Were you comfortable?

[Laplayaperson]

Curious for those that have recently cruise with tweens/teens did you allow them to check themselves out of the carnival club and walk the ship themselves? 

[cruisingguy007]

My teens, yes, my little guy, no way. Circle C and club 02 kids should be fine. 

[tallnthensome]

If your kids are 12 or older and good trustworthy kids with some cruise experience there is no reason not to allow them to walk and explore the ships. All depends on the maturity of the kids .

[jetsfan58]

47 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

If your kids are 12 or older and good trustworthy kids with some cruise experience there is no reason not to allow them to walk and explore the ships. All depends on the maturity of the kids .

Absolutely agree; just don't forget that we still are the parents/grandparents and rules still apply! 

[cyntil8ing]

My kids, now 16 and 18, have been cruising since they were 3 and 5. Freedom and independence were earned slowly over the years as they proved themselves. I still remember being nervous the first time they went together to get ice cream, while we waited at a table in the buffet for their return.
 

We allowed the oldest to sign herself out so she could participate in scavenger hunts. The youngest has never been a fan of the clubs. But the rules were discussed up front — check in when and where you are supposed to, be where you tell us you will be, never out of the public areas, no going back to the cabin unless we knew about it, no wandering aimlessly and no riding the elevators!

 

Her dad and I were known to just happen to stroll by her location on occasion. I don’t know if she always saw us as we did make an effort to be unobtrusive. Sometimes, she would wave.
 

She went off to college this year, and it makes me smile when she still checks in occasionally with a “Not dead” text. 

[kctwinmommy]

21 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

If your kids are 12 or older and good trustworthy kids with some cruise experience there is no reason not to allow them to walk and explore the ships. All depends on the maturity of the kids .

This! We laid out the rules for our son before we started cruising with him. He didn't start until he was 12. So we always told him, nobody in our cabin, he doesn't go in anyone else's cabin, and no going into places he knows he shouldn't. He always would check in with us periodically and he had to go to dinner with us (but the teen clubs closed during that time anyway). We allowed him to stay at the club until midnight, or later, if there was something going on, unless we had a really early activity (and that was really only in Alaska).

 

He's shown over these years that he can be trusted. He's not perfect of course, but he's shown us that he makes good choices. Just make sure your kid(s) know what is expected of them! And have fun!

[KyloRen]

22 hours ago, Laplayaperson said:

Curious for those that have recently cruise with tweens/teens did you allow them to check themselves out of the carnival club and walk the ship themselves? 

Mom of 9 and 12 y/o here. I allow both mine to check out. If you really want piece of mind get a set of long range walkies from Amazon. They work so well. My kids have a blast, its hard to not see em roaming around the boat. Ive never really been worried. 

 

Its cool cause when my 9 y/o checks out it tells me an exact time, day, who checked him out (or himself checking himself out) and usually says where he is going. I can directly access this information via the app so I usually know where my son is at all times. 

Edited May 23, 2022 by KyloRen

[ALSPAUGHDOLL]

I have an almost 15 and 17 year old.  We just sailed in April.  I let them roam together freely this trip with clear expectations that they don't allow anyone into our cabin and they don't go into other cabins.   They have never been big fans of the kids club, even when they were little.  I think it all depends on the kid.  I was comfortable when they were younger allowing them to go get ice cream and come right back probably when they were 10/12 but always together.  

[Pyxie]

If you have tweens and teens (over 12) who are in Circle C or Club O2 they only can sign themselves out. In fact, there really isn't even a sign-in/out process for those clubs. They just come and go as they please. But yes, I felt safe with reasonable precautions. He had to keep regular contact with us on the app, check in with us at certain times, and of course had ground rules like no going in someone else's cabin or letting anyone in ours or using pools, hot tubs, etc without us.

[EngIceDave]

We allowed them to be free range kids.

 

If they're good kids, no worries, but always watch anyway because there can be bad influences.

 

Never let them stay out late, say beyond 11pm.

[jetsfan58]

I am not a dancer so I will not dance around the obvious. We have all seen kids (and adults) that are totally out of control while on Cruise ships. Parents are no where to be found. Someone above said it best; that's an earned privilege that comes with consequences when the rules are not followed accordingly. Trust me I also remember very well my early years when kids were still being kids..     

 

Let them totally enjoy themselves but just don't forget they came with you and not alone.