Christmas-NewYears on Infinity...Parents not in control

[drfun48]

Having returned today from a pretty nice holiday cruise on the Infinity,I am sad to report on a few negative experiences.

First,while as is always the case at this time the ship had a large number of children -toddlers though teens. Most behaved well.many did not. The teens get my highest marks ,for after a day or so when they found out where to hang ,they seemed to adjust well.

The pre teens did not . They were frequently unsupervised and were seen to even be,in large groups, harassing adults on the elevators and stairwells. This was my tenth consecutive Christmas cruise and by far the situation was the worst.

The most annoying group was the toddlers,frequently "tended to" by sitters who monopolized the poolside hot tubs. Well,what do you expect?...what I didn't was that most would be wearing DIAPERS!...I even witnessed a nursemaid who used the pool towel shelf for changing a dirty diaper...YUK. Quite a few passengers complained to the uniformed security,who simply said ,"THIS WEEK they were overwhelmed and could do little.Guest services nodded.

Moving on...the chair hog season peaked and it was good sport to watch the near violent confrontations between chair hogs ,amoungst themselves...who would be KING HOG,and the anti-hog forces who were seen to be moving books ,sandles and towels from place to place.

On another topic,the Captains Club hostess on this cruise was the weakest I have encountered on any ship...She appeared to be in above her head and spent all her with her favorite few.

Embarkation and disembarkation were horrible-probably due to the fact that we were at an auxilliary pier with so many ships in port.

Also saw two of the worst shows ever-one a synthsizer xylephone show,the second a really bad English lounge performer.

But despite all this I still had a good time-a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

[Char]

Having returned today from a pretty nice holiday cruise on the Infinity,I am sad to report on a few negative experiences.

First,while as is always the case at this time the ship had a large number of children -toddlers though teens. Most behaved well.many did not. The teens get my highest marks ,for after a day or so when they found out where to hang ,they seemed to adjust well.

 

The pre teens did not . They were frequently unsupervised and were seen to even be,in large groups, harassing adults on the elevators and stairwells. This was my tenth consecutive Christmas cruise and by far the situation was the worst.

 

The most annoying group was the toddlers,frequently "tended to" by sitters who monopolized the poolside hot tubs...I even witnessed a nursemaid who used the pool towel shelf for changing a dirty diaper...

 

On another topic,the Captains Club hostess on this cruise was the weakest I have encountered on any ship...She appeared to be in above her head and spent all her with her favorite few.

I'm sorry to hear that there were more wild kids on this cruise. It seems that more and more cruise lines are being subjected to unmindful parents and to children who have no set parameters. There is NO excuse for babies to be in the hot tubs or changed on the towel shelf!

What was the name of the Captain's Club Hostess? I had heard that Holli was coming aboard on the 11th. I have not sailed with her before, but most of the CC Hostesses have been pretty good in the past.

[susiesan]

Why in the world would anyone take a cruise over any holiday? Unless you took some of your own there are many other weeks in the year when cruiseships are virtuallly child free. If you choose to cruise when families do then don't complain. It's become the American way to have anyone but the parents control/raise their kids. Today's parents think society owes it to them to look after their brats.

[Happy ks]

I read these stories every year after Christmas/Presidents Week/Spring Break/Thanksgiving. Thank goodness there are these boards to let us know why those are the worst weeks to cruise. To add insult to injury, they are always the most expensive, too.

 

I'm sorry your cruise was ruined. I also hope no one really expects the cruiselines to police the behavior of passengers. That should be the job of parents and the individuals themselves. A shame to be read about on Celebrity, though, usually it is fairly limited to CArnival, RCI and NCL.

[KevBew]

We were on Connie at T'giving and it was awash with under 18's. Parents acted like they didn't have children and the children acted like they didn't have parents. It's really a shame. I hope you learned what we learned and it has already been stated; Don't travel during holidays! We have vowed to travel ONLY when school is in session from now on.

[skyview851]

Several years ago, we stayed at an all-inclusive during a holiday break. A beautiful resort, attentive staff, and the guests from HE!!. Children roamed freely, without adult supervision and were out of control. We sat on the beach one day & I worried that there was going to be a drowning..there were toddlers wandering around on the beach, without adequate supervision. The dining areas were a free for all. These families were from multiple countries & I can say that it seemed to be equally bad across all groups. I learned my lession- no more traveling on holidays/school breaks, etc.

[halos]

I think most of todays parents are lazy and stupid...all that non-parenting they do is going to catch up with them. Todays unsupervised, out of control little kids are tomorrow's nightmare teenagers who will give their parents nothing but grief and the parents will never even consider that it was their fault.

drfun, I am very sorry that your cruise was not as great as you wanted it to be. Thanks for psoting and reminding us that holiday cruises are a no-no for people who don't want to feel like they're attending the circus.

[Happy ks]

Being a parent of teens, who are well behaved at home and in public and also working at a school and being around kids all the time, I find it odd to read some of the above statements.

 

I don't think that poor parenting skills are exclusive to "todays parents" "American way" nor "most parents". Poor parenting skills crosses all nationalities, has been going on since the beginning of time and it is wrong to label the majority of people for a handfull of people who should not have had children. I've been on cruises where the most obnoxious kids don't speak my language. I remember kids from when I was very young who were out of control.

 

The most important thing is, you remember the bad ones and not the good. I don't believe for an instant that most kids are bad and wandering alone creating havoc. Just remember, you were that age once, too.

[shonuf]

The most important thing is, you remember the bad ones and not the good. I don't believe for an instant that most kids are bad and wandering alone creating havoc. Just remember, you were that age once, too.

 

I agree that most kids are not bad but they sure make more of an impression. And yes, I was that age once, but my mother would have "jerked a knot in my chain" if I had EVER acted out in public. My son, who is now grown and married, presented his own set of challenges (esp to his teachers :) )but we could take him anywhere and he knew how to act. He was given plenty of opportunity to "just be a kid". But he also knew how to act when in an adult situation. IMHO, there are too many parents who are afraid their children won't like them if they discipline them.

 

Respectfully submitted,

[Happy ks]

Is it just me, or do blanket statements drive other people crazy?

 

Just think, if you were enjoying a beer at the pool and a party fairly close to you was out of control drunk on beer, would you like to be included in the statement "drunken idiots swilling down gallons of beer"?

[lisiamc]

Is it just me, or do blanket statements drive other people crazy?

 

I think part of the problem is that it's easy to not notice well-behaved children - they don't cause a ruckus and draw attention.

 

And it's hard to ignore the out-of-control ones. A few really badly-behaved children can seem like five times as many. They move so fast and make so much noise, they just seem to be everywhere.

 

That said, it does seem as though more parents are reluctant to say no to their kids - they seem to want to be buddies, not parents. There again, though, it may be that these bad parents are just more noticeable than the good ones!

 

Lisa

[bububr]

That those with children tell others to cruise different lines, or not during 'shool' vacations.

 

I find it really offensive when these same folks tell us to get over it when ALL WE WANT TO DO IS GO ON A PEACEFUL VACATION....WHERE EVERYONE BEHAVES.

 

Occassionally I HAVE SEEN adults get unruly, but mainly it is the folks with children and their children that break the rules and expect EVERYONE ELSE to get over it.

 

Having children IS NOT an excuse for being a disrespectful rude parent that does not discipline their children. and being a child does NOT give you the right to DISRUPT and annoy other passengers.

 

What would be really nice for everyone is parents that FOLLOW THE RULES SET FORTH, parents that controlled their children, and children that respected others and behaved.

 

As I have said before, I do not want to eliminate kids from cruises, I just expect them to act as adults and follow the SAME rules as everyone else.

 

And as I did say, I have seen irresponsible adults occasionally. But more so I have seen out of control kids and their non-responsive, rude, and ignorant parents that dampen the experiance for others.

 

Dave:eek:

[DocJohnB]

Dave,

 

I totally agree with all you said except for the following:

 

As I have said before, I do not want to eliminate kids from cruises, I just expect them to act as adults and follow the SAME rules as everyone else.

(my emphasis)

 

I do not expect children to act as adults. I expected mine to act as well behaved tots, children, teens and then as young adults. I can expect no more from others. Children are children. They are loud, lovable, obnoxious, creative and a hundred other adjectives, but they are still children. Parents have to control their overexuberance. They have to set the parameters within which the child is allowed to function. The children have to know the consequences of stepping outside those parameters. Well behaved children more than likely have parents who understand this concept. Ill-behaved children have parents who do not have a clue.

[tarheelmjfan]

Sadly, this shouldn't surprise anyone. :( How many times have we read that cruising is the perfect vacation for a family. Many people are quick to point out that the cruise lines do such a great job entertaining their kids that they rarely ever see them. Personally, this is not my idea of a family vacation, but it does seem to be the preferred way of some. Many parents take their kids on vacation to spend family time together, as we do. Unfortunately, there's also many who seem to think cruising is a great way to keep their kids busy being entertained by others, so they can have alone time. The cruise lines promote their kids programs, therefore promoting the idea that someone will be there to watch your kids for you. I suspect some parents take this perk too literally, & check most of their duties on the gangway. This type of parenting really iritates me, but I really think it's the exception rather than the rule. We went on 2 X cruises in 2005. One was with our DS(13), & one without. On one of our cruises we saw a group of older teens playing cards in the elevator. This situation was ended quickly & never occurred again. On the other, we saw the same little boy running through the buffet area twice. Considering the number of kids on the cruise, I would say they behaved exceptionally. Incidentally, we did see more ill behaved adults. As much as unsupervised kids bugs me, adults constantly complaining about kids in general on a ship bugs me much more. I completely understand those who were on a ship overrun with out of control kids being angry. What I didn't understand was when I read some people who were on the same cruises as we were complaining that X needed to offer adult only cruises. If kids aren't behaving badly, why does their presence bother some? It would be so great if we could all be considerate of everyone's feelings & make an attempt to joyfully co-exist. :)

[banditmag]

I was on a Christmas Cruise with my teenage daughter and I, too, resent the blanket statements. She is well behaved, always in dress code, and incredibly polite. It actually began to annoy me that she would hold the door for people as it was so crowded I would have to wait five minutes for her to catch up.

 

That being said, she never left my side the entire trip. I asked her why she wasn't hanging out with the teens, her reply "would you want to hang out with that? Look at them."

[flagger]

We talked to the Hotel Director aboard Infinity on our first cruise. He told us more young adults (just over 21) and old adults end up in the brig or put off the ship than younger kids and/or their parents.

[cfprunner]

I think most of todays parents are lazy and stupid...all that non-parenting they do is going to catch up with them. Todays unsupervised, out of control little kids are tomorrow's nightmare teenagers who will give their parents nothing but grief and the parents will never even consider that it was their fault.

drfun, I am very sorry that your cruise was not as great as you wanted it to be. Thanks for psoting and reminding us that holiday cruises are a no-no for people who don't want to feel like they're attending the circus.

Good to know that I am lazy and stupid. This month I will be soooo lazy that I am not bringing our 5 year old and 1 year old on the cruise with us--too much work! Call me stupid, but that's my plan.

[Danno]

These are just weeks that should be avoided...bad kids are bad kids, bad parents are bad parents, and together they will cruise. I just try to make sure there is little opportunity for them to be on my cruise.

 

And I agree....cruising is not a great family vacation...it's ok, but there are other better options...(boy, am I going to get pounced for that statement :( ).

[tarheelmjfan]

These are just weeks that should be avoided...bad kids are bad kids, bad parents are bad parents, and together they will cruise. I just try to make sure there is little opportunity for them to be on my cruise.

 

And I agree....cruising is not a great family vacation...it's ok, but there are other better options...(boy, am I going to get pounced for that statement :( ).

 

I don't know why you'd get pounced, but I don't necessarily agree. Any vacation can be a great family vacation, if that is the goal. IMHO, the key word is "family" vacation. I think it loses it's appeal, when it becomes a vacation for mom & dad to completely rid themselves of the kids. Again, most parents aren't this way. There's a few who can ruin things for everyone, but there's also a few childless adults who can do the same. JMO

[geoherb]

We've been fortunate the past two years to go on Christmas cruises without any problems with children. In 2004, we were on the Century. Last month we were on HAL's Maasdam. I was surprised on Christmas morning to see how many children showed up for Santa Claus. We'd been on since December 17 and did not realize how many children were on the ship.

[Vampire Parrot]

The most annoying group was the toddlers,frequently "tended to" by sitters who monopolized the poolside hot tubs. Well,what do you expect?...what I didn't was that most would be wearing DIAPERS!...I even witnessed a nursemaid who used the pool towel shelf for changing a dirty diaper...YUK. Quite a few passengers complained to the uniformed security,who simply said ,"THIS WEEK they were overwhelmed and could do little.Guest services nodded.

 

If I saw this happen on *any* ship, I would take photographs and then ask to see either the cruise director or a bridge officer. Kids wearing daipers in a pool or hot tub is... absolutely disgusting. I don't want to swim in faecal matter, do you?

 

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/gm/cruise.pdf

 

James

[halos]

allow me to fill in a little detail or two.

 

First of all, I am a parent. When I said, 'Todays parents' that also includes me.

Secondly, I took my teens on 2 cruises.

 

I stand by what I said because of what I observe. If you are not the lazy parent of a monster child, my statement shouldn't tick you off. I didn't say all of todays parents are lazy & stupid but I did say most...it's what I see and have seen since mine were small. The lazy parents of small children (and by lazy I mean too overworked and overstressed to provide boundaries and limits) now have trouble with their young adults...and all of them have no clue why.

 

if you are the parents of really good kids, the bad ones should be mighty obvious to you...

 

I posted on another board how we went out for a family dinner at a nice restaurant. There were 15 of us. Four children, ranging from 19 months to 12 years old sat at the table and ate. Since there were 15 of us, waiting the table and serving took a long time and we were there 3 hours. The kids did not get up and run around, they didn't whine or cry..they were really good.

The table behind us also had a large group with kids. The kids ran circles around the table, screaming like they were outside playing. the parents couldn't get them to sit so they pulled out a DVD player and I had to listen to a Disney movie blasting while I ate.

As if this wasn't bad enough, the battery on the DVD player went dead and one of the kids screamed and had a tantrum until it was turned back on....

This to me is pure laziness.

These parents did not take the time to teach their children how to behave, and they are NOT an isolated set of parents. There are, unfortunately many just like them out there.

[Shmobo]

I was on the same Infinity cruise for the holidays. It was not perfect but I did have a good time...

 

I found this cruise have a lot of first time cruisers, maybe that create a lot of problems for our experienced ones.

 

This for sure is the worse Embarkation I ever have....the lines were so long..I was in line for almost 2 hours....seems like the reservation agents took a long time to check each one in. Their excuses were it was busy, the computers were down...(Mine checkin process was fast, I lined up for 2 hours and my check in only took 3 minutes as I did precheck in online already)

 

Sure there are problems with kids taking over the whole whirlpool area. They were treating them as their private swimming pools. Jumping in and out and splashing water everywhere while people were suntanning. One afternoon I even saw one playing with the hose which the crew used for cleaning spraying each other and other people. So I just stay in the T-pool area at least it is adult only. X did have security at the entrance asking for IDs.

 

As for the Chair Hog. At least the Pool Butlers was busy clearing out the towels...One time I did have someone ask me to move because he said that was his chair...:( and there was nothing on it when I got there. Probably one of those first timer thinking that they can reserve a chair by putting X towels on them. I always found chairs near the pool even on sea day. I usually stay for 2 hours after lunch and relax by the pool.

 

The first night when I on my way to late dinner, there were even 2 boys playing cards in one of the elevator! I asked them how come they stay there, their replies were "Oh! We have nothing to do..." and it was only the 1st night. One time I even saw a boy has his arm caught in the elevator's door when it opens....Hopefully they are not going to sue X for that....

[Ships R Great]

We were on Zenith for 12/17 in Dec. There were 300 kids on board. I saw one child misbehave. I heard him coming before I saw him. When he rounded the corner I gave him my "teacher look". He said, sheepishly, "We were just playing." Every time I saw him after that he was behaving himself. tyhe kids were not a problem on that cruise.

 

Oh, I did hear one teen say, before dinner the first evening, "I'm bored." I thought, uh-oh, but my fears were unfounded.

 

I think the Youth Staff does a fantastic job, keeping the kids entertained while their parents do "whatever". When we took our ten year-old GD last year she had a ball with the youth program but enjoyed time with us also. It is possible to strike a balance.

[halos]

The first night when I on my way to late dinner, there were even 2 boys playing cards in one of the elevator! I asked them how come they stay there, their replies were "Oh! We have nothing to do..." and it was only the 1st night.

 

This is frightening and exactly what I mean. Doesn't anyone but me think that it's not healthy how kids need constant stimulation..to the point where a cruise is BORING to them???????? Isn't there something wrong with this? And where were their parents?? Isn't a cruise with your kids supposed to be a family vacation?

If my child was bored on a cruise I would be concerned.

Fortunately when I took my girls they were grateful...you don't see too much of that any more either.