Do you give your kids the run of the ship?

[sue d. miller]

A ship is like a floating city, no matter it has 3000 or 6000 passengers. Do you know everyone on it?? Your child's safety depends on your rules. If your children run the ship freely so your vacation is a good one and you trust your child, it is possible your child could be in danger. Even a single woman out walking alone at night on deck could be in danger. Is it really worth the chance??

[kingsgirl]

Or the 60-something guy who steps onto the elevator we and a few other people are already riding in and he presses and holds the door open button explaining that his wife is just running back to the room to get a sweater. He was offended when someone else suggested he get offand wait for another elevator. Where were this dude's parents?

 

OMG, hahahaha! Exactly!

 

By the way, I've been known to be the push-every-button-before-you-get-out person at times. There's just something about it that is absolutely hilarious to me and I'm 30 :eek:

 

I only do it when no one else is getting on on my floor, though I know that's still gonna annoy ppl. ;)

 

 

For those of you who don't think the supervision is a big issue, or don't worry about your kid being in photographs, here's a read for you. What these people can then do with these photographs is downright creepy.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/opinion/sunday/seared-by-the-gaze-of-a-peeping-tom-william-green.html?pagewanted=all

 

That was seriously one of the most horrific things I've read....

[sue d. miller]

Several years ago we took our daughter & 2 Grandchildren on a Princess cruise. Grandaughter was 12, grandson was 9. We were sitting out on the Aft Terrace, Hubby had gone back to the cabin, right in front of the bar at a table. There were a lot of people out there. Kids had their backs to the bar & adults were facing it. A short middle aged guy got off the bar stool, walked right up to my grandaughter, kneeled down & asked her if he could kiss her ankle, he didn't whisper. Just then 2 officers came through the door & 3 big guys rushed over from the bar. They grabbed the guy & the 2 officers took him away. It all happened so fast. That was when the kids understood the rules that were in place. They had a blast that week & went where they wanted but they were in eyesight wherever they went.

[NJcruisenewbie]

Trust me if you saw me and told me my children were misbehaving I would say I am sorry to you and handle it.

 

My sharp message was to the person who acted as if his cruise was ruined my some kids pushing buttons, running places, jumping up and down, etc... Look if kids bother you don't go on family cruises, its just that simple. When my wife and I want adult time alone we go to adult places, not places like Disney World.

 

I've been on about 25 cruises and the bad behavior that I can remember comes from adults, not kids.

 

When your kids are pushing extra elevator buttons, sliding down bannisters, running thru corridors yelling loudly they are misbehaving. This behavior doesn't ruin my vacation but it is annoying especially since I have a kid that would be sitting alone in a room/cabin if she pulled that nonsense.

[Katana_Geldar]

Wow, there are quite a few self-righteous people on this board. I'm not a parent, do the last thing I would do would be to give advice on parenting. IMHO. The only time I should intervene with a child that is not mine is when there is something unsafe occurring, or the child has done something that directly involves me.

 

I have, however, worked with kids so I know a bit more about them than the average non-parent. But that never extends to the point of giving advice.

[Kitari]

Wow, there are quite a few self-righteous people on this board. I'm not a parent, do the last thing I would do would be to give advice on parenting. IMHO. The only time I should intervene with a child that is not mine is when there is something unsafe occurring, or the child has done something that directly involves me.

 

I have, however, worked with kids so I know a bit more about them than the average non-parent. But that never extends to the point of giving advice.

 

Seriously! I want to give you a big shiny medal! A post on a board does in no way telsl people what kind of parent I am or what I have in mind. If my child is misbehaving and interfering in other people's enjoyment, I hope to catch it myself. If not, I do not have a problem with someone reminding her (not in a mean way) that she is not the only one there to enjoy herself.

 

Did I mention my child is a ninja? She is unlikely to go anywhere without one of us so it's all a moot point anyway.

[btoneill]

A ship is like a floating city, no matter it has 3000 or 6000 passengers. Do you know everyone on it?? Your child's safety depends on your rules. If your children run the ship freely so your vacation is a good one and you trust your child, it is possible your child could be in danger. Even a single woman out walking alone at night on deck could be in danger. Is it really worth the chance??

 

My kid could be in danger from teachers at school. From a priest at church. From a camp counselor. From a police officer. From a friends parent(s). From a babysitter. You never know. There are bad people in every walk of life. In every profession. You can't protect your child from everything in the world, even tho you wish you could. IMHO the best way to protect your child is to have a smart child who knows how to handle situations. One who isn't sheltered. One who is strong and independent. One who does not expect everything to be taken care of by mom and dad. Because, some day, mom and dad will not be there to protect them.

 

Brian

[Lady Chew]

A young child or even teenager who is a "ninja" or a blue belt, which I believe someone posted earlier ... is no match for an adult male bent on mayhem. Just sayin ...

[Kitari]

A young child or even teenager who is a "ninja" or a blue belt, which I believe someone posted earlier ... is no match for an adult male bent on mayhem. Just sayin ...

 

Lighten up. I am done with the fear mongering. I will keep my child safe AND we will have have a wonderful vacation. She's a polite and good child. I find you all laughable because you DON'T KNOW us.

 

Happy Sailing!

[btoneill]

A young child or even teenager who is a "ninja" or a blue belt, which I believe someone posted earlier ... is no match for an adult male bent on mayhem. Just sayin ...

 

Dude... Don't knock the skills of a ninja!

 

Hell, she could be inside your house right now ready to strike, and you'd have no idea!

 

Until you've had your head chopped off with a single swing of a katana blade you don't know what a ninja can really do!

[NJcruisenewbie]

A young child or even teenager who is a "ninja" or a blue belt, which I believe someone posted earlier ... is no match for an adult male bent on mayhem. Just sayin ...

 

Trust me, no adult male wants to be on the receiving end of my daughter's karate kick unless he wants to permanently sound like mickey mouse :D.

[pmkejk]

My daughter sailed with our extened family when she was 14. I would only let her go off with another family member. I wasn't worried about what they would do, but what could be done to them by another passenger or crew member.

 

Fast forward 10 years, my daughter cruised with us as a college graduation gift and I worried just as much about her on this cruise as I did when she was 14. Any girl/woman alone could be in danger. (I know boys too).

[rsdroid]

OMG, hahahaha! Exactly!

 

By the way, I've been known to be the push-every-button-before-you-get-out person at times. There's just something about it that is absolutely hilarious to me and I'm 30 :eek:

 

 

And I distinctly remember being unable to resist sliding down the hand rails on my last two cruises!!:D And I'm also 30! :eek:

[Mr Blue Sky]

On the Equinox, my son left his keycard on the game room. Two teenagers used the money he already had on his card and added $50 and kept using the money until my son reported the lost card. When we realized that someone had added $50 to his card my DH went to guest services to report the incident. My husband was told that our son was probably lying to us, that this happens all the time. My husband told them that they didn't know our son and to please check the security videos. Two hours later we received a call with an apology. The video showed the two teens taking our son card, they were ID by the face recognition program and their parents were informed about what they did. We received another letter of apology the next day, with chocolate covered strawberries, and a gift card for my son to use on the game room

Our son was with a friend when this happened but as you can see he knew that he had to report the lost card to guest services and also told us. My son went with my husband to Guest Services and had to face being called a liar. It was a good learning experience for everyone, including the person that doubted our son's story.

 

 

Hi Lydia

 

I have sent you a friends request on Facebook, if you are wondering

who it is initals S I, as would love to keep in touch with you it was

great fun on our roll call for silhouette, and would like to know how you

and your family enjoyed your cruise, message for your daughter 1D

are doing the olympics closing night :)

Sue

[TheBrowns]

Now days, you are rare, sadly.

 

 

I am the same my kids would be the ones who would get a swift kick up the butt...

 

Sadly some adults are worse than the kids on the ship one guy hit my son across the head just be cause he was being a bit silly in the lift. he was just mucking around with his brother. And this guy thought he had to pull him in to line.. unfortunatly the freedom is a huge enough ship that my son never saw him my hubby was fuming

[srlafleur]

Sadly, way too many people see a boogy-man around every corner. From the way some people have reacted you would think every other person is out to "get" the children. While there are bad guys, they are not nearly as prevalent as TV shows and the news would have you think, and they're certainly not all strangers. I refuse to live in constant fear and I refused to raise my kids fearfully. With due caution and proper teaching, but not in a state of paranoia.

On all of my 15+ cruises, I've barely been aware of children even being on the ships, never mind wrecking havoc and running amok. Maybe some of you see a child and assume the worst, looking specifically for bad behavior. I don't know. I don't think it's as prevalent as some of you seem to believe. Maybe you've all been on the same ship and seen the same kids?

 

Yes, when I was growing up, I said goodbye to my mom in the AM and returned for dinner, playing all day in the woods, often alone, (shock! horror!) or riding my bike with friends 15 miles to go horseback riding or to play in a stream we liked. Basically, my parents had little idea what I was doing most of the time. (Except when I was kissing my boyfriend at the movies because the usherette bowled with my mother). At 12, I walked a mile home from school, alone, and I was in charge of not only watching my little brother, but also starting dinner. Yup, I "played with" the stove, unsupervised. I have no doubt that there were just as many pervs out there then as now, and I never encountered a single one that I'm aware of.

[jakenashleysmom]

My kid could be in danger from teachers at school. From a priest at church. From a camp counselor. From a police officer. From a friends parent(s). From a babysitter. You never know. There are bad people in every walk of life. In every profession. You can't protect your child from everything in the world, even tho you wish you could. IMHO the best way to protect your child is to have a smart child who knows how to handle situations. One who isn't sheltered. One who is strong and independent. One who does not expect everything to be taken care of by mom and dad. Because, some day, mom and dad will not be there to protect them.

 

Brian

 

thank you. :)

[jakenashleysmom]

Plus, I just have to say....is pushing elevator buttons and sliding down banisters really that horrible? really?

[Bakincakes]

Lots of pax who have no choice but to use the elevators probably don't appreciate the button pushers. Pushing those buttons is rude and inconsiderate.

 

Most people think being rude and inconsiderate isn't exactly a "good " thing. Unless of course you speak to a button pusher or the parent of one.;)

[galavant3]

Plus, I just have to say....is pushing elevator buttons and sliding down banisters really that horrible? really?

 

Regarding the elevator buttons, horrible, probably not. Unacceptable and rude, I think yes. I would be very disappointed in my child if he/she entered an elevator and pushed every button deliberately inconveniencing the other passengers. Bottom line is that it is inconsiderate which should never be considered acceptable.

 

Fortunately, we've never witnessed this behavior in all our cruises so I'm assuming it isn't that common. Or we've just been lucky.

[jakenashleysmom]

Lots of pax who have no choice but to use the elevators probably don't appreciate the button pushers. Pushing those buttons is rude and inconsiderate.

 

Most people think being rude and inconsiderate isn't exactly a "good " thing. Unless of course you speak to a button pusher or the parent of one.;)

 

Oh I agree wholeheartedly that it is rude and inconsiderate, and I am definitely not the parent of one....or so they say LOL. If I saw kids pushing elevator buttons I would definitely give them a piece of my mind. Banister sliding....meh, who cares? I guess my point is that a lot of adults do way worse and more inconsiderate things IMO, labeling all kids as "button pushers".....well, I could think of worse things. I think a lot of older folks need to take a step back and remember the kinds of things they used to do back in the day.....

 

and yes, the kids that are rude and inconsiderate bother the heck out of me (and my kids) too! that doesn't mean ALL kids are like that, and perhaps my kids have me totally fooled into thinking they wouldn't do that sort of thing....who knows.

[Onessa]

. . . Banister sliding....meh, who cares? . . .

My DD (now 16YO) who HATES amusment park rides of all sorts, whose idea of a great time on our last cruise (Celebrity Solstice) was to go to the Hot Glass show (where she and her friends would squeeze together to let me sit with them) and would never, ever consider pushing any other elevator button than that of the floor she was going to, is a bannister slider.

 

It is one of her ultimate joy-in-life type activities -- she will point out that she only bannister slides when no other pax are on or near the stairs and that she never "hoots" or "screams" in delight -- but she is a slider all the same.

 

I suspect that, even just one month shy of 17YO, on our cruise later this month, she will find at least one perfect opportunity to slide down a bannister.

 

(up-coming cruise information withheld so as to avoid being targeted on board our upcoming cruise :eek:)

[Lady Chew]

Dude... Don't knock the skills of a ninja!

 

Hell, she could be inside your house right now ready to strike, and you'd have no idea!

 

Until you've had your head chopped off with a single swing of a katana blade you don't know what a ninja can really do!

 

Oh, I should mention that my younger DS (now 25) is a second degree Black Belt in two disciplines ... we had the weapons all over our house for years! We never allowed him to chop people, though!

He is a real ninja, as silent as can be (when he wants to!), graceful as a swan, can climb anything ...

He also likes to play with fire! He does "poi" - juggling fireballs & firesticks.

And no, we probably would never have taken him on a cruise when he was growing up, we would've been way too worried about what he'd get into. We finally took him & his older brother after they had both graduated from college, and I still gave him the lecture about climbing balcony to balcony, and snaking down the rope/anchor lines, climbing up on the rails. If I'd talked to him about that when he was 15, he would've said "thanks for the neat idea, Mom!"

Re banister sliding - I don't see any harm in that. In fact, I wish I could do it myself - looks like fun!

[drarill]

Plus, I just have to say....is pushing elevator buttons and sliding down banisters really that horrible? really?

 

I have to say it..... I'm a well behave doctor, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I think I'm a good and safe driver, never done ANY kind of drugs, I exercise every day and I have to admit that I pushed all the elevator buttons once or twice on our beach apartment complex when I was a teenager. I said it and I apologize, I's so sorry !!:D:D BTW, I have been the "victim" of elevator buttons pushers and it just makes me smile:) I'm trying to do the best I can as a parent, but I still remember that I was not a perfect child.

[galavant3]

I have to say it..... I'm a well behave doctor, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I think I'm a good and safe driver, never done ANY kind of drugs, I exercise every day and I have to admit that I pushed all the elevator buttons once or twice on our beach apartment complex when I was a teenager. I said it and I apologize, I's so sorry !!:D:D BTW, I have been the "victim" of elevator buttons pushers and it just makes me smile:) I'm trying to do the best I can as a parent, but I still remember that I was not a perfect child.

 

I don't think anyone is implying that elevator button pushers were destined to a life of crime and drugs! The bottom line is...it's rude. The fact that you did it and turned out just fine doesn't change that. It might not bother you but the reality is, it does bother some.