How to cruise with an 11 year old

[Mrs.N]

So I booked the Splendor for March of 2012. We are taking my daughter who will be 11 (three months shy of 12) so?????

-does she get her own ship and sail card and can she charge stuff to it?

-do I let her go places on the ship alone? to get a snack? or what not?

I am pretty protective, but? what will you allow your almost 12 year old to do?

[spenc]

My daughter went on her first cruise at 10. Yes, they get their own card and you can either let her have charging privileges or not. I usually gave her a specific amount. You need to set that up with the purser's desk. I didn't give my daughter free reign on the ship. You are still around thousands of strangers, so I definitely kept an eye on her. She loved the kids program but we agreed that she would not be able to sign herself out.

[gelo7]

My daughter went on her first cruise at 10. Yes, they get their own card and you can either let her have charging privileges or not. I usually gave her a specific amount. You need to set that up with the purser's desk. I didn't give my daughter free reign on the ship. You are still around thousands of strangers, so I definitely kept an eye on her. She loved the kids program but we agreed that she would not be able to sign herself out.

That's the way that we do it also.

[topspin1267]

With our 12 year old, we set him up a preset daily limit through the pursers desk. Even with the preset he nevers buys anything without double checking with us before he buys.

 

As an 11 yr old we let him sign himself out under certain conditions:

he had to let us know his plans

he had to check in in the cabin every hour (we had a note pad for him to leave or get messages)

and he had a set time he had to meet us somewhere (usually a trivia contest or show)

 

He was 4 months shy of 12 and he really didnt enjoy camp carnival as much since he thought he was "too old" to be in there.

 

This year he gets to go to circle C and cant wait.

[jtdlmc]

My son was just shy of 11 on our cruise. I did not allow charging privileges on his card. We did allow him a bit of freedom. He was allowed to check himself out of Camp Carnival and go back to the room - we knew what activities he was going to do and so approximately when he would be leaving. We allowed him to go himself to get snacks or go for a walk around the Lido deck. We gave him rules (he is stranger aware) and let him know in no uncertain terms that if he didn't follow the rules, his freedom would be over. We had no problems whatsoever and he was very grateful to have that little bit of freedom.

[spenc]

OP - you just have to see what your comfort level is and what your child's comfort level is with the signing themselves in and out if they go to the kids program. My daughter made friends there and was usually not ready to go when we came to get her. I just didn't feel comfortable with her roaming the ship by herself. I wouldn't let her do that at home, so I wasn't ready for her to do that on a ship.

[cb at sea]

It depends on your child, and how well they follow your rules. I would have let my kids do some things on their own.....say, I'm at the pool, and they want to go to the buffet for a drink, I'd let them. They would go and come right back.

At that age, I would NOT have let them have "run of the ship"...they have no need to do so, and I wouldn't have been comfortable with that.

If they will be with you 24/7, you should hold their card...they will have no need to have it in their possession. If you do allow some freedom, they will need the card. You can give them charging privleges or not...up to you.

[serene56]

She will be in the camps with 9-11 group (which for me was the best group on the ships.

 

THey do keep them busy. They do have scavenger hunts throughout the ship in public areas only.

 

Teach your daughter to stay in these public areas-- and not to go to anyones cabins for any reason.

 

She can reach the cabin by using the public telephones located around the ship (look around the elevators) by dialing the cabin number and leave a voice mail- which you will set up when you get to your cabin.

 

There is a meet and greet the first day-- make sure you get your daughter there to meet the kids on her sailing.

[Jolimont]

My 13yo girl doesn't get cash on her cruise card, but she does get a soda sticker. When she wants to play in the arcade she can do it with quarters. We do let her sign herself out of camp, but she's been really trustworthy and predictable.

[crusinpsychRN]

I wouldn't let my 11 y/o have charging privledges. I also wouldn't let them go out of my sight. You can read horror stories on sites about what happens on ships.

[H82seaUgo]

So I booked the Splendor for March of 2012. We are taking my daughter who will be 11 (three months shy of 12) so?????

-does she get her own ship and sail card and can she charge stuff to it?

-do I let her go places on the ship alone? to get a snack? or what not?

I am pretty protective, but? what will you allow your almost 12 year old to do?

 

yes. she gets a card. you can set it up to charge, and keep limits.

 

never let her walk the ship alone. always go in pairs.

[riffatsea]

The ship is like a small town. Think about what you allow her to do where you live and then adjust those rules to the ship environment.

Do you let her walk to the store alone at home?

Does she walk to school or do you drive her everywhere?

I am sure you'll figure it out and have a wonderful time!!

[C&M's Mommy]

I am cruising with my 11 1/2 yr old daughter in 8 days:D NO WAY would I let her go anywhere alone!!!!:eek: this world is full of CRAZY, SICK people and you have no idea who you are cruising with!! They don't post pedophile on their cabin door!! Now on another note I do give her charging privileges...but she is very responsible:) you can always replace $$$ but never your child!! Have fun she is going to LOVE IT!!!:D

[sail-a-bration]

The problem with letting your child check herself out of Camp Carnival programs is a cruise ship is like a miniture city with more bars. She will be unchaparoned with 2000+ strangers. If you google child sexual assault on cruise ships you will discover many incidences. This is a fairly recent one

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/04/prosecutors_appeal_judges_deci.html

and here is a website that list attacks and has photos of preditor and job. One was a captain on Princess cruiselines.

http://www.cruiseshiprapes.com/Sexual_Assaults/cruise_ship_sexual_assaults_minor_children_4.html

 

I know many will think I am over reacting, but I also know that bad things happen on vacation too.

[Ellanora]

When my son was that age, we would review the 9-11 activities each day and he would pick out which ones he wanted to do (assuming we weren't in port.) We'd walk together and he'd stop off at his activity and I would head off to do something myself. Then I'd be in the area wherever the activity finished and we would head on to lunch or swimming or whatever was next. I did give him sign out privileges so he could participate in the scavenger hunt or going with his friends for pizza, but made it very clear that if he decided to leave the club early, he had to call me on our phone (we had the walkie-talkie type of function on our phones) and let me know. And if all else failed, go straight to the cabin and wait for me to get there. I just wasn't comfortable with him wandering the ship whenever he wanted without letting me know, at that age.

 

He'll be 15 on our next Carnival cruise, and now I let him walk by himself :p but we still have a general structure of knowing where each of us plan to be while apart and having a set time to meet back up.

 

I did not give him charging privileges until he was 13-14ish and started wanting the occasional smoothie, but he knows he's not allowed to hit the gift shop without me. :D However, he always gets the soda sticker so he can help himself.

 

I hope you and your daughter have a great time!!

[nw2this]

Our last cruise was on Princess, their kids club was not very good, so my kids never went. They did roam around the ship with a group of other kids they had met (safety in numbers) and we all had radios to in keep close touch.

[Colorado Kat]

I've always told my girls they can charge $50 on their cards for a week's cruise. The occasional fancy coffee drink, something from the gift shop, or plate of Chocolate covered strawberries. Neither one ever even hit $30.

 

Rule: You do not ever go into someone else's cabin, and nobody comes into yours. (Camera/cash/ipod could be missing...)

 

Safety in mumbers............

[Crusin6]

You keep her near you and enjoy a family vacation.

 

or you can let her loose in a strange city of 3000 people that she has never been in before.

 

 

Seriously...at 11...it is Camp Carnival for certain periods of time..not for all the time...why? Because I can tell you this..11 will turn into 21 faster than you think...so do you..your daughter and your entire family a favor...and stick together and have a great family vacation.

Plan great port stuff...go to fun stuff on board..go to the shows..listen to a little music...the entire family can do this stuff together.

[Crusin6]

The problem with letting your child check herself out of Camp Carnival programs is a cruise ship is like a miniture city with more bars. She will be unchaparoned with 2000+ strangers. If you google child sexual assault on cruise ships you will discover many incidences. This is a fairly recent one

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/04/prosecutors_appeal_judges_deci.html

and here is a website that list attacks and has photos of preditor and job. One was a captain on Princess cruiselines.

http://www.cruiseshiprapes.com/Sexual_Assaults/cruise_ship_sexual_assaults_minor_children_4.html

 

I know many will think I am over reacting, but I also know that bad things happen on vacation too.

This is true. Don't let anyone try to convince you that the ship is entirely safe for an 11yo girl..either alone..or in numbers with her new "best friends":rolleyes:...who also happen to be strangers and you have no clue as to how their parents are raising them.

[obnancy]

Just off the Splendor with my 11 year old son. He used to love Camp Carnival, but did not like it this time as he felt he was "too old" to be in the same area as all the younger kids.

 

He pretty much stayed glued to us for about 3 days and then at the pool we met a 10 and 11 year old boy traveling together. I met their parents and we let them move together as a group between my husband and myself and their families.

 

This was a good choice for us, but I know that others would not be comfortable with our choice. I also allow him to walk to school and go down to the 7-11 if he is with friends at home, so he is used to being resonsible for himself.

 

As far as charging goes, I bought him a soda sticker the first day and put $30.00 on his sign and sail card.

[larkz]

The "stranger danger" alarms are maddeningly silly on this thread. Having worked with runaways, delinquents and troubled families (due to a bad first career choice after college, unfortunately), I recommend taking a more intelligent approach to safety than teaching your kids that everyone is a potential rapist. The overwhelming number of assaults of all kinds against children are committed by family members and family friend. Statistically, the most dangerous people are more likely to be in their own cabin than out on the ship. This is a fact.

 

While growing up, my daughter had a lot of freedom with a very clear understanding of her parent's expectations of her behavior, and exceptionally tough consequences when she broke the rules. We didn't cruise when she was 11, but I would have allowed her some free time to explore the ship at that age, especially if she were with another kid.

 

The more realistic concern, and the one that I would have had, is the trouble that kids can get into due to their own behavior. The ship is full of funky staircases, big metal structures, slippery decks, pools, and railings with drops of one or more stories -- let along the possibility of falling overboard.

 

Overbearing parents often end up with adult kids who have no preparation for life after they leave (or fail to leave) home.

[Mrs.N]

Thanks for the advice, I always like hearing other people's experiences. I am by far the most protective parent, (I actually prosecute child abuse cases......) No question she won't have free run of the ship, but the occassional short walk to get a soda will likley be allowed.

[PlanningToCruise]

So I booked the Splendor for March of 2012. We are taking my daughter who will be 11 (three months shy of 12) so?????

-does she get her own ship and sail card and can she charge stuff to it?

-do I let her go places on the ship alone? to get a snack? or what not?

I am pretty protective, but? what will you allow your almost 12 year old to do?

 

our son was 11 on our last cruise ( it was his 4th) it was the first time we gave him charging status, but we arranged it so he had a set limit each day ( the money can go fast in the arcade as they think of it as free money) It was also the first time we allowed him freedom on his own around the ship, BUT we had lots of rules about cking in certain times, we had a notepad in the cabin and he had to sign and put a time, we would literally write notes back and forth. He was never alone usually, he always managed to find other kids to hang out with. We did NOT however allow him to sign out of camp carnival during the after hours ( 10pm I think it was) he had to wait for us, or when we'd ck on him if he wanted to leave we walk him back to the cabin where he stayed and watched tv or played his Ds for a bit. He's very good about listening/following rules, he wasn't allowed to open door, go on balcony, order room service, etc etc. Our older son and DIL were on that cruise with us and are early birds so alot of nights they would get him from the camp carnival and take him back to their room. You have to do what is comfortable for your family, yu know your daughter better then anyone

[mzspyc1]

My son is 11 and has charging privileges, but he has been very frugal with money. I did allow him to check out of camp carnival, but he made a friend and me or his friend's mom always had an eye on the duo. I am protective of my only child, so I don't know if he would have been allowed to sign out if this weren't the case. I know of a case where a young girl was raped on a cruise and didn't want to leave anything to chance.

[Tamsin72]

Took my just turned 11yo twins on a cruise this summer. I did not allow them to check themselves out of Camp Carnival. We dropped them off and picked them up for all activities. We did not give them free roam of the ship, but we did allow them to do the scavenger hunts with the group of camp kids. I didn't give them charging priviliges either.