Do you give your kids the run of the ship?

[SRQfireman]

Here's another thought....how many "bad guys" would spend money (how ever little it could be) to go on a cruise to take advantage of somebody??

They could go to the mall or wherever for "free"

I'm still not saying it couldn't happen.....because it could. I'm pointing that chances are lower on a ship than darn near everywhere I can think of.

I've read cruise bruise dot com in the past, so I know things happen.....just not the same %'s as on land

[yes!yes!yes!]

i think this thread is going a bit off topic. i thought most people are abused by someone they know. relatives, coaches, teachers etc

with regards to how much freedom you allow your child onboard is a decision only the parents can make, depending on the childs age, maturity and the parents paranoia.

[Classynfun1]

Here's another thought....how many "bad guys" would spend money (how ever little it could be) to go on a cruise to take advantage of somebody??

They could go to the mall or wherever for "free"

I'm still not saying it couldn't happen.....because it could. I'm pointing that chances are lower on a ship than darn near everywhere I can think of.

I've read cruise bruise dot com in the past, so I know things happen.....just not the same %'s as on land

 

 

Um, A LOT! If someone is a registered sex offender, they will be given an order to NOT go to, or within, a certain distance of areas frequented by children and families. However, once they leave that juristiction, ie, say a cruise ship in international waters, the order isn't in effect. Hence, they cannot be arrested/charged for just being there as they could a shopping mall, park, school, day care center, etc. These types of criminals are much more intelligent and advanced than we would like to think.

[mommaof 3]

I understand what you are saying but I don't really agree. If you don't want your teen leaving the teen area without you, you just need to set that as one of your ground rules. Just because the cruise line permits it doesn't mean that you have to.

 

My kids all have sea passes and the cruise line allows them to charge. However, our rule (and it is the most extreme I've seen) is that they are to charge nothing...not one red cent....without our specific approval. We buy them the soda card. For us it has worked out beautifully for others it would be too strict.

 

I guess my point is that the cruise ships have set a pretty low standard for child and parental behavior. If the cruise lines said kids under 16 should not be without a parent I think a lot of the problems people are complaining about would cease. Not all, because some parents are clearly just not choosing to see bad behavior, but a lot of the nonsense would cease I'd guess. Do any parents think their kid would knock on doors and run? Or make a mess in the Windjammer? If they did would they leave them alone? I'd like to think it's naivete and not just pretending like they are always good. Who do all these misbehaving children belong to?

[Dorie7]

Mine were PERFECT!!

 

I guess nobody owns the misbehaving ones....:p

[Finbar127]

Here's another thought....how many "bad guys" would spend money (how ever little it could be) to go on a cruise to take advantage of somebody??

They could go to the mall or wherever for "free"

I'm still not saying it couldn't happen.....because it could. I'm pointing that chances are lower on a ship than darn near everywhere I can think of.

I've read cruise bruise dot com in the past, so I know things happen.....just not the same %'s as on land

 

Other than the crimes that they commit, these people are no different than anyone else. They have families, jobs and go on vacations including cruises. Although they may not go on a cruise specifically to commit a crime, if the opportunity presents itself they may take advantage of it.

[SPacificbound]

Here's another thought....how many "bad guys" would spend money (how ever little it could be) to go on a cruise to take advantage of somebody??

They could go to the mall or wherever for "free"

I'm still not saying it couldn't happen.....because it could. I'm pointing that chances are lower on a ship than darn near everywhere I can think of.

I've read cruise bruise dot com in the past, so I know things happen.....just not the same %'s as on land

 

You seem to be implying that "bad guys" are all low income or cheapskates. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to predators.

[disneyfan68]

It depends more on the parents vs. trusting kids. We just sailed freedom with our kids (son week shy of 13 and daughter 10.5). They had no interest in the kid or teen clubs. My son felt too young for his (he is shy) and my daughter too mature for hers. I chalk it up to old ages.

 

When by the main pool, we allowed them to go to the Flowrider and watch or participate. A few nights we went to the casino for an hour and they went to the arcade. They stayed together and met us at casino when money was gone (usually too quick for my liking). They did all ports with us, ate dinner in main dining room each night and went to shows, bingo, etc. we had fun spending our time as a family together.

 

Do I trust them - mostly. It's a large ship and with no way to really communicate like usual (text) I would be nervous. At home we text. We go camping each year and am fine letting them bike around but I can reach them.

 

We never went back to the cabin earlier than 11pm. It would have been nice to go to the club or bar and let them stay in the cabin, but I'm afraid they will kill each other :)

 

Our next cruise they will be 14 and 12 so in same age group. They may like it more then.

[disneyfan68]

Here's another thought....how many "bad guys" would spend money (how ever little it could be) to go on a cruise to take advantage of somebody??

They could go to the mall or wherever for "free"

I'm still not saying it couldn't happen.....because it could. I'm pointing that chances are lower on a ship than darn near everywhere I can think of.

I've read cruise bruise dot com in the past, so I know things happen.....just not the same %'s as on land

 

In addition to passengers is staff. Just too many people I don't know. There have cases of alleged rape on ships by staff so you really never know.

[mommaof 3]

Here's another thought....how many "bad guys" would spend money (how ever little it could be) to go on a cruise to take advantage of somebody??

They could go to the mall or wherever for "free"

I'm still not saying it couldn't happen.....because it could. I'm pointing that chances are lower on a ship than darn near everywhere I can think of.

I've read cruise bruise dot com in the past, so I know things happen.....just not the same %'s as on land

 

One thing you might want to consider...it is in the cruise ships best interest to keep these stats low. I worked on a college campus and there were a lot of crimes that went unreported because of the same reason. A student had to really insist on calling the police or the campus security would not report it.

 

This isn't really the main reason I keep my kids with me or in the kid/teen section, I'm more concerned about what trouble they could get into and it is a family vacation - we think on a family vacation we should be together the majority of the time. But, from experience stats are only as reliable as the reporter and the cruise line employees have a vested interest in this case.

[J & G]

At most resorts and hotels this is not the case, I tend to think they should be at least 14 to be unsupervised in any area of the ship.

 

I am very blessed and lucky to have raised two now-responsible and mature children (OK, they're in their late 30s to 40). I now have grandchildren and my opinion is that "children" should not have the run of anything or be unsupervised until they are 30......just my opinion!

[janazaz]

The irony to all of this is...**ALL** parents think they're kids were raised well and behave. Au Contraire, Mon Amie.

[TheBrowns]

Last year was our first cruise on freedom of the seas and we were lucky enough that 2 of the boys were still allowed in the kids club.. but this year all our kids are too old. we have bought walkie talkies for the cruise this year, so the kids can do what ever they want as long as they are togeather and they will have a time limit of checking in with us. Last year it was us that were being called over the loud speaker cause my kids couldnt find us and we had missed the check in time at the area we said we would be lol my elsest son was worried and went to the office.. :D

[Cruisin Moosy]

Ha ha ha!!! Good one!!!

[missyk55]

I don't have a child anymore. Mine is a grown 27 year old with a family. However, if I had taken him on a cruise when he was young, or if I ever take my twin grandbabies on one. I will not let them have the "run of the ship". My son was a good child and responsible, BUT it is not the child I worry about. It is adults that might put a child in a adult situation and the child may or may not know how to handle it. I chose not to put my child in one of those situations. Face it, there are people in this world that prey on children. I just would not take that chance. Now checking them into the kids club and checking them out might be ok. But I would have a firm understanding with the people supervising them that no one else is to check my children in/out. This is just my two cents!

 

Hope you and your children have a wonderful, safe time!!

[Finbar127]

we have bought walkie talkies for the cruise this year

 

 

Careful! The walkie talkie police will demand that you be thrown off the ship for that.

[bbbearden]

Careful! The walkie talkie police will demand that you be thrown off the ship for that.

 

Honest question here, and not trying to start anything, but are walkie talkies not allowed or is that they just annoy some people? We have never used them before because we stay together as a family, however I have known people who do and never thought that they would be against the rules. I appreciate and would be thankful for an answer.

[drarill]

O.K.....

#2.....which has not been mentioned yet....you guys mention about, "would you let them do that in a city?" ....well how many cities do you know that have a zillion cameras everywhere documenting what everybody is doing? **edited to say that the camera system probably covers most areas of the public areas, but 100%.....so there's a slight chance something could occur off camera (just to be realistic) **

How many cities do you know of where everybody in the city has their name and picture in a computer system??? soooooo......*if* something was to happen, it will be documented, and security will have a whole database in which to confirm who the bad guy is !! Depending on the situation/severity, I could see them looking "real hard" to find the bad guy!

With that being said, how many people (in their right mind) would take a chance of doing something "wrong" ??? Could your child be "attacked" ?

I'd be lying if I said they couldn't, but I'd like to think the chances of something serious happening in that environment would be ALOT less than in your average city.

So only you can decide if letting wander is a good thing.

Enjoy your cruise.

 

On the Equinox, my son left his keycard on the game room. Two teenagers used the money he already had on his card and added $50 and kept using the money until my son reported the lost card. When we realized that someone had added $50 to his card my DH went to guest services to report the incident. My husband was told that our son was probably lying to us, that this happens all the time. My husband told them that they didn't know our son and to please check the security videos. Two hours later we received a call with an apology. The video showed the two teens taking our son card, they were ID by the face recognition program and their parents were informed about what they did. We received another letter of apology the next day, with chocolate covered strawberries, and a gift card for my son to use on the game room

Our son was with a friend when this happened but as you can see he knew that he had to report the lost card to guest services and also told us. My son went with my husband to Guest Services and had to face being called a liar. It was a good learning experience for everyone, including the person that doubted our son's story.

[Hunwolf]

Honest question here, and not trying to start anything, but are walkie talkies not allowed or is that they just annoy some people? We have never used them before because we stay together as a family, however I have known people who do and never thought that they would be against the rules. I appreciate and would be thankful for an answer.

 

No they are not against the rules.

 

As long as you buy the ones with the programmable sub-channels and don't use a restricted one (the instructions will have a list) you will be fine.

 

They work pretty well if you get the better ones with the extensive channel list. Just don't abuse them in public areas. Some stiff folks don't like the distraction but they're usually the same folks who yap way too loud or are drunk when they're complaining.

[Hunwolf]

And to those that say nothing bad can happen on a cruise ship we had an armed security guard sitting in our hallway after the 3rd night of our most recent cruise and a guy was thrown off (once we hit the next port) for fighting and groping.

 

It happens.

[Lady Chew]

The irony to all of this is...**ALL** parents think they're kids were raised well and behave. Au Contraire, Mon Amie.

 

... "like" ...

[Finbar127]

Honest question here, and not trying to start anything, but are walkie talkies not allowed or is that they just annoy some people? We have never used them before because we stay together as a family, however I have known people who do and never thought that they would be against the rules. I appreciate and would be thankful for an answer.

 

They are allowed. Sometimes they even have them for sale in the ship stores. Some people here (not me) find them annoying and try their best to talk people out of using them.

[Mom.to.2]

My oldest will be 10 on our next cruise. She will be signed in and out of AO by a parent. She will not be allowed roam. She will not be staying in our cabin alone. I would let her walk to the frozen yogurt machine or hop in a hot tub by herself if I was up on the pool deck and staying with her younger sister (5 years old.) We don't leave DD10 home alone, let her walk around the mall by herself, or even walk to school by herself (0.4 miles.) Overprotective? Perhaps. But that's better than the opposite IMHO. It will be interesting to see what I allow my younger daughter to do when she is 10.

 

I can see where momma of_3 is coming from. I don't think she meant the cruise line should be responsible for kids wandering. But I have to say I was SHOCKED when the AO staff asked if I wanted to sign a waiver for my then 6 year old to sign herself out. What??? RCL allows kids in the 6-8 year old group to sign themselves out if a parent okays it? This past year when my DD was in the 9-11 yr old group, I had to fill out paperwork designating that she was a "parent sign out ONLY" and have a special stamp on her paperwork. Otherwise, RCL automatically allows 9-11 year olds to self sign out.

 

No kids here, but one experience on the Rhapsody still comes to mind with kids "wandering" the ship...group of kids, probably 11-15, about 4-6 of them up on the pool deck one night hanging out...and going looking for "leftover" drink glasses-like the ones where an adult has left a swallow or two in the bottom of the glass, set it down and left it...and they were drinking them!! :eek: One of the kids was bragging about getting drunk that way the night before, and all excited because he found a 1/2 a beer in a can left by a chair...

 

As others have said, only you KNOW your kids and what they are capable of when it comes to behavior...but even as adults without kids ourselves, it's also changed our behavior...any empty cups/bottles/glasses on deck get returned to the bar directly...the thought of what those kids might have been consuming turned my stomach.

 

 

OMG. This is the 1st I'm hearing of such a thing and I'm disgusted! I too will be more cognizant of my 'empties' and 'nearly empties.' I'm dumfounded.

 

Regarding how everyone thinks their child is well behaved: my daughter is smart, cautious, and a rule follower BUT every day she surprises me with something stupid she's done and not thought through. Kid's brains just don't work the same way as adult's brains.

[OzKruser]

If you let your 10 and 12 year old run around the mall (where many are drinking to excess) at home, then I'd say you're fine to let them run around the ship. But just because the other 2000+ passengers may have paid big bucks to go on a cruise, doesn't make me trust them any more than the low lifes back home. After all, the cruise lines screen out sex offenders.......not. Just read some of the articles about crime aboard ships and then you can answer your own question.

 

This isn't intended scare you, just to advise you of the realities. I'll continue to cruise and take my grandkids, but I'm not letting them go off on their own until they are at least 14 or 15 and then only with strict rules and in a group.

 

I know I am going to regret weighing into this debate. I have an 8 year old and he is too young to do much on his own. We sign him in and out of kids club and otherwise he is with us.

There has been a lot of talk about letting the kids have their freedom on board especially if they are well behaved.

 

I also agree that I think we are missing the point. Just because a ship is at sea and they can't get off doesn't mean that harm could not come to them. As much as we want to think all cruisers are like us, I am sure that there are some people on board who could take advantage of children on their own like this.

 

A cruise ship is like a small town. You don't know who is on board and what intentions they have.

 

I guess each person has to do what they are comfortable with but it has astounded me that some people feel a sense of security being on a ship and maybe don't perceive there to be the same risks as there would be if they were on land.

[sleepybert]

The safety issue is why I insist on my kids using the buddy system when they are out and about.

 

One kid couldn't leave the kids club to go back to the room unless the other kid went too.

 

And that was a rule, you leave the kids club you can only go back to the cabin (unless we had arranged to meet somewhere else, like for the show).