Leaving teenager on board

[Adayatatime]

Hi there, forgive me as I've already posted this question as part of a bigger one, but I wonder if anyone knows the rules regarding leaving a 15 year old on a docked ship?

 

We are thinking of doing the same cruise as last year around the med from Southampton. My daughter met friends and would have liked to stay on board the days we went on land. We didn't let her at the time.

 

I am this year contemplating allowing her to stay on board if we go somewhere by foot (not excursions) and within a few minutes of being able to get back, eg, Barcelona and Lisbon.

 

I just wondered whether this is something RC are happy with, insurance etc. I don't want to spark a debate I'm still not sure whether I would do it, just wondered if anyone knew the rules?

[PrincessVIP]

Teenagers need to be kept on a tight leash because you don't know what they'll get into on the ship when their alone with other teenagers and open bars and railings to play on.

[NorbertsNiece]

I have no idea what, if any, regs are in place, but had any of my daughters cruised with me at that age I would not have hesitated to leave them on board on their own. At 15 they were street-wise and perfectly trustworthy.

 

Open bars and rails? They can't drink alcohol..... I have no idea what the above statement is supposed to mean. As for being kept on a leash.... smh.

[PrincessVIP]

I have no idea what, if any, regs are in place, but had any of my daughters cruised with me at that age I would not have hesitated to leave them on board on their own. At 15 they were street-wise and perfectly trustworthy.

 

Open bars and rails? They can't drink alcohol..... I have no idea what the above statement is supposed to mean. As for being kept on a leash.... smh.

 

When the cats away the mice play. There are wet bars in the suites and these kids have parents within easy access. We were all 15 once and remember the shenanigans of an unsupervised party. :eek:

[deedeetoo]

When the cats away the mice play. There are wet bars in the suites and these kids have parents within easy access. We were all 15 once and remember the shenanigans of an unsupervised party. :eek:

 

This is ridiculous. Yes, there are some teenagers like this, but many more are not.

 

OP, you know your kid. If she can be trusted to behave then I see no problem leaving her. At this age, you don't even have to worry excessively if you are late back to the ship. She should be able to take care of herself without issue until you can rejoin.

[Adayatatime]

When the cats away the mice play. There are wet bars in the suites and these kids have parents within easy access. We were all 15 once and remember the shenanigans of an unsupervised party. :eek:

 

On our cruise last year we didn't leave our daughter on the ship, but certainly we saw very very little of her, she met some friends and she was with them all day, got changed in the evening (we were on a rota system lol) and then she was out all evening, except the occasions we pinned her down to eat with us. She has free access even with us on the ship.

 

I did see some kids of that age running around but just in an excitable way and 'naughty' kids were reprimanded either by security or in the same way that they would be anywhere out.

 

I'm more concerned about RCIs insurance policy and their rules, rather than whether she will behave.

[Miamia65]

The only rules I am aware of is if you leave your 15 year old on the ship if she tries to depart without an adult she will be stopped by security, ie. they will keep her on the ship.

 

I left my 15 year old son on Oasis last year and he was fine. He understood the rules both mine and Royal Caribbean's, ie. he couldn't get off the ship.

[Adayatatime]

The only rules I am aware of is if you leave your 15 year old on the ship if she tries to depart without an adult she will be stopped by security, ie. they will keep her on the ship.

 

I left my 15 year old son on Oasis last year and he was fine. He understood the rules both mine and Royal Caribbean's, ie. he couldn't get off the ship.

 

Thank you for that - yes that makes sense.

[Zoey]

I'm taking my 15 year old grandson on Allure in a couple of weeks. Personally I would not leave him on the ship alone. He's a good kid and probably wouldn't get in any kind of trouble BUT there's always a first time. I would also be afraid he might get injured and I wouldn't be there.

[reallyitsmema]

When the cats away the mice play. There are wet bars in the suites and these kids have parents within easy access. We were all 15 once and remember the shenanigans of an unsupervised party. :eek:

Princess has alcohol in the mini bar in cabins, RCI does not.

 

To the OP, we left our then 16 yr old on the ship while we went shopping in the port area. We also left him on board for about 2 hours when we went to a specific shop, just a short cab ride away. If we were going on an excursion or leaving the ship for a longer length of time, he always came with us.

[babyher]

Teenagers need to be kept on a tight leash because you don't know what they'll get into on the ship when their alone with other teenagers and open bars and railings to play on.

 

 

When my kids were young teens , they spent a good amount of time at their mother's (my exes) apartment. There was alcohol in the house , and they were on the 4th floor with a balcony, and there were a lot of times they were by themselves It never occurred to them to mix the two.

[spookwife]

I have no idea what, if any, regs are in place, but had any of my daughters cruised with me at that age I would not have hesitated to leave them on board on their own. At 15 they were street-wise and perfectly trustworthy.

 

Open bars and rails? They can't drink alcohol..... I have no idea what the above statement is supposed to mean. As for being kept on a leash.... smh.

 

when Mum and dad aren't around to be immediately informed, they WILL run around in packs. no matter how trustworthy and well behaved/mature they are in front of the 'rents, when they are on their own all that flies overboard. especially when they find new friends they want to impress and seem 'cool' to.

 

they congregate in stairwells, they race down the halls( damn near been knocked over a few times) and my personal favorite, dropping ice cream cones from open areas a deck or two above.

 

OP, unless you lay down the law and make it very clear what you will and will not tolerate the ship itself will not babysit your kids for you at that age although if they are caught doing stupid teenager tricks they will be confined to the cabin and when you get back on board will be told to keep them in line.

[Teeceefamily]

The only rules I am aware of is if you leave your 15 year old on the ship if she tries to depart without an adult she will be stopped by security, ie. they will keep her on the ship.

 

I left my 15 year old son on Oasis last year and he was fine. He understood the rules both mine and Royal Caribbean's, ie. he couldn't get off the ship.

 

I agree it depends on your child I would leave my daughter 14 I know she would follow RCI rules and my own and if I knew she was with friends she had made. But as there is 5 of us and unlikely my dad will come ashore with us every day for our 15 days then I'm sure one of us will be around.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Depends on the child.

 

I would have had no problem with mine at 15.

 

However, some other 15 YOs, not a chance. Matter of fact some of them I would not leave out of sight until they moved out and got their own place.

[gerif]

When the cats away the mice play. There are wet bars in the suites and these kids have parents within easy access. We were all 15 once and remember the shenanigans of an unsupervised party. :eek:

 

There are wet bars in the suites for sure but none of them contain anything stronger than Coke. Have you ever actually been in one? They are no more unsupervised than when the parents are actually on the ship but not with them.

[Adayatatime]

There are wet bars in the suites for sure but none of them contain anything stronger than Coke. Have you ever actually been in one? They are no more unsupervised than when the parents are actually on the ship but not with them.

 

I was thinking that. DD was usually one end and us the other, which was further than a short walk into Barcelona :D

 

Most of the time we communicated through sticky notes on the doors. Always left her snoozing in the mornings, and she was usually back at the cabin later than us. It was a lovely 'inbetween' for her age. I did tell her if she misbehaved she would spend the whole fortnight next to us. Gave her incentive to behave, and although some kids don't behave, most are fine, we saw that for ourselves. Even the kids get fed up of the naughty kids. They give the good ones a bad reputation so they stay away from them. Bit like normal life really.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Adayatatime

[bluemarlin1]

Definitely depends on the teenager. We are on Freedom in August 2015 and my son will be 15 at that time. I wouldnt hesitate to leave him on the ship. He is relatively mature for his age, doesnt get into trouble, and he knows the rules AND the consequences and that consequences WILL be meted out if need be. You know your kid best.

[Cruisegirl6]

I am not going to comment on some comments made here but I will tell you what I THINK.

 

A parent knows their child and this OP is simply asking and I take it from the way the OP has asked that their child is responsible, what the OP is asking is our advice on leaving their child on board when they get off the ship which obviously shows that this OP wants to do the right thing for their child and make sure their child is safe.

 

I will tell you.....I have left my children on the ship, first time son was 16 and daughter was 14, I had no issues and knew they be safe but I had rules that I knew they follow which were

1- We never had a stateroom on a low deck, my rule is they never to go below where the main entertainment decks were

2- If anything went wrong on the ship that they never use the elevator and go right to their muster station

3- They had to check in our stateroom and I had a pen and paper there they had to check in every hour and let me know where they probably be next so when I get back I will know where about to find them

4- They were given a set limit of money to use for whatever they want such as the game room, I never limited their account as they were always responsible.

5- They knew never to get off the ship or go in anybody's room not even a friend they may meet on the ship never!!

 

Leave your kids but have the rules, they are safe on the ship, have a good time and they will also.

Edited May 19, 2014 by lyndamr

[lady_cruiser]

Teenagers need to be kept on a tight leash because you don't know what they'll get into on the ship when their alone with other teenagers and open bars and railings to play on.

 

Teenagers are people, not, animals.

[33tekfan]

when Mum and dad aren't around to be immediately informed, they WILL run around in packs. no matter how trustworthy and well behaved/mature they are in front of the 'rents, when they are on their own all that flies overboard. especially when they find new friends they want to impress and seem 'cool' to.

 

they congregate in stairwells, they race down the halls( damn near been knocked over a few times) and my personal favorite, dropping ice cream cones from open areas a deck or two above.

 

OP, unless you lay down the law and make it very clear what you will and will not tolerate the ship itself will not babysit your kids for you at that age although if they are caught doing stupid teenager tricks they will be confined to the cabin and when you get back on board will be told to keep them in line.

 

This happens whether the parents are on ship or not. Are you saying none of this occurs on Sea Days because the parents are on the ship? Wrong.

[xxHadleyxx]

We have left one or both of our teens onboard (and not in the babysitting programs for younger kids) several times in the year since they were 11 and 13.

 

We have mentioned to staff on various occasions that we were doing this--it has NEVER been a concern at all.

 

We leave the kids with a cell phone that works and leave ours on, and let them know it is okay to rack up international charges if they had an emergency (they have never had need to call us).

 

They do know they can not depart the ship without us, per RCI policy as well as we would not want that.

 

Thw worst thing that has ever happened when one stayed on board was that we lost DS from our trivia team because he played with some other passengers while we were off and they kept wanting him on THEIR team after that :p

[chadbeck]

when Mum and dad aren't around to be immediately informed, they WILL run around in packs. no matter how trustworthy and well behaved/mature they are in front of the 'rents, when they are on their own all that flies overboard. especially when they find new friends they want to impress and seem 'cool' to.

 

they congregate in stairwells, they race down the halls( damn near been knocked over a few times) and my personal favorite, dropping ice cream cones from open areas a deck or two above.

 

OP, unless you lay down the law and make it very clear what you will and will not tolerate the ship itself will not babysit your kids for you at that age although if they are caught doing stupid teenager tricks they will be confined to the cabin and when you get back on board will be told to keep them in line.

 

 

Wow ok. Painting a really broad stroke with this one. You know your kid and if they can handle it. Personally I would have no issue with it because I know they wouldn't be dropping ice cream on people, jumping off the side, or whatever else.

[Adayatatime]

when Mum and dad aren't around to be immediately informed, they WILL run around in packs. no matter how trustworthy and well behaved/mature they are in front of the 'rents, when they are on their own all that flies overboard. especially when they find new friends they want to impress and seem 'cool' to.

 

they congregate in stairwells, they race down the halls( damn near been knocked over a few times) and my personal favorite, dropping ice cream cones from open areas a deck or two above.

 

OP, unless you lay down the law and make it very clear what you will and will not tolerate the ship itself will not babysit your kids for you at that age although if they are caught doing stupid teenager tricks they will be confined to the cabin and when you get back on board will be told to keep them in line.

 

I'm not worried in the slightest about misbehaviour I can deal with that in the same way I do at home, she knows the consequences, I just don't want to break any rules RCI have, and I know RCI won't babysit any kids at all unless they are under their direct supervision. She is far more interested in her mates and lazing around than going around lovely museums and listening to street artists (can't understand it myself!). One day I'm hoping she will change :D

[OCruisers]

No problem for her to stay on the ship with her friends!

LuLu

[cruiselife4me]

You know it's funny. People are quick to jump on about how kids will get into trouble but usually it's the ADULTS I see acting like monkeys after one too many.

 

Teens like time to themselves, and they like time with other teens. I don't see anything wrong with this if they are trustworthy. Shoot I have a 21 year old that I would leave on ship by himself...lol!