Parenting on a cruise

[new2cruising2008]

I know we're on vacation, but we'll still have to parent!

What do you do when your child has a melt-down?

Do you limit kids activities so you can have family time?

How do you limit spending?

How do you prepare your child for the cruise experience?

What do you do when kids center offers an activity you don't approve of? (like the slumber party til 3:30am on Carnival)

Any other situations I forgot?

Thanks.

[crusinmama06]

My kids are younger (2 and 7), so I don't have to limit spending right now because I don't authorize any charges on their passes.

 

If I don't approve of an activity - you mentioned the "slumber party"...you don't need to allow your kids to be there until 3:30. That would be YOUR choice. I pick up my kids my 11pm (sometimes 10:30pm). That's late enough for them. And I ask for a pager to be paged if they want to come out earlier (never happens)

 

If my child has a melt down, I try to get her to a secluded area. If it's in the dining room (which has never happened thank God) then I would go to the cabin. Unfortunaly, it seems like the only place my toddler ever has melt downs is on a tender boat or something. :rolleyes:

 

I don't limit kid activities. We look at the activities and discuss what they want to do. Then I take them with me on all port days. And out of the club to go swimming on board.

 

I show my kids pictures of the ship, the ports, the pools and our cabin before we go. I get them all excited. My 2 year old is going on her 4th cruise in August, my 7 year old her 5th...they love it. :D

[crusinmama06]

Oh and I do remember ONE activity that I said absolutly not to when my oldest was 2 and on an NCL ship...they had a ship's "tour" with the 2 year olds. I said :eek: NO WAY. All I could picture was my child breaking away from the pack and falling overboard. I know, my imagination was working overtime. So I went and picked her up before that activity.

[Luxuriate]

Unfortunately, I haven't been on a cruise with my son yet so I don't have too much to offer. I really look forward to the responses though.

 

Cheryl

[Sale Away]

You didn't indicate the ages of your kids. That would make a difference.

 

Luckily, we've never had any melt-downs. DD's been too excited to ever have a melt down. This will be her 5th cruise (4th that she can actually remember!). I did the same thing as Michelle with the pictures of the ship, the ports, etc. and getting her really excited about going. She's actually so darned jaded now about it that when I showed her photos of what our cabin this year will be like, all she could say was "Uh huh. Ok. Great, Mom..." :p

 

Activity times in the kids's areas are usually in 3 hour blocks. You'll get a list of the next day's activities, including the kids clubs, the night before so you can always discuss what they will and won't attend that next day. The cruise line might be able to give you a list of the activities before you sail so you know what to look forward to (or not!). They often have theme nights for the kids (country western, pirate, etc.) Some families that are repeat sailors on the same itinerary will bring costume appropriate clothing for the younger kids so they really feel part of the theme. I sure as heck wouldn't leave my kid at a slumber party till 3am! The latest she ever stayed was till around 11 and that was when I showed up at 10:30 and waited around a while. She typically doesn't want to stay much later than that in any case and prefers to sleep in "her" own bed in the cabin.

 

We go on all shore excursions together and of course have time all together at the pool and for meals. We always find that we have enough family time as well as alone time on a cruise. :)

 

As for spending, I don't authorize charges to my daughter's card. There isn't much on the onboard shops that she typically wants in any case. And we're in port together so I don't allow her to carry cash. We do discuss a limit as to how much she can "spend" buying souvenirs on any trip well before the trip starts so she understands what her limits are.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My girl was 23 months, 3 yrs, and 4 yrs on her Carnival cruises so if there was a slumber party back then, it wasn't for her age group. So how do they handle getting the kids back to the parents...or are the parents expected to show up at the kids area at that early hour? I would think if you're against a specific activity, it's your call whether your child will participate or not.

 

What I like about Princess is that the kids' program packet is in the cabin when you first check in. It has each day's activities and times (subject to change, of course). We used to let her stay past 10pm for the kidsitting every once in a while, but she didn't want to do that on her last cruise (at age 8).

[Warmer Climes]

No melt-downs- DD is 8 and was 7 for her first cruise.

 

Spending: I give each kid $100. They can spend it on the ship, in port or take it home.

 

Kids' Activities: DD LOVES all activities and goes to each block. We do shore excursions and eat dinner as a family. When we pick her up at lunchtime, we eat and then either hit the pool or play games. Something kids like. Mt 16 y.o. refuses to do teen activities but has fun anyway.

 

Preparation: My DD packs about a month before the cruise and studies the ship intensely on the cruiseline website.

 

Barb

[crusinmama06]

My girl was 23 months' date=' 3 yrs, and 4 yrs on her Carnival cruises so if there was a slumber party back then, it wasn't for her age group. So how do they handle getting the kids back to the parents...or are the parents expected to show up at the kids area at that early hour? I would think if you're against a specific activity, it's your call whether your child will participate or not.

.[/quote']

 

The slumber party is now available for the 2-5 year old group and up. I never heard about the delivering the children. That's a new one to me. I had to go pick up my daughters when I thought was an appropriate time, between 10:30 and 11pm. And I still got the "Oh come on mommmmm can't we stay" whine. :rolleyes:

[Cruise Arizona]

My kids are 9 & 10 and we have been on two cruises with them, once when they were 7 & 9, and last year when they were 8 & 10.

 

Meal times are family times. We eat all our meals together. On sea days we look a both dailies and decided what we want to do together and what we want to do separately. We usually find a nice balance between kids activities, family activities, and grown up activities.

 

Cruise Experience Preparations was very important.

 

I'd look through the cruise boards here and read all the complaints about misbehaving kids and made a list of things to do and not to do.

 

No running.

Be respectful of older people.

Be patient with older people.

Be careful about sanitation in the buffet (I actually usually end up serving them and making sure they don't touch food.)

Remember to wash hands a lot, use the hand sanitizer right before dining.

No running ever on a cruise ship.

Always be the last one on the elevator, and the last one off, heck don't even take the elevator.

Don't splash grown-ups in the pool.

 

There more of these things, all you have to do it look at the boards and see what people report about poorly behaved kids. In most cases I think its not the kids, as much as inattentive parents.

 

Finally, we have practice runs for etiquette. I rented a video called "Look Mom I have good manners." We go out to dinner and practice our "Cruise ship manners". We practice proper ordering, taking small bites, cutting our food right, sitting through the meal, napkin in the lap. Please and thank you. These are all good things to practice anyway, but it sure makes it fun and motivates them to do well when they know that the reward is getting to go on a cruise.

 

Then once on board you remind them every minute that they are expected to be on their best behavior or next year Mom and Dad are going to Tahiti by themselves.

[rebeccalouise]

I can't imagine your child having a meltdown on a cruise. But pace the activities.

 

Prior to the cruise, explain to the kids that it will be a crowded ship and that they don't allow running because there are older passenger, etc.

 

Also, make it clear that they will not be allowed to stay in the kids program if they are disrespectful to the staff or the other children.

 

Make sure that they take naps or have downtime. I make my son rest for two hours each afternoon and he is not allowed to go to the Kids Program if he doesn't.

 

If you child is anything like mine, you won't see much of them because they love the youth programs.

 

I discourage video games because I think they over stimulate the kids and most are very violent- whatever happened to Tetris, PacMac and Donkey Kong!

 

Have a wonderful cruise. I am sure it will be. Most kids love cruises.

[Onessa]

I've never considered parenting work - so I don't go on vacation from it! :D

 

DD is now 11YO. She's been travelling with us since she was only a few weeks old - cars, planes, trains, ships, (helicopters, subways, dogsleds, bicycles . . . ) Sometimes we take her cousin with as well (also now 11YO).

 

We have a set spending limit. She usually has an idea of what she wants before we leave (for example - a statue of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, was her only real wish when we did an Italian cruise when she was not quite 5 - that's what she told me two weeks before we left!). She has a soda card on board and otherwise does not charge anything to her sea pass. She flat out knows that she would have to 'own up' to anything (arcade charges, fru-fru drinks, etc.) that she charges and that it would not be pleasant!

 

She never goes ANYwhere alone. If her cousin is with us, they can go from point a to point b if either my DH or I approve and that they must stay together at ALL times. If DD is 'alone' on the cruise, she does not have authroity to sign herself out of the kids program and if she is with a friend that she met on board may go somewhere with that child with an ok from one of us and that she must go where they said that they were going (she knows we will check up on her). No going into anyone else's room under any circumstances.

 

We've never had a meltdown on any of the cruises we've gone on. But there have been a few times when I could tell one was near. The closest she came was once in the kids program on RCCI, but counselor "Dizzy Darren" saw it coming and found her a nice quiet corner in which to pull herself together. He took us aside when we came to check up on her, and we gave her the option of coming back to the cabin with us - she did and the two of us watched a DVD and chilled for about an hour and then she was fine.

 

Know your kids. Make certain that they know what is expected of them. Follow through - if you said that they wouldn't be able to go to the kids club that evening if they did not finish their homework, make certain that you don't give in and let them go even if they didn't.

[bmgaritty]

I know we're on vacation, but we'll still have to parent! Wonderful, it's great to see someone who knows its a 24/7 job

 

What do you do when your child has a melt-down? You don't specify age - at 3.5 I can tell and avoid them so as to not bother other passengers and put her on the straight and narrow. She hasn't had one a cruise. Know and pay attention - you sound like a parent who does parent - good luck!

Do you limit kids activities so you can have family time? Always!! Good idea..

How do you limit spending? At 3.5 - we don't have to worry about anyone but me - but I can only buy so many t-shirts!

How do you prepare your child for the cruise experience? Pictures from previous cruises - I make comparisons to other experiences - ie pre-school, etc

What do you do when kids center offers an activity you don't approve of? (like the slumber party til 3:30am on Carnival). I don't sail Carnival, not my cup of tea. 3:30 Am slumber party - Unless your child is 10 or older (even at that age I would be wary in a strange environment with people I didn't know)I would not approve. Too many variables.

Any other situations I forgot?

Manners - no running or yelling down hallways, elevator etiquette, quiet in the staterooms, no splashing other people in the pools, please thank ,you

Thanks.

 

It really depends on the age.... care to let us know?

[rebeccalouise]

The first night, when you sign up for the kids program, they will give your child a room key holder that they can wear around their neck. Every member of the family should have one. It is great because I (for one) don't have many clothes with pockets. So you always know where your card is.

 

I know parents are worried about their kids on cruises but my son has roamed the ship freely since he was eight. He is a polite kid, had his map of the ship and knew where to go if he needed help. He has been on six cruises and the staff is caring and helpful. I know I might feel differently if I had a daughter but honestly the staff isn't going to lure a child into an engine room or something. There are too many people and staff members around for something like this to happen.

 

Cruising is a safe way to travel. Don't have to be hypervigilant with kids over the age of 8.