Keeping up kids while onboard

[GreenIdScorpio]

we are sailing on Harmony Nov 12 and it will be our first cruise with our daughter (10) and would love to hear how other parents kept up with their kids onboard? 
 

just trying to strike a balance with family time and giving her a bit of freedom and a way to reach each other instead of having to search the various decks 

[Tee & Chilli]

Have them check in with you at various times throughout the day. I have no experience in this area.

[Tapi]

My kids are 10 and 12. We use the ship’s app feature to communicate with them using cellphones. We haven’t sailed in Royal since 2018 so we haven’t tried it on them, but we’ve used it successfully on other cruise lines. 
 

We do give them very specific rules which we have gradually eased as they get a bit older. At the beginning, they were not allowed to roam around the ship on their own. If they went to the kids club, they couldn’t self-check out. However, on our last cruise, we gave them a bit of freedom and started letting them go to specific venues and back, but no roaming around the ship unsupervised.

But the app has been very useful to keep in touch with them. 

 

[Lane Hog]

Skip the app, forget the walkie talkies.  They're not going to wander off the ship.

We set up a time for meets, agreed that meals together were mandatory, and if they didn't check in on-time, then they didn't get their freedom the next day.  Not wandering alone is a good rule for a ten year old.  Our kids were at least 14 when we cruised with them.  That was marrying age 100 years ago....

Edited April 6, 2022 by Lane Hog

[RockHoundTX]

My kids have been on about 20 cruises so far. When they were younger (under 11), we had very specific meeting times that were non-negotiable. Basically had a time and place for them to meet me or my wife at the end of each Kid's Club session (plus the two hours for MDR prior to the evening session). Generally have high trust with my kids and they knew the consequences if they got caught terrorizing the ship.  

 

My kids were kind of strange in that they would get up early (while we were still asleep) and go to MDR for breakfast by themselves (and sometimes recruit other kids as well). Same thing for lunch. If you are ever on a cruise where 20+ kids (now teens) show up for lunch in the MDR on sea days, it is likely my kids leading that pack (and my wife and I are likely somewhere else in the MDR since they won't let us sit with them ;-).

 

A lot of other families I have met use white-boards. Every time the kid leaves or comes back to the cabin, they write on the white-board where that were, the time, and where they are going. On the last couple of trips a lot of folks were using the RCCL App as well ($3/day?) or if they already had internet access were using Zoom/Line/etc.  

[martikus]

At 10 we did not give our son that freedom.  He was with us or in kids center.  Those ships are huge and easy to get lost.  We have helped several kids find their room who were crying in hallways.

 

of course if we are on pool deck and he wants to go to other end to get an ice cream that’s fine.

[lovescats5]

Have cruised with my granddaughter since she was 8.  She liked Adventure Ocean but could not check herself out.  As she has gotten older, now 15, she has been given freedom to go as she likes but she still checks in with someone during the day.  Dinner is a mandatory thing and then photo's which is something she really enjoys doing.  We use the Royal app or voom as that is included in our suite.  Your kids will have a ball and in the end, they can't get off the ship without you.

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

11 hours ago, martikus said:

At 10 we did not give our son that freedom.

Same here. He was with us all of the time because he did not enjoy the daycare feeling of the kids' club. This summer at age 12, we may consider letting him stay in the cabin alone sometimes since he has a cell phone now and would be able to get in touch with us.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Same here. He was with us all of the time because he did not enjoy the daycare feeling of the kids' club. This summer at age 12, we may consider letting him stay in the cabin alone sometimes since he has a cell phone now and would be able to get in touch with us.

Same here. DS was 10 on his last cruise in November 2021, and he didn't get to roam the ship alone at that age. He's been cruising since he was 3, and does not do the kid's club. He is always with one or both of us.

 

We are going on our next cruise in May, he is 11 now, and he will not roam the ship alone again. Nor does he want to. DS doesn't want to make friends on the ship and roam with kids either.

 

Staying in the cabin alone would be fine, but why would he want to stay in the cabin on a Royal ship where there is so many fun things to do?

[Jerseygirl1416]

Just be aware that crime still does occur on board so please keep that in mind when letting young kids wonder by themselves on a cruise ship. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 hours ago, GreenIdScorpio said:

we are sailing on Harmony Nov 12 and it will be our first cruise with our daughter (10) and would love to hear how other parents kept up with their kids onboard? 

imagine letting your 10 yo out to roam freely in an unfamiliar to her town of 5K+ strangers. If she and you are ok with that, ok. But if not, then keep her close, at least on her first cruise ever.

 

In some state we can't even leave the child home alone for long periods of time at 10, let alone allow them to roam around town on their own.

[travelhound]

If you want alone time, use the kids' club. We were just on the Oasis and our 11 year old wasn't allowed to just roam. I didn't even give her privileges to check herself out of the club. I wouldn't let her run around a town of 7000 by herself at home, so I didn't do it on the ship. That said, I didn't have eyeballs on her at all times, but I knew where she was. When she was doing slides, we were at the pool. If she was going to stop doing the slides and go in the pool she needed to come and tell me first. When she did the Abyss slide, I went back and forth the first time but of course she beat me to the bottom. Then we walked the route to get back and forth. After that I just waited in one place. So, even though I couldn't see her the entire time, I knew when to expect her and where she would be coming from. She doesn't have a cell phone and we didn't pay for Zoom anyway, so communicating that way was not an option. Good old fashioned directions: I need to know where you are and I'm giving you a check in time and place.

 

Of course, every kid is different but that's what works for us.

[GreenIdScorpio]

Good points all!

[PTC DAWG]

I sailed with my kid recently...he paid his own way.  He even had his own cabin with his Fiancé. It was glorious.  

[bstel]

we just turn our kids (10 and 11) loose, and tell them to meet us at debarkation.  We figure someone will bring them back if there is an issue as there are plenty of helicopter parents on board...

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by bstel

[bstel]

in reality, we let the kids (10 and 11) roam pretty freely.  we do the same thing at home.  and they usually find a few friends to hang with.  We just tell them to stay in common areas, don't wander down random hallways or go in other people's rooms.  We all have cell phones so there is no issue keeping in touch.  If we haven't seen them in a few hours we will get in touch and do a meetup, but usually we run into them on the pool deck quite a bit as they are wandering or if they get bored, they track us down because I guess they think we are there to entertain them.

 

but so far our kids have only been on 2 cruises on smaller ships, so we are going on Allure this summer, so this mega ship will be a first for all of us, so we will have to just play it by ear.

Edited April 6, 2022 by bstel

[celoplyr]

1 hour ago, bstel said:

we just turn our kids (10 and 11) loose, and tell them to meet us at debarkation.  We figure someone will bring them back if there is an issue as there are plenty of helicopter parents on board...

 

 

 

This is what I do to my parents.  "Now that we are on the boat, don't  get off the boat until I tell you to". 

[yancycruiser]

Most of you are doing the right thing in monitoring your kids and we all appreciate that.  It is unfortunate that so many have not taught their children (regardless of age) to be respectful and not run up and down the the cabin decks.

 

[flhokie]

DD has been on 5 cruises. She's always in kid's club or with one of us. She's now 11, but I don't anticipate letting her check herself out of kid's club until she's 12 (and then in teens). Even then, she'll have strict meeting times/places and will have a phone with wifi so she can check in/we can check up at any point. 

[ymncruise]

Be careful. There were people on my equinox cruise last summer arrested in Sint Maarten for soliciting a minor. 

[trk699b]

So, 5 days till Enchantment of the Seas, smaller boat. we will got to Adventure Ocean as soon as we board the boat. We have a 14 yo and twin 10yo's, they all have iPhones which we can put on Airplane mode and turn on wifi calling, which we can iMessage with out the Zoom Package (hack). We will give our kids some freedom, with checking in with at multiple times during the day. until they screw it up, then stuck to us like glue.    wish me luck 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Quite lucky here i guess. Our daughter 8 prefers to spend time with us rather then in kids club. So during the day mostly around pool then in evenings she likes to walk around ship, see a show, try different mocktails,  More of  family time rather then sending her to kids club and us to the bar. 

 

Even though ships are super safe i wouldnt want her off on her own, well within reason. Ie bathroom, or to grab a snack from pool food 

[Biker19]

12 minutes ago, trk699b said:

which we can iMessage with out the Voom Package (hack).

RCI may have plugged that hack.

[trk699b]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

RCI may have plugged that hack.

Got radios as a back up 

[Biker19]

Just now, trk699b said:

Got radios as a back up 

Thankfully she's fairly small but you may have reception issues if far apart.