Small kids in the Haven????

[Toya1228]

Hello,

I will have a 2 year old and a 4 year old when I travel next year on the Breakaway. My husband decided to stay in a Haven suite for the space. My kids can make some noise sometimes. They feed off each others energy and once one gets going the other will be right along. I was wondering if anyone thinks it would be a good idea to maybe bring a little gift for the people staying on each side of us (pretty much like a sorry for any noise in advance). Maybe a little gift bag with some ear plugs (:D :D ) and some little candies. Or should I just not even worry about it and let it be. This will be our 1st vacation with the kids and already my now 3 year old is asking about going on the boat. Any feedback would be great. thanks

[NLH Arizona]

I wouldn't worry about bringing gifts for your neighbors, nice gesture, but it is unnecessary. Kids will be kids and they will make some noise, not to mention that NCL is a family cruise line that welcomes little ones.

Edited September 8, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[Wavesprite]

I wouldn't bring gifts. Anyone going on a cruise knows that children can and will be in rooms next to them. I'd rather hear a child in their room then some of the things that adults can do loudly any day of a cruise!

[Charlie4]

Just a thought.... If you give a gift the first day, it would be like saying, My kids are GOING to be wild. I think bringing crayons and paper, and after a noisy day, if they drew pictures, they could put them in the 'mail boxes' of your neighbors.

 

There will be other children in the Haven and you will do the best you can. So smile and have a nice Family cruise.

[rvsullivan]

Kids are welcome! With that said, the walls are thin and you can typically hear noises from adjoining rooms. Some noise during appropriate times is to be expected. Disruptive noise from anyone, adult or child is not acceptable especially at night. Gifts for your neighbors are not the way to go. You may then set yourself up for negative expectations. See how it goes, but you have to be the one to control any disruptions. Night time (sleep hours) are the sensitive time IMO.

Folks are generally pretty accepting of children's noise, when it's not disruptive. I don't think anyone is trying to give you parenting advice.

What kind of Haven Suite are you in and what area of the ship?

[SwissLe]

Polite and respectful people are welcome into the Haven; be it adults, children or somewhere in between. I want to see everyone having a good time too, so understand that to some people is running around or jumping in the pool. Like everything it has to be in moderation though.

 

I think giving ear plugs out may send the wrong message to some people, and may take it as an offence - even though I understand you mean it as a joke.

[GUEST080219]

Hello,

I will have a 2 year old and a 4 year old when I travel next year on the Breakaway. My husband decided to stay in a Haven suite for the space. My kids can make some noise sometimes. They feed off each others energy and once one gets going the other will be right along. I was wondering if anyone thinks it would be a good idea to maybe bring a little gift for the people staying on each side of us (pretty much like a sorry for any noise in advance). Maybe a little gift bag with some ear plugs (:D :D ) and some little candies. Or should I just not even worry about it and let it be. This will be our 1st vacation with the kids and already my now 3 year old is asking about going on the boat. Any feedback would be great. thanks

 

I think it is a cute idea. There had been a news story about a family with a toddler doing something similar on a plane including the earplugs and it was well received.

Edited September 8, 2015 by micm

[hansolosmom]

Are you worried about them making noise in the room or the Haven area? I've never been Haven so I don't know. From my understanding there's a pool and I would expect 'normal' pool behavior.

 

I guess it depends on what you mean by making noise, are they running back and forth in the room screaming and hanging from chandeliers or is it kid stuff they'd do in the house (assuming you don't let them hang from chandeliers at home :D )

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much, I wouldn't expect you'd be in the room that much and I think when you are, the kids might be tired from all the activities on-board. I think it's a really nice gesture, but I wouldn't put ear plugs in because if I got something like that from a neighbor at the start of the cruise I'd be like "oh my gosh what am I in for this week!!!" If you think they're making too much noise, you could always knock on the door and ask if they feel you're being loud and then tone it down.

[Toya1228]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I just thought about it since I remember a while back being the train one time going to NYC and a couple handed some of the passengers a little note with a lollipop saying sorry for the crying baby. I thought it was a cute gesture and did not really care about the baby crying (at the time I did not have kids but now I understand that crap happens and no one wants to be stared at like they are bad parents) It is not like my kids will be climbing the walls or anything. They just happen to like saying hello to every single person in the halls. ;)

[Sarahellen]

I wouldn't worry about bringing gifts for your neighbors, nice gesture, but it is unnecessary. Kids will be kids and they will make some noise, not to mention that NCL is a family cruise line that welcomes little ones.

 

 

I completely agree with this statement. My husband and I went on our first cruise a few months ago. We don't have children but we full well knew that NCL is geared towards families so we knew what we were getting into. I personally loved having all the kids on board because their sense of wonder and fun is contagious and never fails to put a smile on my face. Looking back, I can't remember being bothered by any noisy/rambunctious children but there definitely were a few adults that I could have used a gift bag for having to deal with lol

 

I wouldn't worry about giving any gifts to your neighbors right off the bat because there is no reason to draw attention to something that most likely won't be a problem at all. You could always bring some gifts with you to hand out in case of a meltdown emergency.

[Robkat]

A year ago, I would have read this thread with mere interest, to see how people felt about your question. However, in the past year, we had a cruise that was really impacted by having loud and rambunctious kids next door. I wouldn't go as far as to say that our cruise was ruined because of these raucous kids, but ... it certainly was an unpleasant aspect.

We cruise quite a bit, and we understand that people being their kids, and that kids can get loud, and even a little rowdy, but when people don't keep control of their children and there's incessant and ongoing noise from the kids, I think that's a whole other issue ... especially in The Haven, where people have spent lots of $$$. Overall, it's just a matter of being considerate of people around you and not letting noisy kids get out of hand.

So ... since you wanted to get people's opinions of bringing a gift ... if someone next door to us handed us a gift bag with ear plugs and a few candies ... that wouldn't go down well at all.

If we heard some "normal" kid noise, and then heard the parents keeping control of the noise, that would go down very well.

Hope you have a good cruise, that the kids enjoy it, and that your cabin neighbors don't have their vacation impacted negatively.

[Theroxykitten]

They have family suites. So it must be expected to have kids.

We are taking DD who will be 21 months. Hopefully she's her usual chirpy happy self. And not a deamon

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Toya1228]

Thanks everyone again...And like Robkat said; I was asking for the opinion of the gift but I think in turn some posters judged me like they have never seen kids or something. So I will not bring a small gift and just hope for the best. It was just a thought. Nothing really serious. Thanks for the input. That is why I love this forum because sometimes you might have an off the wall question that you can't get answered anywhere else.

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks everyone again...And like Robkat said; I was asking for the opinion of the gift but I think in turn some posters judged me like they have never seen kids or something. So I will not bring a small gift and just hope for the best. It was just a thought. Nothing really serious. Thanks for the input. That is why I love this forum because sometimes you might have an off the wall question that you can't get answered anywhere else.

Have a wonderful cruise and please let us know how everything went when you return from your cruise.

[shaun07]

I would be very concerned if someone handed me earplugs. I don't have any kids but I understand thats Kids will be kids. I think most people in the Haven understand this. I don't think noise is as much of an issue as the time or the type of the noise. Banging on the wall at 8am is not fun nor is playing scream tag around the pool while people are trying to chill.

 

From my experience in the Haven the adults are usually the ones who lack manners. The fact your self aware makes me think you will be fine and so will your neighbors

[Backstage Traveler]

I think gifts are unnecessary - you are probably staying in a Family Suite and are very likely to have a family in the other family suites next to you, so likely more tolerant of typical kid noises. If the kids got really out of hand, an apology would probably go over better than earplugs!

[GoAndHaveFun]

Unlike on a train or on a flight, I think giving your neighbors ear plugs in the Haven might give off the wrong idea. For me, as long as the parents do their best to make sure the lil kids don't get super duper loud (to the point of disturbing everyone around them) or try their best to quiet down their kids when they do get loud to the point of being unruly, I will be cool with it. I was 2 and 4 once so I understand. In fact, if I had taken a cruise when I was 2 or 4, I can't imagine how loud I would be.

 

PLEASE do tell them to have fun and be as loud as possible during dance events like 70's Dance Party, GLOW Party, 80s Party etc as it's always awesome to see little kids having so much fun at those parties.

[abe3]

Hello,

 

I will have a 2 year old and a 4 year old when I travel next year on the Breakaway. My husband decided to stay in a Haven suite for the space. My kids can make some noise sometimes. They feed off each others energy and once one gets going the other will be right along. I was wondering if anyone thinks it would be a good idea to maybe bring a little gift for the people staying on each side of us (pretty much like a sorry for any noise in advance). Maybe a little gift bag with some ear plugs (:D :D ) and some little candies. Or should I just not even worry about it and let it be. This will be our 1st vacation with the kids and already my now 3 year old is asking about going on the boat. Any feedback would be great. thanks

 

 

I have seen adults being more obnoxious than kids many times in the haven. I have cruised with our son in the haven 3 times over the last couple years. I wouldn't worry what others think and just worry about having a fun and memorable cruise. The haven is wonderful for adults and kids alike. The people that complain about kids are usually the ones that are more obnoxious than the kids.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I have to agree with those who said gifts are unnecessary. If you were next to me and gave me a gift bag with ear plugs, I'd be worried about what was to come and I'd start my vacation by dreading it!

 

Kids make noise and as long as parents actually parent--and it sounds like you do--then it doesn't bother me. It's the parents who are oblivious to their out-of-control children and just ignore them and the noise they're making that make me raise my eyebrows. No matter how well-behaved your children are there will be people who will give you a look because, after all, they paid good money for their vacations. LOL. But, most people do understand that children make noise. Enjoy your vacation and I hope your children have a great vacation, too!

[Jane Don]

I think that a gift bag is a great idea. Tell them your names and invite them to knock on your door if the kids are disturbing them. Maybe leave out the ear plugs but include a mini bottle of hand sanitizer and candies. Maybe a favorite local treat where you live. A note expressing that you are cruising with young children and hope to do everything to ensure everyone has a great time including your neighbours.

 

I think that by opening up the lines of communication your neighbours will feel comfortable providing constructive feedback. If you knew for example that the couple beside you likes to nap before dinner you could take steps to ensure quiet during that time.

[perditax]

As someone who is noise sensitive and not overly fond of screaming children, I would take the earplugs as a message of, "my kids are going to make a lot of noise and there's nothing you can do about it." It would be a moment of immediate stomach-sinking to start my multithousand dollar cruise that way.

 

Then again I've read enough threads about kids in the haven that I'll never be booking it anyway, so you should probably give less weight to my opinion.

Edited September 9, 2015 by perditax

[floridian1]

the whole gift thing and some of the comments has me laughing (not to be mean OP). I think you are over thinking this, whenever you see the people on either cabin next to you just introduce yourself and mention you have young kids and if at any time they are too loud or bothering them to please let you know. That's all.You don't come off as a parent that would let their kids scream for long periods of time or bang on walls so what are you worried about? Haven is not ADULT ONLY.

[Boschmann]

I was on the BA in the Have this time last year (just after labor say) hoping to keep the kids to a minimum but forgot NY schools start later so we still had over 500 kids aboard.

[wilmingtech]

Ive got 4 kids aged 8-15. They are fairly well behaved but as any parent knows - it doesn't matter how well your child is raised, at some point in their little lives they are going to have a breakdown and be, well, unmanageable.

 

For us, in those moments we would send them to their rooms (or bed) and tell them they can cry all they want into their pillow but we certainly would not allow behavior like that and privileges would be removed.

 

What has helped us in situations like this when we are on a cruise ship or in a hotel or traveling to someones house is to introduce the children to the neighbors, have them shake hands and learn their names and let the neighbors know that if there is too much noise or if we are being bothersome at all, please let us know. Even at 2 years old.

 

Just allowing the children to act "grown up" by introductions is usually enough for them to take responsibility for their actions. And when they start to get loud, you can remind them that they told the neighbor to come let them know. When they realize its not just us as parents telling them to quiet down but now they have a responsibility and also a possible consequence from an outsider it starts to sink into their little heads how this all works.

 

And if the behaviour continued we would march them out an go knock on the neighbors door and have them apologize for the noise. Having to knock on a neighbors door may have happened once or twice but thats really all it took.

 

Anyways - a lot of good answers here. I would say no to the gifts but definitely teach them to introduce themselves. Its also good as a parent to know who you have as neighbors. Sometimes good friends are made and sometimes you realize that the neighbors are going to be louder than your kids and the noise at that point is the last thing you need to worry about.

 

Have a great trip!!!

 

-Sean

[Boschmann]

I was on the BA in the Haven this time last year (after Labor Day) in the hopes of keeping kids to a minimum, but did not realize NY area schools start later than those in my area so was surprised there were over 500 on our cruise. From my experience most people in the Haven were older, even a lot of the "family" suites were just two couples with no kids or parents with older/pre-adult kids. I can only remember two families with young kids. One was parents, grandparents and two young children (four to six yo) that were unbelievably well behaved and everyone in the Haven loved talking and interacting with them. The other family had three children from five to 12 (one I believe was slightly autistic) that were allowed free roam of the ship by themselves. They continuously caused havoc after running to the buffet and bringing back full sized plates stacked 10" high with deserts. The Haven staff was overwhelmed by the end. I have two children and know there are severe limits to what you can do to control a two and four year old. I paid a lot of money for this 50th birthday celebration with my wife to be special. I found myself thinking there were other more family oriented parts of the ship they could have decided to stay, but all said it's the same as any other hotel and they wanted the Haven's perks. If I wanted an old crowd I would have gone Celebrity (that should get some responses). I advise against "gifts" as the best gift you can give is to try your best to not disturb others as much as possible, particularly at night and in the restaurants as I can deal with the pools & public areas.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Boschmann