Roaming children... Arrh!

[Boatingmom]

What age do you thik its acceptable to allow the children be by themselves onboard for short periods of time? I'm not talking about signing out of the kids club and hanging out with derelicts. I'm talking about something like runningto the cabin to get a towel,l or going to the Lido to get their own ice cream. Rumor has it that I'm over protective. :eek:

[cantwait2cruize]

It all depends on the child. My kids I would say between 10 and 12 years old.

[kujobie]

10 is a good number. So what's the verdict? Are you overprotective? How old is your little one?

[valandemmy]

I would say 18.....lol :eek:

 

I am a bit over protective also, but... they go to those clubs so WE feel safe of where they are at...what happens if they sign out to get ice cream...and then running around doing god knows what...with god knows who...

no signing out for me...wanna leave...have me paged...

[stellatj]

i say age 12 if they are mature

[SMSACE6]

It depends on the age of the child/children. I dont have my own, but have some who are close to me by family and friends connection. I tend to be over protective as well. But I would not let kids under the age of 14 roam the ship alone, (that includes going down to the cabin for a towel or whatever), or even going with groups of their own age. Age 14 or over, it would depend on the individual, and how mature I thought they were. I would be fairly content if they regardless of age, were enrolled in structured programs per Carnival's children and teenage programs. That is just me. But I think Carnival has some really good options for kids of all ages up to 16, but I am among the over protective group. I would want to know where they are, and who they are with.

[bankerbabe]

I've put some thought into this, as we are cruising next March with our two kids. Last cruise, at 8, my daughter was too young to sign herself out so it wasn't a concern. Son was 13 and very mature/responsible, so we gave him some freedom with very strict rules and an early curfew.

 

My daughter will be 10, nearly 11 on our next cruise, and we are cruising with a group of kids of like age. There will be four of them that are 10-11 years old on this next cruise. I am OK with her going from point A to point B with her group of friends. But I'm not OK with her hanging out with her friends outside of Camp Carnival. She can hang out in the cabin for a bit with our friends' kids if she likes, but only if they are all together. There will be no roaming the ship without us, even with her group. Point A to Point B only.

 

DS will be 15, and is very mature, so I don't worry as much about him. He can hang out by the pool with friends (he too will have a friend his age along) and have some freedom. But he will still have strict guidelines of behavior and he will have a decent curfew. And I will check to make sure that he is in his cabin when I tell him to be. And I will sneak around the ship like a spy and make sure that he's behaving and that he's where he said he would be. He's used to it. . . . . . I think he's scared to death to misbehave because he never knows what corner I'll be around. A little fear is a good thing.

[Hutchgal]

My son has been cruising since he was 9 years old. When he was 13 I allowed him to come and go to Camp Carnival as he pleased. He attended alot of the activities but there were some he was not interested in. He would always tell me the ones he wouldnt be attending and where he was planning to be. (Pool,arcade, pizza etc.) If not in Camp Carnival he was usually with his new ship friends he always seemed to make on board. He always made it a point to find me at different times during the day to catch up or just say hi and harass mom.LOL I never had a problem doing that and he has always been well behaved. On that cruise when he was 13, our second on the Triumph, my mother and I were talking about him on Lido deck. Some other passengers overheard us and made mention of his name. I asked why. Seems he was helping other passengers to find their way around the ship, since he remembered where everything was from our earlier Truimph cruise! If you as a parent feel your child is mature enough then try letting them go off alone and see how they handle it.

 

We are leaving on the Dream on Saturday, my son's 11th Carnival cruise. He is 19 now and this is his first cruise as an "adult". I remember all his other fun cruises growing up and look forward to sharing many more grown up ones with him. :D

[tef43]

What age do you thik its acceptable to allow the children be by themselves onboard for short periods of time?

25 :rolleyes:

[BubMunkeyBles]

I was 9 on my Holland American Alaskan cruise with my parents... They let us do things alone. But we've also been world travelers from a young age and were pretty well behaved (also it seemed like there were hardly any other kids to get in trouble with, lol).

[RoadTripFanatic]

DD has been on cruise ships since she was 2 1/2. She is comfortable on a ship. Last January she was 9 and that was the first time I let her 'run' ahead to go change to come to the pool. That was REALLY hard to do. We were also only two flights from the pool and we met her in the room in 5 minutes. :) At age 9 I did let her run to grab an ice cream cone only if she came right back. I did not let her run to the buffet by herself and try to find us. KWIM? She is not allowed to check herself in and out of the kids club until she is 12. I figure if she isn't old enough to stay home by herself then she isn't old enough to roam a ship.

[Tao Diva]

It has been my experience that kids these days are actually very mature, aware of their surroundings and intelligent. . . Individually. But the more of them you put together the lower the level of maturity, awareness and intelligence becomes. :eek:

 

It's not scientific by any means, but as a general rule of thumb, use this handy formula:

 

Subtract one year from your kid's age for every other kid your kid will be "hanging out" with and you'll get a better sense of what to expect.

 

For example a 12 year old going to the lido for ice cream is a 12 year old going to the lido for ice cream. But three 12 year olds going to the lido for ice cream is like 3 9 year olds going to the lido for ice cream.

 

Keep this in mind when a 16 year old wants to hang out in public alone with four or five friends. :eek:

[Tao Diva]

I was 9 on my Holland American Alaskan cruise with my parents... They let us do things alone. But we've also been world travelers from a young age and were pretty well behaved (also it seemed like there were hardly any other kids to get in trouble with, lol).

 

See what I mean? ;)

[KenMo]

My "baby" is 34 and I still get a little antsy when he's on his own on the ship...LOL!

[Crusin6]

i don't like roaming alone on a ship and I am a full fledged adult!!! The buddy system is the way to go whenever possible...at all ages.....a cruise ship is no place to test your kids maturity....do that in your own environs.

[bplazo]

My daughter was allowed when she was 14 but had to have her friend with her.

[Boatingmom]

OK you only made me more nervous. MY son is a seasoned cruiser. Its not him I'm worried about. It's the possible wierdos lurking. He does stay home alone for an hour or two,. He'll be 13 and 1/2 at time of sailing. He's been on several criuises. But he is innocent. I know.... Make him a man etc. Cut the cord.....but,I'd rather be an annoying mother than have another ARUBA situation. What are the odds??????????Am I the minority??:o

[ncovert]

What age do you thik its acceptable to allow the children be by themselves onboard for short periods of time? I'm not talking about signing out of the kids club and hanging out with derelicts. I'm talking about something like runningto the cabin to get a towel,l or going to the Lido to get their own ice cream. Rumor has it that I'm over protective. :eek:

 

I think between 10 and 11. You know your children and can make a good judgement call.

[grammax3]

I agree with Cruisin6. You have no idea who the other 3,000 or so passengers are, let alone another 1100 crew members. Buddy system is the way to go, check in every 2 hours if they are allowed to roam on their own preferably with a buddy. Under 16, in their cabin or with their parents, after 10, 16 to maybe 18 midnight curfew. Once they are 18, they should be responsible enough to be on their own.

 

I was a protective parent, and raised 4 very responsible children, and now so far my children are raising their children much in the same way as they were raised. So, apparently the curfews and restrictions weren't all that bad.

[SMSACE6]

My "baby" is 34 and I still get a little antsy when he's on his own on the ship...LOL!

 

I wont say how old I am, but I will say that my Mom is 76 and last year when we took a cruise on the Carnival Liberty, she told me in no uncertain terms that she expected me to back to our room by midnight! Of course I balked at that!.

 

Well wouldnt you know that was the very night that I was on a "hot" machine in the casino. ( Not that hot, just kept giving me back what little I lost regularly ). Anyway, I reluctantly left my hot machine about 10 minutes to midnight, and headed down to our room, and found her getting up and getting dressed. Yes she was getting up and dressed to come looking for me! I asked her what perils she though I might come to, and she reamed them off.

 

I reminded her of my age, and that ladies of my age who dont look for adventure dont usually find any, but it mattered not to her. Long and short of it. Once a parent, always a parent! Doesnt matter the age of the child.

[Brentonsmom]

It really does depend on the maturity of your child. Up until last year, my son had to be signed out of the kids club, we never gave permission for him to sign himself out and he never did. I would let him run back to the room for something but that was it. Last summer on Carnival Freedom, he was 13 and we allowed him to sign out. This past summer he turned 14 and we gave him more freedom to meet up with a friend and swim, play basketball, get pizza. We always had meeting times and places and he was always there when he should have been. He knew if he was not where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there, he and I would be joined at the hip the rest of the cruise! So again, it depends on your child's maturity.

 

Tina

[sassy5683]

I so agree with the once a parent always a parent thing! HAHAHA!

 

I want to keep my kids as close as possible at all times. When we were on our cruise in Jan. the only time they would leave us is when they went to the top of the slide and we were at the bottom. they were 7 and 8 at that time. Our next cruise they will be 7 (will be getting home the day before dd's bday) and 9 and the same rules will apply. Sorry I dont like the idea of DS checking himself out of CC.

 

even when they are both 9 i'm not sure if I would want them leaving together. I would just much rather them tell me the activities they don't want to do and i will come to cc and get them and bring them back when it is time for their next one.

 

Guess I am just a bit over protective! Its not my kids im worried about but the thousands of other people on board. I don't know them nor do I have a background check for them so I have no clue whichones are pedofiles or anything else. I would rather my kids have me around them than be sorry becuase something bad happened to one of them from one of my fellow cruisers or even one of the staff.

[Ceece911]

By themselves, 12; With a partner 9 or 10.

[NotWthOutablcony]

OK you only made me more nervous. MY son is a seasoned cruiser. Its not him I'm worried about. It's the possible wierdos lurking. He does stay home alone for an hour or two,. He'll be 13 and 1/2 at time of sailing. He's been on several criuises. But he is innocent. I know.... Make him a man etc. Cut the cord.....but,I'd rather be an annoying mother than have another ARUBA situation. What are the odds??????????Am I the minority??:o

Nope, when I began cruising with my parents (many many years ago :rolleyes:) I was 15, now given I was always much more responsible than my two older sisters, but I was allowed to roam freely. Knowing what I know now, my children wouldn't step one foot outside of the cabin door alone if they were under the age of 15. Only you know your children, you'll know how responsible they are and if your little angel is going to join the rat pack later and traumatize sleeping passengers. Now, your son is 13, I personally believe if he is a responsible and respectable young man, that letting him go from point A to point B, would be a wonderful growing opportunity for him, it would show that you trust him to be responsible, which in turn he will be. I think its a great opportunity for you both, now if you believe that he might be overly innocent and possibly naive, maybe another year or so strapped to your hip wouldn't hurt, you be the judge. ;)

[RoadTripFanatic]

I want to add one more thing. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. It is your child and your choice to decide what age is appropriate for your child to have these freedoms. It's a personal decision.