halos Posted April 21, 2006 #76 Share Posted April 21, 2006 One of my primary concerns (and I have plently more concerns than this one) about infants on ships is this... maybe my kids and the times were different years ago but I recall when my kids were little they were walking germ machines. Everything that went around, they caught and DH and I would catch soon after...and I was fortunate enough to be a SAHM, the kids who were in daycare were sick even more often. With cruise ships being as 'confined' as they are, and sickness on ships capable of spreading like wildfire, there'd be NO way I'd being a susceptible infant on a cruise, nowhere near my family doctor. Paranoid?, possibly...it's JMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Hop Posted April 21, 2006 #77 Share Posted April 21, 2006 We are taking our 10mth old daughter, and 6 & 13 year old boys on a cruise this September. The last thing I'm worried about is someone making a rude comment to me about my infant daughter. :eek: After they hear my response I'm sure they'll spend the rest of the afternoon in their cabin recovering :D I'm a very respectful person, however, I truley believe in treating others as they treat me. StefanieTX being passive is nice but....... Dont spend your vacation watching peoples expressions and worrying about a negative comment that may be coming your way about your baby. If someone really had an issue with your baby anyway I doubt that they would say anything to you directly. If I have to put up with smokers, drunks and foul mouthed adults on a cruise ship they better darn well keep on stepping when they see my daughter if they have a problem. To all the anti-infant cruising folks ..... While I have to breathe your tobacco toxins and listen to your filthy mouths, you wont be packing for my baby or changing any diapers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbbear Posted April 21, 2006 #78 Share Posted April 21, 2006 :confused: "Maybe they should just ban people over 70 years of age afterall they face many of the same issues as infants and could quite possibly be dealing with the whole diaper pool issue themselves." Good point! http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e80/mimi567/alex.jpg Memory of infant on cruise - PRICELESS! (My Alexandra) Sorry, but I think you're missing the point. 70 year olds (for the most part anyway) besides maybe being a bit slow don't generally present health risks to the other passengers. Additionally, they don't constantly whine, make noise, and/or make nuisances of themselves. I appreciate the fact that some parents think that it's "relaxing" to stay in their cabin with their infant/toddler. If that's a quality vacation experience for them then fine (all be it a rather expensive one). The only point of view I'm trying to make is that far too many parents have the misguided belief that their kids are passengers like everybody else, and as such everybody else has to make concessions for them....concessions like in the dining rooms, public areas, adjoining rooms, etc, etc. I say that is just plain wrong, regardless of whether or not the parents are willing to ante up the fare. I'm all for family vacations. When my kids were small I would never put them in an environment where they would even remotely infringe on others' enjoyment--and that included restaurants, public events, churches, etc. I taught my children what kinds of behavior were acceptable, and only then did I consider it appropriate for them to be out among other adults. Face it. There's probably way too little consideration of others going on out there. You and yours aren't always number 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2005 Posted April 21, 2006 #79 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I don't think I missed the point, but I also should not have referred to the prior comment. I actually agree with most of what you have to say. As a teacher, I have seen the respect individuals in our society have for one another drop dramatically over the last twenty years. We've become a selfish society, where "me" comes first. I can not tell you the number of parents I see who have abdicated their parental role in order to be friends with their children or to put themselves first. I could write reams on the topic! That being said, I believe that children learn by being placed in situations where they are taught proper behavior. This is done by taking them places BUT removing them when their behavior is inappropriate. Unfortunately, many parents refuse to remove the child because the parent does not want to miss the event. That is, of course, when others are annoyed and the child gets the message that there are no negative consequenses for poor behavior. We just returned from a cruise with my entire family including my 7 month old granddaughter. I only wish my parents were alive so that we could have included some of those 70 years olds in our trip! We choose Carnival because it is a family friendly line both in activities as well as cost. I would never dream of taking this same group on some of the other cruise lines that cater to older crowds. Because I work with children daily, I am pretty aware of their behavior when I am out and about. I thought most of the children onboard were fairly well behaved (especially the infants!). The middle school age will always be more noticeable. It's the nature of the beast/hormones. If you are someone who is adamently against children on board, it sounds like Carnival isn't the line for you. They actively advertise for the family business. This has become a discussion that could literally never end because it actually deals with parents either parenting or not. The OP was (I think) asking for suggestions on how to make her trip easier, not for opinions on whether to take her child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L2J Posted April 21, 2006 #80 Share Posted April 21, 2006 IBesides, would you really want your little one swimming in the pools after all the other "potty trained" people who have been drinking mass quantities of alcohol and never seem to need to get out to go to the bathroom? ;) Joanne Weak arguement.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanie821 Posted April 21, 2006 #81 Share Posted April 21, 2006 To all the anti-infant cruising folks ..... While I have to breathe your tobacco toxins and listen to your filthy mouths, you won't be packing for my baby or changing any diapers! Now there's a point to ponder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katz A Prowl Posted April 21, 2006 #82 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I would think that parents of babies and toddlers would care enough about their kids health to not put them in the pools on a ship. After all, those parents who do let their little darlings swim are exposing not only the adults onboard, but the other children (who are prone to catching everything) on board to illness. They will be the first ones screaming "it's Carnivals fault" if their little ones get sick because some leaky swimmy lets contaminated feces lose in the pool. Maybe health issues just are not a big concern for some parents, after all some people think it is fine to ignore health department guidelines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halos Posted April 21, 2006 #83 Share Posted April 21, 2006 If I have to put up with smokers, drunks and foul mouthed adults on a cruise ship When people say this my response is usually, Then why would you expose your young kids to it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L2J Posted April 21, 2006 #84 Share Posted April 21, 2006 If I have to put up with smokers, drunks and foul mouthed adults on a cruise ship they better darn well keep on stepping when they see my daughter if they have a problem. To all the anti-infant cruising folks ..... While I have to breathe your tobacco toxins and listen to your filthy mouths, you wont be packing for my baby or changing any diapers! If I or anyone else had a problem why shouldn't something be said? Are you the Queen of freakin' Sheba? That made no sense to me...I think you must have been sniffing methane or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbbear Posted April 21, 2006 #85 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Arf2005: Points taken. My DW is also a teacher, so I know of whence you speak. I also am greatly distressed by the decline in everyone's general behavior patterns. There IS way too much of the "me" out there. But, despite that, it won't stop me and DW from having a great time on each and every cruise that we take. As you can tell from our signature, we aren't Carnival groupies. Even so, we have seen some, all be it very infrequent, terrible behavior situations on Princess---but not enough to dissuade us from cruising there again. Conversely, that reason alone is why we'd never book any trip on a Carnival ship. It's strictly a matter of different strokes for different folks. I'm all for personal choice. It's just that I'd feel a whole lot better if I could rely on well intentioned parents to, as you correctly put it, "parent" if they want to go where I happen to be going. I don't think that is a lot to ask. I guess that right now I don't have a lot of confidence in that actually happening--at least based on my previous experiences. Nevertheless, i wish you and other family oriented cruisers many smooth seas and happy days both on and off shore.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yusi1906 Posted April 21, 2006 #86 Share Posted April 21, 2006 It's sad to see how ADULTS talk to each other, and start calling each other names which is something that kids would do. Let's remember WE WERE ALL A CHILD once and I'm sure our parents took us on vacation at some point. WE ALL (well not all but the majority of us) will become a parent some day and form a family. IMHO a family should be united and do things together. I think some parents would not even enjoy the vacation without their kids because they would constantly wonder how they are doing, etc. If everyday children are taken to malls, to church, to theaters, parks, events, etc, etc, why cant they be taken on vacation. WE MIGHT AS WELL BAN CHILDREN FROM PUBLIC PLACES AT ALL TIMES, THEY SHOULD JUST STAY HOME and let them out when they are 8,9 or 10? Or which ever is the proper age considered to be young responsible adults. I agree with those cc members that say that as long as the parents take responsibility, why not bring a child? I agree with the teacher that said a child will learn how to behave in an environment if you expose them to it and also removing them from it when misbehaving. How would someone learn to read if you dont give them a book? I'm only 25 and do not have any children yet but my dream is to become a parent one day. I plan to take my child(ren) with me everywhere if possible and if not then I guess vacation would have to be postponed or go to Disney for the first few years, lol..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L2J Posted April 21, 2006 #87 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Probably half these people have the kid in the first place because they couldn't figure out how to operate a condom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1tonysmom Posted April 21, 2006 #88 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I have to agree with surfklutz on this one. Besides cruise ships, many local hotels restrict kids who are not potty trained from swimming pools based on health department regulations. Besides, would you really want your little one swimming in the pools after all the other "potty trained" people who have been drinking mass quantities of alcohol and never seem to need to get out to go to the bathroom? ;) Liv, Had you bothered to quote my entire post (and not just the end of it), you would see that I actually do agree that the main reason kids in diaper should not be in the pools is because of CDC and Health Department guidelines. Joanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1tonysmom Posted April 21, 2006 #89 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Probably half these people have the kid in the first place because they couldn't figure out how to operate a condom. And this comment is totally uncalled for. Poor form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L2J Posted April 21, 2006 #90 Share Posted April 21, 2006 Liv, Had you bothered to quote my entire post (and not just the end of it), you would see that I actually do agree that the main reason kids in diaper should not be in the pools is because of CDC and Health Department guidelines. Joanne I did "bother" to read the entire post. You're last paragraph (that I quoted was a weak arguement...nothing more...nothing less) And this comment is totally uncalled for. Poor form. What's your point? Tell me you have never seen a parent that shouldn't have been allowed to have kids and I'll call you a fibber. That statement was not directed at you so I'm not sure why it bothers you so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miksilver Posted April 21, 2006 #91 Share Posted April 21, 2006 We are taking a cruise with a baby, does anybody has any recomendation or experience with taking an infant on a cruise? OP -- I reccommend you visit the "Family Cruising" forum on the boards. There are tons of postive posts there about cruisers past experiences with their infants on cruises. I took my 6m DD on my last cruise on the Triumph and had a wonderful time. Despite what you might read on these boards, there are many, many cruisers out there who have had a wonderful, positive family vacation with their little ones :) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1tonysmom Posted April 21, 2006 #92 Share Posted April 21, 2006 OP -- I reccommend you visit the "Family Cruising" forum on the boards. There are tons of postive posts there about cruisers past experiences with their infants on cruises. I took my 6m DD on my last cruise on the Triumph and had a wonderful time. Despite what you might read on these boards, there are many, many cruisers out there who have had a wonderful, positive family vacation with their little ones :) . Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubyfino Posted April 21, 2006 #93 Share Posted April 21, 2006 I would think that parents of babies and toddlers would care enough about their kids health to not put them in the pools on a ship. After all, those parents who do let their little darlings swim are exposing not only the adults onboard, but the other children (who are prone to catching everything) on board to illness. They will be the first ones screaming "it's Carnivals fault" if their little ones get sick because some leaky swimmy lets contaminated feces lose in the pool. Babies in swim diapers=fecal tea bags... I vote you take the kid, leave the swim diapers... Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted April 22, 2006 #94 Share Posted April 22, 2006 I fully agree.Although I'm totally sympathethic to the fact that parents need vacation time too, as well as the fact that they can decide what, where and whether they wish to cruise, the plain and simple fact remains that a cruise vessel is NO PLACE for an infant--4 months old or not. Personally, I'd be totally happy if the lines banned any kids under the age of three or four YEARS. Quite candidly, these lovely tykes just tend to be disruptive and provide nothing but a negative experience for other passengers. Admittedly, there are a few parents who realize the problems that these kids cause and do indeed do something about it. On the other hand, they are few and far between.... Fully appreciate and respect OP's question, but the best advice is for her to leave jr. at home till he (she's) older. Much better for everyone concerned. If you really want to ban kids it is not the infants and small children that are disruptive, yes, they may cry, but it is the 8 - 16 year olds that are disruptive, and not necessarily becasue they are doing anything that is that wrong, it is becasue they are in a relatively confined space without their video games, computers, etc. and have to find something to do. However, there is no need to ban children at all. If you don't like it there are some adults only cruises (not very many, but some) that you can select. As far as bringing your infant as long as the OP is aware of what is involved go for it and have a good time. (A side view is that based on what I have read here it would be nice to have some extended family along to help out but if you don't have them you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdood Posted April 22, 2006 #95 Share Posted April 22, 2006 Probably half these people have the kid in the first place because they couldn't figure out how to operate a condom. Amen to that. The truth is really painful for those folks too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbbear Posted April 24, 2006 #96 Share Posted April 24, 2006 If you really want to ban kids it is not the infants and small children that are disruptive, yes, they may cry, but it is the 8 - 16 year olds that are disruptive, and not necessarily becasue they are doing anything that is that wrong, it is becasue they are in a relatively confined space without their video games, computers, etc. and have to find something to do. However, there is no need to ban children at all. If you don't like it there are some adults only cruises (not very many, but some) that you can select. As far as bringing your infant as long as the OP is aware of what is involved go for it and have a good time. (A side view is that based on what I have read here it would be nice to have some extended family along to help out but if you don't have them you will be fine. ...Don't you enjoy your privacy as well as a little peace and quiet? ...and don't you think that others would enjoy theirs as well??? Many happy cruise mile to you too!!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted April 24, 2006 #97 Share Posted April 24, 2006 ...Don't you enjoy your privacy as well as a little peace and quiet?...and don't you think that others would enjoy theirs as well??? Many happy cruise mile to you too!!:) Very much so but there are other lines that offer that option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopefulwith2 Posted April 25, 2006 #98 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Holy cattyness! Maybe they should ban the "adults" that act like children too...goodness forbid they would ruin MY cruise. Oh wait, it's vacation and NO ONE will be able to ruin my time; not even if I get put in a cabin next to another with a crying baby *gasp*. Afterall, I won't have to be the one tending to it and I'm sure some white noise would easily solve that problem. Is it really so difficult to answer to the OP? If you don't want/wouldn't bring your infant, your suggestions didn't even apply here. To the OP, I suggest posting at the family cruising board. It is much more civilized on that board :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser3006 Posted April 26, 2006 #99 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Probably half these people have the kid in the first place because they couldn't figure out how to operate a condom. What a classless comment. Even if they should not have had children its not your business to make such a rude remark. You must be one of the people you are referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted April 26, 2006 #100 Share Posted April 26, 2006 What a classless comment. Even if they should not have had children its not your business to make such a rude remark. You must be one of the people you are referring to. What makes it okay to make a classless comment in response to what you think is a classless comment??? And I happen to agree... there are a great deal of parents out there that are parents because of the very reason Liv stated... sad, but true. Nothing classless about it... it's the truth!! He didn't make a remark about anyone on this board... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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