Children staying with parents?

[reagan75]

I have a DS10 and DD4. When we take a vacation it is geared toward the family and we always travel together. DH and I have only taken one trip without our kids and that was for our 10 year anniversary. I am sure we will let our kids go into the clubs occasionally but I want them with us (and hopefully vice versa) most of the time. We want to see their joy in experienceing something new. Do others feel the same?

 

[RickyMouseMom]

I agree! I think that alot of the CMs thought we were crazy because we didn't sign up our kids for the kids club. We hung out as a family and had a blast - the pool, we played alot of fooseball, and enjoyed being together as a family. Not that there is anything wrong with having your kids in the club, but there is nothing wrong hanging out as a family either!

 

[tinkerone]

nothing wrong with it at all. ever one is different though. my thoughts are that while family time is so very valuable, so is apart time. it is very important that children feel empowered to do things on there own, to know that its okay for mommy and daddy to have seperate times. it allows everyone to learn and grow. now my children are way way to old for the clubs but if they werent' we would have meals together, do port times together, special things on the ship BUT we would also have apart times. they would be set using the navagator and all of us discussing what we want to do. that way there is a compromise and everyone gets something they want.
now again, thats just how we did it not how i think you should do it. to each there own.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

We like having lots of family time together on the cruises. Unlike a trip at WDW where we're with each other 24/7, a cruise does allow some away time too. Not only does it give Mom & Dad time to relax, the kids seem to really enjoy their freedom and making new friends compared to other vacations we've taken. For us, it's really the Sea Days where there are times apart. We spend all day together at Castaway Cay and on the port excursions. We also eat together each evening, except for one night at Palo. On our last cruise, we traveled with my MIL and SIL. The cousins all ate dinner together without the parents while we enjoyed Palo. When we went to check on them, they were doing just fine and wanted us to leave immediately!

 

[ppiew]

I just wish our DGC liked the clubs - but they didn't. I am sure if you check the Navigators each day and find activities they would like, knowing you expect them to join you for dinner each day, I would think everyone should be happy.

 

[mmmears]

I have a DS10 and DD4. When we take a vacation it is geared toward the family and we always travel together. DH and I have only taken one trip without our kids and that was for our 10 year anniversary. I am sure we will let our kids go into the clubs occasionally but I want them with us (and hopefully vice versa) most of the time. We want to see their joy in experienceing something new. Do others feel the same?

We feel the same way, and so does our DD. We had lots of fun time as a family -- there are so many family-friendly activities on the ships, too, so you can play together!

 

[DISJen]

My kids checked out the activities for the day and went to what they were interested in. It ended up being no more than about 1 activity a day. No big deal. Yes, we have fun as a family.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

My kids checked out the activities for the day and went to what they were interested in. It ended up being no more than about 1 activity a day. No big deal. Yes, we have fun as a family.

This is us exactly. DD always checks to see what's going on and then makes her decision. First cruise she spent quite a bit of time there. Second cruise she only went once. I didn't mind because she was happy in either case. And with both cruises, it was always her decision on whether she went or not.

 

[Davids-Coco]

This is our perception too... even though we are traveling with two other families, we have made it known that this is our Family vacation and that we intend on spending time together. The kids are littler than most already mentioned, but I don't like the idea of being away from them on this experience. One friend thinks we are nuts... we have had a very turbulent year for our marriage and need some "us" time, but putting our kids in the club/nursery to get it isn't my idea of getting that time. It's just differing ideas, and I take it at that.

 

[makaylee]

You could run into the problem we had, our 4 yo never wanted to leave the club. He's loved it on both cruises he's been on. The cruise director actually made a joke about us on the last night talking about a little boy whos parents tried to pick him up from the club 3 times one day and he didn't want to leave. I was like, "hey, that's us!" He LOVES it! He did spend a good part of everyday with us though, at the pool, on some excursions, playing fooseball etc. He also went to the shows and had dinner with us every night. As soon as he was finished he asked to go to the club and we let him because it was his vacation too. He was happy there and i just wanted him to be happy. Our DD13 was a whole different story, she stuck to us like glue. She has never liked the clubs much.

 

[JRose48]

Last year my husband was on vacation from his job overseas so we wanted to spend time as a family together. We dragged our son out of kids club. This time my husband has been back since December so we are looking forward to some couple time. We will be at WDW the week before and two days after so we will get plenty of family time, but the cruise will give us an opportunity for my husband and I to spend time together without worrying about our son.

 

[Homemom]

Same here, we never sent the kids to the clubs. Vacation time to us is family time. We spent it all together.

 

[princesskenziesmom]

For us, we are a very close family and we do everything together and will do many things together on the cruise because we enjoy doing things with the kids but when I say that we do Everything together I mean EVERYTHING together. We haven't had a night out alone for two years so we chose DCL because we are hoping it will also be a vacation for us as a couple also. the kids will decide what works for them but we want to take advantage of the couples massage and Rasul room.

 

[Tracykim]

I am HOPING that our cruise is a "family" cruise and that our Teen and Tween don't have other ideas. But if they do then I am fine with it. It is their vacation too so I don't want them all grumpy because I won't let them spread their wings. I just got to get used to them not always wanting to be around us. Now when they were younger that was a different story!!

 

[Paddle_Nut]

I hope to spend as much time as possible with the kiddies on our cruise, but I am also looking forward to some much needed mommy and daddy time too. I think a mixture of both is ok, an hour or so in the morning and afternoon seems right to me. I am a SAHM and although I love what I do (most days) mommies need a break too. Having some alone time at the gym or just taking walks alone will be embraced, and then I am recharged to spend some good ole fun at the pool, disco or beach with the entire herd. It is our first time cruising and it will be my kids first 'real' hot holiday (we live waaaaay up north, hot holidays are not just nice, but mandatory ) so every little adventure and new experience will be so much fun to experience with the kiddies

Any way you slice it, it is all about what is fun to each family!!