Why do people complain constantly about...

[ommax2]

the kids on cruise ships. Every single thread about "what would you like improved" or just any thread in general that mentions kids turns into a gripe about naughty kids post. I am pretty sure that "those" parents don't read the board, and Carnival isn't going to turn away families any time soon. I know we all have seen those kids, but what about the 100s of well behaved ones...

I read these boards all the time, and post very little, but gee, if I was new to cruising, I would think that the ships were like out of control day care centers to read most of the threads about kids on the ships.

 

I know you have strong opinions, and please share when appropriate, just don't hate the good kids and the good parents by making sweeping generalizations.

 

Have a great day!:)

[bassmk]

the kids on cruise ships. Every single thread about "what would you like improved" or just any thread in general that mentions kids turns into a gripe about naughty kids post. I am pretty sure that "those" parents don't read the board, and Carnival isn't going to turn away families any time soon. I know we all have seen those kids, but what about the 100s of well behaved ones...

I read these boards all the time, and post very little, but gee, if I was new to cruising, I would think that the ships were like out of control day care centers to read most of the threads about kids on the ships.

 

I know you have strong opinions, and please share when appropriate, just don't hate the good kids and the good parents by making sweeping generalizations.

 

Have a great day!:)

 

It's not so much the KIDS I have a problem with...it's the inattentive parents. Don't want to be with your kids during a vacation, then LEAVE THEM AT HOME. The reason I don't have any kids right now is b/c I'm not done doing grown-up things. When I'm ready to go on kid-friendly vacations and spend every waking moment making sure they're not effing up someone else's hard-earned vacation, then I will have some of my own.

 

I don't mean to sound like a kid-hater, but I don't choose to have kids right now, so why should I be annoyed by someone else's kid making a mile-high ice cream cone that will collapse in a heap right at my feet and then go jump in the pool and splash my library book while mom is asleep on a deck chair, alcoholic beverage in one hand, iPod in the other?

[BlueC5Kitten]

...why should I be annoyed by someone else's kid making a mile-high ice cream cone that will collapse in a heap right at my feet and then go jump in the pool and splash my library book while mom is asleep on a deck chair, alcoholic beverage in one hand, iPod in the other?

 

Brilliant! :cool:

[momsbusy]

Its absolutely absurd for someone to go on a cruiseship and expect not to get splashed. What do you care how high someone else's ice cream is? I've seen plenty of adults with mile high cones. Wake up - Carnival IS a kid friendly vacation!

[Kurbanfan]

Its absolutely absurd for someone to go on a cruiseship and expect not to get splashed. What do you care how high someone else's ice cream is? I've seen plenty of adults with mile high cones. Wake up - Carnival IS a kid friendly vacation!

 

I have actually seen a child put his mouth under the spout:eek:

[momsbusy]

I've seen drunk adults do that and WORSE!

[dmdiver]

I think the only way to avoid lots of kids is to cruise when school is in session. Even then, you'll still see the ones who were taken out of school for vacation or are home schooled. I think if I were bothered by kids I would probably consider a more sedate line that didn't have pool slides, waterworks, stuff like that that will attract families with kids. Since kids don't bother me at this time, I'll stick with sailing from a port close to home where I can save some moulah. Plus, I like the water slide!

[nunuc2000]

Popcorn, anyone?? :p

[BlueC5Kitten]

Its absolutely absurd for someone to go on a cruiseship and expect not to get splashed. What do you care how high someone else's ice cream is? I've seen plenty of adults with mile high cones. Wake up - Carnival IS a kid friendly vacation!

 

I have actually seen a child put his mouth under the spout:eek:

 

Me too...pretty unsanitary.

 

And I do tend to care when they proceed to make a mess of the ship (often because of the mile high ice cream cones) with no repercussions from their parental units, which strangely enough, are never in the immediate vicinity of their children.

[BlueC5Kitten]

I've seen drunk adults do that and WORSE!

 

I've seen drunk (and even some not so drunk) adults do some pretty heinous things, as well; however, I have less compunction about saying something to the adults than I do to small children that belong to others who have carelessly shirked their responsibilities as parents. As was noted in another thread, how much are you willing to say to someone else's children without fearing to get on the parent's bad side.

 

I think the bigger problem is the people who need to be made aware of their children's behaviour are the very people who couldn't care less.

[Kurbanfan]

I've seen drunk adults do that and WORSE!

 

You should have called security.........I did....

[stthomaslover]

I don't know where the unruly kids and absent parents come from. It just amazes me, that everyone on this board states how it is never their kids, theirs are the well behaved quiet ones. I think that is part of the problem, they THINK THIERS ARE THE GOOD ONES. Sorry, I am sure you will put me in my place. But I read alot of posts on this board and just can't believe every one of you who brings their 10-16 year olds have angels and it is only the non members who have the unruly unsupervised children.

 

Cindy

[mrsbean1990]

I just got off Fantasy this past Thursday, and there were 700+ kids on the ship. The biggest "problem" I ran into was a group of teens who were on my elevator who had hit all the buttons before I got on,so we stopped on every floor. I asked them if they had seen "Elf," and they all laughed and said, "It's like a Christmas tree!" :-)

 

During a normal busy time on the ship, this isn't uncommon anyway (stopping on every floor).

 

I didn't see any bad behaviors, and just saw kids having a good time, which is what a cruise is all about. I saw groups of teens doing scavenger hunts and hanging out together at various places on the ship.

 

Like I tell my kids, "If you don't want to get splashed, stay out of the pool."

 

Maybe we just got lucky and didn't experience any of the kid mayhem.

 

The only kids driving us crazy were our own because they were with us 95% of the time. :D

[Yvonne]

I think it's like the saying "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch."

 

It isn't that ALL the kids on a cruise run around like wild little monsters, it's those FEW that do that give ALL the kids a bad name.

 

Just like the FEW inconsiderate smokers that give ALL smokers a bad name, etc. etc.

 

I don't mind most kids. I had two of my own, and have five wonderful grandchildren so it's not like I don't like kids. I just don't like the bratty ones AND their "parents" that don't know how to parent them properly.

 

If the kids are behaving, fine, no problems. But when they are purposefully being bad, in running up and down the hallways knocking on everyone's door at 3 a.m., or pushing all the buttons on the elevator, or making a mess (of ice cream, etc.) that a crew member is going to have to clean up because their parents aren't around, etc. then it does become a problem.

 

If parents want to take their children on a cruise, then they shouldn't let them run around unsupervised on the ship. If you're not going to keep them with you, leave them at home with Grandma.

[Seattlecruisers98021]

Thank you for this thread. I would further like to add it's not always good vs bad parenting... my daughter has a "mild" form of autism. She looks like any other child. Sometimes you talk to her and would think she was fine. But when she is overstimulated she starts behaving inappropriately. Guess what, on board a ship is very exciting and lots going on...she will act out. It can appear that she is being willfull and defiant...I will not leave her at home because an unfortunate amount of people in our society lack empathy and feel a need to pass judgement. This judgement is almost as difficult as the challenge of trying to help her learn to cope in a more socially accepted way. She sure could use an dose of kindness instead.

 

That harsh judgement you make might be of a special needs child...they don't always look different.

[MarkRosenthal]

I agree with most, there are two sides to all stories. I have been bothered too by kids who play aound in the elevators and run up and down the halls but I also am more bothered by the actions of the drunk adults who scream and yelli all hours of the night. Of course the easy thing to do is say call security but these people are spending a ton on booze so there is nothing that anybody is really going to do unless they go way overboard (so to speak). The same number of people that complain about kids could also complain if they said during spring break If you know what I mean). I bring my children but I also don't let them roam free, it is our family vacation.

 

I do find it strange that so many people are bothered by kids yet choose to:

 

1. Sail with Carnival who has more kids than any other line.

2. Sail during school breaks when there are so many more kids on board.

 

Everybody has the right to the vacation of their choice but if you really don't want to sail with children then you should look into other lines or sail when school is in session. Nobody's vacation should be ruined by unruly people no matter what there ages are.

 

Just my opinion,

[MarkRosenthal]

I just got off Fantasy this past Thursday, and there were 700+ kids on the ship. The biggest "problem" I ran into was a group of teens who were on my elevator who had hit all the buttons before I got on,so we stopped on every floor. I asked them if they had seen "Elf," and they all laughed and said, "It's like a Christmas tree!" :-)

 

During a normal busy time on the ship, this isn't uncommon anyway (stopping on every floor).

 

I didn't see any bad behaviors, and just saw kids having a good time, which is what a cruise is all about. I saw groups of teens doing scavenger hunts and hanging out together at various places on the ship.

 

Like I tell my kids, "If you don't want to get splashed, stay out of the pool."

 

Maybe we just got lucky and didn't experience any of the kid mayhem.

 

The only kids driving us crazy were our own because they were with us 95% of the time. :D

 

You have such a great attitude, but I have to laugh at your last line. We leave on Sunday and our 8 year old says he will see us in a week, he plans on spending all week in Camp Carnival and none of the time with us. So much for a family vacation! Laughing

[dmdiver]

Popcorn, anyone?? :p

 

That'll be $1.50 please....

[steelerjen]

I don't have kids of my own only nieces & nephews and I don't believe that every kid is bad. But I do have a problem when I use my hard earned $ & go on a cruise and have to deal with the "elevator parties" and the constant noise at 3:00 a.m. of kids running up and down the halls. Knowone is perfect but it would be nice if you didn't have to deal with that kind of agravation while on vacation.

[KimberleyFL]

Thank you for this thread. I would further like to add it's not always good vs bad parenting... my daughter has a "mild" form of autism. She looks like any other child. Sometimes you talk to her and would think she was fine. But when she is overstimulated she starts behaving inappropriately. Guess what, on board a ship is very exciting and lots going on...she will act out. It can appear that she is being willfull and defiant...I will not leave her at home because an unfortunate amount of people in our society lack empathy and feel a need to pass judgement. This judgement is almost as difficult as the challenge of trying to help her learn to cope in a more socially accepted way. She sure could use an dose of kindness instead.

 

That harsh judgement you make might be of a special needs child...they don't always look different.

 

I see your point, but I bet you wouldn't let any of your children, special needs or not, run up and down the halls screaming and knocking on cabin doors. We've had situations where they were also taking the breakfast room service orders off cabin doors (not just one night either).

 

I think the entire issue is really supervision vs. a child not behaving. Any child will misbehave at times. If a parent is there to correct that behavior then it won't get out of hand.

[CMM]

We have cruised in mid September on 3 occasions and have found that there are not many kids probably due to school just starting and most people not wanting to take their kids out at the very beginning of the year. One cruise there had been only 30 kids our week and the week before 600!

 

Also the Canada New England Itinerary has even fewer, a mostly older crowd.

 

So if you want to avoid the kids consider when you cruise. Check out the roll call and see what the composition for you're sailing looks like.

 

We are cruising with our teens over Thanksgiving and are very excited, but to be honest when we cruised without them we weren't interested in putting up with the antics of obnoxious kids or inadequate parenting either.

[KimberleyFL]

We have cruised in mid September on 3 occasions and have found that there are not many kids probably due to school just starting and most people not wanting to take their kids out at the very beginning of the year. One cruise there had been only 30 kids our week and the week before 600!

 

Also the Canada New England Itinerary has even fewer, a mostly older crowd.

 

So if you want to avoid the kids consider when you cruise. Check out the roll call and see what the composition for you're sailing looks like.

 

We are cruising with our teens over Thanksgiving and are very excited, but to be honest when we cruised without them we weren't interested in putting up with the antics of obnoxious kids or inadequate parenting either.

 

That is so true. I'm going on Carnival after school is back in session and on HAL when school is out for summer, spring break, or holidays. We cruised Carnival over Thanksgiving one year and know not to do that again. That was an 'obnoxious kids and inadequate parenting' nightmare.

[lowbass]

People complaing about kids is very normal. I read many Las Vegas forums too and when the subject of kids comes up it's always a huge argument.

[Nunu]

You should have called security.........I did....

 

Were they hammered? :confused:

[viciouslysh]

I never have a problem with the small kids, because camp does a great job with them. It's the teens that sometimes make me cringe. I've seen so many be rude to the crew. Or just act very vulger and loud in hallways and elevators.