A Friend's Bad Time On Jewel

[KeystoneCruiser]

From the sound of some of the other individuals posting in this thread you would think that they themselves were perfect little angels when they were in their teens and are demanding the same.

 

So urinating in public recepticals and running into and knocking over old lady's is acceptable behavior and kids should be allowed too?

 

I teach behavioral handicapped students and believe me I know what bad behavior is. The kids on the Star in 2005 made most of my students look like angels!! The language I was subjected to in the elevator was far worse than what an upset behavioral handicapp student usually says.

 

I'm sorry, parents are responsible for their kids behavior 24/7 and using the "I'm on vacation too" excuse is just a cop out for poor parenting. Good parents NEVER take a vacation from parenting.

[refman]

So urinating in public recepticals and running into and knocking over old lady's is acceptable behavior and kids should be allowed too?

 

I teach behavioral handicapped students and believe me I know what bad behavior is. The kids on the Star in 2005 made most of my students look like angels!! The language I was subjected to in the elevator was far worse than what an upset behavioral handicapp student usually says.

 

I'm sorry, parents are responsible for their kids behavior 24/7 and using the "I'm on vacation too" excuse is just a cop out for poor parenting. Good parents NEVER take a vacation from parenting.

great reply

[perkythedog]

Hello to all, especially Coka,

 

We were on this cruise and really didn't see much more than the teens having a little freedom that is totally safe. No drunken teens, no really rude people, etc. My gosh, we were cruising. If you can't chill out on a cruise vacation, then this may not be the best vacation for you. Coka, Erik made highest honor roll this past semester and finally got a parking spot at high school! I hope he takes your advise seriously, I'll keep you posted. Hope we meet you and Tracy on a future cruise!

 

Nancy

[7SeasLover]

Our first cruise was on Carnival. We had drunk spring breakers everywhere! We had to step OVER them to get our of our stateroom. We call the desk nearly every night to have them quieted down. The crew did everything short of tossing them overboard. It was an exhausting and terrible experience.

 

I learned never to sail in the summer, never to sail over spring break, or any holiday.

 

It's terrible to have one's vacation disrupted by unruly kids (or adults for that matter). Even though it wasn't Carnival's fault, it left me feeling I would never cruise Carnival again. I didn't until there was a wedding I had to attend. Situations like the one described in OP's post do leave one with a bad taste.

[beachchick]

electricron and perkythedog: While it's a noble sentiment to not worry about what others do, and it's certainly true that "chilling out" is a major goal for cruising (or any vacation), the problems start when the behavior of others negatively affects others and their cruise/vacation.

 

I don't have a problem with kids on ships. I think cruising can be a great family vacation. I do have a problem when kids (or adults!) act as if "it's my vacation and the hell with the rest of you." I paid for my cruise too, and I'm entitled to expect that the behavior of others will not spoil it for me. Minor stuff like kids splashing and what not in the pools for everyone, no sweat. Kids drunk and harrassing others, big problem. (And again, I feel the same way about drunk, rude adults.) The cruise lines have rules of behavior in place for all of us.

 

Parents are certainly "on vacation too," but it is not my responsibility to "babysit" their children. It is not the cruise lines responsibility either. When parents are on vacation, they are still parents with all the responsibilities that go along with it. If they don't want to be bothered with parenting while onboard, then they need to leave the kids at home.

 

beachchick

[bplazo]

You should not stop parenting just because you are on vacation. My daughter will be eighteen on this cruise and I will still keep a close eye on her at all times.

[Zeno]

electricron and perkythedog: While it's a noble sentiment to not worry about what others do, and it's certainly true that "chilling out" is a major goal for cruising (or any vacation), the problems start when the behavior of others negatively affects others and their cruise/vacation.

 

I don't have a problem with kids on ships. I think cruising can be a great family vacation. I do have a problem when kids (or adults!) act as if "it's my vacation and the hell with the rest of you." I paid for my cruise too, and I'm entitled to expect that the behavior of others will not spoil it for me. Minor stuff like kids splashing and what not in the pools for everyone, no sweat. Kids drunk and harrassing others, big problem. (And again, I feel the same way about drunk, rude adults.) The cruise lines have rules of behavior in place for all of us.

 

Parents are certainly "on vacation too," but it is not my responsibility to "babysit" their children. It is not the cruise lines responsibility either. When parents are on vacation, they are still parents with all the responsibilities that go along with it. If they don't want to be bothered with parenting while onboard, then they need to leave the kids at home.

 

beachchick

 

Well said beachchick!

[grandmaof2]

It is really a shame that this discussion even has to take place. Such a waste of time. Those kids didn't just start behaving that way last week and, I'd be willing to bet that more than one of them had parents misbehaving as well. We do have the right to expect proper social behavior in public places. It is not the fault of NCL but if they choose to allow or ignore such behavior, perhaps our money would be better spent on other cruise lines. Never having cruised on holidays, I havent experienced this but I will say this ...there are a couple of cruise lines that I would never travel during any school holidays as a result of complaints such as these. We are sailing on the Spirit on June 2 with my grandchildren..My daughter is keeping her 10 year old out of school that week (since she experienced this problem the following week last year) and my grandson is 3. I promise all of you that these children will not misbehave in public (cause they know that I will personally throw them overboard if they do) Vacation or not, children will behave as expected by their parents.

Hmmm could be that I have gotten a little carried away here but it really makes me angry...How about saying to these kids "I'll bet your mom would be so proud if she saw you urinating in the ash trays...your dad too" That just might help them to stop and think.

[KeystoneCruiser]

Hmmm could be that I have gotten a little carried away here but it really makes me angry...How about saying to these kids "I'll bet your mom would be so proud if she saw you urinating in the ash trays...your dad too" That just might help them to stop and think.

 

 

You know I just had a thought... if they were indeed urinating in the ash trays, wouldn't that involve public indecency in order to do the act? The last time I checked public indecency and urinating in public was against the law. So basically these kids are violating the law and NCL is letting them get away with it. I also seem to remember that if a minor is arrested for a crime, then the parents must accompany the child to court. So even if the parents "were on vacaction" then the courts still would hold them responsible for their children's action!

[mbisson]

You know I just had a thought... if they were indeed urinating in the ash trays,

 

Thank you for saying "if", I'm not convinced they did. And if someone did urinate in the ashtrays (or other inappropriate places) I wouldn't want to pass judgement on the teens, without proof they were the ones. I've seen some adults drunk enough on ships that they could possible do something like that as well.

 

jmo

 

-Monte

[KeystoneCruiser]

Thank you for saying "if", I'm not convinced they did. And if someone did urinate in the ashtrays (or other inappropriate places) I wouldn't want to pass judgement on the teens, without proof they were the ones. I've seen some adults drunk enough on ships that they could possible do something like that as well.

 

jmo

 

-Monte

 

 

The way it sounded in the original post, I thought the person actually witnessed that nasty act of urinating in the ashtrays. But you are right, if no one actually saw who did it, then I don't think you could claim it was teens. Drunken adults have been known to do such things.

 

Of course that was the point of my post, if someone did physically witness the urinating, THEN it would be public indecency not to mention a violation of numerous health codes.

[steveaaaa]

I was on this cruise also and I had my 2 teenagers with me.I did see some out of control kids,but nothing more than any other cruise.

I actually had more trouble with some adults.I almost got into a fight on the last night or second to last night.I was in the spinaker lounge and one couple decided to dance all over the whole floor and I mean all of it.He and his wife bumped into us during a slow song as they twirled and twirled around the floor.Next time we had a word or two and he smiled and stayed away from us the rest of the evening. Smart man! Another issue was a large group of people either from Norway or Germany.They spoke little or no english and were a problem in the show lounge and other area's.

Steve

[theonlyjoie]

As Coka pointed out, there are security cameras ALL OVER the ship. (I was on the same cruise.) Surely the elevator areas are covered. I am surprised that act of urinating into ashtrays by the elevator wasn't noticed by anyone monitoring the cameras. Then again, perhaps they are only checked periodically and this behavior eluded detection.

[Farmerlaine]

We were on the Jewel the week before Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. I think they said there was a grand total of 120 kids that week, and upon talking to one of the teenagers, there were only 5 or 6 of them. They were all well behaved, it was mostly some adults that were a bit of a problem. Apparently the main dining rooms must not take the resort casual dress too seriously, as there were lots of people in jeans. Maybe it's a generation thing, but being in my early 30's I think that everyone should throw on a pair of khakis and a polo shirt for dinner, especially out of respect for those people who dress to the nines, and it was mostly people younger and around the same age as myself that had no regard for the dresscode. The other problem I had was the outright rudeness of alot of people to the waitstaff. I was embarassed to be sitting at the next table! Maybe Canadians are overly friendly, I dunno, but a thank you goes a long way. And definitely the parents should be held accountable for their kids behaviour, but in international waters, where do you draw the line between a teenager and an adult? Is 18 an adult? 17? There should definitely be a few regulations about teenagers. And definitely avoid school holidays! And everyone make sure that we aren't having this same discussion over your kids in the future. I'm glad we left our 4 year old at home...

 

Over all,we didn't have a problem with kids or drunks or staff. It was a great time, and I can't wait to do it again in a couple of years. Although our flights to and from were a nightmare, anything booked with or through NCL was wonderful!

 

Elaine

[Rafaella]

You should not stop parenting just because you are on vacation. My daughter will be eighteen on this cruise and I will still keep a close eye on her at all times.

That is the ANSWER!

Totally!

[chasetf]

As Coka pointed out, there are security cameras ALL OVER the ship. (I was on the same cruise.) Surely the elevator areas are covered. I am surprised that act of urinating into ashtrays by the elevator wasn't noticed by anyone monitoring the cameras. Then again, perhaps they are only checked periodically and this behavior eluded detection.

Those cameras are not monitored... They had that guy on camera that went overboard, but nobody was watching.....

 

If it was me, I would have taken my camera out and taken his picture. At least the offender would have known it was documented. My flash is pretty bright.. :D

 

This just reinforces me to not (never ever) sail when there will be a boat full of kids.

[Cosmopolitan]

Those cameras are not monitored... They had that guy on camera that went overboard, but nobody was watching.....

 

If it was me, I would have taken my camera out and taken his picture. At least the offender would have known it was documented. My flash is pretty bright.. :D

 

This just reinforces me to not (never ever) sail when there will be a boat full of kids.

 

All of the cameras can't be monitored at the same time.

 

Aren't they taped? At least, per cruise:confused:

[coka]

yes, the cameras are monitored...not sure if someone's watching them 24/7 but they are recorded up to a certain number of days. Their system looked 100x times better than my place of employment's system...and I can go back and check 10 days prior. The important component is to have a report. Was the alleged urine (could it have been a spilled drink) in the ashtray reported?

Coka