Leaving kids on the ship while going on excursion

[Robotcake]

Do many people use the nursery/kids area when parents go off ship for excursions? I was hesitant about this, but noticed it in a few threads and may consider it for one of our ports, if I can get more comfortable with the idea.

 

We are cruising Independence of the Seas on RCL with extended family and our three little ones- 5, 3, and 22 months. I understand (correct me if I am wrong) that the nursery can be used for a fee if I book an excursion with RCL.

 

I am not sure if the older two have this option in the kids club.

 

Having family members watch them is not the ideal option as they'd like to do excursions as well.

 

Lord help us... this is our first cruise and it's with three crazy- but fun- littles!

[GUT2407]

Not sure if they allow it.

 

BUT

 

No way that I would.

[notentirelynormal]

You are going to get tons of responses going both ways. Like Gut says, you could. It all comes down to a couple of questions that only you can answer. How far away are you going from the ship? Just to the local beach for a swim or 20 miles away on a zip lining excursion where someone could get injured. Maybe only being a mile away would be fine as you or someone in your party could get back to the ship in case there was an emergency. Which brings up another question - how would you know if your children had an emergency?

 

Look, things can and do happen every day, anywhere. You have the risk of being in an accident at home leaving your kids with a sitter. Or not. It's a crap shoot. The real question you have to ask is are you willing to take the risk. If everyone in your group gets delayed and the ship sailed without you the ship is not going to abandon your children. They will be looked after. Then the question is how will you feel. I'm guessing you will be frantic as you try to get to the next port.

 

In my personal opinion, the only way I would leave little ones on the ship (even with ship personal) is if someone in our group was still on the ship. We've cruised with kids as young as 6 months and we lugged them with us everywhere we went no matter how hard it was. I consider it part of my parental duties.

Edited September 16, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[Cruisin' Chick]

Once our girl was old enough to be in Camp Carnival, we did leave her in there while we left the ship. But each time, we stayed in the port and didn't do excursions. We were always near enough from the ship that we were a quick taxi drive away and we always made sure to get back early.

 

The one time we did do an excursion without her was on a Princess cruise in Skagway. We got back to the ship late due to weather conditions, but it was on a Princess excursion and the guide kept in touch with the ship. We were still nervous until we got back on the ship. The other ports, she was with us or we were still near the ship and on our own time schedule so we can return early.

[Ashland]

Well..I'll be honest and say (whether some may feel it's a horrible thing to do) that we just did this exact same thing and it worked out great for everyone involved especially our little 19 month old GS.

 

We booked an excursion (min age to participate was 5 yrs. old) in Alaska. We (DH, myself, DS & DDIL) had already used the Royal Tots Nursery and our little one loved it there a few evenings at the beginning of our cruise. There were 25 toddlers under age two on our cruise and you were lucky to have reservations.

 

While we were on our excursion the nursery had our cell phone # and we called them a few times to check on him, he was playing with the other toddlers...eating lunch and had a nice long nap...he was much more comfortable and happy in this environment.

 

Parents leave their children in daycare everyday and usually go off to work more than a few miles from that location and are gone a lot longer time period. Life is about living it, not basing it on what if's.

 

BTW: Welcome to Cruise Critic...enjoy the Indy she has a great nursery/childrens program and she's a favorite ship of ours !! And remember the childrens staff are not just crew members on RCI, they all must have a certain amount of credentialed hours towards child education and that will be very evident when you meet them.

 

So book your excursions...make a reservation for your little ones at daycare onboard and enjoy your cruise.

 

You'll be surprised at how many other families onboard are going to be doing the exact same thing.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Ashland

[kitkat343]

It is allowed by most cruise lines, and this was our backup plan if the tours on our Baltic cruise didn't go well for our son. Thankfully our son loved the tours and we had a lovely experience. This is a very controversial topic for parents, and ultimately you need to make your own decision about whether or not you will be comfortable leaving a child behind. There are some ports in which this a much less risky choice - Alaska is much safer since you usually don't travel very far from the port and Berlin is much riskier since you are 3.5 hours away. Please take the daily bulletin with you, as it will have the contact info for the port agent if you are running behind and obviously leave a lot of extra time to get back to the ship. We've booked private tours in a lot of countries and were able to modify the tours for our son, but it is nice to know we have the backup of care on the ship if things don't go well

[Kerry's Girls]

I have done this and lots of others do as well. As others have said, this is a personal choice for parents, with lots finding it unthinkable. For me, I know the kids were being well cared for, and that if anything did happen to me, they would continue to be well cared for in that familiar environment until family could join them.

 

Timing-wise, I wouldn't do a private excursion far from the ship that returns too close to sailing. If booking a private excursion, I would ask what the backup plan is if a car or boat breaks down. I would have no problem taking a ship excursion.

 

Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia

[notentirelynormal]

I just want to be clear. I wasn't telling the OP not to leave the kids, just that at that young age I wouldn't. I have no problems leaving them when they get older :D but I still would use caution in how far from the ship I would go.

[ladygal4.4]

I do it on it Carnival ALL THE TIME :). But my kids aren't "nursery" age. The youngest I've left is 4. But she was with her sister and 2 older brothers (who were all in camp carnival)

 

They would much rather stay and play with their friends than go see the sights or shop

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited September 16, 2015 by ladygal4.4

[chipmaster]

On our Med cruise a few years ago, left my youngest in the kids club. Felt totally safe, she was old enough to want to do it, and we already knew what the situation was.

 

For the really young ones, I think my comments are like on the other thread, parents should realize when they have kids they go thru stages and vacations, costs etc. need to adjust as they move thru their years. One simply can't expect to vacation like they did when there were no kids...

 

Of course I've seen the incredible rich bring their nannys, I laugh a bit as I wonder what their children experience is when you pay the someone else to effectively be the parent, whats the point :D

[notentirelynormal]

Of course I've seen the incredible rich bring their nannys, I laugh a bit as I wonder what their children experience is when you pay the someone else to effectively be the parent, whats the point :D

 

You remind me of a story about my late sister in law. She told me one day that she was a full time mother. Without realizing it I burst out laughing. She gave me a very dirty look. I told her, I can't see how you can say you are a full time mother when you share custody with your ex so only have them every other week and then when you do have them you have a live in nanny. Right now she is upstairs giving your sons a bath. Yes, she took the nanny on the cruise with us too.

[Wavesprite]

We've left our kids on board when we went into port. We weren't going far from the docks, just a quick walk around, and were probably gone for an hour and a half tops. I would have felt safe leaving them longer, we just didn't do a longer activity.

 

The way I look at it is this. They are professionals, and if something did happen while we were in port and the children were on the ship they would take care of them if they had to.

[pkay414]

I'm not a parent so take my response with a grain of salt.

 

I would ensure that the kids were comfortable with the kids club before I made any decision. As long as they were happy and enjoying themselves, I'd leave them; but I'd only take an excursion that was offered through the cruise line. What my sister and her husband did with their kids while we were on a cruise is take the kids in the morning to whatever port we were in and then bring them back to the ship and then return to the city for some adult time. Seems like a win/win -- kids get to play with their friends, parents get some alone time knowing the kids are well-cared for.

[snorkelman]

We have taken our kids off with us every port but one time. One of the RCI private Islands (I forget which one) has a little kids area and my wife and I dropped the kids off and went 100 yards away in a hammock. We happened to walk by the kids area and were shocked to see the camp counselor holding a hose squirting water into the sand and some kids playing in that. I walked over and asked why none of the kids were actually playing on the water toy area. I was told that they used to do that but because of liability issues they cannot let the kids do that any more unless the parents check the kid out and play there with the kid themselves. I was upset and removed my kids and on a subsequent cruise to that private island we chose to not use the kids program because of this.

 

That is my sole bad experience with RCI's kids program when it comes to the kids program on a port day.

[Wavesprite]

We have taken our kids off with us every port but one time. One of the RCI private Islands (I forget which one) has a little kids area and my wife and I dropped the kids off and went 100 yards away in a hammock. We happened to walk by the kids area and were shocked to see the camp counselor holding a hose squirting water into the sand and some kids playing in that. I walked over and asked why none of the kids were actually playing on the water toy area. I was told that they used to do that but because of liability issues they cannot let the kids do that any more unless the parents check the kid out and play there with the kid themselves. I was upset and removed my kids and on a subsequent cruise to that private island we chose to not use the kids program because of this.

 

That is my sole bad experience with RCI's kids program when it comes to the kids program on a port day.

 

That sounds like they were keeping your kids safe from a possible drowning????

[katiedidthat]

I personally wouldn't, but that doesn't mean you can't. I've heard the argument of leaving your child in daycare while you go to work, but for me, that's different. If something happens to me while my child is at daycare, presumably I have an emergency contact in the area who will pick my child up from daycare and take them home or to their home and take care of them until I can make other arrangements or return.

On a cruise ship, if I'm injured on a zip line even 5 miles from the ship and the kids are in camp- they will be left with complete strangers for an undetermined period of time while I'm scrambling to either reunite with the ship at another port, or to arrange for someone to meet the ship at the next port. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

We take vacations to spend time with our boys. Alone time for us happens at home with a trusted babysitter.

[snorkelman]

That sounds like they were keeping your kids safe from a possible drowning????

 

No. Not the floating water toys.

 

Here, I found a picture.

 

http://www.thelollipoproad.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/PB170069.jpg

 

None of the kids who were signed into the kids program were allowed to use that ^^^. The kids program is 2 feet away from this. I had assumed that when I dropped my kids off there, my kids would be having fun in that cool area. Instead, they were sitting on the sand while a guy held a hose near them.

[kitkat343]

Oh, I'm guessing their insurance won't allow children in water at all. That little baby waterpark looks pretty safe, and I also would have assumed that they would let the kids play in it. I'm so glad you checked on them and warned us about it - I'll know better what to ask before leaving my kid in a kids club on a private island.

[notentirelynormal]

I personally wouldn't, but that doesn't mean you can't. I've heard the argument of leaving your child in daycare while you go to work, but for me, that's different. If something happens to me while my child is at daycare, presumably I have an emergency contact in the area who will pick my child up from daycare and take them home or to their home and take care of them until I can make other arrangements or return.

On a cruise ship, if I'm injured on a zip line even 5 miles from the ship and the kids are in camp- they will be left with complete strangers for an undetermined period of time while I'm scrambling to either reunite with the ship at another port, or to arrange for someone to meet the ship at the next port. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.

We take vacations to spend time with our boys. Alone time for us happens at home with a trusted babysitter.

 

You explained what I was trying to say much better. Even though my kids chose to never use the kid facilities my grandkids love them. For me, this is family time so, no, I wouldn't because I want them with me. Caribbean cruise with a 1 YO. She was on every excursion with us, snorkeling, sailboat, whatever. We took turns holding her while the others were in the water.

[sprockie]

I would never do it. We missed our ship in St. Thomas due to a big traffic jam coming into port on a day that had too many ships there. We didn't have kids at the time, but I know how frantic and stressed I was. I can't imagine what kids would think when they hear their parents names announced over the P.A, then the ship chug out of port. I would only do it if I had a close family member staying on board with them.

[Robotcake]

Thanks for all of your thoughtful responses. I had no idea that there were even kids clubs on the ports- off the ship.

 

It's definitely something to consider, but I am still not sure. It's hard to know till you meet the people who will be watching your kids, you know? And I am pretty sure that RCI only lets you do it if you do a RCI-sanctioned activity on the port.

 

@notentirelynormal- did you see people bring babies/toddlers on excursions often and the kiddos would just not participate? I had no idea that was an option.

[notentirelynormal]

@notentirelynormal- did you see people bring babies/toddlers on excursions often and the kiddos would just not participate? I had no idea that was an option.

 

When we travel with large family groups we usually arrange our own excursions. It is rare for us to do a ship ones with the kids. We did one where we had to take a bus for an an hour drive. My then 3 YO grandson had a meltdown. I ended up taking him into the bathroom, closing the door and trying to calm him.

 

The excursions we booked with the little ones in the Caribbean were a sailboat, catamaran, private guide for the island and that kind of thing. I don't want my kids bothering cranky old people and I don't want the cranky old people bothering my kids.

 

It is a hard call. When we did Alaska we did kid friendly ship excursions but we were close enough that we could go back to the ship. You have 5 people - enough you could get your own car/taxi and not include anyone else. That gives you the option to stay or leave without having to work around other people.

Edited September 21, 2015 by notentirelynormal

[Robotcake]

.

 

The excursions we booked with the little ones in the Caribbean were a sailboat, catamaran, private guide for the island and that kind of thing. I don't want my kids bothering cranky old people and I don't want the cranky old people bothering my kids.

 

 

You read my mind! We're in a group of 14 with extended family. I will look into this!

[tweetypie_67]

Although I am a grandmother now, my sons first cruise was when he was in 2nd grade. I'm an admitted over protective mom and wasn't too sure about even letting my kids participate in the kids program when we set sail on RCL. They tried it out, I checked it out and we all loved it. So much in fact, that when we all got off to walk around and shop in the port of St.Thomas my son CRIED and wanted to go back on the ship to be with his favorite counselor , Lori! So we went back, dropped him off and got off the ship again to finish our shopping. Never in a million years would I thought that I would EVER be that comfortable to leave my son on the ship while we got off, but it just seemed right...... He had an awesome time and I learned a lot about never saying never.......

[kitkat343]

RobotCake, we've had a lot of success using trip advisor to find private tour guides for our family on the 3 cruises we took with our toddler. When you decide on a cruise, let us know which ports you are visiting, and people may have suggestions for activities that work for both children and adults. With 14 people, you will certainly be able to save money by avoiding cruise ship tours. My son still napped, so we did one family activity in the morning, the transport would return back and he would sleep, and everyone else would do something else in the afternoon on a private tour.