Leaving a child on the boat at port

[travelplus]

Can I check my child (10 year old) into the kid's club while the boat is docked? Specifically while we are in Haiti? I want to rent a cabana but she is deathly afraid to swim in the ocean...she's crazy! :D And I want to know now if I need to plan on her sitting in the cabana playing her ipod all day or if she can enjoy the kid's club.

 

I guess I might as well ask about leaving my teen (13) on the boat as well. I know his "club" is not as structured as the younger kids AND he will swim and snorkel so he will probably enjoy a beach day. I might let him do the aqua park thing too.

 

Thank you!

Jen

 

I've always wondered what if you leave your child onboard the cruise and this is your last port until 6 at sea days going to Europe and you miss the boat. Who would take care of your child for those 6 days at sea?

[gerif]

Hundreds & hundreds of kids stay on the ships while parents are in port on any given day.

 

It is no problem at all.

Never heard of anything going wrong..

 

Then you really need to spend some time on the Family boards.

[gerif]

I've always wondered what if you leave your child onboard the cruise and this is your last port until 6 at sea days going to Europe and you miss the boat. Who would take care of your child for those 6 days at sea?

 

As someone mentioned, a staff member will be assigned to care for the child until the parents can meet up with the ship. The instance I read about was only a day but I'm sure the same procedure would be followed no matter how long it was. Now, if the child was not checked into AO, I can see that as being grounds for being put off the ship.

[Loves_Dogs]

Then you really need to spend some time on the Family boards.

 

Exactly!

[Rocketlady]

I wouldn't trust anyone with my kids. And if I took my grandson he would be with me or my husband. I am more protective of my grandson than I was with my own kids. Go figure.

 

We met a family that left thier kids go to the day camp on board ship. The two kids around 8-10 years old. They didn't like it. Done of the kids spoke English. So remember to check that out as well.

[drarill]

Not mine..........

 

 

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk 2- Please excuse any errors.

 

I'm also with you. :)

[micmacmissy]

Hundreds & hundreds of kids stay on the ships while parents are in port on any given day.

 

It is no problem at all.

Never heard of anything going wrong..

 

Well now you've heard of something going wrong:

 

On our first cruise (Celebrity), we were just pulling away from the dock in Mexico, and a cab pulled out and out came some pier runners, screaming and waving their arms. We were on our balcony and our ship was only about 10 yards from the dock, but was moving.

 

The woman on the pier began screaming, "My kids! My kids are onboard!" She was hysterical and it was awful to witness. But the ship was already underway.

 

About ten minutes later, the engines stopped and the captain came over the PA system to say we were sending out a tender to pick up some passengers. We watched as they lowered a tender, sent it to the pier, boarded the two passengers, and brought them to the ship. We saw them coming out of the elevator a few minutes later; their taxi broke down (or something to that affect) and they missed the ship.

 

Later we asked our waitstaff how common that was (since this was our first cruise, we thought, wow, that's good service, they send a boat back for you if you miss the ship?) and our waiter said in his 5 years of experience he has NEVER seen that done before.

 

So: you never know. That was before I had kids, but it stuck with me: I would never, ever leave my kids onboard while I went ashore.

[marci22]

Hundreds & hundreds of kids stay on the ships while parents are in port on any given day.

 

It is no problem at all.

Never heard of anything going wrong..

 

That may be so, but it doesn't make it appropriate. If I find myself agreeing with the masses, I get very nervous.

 

And just because matj2000 hasn't heard anything going wrong, doesn't mean that something hasn't gone wrong. Although I am sure you have many inside connections, all over the world, at the very highest levels.

[cruisegirl1]

When our children were young cruisers (more than 25 years ago) the kids program was a fraction of what it is today. Parents were NOT permitted to depart the ship without their children. There was no such thing as my child does not want to “ do whatever” so he/she will stay on board while the rest of family “does whatever” .

 

I have not kept up with the program rules and am now surprised to see posts that RCCL allows parents to leave a child with Ocean Adventure while they get off at port. I can perhaps understand it if the ship is at Coco Cay or Labadee , as these are isolated places and RCCL can “find” the parent in case of an emergency. Also – the parents can’t miss the ship.

 

I wonder how emergencies are handled if the parents are nowhere to be found while the ship is in port. Is there some sort of email/text communication so RCCL can get in touch with parents who leave the kids with the program on the ship and they themselves tour a port? I guess there are situations where a parent has missed the ship and the children are now unattended for hours/days.

 

With all the safety measures and policies RCCL seems to have, I am surprised that the “suits” allow the kids to be left on board and the parents can leave the ship.

 

M

Edited April 3, 2014 by cruisegirl1

[yolanda1]

Although it may be a rare occurrence, things can and DO go wrong.

 

Children can become ill, have accidents, or be vulnerable to exploitation. I'm surprised the cruise company leaves themselves open to being entirely responsible for your child while you are not on the ship without making you sign a disclaimer to say that if anything happens to them they will not be liable. I'm also surprised that parents are happy to leave their children this way. I wouldn't hand parental responsibility over to individuals who are not known to me in any other situation in life, so I wouldn't do it on a cruise ship.

[Havingfun2010]

Not mine..........

 

 

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk 2- Please excuse any errors.

 

and definitely not mine. Would not even consider leaving my kids in the hands of others while in a foreign country.

[LetsGetWet!]

Some parents are responsible, others not so much... And I'm betting I can guess which set of kids are running around the ship unsupervised even when the parents ARE on board... :rolleyes:

 

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[jenster1974]

Thank you all for your responses. Let me just say that I would NEVER leave my child on the ship while at a port like Cozumel for instance, and go on some excursion. I would be anxious and worried the entire time. Even an older kid can get into trouble while left unattended on the ship. I just recently heard some horror stories that involved rape happening to a 13 year old on a cruise ship. I have a hard time leaving the kids alone while I run to the post office.

 

I just thought, having been to Lebadee and feeling like I know the island a bit and where we would be in the cabana, if she wanted to stay in the kid's program I would consider it. I would NEVER just allow her (or my son for that matter) to have free run of the ship even while on Lebadee.

 

No judgement towards anyone who would (except maybe the parents that left the younger kids on the boat unattended...who does that?!), it's just not something I would ever do.

 

For what it's worth, I spoke with her about it today and she said...after asking if there were fish in the water ;) "Can't I just sit in the cabana and read all day?" Yes, yes baby girl you can. Love that girl!

 

I cannot imagine how I would feel if I missed the boat and my kids were on board. Seems kind of irresponsible to put yourself in that position in the first place. I would be going crazy!!

[PattyG12]

I'm really surprised at how many people are willing to leave the ship and have their kids stay on board. If you don't want to spend your vacation with them, why not just leave them home with a sitter?

[sweetpea1714]

On Carnival I left my 10 year old on the ship. He had privileges to sign himself in and out of Camp Carnival. I would never have done it if it wasn't for the Carnival staff reassuring me. I was told there was no way he could leave the ship, which he wouldn't have anyway, and I was assured there was security and cameras everywhere. I saw much younger children running around by themselves.

 

My son had to lave a note in his room letting me know where he was going to be. And most of the time he was where he said. A few times he wasn't but he was always back in his room by curfew. Sometimes with candy. sometimes with icecream:)

 

MOST of the time he was where he said he would would be. Oh. Thats reassuring. Good thing you took the cruise where there were no accidents or criminals or pedaphiles aboard.

 

Sheesh.

[Host Faith]

Thank you all for your responses. Let me just say that I would NEVER leave my child on the ship while at a port like Cozumel for instance, and go on some excursion. I would be anxious and worried the entire time. Even an older kid can get into trouble while left unattended on the ship. I just recently heard some horror stories that involved rape happening to a 13 year old on a cruise ship. I have a hard time leaving the kids alone while I run to the post office.

 

I just thought, having been to Lebadee and feeling like I know the island a bit and where we would be in the cabana, if she wanted to stay in the kid's program I would consider it. I would NEVER just allow her (or my son for that matter) to have free run of the ship even while on Lebadee.

 

No judgement towards anyone who would (except maybe the parents that left the younger kids on the boat unattended...who does that?!), it's just not something I would ever do.

 

For what it's worth, I spoke with her about it today and she said...after asking if there were fish in the water ;) "Can't I just sit in the cabana and read all day?" Yes, yes baby girl you can. Love that girl!

 

I cannot imagine how I would feel if I missed the boat and my kids were on board. Seems kind of irresponsible to put yourself in that position in the first place. I would be going crazy!!

 

Actually....that sounds like an awesome way to spend the day, lol! Enjoy :)

 

DH and I are sailing the Quantum next year and bringing our toddler. It's a 12-night cruise. Both grandmothers are coming, as well as some family members.

 

DH and I want to take an excursion in St. Martin together, and it lasts 3 hours. We're spending the morning with our son, and taking a quick 'date' by ourselves. We're leaving our son with his grandmother, who watches him every day while we're at work. AND, the excursion is run through the cruise line. We'll all have our phones (international plans) so we can reach one another, if needed.

 

Out of the six islands we're visiting, we're taking 3 hours of our time to be alone and have some fun. Quality time as a couple is important to us. And travel with our son is very important to us. At this point in time, that's the only way we feel comfortable leaving our little guy on the ship. Staying with Mom, while we're on a ship excursion.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Host Faith

[BeachChik]

I'm really surprised at how many people are willing to leave the ship and have their kids stay on board. If you don't want to spend your vacation with them, why not just leave them home with a sitter?

 

There is always someone in these types of threads that implies the parent doesn't want to spend time with their kids. :rolleyes:

 

So because it is a vacation they have to spend every minute with them otherwise they should leave them at home? Maybe the parents want a few hours to themselves. There is nothing wrong with that and actually if you talk to a family therapist, they recommend time away from the kids. Maybe the child wants to stay in the kids club. As I said already, if it was such a big problem with parents being left behind do you really think the cruise line would continue to offer the service?

 

This isn't even something that applies to me but I find it amazing that people think they are such perfect parents that they should come on a message board and give parenting advice to random strangers.

[LetsGetWet!]

This isn't even something that applies to me but I find it amazing that people think they are such perfect parents that they should come on a message board and give parenting advice to random strangers.

I didn't notice anyone claim they were perfect parents. And as for giving parenting advice? Some just need it badly...

On Carnival I left my 10 year old on the ship. He had privileges to sign himself in and out of Camp Carnival. I would never have done it if it wasn't for the Carnival staff reassuring me. I was told there was no way he could leave the ship, which he wouldn't have anyway, and I was assured there was security and cameras everywhere. I saw much younger children running around by themselves.

 

My son had to lave a note in his room letting me know where he was going to be. And most of the time he was where he said. A few times he wasn't but he was always back in his room by curfew. Sometimes with candy. sometimes with icecream:)

Case in point...

[PattyG12]

So because it is a vacation they have to spend every minute with them otherwise they should leave them at home?

 

I can understand having time by yourselves. That's why Adventure Ocean is a wonderful idea. We will often spend our time together while our (grand) son is in AO. But I do find it irresponsible to leave the ship without your child. Anything could happen to you or to your child. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

[deedeetoo]

And as for giving parenting advice? Some just need it badly...

 

Case in point...

 

I didn't see someone that needed parenting advice. I saw someone whose idea of how much freedom a child should have is perhaps different than yours.

[BeachChik]

I can understand having time by yourselves. That's why Adventure Ocean is a wonderful idea. We will often spend our time together while our (grand) son is in AO. But I do find it irresponsible to leave the ship without your child. Anything could happen to you or to your child. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

 

I see posts all the time where people ask about bringing their 6, 7, 8 month old baby on a cruise. I would never bring a baby on a ship since God forbid something should happen and the baby is ill. I wouldn't be confident that the onboard doctor could treat an infant. Should I go on every post that asks about it and tell them that I think they are irresponsible parents? Because according to me, it is not the right thing to do. I wouldn't because everyone has different things they would be comfortable with and this isn't a how to parent my child according to you message board.

[Jobeth66]

I didn't notice anyone claim they were perfect parents. And as for giving parenting advice? Some just need it badly...

 

Case in point...

 

really?

 

From your picture you don't seem to be an extremely young person.

 

Think back to when you were 10 years old. Were YOU with your parents every minute of every day? Heck, did they even know where you were every minute of every day?

 

When I was 10, I had full responsiblity several days a week for a 4 year old, a 2 year old and an infant, with no adults around for miles. (I grew up on a farm - closest neighbors were several miles away).

 

When I had free time, I was often in the woods, swimming or fishing in the river, riding my bike 10 miles into town, playing at a friend's house, or out roaming with friends. My parents had no CLUE where I was or what I was doing. I had a dime in my shoe in case I needed to make a call from a public phone booth in town, and I had a time I had to be back home.

 

My goodness. Now we're raising a generation of children who can't even be in a relatively safe place at 10 with some responsibility for themselves? No wonder I see 20-somethings at work that have their mommy or daddy argue with their bosses on their behalf. They've never learned to be independent. (And I wish that was hyperbole, it's not.)

 

Why do children need to be watched 24/7/365? Doesn't anyone just go outside and PLAY anymore, without a cell phone, without being in constant contact, without a parent knowing where they are and what they're doing every second, without it being organized and scheduled to death?

 

I think that's doing kids a great disservice, in my opinion. I think a parent who knows her 10 year old is mature enough to be responsible and /allows/ him the freedom to prove her right has taught him an invaluable lesson.

[PattyG12]

I see posts all the time where people ask about bringing their 6, 7, 8 month old baby on a cruise. I would never bring a baby on a ship since God forbid something should happen and the baby is ill. I wouldn't be confident that the onboard doctor could treat an infant. Should I go on every post that asks about it and tell them that I think they are irresponsible parents? Because according to me, it is not the right thing to do. I wouldn't because everyone has different things they would be comfortable with and this isn't a how to parent my child according to you message board.

 

Guess we all have different ideas of what is appropriate, huh?

[LetsGetWet!]

really?

 

From your picture you don't seem to be an extremely young person.

 

Think back to when you were 10 years old. Were YOU with your parents every minute of every day? Heck, did they even know where you were every minute of every day?

 

When I was 10, I had full responsiblity several days a week for a 4 year old, a 2 year old and an infant, with no adults around for miles. (I grew up on a farm - closest neighbors were several miles away).

 

When I had free time, I was often in the woods, swimming or fishing in the river, riding my bike 10 miles into town, playing at a friend's house, or out roaming with friends. My parents had no CLUE where I was or what I was doing. I had a dime in my shoe in case I needed to make a call from a public phone booth in town, and I had a time I had to be back home.

 

My goodness. Now we're raising a generation of children who can't even be in a relatively safe place at 10 with some responsibility for themselves? No wonder I see 20-somethings at work that have their mommy or daddy argue with their bosses on their behalf. They've never learned to be independent. (And I wish that was hyperbole, it's not.)

 

Why do children need to be watched 24/7/365? Doesn't anyone just go outside and PLAY anymore, without a cell phone, without being in constant contact, without a parent knowing where they are and what they're doing every second, without it being organized and scheduled to death?

 

I think that's doing kids a great disservice, in my opinion. I think a parent who knows her 10 year old is mature enough to be responsible and /allows/ him the freedom to prove her right has taught him an invaluable lesson.

Yes really! :rolleyes: No, when I was 10 I wouldn't have been with my parents every minute of every day. Yes, they knew where I was at all times - the few times they discovered that they didn't, resulted in grounding or other punishment.

 

Would I have been allowed to have free run of a ship with thousands of passengers and crew while my parents went ashore to enjoy themselves for the day? Absolutely not. If they're checked into AO, I can *maybe* see it. But giving a 10 year old checkin/checkout privileges and giving them free fun of the entire ship while I'm not even onboard? If that's your definition of "safe place" then we'll simply have to agree to disagree. Yes, children should be given increasing amounts of freedom AND responsibility as they get older. But giving a 10 year old free run of a ship with thousands of people you don't know at all while you go ashore for the day is simply abdicating your responsibilities as parents.

 

The ship, its crew and the passengers who chose to stay onboard that day are NOT free babysitting staff for your sub-teen children. And as I said earlier, I'm sure those are probably the same children running the ship unsupervised and causing trouble even when the parents ARE aboard. There's a reason why we tend to plan our cruise vacations for when school is definitely in session. This reinforces that strongly.

Edited April 3, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[BeachChik]

 

My goodness. Now we're raising a generation of children who can't even be in a relatively safe place at 10 with some responsibility for themselves? No wonder I see 20-somethings at work that have their mommy or daddy argue with their bosses on their behalf. They've never learned to be independent. (And I wish that was hyperbole, it's not.)

 

I think a parent who knows her 10 year old is mature enough to be responsible and /allows/ him the freedom to prove her right has taught him an invaluable lesson.

 

I work in human resources. It amazes me the amount of 20 something's that when they have an issue with their job that have their parents call to complain on their behalf. And a lot of times it is something petty like having an issue with another co worker or their paycheck is incorrect. Old enough to have a job but not mature enough to handle problems on their own.

 

I am only 34 but I see that helicopter parents have created a generation of co dependent adults incapable of making decisions or handling responsibilities by themselves.