Question for those who take cruises w/ kids..

[navywife06]

Hi,

 

My son is 9, almost 10. I am wondering what you've done with kids aboard ship. Have you given them permission to go from the CC to the room and have them check in and have meeting times? Do you have all meals, some, none with your child/children? Is it ok if he grabs some sushi or pizza and isn't hungry or looking to sit for 2 hours? I'm planning on doing a formal night together, but other than that I understand that the CC participants get together to eat in the buffet and that it's a lot of fun and they can choose sushi, pizza, kid friendly foods.

 

Is it ok as far as seating is concerned to not have him eat every dinner with us? Knowing him, he'll be happy to just stay with the kids at meals.

Thanks

[bplazo]

No, I wouldnt allow a nine almost ten year run around on a ship without adult supervision. If he is not in the kids center he should be with an adult.

[Meemers2005]

We went on a cruise in April with our two daughters, ages 9 and 11. I am very overprotective, so I did not let them have free reign of the ship. As long as they were together, they were allowed to go to the Arcade, but that was the only place I let them go alone. They preferred to be at the pool or the slide anyway, and they can't do that without an adult there to supervise. As far as eating, we had all meals together, they actually enjoyed going to the restaurant each night for dinner.

[bikinibottom]

I would never let my child be alone on the cruise. My parents let me and my sister do it when she was 16 and I was 13. We had such a blast. I have my child surpervised or within eyeshot at all times. Camp is great for the times you want to do things without worrying about supervising your child. JMO.

[zqvol]

Sounds to me like a perfect age for Camp Carnival. You accomplish a number of things. He gets to socialize with other children his own age, you have someone to watch him so you can enjoy yourself and have peace of mind at the same time.

 

This way you can have as much time with him as you want and still enjoy a bit of alone time.

 

Have fun!

[marktac]

Have to agree with the above posters. He may be well mannered and not prone to get in trouble, but a ship is no place to cut him loose. Camp Carnival will have plenty of activities, including dinner just about every night, that will be supervised. At 9 he can still be limited in his comings and goings if you ask real nice when signing him up. After he's been in there a few hours you won't get him out.

 

We have a 7 year old that isn't all that impressed with cruising for all the reasons adults have, but would give up his playstation in a heartbeat for a week at Camp Carnival. I highly recommend it.

 

MarkT

[themoon]

Hi,

 

My son is 9, almost 10. I am wondering what you've done with kids aboard ship. Have you given them free reign to run around whilst sipping drinks and have them check in from time to time? Do you have all meals, some, none with your child/children? Is it ok if he grabs some sushi or pizza and isn't hungry or looking to sit for 2 hours? I'm planning on doing a formal night together, but other than that..

 

Is it bad that I don't really care where or when my son eats, as long as he does and has fun at it?

 

Somehow it makes me a little uneasy that you aren't concerned about where your child will be while you're busy sipping drinks. I hope that the true scenario isn't the way it sounds :(

[navywife06]

The moon,

 

Thank you for your concern.

 

As you see, I read it and edited it because of the way it sounded in my head came out like I was just going to drop my son off and have him meet us when we dock the following week.

 

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to correct me.

[basketsiam]

My 9 year-old daughter loves Camp Carnival as she is truly a "social butterfly." As for letting her run free on the ship, I just won't allow it. Too many things can happen.....

 

As for dinner, we book the early seating and all our kids eat with us. It's a great opportunity to introduce them to new foods and dining experiences. And, yes, they do behave at dinner!!!;) Our daughter then enjoys Camp with her friends when dinner is over.

[Momto3InTn]

My son had just turned 10 on his first cruise last summer. We laid out ground rules all the way to the port and when we got on board. He really loved Camp Carnival and really didn't want to have dinner with us!! We did a 5-day but let him eat dinner with Camp twice. One day the kids went swimming with Camp Carnival and they were to go back to the room on their own, change clothes and come back for dinner. (We were already at dinner during this.) We did allow this but I got nervous and made my husband go check and make sure he got back ok!! He did exactly as he was told. :) While we did let him go get an ice cream while we sat by the pool or something like that....we didn't really let him out of our sight too much. I trust my son but I don't trust strangers.:(

[navywife06]

That was just the answer I was looking for. I believe I may have made it sound like my son would be running around knocking on doors while I was passed out somewhere. I really wanted to know what other more cruise savvy parents have done that has worked for them in the past ie, letting them go on their own, having meeting spots, etc.

 

My concern was that because that age group is allowed to go in and out of CC on their own, how does that work? What do other parents do?

 

Thanks again for your answer.

[themoon]

The moon,

 

Thank you for your concern.

 

As you see, I read it and edited it because of the way it sounded in my head came out like I was just going to drop my son off and have him meet us when we dock the following week.

 

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to correct me.

 

Good to know that the way it sounded was not the way that you intended it to be. Enjoy your time while he's in CC.:)

[Momto3InTn]

Also, we had walkie talkies for ourselves and we bought him a small one that he kept in his pocket. (He also thought it made him look cool!! LOL) But on those short trips to the ice cream/pizza/etc...I knew I could contact him and vice versa!

 

They were allowed to check themselves in and out of Camp Carnival last summer but I thought I read on these boards that the policy had been revised? We just told him that the schedule says this activity will be over at x time and we will pick you up at x time. We have 2 other children as well and a couple of times we let him meet us at one of the lounges. (On the Ecstasy the lounges where they met were fairly close to each other.) We're going on the Conquest in October so I don't think we'll allow that.

 

And while they were at Camp, my hubby and I had a great time! We weren't sure about taking them on a cruise in the first place but it was so worth it! We had a family vacation without getting sick of each other!! LOL

[basketsiam]

I agree with Mom.....If you look at the schedules from Camp Carnival, you can pick a meeting time based on the activities that your child is interested in. I generally meet my daughter at Camp when the activity is scheduled to be over even though they can sign themselves out. It only takes a few minutes and it's well worth it not to worry.

[imlulu]

We always have breakfast and dinner together. My oldest last Feb was 12 and he had lunch with friends that he made.

 

My boys pick and choose what activities they want to do at CC. My dh and I plan our day around their schedules. My oldest does have a walkie talkie as well as a soda card. He hangs out with friends he makes and will only go to CC for playstation/computer time/ trivia tournaments..stuff like that. He also likes the arcade but dh will take both of them to that. My youngest is 7 so he gets signed in and out. We will do a couple of the family activities(sundaes/cookie decorating) with 7 yr old. He also just loves the waterslide. We will do bingo and shows together also.

 

Cruising is a great family vacation. You can spend time together as well as alone. Have a great time!

[I&MsMom]

Our kids are younger, so I can't advise about the camp sign-out policy. But I did want to jump in and add to what others have said: in four cruises since 1/05 (our 1st!), we've all had dinner together in the dining room every single night. It's a great way to introduce your child to new foods. DS (now 7) has tried so many things! It would be a shame to let such a great opportunity pass, IMHO. DS's experiences in the ship's dining room have made him more amenable to trying new foods elsewhere, also.

 

However you decide to work it, enjoy your cruise!

[PaulMedik]

We allow our 11yr old son to come and go as he pleases; provided that we know where he's going to be and with the ground rules that he cannot go to friends cabins or have friends in his cabin. We also check up on him frequently to make sure he's not getting into trouble; we do so casually and he rarely sees us though he enjoys the videos I've taken of him when unaware. :)

 

We allow our 9 year old son to go with his brother occasionally, but not on his own.

 

Our 5 year old son is always either with us or at Camp Carnival.

 

We do most dinners together though they do CC on non formal nights sometimes.

 

I do trust my children, but I verify their locations and activity frequently. I do not trust crew members or my fellow cruisers to look out for my children's best interests. I may someday be accused of 'stalking' my children, but a true 'stalker' won't have much chance. :eek: It may sound like I don't have time to relax, but the fact is that I relax much better knowing my children are safe and having a GOOD time. It also gives me plenty of time to explore the ship! :D

[nybumpkin]

Last year was the first year middle son was in the group that could check themselves in and out of Camp Carnival. We told him to wait for us and not leave on his own - and generally we tried to be a few minutes early so he wouldn't be one of the last ones there and tempted to leave on his own. When he's not in CC, he's not allowed on deck by himself, but we will alllow him to get ice cream or go to the arcade if his older brother is with him.

 

As for dinner, we've generally tried to have the kids alternate the dining room and the Camp Carnival dinner at the buffet. It lets us have dinner as a family (hard enough to do that at home!) and still lets them have dinner with their friends.

[twofit]

Last cruise DS was 9 and DD 6. Both loved the camp! But at night the little one would crash and the older one wanted to stay, and DH would take advantage of some casino time while I was in the cabin with DD. So...we let the 9 year old stay to a designated time, and then he would come straight back to the cabin by himself. Every night I'd hear his feet running down the hall to get back on time, or he knew he'd lose the privalege! You have to know your own kids and what they are capable of. I agree you can't trust others, but it is a good way to instill a sense of trust and limited responsibility. My DD is 10 for this summer's cruise, and I can probably trust her more than DS who is going on 14 and behaving more like a teenager every day! As for dinner, we always choose early so we have some family time and then they can rejoin the activities.

[gfsmith]

Our first cruise our son was 9 and he was not allowed to check in and out himself. We had all our dinners together, and when he went to bed we did also. He is 13 now and he has a little more freedom. I never allowed my eldest son to have the run of the ship till he was 17 and then there were still ground rules. Dinner together is always a must.

[wmsherwood]

We made the "rule" that the kids had to eat dinner with us when we started cruising with them, but..... DD's really wanted to eat with their "best friends" and there were nights when we let them eat with the camp - it actually gave us a quiet dinner which was nice. Dinner time was a great time to catch up on their excitement of the day.

 

After the first cruise, our rules relaxed some because the kids were so confident on the ship and we were confident in their abilities (actually our youngest DD - now 13 - was showing Mom around on her second cruise!). Even when we had our youngest eat with us at early seating - she often was getting anxious because we wouldn't be done in time for her to get to the camp activity (often at 7) so she'd ask to skip dessert (not as tough as it sounds with room service and 24 hours soft serve available) so that she could make it to the camp activity with her friends! We all had a great time!

 

You'll all have a great time!

bill

[seashell36]

My 9 (almost 10 at cruise time) DD is looking forward to eating in the dining room. When we booked this cruise, I showed her the menu lists that found on here. She was very excited to see some of her favorite foods listed (lobster, shrimp, and dessert:D).

[barbaragrace]

Hi,

 

My son is 9, almost 10. I am wondering what you've done with kids aboard ship. Have you given them permission to go from the CC to the room and have them check in and have meeting times? Do you have all meals, some, none with your child/children? Is it ok if he

 

I would NEVER let my 10 daughter go around the ship unattended. I'd rather be paranoid than sorry. Ships are too big. I even feel uneasy about my 17 year old daughter. With our older daughter we have meet times, 11:45 for lunch at a certain place. Or at the pool in 2 hours. Take posty notes for the room. Bring walkie talkies (AND extra batteries and code names instead of "maaaaaaaa" like all the other kids), Have a special family spot on the ship just in case you can't find each other. We have ALL meals together-it's a family vacation.

[Illinoisgal]

I hate that 9-11 year ols can sign themselves out. Im sorry but most American 9 year olds are different from 9 year olds where they must work, learn at an early age to protect themselves. With all the foul play, and ADULTS falling off, diappearing etc it makes me to nervous.

Our son is 7.5 this time at Camp, and he loves to eat with them which is fine. its his vacation too. but no unsupervised running amuck for my kid!