Parents: Read This About Kid's Program

[kitty9]

I just wanted to post this to parents to let them know what can happen with kids and the kid's program. I just finished reading one of the leading cruise magazines ( don't think I can say which magazine), and in their Ombudsman section, there was a letter from a mother who was totally incensed over an incident on a cruise ship concerning her 6 year old daughter. Unfortunately, this magazine doesn't publish the names of the ships in this portion of the magazine, but it really doesn't matter because this could happen on any cruise ship. Here's the story: The parents took their daughter to the kid's center and signed whatever papers you're required to sign. They also signed something making it clear that they, the parents, were the only ones allowed to sign their daughter out of the program. One day, early in the cruise, the mother went to the kid's room only to find her daughter missing. No one on the staff could remember where the girl was. After some frantic searching, they discovered their daughter was signed out of the program by the babysitter of another kid's club patron. They found their daughter playing with her new friend outside of the kid's club. The parents were furious and let it be known during and after the cruise how horrible they thought this incident was. After many months, the cruise line offered them a very small amount for a future cruise, as compensation.

 

Let this be a warning to all parents to make absolutely certain that the staff of the kid's club know who is allowed to sign out your child from the program.

 

I'm going to post this warning on the other family friendly boards.

[MERED1TH]

I think you should post your source, its not like its a secret.

 

I do not believe that this can happan on any ship.

 

On Carnival a 9 year old can sign themselves out at will, on Princess you are required to show picture ID to sign your own children out of the program, at 9 thay can sign out only if parents give permission.

 

In general a six year old should also know better than to go with a stranger, and parents should talk with thier children about the rules of who can pick them up.

[Lisa63]

This is precisely why we stopped using the kids' clubs on ships. No -- nothing like that ever happened to us, but we have a 10-year-old with developmental delays and under no circumstances do we want him to be able to sign himself out. It's getting harder as he gets older, as kids in his age group are able to do so. Fortunately, he likes hanging out with mom and dad, so that's what we do.

[kitty9]

Mered1th, there's absolutely no reason why I would post something like this for it to be fabricated or untrue. Porthole Magazine has an Ombudsman section where people go for answers when they have experienced a cruising problem, and this is where the information came from. Bad things happen to kids every day, so why are you so skeptical? If you still don't believe, go over to the RCCI board and read about how poorly their program was staffed--so poorly that a 3or 4 year old left the room without anyone noticing and walked by himself to the pool area. Another parent saw this and stopped the child before something bad happened.

[Lib0007]

When we cruised Carnival a year ago with our then 3 year old, we had to show ID (DL, I think?) every time we picked him up - even to get in the door. And, the parent who signed him in was the only person who could pick him up - so if I took him in, even my husband couldn't pick him up (was a pain, but I understood and respected the policy).

 

This was the only cruiseline that I've utilized the child care services and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I'm sailing on NCL in 3 months and hope their kids program is as good.

[cruisinqt]

I am pretty certain that this did not happen on a Carnival ship. They are extremely cautious and vigilant in their kids programs. Not only do you have to show your ID when you check the kids out of the kids program. But they also compare the signatures.:)

 

On one particular cruise that was off season and had only a small handful of children, we saw firtsthand how strict they were. My sister-in-law and I always came together to get our children. We were on a first name basis with the counselors. Everyone knew who we were and that we were family. So when she showed up one day to pick up all of the kids without me, they said no. She could pick up her own kids, but not mine. In order for her to pick them up, I had to put her on the list of who was authorized to pick up our kids. And they had to see me personally put this in writing and sign and date it. I wasn't angry either. I was glad to know that my children were guarded so closely.:D

 

I have found that after many cruises with my children, these kids programs put a lot of strict safety guidelines into effect.:) They wont' even let you into the area without first seeing your ID. Even then, no one is allowed past the front desk. And when the child comes out, they compare your signatures before they let you go. Being a parent that has done quite a few cruises with their children, I honestly believe that these are ISOLATED incidents.

 

The cruise lines can't afford for a child to get lost or hurt while under their care in the kids programs. It would destroy their reputations and hurt their sales very badly because lots of families with kids cruise and use these kids programs. They do everything in their power to make sure that the kids are safe. They hire college educated professionals to watch the kids and institute very strict guidelines. But sometimes accidents can and do happen. It could happen anywhere, even at school or the daycare center. But we shouldn't live in constant fear and worry.

 

Please don't make your kids miss out on the fun they are sure to have in the kids program because of a few ISOLATED incidents. If these kids programs were really that bad, we would be sure to hear about it all over these boards.My kids still have the rubber balls they made while in the kids program on their last cruise.:) They sleep on the pillow cases they painted while on that same cruise. And if I were to tell them that they could no longer use the kids program while crusing, they would probably start crying. It's a great place for them to make new friends and do lots of fun stuff. It's all they talk about now that our next cruise is only a couple of months away.:D

[HOSKI]

On Carnival you can request that your older children not be able to sign themselves out. Also, I have used this program for 4 years and 6 cruises and safety has always been a high priority. The check I.D.& signatures. I'm not saying things can not happen but there are very good cruise childrens' programs out there.

[serene56]

On both Royal and Carnival the person who signs them in are the only one who was allowed to take their child out...with a photo id.

 

Isnt that still the case?

[cruisinqt]

Usually, at the beginning of the cruise when you register, you put down the names of those who are allowed to pick up your child. But in order to do that you have to prove that you are the legal parents, and show all of your ID's including your cruise ID card. Sometimes I picked up my kids, and sometimes my husband picked up the kids. But I have always found the cruises I went on to be pretty strict in regards to who picked up the kids.:)

[42trvl]

We've been on Celebrity twice and were very impressed with how careful they are in the kid's program. The door to the kid's area was always closed and at least one if not more staff sit right at the entrance to ensure that noone wanders in or out. My own mom, even though her name was on the form I had filled out, couldn't get my son because I had forgotten to give her the password. And my daughter was at the age where with parent's permission she could sign herself out, but they made sure that they always got our permission. I was extremely pleased with how seriously the kid's staff took their responsibility and have to say that the supervision was even better than many "land-based" programs our kids have been through over the years.

[fkwok]

Last year when we picked up our 6 yo from the kids program, I signed her out, they checked my signature AND she had to recognize me. (No picture ID requested b/c most of us only carried our key cards with us.) I would have been in deep trouble if she decided to stay and play with her friends and not want to come with us. LOL.

 

Seriously, the staff are very vigilant about who is allowed to pick up kids though instances like the one described do happen. If it did happen the way it was described, then someone should have been disciplined or perhaps fired for allowing that to happen. We don't know the whole story and what we do know is from someone reporting it from a magazine who got their information from the aggrieved parent. How do we know the person who wrote the letter actually told the whole truth? Maybe she/he wrote it to build a case for a lawsuit leaving out some relevant information about their own culpability?

 

I would investigate the incident further before I would render judgement. IMHO.

[cruisinqt]

Well said Fkwok, I agree wholeheartedly!;) We have to remember that we are only hearing one side to the story. There is always another side to it. And the other side isn't here to defend themselves. All we are hearing is the side of the very upset, emotionally charged parent. Not to mention the reporter who wrote the story and might want to dramatize it or sensationalize it. And since several CCers have posted very pleasant experiences with the kids programs on their cruises, one must conclude that this is an isolated incident and not the norm for kids programs. I have read TONS of reviews and stories like these are EXTREMELY rare. Believe me, I've been on a number of cruises with my children and the cruise lines have always been VERY strict in their security measures with the children.:) For newbies out there, don't get too afraid after reading the above story and bail out. Go to the kids area, talk to the counselors and check it out. I would at least talk to them before I made a decision to not go there. I would hate for the kids to miss out on all of the fun in the kids program just because of one bad story.

[cruisinfamily]

I am really not surprised that this happened. Let me first say that we have had OUTSTANDING experiences with RCI's Adventure Ocean and haven't hesitated to use it, but let's face it - when you leave your child with another human being - and several of them at that - you just never know for sure. Accidents happen, things get hectic and mistakes get made. It doesn't make it right, and it doesn't make it acceptable, but things do happen. I like that on RCI we've been able to say whether or not we allow our child to sign themselves out, but even that really doesn't guarantee that a mistake won't be made and that our oldest wouldn't be able to sign themselves out because a counselor "thought that she really WAS allowed to do so". In my opinion, the first thing that needs to happen is a good talk with the child, letting she/he know that the *only* way they are to leave the club for any reason is with YOU, unless of an absolute necessity - like an alarm or something where they are to go to their muster stations. My kids both know what is and is not acceptable - and leaving Adventure Ocean is NOT OK unless they are with their Dad or I. I also think it's an excellent time to remind them about going off with a stranger - or even going off alone with a counselor - although I feel fairly confident in the background checks that RCI does, I've learned you just can't ever be certain in this day and age. There's just no reason a counselor should be taking a child out of the Adventure Ocean area unless the parent knows in advance or unless there is a severe emergency - like they are bleeding profusely or something. It's a definite and valid concern these days.

[MMsteffey]

We sailed the Star Princess this summer and only the person who signed the kids in could sign them out, after showing photo ID. Even at day 11 of a 12 day cruise when we were on a first name basis. Even if the person attempting to pick them up was the other parent. Princess has their security in order.

[dianelevene]

We took our two young daughters on a Costa cruise last spring. It is not a line with a huge kids program. My girls loved the kids activities there though. Anyhow, every time we signed our girls out, we had to show photo id. Even when they came running up to us yelling, "Mommy, Daddy!" the supervisors had us show our id. There were about twenty kids on the ship who participated in the program so they did get to know us but we were still required to show id. I felt like my kids were safe all the time. They took the kids on outings to the sports courts and to a couple of other places but they always had two way radios and there was always an adult left in the kids rooms to direct the parents to where the kids were. They also always gave us a printed schedule so we knew what activities were and at what time and where we could find the kids in case they were outside. Twice during the evenings they took the kids to see the show in the large lounge. My husband and I ended up sitting near them and we were very impressed with how warm and careful and caring they were with all the kids. I felt like my kids were safer there than they were at the summer day camp I signed them up for. There were certainly a larger number of adults watching the kids on the cruise than there were at the summer day camp. Our next cruise is on Royal Caribbean and I hope that my girls have as much fun as they did last spring.

[Quincella]

We just returned today from the NCL Spirit and can't say enough good things about the Kid's Club. The youth counselors were great, the programs were fun (per my 8-year-old) and we never questioned the security. We didn't have to show ID once they knew us (and they did...by name after the first time we dropped off our 2 and 8-year olds), but I did see them ask for ID when they didn't recognize parents, especially if they didn't use the program much.

 

The counselors were actually fighting over who got to be with our little one because she's so funny and such a snuggler (their words...not mine). We were issued a pager for the 2-year old and they contacted us not only when she needed a diaper, but also if they thought she wasn't acting like herself. We really were never concerned, even for a minute, for either child.

 

It's really unfortunate what happened to the little girl and her parents in the first post of the thread. No excuses, and I can't believe how poorly the cruise line handled it. However, there are risks everywhere...even at your child's school. If you think about how many people use these programs and how few incidents occur (that we know of), I'm quite comfortable with the odds. You can't be with them all the time. Do your research, make the best decision you can and enjoy your cruise. And your life, for that matter.

[merela]

We sailed the Star Princess this summer and only the person who signed the kids in could sign them out, after showing photo ID. Even at day 11 of a 12 day cruise when we were on a first name basis. Even if the person attempting to pick them up was the other parent. Princess has their security in order.

 

This is true for our 2 Princess cruises. On the first day of signup, I had to write down the names (and room numbers) of everyone who can sign out my DD. They demand that we show a photo ID card (like a driver's license or passport) when we pick up our child.

 

I believe they are very careful about who signs out the kids. Who can afford a lawsuit this magnitude these days (not to mention the bad publicity)?

 

I feel very secure and safe leaving my child in the care of Princess kids' program staff.