Kids and Sea Pass Cards

Going on our third cruise, but the first one for our kids, ages 12 and 9. (Royal Caribbean Indep of Seas)

Do they give them sea pass cards with lanyards, or should I bring them? How do your kids (and parents, for that matter!) carry these cards?

Are they allowed to come/go from the kids clubs as they wish?

How do you communicate with your kids- do they have walkie talkies available, or do you just wing it?

Any other advice? I'm sure the kids will stick with us for awhile, but they'll want to explore on their own a bit...not sure how I feel about that, given they are so young.

Thanks!

AO does (or did) give lanyards but if your sailing doesn't you can always purchase them in the gift shop.

We deactivate the spending account on the cards. There is nothing that my kids need to buy without us.

For the tween group (the 12 year old) - there is no signing in and out. They come and go as they please. For the 9 year old - you can choose to have signing in/out privileges.

Here is how we do this. My girls have been on over a dozen cruises. They know these ships better than I do in some cases. But that doesn't mean that I allow them to roam freely.

When they go to AO - I walk them there. When it's time to leave AO - I come and meet them. I keep their schedules and we have predetermined meeting times.

I also do frequent walk bys just in case if they want to leave early - which so far on an RCI ship - has never happened.

If they are having a teen swimming pool party - then yes - I am walking past the teen swimming pool party ;) And from what I witnessed in the hot tubs at the teen pool party - some other parents *should* get their backsides out of the casino and check on what their kids are doing in the hot tubs :eek:

The ship is a small city - if you don't allow your children to walk through a city unattended - then you wouldn't feel comfortable allowing them to walk around a ship unattended. :)

Unless they are going to be off on their own, YOU should keep their cards. It will be needed to get off and on the ship. If they are on their own, they will need the card to get in the cabin. Lanyards for kids is an option.

Going on our third cruise, but the first one for our kids, ages 12 and 9. (Royal Caribbean Indep of Seas)

 

Do they give them sea pass cards with lanyards, or should I bring them? How do your kids (and parents, for that matter!) carry these cards?

 

Are they allowed to come/go from the kids clubs as they wish?

 

How do you communicate with your kids- do they have walkie talkies available, or do you just wing it?

 

Any other advice? I'm sure the kids will stick with us for awhile, but they'll want to explore on their own a bit...not sure how I feel about that, given they are so young.

 

Thanks!

A few cruises ago when our daughter was 8, I still kept her cruise card with me. If she wanted to buy something, she would have to have one of us come with her. I didn't sign her up for in/out sign out status, so she would have to wait for me to sign her out.

The last two cruises she was 13 and 15. I signed her up for the teen club (Remix on Princess), but she met other teens on the first night to hang out with. They might meet up there, but would often spend time at the pool, watching MUTS, or go see the shows. When she was 13, she eat breakfast with us and go out in port with us, but otherwise it was her time to spend as she wanted. Last month, one of her friends from that other cruise was on this cruise too, so that worked out nicely. Another girl and three boys joined their group. She actually eat more with us by her choice.

Our communication system was using a notepad in the room (sometimes my hubby would tape a note to the outside of our cabin door), and often she would write a reply as to where she was headed). On our ship, there were phone all over that you can use to leave a message on your in-cabin phone, and I think many passengers used that system.

Certainly if you have a teen, go over all the rules (don't go in someone's cabin, watch your drinks carefully to make sure someone doesn't put a drug in it, etc.). As for children under 13, I wouldn't feel comfortable with them being at loose on the ship. Use the kids' programs so they can hang with other kids and not be bored and so that you can have adult time.