Child discrimination on cruise ships

[murphyjl]

Has anyone noticed how the older generation view children on cruise ships? These snobs seem to want to have a right dig at children at any opportunity. I shared a table this year and they all seemed to love nothing more than having a right good moan about children. Anyone else noticed this attitude? The staff on the other hand seem to love children. Wonder why that is?

[jonathansburden]

I don't know, but I'm getting sick of having to defend myself and my decision to bring my 7mo on the ship over on the Carnival board. People can be downright mean! I just hope I don't have this problem on the ship. I doubt if my hubby and dad will be able to keep their mouths shut or civil!!

[6rugrats]

Has anyone noticed how the older generation view children on cruise ships? These snobs seem to want to have a right dig at children at any opportunity. I shared a table this year and they all seemed to love nothing more than having a right good moan about children. Anyone else noticed this attitude? The staff on the other hand seem to love children. Wonder why that is?

 

The "Snobs" complain about children because they have to complain about something and it prevents them from examining the fact that their own behavior may be a bit lacking. Also, they were "perfect children", they raised "perfect children" and they just cannot understand what is wrong with everyone else.

 

The staff love children because they come from a culture that values children more highly than does ours. They also are away from their own children for so long, they seem to really enjoy interacting with the children on a cruise.

 

If you are stuck with child haters, perhaps you should bring up some examples of badly behaved adults you have noticed? It shouldn't take much to think of some stories!

[cruisekenny]

I don't know, but I'm getting sick of having to defend myself and my decision to bring my 7mo on the ship over on the Carnival board. People can be downright mean! I just hope I don't have this problem on the ship. I doubt if my hubby and dad will be able to keep their mouths shut or civil!!

 

Understandable, but I wouldn't worry about them. I was reading their postings too, for a while, since we will be bringing our 9-month-old on our first family cruise in January. At first I was surprised and then amused and then bored.

 

For those who complained on the board about inconsiderate parents, I figured if you aren't an inconsiderate parent, then those comments don't apply to you.

 

To those who said that your baby will probably get the Norovirus or something like that, the statistcal odds are better for you to win the Powerball than for that to happen. It's not like they can't pick that up at daycare or visiting Nana at the retirement home but no one is telling you not to take your baby to those places. Odd. And in the worst-case scenario, that's what Travel Insurance is for.

 

And finally, to those who said that bringing a baby on a cruise will ruin your vacation because you will have to "work" and not be able to "party" they may have a point...if crawling out from under a 20-foot hangover every morning is what their idea of vacationing is. My husband and I backpacked for the first few years of our marriage and have climbed Kilimanjaro and all kinds of things like that. To me, that was work. Taking a land-border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia is work...trust me. Definitely fun, but work all the same. Spending time taking care of my daughter and relaxing with my husband in an environment where people are taking care of us is not work to me. That's a vacation and I look forward to every minute of it.

 

Go and have fun!

[Baxter]

I never understand the "work" comment. Spending time with my kids is not work. Trying to manage the house while home with my kids is work. Since someone on a cruise is cleaning up our stateroom, cooking and doing the dishes, any work from my life has been eliminated.

 

We cruised both pre-kids and with kids. And I get far more rest on cruises with my kids. Admittedly that might be a function of mid-day naps, and early bedtimes but we thoroughly enjoy it.

[Kerry's Girls]

I've never encountered this problem on any of my five cruises with tots, but we've never shared a dining table with others. On one cruise when we showed up the first night (me and my twin 2 year olds), we were assigned a table with an older couple. I asked them what they had done to the maitre 'd to get assigned a table with toddlers, and assured them that I would not be at all offended if they asked to be moved. When I was cruising with my husband, I wouldn't have wanted to sit with children either (but I certainly would have been polite about it and just requested to be moved). Even when we have breakfast or lunch in the dining room, I always request to be seated on our own, and we are always taken care of.

 

Before my first cruise with my babies, I was also uneasy because of comments I read on the main boards, but I have never received anything but smiles, friendly conversation, and lots of assistance with holding elevators, etc. from my fellow passengers on board. You'll have a great time.

 

Best,

Mia

[Jajone]

Understandable, but I wouldn't worry about them. I was reading their postings too, for a while, since we will be bringing our 9-month-old on our first family cruise in January. At first I was surprised and then amused and then bored.

 

For those who complained on the board about inconsiderate parents, I figured if you aren't an inconsiderate parent, then those comments don't apply to you.

 

To those who said that your baby will probably get the Norovirus or something like that, the statistcal odds are better for you to win the Powerball than for that to happen. It's not like they can't pick that up at daycare or visiting Nana at the retirement home but no one is telling you not to take your baby to those places. Odd. And in the worst-case scenario, that's what Travel Insurance is for.

 

And finally, to those who said that bringing a baby on a cruise will ruin your vacation because you will have to "work" and not be able to "party" they may have a point...if crawling out from under a 20-foot hangover every morning is what their idea of vacationing is. My husband and I backpacked for the first few years of our marriage and have climbed Kilimanjaro and all kinds of things like that. To me, that was work. Taking a land-border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia is work...trust me. Definitely fun, but work all the same. Spending time taking care of my daughter and relaxing with my husband in an environment where people are taking care of us is not work to me. That's a vacation and I look forward to every minute of it.

 

Go and have fun!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was having the same feelings recently and was actually considering changing our vacation. My children are used to traveling with us and I enjoy taking them, but the others on the Carnival board are soooo outspoken about us not ruining their vacation and up front with telling families to use another cruise line. Glad to hear this is maybe the minority and we'll be ok.

[rebeccalouise]

There are many retirees on these boards and many older individuals with too much free time on their hands!

 

As for the older set, including my parents, they aren't interested in child friendly trips anymore. Most of them are looking for smaller, intimate surroundings sans youth programs, etc.

 

So for all of those in this camp- I suggest they pick a cruise line like Oceania.

 

Carnival and Royal Caribbean bill themselves as child friendly cruises- so for those that don't enjoy kids- they should pick another line.

 

I have cruised now on all the mainstream lines and have not noticed mis-behaved kids and have not been greeted with scowls on any of my cruises.

 

Relax and have fun- the vast majority of cruisers are child friendlly! And yes, the staff adores kids. They like them much better than the complaining, rude adults.

[crusinmama06]

I don't know, but I'm getting sick of having to defend myself and my decision to bring my 7mo on the ship over on the Carnival board. People can be downright mean! I just hope I don't have this problem on the ship. I doubt if my hubby and dad will be able to keep their mouths shut or civil!!

 

Oh the Carnival board has been downright nasty over there recently. Giving out the cabin number of a father who said he was going to put his child in a diaper in the pool. :eek:

 

No I don't agree that the child should be in the pool, but posting the person's cabin number and telling people on his roll call to s**t on his lounge chair and to post notes on his cabin door. :eek: The mods stepped in and ended the thread...thank God. When CC crosses into actual harrassment in real life, that's frightening. :(

 

I have been trying to pop over to the Carnival boards and direct parents over here. No one deserves the kind of junk that some of those people over there are spewing. :rolleyes:

 

The RCCL boards used to be the same a couple of years ago, luckily since we have such a strong presence on that board, most of the posters have been pretty nice about children being on board.

 

So if anyone sees some outright nasty threads, either report it to the mods, ignore it, or post the link over here and some of us can give some REAL life experience for parents cruising with kids.

[crusinmama06]

Carnival and Royal Caribbean bill themselves as child friendly cruises- so for those that don't enjoy kids- they should pick another line.

 

That was exactly my point the other day at the Carnival board. Someone was asking about taking a baby on Sensation, which for $139pp, you better believe that you are going to get lots of kids on that ship.

 

Yet the Carnival board posters were freaking out saying the kid should stay home, he'll get Noro, blah blah blah. :rolleyes: Oh and MY personal favorite, that the parents should take the kid to Disney or to an All Inclusive. :rolleyes:

 

There were ADULTS on Sensation that shouldn't have been allowed out of the house, let alone on a cruise ship. If I ever saw cruise illiterates, it was on THAT ship. So the Carnival board should worry more about the adults on Sensation than the kids on Sensation. :rolleyes:

[Crusin6]

We have done several cruises with our 4 daughters and we have loved them all! Europe, Disney, Canada. Any questions, ask away, I remember all the little details that you may want to know about cruising with kids and am thrilled to share.

 

See ya and Merry Christmas:)

[wrp96]

I don't have kids but I love seeing well-behaved kids on cruises. Their joy and excitement at experiencing new things is infectious. Misbehaving kids (just like misbehaving adults) can go elsewhere IMO. But rarely have I seen misbehaving kids on cruises.

 

I think part of the problem is there is a small percentage of parents, just like there are a small percentage of total cruisers, that get the "It's my vacation and I'll do whatever I want" attitude and once you've encountered someone like that, especially if you aren't a parent of a child, it is unfortunately easy to tar all parents with that same brush.

 

Too many adults have forgotten the joy of children and have forgotten that there are responsible, loving parents out there that deserve to have a great vacation with their family.

[cb at sea]

While I've never been bothered by kids on cruises (after all, I'm not taking care of them!!) I would prefer not to have to have dinner with them--simply because we enjoy adult conversation, and with children, you really have to watch what you are saying! We book late seating, so kids aren't that much in evidence.

 

Most cruiselines keep the kids busy---they don't seem to be bothering anyone!

[Keith1010]

On the most part, we never had fellow passenger complaining when we took our children on cruises. Our chilren started sailing with us when they were five and nine respectively and are now young adults. People are peope so we understand that there are some who do not appreciate children but by and large our fellow passengers were great with the children.

 

Keith

[TupeloHoney]

I've read a lot of negative posts about kids on ships, but didn't experience any negativity at all towards our son last March (he was 3 mos). Everyone was so sweet. We never heard anything about how cute and sweet he was. And lots of people tried to help if I was sturggling with the stroller or what have you. Now i'm sure there were plenty who thought bad things, but they kept their mouths shut. So it was fine! ;)

 

Oh, and I should add - all of our cruises have been with my nephew too - he's 11 now. And we've never heard anything negative said about him either. Although I would have been less likely to notice that.

[stbmom]

Other than posting a quick review on the Carnival board - I have decided its not the board for me. Our experience on our recent cruise was in no way a reflection of many of the people on the board. Please, don't worry about it. I was a little nervous as well, but most people were wonderful and we had no bad experiences.

Our dining table had just our family (8 in total), but even those sitting around us were wonderful. I think many people on the boards don't realize their "beloved" cruise line (whichever it might be) is changing and "they" are no longer the target market for the line. They want the line to be like the good old days without realizing the line has move on. With the main cruise lines building bigger and bigger ships - they are expecting families and want families. The old guard is probably having a hard time realizing they aren't the prized customer the lines are trying to capture - its families.

It's really funny - the Carnival (and in the past RCCL) folks all talked about maybe I shouldn't cruise with my kids or cruising wasn't for children or families. However, the cruise lines have dedicated a LOT more space for families than for the intimate, wanting to relax with no other signs of life individuals. I would never post to them that "they" should probably pick another cruise line, but I definitely think the major cruise carriers are saying that!

With all the money Carnival earned from me with my kids (building bears, buying gifts, buying pictures) I'm sure they LOVE seeing families!

[wrangler4u]

About 4 years ago on X I did get a couple of nasty comments from some elderly folks when we were with our 18 month old twins. We were doing nothing but passing in the hall. So I attributed it to just a few nasty passengers, who would be rude to just about anyone. (Later I did see the same fellow with his pants unbuttoned after dinner one night:eek:.) So go figure.

 

You will notice on the boards that there are a lot of people who are great as well as some not so greats. So far the good ones out weigh bad ones, so keep posting and asking questions. Your cruise will be awesome! Just remember to avoid those who can be ritcheously annoying! There are always going to be the people who are complaining about something, ie. kids, food, temperature, ship movement, weather, towels, chairs, pillows, etc.

[sunandseagirl617]

Do not fret, OP!! From what I can see, the cruise lines are doing everything in their power to attract families!!!! I was just about to give up on Princess and presto, on their new ship, Ruby, they have a whole dedicated out door area for yup, kids!!!!!:p;):D

 

I have seen such a change in all of the major cruise lines and a lot of them are doing whatever they can to attract families so the 'children' are going to be cruising for a long time to come!! I'm so grateful, too! Cruising is in our budget and on our dance cards for many years to come!! My DD and DS will be diamond before they are 18! I hope to go on many cruises with them in my 50's, 60's, 70's and as long as I am living!;)

[CruisenLexie]

Maybe some of the older people's comments occur because they cannot believe someone so young is on a cruise and that goes for adults and kids. My grandmother believed a baby never left the house until he or she was baptized. My mother would have never taken a baby to a mall. She still freaks when she sees a few month old baby in the mall. That is how they were raised and that is how they raised their children. My mother did not go on a cruise until she was 66. My parents would have NEVER spent money on a cruise and certainly not for children. My point is most older folks have an entirely different frame of reference and that should not make them snobs or child haters. Just as they need to tolerate you and your children you need to tolerate them. To tell them to go on Oceanina is like them telling you to go on Disney cruise ships.

 

We have been on 8 or 9 cruises and I don't remember seeing bad children. Come to think of it I don't even remember seeing alot of kids. We usually go in Feb or March so we are not traveling during times when there are alot of children. When we did the Mediterranean a few years ago in July we had ALOT of kids. We were on Celebrity and had NO problems. We enjoyed watching some of the little ones.

 

So go on your cruises, bring the kiddies and grandma and enjoy the time while you have it :)

[jonathansburden]

It's so good to read all of these responses! Even though I'm not the op, I've been so stressed about bringing Caden on the ship, I thought everyone would hate us! I think I'm taking a break from the Carnival board for a while!!

[SteveY]

My oldest DD is now 3yo and have been on 5 cruises and never did we run into anyone rude or hating children. We actually get stopped way too much from people wanting to say 'hi' or comment about her. We just came back from a cruise couple of weeks ago with our 11mos DD as well (her first cruise) and didn't have any problems at all. We had people literally stop us and tell us they finally met the little asian girl that everyone is talking about on the ship.

 

My suggestion is to enjoy your well deserved vacation with your family and not worry about comments on boards like these. People here only represent a small fraction of the cruisers on the ships. And as others have mentioned, some are just bitter and only like to complain cuz they have nothing better to do.

 

Happy cruising!

[murphyjl]

I think the the mindset is "those families are stealing our holiday". Perhaps some of the older generation view the cruise as their haven.

 

Anyway my annual holiday for the last few years has been a 2 week cruise. My sons are now aged 4&5. I think it is the perfect holiday for us as everything is done for you and makes things easier when you have babies to look after. I was on ventura this year and i,ve got to say that the PO crowd love a good moan. You would have thought they were on a prison ship the way some of them went on. Just because you can afford something does,nt give you the right to be ungrateful.Too many children, boat too big etc. I actually was standing beside two ladies at the buffet who were having a right good moan about my son crying. They did,nt know i was his dad, the rubbish that came from them was incredible.

 

If you have young children go on a cruise you will all love it.

[Dr_DNA]

We had a great experience with our 3 year old on what I would call an "older generation" cruise (to Canada in Sept/Oct). There were very few kids (I think 30 total on the Explorer!) and we didn't have a single "run in" with the other passengers. In fact, many were extremely nice to our son and many in fact knew his name by the end of the cruise. We shared a table with an older couple and they were fantastic to our son. In fact, they complained the night that we let him go to Johnny Rockets to eat dinner with the oither kids in AO. Many times, people think things but never act on those thoughts. The anonymity of the boards allow them to say their thoughts without any repercussions. Many use that to say things that they would never say if they had their face or name attached to their comment. I seriously doubt that you'll have any problems.

[Drew B]

I personally wouldn't take a kid who was too young to participate in the youth program (Camp Carnival or whatever it is on another line). However, I wouldn't fault other parents who did. I just came back from a back-to-back. Week one (Thanksgiving) had over 800 kids. Week two had only around 200 kids. Funnily enough, I barely noticed a difference, because most of those kids spent the bulk of their time in camp and didn't bother anybody. That's why I don't get why people are SO SURE that the presence of a lot of kids will ruin their trip...

 

Now, I was travelling with 3 nieces and a nephew, aged 3-6, and I could understand why they would generate some complaints. They were often badly behaved in the dining room (mostly breakfast and lunch) and wouldn't stay seated. They were also underfoot a lot in the hallways -- what is it about kids that age that they cannot understand that when somebody is walking towards them, they should take a step to the left or the right? Still, this is more our fault as the adults, and for most of the time, they were out of sight at Camp Carnival.

[kitty9]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was having the same feelings recently and was actually considering changing our vacation. My children are used to traveling with us and I enjoy taking them, but the others on the Carnival board are soooo outspoken about us not ruining their vacation and up front with telling families to use another cruise line. Glad to hear this is maybe the minority and we'll be ok.

 

 

You know, this just doesn't make sense to me. I mean, after all, Carnival is MARKETED as a family cruise line, so who on earth would have the cojones to make nasty comments about kids on a cruise line that's specifically made for kids and families? Sorry, it just doesn't make sense to me. If the complainers know that Carnival is a family fun ship, why do they bother booking on Carnival? It's their problem, not the people with kids.