorry if your thread got off track. I guess know by now that RCCl has no childless cruises.

[Gilgo Surfer]

I'm a parent who also enjoys my adult only time.

 

DH and I take a solo trip yearly of our choice ( like a small dive hotel in Grand Cayman, this year - Monday!- it's 9 days at Sandals St Lucia ). We've discussed a "just the two of us" Med Cruise as DD doesn't want to fly, and if we chose to go, we'll probably go on Celebrity.

 

We also do a "family" trip every year with our 13 yo DD. She gets to pick, and no, I don't go "OK..we did 2 weeks in Grand Cayman so you get to do 5 days of tent camping!" I let my daughter choose. A few times we've gone to WDW. But, more often she chooses a cruise. She'll be on her 9th cruise when she boards the Allure in January, and her 10th is booked on the Disney Dream next year.

 

So, I totally *get* wanting to get away, but if I was going to do it, I sure as heck wouldn't pick RCCL for that trip. It's just too family oriented and fun. But, that's just my opinion.

 

I agree. I posted earlier on this thread about some problems with kids on a cruise but it didn't ruin the cruise. There were a ton of kids in the pool area but it was my choice to be in the main pool area around all the festivities. I could have gone to the solarium pool but thats a bit boring to me.

 

If you don't want to take chances with unruly kids, you're likely better off with a higher end cruise or some sort of adults only resort.

[kooljamming]

I'm a parent who also enjoys my adult only time.

 

DH and I take a solo trip yearly of our choice ( like a small dive hotel in Grand Cayman, this year - Monday!- it's 9 days at Sandals St Lucia ). We've discussed a "just the two of us" Med Cruise as DD doesn't want to fly, and if we chose to go, we'll probably go on Celebrity.

 

We also do a "family" trip every year with our 13 yo DD. She gets to pick, and no, I don't go "OK..we did 2 weeks in Grand Cayman so you get to do 5 days of tent camping!" I let my daughter choose. A few times we've gone to WDW. But, more often she chooses a cruise. She'll be on her 9th cruise when she boards the Allure in January, and her 10th is booked on the Disney Dream next year.

 

So, I totally *get* wanting to get away, but if I was going to do it, I sure as heck wouldn't pick RCCL for that trip. It's just too family oriented and fun. But, that's just my opinion.

 

I am with you. I love RCCL but for our anniversary I chose Princess because I saw them as less family oriented. When I dream of the prefect land vacation it's at Couples or Sandals. There is another one but won't mention it:eek:. What bugs me is that people who have clearly done their time with kids and seeking a life or vacation without them head to a line that is known to cater to family. Before the kids DH had a golf trip with the boys and I had a girls getaway. This year I arranaged for his golf trip and sent the kids to grandma for a few days. Time alone in my own house, the bigest vacation of all!

[PrincesScuba]

I am with you. I love RCCL but for our anniversary I chose Princess because I saw them as less family oriented. When I dream of the prefect land vacation it's at Couples or Sandals. There is another one but won't mention it:eek:. What bugs me is that people who have clearly done their time with kids and seeking a life or vacation without them head to a line that is known to cater to family. Before the kids DH had a golf trip with the boys and I had a girls getaway. This year I arranaged for his golf trip and sent the kids to grandma for a few days. Time alone in my own house, the bigest vacation of all!

Princess is hardly a kid-free cruiseline.

 

It really boils down to time of year.

 

If you are cruising at a time when most schoolchildren are in school, there will be fewer on your cruise.

 

I have experienced just as many out of control, out of place, unruly kids on Princess as I have on Royal Caribbean. But those cruises were in the summer, when the kids have strength in numbers. :)

[spanner14]

I just love how all the parents reacted. The post was a simple one, do they offer kid-less cruises.

 

The OP never said he/she hated children, never said that they all mis-behaved, never said that he/she wouldn't sail on a cruise that had kids. Just wanted to know if Royal ever offered one.

 

Everyone, parent or no parent, has times where they just don't want to be around children. It doesn't make them a bad person, it just makes them human. Royal even recognizes this which is why there is an adults-only solarium.

 

Just to pose another question...Would every married person get upset if someone asked if Royal offered "Singles" cruises? It wouldn't mean that that poster couldn't stand to be around married people, just that they were looking for one cruise that catered to singles.

 

Just because a cruiseline typically caters to families does not mean that they could not have 1 week that was for adults only, and/or 1 week for just single people. It would still leave 50 weeks where families could sail.

 

Well actually, that's not quite fair. I'm a parent and I answered the OPs question perfectly politely. I don't have any problem with people who want adult-only time, or who don't want to cruise with children - each to their own and all that.

 

The only time I got a little offended was at those people who judged all children by the same standard, and who had a downer on all children. That does make me cross.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

I'm a parent who also enjoys my adult only time.

 

DH and I take a solo trip yearly of our choice ( like a small dive hotel in Grand Cayman, this year - Monday!- it's 9 days at Sandals St Lucia ). We've discussed a "just the two of us" Med Cruise as DD doesn't want to fly, and if we chose to go, we'll probably go on Celebrity.

 

We also do a "family" trip every year with our 13 yo DD. She gets to pick, and no, I don't go "OK..we did 2 weeks in Grand Cayman so you get to do 5 days of tent camping!" I let my daughter choose. A few times we've gone to WDW. But, more often she chooses a cruise. She'll be on her 9th cruise when she boards the Allure in January, and her 10th is booked on the Disney Dream next year.

 

So, I totally *get* wanting to get away, but if I was going to do it, I sure as heck wouldn't pick RCCL for that trip. It's just too family oriented and fun. But, that's just my opinion.

 

 

For me, I dont cruise for just taking a cruise, its the itinery, the destination, the availability and RCCL fitted the bill, I just avoided being near noisy children as much as possible, I wasnt rude to them and I dont hate children, if I am relaxing on deck reading on sea days, I just wouldnt want to be on a ship with a lot of children, I avoid school holidays for this reason.

[kooljamming]

Princess is hardly a kid-free cruiseline.

 

It really boils down to time of year.

 

If you are cruising at a time when most schoolchildren are in school, there will be fewer on your cruise.

 

I have experienced just as many out of control, out of place, unruly kids on Princess as I have on Royal Caribbean. But those cruises were in the summer, when the kids have strength in numbers. :)

 

Not kid free but I believe RCCL and Carnival provide a more fun setting for families. I can't cruise when kids are in school, I am a PROUD parent. I chose Princess because I felt they catered less to families, the elegant design, and the sheer understated beauty. Be it kids or adults, I have experienced very few rude or out of control cruisers. Clearly with only 12 cruises my experience is limited or I might have just been lucky. Spring break on short cruises I do avoid:eek:

 

I understand someone wanting a break of kids: mine, his, hers, theirs or ours. One just should NOT go seeking it at Disneyland or places that make a boat load of money on families. I have read complaints about kids at Disneyland as well;) I would not take my kids on cruise with a boat load of old people, I would save that prevlidge for myself.