Age of independence on board?

[cdelong1]

DD who will be 12 will be allowed to check herself out (but probably won't) DS who is 10 will not be allowed to, he is still too impulsive

[Magic3forme]

our son turned 9 on the cruise last year and we gave him check out/ in permission... when he left the club, they paged us...
the wave phones are great too.. he was able to text us and tell us his location... he normally went to get ice cream, then to the cabin.


we do not give him charging on his kttw though.

[Heyriddle]

Originally Posted by Magic3forme

our son turned 9 on the cruise last year and we gave him check out/ in permission... when he left the club, they paged us...
the wave phones are great too.. he was able to text us and tell us his location... he normally went to get ice cream, then to the cabin.

we do not give him charging on his kttw though.

Our DS was 10 on our last cruise. We considered allowing him to check out himself but found that he kept getting lost on the ship and couldn't find the room without help. So, that changed our plans. Basically depends on the kid. Our teenager, on the other hand, had a great time and enjoyed the independence. He came back each night to shower and dress for dinner with the family. After dinner he was back to the Vibe and not back to the stateroom until 1-2 am. This is something that is NEVER allowed at home so it made vacation special. Somehow he also managed to get up most mornings and go running.

[pjacobi]

Originally Posted by Heyriddle

After dinner he was back to the Vibe and not back to the stateroom until 1-2 am.

See cruisejunkie link below for assault that occured outside Vibe on wonder at 2AM.

Assaults can occur at any time, but more likely late at night when not as many people are arround.


http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Events_by_Disney.html



-Paul

[rentayenta]

My son will be 12 on our trip and is very responsible. Having said that, like others, it's not him I'm worried about. As of now, I have no intention of allowing him to roam around the ship alone unless he meets buddies his age and they stay in a group. Even then they'll be solid perimeters/boundaries set.

[JnDRader]

Originally Posted by dastewa

At what age would you let your kids roam the ship on their own? I have read several post where families reunited for meals after letting the kids be on their own. Is this the norm? I would tend to keep the kids with us, but if there is a lot of independent kids, I know I'll get pressure from mine to do the same.

Every child is different. Last June my just turned 10yo daughter was miserable in kids camp. We were worried but decided it was time to give her some responsibility and freedom. She thrived. She called to let us know where she was on a very regular basis. She was never late for a meeting time. In fact, she was always 10-15 minutes early. We were confident she'd do fine but we were surprised at just how well she did.

I should also note that she was almost always with friends. Either those met pre-cruise on the board or those traveling with us. Not sure we would have allowed her to roam constantly on her own.

[DVC SSR Owner]

Originally Posted by Jareds_mommy

We are struggling this cruise with this too, Its not the my kids I am worried about, it is the fact that psycho and pedophils
go on cruises too

I would not leave my child unattended for this very reason. Passengers on cruise ships have a false sense of security. Read cruisebruise.com and you will be shocked what goes on during cruises.

We are staying on the ship in Nassau too. Rapes and murders happen there at an alarming rate. We would rather enjoy the safety of the ship!

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Originally Posted by DVC SSR Owner

I would not leave my child unattended for this very reason. Passengers on cruise ships have a false sense of security. Read cruisebruise.com and you will be shocked what goes on during cruises.

Cruise ships are like a floating city, containing both good and bad. As long as precautions are taken and common sense used, the risk of becoming a victim is slim.

Originally Posted by DVC SSR Owner

We are staying on the ship in Nassau too. Rapes and murders happen there at an alarming rate. We would rather enjoy the safety of the ship!

It is far from alarming and no more so than any large city in the United States. Cruise passengers and other vacationers are far more likely to be the victim of a robbery than any other violent crime. As long as they stick to the tourist areas, that is the biggest danger.

[lbgraves]

Originally Posted by pjacobi

See cruisejunkie link below for assault that occured outside Vibe on wonder at 2AM.

Assaults can occur at any time, but more likely late at night when not as many people are arround.


http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Events_by_Disney.html



-Paul

And your reason for responding to the post in this way was??? The Vibe has scheduled activities until 2 a.m. It's not like the kids were just roaming around the ship. On the new ships the Vibe's entrance is out of the way. It's real simple to have a rule for the kids not to leave alone, or to contact the parent to come get them.

[MoukyMouse]

Originally Posted by PaceFamily

We were disappointed to discover that he did break some of the rules. Ate ice cream 3 times in the first day. This was discovered because he didn't want to eat at dinner. Also, he went to the pool with some friends from the club. Found out he (and the others) were doing flips into the pool.

Thank you for the honesty! While reading this thread, ALL I could think is when I was a kid I most certainly would've "explored" the ship outside of the parameters my mother set forth. I knew not to go in strangers rooms, but would think "certainly mom wouldn't mind me just going to the room of a kid my own age/gender...surely she just meant scary old men's rooms...what mom doesn't know won't hurt her...i feel safe". I see this same independent mentality in my kids & for that very reason will NOT be giving my boys check out/wandering privileges. My oldest will turn 11 on the cruise & my youngest will turn 9 on our last full day onboard. I can just see my oldest trying to go where he's not supposed to just out of curiosity. However, the same curious son would probably get independent privileges as a teenager.

Also, I'll say this. I certainly hope everyone's kids are as well behaved as they think they are, because even though this is a Disney cruise doesn't mean the entire ship is a daycare. I will be very disappointed if my expensive cruise is ruined by a ship overrun with hoodlums.

I agree with most of the pp where as it really depends on your kid. I just hope my oldest in the Edge won't feel too smothered when his new cruise friends can just leave, but he can't - I'm sure I'll hear all about it for the entire 4 night cruise.

[k3chantal]

Originally Posted by MoukyMouse

Thank you for the honesty! While reading this thread, ALL I could think is when I was a kid I most certainly would've "explored" the ship outside of the parameters my mother set forth. I knew not to go in strangers rooms, but would think "certainly mom wouldn't mind me just going to the room of a kid my own age/gender...surely she just meant scary old men's rooms...what mom doesn't know won't hurt her...i feel safe". I see this same independent mentality in my kids & for that very reason will NOT be giving my boys check out/wandering privileges. My oldest will turn 11 on the cruise & my youngest will turn 9 on our last full day onboard. I can just see my oldest trying to go where he's not supposed to just out of curiosity. However, the same curious son would probably get independent privileges as a teenager.

Also, I'll say this. I certainly hope everyone's kids are as well behaved as they think they are, because even though this is a Disney cruise doesn't mean the entire ship is a daycare. I will be very disappointed if my expensive cruise is ruined by a ship overrun with hoodlums.

I agree with most of the pp where as it really depends on your kid. I just hope my oldest in the Edge won't feel too smothered when his new cruise friends can just leave, but he can't - I'm sure I'll hear all about it for the entire 4 night cruise.

Wow! Making the assumption that you give them a little bit of freedom and they turn into hoodlums is not a great way to start out with any child. And assuming that the parents are checked out or don't care if they make the decision to allow their child certain freedoms is not appropriate.

Great, you know your child. Obviously your child isn't ready. I am happy that you can make an appropriate decision for your child. But my child, at the exact same age, was ready. And no, I am not in denial about what he was doing and I am confident that he did not ruin anyone's vacation. He would text us where he was and what he was doing and occasionally we would physically check to see the accuracy of his statements. Guess what? Completely doing what and where he said he was. He made great friends during that week and I am glad that I could allow him this space for him to try 'growing up' without me hovering over him.

You know, my mother grew up on the Stanford campus and told stories of walking and playing all day unsupervised. The one rule was to be back before dinner. My childhood: I was allowed to go to the library down the street by myself and with friends I could go to the park a few streets over. Today, what space do I give my children? My eldest (now 13) can go 4 houses down and I either watch him as he goes or he calls me from their telephone to say that he is there and we live in a gated community!. As an educator, I worry about the lack of opportunity to develop into functioning independent adults because that takes time. As a teenager, about to get my driver's license, I asked my mom how she knew where to go as she was driving. Yes, I figured it out and now consider myself to have a good sense of direction but would that have been developed earlier if I had been given the freedom to explore earlier? Yes, we live in a world of very bad people and yes, we do need to make decisions that make our children's safety a priority but on a Disney ship, these kids just want to be together and most of them are carrying a wave phone with instructions to check in and are participating in the planned activities.

So, yes by all means do what you feel comfortable but don't make the assumption that the parents who have allowed their kids more freedom are somewhat lacking in parent prowess: just perhaps, they know their kids too.

[Heyriddle]

Originally Posted by lbgraves

And your reason for responding to the post in this way was??? The Vibe has scheduled activities until 2 a.m. It's not like the kids were just roaming around the ship. On the new ships the Vibe's entrance is out of the way. It's real simple to have a rule for the kids not to leave alone, or to contact the parent to come get them.

I read through the link in response to my post and honestly I was surprised at how little was reported. From the tone of the post, I was thinking I was in for quite a shock. Actually the shock was the people who complained at not having condiments for their food. Really? While I know that part was not the point, we need to be alert regardless of where we are. I'm not Pollyanna in anyway. I have witnessed things I pray my own children will never see themselves. We need to be alert and smart but we can't go through life afraid.

And yes, the Vibe has activities until 1 or 2. That's how we based curfew. He stayed in touch via the wave phone and always did what he said he would. As for hoodlums, I kind of laughed at this. My son swims 5 hours a day, is an active Eagle Scout, is heavily involved in Naval Sea Cadets and wants to serve our nation as a Navy officer. Trust me when I say he won't be disturbing anyone. He will be walking back to get some rest so he can enjoy the next day of the cruise.

[Tozzie]

I just want to add something for those that give their kids freedom on the ship in addition to staying away from the rails and no going into anyones stateroom and vice versa tell them to stay off the elevators when they are alone. My sister let my niece and nephew have some freedom on the ship but there were rules and no elevators was on the list. My niece did make a face at that rule but I told her it was good exercise so suck it up or stay with your mother, guess what she chose.

[su_A_ve]

There's no self check in/out of Edge - And their programs do encourage them to roam the ship (albeit in groups).

In our case, on our first cruise, DS11 started in lab. On the second day, we allowed him to check in/out, and that evening he wanted to try Edge. After that he was on his own.

[Lovin DCL]

Originally Posted by MoukyMouse

I agree with most of the pp where as it really depends on your kid. I just hope my oldest in the Edge won't feel too smothered when his new cruise friends can just leave, but he can't - I'm sure I'll hear all about it for the entire 4 night cruise.

It is my understanding that kids in the Edge come and go as they please. There is no option to check them in and out. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Just wanted to make sure you know what to expect before your cruise. If you want to check your son in/out, I believe he will need to go to the Lab.