Letting Kids Check Themselves Out of the Clubs

[mrs.ariel]

I think I will allow my 11 year old to have check-in and check-out privileges on our cruise in May. I didn't allow him to last year, but he was very responsible and knew his way around very well and I feel he's ready.
Does anyone know if he would be allowed to check in and out my 6 year old from the kids club?

 

[SoozCruise]

Suggestion: do a dry run and have your child do the self-check-out while you are there. On our last cruise we gave our 9-year-old checkout privileges but it didn't get put into the computer correctly; the first time she tried to do it, the CM said that she wasn't allowed to and she was very upset.

As another data point, we gave our older daughter, now 12, checkout permission at age 10; our 9-y-o was allowed at age 8 because she is, let's say, a different personality from her sister. Whiteboard in the room with current location for everyone is helpful, and our girls both carry a wave phone in a string bag backpack that is not to be taken off and laid down.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

You know your kids best. We let my oldest check himself out at age 8. He's a rule-follower and I knew he would just come straight back to the cabin. My youngest is now 7, and I am certain he'd wait for me to leave, then check himself out and go get ice cream or something silly like that. So he's not going to get that privilege just yet. I hope that by age 10, he will have matured some.

 

[ultimate_ed]

For our first cruise, my kids were 8 and 12. The 12 year old we didn't have an issue with. We went ahead and gave the 8 year old check in/out but didn't tell him at first. On that first cruise, we would generally let the older one take the younger and check them both in. After a day, we let the 8 year old know he could check himself out, but he had to come back to the room if he did. That worked out well.

This past summer, the two were 10 and 14 and pretty well had full freedom. Both made lots of friends at a meetup organized by an experienced cruiser that we went to before the lifeboat drill. By this point, my son was the seasoned cruiser and helped the two boys of another family that we dined with navigating to the clubs after dinner.

 

[The Sasquatch]

Wow, I actually never knew they can checkout at 8. I thought that started in the Edge at 11. Seems like everyone here is doing that, I guess I never looked into it. I am surprised my daughter hasn't made me well aware of it.

 

[Suzette5181]

I would trust my kids (same ages) as my daughter is a little mommy and would be very cautious.

 

[2-pointdoe]

If I had 2 siblings those ages i would allow it. Since I have an 'only" (her sibs are from 19 to 25 years older) and she is only 8, I probably will not let her.

 

[ktate82]

Suggestion: do a dry run and have your child do the self-check-out while you are there. On our last cruise we gave our 9-year-old checkout privileges but it didn't get put into the computer correctly; the first time she tried to do it, the CM said that she wasn't allowed to and she was very upset.

As another data point, we gave our older daughter, now 12, checkout permission at age 10; our 9-y-o was allowed at age 8 because she is, let's say, a different personality from her sister. Whiteboard in the room with current location for everyone is helpful, and our girls both carry a wave phone in a string bag backpack that is not to be taken off and laid down.

How do give them checkout privileges? I have done the online check in but did not see it as an option.

 

[nancyjo1998]

I am going to be giving my 10 year old check out privileges this time around. This thread has given some great "rules" that I had not even thought of, that I am sure going to add to our current rule list! Thanks all for the suggestions!

 

[TimeAndTide]

I would also say that if you would be offended at an adult speaking to your child as in "Hey guys. Let's knock it off" or some other gentle admonishment in the face of kid rowdiness, you may not want to let your child check in/out. Kids may make friends and frivolity may ensue. Not a bad thing necessarily. But as a former teacher, I'm not overly shy about speaking to unsupervised kids jumping/yelling in elevators or bumping little kids on stairs. Most parents probably wouldn't mind this but those who do might want to stay with their kidlets. Peer pressure is a weird thing, and can bring out unexpected behavior even in the best of kids. Usually a gentle reminder is all it takes. (In reality, though, it's more often the teenagers than the younger kids who are acting up.)

 

[Hanover]

We let our now ds18 and ds14 start checking themselves in/out at age 10 for our oldest son and then 8 for our youngest son. By then they had been on several DCL cruises and were very familiar with the ship layouts. We had several rules such as they had to notify us when they checked out with their destination, they could not bring anyone to our stateroom, they could not swim without us, they could not go to anyone else's stateroom, and they had to stay only in public areas with a minimum of one other person. Basically they went to the arcade, sports deck, movies or hung out on the top decks with friends. We let our DS14 start checking himself out earlier than we let his brother mainly for our own convenience when we went to pick him up. With him being able to check himself out, we did not have to wait in a long line with other parents to check him out. He could check out and meet us right outside the lab.

 

[DisneySince1967]

My job exposes me to things that normal people shouldn't have to know about. I'll just leave this link http://www.cruiselawnews.com/articles/sexual-assault-of-minors/.

 

[dennes]

Hi there
we have completed two cruises (7 day and now a 14 day) Both on the Wonder. My sons were 11 and 8 on the past cruise in May. Mr 11 was at the edge and had the priviledge to have free rein on the ship. He was aware though that if I heard of issues, or he made himself sick on chicken tenders and icecream, he would be enrolled with the lab and would lose his sign out priviledge. He is a good boy and very sensible but having the fear of losing freedom worked well for him. No issues no problems.

We are doing a WBPC again next may and we will allow our younger (will be 9) to sign out of the lab. He knows his way around the ship and the same consequence will be in place if he does something silly. We will have a whiteboard on the door and the kids usually call us from the room when they sign out.

That being said, we actually enjoy a lot of time together with movies and activities that usually signing in and out of kids club wont be too much of an issue as they don't spend hour upon hour there

Have a fun cruise
Deb

 

[wilkeliza]

My job exposes me to things that normal people shouldn't have to know about. I'll just leave this link http://www.cruiselawnews.com/articles/sexual-assault-of-minors/.

That's why a lot of parents have the rule not letting their kids ride in the elevators or go into other people's rooms. I also suggest kids not going into their own stateroom with out first letting mom and dad know. It is sad but many many things have happened on cruise ships including Disney ones.

 

[meremac]

My job exposes me to things that normal people shouldn't have to know about. I'll just leave this link http://www.cruiselawnews.com/articles/sexual-assault-of-minors/.

This is very scary for sure. But I do think there's a fine line between being safe and keeping your kids on such a tight leash that they never learn to take care of themselves. It's the same thing at home. They can play in the front yard, ride their bikes through the neighborhood, and walk to school...but there are rules. They must ALWAYS be together. NO going in anyone's house or getting in anyone's car without telling me...even if it's someone they know. Constant discussion of safe places, safety strategies, etc. Similar rules apply on the ship.

 

[meremac]

I would also say that if you would be offended at an adult speaking to your child as in "Hey guys. Let's knock it off" or some other gentle admonishment in the face of kid rowdiness, you may not want to let your child check in/out. Kids may make friends and frivolity may ensue. Not a bad thing necessarily. But as a former teacher, I'm not overly shy about speaking to unsupervised kids jumping/yelling in elevators or bumping little kids on stairs. Most parents probably wouldn't mind this but those who do might want to stay with their kidlets. Peer pressure is a weird thing, and can bring out unexpected behavior even in the best of kids. Usually a gentle reminder is all it takes. (In reality, though, it's more often the teenagers than the younger kids who are acting up.)

I am a firm believer that it takes a village. Our neighborhood collectively looks out for/reprimands/guides all the kids. So this would not be a problem for me at all

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My job exposes me to things that normal people shouldn't have to know about. I'll just leave this link http://www.cruiselawnews.com/articles/sexual-assault-of-minors/.

I'll just point out that source is run by an "ambulance chaser" equivalent lawyer. His primary goal in business is to sue the cruise industry for any and all issues.

Not saying that some of what he reports isn't true, just not as big as he makes it. He likes to post stuff from years past as if it just happened.

That said, yes, you have to be cautious, even on a "small" cruise ship. Just because the environment is basically a closed one, doesn't mean there aren't nasty people in it.

 

[Saamh]

We signed a special authorization to allow our 7 year old self check out privileges. We just completed our 10th cruise and she's very familiar with the ship and all the rules plus she's always with our other daughter who is 11. Having only 1 daughter be able to check out was a problem for us (younger one didn't want to go in because she didn't like having to ask a counselor to call us.) They must either be going to/from our room to the club or they can go to get soda or ice cream together. We don't allow them to roam aimlessly.