Have you left your kids on board while in port?

We are taking our kiddos with us on the Freedom this May. I heard that the kids can stay on the boat while in port...has anyone done this? How do they get ahold of you in case of emergency?

Unless both groups have cell phones there is no way to contact each other.

We have done it.

There is no emergency contact method but it was about our 5th-6th time in Cozumel and our son was much more interested in kids club that touring Cozumel once more.

So we left him in kids club and enjoyed a couple of the bars for a couple of hours and then came back and checked on him.

I would definitely not recommend it until you know your child is happy in the club but if he/she is, i dont see it as any different from sending them to school for a couple of hours.

Been cruising with our kids for 15-20 years and we have done it a few times. We went on a few cruise ship excursions while one or two of the kids were in camp. Left all 3 if we were on foot but never stayed long or took any chance we could miss the ship.

The kids knew where we were going and left a note with one of the kids saying our plans. As teenagers my kids frequently stayed on the ship at ports they have been to 15 times already.....

Yep!!! Our son loves the kids club, it has never been an issue, the staff encourages it, and there is usually a lot of kids up there. Don't let the negative people in here discourage you, cause its about to happen, I guarantee!!!!

Yes, there are several ports that I just did not feel comfortable bringing my youngest with me or even both of them. I have not done an excursion yet where I left them on the ship, mostly in Belize I went into the port area and then in La Romana I went downtown to shop (thank goodness I didn't bring them).

This next trip on the Allure I was thinking about taking an excursion in Jamaica and leaving DD 6 on the ship but I think now that we all will just stay back and enjoy the ship activities since I don't want to be gone the entire day without them. The kids love being on the ship and in the kids clubs and my oldest DD always wants to stay back especially if there is a scavenger hunt or something going on.

Also, oldest DD has a cell phone that we leave on (without data) for emergencies and then we get the data plan so she can use either FB messenger or imessage to keep in contact with me or if I am off the ship she can send a text or call in an emergency (and can I have some icecream doesn't count)

FYI - you will get a number of responses saying how "horrible" this is to leave your kids. Ignore them.

The answer is yes. The Adventure Ocean staff on Freedom are AMAZING. We just cruised in October with our 4 year old. She had an amazing time. Some days - even at sea - she preferred to stay in the kids club. There are procedures in place in case of an emergency.

They will not be able to get in touch with you in many ports because of limited cell phone capability. However, the kids are kept in Adventure Ocean, fed lunch in the Windjammer (completely chaperoned and supervised by the staff,) and returned to the club until a specified person (or persons) returns to pick them up.

Enjoy your cruise and remember - your kids MIGHT have a better time in Adventure Ocean than they would on an "educational" excursion.

I'd be afraid of missing the ship and then having to hear about how much fun the kids had without me.

I'd be afraid of missing the ship and then having to hear about how much fun the kids had without me.

^^^THIS^^^

More than anything when I'm on vacation I don't want to miss out(my DS 19 calls it FOMO Fear Of Missing Out) and if my kids didn't want to go I wouldn't make them. BUT if they wanted to hang with us or were still unsettled at AO they absolutely could come.

We are taking our kiddos with us on the Freedom this May. I heard that the kids can stay on the boat while in port...has anyone done this? How do they get ahold of you in case of emergency?

Several years ago, we cruised with our daughter and 10 month old granddaughter while her hubby was in Afganistan. Our daughter really wanted to try swimming with dolphins and we wanted to try Dunn's River Falls. We left our granddaughter in the ship's child care while we did Dunn's River, and returned to grab her and then on to a beach/BBQ excursion. It was well worth the fee to have some child-free moments to tour, and give our daughter a much deserved time out.

FYI - you will get a number of responses saying how "horrible" this is to leave your kids. Ignore them.

 

The answer is yes. The Adventure Ocean staff on Freedom are AMAZING. We just cruised in October with our 4 year old. She had an amazing time. Some days - even at sea - she preferred to stay in the kids club. There are procedures in place in case of an emergency.

 

They will not be able to get in touch with you in many ports because of limited cell phone capability. However, the kids are kept in Adventure Ocean, fed lunch in the Windjammer (completely chaperoned and supervised by the staff,) and returned to the club until a specified person (or persons) returns to pick them up.

 

Enjoy your cruise and remember - your kids MIGHT have a better time in Adventure Ocean than they would on an "educational" excursion.

Great to know! The twins will be 3 1/2 and we'd like to take their big brother to go on a 'big kid' excursion....

Great to know! The twins will be 3 1/2 and we'd like to take their big brother to go on a 'big kid' excursion....

When you are bored and want to read more about this, wonder over to this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2290004&highlight=kids+port

Cell phones do work in many ports. If I left my kids I'd just have them call me for emergencies.

I'd not leave them by themselves on board since they are teenagers and I'd be tempted to let the ship sail without my wife and I. do you think it would be suspicious disembarking with a full suitcase?

When they were younger (until about 6) I insisted the whole family go into port together. I would worry about missing the ship, or something happening to us in port or the kid's not being happy at the kid's club. I figured better to stay together.

Now my kids are 8 and 9, and I let it be their choice. Not as paranoid anymore, I guess. I tend not to go far though, I just shop in the immediate area. I've never taken an excursion without my kids and I honestly can't see myself doing it in the future.

I've never taken an excursion without my kids and I honestly can't see myself doing it in the future.

Wait till they get to be about 15......

do you think it would be suspicious disembarking with a full suitcase?

Just take enough to get back home - the kids will miss you, eventually.

Just take enough to get back home - the kids will miss you, eventually.

At allowance time probably.

My (4) kids are grown and I have a couple of grandkids, with whom I've never cruised, so I'm no expert about cruising with children.

But, that having been said, I would have no more fear of leaving them in the kid's club than I would at school or preschool or with a sitter at home.

I'm not all that old, but our parents would shoo us outdoors in the morning to wander the woods and neighborhood all day, and, when we were a bit older, to even bike to the next town over to go horseback riding or just because, just for the ride. "Be home by dinner!"

I would certainly feel more comfortable leaving them on board if I were sticking near to the ship or on a ship's excursion vs a far flung independent tour. While missing the ship is a possibility, it really is a fairly rare occurance. I'm pretty sure the cruise line has contingency plans should, gawd forbid, an emergency of any sort come up.

The real question is can I stay on the ship while my daughter (11) goes shopping. I don't know how many more straw markets I can take. When she was 4 5 and 6 we occasionally left her on the ship because she loved AO. If you cruise a lot your kids will grow bored of AO. They are wonderful and I love the staff but the activities are about the same on every cruise. Even pirate night gets old after a while. She has captured the same captain on two different ships. Now at 11, if we leave her on the ship, she would kill us. She would probably adjust the time zone on our phones so we would miss the ship just to show us who is boss.

She would probably adjust the time zone on our phones so we would miss the ship just to show us who is boss.

Nice, you got a winner there. Wait till she's 15.:eek:

We always tried to plan things our two children would enjoy doing in ports.

I would not have been worried about leaving either with the "kids program" and did once at a port stop where there was nothing they wanted to do. ;)

Nice, you got a winner there. Wait till she's 15.:eek:

She's the bonus baby, been there done that, gawd why are we doing it again. Next oldest is 22. Older ones are jealous because she had her passport at 2 months and first cruise at 4 months before they made the minimum age 6 months.

We are taking our kiddos with us on the Freedom this May. I heard that the kids can stay on the boat while in port...has anyone done this? How do they get ahold of you in case of emergency?

Yes, I have done this. My daughters were 5 and 6 and at our stop in Mexico we did this. My kids did the kids club and loved it. No problems and no issues at all. We were doing a Tulum excursion and I knew it would be too hot for them to be walking around the ruins all day.

Yes, I have done this. My daughters were 5 and 6 and at our stop in Mexico we did this. My kids did the kids club and loved it. No problems and no issues at all. We were doing a Tulum excursion and I knew it would be too hot for them to be walking around the ruins all day.

awesome! Thank you for sharing.