Anyone else feel guilty about leaving the kids??

[akcruz]

It is perfectly normal to feel a bit of guilt before the cruise, but don't it let it deter you at all. Once you get on the ship and have that first foo foo drink you will relax and enjoy. DH and I have taken a trip on our own without the kids every few years since my oldest was about 9 months old. The first was tough, but it gets easier :cool:.

 

My kids are now off in college, but we still do both family trips and couples trips. I think the kids are more jealous now of our couples trips then they were when they were younger :eek:.

[reedl]

Can you tell me what plan this is? We will be leaving our two year old for 6 nights and would love to be able to text for only 50 cents a text! Does it work in the waters or only in port?

 

Actually you need no plan to be able to text for 50 cents a message. Outgoing message are 50 cents, and incoming are free.

 

Voice minutes (does not matter the direction) are $2.50 without a plan.

 

Here is a link to the AT&T website: http://www.att.com/att/global/affordable-world-packages/?cruise

 

I got the $30 plan since I sent text messages through iMessage using the ship's WiFi.

[LuvWilliam]

Actually you need no plan to be able to text for 50 cents a message. Outgoing message are 50 cents, and incoming are free.

 

Voice minutes (does not matter the direction) are $2.50 without a plan.

 

Here is a link to the AT&T website: http://www.att.com/att/global/affordable-world-packages/?cruise

 

I got the $30 plan since I sent text messages through iMessage using the ship's WiFi.

 

Thank you so much for this info!

[VanessaM]

NO! You should not feel guilty at all.

 

My hubby and I try to take 1 trip a year w/o our teen. While I love my child to pieces, I have to say it is the most peaceful time ever. No bickering, drama, snarkyness, and all other things that having teens brings. And added side benefit, they will miss you and actually be happy to see you and have things to tell you other than the one word answers I always get from my son, "yes, no, maybe, nothing"

 

Enjoy your free time!

[leaveitallbehind]

I will check the "NO column regarding guilt on this one as well. We've cruised for over 21 years and started our kids off when they were very young. They have been on many cruises with us. (They are all C & A Diamond on their own account now). Two are now in their twenties and one is thirty and married with a child of their own.

 

We still take some of them from time to time but also now do more by ourselves. We deserve it. That being said, we are taking the whole family - grandchild included - with us on Grandeur in July, and are really looking forward to it. Time to start the 3rd generation off with cruising!

 

But our future plans are with more of mostly just the two of us.....

Edited February 18, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[malacajo]

Thanks so much for the responses! I'm driving myself insane thinking about it, but honestly I keep thinking that if we felt that "bad" we wouldn't have decided to do it, right?? I do have a friend that cannot fathom doing this-she got to me at first, now I'm just ignoring, LOL.....Our kids are 17 and 14..My mother is 84 (very active), she will stay half the week at our house, then a good family friend who is 21 will stay the next half so I know they'll be fine..I think somehow it just made me feel better to get encouragement:) Yes I do have to say that being married for 19 yrs has to deserve a week away:) We will definitely have to look into the ATT plan, I will have to be able to check in

[DonnaK]

To the OP, no need to feel guilty about taking a vacation without your kids. But, to some of the other posters, there is no reason to minimize the OP's concerns and/or to make it sound like anyone "has to" vacation without their kids.

 

DH and I have been together for 29 years, married 20 years, our DD is 18YO. We've never taken a trip w/o our DD. She will be heading out of state to college this fall.

 

It is amazing how quickly the time has gone by and I do not regret even one second of time that we have spent together as a family!

 

So I can understand your retisence and your concerns, but you need to do what is right for you, your family and your relationship.

 

Phew! I thought I was the only one! We've been married for 30 years. Our daughters are 22 and 20 years old, and we have never taken a trip without them. We are very sadly approaching the time when the girls don't want to go with us anymore, so I treasure every single one of those family vacations and wish we could have taken even more together. (We're hoping that as long as we pay, they'll continue to come) My husband and I have the rest of our lives to be alone together!

Edited February 19, 2014 by DonnaK

[goldgirl2]

We took our first vacation alone when my oldest child was 15. We left for one night so I understand what your feeling. We left for a weekend the next time and when he turned 18 we got on a plane and headed for Florida. It was whole nother vacation without kids! Lol. We felt so young and free!!! We actually got to do what WE wanted:) Did "stuff" ever happen when we were gone? Yes. And everyone survived. When my kids were 19, 17 and 11 we left them alone for 5 days. We did not have a family member to stay. However, they are mature and responsible. We were on a sailboat when I got a call. Mom the oven is on fire what do I do? I said turn it off and unplug it! Where is the plug? He yells. I was panicking. Lol. It turned out to be the element in the oven and he turned out to be a volunteer fire fighter. We had a snowstorm and the oven repairman couldn't get there for two days. They managed just fine. I learned that if anything happens they can actually deal with it and I don't have to be there. For my peace of mind I always make sure everything is in order just in case something happens to us. Your kids will have fun too while you are gone. They will miss you and that's a good thing! Now we take a few weekends and a couple of week long trips without kids. We only have one left at home now. It's the best thing for reconnecting with your spouse. As the kids get older they begin to understand. Your never promised tomorrow so go have a guilt free great time!

 

 

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[malacajo]

We took our first vacation alone when my oldest child was 15. We left for one night so I understand what your feeling. We left for a weekend the next time and when he turned 18 we got on a plane and headed for Florida. It was whole nother vacation without kids! Lol. We felt so young and free!!! We actually got to do what WE wanted:) Did "stuff" ever happen when we were gone? Yes. And everyone survived. When my kids were 19, 17 and 11 we left them alone for 5 days. We did not have a family member to stay. However, they are mature and responsible. We were on a sailboat when I got a call. Mom the oven is on fire what do I do? I said turn it off and unplug it! Where is the plug? He yells. I was panicking. Lol. It turned out to be the element in the oven and he turned out to be a volunteer fire fighter. We had a snowstorm and the oven repairman couldn't get there for two days. They managed just fine. I learned that if anything happens they can actually deal with it and I don't have to be there. For my peace of mind I always make sure everything is in order just in case something happens to us. Your kids will have fun too while you are gone. They will miss you and that's a good thing! Now we take a few weekends and a couple of week long trips without kids. We only have one left at home now. It's the best thing for reconnecting with your spouse. As the kids get older they begin to understand. Your never promised tomorrow so go have a guilt free great time!

 

 

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Thank you GoldGirl!