Carnival lost my daughter from Camp Carnival

[Kurbanfan]

Disney Cruise Line is one that does this. They give you pagers, and they WILL page you if the child is sick or injured, or if they are crying for the parents to come get them. If they are crying for the parents, you are required to take them out. They paged me twice for my younger daughter. The first time, she had changed her mind by the time I arrived. The second page came just as my husband and I were settling in to our lounge chairs at the adult-only beach on Disney's private island. We packed up, took the little train to the kids camp and collected her. Just part of the whole parenting package, lol. But also VERY comforting to know we could be reached if our daughters needed us.

 

Kudos to Disney!!! Other cruiselines can learn something from them......

[YayGirlsTrip]

CC Host - can you close this thread please?

 

I agree. The title of the thread is not accurate. Camp Carnival did not "lose" the child.

 

When I first read the thread yesterday, I was appauled that people were attacking the OP. But as I've thought more about it, I have to agree with most. This wasn't a small child. If I had a child this age,I would make sure they knew how to get around the ship before I registered them with the ability to sign in an out on their own.

[lovestwocruise]

We have been on many cruise lines before and by far I think Carnival is equal to NCL. Disney was the worst for us. Will not go into bashing anyone but will give details if wanted, by email. But Carnival has gone above and beyond with our three kids. Even when my youngest got hurt, they provided a camp employee to wheel her around in a wheelchair so she could be part of the camp.

I do agree that at 10 they should know how to get back to the room alone. Mine knew at a much younger age. We also told them a second meeting place if we ever got seprated and they couldn't get back to the room for some reason.

 

Just my opinion.

[nealstuber]

We have been on many cruise lines before and by far I think Carnival is equal to NCL. Disney was the worst for us. Will not go into bashing anyone but will give details if wanted, by email. But Carnival has gone above and beyond with our three kids. Even when my youngest got hurt, they provided a camp employee to wheel her around in a wheelchair so she could be part of the camp.

I do agree that at 10 they should know how to get back to the room alone. Mine knew at a much younger age. We also told them a second meeting place if we ever got seprated and they couldn't get back to the room for some reason.

 

Just my opinion.

 

I won't say what any child should or should not be able to do at age 10 - but parents need to recognize their children's capabilities and come up with a plan that works for them. OP's plan failed this time -but that's ok - sometimes the only way to learn is to try.

[halos]

I won't say what any child should or should not be able to do at age 10 - but parents need to recognize their children's capabilities and come up with a plan that works for them. OP's plan failed this time -but that's ok - sometimes the only way to learn is to try.

 

I don't think we know enough to know if it was the OP who failed...just saying.

[zqvol]

The OP, a one post wonder, sure managed to get things stirred up. You would think that after 600 posts on this thread the OP would have been back.

 

No return.

 

Troll did a good job!

[skoi13]

That's why they have the meeting the first day. Unfortunately many parents don't want to interrupt their vacation for something like this so they skip the meeting but later send their kids to Camp Carnival anyway. Then they wonder why they didn't know that 9 year olds can sign themselves out.

 

Okay- thanks. This is my first post to the thread but I've been reading it. I was going to ask this question. We've sailed Disney with our four kids (14 down through 4- one who speaks little understandable English) and they're very clear with their sign out policies at different ages. It didn't seem right that any corporation would be so careless (in terms of danger of litigation, not goodness of their hearts) to not have some explanation at some point.

 

On topic: We (well I, husband was deployed) let our 10 year old have sign out privileges for the first time last September. He always had staff page us (they provide pagers for parents with little kids) to let us know he was leaving, where he was going, etc. He knew if he got caught elsewhere, he'd be in parental lock down.

 

IMHO, it's imperative for parents to know what the various clubs offer, their rules, age guidelines, etc. We're in the process of researching a future cruise on Carnival, so this has been an enlightening discussion for me.

[skoi13]

Disney Cruise Line is one that does this. They give you pagers, and they WILL page you if the child is sick or injured, or if they are crying for the parents to come get them. If they are crying for the parents, you are required to take them out. They paged me twice for my younger daughter. The first time, she had changed her mind by the time I arrived. The second page came just as my husband and I were settling in to our lounge chairs at the adult-only beach on Disney's private island. We packed up, took the little train to the kids camp and collected her. Just part of the whole parenting package, lol. But also VERY comforting to know we could be reached if our daughters needed us.

 

There is an age cut off for this service. I imagine you could get a pager if you wanted one past that age, but once they're in Ocean Quest, I thought they could come and go as they pleased and parents weren't given a pager. I could be mistaken, because we've never had a child in that age range when that program was open.

[trock]

Kudos to Disney!!! Other cruiselines can learn something from them......

 

 

yet.. .like Chillis... or similar fine dining, Carnival gives you a beeper if there is a wait for open seating in their formal dining room... :rolleyes::p

[nrdsb4]

There is an age cut off for this service. I imagine you could get a pager if you wanted one past that age, but once they're in Ocean Quest, I thought they could come and go as they pleased and parents weren't given a pager. I could be mistaken, because we've never had a child in that age range when that program was open.

 

My oldest was 10 at the time and the youngest was 6. One day the youngest didn't want to go to camp, but the older one did. They gave us a pager (we didn't ask for it, just received it), and she did not have sign out privileges. If offered, I would have said no. I don't remember the name of the different clubs, so the "Ocean Quest" reference doesn't ring a bell.

 

Also, we took this cruise in 2000, so policies may have changed since then.

[nealstuber]

Okay- thanks. This is my first post to the thread but I've been reading it. I was going to ask this question. We've sailed Disney with our four kids (14 down through 4- one who speaks little understandable English) and they're very clear with their sign out policies at different ages. It didn't seem right that any corporation would be so careless (in terms of danger of litigation, not goodness of their hearts) to not have some explanation at some point.

 

On topic: We (well I, husband was deployed) let our 10 year old have sign out privileges for the first time last September. He always had staff page us (they provide pagers for parents with little kids) to let us know he was leaving, where he was going, etc. He knew if he got caught elsewhere, he'd be in parental lock down.

 

IMHO, it's imperative for parents to know what the various clubs offer, their rules, age guidelines, etc. We're in the process of researching a future cruise on Carnival, so this has been an enlightening discussion for me.

 

Carnival's policies are clear and they have an optional orientation meeting on the first night. On all of our Carnival Cruises this meeting has happened during 2nd seating dinner. So either opt for 1st seating or anytime if this is important to you. We're late seating people, but we've found staff members more than happy to answer our questions so long as there's not a line of others checking in.

[Kurbanfan]

yet.. .like Chillis... or similar fine dining, Carnival gives you a beeper if there is a wait for open seating in their formal dining room... :rolleyes::p

 

LMAO!!! Good point:D We know where their priorities lie:D

[lizzandbob]

So after reading all the posts on this issue, I thought my 10 year old

would be able to figure out how to get back to the cabin, so I asked her

with the given scenario of being sent away from Camp Carnival what she'd do... she gleefully told me, thats easy Mom.. I would go to the bar and wait for you there.. or wait I'd go to the room first, get my money, go to bar and order a shirley temple with extra cherries and wait for you and Dad there....

 

So when in doubt, make sure the kids don't think you have a drinking problem, and for the record we hardly ever go to the bar, more roulette

and relaxation in the suite for us! We hardly ever drink...but I guess she

thinks we do! Glad your daughter was okay.... on the 4 cruises that she

has already been on, we make sure she can get to the front desk, camp carnival, and our room to make sure she knows her way around a little!

But obviously she's way more clever than I give her credit for!!

[wentworth]

This view is exactly why I feel kids should be taught decision making and emergency planning skills at an early age. No parent can anticipate every eventuality - things happen. I don't think you can set-up a narrow set of parameters "stay in the camp till we come back" with no back-up or contigency plan and then get mad at the world when things don't go your way. No protocol or piece of paper is going to solve the problem.

 

Parent's and kids get unintentially separated all the time. Folks who feel a cruise ship is too dangerous for a ten-year old to navigate on their own need to ask themselves why they are taking the kid in the first place - when there is a high likelyhood that they will be "forced" by circumstance to do just that. The odds of an incident like this happening are FAR more likely than some of the horrible "what ifs" people fixate on. Yet we fixate on the improbable and do nothing to deal with the probable.

 

 

 

My point was............is it protocol and standard procedure that a

parent/guardian needs to give permission for children to sign themselves

out or not? The poster I quoted, not the OP, said their gd signed

out without them knowing it.

 

I'm not saying children shouldn't be taught an emgergency plan for all

the "what ifs", I agree with you. However, if parents cannot take

their children to Camp Carnival and be sure that they'll be there upon

return ( as in the case stated above) then Camp Carnival DOES need

to revamp. Your child may be fine in that situation, but others may

not.

[Kurbanfan]

So after reading all the posts on this issue, I thought my 10 year old

would be able to figure out how to get back to the cabin, so I asked her

with the given scenario of being sent away from Camp Carnival what she'd do... she gleefully told me, thats easy Mom.. I would go to the bar and wait for you there.. or wait I'd go to the room first, get my money, go to bar and order a shirley temple with extra cherries and wait for you and Dad there....

 

So when in doubt, make sure the kids don't think you have a drinking problem, and for the record we hardly ever go to the bar, more roulette

and relaxation in the suite for us! We hardly ever drink...but I guess she

thinks we do! Glad your daughter was okay.... on the 4 cruises that she

has already been on, we make sure she can get to the front desk, camp carnival, and our room to make sure she knows her way around a little!

But obviously she's way more clever than I give her credit for!!

 

LMAO!!! That was great!!!

[PACURN]

Lizz thats funny. Hey why go to the bar, just sneak a bottle on board and drink on the balcony. :p

[Jules215]

Every parent has their own comfort level, but last year on the Inspiration, I pretty much gave my 9yr old son free run of the boat...( And by that I don't mean he was running around like a mad man)...He does have good manners!! :D

 

But the kids club was heavily stacked with girls, so not a lot of a appeal for him...We just made sure he knew where the cabin was, and were we'd be during the day, i.e. poolside...At night, what venue we'd be at, etc.

 

He came away from that cruise with so much confidence!!...He loved exploring, and going to eat when he felt like it...(And we did eat all of our meals together, but he liked popping in throughout the day, and grabbing snacks)...Sometimes he'd hang at the pool with us...Sometimes in the room with his gameboy...Sit out on the Lido with us at night...Sometimes not...And he did participate in some of the kids club activities...I think if there had been more boys, he would have spent a lot more time there.

 

It was a good time for everybody, and a learning experience for him...I never felt uncomfortible giving him that freedom.

[halos]

Carnival's policies are clear and they have an optional orientation meeting on the first night. On all of our Carnival Cruises this meeting has happened during 2nd seating dinner. So either opt for 1st seating or anytime if this is important to you. We're late seating people, but we've found staff members more than happy to answer our questions so long as there's not a line of others checking in.

 

 

There are a lot of hours in a day and they choose the orientation time to be during dinner??

Does anyone else find this inconvenient?

[Rowan555]

There are a lot of hours in a day and they choose the orientation time to be during dinner??

Does anyone else find this inconvenient?

 

On every single Carnival cruise we've taken, the camp orientation was at 5:15 PM and went until 6. They then have a "family party" in the disco at 8 or 8:30 for all kids in the Camp Carnival age range (up to 11, I think). The only thing we ever missed due to dinner was the family party, and my kids made me promise to never have late seating again!

[caribbean dreams]

Carnival's policies are clear and they have an optional orientation meeting on the first night. On all of our Carnival Cruises this meeting has happened during 2nd seating dinner. So either opt for 1st seating or anytime if this is important to you. We're late seating people, but we've found staff members more than happy to answer our questions so long as there's not a line of others checking in.

 

Hummm, they have never happened during late seating on any of the cruises i was on, it's always shortly after we sail, right before first dinner seating.

Maybe they change the time.

If you don't go to the meeting you have to find the staff and sign your child up or they will not be allowed to enter CC.

[skoi13]

Carnival's policies are clear and they have an optional orientation meeting on the first night. On all of our Carnival Cruises this meeting has happened during 2nd seating dinner. So either opt for 1st seating or anytime if this is important to you. We're late seating people, but we've found staff members more than happy to answer our questions so long as there's not a line of others checking in.

 

Sorry if there was some lack of clarity in my post. I was assuming that Carnival would have at least a meeting on this issue, or something with the registration forms, as well as staff available to answer questions if necessary. Not to mention most of this information is available on line. I know most people aren't compulsive vacation researchers (as I am) but you can find it.

[skoi13]

My oldest was 10 at the time and the youngest was 6. One day the youngest didn't want to go to camp, but the older one did. They gave us a pager (we didn't ask for it, just received it), and she did not have sign out privileges. If offered, I would have said no. I don't remember the name of the different clubs, so the "Ocean Quest" reference doesn't ring a bell.

 

Also, we took this cruise in 2000, so policies may have changed since then.

 

Ocean Quest is where they put the middle school aged kids now. All the families of younger kids get the pagers, which we did like. They would use our younger children's pager if the older one (with sign out) wanted to leave but he had to ask them to do it.

[caribbean dreams]

Sorry if there was some lack of clarity in my post. I was assuming that Carnival would have at least a meeting on this issue, or something with the registration forms, as well as staff available to answer questions if necessary. Not to mention most of this information is available on line. I know most people aren't compulsive vacation researchers (as I am) but you can find it.

 

They do have a meeting and they do let you ask questions and at the meeting and it is made clear that at a certain age, your child may check themselves out.

They also say at the meeting that if you do not want your kids checking themselves out, you have to let them know.

 

The room is totally fun of parents (especially on the summer cruises and there are many questions being asked, so odds are, if you don't want to ask a question yourself, someone else will be asking for you, one of the big topics is that they can check themselves out, many parents get worried about this.

[bigboatrider]

i am fully with you. A ten yr old should have known of something else to do besides sit and cry.

 

Just another symptom of over protecting the kids then something like this happens and they are not prepared.

My niece is 14 yrs old and she would not be able to find her cabin. That is my sisters fault.

 

 

amen!!!

[Safetyal]

But the kids club was heavily stacked with girls, so not a lot of a appeal for him....

 

Isn't it funny that in what will seem like a few short years, he will find that situation extremely appealling.:D