My 6-year-old panics!

[litig8rij]

Greetings --

Although I have been reading these boards for a while, this is my first post. My DH & I sailed on the Norway (Jazz Cruise) in October 1999; however, I just booked our first family cruise. We're taking our boys, Josh (6) & Jayson (3) on a 4-day Western Caribbean (Cozumel) on the Carnival Ecstacy out of Galveston, TX on 23 December. I've been showing brochure pictures to the boys and they were getting excited...now, however, my first grader is starting to panic, "How does the ship keep floating?" "Are there sharks out there?" and, most importantly, "How will Santa know where I am?" The latter I can handle. Still, I would LOVE some advice from families on how they prepped their little ones for their first voyage. While slightly introverted, he makes friends quickly & I know he'll love it. I just need some guidance on how we can keep the anxiety down over the next 3 months.

Thanks all!

[cruisinqt]

Tell him about all of the fun stuff he'll get to do on board the ship and he'll be just fine. My kids have gotten to do some really fun stuff in the kids program. They got their faces painted like a pirate and went on a treasure hunt. They also got to make their own rubber balls and build a real volcano that the counselors helped them to "explode." They got a real kick out of that. Plus, there are pizza parties, pajama parties, a video arcade with virtual reality games, swimming pools, and they even put a kids talent show on in the kids area. Once, my kids even got to tye dye their own shirts. Plus, there's always at least one video game tournament in the kids area. And all Carnival ships have that 214 ft. spiral waterslide that is just awesome!:D And the kids area has computers, lots of toys, movies and playstation 2's. Once my 2 kids (5 & 7) went into the kids program, they didn't want to leave. And every day they couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had there.

 

As far as his ship floating question, just get a toy boat and put it in the bathtub and let it float. Tell him that all ships float just like the toy does. That's just what ships do, they float. At 6 years old, that should be enough to answer his question and ease his fears. Tell him the sharks are afraid of the ship because it is so big and won't come near it, which is probably true. And of course, Santa knows where everyone is, he's Santa!:) He knows everything about every kid in the world including how good he's been and where he is. His sled lands on the top deck of the ship while everyone's sleeping! And he sneaks the gifts into the cabins and then takes off before anyone wakes up. Santa uses magic to make us sleep really hard so we don't wake up when he slips the gifts into our cabin.;)

 

My little one was just 3 years old when she went on her first cruise. She was a little afraid of being in the 2-5 year old group alone. So my older one, that was in the 6-8 year old age group, stepped down to the 2-5 year old group to be with her. It made a big difference for her and she was much happier having her sibbling with her. On most cruise ships, they will let a child step down to a younger age group. They just won't allow a child to step up to an older age group, even if their birthday is just weeks away. So you might keep that in mind if the 3 year old gets scared about not having a family member with him in the kids program. The older child can always go to the 3 year old's group if he needs to. They're all in the same place. They just separate the kids according to age and then head off to do whatever they have scheduled that day. I hope this helps.:)

[karenh1127]

I am taking our 7 y.o. twin boys on our first cruise for spring break on the Ecstasy out of Galveston. One of my boys always ask a million questions.........all fear related. He wants to know about the ship, how they steer it, what about the lifeboats, what if he wants to leave camp and find me because he is scared, what happens if you fall overboard, etc.....I try to assure him best I can and like you explain the ship's size with stabilizers keep it afloat and from rocking but he has tons of questions! I have had him start researching ships on the internet so he can see how they are built and what keeps them afloat. He is writing down all the ship lingo like bow, aft and is trying to learn that. I am looking for a book on ships that explains how they operate too. Will let you know if I find it. I was hoping that the boys could do a tour of the bridge(I think that is what you call the area the captain runs the ship) and see for themselves. Does anyone know if they allow that?

[Boo's Mom]

litig8rij....

 

Hello fellow San Antonio resident!!!

 

About your boys: Children who tend to get a little nervous (about anything)...are looking to Mom/Dad....and will take their cues from them.

 

I would answer his questions, certainly....but never make them appear to be a big issue....or they may become one.

 

I have been cruising with my two girls for a few years now....and they absolutely love it. Your boys are going to have a big time!

 

ps. My neighbor went away with her child during Christmas one time. They left a bike at home...wrapped with a bow...in the barn. Wherever they were traveling to...they had Santa leave a note about a surprise he left her back at the house..in the barn. It was cute.

 

We cruised last Christmas....leaving the day after Christmas for a cruise departing 2 days after Christmas.

 

ps. I'm in North San Antonio...just north of the City limits. ;)

[serene56]

. I was hoping that the boys could do a tour of the bridge(I think that is what you call the area the captain runs the ship) and see for themselves. Does anyone know if they allow that?

 

 

Not since 9/11 they dont do bridge tours. But make it a point of seeing the galley tour- where thyehwy will show you how they make dinner for over 2000 people for each meal. Im sure theywill love it.

[Host Walt]

You might also take him on a riverboat in San Antonio and get him familiar with riding on a floating vessel, then comment while on board, if he enjoys it, "just think, we'll be on a much bigger boat just like this in a few months.

 

His concerns are real and by giving him an opportunity to experience something similar will take some of the apprehension away.

[camreesmom]

We're taking our kids on the Ecstasy next July and they are all very excited about it. They know that it is their Christmas present this year! Anyway, my 5 year old is the one with the most questions. When we first told the kids about the cruise, I gave them the Carnival brochure to look at and we went to the Carnival website. Now my 5 year old always wants me to "show her the boat" on the Carnival site. They love looking at the water slide. I've showed them pictures of the cabins and other places that the photos of are on the website. I think they will be more comfortable since the ship will seem more familiar to them. I hope the OP will post when you return from the cruise and let us know any family cruising tips you may pick up on your cruise! :)

 

Julie

[karenh1127]

I also let my kids make a "scrapbook" with pics and info from the Carnival website. We printed out pics of various parts of the ship and wrote down excursions we thought would be fun as well as onboard activities. I ordered mine the Carnival diecast cruise ship set off a website so they could play while we wait for our cruise to arrive. I think it is www.carnivalcruisetoys.com

[kitty9]

Call the cruise line and have them send a video of the ship and all the activities. Show that to your son and that should help him with his anxieties. You could also call your travel agent and see if they don't have any cruise videos. Cruise lines like to send videos to travel agents to showcase their product. It doesn't have to be a video of your ship, but any ship video will work.

[litig8rij]

Greetings --

 

Just wanted to thank all who posted. Y'all had some great ideas. I took Josh to the library & got some books; in addition, I went to the TA and got LOTS of cruising brochures so he could see lots of ships, pictures of kids having an awesome time, examples of cabins, etc. I asked the TA for some videos, but she said that because most cruise lines have elaborate websites, they have eliminated the videos. So, I logged onto a bunch of websites and we checked out our port of call (Cozumel) & even saw pictures of our cabin (when he saw a picture of our penthouse suite, Josh yelled, "SWEET!" -- he's 6, what does he know of "sweet?" :p )

 

Anywho, Josh seems much more comfortable with the idea, especially after reading how ships stay afloat and what kinds of sea life live in the Gulf. Finally, I've ordered an inflatable Carnival ship for him -- I fell in love with the die cast version; however, knowing him, he'd want to put it in the bath and once its weight would cause it to sink, I'd have another set of nightmares on my hands! ;)

 

So, thanks one, thanks all. I'll post again when we return from our cruise!

[litig8rij]

Greetings --

 

Just wanted to thank all who posted. Y'all had some great ideas. I took Josh to the library & got some books; in addition, I went to the TA and got LOTS of cruising brochures so he could see lots of ships, pictures of kids having an awesome time, examples of cabins, etc. I asked the TA for some videos, but she said that because most cruise lines have elaborate websites, they have eliminated the videos. So, I logged onto a bunch of websites and we checked out our port of call (Cozumel) & even saw pictures of our cabin (when he saw a picture of our penthouse suite, Josh yelled, "SWEET!" -- he's 6, what does he know of "sweet?" :p )

 

Anywho, Josh seems much more comfortable with the idea, especially after reading how ships stay afloat and what kinds of sea life live in the Gulf. Finally, I've ordered an inflatable Carnival ship for him -- I fell in love with the die cast version; however, knowing him, he'd want to put it in the bath and once its weight would cause it to sink, I'd have another set of nightmares on my hands! ;)

 

So, thanks one, thanks all. I'll post again when we return from our cruise!

greetings --

i just rec'd my 2 carnival inflatable ships for my ds's, 6 & 3. the boys love them & are getting very excited about the trip. the ships were only $4.99 each and can be purchased at http://www.carnivalcruisetoys.com/. thanks for all of your suggestions on how to calm my boys' fears and get them excited about their christmas rendezvous in cozumel. :)