Would you...... (Kid in Cabin Q)

[Suzij11]

would you leave your kids (ages 10 & 13) in the cabin, and go out to a show, the casino, etc. after hours? (12 midnight or later?)

 

if they are ok to be home alone, if you went to dinner, is it ok to leave them in the cabin for an hour or 2? and what if we checked on them?

 

any parents have any experiences, stories (good, bad, indifferent?)

 

Thanks

[teach01]

would you leave your kids (ages 10 & 13) in the cabin, and go out to a show, the casino, etc. after hours? (12 midnight or later?)

if they are ok to be home alone, if you went to dinner, is it ok to leave them in the cabin for an hour or 2? and what if we checked on them?

 

any parents have any experiences, stories (good, bad, indifferent?)

 

Thanks

Suzi--thinking of my 13 year old daughter, I would provided there was something for her to do and with explicit instructions to NOT open the door for any reason (other than a fire of course). Maybe you should consider those walkie talkie things (more like two-way radio) for piece of mind. While visiting NYC, we left her alone in the hotel while we went to a late dinner, although she was being "protected" by our dog a rottweiler!

[teach01]

Suzi--when are are on the GOS we are on 8/15? What part of PA are you in?

[Got2bsunny]

I would also think it depended on their maturity. Can you trust them to follow your instructions? If they are well behaved, understand NOT to open the door for anyone or leave (except in the case of a fire or the ship sinking), then I would think it would be fine.

[Suzij11]

I made mention to my kids, that we might venture out, when they go off to sleep, and my youngest was like.. "i'm going with you"... i had to laugh.. he just wants to be "in the action" all the time.......

 

I know they have shows, adults only, and I would hate to miss them .. just because the kids couldn't go.. I think they would be fine in the room alone, tucked safely away in bed... just wanted to hear other experiences or thoughts..

[Suzij11]

we are on the 8/22 sailing of the GOS.. i read many of your posts about your sailing.. so i knew you were on the 8/15.... we are a week behind ya...

 

you'll have to let me know what your experiences are on board.. and i'll do the same, we can catch up once i get back..

 

i am from Parkesburg, PA ... just outside of Lancaster Co.. and about 40 minutes West of Philly.......... and you?

[tlbesser]

I am overprotective...so I couldn't imagine leaving my 8 yr old alone...but I'd have to see her maturity level at age 10. I know they do offer in room babysitting on board for a reasonable fee.

[teach01]

we are on the 8/22 sailing of the GOS.. i read many of your posts about your sailing.. so i knew you were on the 8/15.... we are a week behind ya...

 

you'll have to let me know what your experiences are on board.. and i'll do the same, we can catch up once i get back..

 

i am from Parkesburg, PA ... just outside of Lancaster Co.. and about 40 minutes West of Philly.......... and you?

We are not too far from you, we live in West Chester, I shop at the Walmart in Parkesburg all the time, are you in the Coatesville school district, I taught at the 9/10 Center for 2 years. Small world!!!

[laurieny]

We are fortunate that our 12-year-old son is well-behaved and mature for his age so we can trust him. While we have never left him alone at home or in a hotel, we have left him in the cabin-most nights around 11pm (we do late seating so that is usually when we get back from dinner). At first we waited til he was asleep, but now once he is ready for bed and tucked in he will either grab his current book (I am so happy to have raised a reader!) or he will rent a movie and watch-though he usually falls asleep before it is over-I will generally go back and check after an hour or so! His normal bed time is 9pm but on vacations we have a later schedule. He knows he is not allowed to leave, that he is not allowed to open the door, and if there is any trouble he is to call on the room phone for help. That said, there are many of his friends at the same age that I would not leave alone! I think it really depends on your kids, and whether you can trust them to stay in the room and chill. I certainly don't worry about the other case of someone trying to get in.

 

-Laurie

[Suzij11]

I work right off of King Road, in Exton (but very close to WC)... if you go the back way from WC to Parkesburg Walmart, you pass right by my house... We are in Octorara School District... my bros kids all went to Cville though.. I graduated Dtown...

 

Nice Meeting ya!

[nosnobunny]

Not a chance. After 6 kids, I know better. :)

 

Beth

[Suzij11]

no trust in the kids? they weren't behaved? got into trouble? help me learn from your experiences.. don't just say "no way"

[nosnobunny]

No it isn't a matter of trust, it's a matter that for me they are too young to be left alone. My daughters are all grown with families of their own. I also believed and still believe that they were normal good kids. It's only now that I'm hearing some of the antics they got into. :eek: Now they're asking us why we were so lenient. :rolleyes: A ship is no different than a small town except you don't know who lives next door or what their intentions are.

 

 

Beth

[teach01]

I work right off of King Road, in Exton (but very close to WC)... if you go the back way from WC to Parkesburg Walmart, you pass right by my house... We are in Octorara School District... my bros kids all went to Cville though.. I graduated Dtown...

 

Nice Meeting ya!

Suzi you actually work very close to my house, I live not ar from the ship/king rd intersection (in Exton Station). My address is WC but I live in West Whiteland--I am 2 minutes from Exton mall. I do not know the back way to Walmart.

[Suzij11]

my husband I and lived at Exton Station (Railway Square) when we were first married... I work at Weston (if you know the company)..

 

the back way to Walmart, from WC, into Parkesburg is up 162, RIGHT on Route 10 (at the only light in Parkesburg) .. not a real back way..........

[Suzij11]

i hear what you are saying.. and i do truly appreciate your comments... i guess, i sometimes, have too much trust in my "next door neighbor" ... and hope that others (on the ship) would be just as safe and nice.... but there's always someone that spoils the ship.. ya know

[berd0625]

My daughter is 14 and we went our separate ways after dinner most every night.

I felt safe enough for a couple of reasons -

our cabin was very close to the stairs and elevator so she didn't need to walk alone thru many public areas to get there.

we had designated check in times every night.

I knew where she would be - in Adventure Ocean or the cabin ONLY.

She always knew where to find me.

She's (luckily for me) not the type at all to wander or look for trouble. I'm more social than she is.

We went over the rules several times anyway - observe the curfew, no going into anyone else's cabin, no one coming into our cabin, how to protect herself physically, etc.

We had walkie talkies but did not use them. You may want to try them.

 

 

It all depends on your kids and if 2 can be worse than 1 but it works out very well for us.

[brn2crz]

I am not totally against it.But I don't think I would.I don't think thats the time when I would want to find out what my kids could be capable of:cool: ..

I am not trying to tell you what to do,only you know your kids.I was a good kid..But I would probably risk leaving the cabin to run around a cool ship...or call room service 20 times...or let some kids we met in AO club in..or open the door thinking its room service :eek: What if something happened...How would they get to their muster station...

Really,I am not trying to flame you...just telling you my feelings.

My niece ..17 last year on trip with us.I left my 4 yo with her a few times..and I was barely comfortable with that.I would not think you a bad parent if you did though...What ever you decide...have fun!

[starq1]

I am not totally against it.But I don't think I would.I don't think thats the time when I would want to find out what my kids could be capable of:cool: ..

I am not trying to tell you what to do,only you know your kids.I was a good kid..But I would probably risk leaving the cabin to run around a cool ship...or call room service 20 times...or let some kids we met in AO club in..or open the door thinking its room service :eek: What if something happened...How would they get to their muster station...

Really,I am not trying to flame you...just telling you my feelings.

My niece ..17 last year on trip with us.I left my 4 yo with him a few times..and I was barely comfortable with that.I would not think you a bad parent if you did though...What ever you decide...have fun!

 

 

I would have to agree.

 

If I were you I would think back to when you were that age and ask yourself what would you have done. I know what I would have done. Even the best kids are different when parents aren't around.

[hkmom]

relax, you are just an elevator ride away. 10 & 13 is just fine. in fact 13 year olds are baby sitters where i live, red cross certified and all. if you want to check on them get up in the middle of dinner or the show to use the bathroom in your own cabin. your children will probably be asleep or watching tv.

 

hkmom

wish i was going somewhere soon

[karenscoots]

We just returned from our cruise - our son turned 9 during the cruise and he enjoyed the "Late Night Party Zone" in Adventure Ocean's Voyagers program. He was able to self-check-in and out after a couple days when he knew his way around the ship. He was there until midnight and had a good time. He went late on some nights like after the ice show. The late night party is 10-1 or earlier depending on last kid to leave. Just thought I'd mention this option.

[98Charlie]

IMHO I can't imagine enjoying the show (or whatever) with 2 kids on their own (I understand that they have specific instructions to not leave the cabin, etc.) at that age. Our youngest of 3 is now 21 and while they were (and are) good kids, a cruise ship can offer a lot of temptation.

 

If sitting service or "late nite party zone" is available I would take it. The money spent would allow me to truely enjoy the time.

[garnetjanet]

Where we live, they start babysitting certification courses at 10. That being said, I would not let my daughter babysit that young (I do not feel she would be ready to be responsible for another child quite yet). However, I will leave her in the room if we want to run out for an hour to do something late night. We have done this on our last 2 cruises (August & New Years). We "tucked her in" and she watched a movie in bed before falling asleep. We were always back within an hour. I also have to admit on the August cruise last year, my mother was in the cabin next door "just in case"-it was the first time we had considered leaving her alone (before that we felt she was too young). But, we know our daughter and how she is. I would think your two would be just fine, but you know your children better than I do.

[jmurph]

My husband and I cruise with our kids a few times a year ( ages 17,15,9 and 6). they LIVE for the friends they meet at Adventure Ocean.....There are so many things for them to do (supervised) Take advantage of this, instead of making them stay in the cabin.

I always tell my older kids that I have taught them right form wrong and I can't be with them every hour of every day. I trust that they will make the right decisions. We have "check in" times for the older kids and I get their agenda before heading out for the evening ....and I check up on them!

I think that you need to think about what you would do at home in your own house, then apply that situation to your vacation,....OH...and check on them often!

 

Jean

[marciemi]

We're going in Sept with our 3 boys 12, 11, and 9. Also plan on doing this a few nights to see the shows (mostly the Love & Marriage, Quest, etc.) that they really can't go to. We're bringing our laptop along with several DVD movies I've bought they haven't seen before, in addition to some computer games. I think after days of running around all day, they'll be ready to kick back in the cabin while we're out, rather than staying up in babysitting for $15 an hour total.

 

They will be told not to go out of the cabin, period, (obviously barring emergencies & we've had many talks about what an emergency is - large amounts of blood, yes, my brother took the game I was playing - no!), and will be ready for bed before we go. They don't normally stay up late (10pm is pushing it) & I think they'd be cranky in babysitting at that time. Also, I've heard many people say they pretty much just watch movies at that time there. They can do that in the cabin and pick the movie themselves!

 

We're also in the process of buying walkie talkies that will work on the ship. We have the old ones and have used them, but think we need to update our technology. Have been checking them out the last couple days. Not sure if we need them since we have 3 cel phones that we use all the time instead anywhere else except on a cruise.

 

And yes we do leave them alone at times at home. Never for more than a couple hours, and always with a cel phone and emergency numbers. We had a very bad situation a couple weeks ago. I was about 45 minutes away with my youngest for a piano recital, my husband was an hour away with my middle son & 5 of his friends for a birthday party camping, and I left my oldest home since he'd been sick for a couple days. He called me at 5pm on a Friday, when neither of us could get home within an hour due to traffic, and said "My temperature is 105.7 & the Motrin isn't working!" Talk about not knowing what to do! Ended up getting my mom to drive over. He took Tylenol then (even though I'd given him Motrin right before I left at 3:30), my mom brought popsicles, and gave him a lukewarm bath and got it down to 103. (ps - it ended up being pneumonia). Lots of fun!

 

I would still never leave my 9 year alone - mostly because he's just a clueless kid. He's very intelligent, but totally nonobservant - the house could burn down and he wouldn't notice until the flames licked his rear end! But my older 2 are pretty mature & I feel okay leaving him with either of them!

 

Not recommending what you should do either way. I'm counting on exhaustion keeping them from considering leaving the cabin (along with threats :) ). I would feel much more uncomfortable in a hotel where I was driving elsewhere than on a ship where we're always in walking distance.