Should we bring the kids?

[meeda]

Hi, my dh and I are going on our first cruise at the end of February. We are going Carnival Fantasy out of NOLA. I am really going back and forth whether we should take the kids. We have 3 kids, ages 6, 5, and 3.

 

My mother has offered to keep the kids for the week. She thinks that they are so young that they wouldn't even remember it. She thinks my husband and I should go alone and have time alone since we have been married for 8 years and hardly do anything without the kids. She said if we want to do something with the kids we can plan to do something when we get back.

 

What are your thoughts?

[DarkJedi]

Hi, my dh and I are going on our first cruise at the end of February. We are going Carnival Fantasy out of NOLA. I am really going back and forth whether we should take the kids. We have 3 kids, ages 6, 5, and 3.

 

My mother has offered to keep the kids for the week. She thinks that they are so young that they wouldn't even remember it. She thinks my husband and I should go alone and have time alone since we have been married for 8 years and hardly do anything without the kids. She said if we want to do something with the kids we can plan to do something when we get back.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Boy have you hit a hot topic LOL Expect if people see this for it to get very heated.

The only person who can really decide this is you and your DH. But you can ask yourselves some questions.

When is the last time you went on a "date" with just the two of you?

When is the last vacation with just the two of you?

Can you sing along with Barney, the Wiggles, Thomas the Train?

Do you NEED the together time?

 

There ARE things for the kids to do on a Carnival cruise, but your mother is right about one thing, they most likely won't remember it, especially not the 3yo. And you will spend much of your time worrying about them and if they are safe (I hope you will anyway, you sound like a good parent based on your question) and not enjoying YOUR time on the cruise. You will also have to take the children into consideration for any shore activities.

 

Personally I agree with your mother, plan a nice 4-5 night vacation for the two of you and then plan a short time with the kids doing something where you can devote all your time to them and not feel cheated out of your own vacation.

[caribbean dreams]

This is your first ever cruise, i say leave the kids at home and spend some well needed alone time, you already have a babysitter willing to take care of them. If you like cruising then plan a family cruise at a later date.

[bruce-r]

If you already have a babysitter lined up, definitely, without a doubt, go by yourselves.

[StefanieTX]

This is a very personal decision. Can you stand being away from your kids that long? Is your mother truly willing to take care of them while you're gone? Are they used to staying with her?

 

It could be a great opportunity for you and your husband to have some time alone together. Cruises can be very romantic! If you are going to be upset, missing your kids and worrying about them though, it won't be as fun for you. If you decide to take them, maybe they are not old enough to remember, but you will remember and have pictures to share with them when they are older. If you decide not to take them on this cruise, you will have an excuse to take another cruise so you can take them!

 

Bringing the kids can be very fun, but is also more work than going alone (obviously). Maybe you should list the pros and cons of taking them or not taking them and decide what is best for you and your family in your particular situation. You and your husband do deserve some alone time. It's up to you to decide when and how you have that time though.

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[Cruisin' Chick]

That has to be your decision. Don't let the naysayers you'll see around CC tell you that kids don't belong on a cruise (and boy, just do a search on many of the forums here). Personally, we have taken our girl on each of our cruises since she was born. Her first one was at 23 months. Whether or not she can remember much...her experiences on board and the days we spent visiting San Diego afterwards was a positive experience. She actually can remember some details from her second cruise (3 years old then) and she's 9 now.

 

If you do take your kids, they are old enough to take part in the kids' program. There's also post-10pm kidsitting. Between these two, there will be plenty of opportunity for alone time. But taking kids will involve plenty of planning.

[khicks1101]

We love the idea of cruising without our daughter who is now 6 but then again would hate it.

We went on the Grand Princess for a 12 day cruise and took her with us, we thought we would take her with us every second trip ashore and chose carefully the excursions we thought she would like, however, we were soon to have our plans thrown overboard.

 

We booked our daughter into the kids club on the first day onboard and relaxed safe in the knowledge while at sea we got a couple of hours break before having family fun.

 

Each time she went to the kids club though, she didn't want to leave it, she was having a ball with the other kids. So much so that she wanted to stay aboard and go to the kids club when we had planned shore trips, and wanted to have go there in the evenings also, we were stunned. We were also ecstatic.

We ended up having a family holiday, a holiday as a couple and a kids holiday also, we were all happy.

When we were disembarking we were amazed at how many kids our daughter knew and realiased we should never have been worried at all.

So in answer, it depends on the kids club and how well your kids separate from you, because with these in your favour you can really enjoy your cruise, except of course real late nights, enjoy spending time with the family and as a couple and not need to feel guilty for not including them.

This was our experience anyway. Hope it helps.:D

[meeda]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. My mother and I are very close and we see each other on a daily basis. I live less than a mile from her and she is a huge part of my kids lives. They would have no problems staying with her and they'd probably not miss me and dh at all.

I could probably guarantee that dd(6yrs old) and ds(5yrs old) would absolutely love Camp Carnival. It is dd(3yrs old) that I think would have the separation problems. I have even thought about just leaving the 3yr old with my mother. Since this will be our first cruise I am leaning more toward leaving them with "Grammy" (my mom), and if we do enjoy cruising that will give us a reason to book another cruise and include the kids.

 

Thanks again for all of the wonderful replies. :D

[CWNNP]

Meeda,

that sounds like a great plan!

 

We have cruised with our 3 kids and loved it!!!

 

But, if we had a close family member who was willing and able to take them (we don't have anyone who could) while we went alone, we definitely would have cruised once on our own!!!

 

It's like you said, if you really like it, you can always plan for another in the future as a family...by then your 3 yr old will be a little older and the separation from you to play at the kids club won't be as likely!

[crusinmama06]

I think you have a great plan....no doubt. I can't say that your kids won't miss you or you own't miss your kids....but both of you will be fine!

 

I am one of those that do take my kids everywhere we go. And I just booked a last minute cruise to go with the KIDS. :p The hubby is staying home to work (his choice not mine...lol)

 

So I chose to take the kids, leave the hubby. :D

[stbmom]

I have a question - would taking grandma be an option?

 

We are crusining with our 13 month old in 3 weeks and he will have his grandparents from both sides! Maybe your mom would like to cruise and with you and the kids. You could even have her on a different level than you and have the kids room with her - that might be an option too.

[meeda]

Our original plan was to take the kids and my mom on the cruise. She has since said that she is not a fan of cruising and would much rather stay home with the kids. I think she afraid of boats. She works full time so it would be a break for her to take off of work and watch the kids. She doesn't get to spend as much time with them since she started working full time.

[khicks1101]

Our original plan was to take the kids and my mom on the cruise. She has since said that she is not a fan of cruising and would much rather stay home with the kids. I think she afraid of boats. She works full time so it would be a break for her to take off of work and watch the kids. She doesn't get to spend as much time with them since she started working full time.

 

 

In the end meeda, you should do what you feel most comfortable with.

We would love to cruise alone, and yet we love to cruise as a family, they would be different experiences as there are different things you can and will do on both styles.

No matter which you choose, I know you will have the time of your lives.

[Arubalisa]

Ultimately you have to do what you feel is right. It sounds like you are "leaning" on leaving the children at home which is fine.

 

Like khicks1101 we have found with our dd, she spends so much time at the kid's club that dh and I have plenty of alone time and still enjoy dining with dd and relating the activities of the day to one another.

[Laurin612]

We took our kids on their first cruise when our son had just turned 3 and our daughter was almost 7. They LOVED the cruise and still remember lots of details, including our waiters' names, the kids club staff members names, the songs they liked that the band played (HOT HOT HOT!) and their favorite foods, among many other things. So, if your kid are anything like mine, they will love it and it will hold a special place in their memories (and hearts!)

 

We leave for our second cruise as a family next Saturday and we are all very excited! Our son is almost 5 now and our daughter is almost 9. While sometimes I think it would be nice for DH and I to have a vacation alone together, we both feel we would miss the kids too much and know how much they enjoy vacationing also.

 

But, really, as others have said, the ultimate decision is up to you!

Have a wonderful cruise, whatever option you choose!

[CurtS]

We recently did a DCL with six children, ages 3 through 13 at the time. In restrospect, if we had relatives close by that would have taken our DS3 I probably would have done so. DCL is great for kids, but our DS3 really didn't want to be in the nursery and our choices were to have him with us all of the time or keep him somewhere he did not want to be--neither choice was ideal. Cruising is the opportunity for adults to relax, too. If you feel that any of your children may not do well in a club or nursery, then they may be happier with grandma and I'm certain you and your DH would be more relaxed. I think the clubs really go out of their way to keep the kids happy and that would give you time to relax. But if the kids don't want to be there, then you won't enjoy yourself and if your 3 year-old hasn't been away from you much, then you may have a battle. Since that DCL cruise our DS3 has been in pre-school and we're comfortable that he'll be fine in a kid's club now, so we're more comfortable with bringing him along.

 

Curt

[sailinglisa]

You are very lucky that you have a mother who is willing, ready and able to take your children for the duration of your cruise. They are familiar with her and it would be a treat for all of them. Go on the cruise without your children and reconnect as a couple - that is so important in a marriage! Take your children in the future - this time should be just for the two of you as you have the ready willing and able babysitter!

[massfamilyof4]

My husband and I cruised 2 years ago and left our children home with my Mom. It was the best vacation I ever had...even topped my honeymoon. It was a marriage booster and we still are riding the "high" from that trip.

 

We saw so many wonderful things for our kids to do two years ago. We are cruising in February with our children, now 6 and 13. I am looking forward to it and am sure it will be wonderful in a different way.

 

Have a wonderful trip no matter what you decide!

[Onessa]

Bring the kids. Spend some good quality time with them away from the pressures of home. Who cares if they remember the ports of call? They will benefit from time spent with their parents. They will benefit from the security of being with their primary caregivers. And you will have great memories.

[DiveMaster]

Sounds like my kiddo's kind of gal. Remember at age 10 she can certify as a Junior Open Water SCUBA Diver and then you can chum her to the manatees in Florida if you cruise out of Tampa. Always on the lookout for young heiresses who cruise and dive for my 11 year old protege.:)

 

 

That has to be your decision. Don't let the naysayers you'll see around CC tell you that kids don't belong on a cruise (and boy' date=' just do a search on many of the forums here). Personally, we have taken our girl on each of our cruises since she was born. Her first one was at 23 months. Whether or not she can remember much...her experiences on board and the days we spent visiting San Diego afterwards was a positive experience. She actually can remember some details from her second cruise (3 years old then) and she's 9 now.

 

If you do take your kids, they are old enough to take part in the kids' program. There's also post-10pm kidsitting. Between these two, there will be plenty of opportunity for alone time. But taking kids will involve plenty of planning.[/quote']

[provenienbam]

Personally I'd leap at the chance to go on a cruise without kids!

 

But we started taking our daughter on cruises from the age of 3 (same as your your youngest). She remembers the KidsClub mainly, but her next cruise (age 4) she remembers the Maitre D' ('my boyfriend' as she calls him), and keeps mentioning things that she did on the boat. This despite it being 8 months ago. She talks about the dolphin she swam with, the boat ride, the plane trips, the kids club, the restaurant staff, the playgrounds at each of the port stops, the shows and most of all: the swimming in the pool.

 

We've since told her that we are going on another cruise and she's really excited. We had to explain that it's a different boat so she won't see the Maitre D' or the kids club counsellors. She's asked if the boat has a swimming pool (very happy about that there is one) .

 

I know if we went on a one week cruise and had babysitter would use the babysitter just so we can have some time to ourselves. Anything longer and we'd start to miss her a lot. We generally only do 12+ day cruises so she's with us all the time.

[shellie100]

Hi, my dh and I are going on our first cruise at the end of February. We are going Carnival Fantasy out of NOLA. I am really going back and forth whether we should take the kids. We have 3 kids, ages 6, 5, and 3.

 

My mother has offered to keep the kids for the week. She thinks that they are so young that they wouldn't even remember it. She thinks my husband and I should go alone and have time alone since we have been married for 8 years and hardly do anything without the kids. She said if we want to do something with the kids we can plan to do something when we get back.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

I think you're going to have a couple of fabulous kids-free days and then spend the rest of the cruise wishing that you'd brought them. Have you traveled without them before? Would you miss them? Have you traveled with them before? Are they comfortable sleeping on a new schedule, in a new bed, etc? Are they well behaved? Would they enjoy going to the kids club while you and hubby enjoy some time together?

 

If your question is whether or not families enjoy cruising - the answer is yes.

 

Good luck,

Shellie