Leaving a kid at camp to go on an excursion??

[keith75]

Leave them home! It's probably safer.

[OCruisers]

We have done it many times for multiple reasons. A) the kids weren't old enough to go and B) they would have much more fun in camp than with us. You are not an awful parent. In fact, if Carnival weren't prepared to deal with the consequences of you potentially missing the ship, they wouldn't allow you to leave the kids while you get off the ship. Clearly, they have procedures in place to handle unlikely situations like that.

 

Agree above ^ ....

 

It's your child's vacation too! Do let him stay on the ship and have his own fun ... while you go and have yours.

You might feel more comfortable booking your excursion through Carnival so they would have a record of exactly where you were going to be.

 

Have a GREAT time and enjoy! :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Momma Mojito]

When I first read this my answer was no!no!no! but after reading all the other young parent opinions I would say if you feel alright with leaving your son back at the ship while you do your thing then go for it!

[nydney1]

We have two kids both under the age of 8 so we have been in the same position.

 

We usually don't leave them if we are going on a tour that far. That's just us. I think it is OK to leave them as we have gotten of the ship when we are docked in port and walked around town.

 

I would just add a few things. You will know the first day if your child likes Camp Carnival. If he does then you should be good to go. If not then you may want to reconsider.

 

If you are leaving him onboard then I would book my tour through Carnival. If something did go sideways, I would feel more secure knowing that I am on a Carnival sponsered excursion.

 

Finally, I would not give your son make the decision on if he wanted to do the excursion or not. I know my son would want to go even if he was not ready. I want him to experience everything, but I don't want him to do something that he is not ready for even if he thinks he is. (I also don't want to ruin the excursion for myself beacuse he thought he could do it).

 

Just my two cents.

 

Have a great curise.

[angeleyez915]

Are we just the worst parents ever for even thinking this?? Our cruise itinerary has a stop in Belize and we're considering doing a cave tubing excursion. Our son will be almost 4 (we're going in late January and his birthday is in late March). I think he'll like the cave tubing excursion, but just in case he doesn't want to go, has anyone ever left their child at Camp Carnival to go do an excursion?? :eek: At first I couldn't believe we'd even consider this, but the more I think about it, he'll have fun while we have fun.

 

No not bad parents for thinking this... really when you go out on a date night with hubby you get a sitter for the evening right? no different!... my only concern with this and this is my personal concern - being in a strange place, if something were to happen to the little one and you need to get back quickly to the ship to attend to any injury or needs of the little guy i would be worried i wouldnt be able to get to him quick enough... this thought is only because my little guy is a dare devil and will do just about anything that comes to mind and he tends to end up getting hurt because of it. Last summer he tried to jump his bike over a basketball (without using a ramp) just two weeks after getting his training wheels off his bike. He ended up going over his handlebars and face planted into cement - banged up and scraped his head and nose pretty bad and ended up cutting his lip with his teeth pretty bad. The funny thing about it ... he didnt shed a tear until I told him he had to come inside and sit for a bit so that I could make sure the bleeding stopped and so that i could put an icepack on his head!! But with my luck something like that would happen when i was off on an excursion and going cave tubing doesn't sound like something where it would be easy to get back to the ship quickly, so i would probably ask if there are ways to get you back to your kiddo quickly if something like that were to arise.

[outdoors27]

Are we just the worst parents ever for even thinking this?? Our cruise itinerary has a stop in Belize and we're considering doing a cave tubing excursion. Our son will be almost 4 (we're going in late January and his birthday is in late March). I think he'll like the cave tubing excursion, but just in case he doesn't want to go, has anyone ever left their child at Camp Carnival to go do an excursion?? :eek: At first I couldn't believe we'd even consider this, but the more I think about it, he'll have fun while we have fun.

 

My wife and I have been going back and forth on this same topic as we are taking our kids on their first cruise this coming weekend. We also wanted to do Cave Tubing in Belize but are going to pass since its a tender port. I think someone responded to you and said if you book your excursion through Carnival you should be okay but if this is your first time cave tubing in Belize their are some good non-carnival tour operators that are a lot cheaper and give a longer excursion. Having that said with kids and a tender port I probably wouldn't go that route.

 

We may test the waters leaving them on board in Cozumel since we'll be docked.

 

Good luck in your decision and have a great trip.

[RuthlessBoss]

what happens if your return to the ship from excursion is delayed and you miss getting back on and have to get ship at next port. This is not unheard of and if ship sails they won't come back for you. What do they do with your child? I am referring to excursions not booked through ship.

That's why you book through the ship. They wait.

[klfrodo]

Clearly, they have procedures in place to handle unlikely situations like that.

 

!!

 

What are these procedures ?

[larkz]

If my daughter were 4 again, I wouldn't be overly concerned about leaving her in camp, so long as she wanted to do so. Chances are, she would want to do whatever activity I was doing, but I always encouraged independence.

 

Last I heard it was not a Carnival policy to throw children overboard should anything happen to cause the parents to fail to return to the ship on time...

[RuthlessBoss]

What are these procedures ?

Is this a serious question, or a challenge.

[bplazo]

No, I would never do it.

[beckyjohns]

Is this a serious question, or a challenge.

 

Sounded like a challenge to me. No, I don't work for Carnival and have an answer to this. I was merely saying that they must have some protocol about what to do in a situation like that.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

I'll bet your son will have a much better time at Camp Carnival than on any land excursion.Since your vacation is mostly spent with your child a little time as a couple IMO would be a good thing.

[cruisecritiquer]

I don't think your terrible parents but I do think you should be aware and do your research. A lot of people don't realize that there are a lot of issues on cruise ships that go unreported or reported and then silenced. Assaults, molestation, and rape involving adults and children, etc. happen. Yes, I'm prepared to be flame broiled for even bringing this up (I am not a negative person.) but a lot of people that cruise have no idea that this can even happen.

 

When you are at home, I assume you make sure that the person who cares for your child has had a background check or that the facility doing the hiring has conducted a thorough background check. On these ships you have no idea what their background is...you normally don't even know WHO will be with your child while you are away...just that they are an employee and the person you left your child with may not be the person they are with when you return. Do what's best for your family but just make sure you are fully informed.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2013/06/10/cruise-ship-crime/2407523/

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086029/Cruise-ship-employee-Fabian-Palmer-faces-charges-having-sex-girl-14.html

 

It stuns me the amount of these guys that were "crewmembers"

 

http://www.cruiseshipsexoffenders.com/

 

 

Also, if for some reason you missed the ship, they won't throw your child overboard (regarding an above post) but it would certainly be traumatic for your child if you were left behind. Going an hour away from the ship seems a bit risky to me.

 

 

I'm NOT saying not to go...do what is best for your family, absolutely NO judging BUT I want you to make sure you do whatever you do with all the facts. Just do your research and make whatever decisions seems best to you.

[winddawn]

I saw this on the Carnival website about Camp Carnival:

 

Leaving Children On Board While In Port

 

•If parents decide to leave their children in the care of the Youth Staff while in port, we ask that parents show their tour ticket to the Youth Staff so in case of emergency, the Youth Staff can contact the appropriate Tour Operator who will inform the parents to return to the ship. For non-Carnival tours, the Youth Staff will not have a way to contact the guests in case of emergency.

 

Hours on Port Days (ships may vary due to itineraries)

•Supervised free play begins from port arrival until approximately 2:00pm; scheduled activities resume at 2:00pm until 10:00pm. This service is complimentary.

 

https://www.goccl.com/~/media/Files/Irman/bookccl/sections/shipboard/Camp%20Carnival%20master.ashx

[cruisecritiquer]

Just so you know, my father is a retired homicide detective and I work at a law firm so my view of things may be a little skewed. ;)

[klfrodo]

Is this a serious question, or a challenge.

 

Serious question.

What is their official policy and procedure?

 

Since mom and dad failed to return to the ship, do they turn them over to the local authorities to meet up with mom and dad when they finally return to the pier?

 

Do they keep the child and notify emergency contact people back home to meet the ship?

 

Do they keep the children, then notify authorities at the home port and then turn them over to those authorities?

 

What?

If I were going to leave my kids at Camp and something happened causing me to miss the ship, I would rather KNOW what the procedures are than hope I know what may or may not be policy.

[h_blond2]

I don't have a kid, but I say go for it! I don't think that would make you bad parents...you're making sure that your child is safe and well taken care of while you are gone.

 

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[bruisin4cruisin]

Makes you a parent needing a break. We left the kids on during a stop in Cozumel. We had a god time, the kids enjoyed the ship more than they would have liked Mr. Sancho's because the weather was cruddy and windy.

[billie5]

Obviously its up to the two of you... I would not do it, only for the remote possibility that both of you were injured with the excursion and had to be treated at a local hospital and unable to continue your cruise..

And please, never take him outside when there are clouds. Lightning has been known to strike even when clouds do not appear to be storm clouds. A remote possibility, but you always need to be safe!

[cruzinlisa]

No, I do not think it makes you a bad parent. We left our daughter on board when we did an excursion in Cozumel. We took her on excursions the two ports prior to this and we needed a break, as did DD. They told us it needed to be a Carnival excursion and we had to show them our tickets. But it gave me peace of mind, as I figured that in a major emergency, they knew where we were. DD was well taken care of at camp. I don't know that I would do it again- depends on the circumstances.

[vols_159]

Are we just the worst parents ever for even thinking this?? Our cruise itinerary has a stop in Belize and we're considering doing a cave tubing excursion. Our son will be almost 4 (we're going in late January and his birthday is in late March). I think he'll like the cave tubing excursion, but just in case he doesn't want to go, has anyone ever left their child at Camp Carnival to go do an excursion?? :eek: At first I couldn't believe we'd even consider this, but the more I think about it, he'll have fun while we have fun.

 

Yes leave your kid on the ship and go travel into a foreign country... Heck no carnval shouldn't let u off the dang ship

 

 

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[Catrin]

If your child loves CC, then do it. You will be happy, they will be happy. CC is a huge benefit of cruising.... as long as it is not taken advantage of. We never use CC as babysitting... but we DO use it as a destination!

 

When my kids say I want to go to CC (or Circle C, or Club o2).. they go! Some of those hours have been the most enjoyable for our kids.

 

Having gone Cave Tubing with a 6 year old... as much as she enjoyed it.. if we were to do it all over again, we would have left her in CC. While she LOVED the tubing part, the walk to the cave itself was hard for her.

 

Whatever you decide.. do what is right for you and your family. That is the great thing about cruising.. as long as you are having fun, there are no wrong answers!

Catrin

[Athankfulheart]

Ps. We have been cave tubing in Belize and are taking all of our kids on the same excursion this January. I wouldn't hesitate to take a 4yo. Its a fun excursion. VIV tours allows younger children. We had some on our last excursion and they had a great time. I think the min age for the park itself is 4yo and that is also VIVs min age. It would be easy to have a lap child using their equipment. I wouldn't do it with the bottomless tubes.

[FlaMilkman]

I have also taken the cave tubing excursion and, unlike the last poster, I wouldn't take a 4 year old.

 

First, as mentioned previously, it is a rather long hike from the parking lot to the start of the river tubing. It is uneven terrain, hot, humid with the potential for wildlife. In addition, most tours require you to carry your own tube. So, with the extra supplies that you will have to take (water, etc) this could be problematic.

 

Second, the cave is dark (except for the headlamp). If your 4 year old scares easily this may not be the best thing. Which brings me to my next point . . .

 

Bats. There are bats in the cave. If you 4 year old is afraid, this may not be the best idea.

 

Finally, the water is cold. Older adults are less affected by the cold water but once you start the adventure you can't get off. You can't take a "time out". It could be miserable for everyone involved.

 

Now, if none of that scares your family, then bring the 4 year old along. Otherwise, leave them with the professionals on-board and enjoy your vacation.