Kid bashing

[Ldyandrea]

The behavior of kids on a cruise I believe directly relates to how much there is for kids to do on a ship.

 

If you choose a ship that is very kid and teen oriented, you will find few problems with kids on a cruise. We sailed on the Freedom of the Seas and the Crown Princess and there were no problems with kids we observed on either ship.

 

I agree.....while certainly everyone has covered the issues of letting kids tear around unsupervised, and the appalling results, I also wanted to point out one more thing. For some reason I can't understand, a huge number of parents consistently travel with their children and don't give a thought to keeping them occupied. Whether on a plane, a long car ride, or a cruise ship, kids get bored! I worked as a nanny for 4 years, and you can bet we never took a trip without a full backpack of activities and things to keep these energetic kids occupied. When flying on my own, I even took to carrying blank paper and crayons in my own things, since I often would get seated next to small children with nothing to do for the next few hours but get restless and bored. :eek:

 

When the cruise ship programs can't accomodate all of the kids, and since they certainly can't spend all of their time there, it's imperative that parents make sure they have things for the kids to do. It's rather absurd that some would spend weeks worrying about what clothing to pack for themselves, and maybe 5 minutes before going out the door to plan what to bring for their child to do on the trip.

 

Just my opinion......:)

[Berliner]

if you get on a cruise ship that allows kids - that's what you get. When I want an adults only vacation, I go to an adults only resort.

 

Kid Nation on cruise ships-they just took over,Piracy :confused:

[Toto2Kansas]

I don't think anyone complains about families taking family vacations. The problems seem to start with people who take their own vacation and drag their kids along - they have no intention of having a "family" vacation, more like they expect to have a vacation away from their family.

 

Too many people mistakenly assume that since unsupervised children don't really have anywhere to go when the ship is at sea, that they won't find trouble. We've been on cruises where there were hundreds of children and had very little trouble, and some where the numbers of children were low but they made up for their lack of numbers by going over the top with the trouble they caused - to the point where they caused thousands of dollars damage to cabins and public areas. And yes, they did impact our vacation.

 

Adult-only cruises don't solve all the problems with rude behavior, but eliminate one potential source of complaint. If you've ever been on a Kids Gone Wild cruise, the attraction of adult-only goes up immeasurably. Remember, we're spending our hard-earned money, too and have just the same expectations to be able to enjoy our cruise as much as anyone else.

 

I have read this thread from start to finish and I have to say I agree with Rob on many of his points on this one.

 

We have sailed on some ships where we had the nicest time with the kids onboard, our Egypt/Aegean cruise had two little girls that we also toured with that were absolutely remarkable. I give their parents total credit on this one, they were wonderful parents and took into consideration the other passengers enjoyment, while the passengers also respected these two adorable and well behaved little girls. They renewed my faith in parental guidance and as a parent/grandparent it was refershing to see.

 

But I have also salied on cruises where the kids were simply alone, in packs, and out of control.

 

I don't blame the kids for this, you all know that you can have great kids when they are with you, but when they are without you with a group of new friends trying to show off, their entire behavior can change immediately. It's a kid thing, most of us can remember back to that age, and it was the same with us. Therefore supervison is needed whether the parents think it's important or not.

 

Yes, it is the kids vacation also and they paid full price, but that does not give them the right to destroy, disrupt or treat a cruise ship as they would the local gang hang out. (Evidentally, Princess thought the need for youth security was important and initiated it for a reason, think about it).

 

I have also seen those parents that even when the kids are with them, they just don't care. Case in point, on the same Egypt/Aegean cruise two parents with their younger children walking through the bank of elevators. One elevator opens up, one child darts in the empty elevator and pushes every button on the panel. The parents laughed and thought it was cute. :eek: :eek: I thought to myself, if this is what the parents allow when they are with them, can you only imagine what these kids would be like roaming around on the ship with a group of new friends without the parents?

 

Kids will be kids, and they have the right to be on a ship just as everyeone else. But they do not have the right to disrupt the enjoyment of others. We have sailed over 35 times, and with some voyages where the population of children onboard ran into the hundreds, we have seen some things that have made me furious.

 

What I do now when sailing during a time when kids will be a large part of the ships poplulation? I always carry my camera with me. When I see the group laying on the floors of the elevators refusing to get up when asked nicely, or pushing every button on each elevator as they stop before they run out. When I see them running up and down the halls tearing all the mail out of the mailboxes at midnight and playing tag in the buffets and knocking plates out of passengers hands as they walk around the corner. ETC. I snap a picture, thank them and tell them the captain asked me to turn these pictures into him so he can put the families off at the next port. :)

I am sure some of you will say this is wrong, but I can tell you one thing, I have never seen the same child twice causing problems onboard. The only thing anymore, it is difficult to scare these kids as over half the responses are "My parents won't let that happen, I will tell them 'insert a lie here'.

 

Are there great kids out there? Of coarse there are, and I am sure they outnumber the ones that aren't. But just keep in mind, just because your kids are well behaved when they are with the parents, does not mean they will be that way when the parents are nowhere around. Just think back to when you were a kid/teen, and the memorys will start flooding back.

 

Yes, I have sailed with some rowdy kids and teens in the past. But I have also sailed with some wonderful children that were a joy to have around, mainly because their parents taught them how to behave correctly in a public setting.

[karatemom2]

As a senior mom, grandma and great-grandmother, I have always felt this way: people put up with me wihen I was a child, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to put up with children now. For the most part, they are wonderful and incredibly fun to be around and enjoy watching. It's kind of a "Pay it Forward" thing. God forbid that I ever become one of the "grumpies"!!!!!

 

Kathy

 

I love this! What a positive and thoughtful outlook.

[8 Bells]

What I do now when sailing during a time when kids will be a large part of the ships poplulation? I always carry my camera with me. When I see the group laying on the floors of the elevators refusing to get up when asked nicely, or pushing every button on each elevator as they stop before they run out. When I see them running up and down the halls tearing all the mail out of the mailboxes at midnight and playing tag in the buffets and knocking plates out of passengers hands as they walk around the corner. ETC. I snap a picture, thank them and tell them the captain asked me to turn these pictures into him so he can put the families off at the next port. :)

 

ROTFLMAO!! :p

 

 

[Kineticoh20]

Again some of the posters just don't get it, they believe that children are to be tolerated, out of the way, and when a few are not acting properly they make general asumptions about the group. There has been post regarding (packs) of teens hmmmmmmm I have seen far more packs of seniors huddled up in front of a walkway holding up 300 people, or after a show the people in walkers or the very elderly get up first and hold up 1000 people. And then there are the we are holding this table or seat for a show and nobody shows up for 30-40 minutes because they are still in the dining room. Oh the list goes on and on yet I never single out these occurances or let them ruin my cruise experience. But a KID does something and it's armageddon. I have been on about 10 cruises and have never seen kids breaking anything or running in a restaurant, or some of the things talked about here, sure I have noticed the occasional elevator prank, or the mob maybe 8 teens walking around. But they do not bother me as much as rude cranky, complaining, whining adults. At least the kids have an excuse!

[Cruise Junky]

Again some of the posters just don't get it, they believe that children are to be tolerated, out of the way, and when a few are not acting properly they make general asumptions about the group. There has been post regarding (packs) of teens hmmmmmmm I have seen far more packs of seniors huddled up in front of a walkway holding up 300 people, or after a show the people in walkers or the very elderly get up first and hold up 1000 people. And then there are the we are holding this table or seat for a show and nobody shows up for 30-40 minutes because they are still in the dining room. Oh the list goes on and on yet I never single out these occurances or let them ruin my cruise experience. But a KID does something and it's armageddon. I have been on about 10 cruises and have never seen kids breaking anything or running in a restaurant, or some of the things talked about here, sure I have noticed the occasional elevator prank, or the mob maybe 8 teens walking around. But they do not bother me as much as rude cranky, complaining, whining adults. At least the kids have an excuse!

 

You're really not in the right frame of mind to receive any feedback as to why people don't like cruising with a pack of ill behaved children. And sailing on 10 cruises does not make you an expert on what has occured because of ill behaved children and parents that turn a blind eye to that behaviour. If you didn't want to hear this, you shouldn't have posted.

[sidari]

Dorset cruiser..... my 3 sons all have cabins on Aloha with balconies... 2 of them have i child each...if there is a problem with beds we can always put one of the kids in our cabin as it sleeps 3 being a PS suite.... reading various threads it seems that there are options with the beds but i am sure there will be someone here abouts who can give the right information about the cabins.

 

Trooper 1......My Goodness. Do you really think Miss Manners would agree with that "great response?" Next time: "Do unto others before they do it to you."

You would at least get in the first blow. There will be plenty of other old (and young) people onboard to practice on

 

I was merely making the point that its not always the kids that are at fault! there are as i said those out there who think they own the place because they have paid for it!! well get with the programme so have all those other people onboard ship.....you do not cut down the orchard because of a few bad apples!

And as the OP said if they do not like or cannot stand being around kids then why are they there?? there are plenty of other ships in the ocean that they could go on where there will not be any kids.

 

one thing they seem to forget is that they were kids themselves once.:eek:

[Cruise Junky]

And as the OP said if they do not like or cannot stand being around kids then why are they there?? there are plenty of other ships in the ocean that they could go on where there will not be any kids.

 

one thing they seem to forget is that they were kids themselves once.:eek:

 

Where are you getting that people can't stand to be around kids? no one has said that here. What posters are saying is that as parents you have the responsibility to ensure your children are behaving appropriately at all times and if you're not willing to do that, you shouldn't be taking them on a trip. No one is bashing kids. They're bashing ignorant parents that think their little darlings never bother anyone. Maybe those parents have learned to block out the tantrums but most others haven't. Of course a child is going to act out occasionally, they get tired, they get bored, but as a parent, its your job to deal with that, not the whole dining rooms.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was just thinking of when I went to our local Walmart last week and noticed that the arcade games that were just outside the entrance had been removed. The greeter (about 70ish, I guess) indicated she was glad as she doesn't understand why parents bring their kids in to the store, or along other places anyway. She felt they should just stay home (I guess she was talking about when they are at school). This attitude just amazed me as we never leave our girl (now 10) at home alone. Right now, she's home sick and on the other computer. I would have gone to her school to pick up her homework, but that would have meant dragging her along. So she'll just have to catch up later this week.

 

We started taking her to the mall at one month old (hey, she's a Valley girl and we needed to start her off right), and went on her first cruise at 23 months of age. And she comes with us on all of our trips.

 

As someone else said, you need to think ahead and bring something for your kid to do. We try to remember to bring paper and pencils or a book when we're leaving the house for a while. On cruises, I'll bring activities for her for when she's not in the kids' area.

 

IMO, a major reason some kids misbehave on a cruise is that they are bored. And that's something the parents should do something about.

[Traveling Bob]

You're really not in the right frame of mind to receive any feedback as to why people don't like cruising with a pack of ill behaved children. And sailing on 10 cruises does not make you an expert on what has occured because of ill behaved children and parents that turn a blind eye to that behaviour. If you didn't want to hear this, you shouldn't have posted.

 

This was clear from the start. There are good kids and there are monsters. But this goes for old people, newly weds and many other groups. I was once on a cruise with a large group of doctors who were absolutly obnoxious! But anyone who starts a thread adamantly defending all kids (or any other group) really doesn't want to be contradicted.

[stoneharborlady]

I have only been on two cruises, and so am certainly not the voice of experience, but I am afraid I witnessed quite a few similar scenarios as San Diego Cruizer . I am a senior citizen, but was appalled to see many of my age group complaining, often about kids on the ship (kids who were not doing anything to complain about.) One nasty old lady lambasted a crew member in the theater, because she could not find a seat, because there were too many kids on the ship. Kids who paid the same fare as she did by the way. In July, on both my cruises, I was surprised to find there were over 600 kids on board. Kids who for the most part, were very well behaved.

 

Karen

 

 

My husband and I brought our 3 year old grandaughter with us on our last cruise in December. It was a particularly harrowing night on the first formal night in anytime dining. People were waiting over 1 hour to be seated, and then dinner took about 2 hours to be served. We were so worried our grandaughter would have a melt down right there at the table. Truth be told, even tho she was a bit antsy, she was far better behaved then the people (mostly elderly) screaming at the servers for the long delay. I am not senior bashing mind you, I am one myself. But bad manners, and bad behavior starts at childhood! 10 to 1 odds, the less then polite seniors were less then polite as children. I say give me the kids on the cruise anytime! We adore watching them have fun!

[karatemom2]

This was clear from the start. There are good kids and there are monsters. But this goes for old people, newly weds and many other groups. I was once on a cruise with a large group of doctors who were absolutly obnoxious! But anyone who starts a thread adamantly defending all kids (or any other group) really doesn't want to be contradicted.

 

Well in defense of the OP you rarely see threads stereotyping other groups the way children are stereotyped in many threads.

 

I have yet to see a thread about "packs of newlyweds" or "roving bands of elderly" or worse yet "badly behaved, obnoxious doctors". I know it seems ridiculous when it's approached this way, but think how we parents feel when we see kids categorized and painted with a broad brush just because of a few bad apples. It's frustrating and I totally get what the OP is trying to point out. It is really unfair to stereotype ANY group, including children.

[tvaud]

What do you mean everyone wants peace and quiet, I go to have a good time and party. If you want peace and quiet go to a secluded resort. I never thought of a cruise as a place for peace and quiet. There is constant lines, gatherings, music, P.A announcements etc... not my idea of peace and quiet.

 

You must be a more recent cruiser. In the old days, a cruise was the best place for peace and quiet. It was a very relaxing vacation...but alas, times have changed.

[KLLund]

I have yet to see a thread about "packs of newlyweds" or "roving bands of elderly" or worse yet "badly behaved, obnoxious doctors".

 

I would be happy to start one on the group of "Air America" people we cruised with in February but .. life is short ..

 

Once on a cruise with my grown children (In their 30s but I must say they behaved quite well onboard) there was a table of 6 young ladies (lets assume 10-11yrs old) and their parents were at another table. On the first formal night they were dressed with much attention to both appropriate attire and age appropriateness. Dinner seemed to take forever, but it seemed like they were so much enjoying being together and all that was going on around them that the beautiful behaviour never waivered. At the end of the meal, my Son who looks like a pro athelete size wise .. went over to the table and complimented them on their lovely gowns and wonderful behaviour and bought the girls a round of sodas. He was their Knight in shining armour .. you should have seen those beaming faces. The next day .. the two of the fathers found him at one of the bars and insisted on buying him a drink for what he had done for the girls ..they apparently couldn't stop talking about it and he was quite the crush.

 

I remember thinking what a nice thing to do .. and it had it's own rewards .. not the drink.. but the feeling of well-being.

 

Too bad we can't all be that way and reward the exemplary or ever just good behaviour instead of just discussing the bad.

[Kineticoh20]

Well in defense of the OP you rarely see threads stereotyping other groups the way children are stereotyped in many threads.

 

I have yet to see a thread about "packs of newlyweds" or "roving bands of elderly" or worse yet "badly behaved, obnoxious doctors". I know it seems ridiculous when it's approached this way, but think how we parents feel when we see kids categorized and painted with a broad brush just because of a few bad apples. It's frustrating and I totally get what the OP is trying to point out. It is really unfair to stereotype ANY group, including children.

 

Thank you, a voice of reason.

[Kineticoh20]

You must be a more recent cruiser. In the old days, a cruise was the best place for peace and quiet. It was a very relaxing vacation...but alas, times have changed.

 

There are lots of places onboard to relax, read a book etc... alone even and very quiet. However it is when people expect kids to be quiet around the pool or other venues where having a loud fun time is appropriate and still complain about kids irritates me.

[Kineticoh20]

You're really not in the right frame of mind to receive any feedback as to why people don't like cruising with a pack of ill behaved children. And sailing on 10 cruises does not make you an expert on what has occured because of ill behaved children and parents that turn a blind eye to that behaviour. If you didn't want to hear this, you shouldn't have posted.

 

I never claimed to be an EXPERT! nor does saililing on 4 different lines and on Princess 4 times make me a novice. The bad behaviour of adults FAR outweighs the antics of kids its like 50 to 1 thats all i'm saying.

If you don't want to hear This you should not respond!!

[Cruise Junky]

I never claimed to be an EXPERT! nor does saililing on 4 different lines and on Princess 4 times make me a novice. The bad behaviour of adults FAR outweighs the antics of kids its like 50 to 1 thats all i'm saying.

If you don't want to hear This you should not respond!!

 

I refuse to turn this into an argument. If you haven't cruised with out of control children then good for you, but please don't discount the stories of those that have.

[Kineticoh20]

I refuse to turn this into an argument. If you haven't cruised with out of control children then good for you, but please don't discount the stories of those that have.

 

I have cruised with out of control adults and seniors but there are no stories and threads to discount, thats the point.

[tvaud]

I see you are on Ruby in November. We are on her in January along with our son and his wife and two small grandchildren and our daughter and her husband. We have booked son and wife and grandchildren into a balcony on Aloha which we were told has two rollaway beds. Have now been informed on one of these threads that no balcony cabin can accommodate two rollaway beds. I am a bit miffed as I took the cabin in good faith as I did not want a 4 or 2 year old in a pulldown bed. If I wanted that I would have booked a minisuite for them when they would have had the benefit of a bath as well as a shower. Still waiting for a response from Princess about rollaway beds.

 

The extra beds usually are pulled down from the ceiling, not rolled in. Check on the Princess website, specifically the deck plan for the Ruby and your cabin. Look to see if your cabin has the correct icon that says it will accommodate 4 passengers. If not, call your TA right away to change to a cabin that will.

[spongerob]

There are lots of places onboard to relax, read a book etc... alone even and very quiet. However it is when people expect kids to be quiet around the pool or other venues where having a loud fun time is appropriate and still complain about kids irritates me.

Please don't take the comments personally, or assume that everyone who has commented is just being grouchy or hates children. I think people understand the difference between children having fun, and children who are being disruptive. No one expects kids to be quiet when they're playing and having fun. Credit those of us who have commented with a little sense, and try to understand the comments in the context they were presented.

[cruisecavy]

Everybody can get out of control at times, regardless of his or her age. I have seen wasted adults, children throwing food, and what not. When I went on my first cruise, some ‘grumpy seniors’ yelled at my sister and me for sitting in front of them at a show. Okay, granted, the theater was packed and there were no seats left, so everybody who wanted to see the show, had to stand. However, there was this small area where a few people could sit and watch the show in the same view as everybody else. As I sat down and made myself comfortable, I can hear the group a few feet behind me start to freak out. I could hear one man curse out a few words, due to him ‘not being able to see the show’, he spat at us and told us to move, and as we proceeded to move, he just would not get over it and continued to go on about what just happened! They could all see the show clearly, so I did not see a reason for them to start acting up in the manor that they did.

 

Oh well! I guess you will encounter different cases of disorderly conduct or rudeness from any age. You just got to deal with it, and not let it bring your vacation mood down.

 

From a teenager’s perspective, I can tell you that I consider myself to be well behaved. I am mostly with my parents throughout the cruise, and I have never been to any of the places on the ship that are targeted for people my age. Even when I’m on my own, and spending time for myself, I can most definitely say that I do not get into anyone’s way. I believe that when you are in an enclosed area, and especially with a lot of people, you should always keep the golden rule in mind…” treat other’s the way you would like to be treated”. :)

[chj]

I am a father of two, a 10 yr old girl and a 14 yr old boy. We have been cruising with our children for the last 6 yrs. I have noticed alot of kid bashing not only on this forum but on the ships themselves. Now we have taught our children how to act in public and on every cruise we have taken,we have had fellow passengers comment on how well behaved our kids are. However, people that think they are above, better, more deserving or thinking that children should be seen and not heard is rediculous. On the Diamond in March while in the elevator with my daughter a older man was going on about the children, he said out loud that he will rebook a cruise when there are no children on board. As I left the elevator I told him I would rebook when there were no old people on board and he seemed offended.

The fact is on my most recent Diamond 15 day there were only 163 kids and you rarely felt they were on board. Sure there were times at the pool you could hear them playing. However I feel the older folks as a group are far more troublesome, I don;t mean to offend anyone but the fact is more of the older croud were rude to servers, complaining and in general thought they should be waited on hand and foot. Last year durring Easter while on the Diamond there were a record 900 kids on board and too be quite honest was a far better atmosphere on ship. The bottom line is my kids pay the same fare, gratuities and other amenities as anyone else and deserve a little respect!

 

Kids are a breath of fresh air, joy, innocence. It is thru kids with which we learn to grow and experience life.

 

Excuse the old farts and old at heart who can't appreciate their joy and appreciation of life, but who instead sulk and dwell on silly things about what their table mates wear or don't wear on formal night.

 

These are people who miss out on life's greatest joy

[chj]

Please don't take the comments personally, or assume that everyone who has commented is just being grouchy or hates children. I think people understand the difference between children having fun, and children who are being disruptive. No one expects kids to be quiet when they're playing and having fun. Credit those of us who have commented with a little sense, and try to understand the comments in the context they were presented.

 

kids who may be disruptive and can be excused, adults on the other hand are adults and no excuse is tolerated.