Circle C How much freedom for 12 yo girl

[bunchesofun]

When we cruised last May dd was 11 and in Camp Carnival where you had to sign her in and out. Her brother was able to do that for us. She will be 12 on our December cruise. I don't really like the idea of letting her roam the halls with a group of kids, yet it seems like if she's there at Circle C and they all decide to go, she'll be left there on her own. Also without walkie talkies (we bought a nice set and they didn't work) how do you always know where they are, or meet up with them? I've heard post it notes on the mirror works, but what other ways of keeping in contact do you use? I might add that dd is very responsible and takes things seriously. When we discussed Facebook, she decided to wait until she is officially old enough because she didn't want to lie to get an account now.

[jakeHOU97]

She'll have fun! Since shes responsible like you said, she'll likely be fine.

 

Anyway, A system that yall could do is that your daughter. would either be at Circle C (or a activity), or the pool unless you were notified.

 

He roamed the ship with his friends. and was given of a amount freedom, and was responsible.

 

Have Fun!

[hannahsmomtoo]

My dd will be 13 ( barely ) when we cruise and I am in the same boat as you. I will use the post-it note method and have very clear rules. I would hate for her to not be included in something other kids are doing - and will enjoy some Casino time while she is occupied. :D

[bplazo]

At that age, I did not allow my daughter to roam around the ship without me. If she was in the kids camp she stayed there till I picked her up.

[hannahsmomtoo]

I think you will get widely varied responses.. When it comes down to it - only you know the maturity / responsibility level of your child.

 

You could even do a trial run for the first day or so and SEE how she does with some freedom.

 

Have a great cruise !

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

When we cruised last May dd was 11 and in Camp Carnival where you had to sign her in and out. Her brother was able to do that for us. She will be 12 on our December cruise. I don't really like the idea of letting her roam the halls with a group of kids, yet it seems like if she's there at Circle C and they all decide to go, she'll be left there on her own. Also without walkie talkies (we bought a nice set and they didn't work) how do you always know where they are, or meet up with them? I've heard post it notes on the mirror works, but what other ways of keeping in contact do you use? I might add that dd is very responsible and takes things seriously. When we discussed Facebook, she decided to wait until she is officially old enough because she didn't want to lie to get an account now.

 

Have been letting our Son sign himself out since he was 11. We set a time and a place to meet. Then, when he shows up we let him know another time and place to meet. If he is even 1 minute late, he is stuck with us for the rest of the night! Walkie talkies don't work! We have seen kids laughing while their parents are trying to call them and saying "I'll just say that we had no reception!" Rules are: no kids allowed in our cabin if we are not there; no going to the decks which have cabins; if ANYONE touches him or sets a hand on him he is to SCREAM FIRE-HELP! Sorry, but this is the only way people will help.

[jakeHOU97]

Have been letting our Son sign himself out since he was 11. We set a time and a place to meet. Then, when he shows up we let him know another time and place to meet. If he is even 1 minute late, he is stuck with us for the rest of the night! Walkie talkies don't work! We have seen kids laughing while their parents are trying to call them and saying "I'll just say that we had no reception!" Rules are: no kids allowed in our cabin if we are not there; no going to the decks which have cabins; if ANYONE touches him or sets a hand on him he is to SCREAM FIRE-HELP! Sorry, but this is the only way people will help.

 

Of Circle C? I believe there is no sign in/out system...counselers dont care if/when your kid leaves/comes

[Andoria]

My son was 12 on our cruise. There is no camp sign out. The kids were able to choose what they wanted to do. We made it a rule that my son needed to join us for meals but otherwise he could do what he wanted. The group of kids he hung out with was a mix of boys and girls and they were nice kids.

[PunkinsDad]

Our DD is also 12, and overall she's a very responsible and mature young lady with good judgement. We've been letting her sign herself in and out for a few years now without incident.

 

We use the "leave a note in the cabin" method and overall she's very good about following that rule. She also knows that if she doesn't follow our rules, her freedom will be abruptly curtailed. :)

 

As a dad, of course I worry a little bit, but I do trust her. She's a very strong-willed person, and while she'll go along with the crowd to a point, she's not about to be talked into doing anything she doesn't think is right or safe.

[serene56]

carnival allows the 9-11 year olds to sign themselves in and out but need parents permission to do so.

They need this permission to participate in scavenger hunts etc.

 

with the 12-14--this age group tends to hang out together instead of participating in the group activities.

 

You will find the kids at the pizza place, sitting in hot tubs.

 

 

make sure she goes to the first orientation.

 

You stated she is responsible-- tell her to stay away from cabin areas and stay in the public areas and she will be fine. Have her tell you where she will be--and if that place changes to use the public telephones located at every elevator bank and leave a message on the cabin phone. (these are free) just set up the voice mail when you get in the cabin

[Lady_Jag]

My niece was 11 when we sailed the Fascination in November. She had free reign of the ship, which worries me. I mean, there were extended periods of time (multiple hours!) when no one knew where she was!:eek:

 

I kept quiet and let my brother allow her the freedom he wanted to give her, but I was very nervous. Not that my niece isn't a mature, responsible young lady, but she could have easily been snatched into someone's cabin or some Crew Only area during her lengthy wanderings.

 

Maybe I'll have a different stance when my daughter is that age, but for now, I don't think I could give her that kind of freedom without at least requiring that she check in with me when she leaves Circle C and then hourly when she's not in Circle C.

[felidaet]

To bunchesofun - My family will be on the same cruise as you. I have a daughter that will have just turned 13 in Oct. She has been hoping there would be some other girls about her age on the ship. She is very social. She is also very responsible. I bet her and your daughter will become friends on the first day.

[bunchesofun]

That would be great. I know she's a little worried as well, but she is also a very sociable young lady so I know she'll make friends. You must be reading our roll call and hearing debster and I chatting away daily! Join in the conversation, it's pretty lonely with just the two of us most of the time.

[Gemynii]

To bunchesofun - My family will be on the same cruise as you. I have a daughter that will have just turned 13 in Oct. She has been hoping there would be some other girls about her age on the ship. She is very social. She is also very responsible. I bet her and your daughter will become friends on the first day.

 

It looks like ya'll sail the same day, but on different ships.

 

 

I'm also nervous about our 12 yr old DD roaming the ship when we cruise in July. I've already told her not to leave Circle C alone. I told her about leaving a note in the cabin, but I really like the suggestion about using one of the phones on the ship to leave a message on the phone in our room. That way she won't be near the cabins where some weird person could be hanging out. Since this will be our first cruise, I was wondering if we would get the schedule for Circle C at the same time as the Fun Times. That way we can get an idea of which activities she will be participating in.

 

Thanks. :)

[Andoria]

My niece was 11 when we sailed the Fascination in November. She had free reign of the ship, which worries me. I mean, there were extended periods of time (multiple hours!) when no one knew where she was!:eek:

 

I kept quiet and let my brother allow her the freedom he wanted to give her, but I was very nervous. Not that my niece isn't a mature, responsible young lady, but she could have easily been snatched into someone's cabin or some Crew Only area during her lengthy wanderings.

 

Maybe I'll have a different stance when my daughter is that age, but for now, I don't think I could give her that kind of freedom without at least requiring that she check in with me when she leaves Circle C and then hourly when she's not in Circle C.

 

 

Getting my son into a martial arts school at a young age really helped with my anxiety. Of course bad stuff can still happen but the odds are lower. If someone tries to snatch him, the person might get more than what they bargained for.

[jakesnana]

It looks like ya'll sail the same day, but on different ships.

 

 

I'm also nervous about our 12 yr old DD roaming the ship when we cruise in July. I've already told her not to leave Circle C alone. I told her about leaving a note in the cabin, but I really like the suggestion about using one of the phones on the ship to leave a message on the phone in our room. That way she won't be near the cabins where some weird person could be hanging out. Since this will be our first cruise, I was wondering if we would get the schedule for Circle C at the same time as the Fun Times. That way we can get an idea of which activities she will be participating in.

 

Thanks. :)

 

 

We used the phone system when we traveled with our 13 yo DGS last summer. If he left Circle C, he has to call the cabin and leave a message where he was. If he left that area, he had to call again and leave a new location. Everytime he changed location, he was required to call and leave a message. When I got back to the cabin, I could check the messages and I KNEW he was where ever the last message came from. There was never more than 2-3 messages on the phone at a time.

 

This worked out perfectly and saved him the time of running back and forth to the cabin to leave a note. If he had to do that, his friends would have taken off and he may or may not have caught up with them.

 

If you go to the orientation on the first night with your child, you will be able to get a complete schedule of the activities for the week. I grabbed 3 while I was there, one for my cabin, one for my purse and one for my DGS.

 

Good luck and have fun.

[july2012]

MY son wil be 12 is. He will be with another friend who cruised last year. I'm still trying to decide how I will handle this Cricle C allowing them to sign in/out on their own.

 

We will have dinner together and will have check in places and times. Rules will be set, if he breaks 1 then he is stuck with me the rest of the cruise. And he knows I don't bend, so I'm sure that alone will have him towing the line.

[bunchesofun]

In the past someone posted a really great list of rules, and I hope they post them again as I can't find my copy. It covered different situations. Things like not going to anyone else's cabin. Staying in groups. And that if any rules were broken then they would be stuck to our side the rest of the trip.

[serene56]

MY son wil be 12 is. He will be with another friend who cruised last year. I'm still trying to decide how I will handle this Cricle C allowing them to sign in/out on their own.

 

there is no signing in and out at this group age. they come and go as they please.

 

You will have to decide if they have to wait for you to come and get them and how do they let you know?

 

These kids really do not participate in the group activities--- so its posted that the kids will be doing a group video game and no one shows up=== how do the kids let you know they dont want to stay? do you check on the area every 30 minutes? thats a lot of time running back and forth.

[serene56]

That way she won't be near the cabins where some weird person could be hanging out. Since this will be our first cruise,

 

Thanks. :)

 

exactly

 

and if she is sailing by herself with family then she will probably be walking to the cabin by herself to leave a note-- as going to cabin areas for any reason is forbidden.

[ChefSusan]

If it was me, and I had children, I would let my 12 year old daughter (or son) have free reign of the ship, providing they check in with either me or my husband at agreed upon times, and were mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong.

 

It should be your decision, and don't base it on anything that is said on here. Only you and your husband know if your child is mature enough to handle this much responsibility.

[my3boysmom]

We had two 12 yo boys with us spring break. We did a "contract" and used the phones to keep in touch. It worked well. I also made a point of meeting the people they made friends with onboard.

[teetee6263]

In the past someone posted a really great list of rules, and I hope they post them again as I can't find my copy. It covered different situations. Things like not going to anyone else's cabin. Staying in groups. And that if any rules were broken then they would be stuck to our side the rest of the trip.

 

Think this might be what you're looking for, post #10

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1199310

[felidaet]

Oops... I misread this last night. I thought I read that you would be on the Splendor. That's what I get for reading this when I am 1/2 asleep.... Sorry for the confusion. Too bad we are not on the same ship.

[bunchesofun]

Think this might be what you're looking for, post #10

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1199310

 

This is the specific one I remember, but it covers everything that was on the other thread. Thanks! I've bookmarked it and will print it out for the trip.