excursions while kids are at camp?

[Weinercruisers]

So, do you leave your kiddo's on board while you do an excursion? What if they need you? Anyone have any info to share on how this works? :o:confused:

[springs741]

Since you asked, NO, for the most part, I won't leave the little ones on board to do an excursion. We do leave them if is just to walk around and shop in the port area. I don't know how it works but I don't want to be several hours away with questionable communications. My littles are my grandkids. When we do family cruises we take turns with excursion that are not appropriate for the younger. While I understand that is not an option for everyone it is what we are most comfortable.

Edited June 27, 2014 by springs741

[Pom Lover]

Yes you can leave your child in Camp Carnival while you go ashore. You will receive a lot of opinions about why or why not. We have honestly never left our granddaughter on the ship so I cannot speak for how they would get ahold of you. I would be too nervous that something would happen.

[irishnyc]

So, do you leave your kiddo's on board while you do an excursion? What if they need you? Anyone have any info to share on how this works? :o:confused:

 

You can, but I couldn't do it.

 

If my child were older, maybe 15-16 - maybe!, I'd only do an excursion through Carnival so that they could know how to reach me.

[cruizinisthebest]

When we took our kids for the first time last year, I swore up and down I wouldn't do it. And well.....I did. Not while on an excursion and not for long - just for a couple of hours. Do what makes you feel most comfortable and let the day and your instinct guide your decision. There's nothing wrong either way.

[hftmrock]

No , I wouldnt

[onefishtwofish]

Just my opinion, but no we would not...my kids are 12 and going on 15 and we still would not....we would feel awful if something happened. Also, we like to give our kids some freedom while we are all on the ship, but if we do excursions, they are for the family....just our feelings!! ;)

[Weinercruisers]

Thanks for the info and honest opinions without any judgement or name calling LOL I was afraid this Question would start a fight ;) We had an excursion planned but didnt realize how far away it was... wasnt sure if the pagers work or not when you are off the ship. They dont work off the ship BTW. thanks again!

[genngee]

I did when my kiddo was a little little.....I always said no way, no how but we couldn't pry her out of camp carnival if we tried so we went to Bacardi and she enjoyed her time in camp, in fact she told us we came back to fast

[mighty13]

Each situation is different and it is up to the parent,grandparent,guardian to decide if they are comfortable and if the child is comfortable with the situation. Now, would I do it? I think I'd be too worried the whole excursion that my kids were trying to contact me, but as some have said on here, you never know until that day when you try to take them on an excursion and they just don't want to go.

[diamondcharl]

Yes you can, and no I wouldnt. My kids are 17,16,13,and 8. I would be way too nervous I wouldnt be able to enjoy myself. I also feel that family vacations are for making memories together and if my kids wouldnt enjoy the excursion,we just dont do it. But that is just my opinion, you have to feel comfortable doing whats best for your family. MY big concern would be that we miss the ship and the kids are left alone.

[Purvis1231]

If you have children onboard, the ship will wait for you. I have never went on an excursion without my child but realistically the child will be ok if you leave the ship for a few hours. I know there is always the possibility of something bad happening (this could happened anywhere-school, community, etc.) It is a family decision.

[4Tacos]

DH and I have left the ship twice while the kids were in camp but not for an excursion. We just shopped near the port. I don't think I would leave them on the ship if I were going on an excursion.

 

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[bingomamma19]

So, do you leave your kiddo's on board while you do an excursion? What if they need you? Anyone have any info to share on how this works? :o:confused:

 

No, not with out another relative on board to be there for that child. All of my other cruises, if I went off the boat without my dd--now 8---it was because my mom was staying on the boat. For this upcoming cruise, it is just my dd and i, so if i get off, so does she. There is no way i would take a chance (even the slightest) of her being on that boat at sailing and I am not. She would be terrified. Not sure if that has ever happened, but I wont be one to test that one out.

[cruizinisthebest]

DH and I have left the ship twice while the kids were in camp but not for an excursion. We just shopped near the port. I don't think I would leave them on the ship if I were going on an excursion.

 

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That's how it worked out for us. After doing an excursion together in Nassau where it poured down raining the entire time (kids wound up falling asleep in the tour van), we went back onboard, changed, hit the slides, had lunch, etc. We didn't leave Nassau until 12:30am, so DH and I went off the ship again to shop. By this time the kids were in camp and were adamant about not getting off again. I was hesitant but the camp counselors were great about it. Didn't make sense to interrupt their fun for us to go shopping for a little while. We were gone two hours max. Even then, I kept looking back at the boat as if it was going to pull off without us. :) Kids were perfectly fine and having a dance contest when we got back. Like the rest of your family vacation, it's up to you and what you feel most comfortable with. Not sure I would leave them during an excursion. But if I did, it would have to be one offered by the ship. That way you know for sure you won't be left behind if anything crazy comes up.

[blondestickchick]

On our 2012 Liberty Cruise we left DS (who was 6 at the time) at camp for a five hour excursion we did in Cozumel. He loved camp and is not a child who gets distressed if we aren't in the immediate area. So we felt very comfortable with leaving him knowing he wouldn't get upset. We had to drag him out of camp everyday....and there weren't that many kids on our cruise. I guess it would ultimately depend on your child. We wouldn't hesitate to do it again if the situation warranted such.

[seashinesunshine]

No, not with out another relative on board to be there for that child. All of my other cruises, if I went off the boat without my dd--now 8---it was because my mom was staying on the boat. For this upcoming cruise, it is just my dd and i, so if i get off, so does she. There is no way i would take a chance (even the slightest) of her being on that boat at sailing and I am not. She would be terrified. Not sure if that has ever happened, but I wont be one to test that one out.

 

This actually did happen. I wish I had bookmarked the news article, but a mom left her daughter on the ship went off on an excursion, the ship left, but had to come back because the child can't travel without a guardian. I don't know if they made the mom pay fees or anything. Guess it's one way to make sure the ship doesn't leave you behind. I know this happened before Jan 2011 since we were on a cruise with our kids then and kind of joked about sending them back to the ship without us so it would wait. I would never do that on purpose!! Just joked about it.

However, yes I would leave my child on the ship while I did a ship excursion, things can happen anywhere anytime and while I am a safe over protective mom, I try not to live in a bubble. That being said, I don't think anyone who won't do it is bad, it's just what each person's comfort level is. If your not comfortable, don't do it, your heart knows more than your mind. I doubt I would have on my first cruise. I would hesitate more if it was grandkids (which I don't have yet) somehow it seems like you are more responsible when it's not your own. I don't know, that's probably crazy.

[Weinercruisers]

Thanks again for all the positive posts. I agree with all of you... depends on the family and the kiddo. I'm not comfortable since there isn't a way for them to reach me. I can't have my phone on me during that excursion so we are doing something else and bringing him with us. :D

[Almost Packed]

We left my son onboard on our last cruise in 2 different ports. He had a blast. Way more fun than if he'd gone with us.

 

I trust camp with my kids while i'm on board. I trust them while I'm off the ship.

 

I make sure I'm back in plenty of time to not miss the ship.

 

My son loves his time with his friends. It was his choice. He's 9 now.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Most kids love camp Carnival and the staff are very attentive and caring. If the kids are older I'd take them on the excursions but young children I'd leave on the ship. If babies are involved I wouldn't even take them on a cruise. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here.

[CatlinSTJ]

I would have said no....but did it last year. We had a stop in Freeport and there wasn't really anything we felt my then 5 year old would like at all that we could do as a family. We took our teens on the Segway tour while the little one went to Camp Carnival. Rushed back to the ship when we were done to get her and she yelled at us because she didn't want to leave.

[FlaMommy75]

We did once at it was fine. My kids were 4 & 6 at the time and my husband and I went Cave Tubing in Belize. We took Carnival's excursion so we weren't worried about not getting back in time. We were back in plenty of time and the kids had a fun day in the camp. It was a port intensive cruise (4 stops) so we did not feel bad at all and think it was probably best to give the kids a day of not being out in the sun anyway.

[BeachChik]

I always figure if it was such an issue with parents not getting back in time, they would discontinue the service.

 

As far as the family vacation comment goes, yes it may be a family vacation but there is nothing wrong with mom and dad wanting to spend a few hours on their own. And I'm sure most kids will love the time to play with other kids.

[MEOWSMURPHY]

Since we didn't start cruising until our kids were grown I have no input for this thread..HOWEVER I do want to compliment ALL posters on the maturity level of replies..When I first read the post I immediately thought,...here we go again..this thread is going to go downhill FAST and I am sooooo happy to be proven wrong..it just goes to show that a meaningful discussion can be had by all with differing opinions...as it should be :p

[nydney1]

This is the age old question for parents.

 

I would not go on a tour without the kids for all the reasons mentioned above. Our kids are 6 & 8 and have been on multiple cruises. They love camp but I could not imagine being 5-6 hours without any way to comminucate with them. The shore excursions are typically family days for us.

 

We have gotten off the ship and walked around in port with the kids in camp. Just a little shopping and lunch. We always let the camp staff know that they can reach us on our cell phones. (We have a global package so we get service in any country.) There haev never been any issues.

 

As a side note we brought my MIL on a cruise so that we would not have to worry about the kids and be able to do our own thing. The kids ditched the MIL and spent the week in Camp. Grammy asked "Don't you want to spend time with me" both kids replied, Nope, were going to Camp. Grammy had the week to herself.

Edited June 28, 2014 by nydney1
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