taking 3 yo to mexico port vs. leaving in kids club on ship?

[scorben]

Has anyone left their child in the kids club while going on a shore excursion?

Our girl is in preschool 3 days per week which she loves, and she has a nanny 15 hours per week so she is used to being in supervised environments without her parents there. She's traveled to Hawaii 2X where we had a local nanny watch her so we could do snorkel trips etc. We also take her to Napa Valley about 4-5X per year since we are only 40 min south of the region. We also have a local sitter in Napa who watches her while we go tasting.

 

We're doing a western caribbean cruise on Solstice in Feb. and I've learned it is possible to have your child onboard the ship while the parents in port. I'm not sure how I feel about this since this will be our first time sailing with our child who is 31/2. I suppose the whole mexico violence and kidnapping thing freaks me out, though Im sure we will be fine. I'd want to leave her on the ship while we are in Cozumel.

 

Does anyone have experience doing this?

 

Thanks!

[backyardponder]

Cozumel is very, very safe. I wouldn't worry about taking her off the ship. There's a nice national park not far from the cruise pier to which you can take a taxi.

 

Tourism is the economy of Cozumel. The locals aren't going to let anything happen there.

[scapino]

If you're so afraid about kidnapping, why would you leave your child on board?? If you ever got kidnapped, she's without parents.

 

Cozumel is SUPER safe. Take her and let her experiance. I took my grandchild when he was 2 (4 now) and he remembers alot about ports of call and we talk about it often.

[Char]

What would bother me would be the possibility of something happening that would delay your return to the ship so that it sailed without you. Traffic or vehicle breakdown or even taking a tumble and breaking an arm could delay you long enough to miss the ship.

 

My advice is to either take her with you or stay onboard.

[dkjretired]

What would bother me would be the possibility of something happening that would delay your return to the ship so that it sailed without you. Traffic or vehicle breakdown or even taking a tumble and breaking an arm could delay you long enough to miss the ship.

 

My advice is to either take her with you or stay onboard.

 

I agree, we took our kids on numerous cruises and although they loved the children's programs, we never left them on board. You never know when something could happen, auto accident, etc. All it takes is once...If I was inclined to do it which I never would, I would definitely do a Celebrity sponsored shore excursion, better chance if something happens that I'm not going to miss the boat.

[lori450]

Many people take advantage of this option, so it is a safe option. Someone mentioned that you could be left behind. This is the one thing I have seen a ship wait/go back for. A child alone on the ship and a parent late to return. Since you have made arrangements for her on other occasions, my advice would be to withhold your decision until you have met and established a rapport with the onboard kids' club crew. Once you know the people who have been caring for your child, you will know what you want to do.

[junglejane]

my advice would be to withhold your decision until you have met and established a rapport with the onboard kids' club crew. Once you know the people who have been caring for your child, you will know what you want to do.

 

This is excellent advice. I have left our younger daughter in the kids club on prior cruises when she has begged me to do so because she would really prefer it. But only after I have met the youth staff and seen how they interact with her. It makes the decision much easier once you have seen how professional they are.

[mourhaan]

We have been cruising with our girls since they 1 and 3 years old....They love it. They are now 14 and 16 and been on over 30 cruises.They love Mexico .We only left them on the ship once because we wanted to do a day trip in Europe and they already been going for 10 days and wanted to just play..:)

[scorben]

I called Celebrity this afternoon to learn about their kids club, and apparently they have an "open house" the first day where you can go find out about how it works and meet who's working there etc. It seems like an excellent option for kids. I think my daughter will enjoy it since she loves preschool so much.

 

I think I will see how it goes the first few days w/ the kids club before we make a decision to leave her on board for a shore excursion. For some reason it seems like a much bigger risk pschologically to leave her on the ship while we go ashore vs. taking a snorkel trip on a boat in Hawaii while she stays at the hotel with a babysitter.

 

We will likely just take shore excursions to the beaches vs. more sightseeing oriented trips with her unless there is a zoo or aquarium to visit.

[kitty9]

I was on a cruise where two families who were cruising together left their kids on board while they went off on a tour. Well, they missed the ship and the kids were without their parents for two days, until they got to the next port. Not a good scenario, to say the least. If you were to leave the child on board, I would suggest taking a ship's tour. A ship would tend to wait for a late group from one of their tours than they would for passengers on a private tour.

[scorben]

We've only done ship tours in the past unless just wandering around on foot right off the dock.

[mjthecruiser]

Your daughter would love Chakanaab National Park in Cozumel. We were there last month. There is a dolphin encounter which the two year old in our group loved. There is also a sea lion show which was lots of fun and a very shallow beach and pool.

[jayoldschool]

There is a dolphin encounter which the two year old in our group loved.

 

Check out the documentary "The Cove". Important viewing for everyone that likes "dolphin encounters".

[phoenix_dream]

I was on a cruise where two families who were cruising together left their kids on board while they went off on a tour. Well, they missed the ship and the kids were without their parents for two days, until they got to the next port. Not a good scenario, to say the least. If you were to leave the child on board, I would suggest taking a ship's tour. A ship would tend to wait for a late group from one of their tours than they would for passengers on a private tour.

Yikes - that would be awful!

 

I agree about the ships tours, but would state it even more strongly. If a ship books the tour they don't just 'tend to wait', they absolutely will wait until all their shore excursion passengers are back. And even though the tours are run independently, they have a better chance of being able to contact the parents in an emergency than if the parents were just off on their own. I would certainly consider leaving my kids in the kids club (subject to getting to know the staff as has been stated) if I were just off the ship and walking around town planning to be back soon. I would feel my kids were 'safe' if I were on a ship's excursion and left them, but frankly I would be so anxious about them anyway that I doubt I would enjoy myself.

[lori450]

Your daughter would love Chakanaab National Park in Cozumel. We were there last month. There is a dolphin encounter which the two year old in our group loved. There is also a sea lion show which was lots of fun and a very shallow beach and pool.

 

I am not trying to put a monkey wrench into this, but just my personal experience ... my then 10year old son wanted to do the dolphin swim. when we got there and he got close to the dolphins, their size was overwhelming to him. (they are huge). Just a bit of info (BTW- he was not an easily frightened child)

[junglejane]

I agree about the ships tours, but would state it even more strongly. If a ship books the tour they don't just 'tend to wait', they absolutely will wait until all their shore excursion passengers are back.

 

That's not true and a common misconception. The ship will wait if possible for passengers who are on a delayed ship excursion. But sometimes weather or port requirements force the Captain to leave passengers behind. When that happens, the cruise line makes arrangements for the stranded passengers to catch back up to the ship, but that may not be until the next port. If you miss the ship and you're not on a ship excursion, then the port agent will help you make arrangements to catch up but it's all at your own expense.

[Gonzo70]

That's not true and a common misconception. The ship will wait if possible for passengers who are on a delayed ship excursion.

 

Correct. The ship is more likely to wait for a delayed ship booked excursion than someone off on their own (or doing a private excursion) but this is not a guarantee. There have been occasions where people on ship tours have been left behind when the tour ran late. Often the cruise line picks up the tab for additional expenses incurred when this happens, but this too is not a guarantee.

[jdvmd]

Many people take advantage of this option, so it is a safe option. Someone mentioned that you could be left behind. This is the one thing I have seen a ship wait/go back for. A child alone on the ship and a parent late to return. Since you have made arrangements for her on other occasions, my advice would be to withhold your decision until you have met and established a rapport with the onboard kids' club crew. Once you know the people who have been caring for your child, you will know what you want to do.

 

The ship will only wait if you are on a ship-sponsored excursion.

[kitty9]

The ship will only wait if you are on a ship-sponsored excursion.

 

NOT true. I've been on a number of cruises where the ship left passengers on ship tours. There are special circumstances, like tides, pilot availability and dock space where the ship must leave at the appointed time. They will make a concerted effort to stay for late ship tours, but they don't wait for those late from private tours.

 

Heck, just this past summer, a couple of ships had to leave San Juan early, leaving more than 500 passengers behind, when a tropical storm happened.

[gyanhumara]

I am not trying to put a monkey wrench into this, but just my personal experience ... my then 10year old son wanted to do the dolphin swim. when we got there and he got close to the dolphins, their size was overwhelming to him. (they are huge). Just a bit of info (BTW- he was not an easily frightened child)

 

My daughter was about that age when we booked (via a Carnival shore excursion) the "Dolphin Trainer For A Day" excursion at Puerto Vallarta, which included the swim session as well as talks about dolphin physiology, eating habits and, of course, training. She loved it so much that she now has her cap set toward being a Marine Biologist!

[phoenix_dream]

That's not true and a common misconception. The ship will wait if possible for passengers who are on a delayed ship excursion. But sometimes weather or port requirements force the Captain to leave passengers behind. When that happens, the cruise line makes arrangements for the stranded passengers to catch back up to the ship, but that may not be until the next port. If you miss the ship and you're not on a ship excursion, then the port agent will help you make arrangements to catch up but it's all at your own expense.

I stand corrected. There may in fact be exceptional circumstances that would require the ship to leave regardless. Hopefully these would be few and far between. It would certainly not be wise for someone to take a shore excursion without their children that lasted for most of the day and risked returning late. The ship would wait if it could, as opposed to individual excursions where you would be OYO.

[phoenix_dream]

Interesting, though - this is what the shore excursion terms and conditions states:

 

'If for any reason a ships excursion is delayed in its return to the pier, the ship will be notified and will await the tours return. "

 

This is apparently not always the case but it is no wonder that this is a 'common misconception'. When I read this I expect Celebrity to do what it says. They certainly expect the passengers to uphold their part of agreements:rolleyes:

[scorben]

The more I think about it, the less likely I would be inclined to leave my daughter on the ship while we go ashore. The only stop I was really considering it was Cozumel....so we could have 1 kid free day at the beach for snorkeling and for shopping/dining etc....but like the other mom said...I probably wouldn't enjoy it and be filled with anxiety and guilt.

 

If my daughter ends up loving the kids club...it may be difficult to persuade her to go to excursions, which may mean we completely center the excursions around her...so lots of wildlife viewing and beaches with little shopping or sight seeing. Not a bad plan for the caribbean anyway.

 

And I probably wouldn't pay in advance for her to encounter any large sea mammal like a dolphin. I think she would get freaked....but if she wanted to kiss the dolphin, we would probably pay for it on site if its an option.

 

What has everyone's experience been with the staff at kids club?

[ladylemondrop]

A lot of scare mongering here, we have left our kids on the ship and got off to walk around in Rhodes, on our own, no tour, and they were FINE.

 

I would wait until you are onboard, see how you and your daughter like the kids club, and then see how you feel - we have to drag our boys off the ship for tours, sometimes they are happier left to play.

[gyanhumara]

'If for any reason a ships excursion is delayed in its return to the pier, the ship will be notified and will await the tours return. "

 

This is apparently not always the case but it is no wonder that this is a 'common misconception'. When I read this I expect Celebrity to do what it says.

 

Note use of the term "will." In contracting parlance, this does not constitute a legally binding clause. Only if they had written "shall" in that instance would it make the clause an ironclad guarantee for passengers.

 

And, yes, I do have an undergraduate degree in (US) government contracting, coupled with many years' experience in fine-print reading, writing & rewriting! :cool:

 

BTW, when our daughter was 6, she preferred to stay aboard while we went on shore excursions. The only times we insisted she come with us were when we visited ports of particular interest from a family-history standpoint (St Petersburg, Russia, and Oslo, Norway). This was in the post-Sept.-11 era, but we felt very safe at those ports, and obviously we & our daughter were highly comfortable with the wonderful Kids' Club staff. We suffered no guilt or anxiety -- AND we did not have a tired & cranky six-year-old in tow.

 

The biggest issue I have observed is that parents tend to forget that their children (particularly the youngest ones) don't have the same stamina levels -- and certainly not the same interest levels -- as do the adults. If not managed carefully, said differences can lead to a certain lack of enjoyment for all concerned, including non-family observers.

 

I agree with a previous poster who recommended that you wait until you board and meet your Kids' Club staff to make any final decisions. You may just get that worry-free, guilt-free shopping trip after all!!