Could this be the problem with children on a ship?

[mcgore83]

Many people complain about the behavior of children on a ship. I have never personally been bothered by them at all, however, I wonder if the reason for the behavior is that ships are too confined for smaller children. We never considered taking our children when they were young, because we anticipated boredom.

 

I have very active athletic children, daughter plays 2 sports, son, three. When they were younger, they always wanted to run, jump, play, etc. They really enjoyed vacations to amusement parks, beaches, etc., because they could be as active as the wanted. Even at the resorts, there are playgrounds, pools, etc.

 

I wonder if the misbehavior of some children is simply the result of boredom? They are limited to pool areas, they can't go to the gym, they are not welcomed to participate on the sports deck. The activities in the children's camps are great, but they are not conducive to physical activities. And how in the world can you keep them confined in the small cabins?

 

When I see a kid running down the halls of a ship, or jumping in the pool, I am not offended, only wondering if they are just trying to get rid of some energy. I am not advocating rude or offensive behavior in any way, just wondering how other parents feel about this?

[BlueHerons]

Bored kids on a cruise ship?

 

No. If anything, they are worn out by too much to do.

[nrdsb4]

I think you may have a point that some behavior exhibited by children is the result of boredom. However, it is the parents' responsibility to either keep them occupied or correct misbehavior. Sadly, some parents refuse to supervise their children and this is when problems occur.

 

I, like you, have never witnessed any notable bad behavior by children. I've also never seen any obnoxious, drunk adults on a cruise either, so maybe I've just been lucky.:)

[dutchiegirl6]

I think you have a point with some children. I know when I was a child, I was always physically active and never wanted to sit or stay in one place too long. However, I also think some parents don't discipline their children enough and come up with excuses (it's their vacation too) not to keep them under control. I think the new Fantasy class ships with the added water park and minigolf will be great for children. Heck, they even look like fun to me! :)

[crusinmama06]

Nope NOT bored at all. My kids are physically exerted into exhaustion by the end of the night. They are asleep before their heads hit the pillow.

 

The camps are very physical. Many of the games are physical. Then they have dance parties/talent shows and scavenger hunts.

 

Boredom is just not an option on a cruise. And as far as "keeping them in a little cabin"...many families book suites so they can put the kids to bed and head out to the balcony. So I can't say the kids are stuck in a "small cabin"

[lrizit]

Ditto. My two were DONE by the end of the night! There was so much going on for them My son did the late night party one night, was up and running around with Camp Carnival until 3 am...then slept until almost noon the next day!

 

And we are one of those that book the suite. Just had the cat 12 on the Fascination. They snoozed while we listened to the breeze.

 

There wasn't one single second when they were bored.

[PelicanBill]

Actually I have a little bit of agreement on the need for more active areas for kids. Too many days I found the camp programs were not very active... maybe only an hour or two of active play. But if you look carefully you will see lots of kids who are quiet and well behaved. They just don't stand out like the obnoxious ones.

 

Whenever I see obnoxious kids I look for the parents. Either the parents are part of the obnoxious behavior - included in and encouraging rough housing and rude behavior - or they are distant and ignoring it or not even there.

 

What I see is that a small but noticeable number of parents go on vacation and check out of parenting. They don't consider that their child tearing down the narrow hall as everyone is heading to dinner is an obnoxious behavior. They are too busy socializing at the pool to notice they are cannonballing into the pool next to others who don't appreciate it.

[Pegs222]

Children have never been a bother to my DH and I on any of our sailings. Perhaps because we always sail September when all of them are in school except for maybe the home schooled. Although there were over 100 children on our cruise to Hawaii, but I never saw them. Do they hide them in that place for children LOL?

[mcgore83]

I would also like to see more areas on ships that are "friendly" to physical activities for children. Maybe their own exercise court for basketball, volleyball, etc. The waterslides sound great!

 

I totally agree that every parent should always "parent their children". Taking a vacation- anywhere is not a vacation from parenting.

 

I just thinking that many kids would love to be more physically active on the ship. I seen too many "arts and crafts" in the children's club- NOTHING WRONG with crafts, I think they are great, my cup of tea, but for my children- they would rather play golf.

[crusinmama06]

 

I just thinking that many kids would love to be more physically active on the ship. I seen too many "arts and crafts" in the children's club- NOTHING WRONG with crafts, I think they are great, my cup of tea, but for my children- they would rather play golf.

 

Ya know, I had THIS problem on RCCL Freedom but not on Carnival for the younger kids. On RCCL Freedom I swear they made the kids sit for 3 hours straight doing crafts and science experiments. My 3 year old was ready to crack after day 1.

 

On Carnival, they have the "Exerseas" program built into Camp Carnival so there are physical activities during every session.

 

Now I say that NOW...I'll let you know how it goes when I get back next week. ;)

[yogimax]

The problem with kids on a ship are PARENTS who have no concept of discipline or responsibility.

[smrn]

My son falls asleep at the dinner table, and we have early dining! He loves Camp Carnival and it wears him out!

He loves a cruise as much as his parents!

[babyher]

I think you need to know your kids and what their interests are and plan accordingly.

 

 

We are taking our kids on their first cruise in april. DW and I already know it will eb a whole different experience then when the two of us travel alone or with our friends as we usually do.

 

First off our kids 19,16, and 15 by the time we go are extremely active. We will be planning the shore excursions accordingly, Jet skiing, swimming with stingrays, horseback riding etc.

 

If we start schlepiing them around museums, palaces and cathedrals and shopping malls , it will be one long miserable trip. *LOL*

[Yellow_Jacket]

Our family has been on a dozen cruises with kids as young as 7... not a problem. If your kids are heavily into sports stuff, Royal Carib. might be a better fit, but there is no problem with smaller kids being bored. And Camp Carnival is great... we had to drag the kids out! Help them plan a day of activities, show them the door, and tell them you'll see them at dinner (for 8 yrs and older, you don't have to sign them in and out of the CC activities).

 

Pick excursions of appropraite length and activity. Last fall, some jerks took small kids on the Panama Canal traverse, which was supposed to be seven hours and turned out to be the worst TWELVE hours of my life. I was ready to open a vein after about 9 or 10 hours, but the kids were wretches after about 4 hours.

 

And supervise your kids when you are with them.

[Rowan555]

My kids are 6 and 8 and are going on their 7th cruise next month. They love Camp Carnival and participate in it each day. In fact, they're usually extremely tired by 10 PM when we pick them up from the evening session (whereas at home they stay up until 11 or 12). When they're not at Camp Carnival they're playing mini golf, swimming, or walking around the ship with us. Between that and the Exerseas program, they get ample physical activity each day. And the port days spent at the beach tire them out too!

 

I don't think it's boredom/lack of physical activity so much as bad parenting that's the problem. We cruise when school is in session (we homeschool) because my kids dislike misbehaved children as much as we do. There are generally only 5 or 6 other kids in Camp Carnival at the same time as them, which they really prefer to throngs of children running wild. Even in the off season we encounter a few "bad apples" from little ones to teens, and the common trait among these kids is that we NEVER see them with a parent. It's like the parents board the ship, hand their kids their sail and sign cards and say "see you when we disembark next week!" What are they thinking?

 

Last cruise, I saw this one preteen kid several times a day throughout the week - each time he was alone, whether he was eating on the Lido Deck, swimming, or just wandering around. What kind of vacation is that? I'm sure the parents were living it up with drinks of the day somewhere on the ship while that poor kid just walked around, ate meals alone, and probably hung out in the room alone until all hours of the night. That same cruise there was a small group of teenagers who decided they'd have fun by running through the halls late at night removing the room service tags from people's doors. And I had been wondering why our breakfast wasn't showing up all week! Again, where are the parents?

[mamaskittles]

I think the kids we see amoking on cruises are the ones that are not enrolled in Camp Carnival. The ones whose parents feel their babies can do no wrong. The ones who are social misfits. These are the kids that do not play organized sports because they don't know how to lose. The ones that are not in girl or boy scouts because they resent authority. The ones who do not take music lessons or horseback riding lesson or lessons of any sort because they can not commit and get easily bored. They expect instant gratification because that its what mommy and daddy have given them. Unfortunately they will grow up to be the non-tipping, chair hogging, short wearing, foul mouthed staff berating, line jumping, buffet wasting cruiser of the future.:eek:

[wildsloth]

So kids are not allowed on the basketball or volleyball court? Our first cruise wil be next month and I was thinking it would be fun to play some ball each day with my kids 16 and 13. Is that not going to be an option due to their age?

[BlueJacketsFan1]

I would have never considered a cruise or any other vacation and not taken my kids. If you are a family than you should do family vacations. We always did the around the state family vacations with the kids. Now that they are grown, we can start doing cruises with just the two of us. I would never go away and leave my kids behind, not to mention leaving the country. But people today I guess are different. Just leave the kids with someone else to take care of, and go have fun. Family values are more important than any vacation.

[DreadPirateRobert]

I wonder if the misbehavior of some children is simply the result of boredom?

 

No. It's the result of spineless parents who are afraid to establish and enforce rules for public behavior. Heaven forbid little Johnny or Suzy gets called out for poor behavior. Why it might damage their self esteem.

[buddyjo143]

I wonder if the reason for the behavior is that ships are too confined for smaller children.

 

I wonder if the misbehavior of some children is simply the result of boredom?

 

I don't mind a child running in the hall if they stop when they get near me; or running up the stairs. I do it to burn up some calories :p.

 

I think a lot of the misbehavior that is complained about is from the teens and tweens who are bored and don't want to participate in activities so they wander as gangs and elevator surf and sit in stairwells in large groups.

 

These are the behaviors that bother me, not a 2 to 7 year old running up the stairs. ;)

[truecruiser]

i honestly think my kids cld live on a cruise ship and be happy forever. the only potential problem wld be missing their friends after a while, LOL.

[2 rednecks]

From what your saying the kids/teens programs have gotten better. I remember when I was younger 13ish my dad took me on my first cruise 3 day bahama's on the Fantasy, and unfortunately there were 8 people on board between the ages of 12-18. The "camp" was hyped up to me by dad but in reality it was bad really really bad. The staff seemed forced to deal with us and unless we were in port the most fun i had was counting the hours that went by before this one really heavy gentleman got out of his chair. Or just riding around in one of the elevators talking to random people.

[mcgore83]

I would have never considered a cruise or any other vacation and not taken my kids. If you are a family than you should do family vacations. We always did the around the state family vacations with the kids. Now that they are grown, we can start doing cruises with just the two of us. I would never go away and leave my kids behind, not to mention leaving the country. But people today I guess are different. Just leave the kids with someone else to take care of, and go have fun. Family values are more important than any vacation.

 

Forgive me, I do not want to be rude to you. My children have taken vacations WITHOUT me! My daughter went overseas with her classmates and had a great time, my son just returned from a sports related trip this summer and had a great time. My children have taken family trips with friends, just as we have invited their friends to travel with us. We have taken many vacations with our immediate family, our extended family, and friends. If anyone feels left behind, sometimes it's me!

[Darlipoo]

The problem with kids on a ship are PARENTS who have no concept of discipline or responsibility.

Amen, amen, amen!!!!! I swear on the Elation in June that one little group that made things rough were kids that were dumped out of their cabin at 8:00 a.m. and told not to come back until dinner time. I actually felt sorry for them at times (NOT when they were messing up the elevators though :-( ) I blame the parents far more than I blame the kids.

[cruise crazy mick]

I would have never considered a cruise or any other vacation and not taken my kids. If you are a family than you should do family vacations. We always did the around the state family vacations with the kids. Now that they are grown, we can start doing cruises with just the two of us. I would never go away and leave my kids behind, not to mention leaving the country. But people today I guess are different. Just leave the kids with someone else to take care of, and go have fun. Family values are more important than any vacation.

i am with you 100%.going on vacation without your children ,to me is like eating the cake in front of the children and saying you cant have any of this .is it any wonder the kids are angry with selfish parents .i feel bad enough having to kennel our dogs ,and honestley i would take them too if i could ,we have a great family cruise .but are always saying , i wonder how the dogs are .when our kids are grown up i doubt if cruising will be the same,for us