would you let 3 teenage girls....

[DDnRD]

We took our niece (19) and nephew (17) a few years ago. They wouldn't even let my nephew off the ship without one of us.

[mjkacmom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ocean Dancer

And I did too, I was allowed out until the street lights went on. I rode my bike everywhere, I played on the rail road tracks, :eek: Yep, I did.

 

It is a different world today, it is not the 60's anymore. I had a wonderful childhood and I was very , very lucky. No cell phones, no way to reach me and no, my parents did not always know where I was.

 

Our 22 year old son was mugged in Curacao on his college grad cruise in full view of other passengers, fishermen, and locals. He was right across the bridge for those who know the area. We stopped for a beer, and he was mugged 50 feet from us.

 

We do not live in fear, or travel in fear. We travel smart. Many on here need to learn that. Today's young adults are usually not aware of the dangers, or think nothing will happen to them. JMHO.

 

 

So, in your opinion, we have failed as parents ?

 

Why? Our 22 year old son was mugged just feet from us. Was that our fault?? Were we to hold his hand? He was a college grad and we were with him.

 

We are such horrible parents, that exact son has three degrees and a PHD. U of De, Univ of Mich, and Mich State.

 

He now works for the gov't and met the President last week.

 

How horrible that we raised him this way. In your eyes we have failed as parents. I guess you want us arrested for child abuse. Lock us up right now.

 

You are NUTS!!

You did s weird job of cutting and pasting, but no, being mugged doesn't mean you have bad parents. However, an over protected child definitely has a more likely chance of being mugged as adult, where criminals are looking for victims who appear insecure. So, should 22 year old adults venture out without parents? Not travel? What is the magic age?

[kerryincork]

I am well over 20 and I only ever do tours in Jamaica, I've never been further than the shops next to the pier 😉.

If your adult children are good time keepers I wouldn't have a problem with all of them doing guided tour. I've always felt safe on guided tours, even in Jamaica.

 

If they are not good at time keeping I would discourage them from going or make sure the trip itself (boat trip) wouldn't depend on their timekeeping to get back to ship.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Edited October 6, 2016 by kerryincork

[Ocean Dancer]

You did s weird job of cutting and pasting, but no, being mugged doesn't mean you have bad parents. However, an over protected child definitely has a more likely chance of being mugged as adult, where criminals are looking for victims who appear insecure. So, should 22 year old adults venture out without parents? Not travel? What is the magic age?

 

Our son was a young man. And he was NOT raised over protected. I think three young woman would be a better target. These crooks work in groups and will try to separate the girls.

 

A parent should go on the tour with these young ladies. For the cost of one more tour ticket just to have piece of mind is worth it.:)

[mjkacmom]

Our son was a young man. And he was NOT raised over protected. I think three young woman would be a better target. These crooks work in groups and will try to separate the girls.

 

A parent should go on the tour with these young ladies. For the cost of one more tour ticket just to have piece of mind is worth it.:)

 

So, you don't think a 22 year old should be without his parents - how did it help him, having you there? Adults get mugged, you need to have your wits about you, and sometimes bad things happen anyway. Ds18 took a train into Newark Penn Station alone last weekend, got in at midnight. He attended a muc festival in NYC, and it was a great experience. Should I have gone with him?

 

You don't know if anyone is going to try and separate these girls, they will be on a tour, and I'm sure be warned to be cautious. Should they never vacation without their parents? They are adults!

[BlueCollarCruiser]

In a word: No. I wouldn't visit Jamaica on my own and I'm an adult man. I'd have an anxiety attack if my wife was by herself there. And if I had a 20 year old daughter there I'd be dead.

 

In a tour group, probably fine though. Just don't want them to blow off the group and meet some locals who promise to take them to the prettiest beach! And then they end up flying their bodies back through customs.

[kerryincork]

Seriously some of you are being over dramatic. I've done a quick search and have found reports of cruise passengers being killed in road accidents (which can happen anywhere).

A few passengers who were reported missing, but turned up later either because they wanted to stay longer or lost track of time.

But I didn't find any stories about cruise passengers being murdered!

I'm not saying it's never happened, but it must be extremely rare , and there could be 20,000 passengers a day landing in Jamaica.

If young American women were being lured away from their tour group to be murdered I think it would be all over the news. I certainly haven't heard of such stories🤔

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

[Eeyore1962]

Seriously some of you are being over dramatic. I've done a quick search and have found reports of cruise passengers being killed in road accidents (which can happen anywhere).

A few passengers who were reported missing, but turned up later either because they wanted to stay longer or lost track of time.

But I didn't find any stories about cruise passengers being murdered!

I'm not saying it's never happened, but it must be extremely rare , and there could be 20,000 passengers a day landing in Jamaica.

If young American women were being lured away from their tour group to be murdered I think it would be all over the news. I certainly haven't heard of such stories🤔

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

Really????

:rolleyes:

Let me tell you what happened when my DH, myself and our 2 DS's ages 19 and 17 were on a cruise 7 years ago that visited Jamaica.

My DH and myself stayed on the shop while our 2 DS's went on a RCCL Shore Excursion Rafting down a river.

We were waiting and waiting for our sons to get back and looking off the Balcony wondering why they were not back yet.

While we are waiting we heard about an ENTIRE tour group from a Cruise ship getting robbed by guys with MACHETE'S!!!!

It was a Carnival cruise ship tour group not RCCL, but you better believe I was extremely nervous waiting for my DS's to get get back.

 

NOW, tell me again about being OVER DRAMATIC!

:mad:

[AdoraBelle]

Really????

 

:rolleyes:

 

Let me tell you what happened when my DH, myself and our 2 DS's ages 19 and 17 were on a cruise 7 years ago that visited Jamaica.

 

My DH and myself stayed on the shop while our 2 DS's went on a RCCL Shore Excursion Rafting down a river.

 

We were waiting and waiting for our sons to get back and looking off the Balcony wondering why they were not back yet.

 

While we are waiting we heard about an ENTIRE tour group from a Cruise ship getting robbed by guys with MACHETE'S!!!!

 

It was a Carnival cruise ship tour group not RCCL, but you better believe I was extremely nervous waiting for my DS's to get get back.

 

 

 

NOW, tell me again about being OVER DRAMATIC!

 

:mad:

 

 

 

Sorry, just to be clear, nothing actually happened to you or anyone you knew personally?

[Deatsch]

Seriously,

 

Why on EARTH would you ask complete strangers what to do with your children?

[Ocean Dancer]

So, you don't think a 22 year old should be without his parents - how did it help him, having you there? Adults get mugged, you need to have your wits about you, and sometimes bad things happen anyway. Ds18 took a train into Newark Penn Station alone last weekend, got in at midnight. He attended a muc festival in NYC, and it was a great experience. Should I have gone with him?

 

You don't know if anyone is going to try and separate these girls, they will be on a tour, and I'm sure be warned to be cautious. Should they never vacation without their parents? They are adults!

 

I never said that at all. We were on a family cruise to celebrate our 22 year old son's graduation. We did may tours and things together. We were not baby sitting him. We were a family that helped him grow up to be the person he is today.

 

And yes, he was an adult. He moved out on his own two months after the cruise and never lived in our basement. :D

[AdoraBelle]

Seriously,

 

Why on EARTH would you ask complete strangers what to do with your children?

 

 

 

Broken record:

 

It's the Internet. People use it to get the opinions of other people who may have had already similar experiences. It's fine.

[Eeyore1962]

Sorry, just to be clear, nothing actually happened to you or anyone you knew personally?

 

No thank heavens, but with my sons being late getting back and us not knowing who had been robbed . . . hubby and I were wishing we had not let them off the ship in Jamaica.

 

I would NEVER downplay how dangerous Jamaica can be. I do not think any poster here has been over dramatic as kerryincork seems to think they have been.

:cool:

[AdoraBelle]

No thank heavens, but with my sons being late getting back and us not knowing who had been robbed . . . hubby and I were wishing we had not let them off the ship in Jamaica.

 

 

 

I would NEVER downplay how dangerous Jamaica can be. I do not think any poster here has been over dramatic as kerryincork seems to think they have been.

 

:cool:

 

 

Respectfully, the OP wasn't just asking about Jamaica.

[Cuervosar]

Really????

:rolleyes:

Let me tell you what happened when my DH, myself and our 2 DS's ages 19 and 17 were on a cruise 7 years ago that visited Jamaica.

My DH and myself stayed on the shop while our 2 DS's went on a RCCL Shore Excursion Rafting down a river.

We were waiting and waiting for our sons to get back and looking off the Balcony wondering why they were not back yet.

While we are waiting we heard about an ENTIRE tour group from a Cruise ship getting robbed by guys with MACHETE'S!!!!

It was a Carnival cruise ship tour group not RCCL, but you better believe I was extremely nervous waiting for my DS's to get get back.

 

NOW, tell me again about being OVER DRAMATIC!

:mad:

 

Machete? Pfffftt. Learn some self defense.

[Ocean Dancer]

Respectfully, the OP wasn't just asking about Jamaica.

 

That is why I told our story about Curacao, I have several from Martinique, one from St Kitts, and Barbados, and Nassau and many from Brazil.

[Ocean Dancer]

Machete? Pfffftt. Learn some self defense.

 

Your comment was very rude!:mad:

[Rustybuttons123]

At home, no problem and I wouldn't hesitate at those ages. However, I would never allow my teenagers to go alone in another country. Not only would I be concerned about their safety, but what if their transportation broke down and for some reason they couldn't get back to the ship in time for departure, etc? What if they didn't have a signal and couldn't call? Everything would probably be fine, but I'm not the type of parent to take that risk and tend to be more overprotective, since my oldest daughter died. I just don't think it's worth ANY type of risk in a foreign country and for me...better to be safe than sorry.

 

Foreign countries aren't automatically more dangerous. In fact, there's many that are much safer than the U.S. I'd have no problem letting my kids go about in places like Switzerland, Norway, Japan for example, but would never let them go off by themselves in some parts of the U.S., like Miami, St. Louis, LA, etc, it would have to be some relatively safe small town here...major cities and even larger towns are very dangerous here. But for the OP, I'd be concerned with Jamaica and Mexico, not so much for Cayman Islands. So sorry to hear about your daughter, understand the worry.

[FalklandIslander]

I thought they would not let anyone under 18 off the ship without a parent or guardian. I know they would stop my son and ask where is parents were (usually right behind him). Maybe I am wrong about the age.

I would hope that the cruise ships would not let anyone younger than five disembark without being accompanied by someone older.

 

 

If you have high standards for your kids, they will generally rise to the occasion or not fall too far short.

Yes, exactly.

 

 

an over protected child definitely has a more likely chance of being mugged as adult, where criminals are looking for victims who appear insecure.

Certainly.

 

 

Let me tell you what happened when my DH, myself and our 2 DS's ages 19 and 17 were on a cruise 7 years ago that visited Jamaica.

My DH and myself stayed on the shop while our 2 DS's went on a RCCL Shore Excursion Rafting down a river.

We were waiting and waiting for our sons to get back and looking off the Balcony wondering why they were not back yet.

While we are waiting we heard about an ENTIRE tour group from a Cruise ship getting robbed by guys with MACHETE'S!!!!

It was a Carnival cruise ship tour group not RCCL, but you better believe I was extremely nervous waiting for my DS's to get get back.

 

NOW, tell me again about being OVER DRAMATIC!

If no one in that other group was butchered but rather only separated from their cash then, in my opinion, you are being overly dramatic.

[Ocean Dancer]

Originally Posted by mjkacmom

an over protected child definitely has a more likely chance of being mugged as adult, where criminals are looking for victims who appear insecure.

Certainly.

 

To Falkland Islander

 

The above quote was directed at me. It is not true, it was misunderstood and the way it is written, I agree 100%.

 

My 22 year old son was NOT over protected and was not insecure. He has 3 degrees and a PHD, is an attorney and works for the government. His position and future does not appear insecure in any way.

 

If you want to make a statement, let's get the facts right.

 

No one has been overly dramatic, just telling their story and how it made them feel. Some cruisers have had bad to horrible experiences with tours or even walking in certain ports. Most times things go well.......sometimes they go horribly wrong. And that IS a fact.

[JimAOk1945]

If they were mine, it wouldn't matter that two of them were of legal age. If they are traveling with me, I would feel responsible for them and I wouldn't do it.

Edited October 7, 2016 by JimAOk1945

[FalklandIslander]

Originally Posted by mjkacmom

an over protected child definitely has a more likely chance of being mugged as adult, where criminals are looking for victims who appear insecure.

Certainly.

 

To Falkland Islander

 

The above quote was directed at me. It is not true, it was misunderstood and the way it is written, I agree 100%.

 

My 22 year old son was NOT over protected and was not insecure. He has 3 degrees and a PHD, is an attorney and works for the government. His position and future does not appear insecure in any way.

 

I didn't make any comment regarding your son. I agreed with (and continue to agree with) mjkacmom's general statement: "an over protected child definitely has a more likely chance of being mugged as adult, where criminals are looking for victims who appear insecure." I'm an attorney and a professor of law and I cannot find any evidence in this thread that mjkacmom's general statement quoted above or my agreement with it implicated either you or your son. If you choose to infer an implication, that's up to you.

 

If you want to make a statement, let's get the facts right.

 

No one has been overly dramatic, just telling their story and how it made them feel. Some cruisers have had bad to horrible experiences with tours or even walking in certain ports. Most times things go well.......sometimes they go horribly wrong. And that IS a fact.

Whether or not some are being overly dramatic is a question of opinion, not fact. I clearly labeled my opinion as an opinion "..., in my opinion, ...." You and I seem to have a difference of opinion, which is fine with me. I am unable to find any disagreement between us over facts.

[grandmarnnurse]

Wow, things are different these days. At age 20, DH and I had married, had traveled much of the west coast, had been to parts of the east coast and the Caribbean, and had left our homes and families in a small town in the Mountain West and were living in NYC for school and work (about as dangerous a place crime-wise as could be found anywhere in the late 70s).

Same here! By the time I was 20, I, too, was married. Times are different, and yes, things are different all around the world. No place is safe. But I Also am from a generation where we stressed independence. Parents did not "helicopter" their children as they do today. I am one of the posters that said they allowed their daughters, ages 16 and 20, go on cruise sponsored excursions. And I don't regret it. They have fabulous memories of those excursions. A 20 year old sister--who was already living outside of our home--was more than mature enough to watch her sister, who was an "old soul" even at 16. We can't protect our children from everything. If we do, our children will lose out on some wonderful memories. And they will never learn how to fend for themselves.

[MizDemeanor]

Rationale for this thread is for the parents to save some money and stay on the ship rather than go with since they claim they are bored with shore excursions and family shore excursions?

 

Trust me, you will have plenty of time in your older age to be empty nesting and child free without having to spend a dime on your kids or family travels.

 

It will be quite painful to be away from them as they will have no time for you. You will have little choice, and chances are you won't matter too much in their grand scheme of things.

 

Until then, suck it up, even if you hate it. You can't turn back the hands of time for one single second. These are the times of your lives.

Edited October 7, 2016 by MizDemeanor

[Ocean Dancer]

Rationale for this thread is for the parents to save some money and stay on the ship rather than go with since they claim they are bored with shore excursions and family shore excursions?

 

Trust me, you will have plenty of time in your older age to be empty nesting and child free without having to spend a dime on your kids or family travels.

 

It will be quite painful to be away from them as they will have no time for you. You will have little choice, and chances are you won't matter too much in their grand scheme of things.

 

Until then, suck it up, even if you hate it. You can't turn back the hands of time for one single second. These are the times of your lives.

 

 

Wow, excellent post!! That is how we felt when we took our son and my mother on his graduation cruise.