Cruising With Kids

[karmac]

For all you people that cruise with kids (and I know there are plenty of you), you all talk about hardly ever seeing the kids while on board. What I want to know is how often do you "check in" with them & how? I don't like the idea of going all day without knowing where my kids are (for those who don't know they are 15, 11 & 10). Am I being too paranoid? My DH reckons I'm over protective at home, I'll probably be worse when at sea.

 

Karen

[LHM]

Hi Karen, I have a 3 yr old so my situation is probably a little different. I wouldn't worry about being too paranoid, I would be checking on mine all the time no matter what age they are. With a 3 yr old, I never left him in the child care for long periods, and we spent quite a bit of time going in and out of there. I know a lot of parents left their kids in the kids club/teens club all day and might catch up with them later in the day. I would always worry more about them being in a different environment, where there are a lot of people you don't know even though I am sure they would be perfectly safe. Do what you feel right - you are only being a good mum.

 

Leeanne

[karmac]

Thanks LHM. I want to give them some freedom but not too much (if you know what I mean).

 

Karen

[LHM]

No probs - yes I know what you mean about freedom. I was just thinking there was a couple who had a 3 yr old and a 14 mth yr old on the ship and because they were on late dinner sitting and couldn't put the 14 mth yr old into child care, they would put both kids to sleep and then go out for dinner and often a show. I think they checked on the kids on a regular basis, but even I couldn't have done that. Each to their own I guess and again I am sure there was nothing to worry about, as the kids were fine.

 

Leeanne

[DanFromSyd]

Hey Karen,

 

With Zac we would have breakfast together then on the days at sea he would go and check out kids club... if he liked it he stayed if his friends werent there he would go and check out the pool........... usually that was where he was... he wasnt hard to find.

 

If he wasnt in kids club, he was at the pool or the arcade, but generally a visit to the arcade meant finding his dad first to hit him up for cash!

 

He is a fairly good swimmer and can certainly take care of himself in the pool so that wasnt an issue.

 

We were also easy to find... so if he wanted us for whatever reason he came and found us. sometimes he would hang out with us othertimes he was too busy swimming, playing shiffleboard and enjoying himself with his friends to worry about us.

 

I wouldnt worry too much about them, if they can swim then the pool will probably be where you find them.

 

Never once did we "catch" him running amok. Even when he was up in the evening he wasnt running amok, i was actually really proud of him.

 

We sort of set out a game plan in the morning and let him know the scheduled events we were most likely to be at... Trivia, etc and then we parted ways, we usually dragged him out of the pool to eat some lunch and then he was off again.

By about the 2nd sea day he had a routine and loved it. He would always go and shower before kids dinner and go down to eat. He didnt want us around and in fact i think he really enjoyed the freedom he got and i think he made a huge effort to not screw anything up cause he liked the idea of being his own boss most of the time and the possibility of more cruises!

 

Of course on port days it was very different. We were always together and he enjoyed that too i think, he said he really loved snorkling on the islands... the only down point was the tenders.

 

When we got back to the ship he quite often showered and came and sat with us and had some mocktails whilst we enjoyed the cocktails, i guess he was tired after swimming all day in the ocean.

 

So that was our experience.. Im sure had Zac decided to play up it could have been very different.

 

I guess you know your kids better then anyone...

I would say your 15yo should be find especially since he has someone his own age who he knows to hang out with...

 

Cheers,

Dan

[karmac]

Thanks Dan, I really appreciate your comments & thoughts. I know I'm just being paranoid & overprotective and I'm sure once on board and in holiday mode, I'll relax. I guess once I've checked out the ship I'll probably feel better too. Fortunately, they're good kids so I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that the kids they hang around with are a good bunch as I'm sure they will be.

 

Karen

[Whoey]

Why not buy them each a small handheld CB radio and one for yourself. That way at ANY time if they feel the need to contact you they can.

 

We took them and they worked well.

[chook63]

Hi Karen,

 

Go with what you feel comfortable with, where your kids are concerned only a mum/dad has that gut feeling if it doesn't sit right or if you have any doubts even if everyone else says it'll be ok go with your own judgement.

Its your holiday too and it won't be fun for you, hubby or your kids if you are worried all the time, each day is a new day so play it that way, a little bit of length on the leash or kept in tight depending on the situation on the day.

 

As Dan said Zac had fun but he knew his boundries and the difference was Zac always knew where his Dad & Dan were, so he felt safe enough to enjoy himself.

 

Belive in yourself & your assesment of the situation, its worked up to this date hasn't it!! Your Kids sound like well adjusted kids to me. You laid a great foundation for them to work from.

 

Helen

[Gyyp]

Hi Karen,

 

Go with what you feel comfortable with, where your kids are concerned only a mum/dad has that gut feeling if it doesn't sit right or if you have any doubts even if everyone else says it'll be ok go with your own judgement.

Its your holiday too and it won't be fun for you, hubby or your kids if you are worried all the time, each day is a new day so play it that way, a little bit of length on the leash or kept in tight depending on the situation on the day.

 

As Dan said Zac had fun but he knew his boundries and the difference was Zac always knew where his Dad & Dan were, so he felt safe enough to enjoy himself.

 

Belive in yourself & your assesment of the situation, its worked up to this date hasn't it!! Your Kids sound like well adjusted kids to me. You laid a great foundation for them to work from.

 

Helen

 

Karen

 

I agree with what Helen has said,You know your kids better than anyone else. I've been on cruises when my middle 2 ranged from 12 and 14 up to 15 and 17 (Girls)we also arrange to meet them every few hours normally around meal times, we also use CB's never had any problems.

[James 'n' Katrina]

Karen,

 

I wouldn't worry too much I am sure my Duaghter(11) and Neice(13) will find some way to lead them astray.... Joking.

 

The reason I am bringing my neice is so that they can look after each other. You could quite possibly call that rather paranoid. But being in the army looking out for each other is an everyday thing to me and it made sense, as two sets of eyes, ears and screams are better than one if anything should go wrong.

 

My plan is to set some ground rules - like drag me out of the bar by 1am.

But really - set some ground rules and trust them to do the right thing and keep an eye on each other. They are at the age that they need to start taking responsibilty for their own actions, within the set ground rules.

 

I do like the idea of two way radios... I notice people say that they work well. I may have to give them a go. Just for during the day while they are out cruising the decks for boys...

 

While we are on the subject of kids... Formal nights - do the kids get dressed up and go to the dinner. Or can they if requested. I mean there will be some nights that we would like the girls to dine with us, and there will be other nights when they will have better offers - i am sure. How set in concrete are these arrangements.

 

Cheers

[rockie]

There was a little fella on our cruise in Jan and he dressed up for the formal night, boy did he dress up. He had the most gorgeous black suit and I think he wore a bow tie. He loved it and I was much impressed.

[nons67]

Hi all,

I know this is a little off topic but we are considering a cruise in the future and wondering how the cabin layout works for families with 3 kids. Do they have interconnecting cabins or can you get a rollaway bed on the Pacific Sun?

Thanks in advance,

Donna

[aussiedisneyfan]

Hi Nons67. Welcome to the boards.

 

Unfortunately the Aussie ships (Sun and Star) are not family friendly cabin wise for over 4. The Sun used to allow a rollaway in the cabins but they have stopped this now. There are no interconnecting rooms available.

 

Best option is trying to go with friends that have a spare bunk available. We are a family of 3 and have shared our cabin with another family of 5 to make a perfect 8.

[karmac]

There was a little fella on our cruise in Jan and he dressed up for the formal night, boy did he dress up. He had the most gorgeous black suit and I think he wore a bow tie. He loved it and I was much impressed.

 

My 10 y.o. son has insisted on wearing a tie & I bought him one the other day (he certainly doesn't get that from his father). He will be wearing good black pants & a nice shirt. He actually wanted a tux but I though the cost would be extravagant for something he'll never wear again. And to hire one for 11 days wouldn't be any cheaper than buying one. He's going to look gorgeous though.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments & thoughts. I will certainly be setting some ground rules (probably mostly for the 15 y.o.:eek: ) and they are sensible kids so I really don't think I have much to worry about. I'm just being a mum but hearing from people who have cruised with kids just reassures me a bit (well, a lot really).

 

Karen

[kaseyoz]

i am with you on this karen. It is a little scary letting them go isnt it?

We have just paid the deposit for him to go to italy on an exchange program for 4 weeks in sept so will have to "let" him go then. This will be good practice for him(and me)He is studying italian at school (husband is from italian background but born in australia.

we have also discussed ground rules and are going out with our friends who are cruising with us this weekend. we will also discuss rules expectations etc.

My son is a reserved shy boy so i dont think we will have too many problems.

[Kazza1]

My 10 y.o. son has insisted on wearing a tie & I bought him one the other day (he certainly doesn't get that from his father). He will be wearing good black pants & a nice shirt. He actually wanted a tux but I though the cost would be extravagant for something he'll never wear again. And to hire one for 11 days wouldn't be any cheaper than buying one. He's going to look gorgeous though.

 

Karen

 

Karen

Are all of your kids dining with you and hubby at 2nd sitting or are they going to kids dinner?

I didnt see any of the kids dress up last time (they seem to be in, eat and out in about 30-45min)and now the kids dont even eat in the restaurant, they now eat at the buffet.:confused:

 

Karen

[karmac]

Hi Kazza

 

As far as I know, the two youngest are at kids dinner although the tickets say 2nd sitting. I mentioned this to the TA & she said they never write kids sitting on the tickets. I just assumed they would dress as well:confused: . Ah well, if they don't, I'll get them dressed for a photo (I wanted to take that opportunity to have a nice family photo) & then they can change. I guess we'll just have to wait & see what happens.

Can you believe it's only 11 sleeps away?

 

Karen

[James 'n' Katrina]

Karen..

 

May I suggest you take one of those USB thumb drives for photos. I am a bit of a photo fanatic and I will have my laptop. If you have a thumb drive I can put the photos that I may get off your group on it. Katrina also have a little digital waterproof camera that we plan to use while snorkelling and around the pool..

[kaseyoz]

they can also put all your photos onto a cd for you for $10, plus they had a really cheap deal to print all your photos in one go. We did ours without any corrections in photoshop etc and were happy with the result.

[karmac]

Karen..

 

May I suggest you take one of those USB thumb drives for photos. I am a bit of a photo fanatic and I will have my laptop. If you have a thumb drive I can put the photos that I may get off your group on it. Katrina also have a little digital waterproof camera that we plan to use while snorkelling and around the pool..

 

Thanks for that James. I'll try & do that. I'm taking my digital camera (that I got for Christmas & still learning how to use) and my Canon SLR camera that takes great photos.

 

Karen

[James 'n' Katrina]

they can also put all your photos onto a cd for you for $10, plus they had a really cheap deal to print all your photos in one go. We did ours without any corrections in photoshop etc and were happy with the result.

 

Hey that is pretty cool..

So they offer full photo services. I will have to take advantage of that.

Thanks Kasey

 

I have just recently purchased the new Olympus E-500 digital SLR and I am still having fun learning all about it.

[kaseyoz]

Plus they have a ton of photos you can buy, lots of photo ops. going ashore etc

They also have quite a nice album for sale with some stock photos of the ship and the islands.

[kaseyoz]

Just dont bother buying the dvd they make on board, It will be shown on the tv in the room so check it out first. i was very disappointed with ours.Just backgroung music no talking and very generic

[James 'n' Katrina]

speaking of DVD's

 

I got the promotional one that P&O have..

And I have to say... I hope there is that much eye candy on my cruise.

Both women and guys eye candy... Good for one good for the other.

[karmac]

speaking of DVD's

 

I got the promotional one that P&O have..

And I have to say... I hope there is that much eye candy on my cruise.

Both women and guys eye candy... Good for one good for the other.

 

Yeah, but they're not all models on board are they? I'm in trouble if they are:)

 

Karen