Kids alone on DCL at what age?

[rere101399]

Not looking to start a parenting debate, genuinely curious about what others have done in the past on DCL.

At the age of 8, OC/OL will ask at registration if your child has self-checkout privileges. As in, they are allowing with your agreement, children over the age of 8 to be alone on the ship. At what age did you actually allow your child to leave the clubs on their own? And if they did, did you instruct them to go to a particular area, to go straight to the room, or were they given free reign? In the same vein, at what age have you left your children alone in the stateroom, for a short time as well as for a couple of hours?

We haven’t given checkout privileges to our children in the past, or left them alone on the room. The clubs have always been a highlight for them and we usually have to convince them to leave. Only my oldest has cruised at an age old enough for that anyway. But now it’s been a year and a half since we’ve cruised. Trying to decide my thoughts for future cruises.

Specifically our first sailing post-pandemic is this fall. Kids will be 10.5 and almost 9, both good kids who are relatively confident and responsible. 10.5 year old is an old soul and responsible beyond his years. The almost 9 year old makes questionable decisions sometimes but not usually at times where he’s trying to show he’s trustworthy. Plus he typically defers to big brother and knows big brother is a massive tattle tale. Ha!

We’re debating how we would feel leaving them to watch a movie in the stateroom if we get a Palo reservation at a time that doesn’t coincide with their OC reservation, assuming that protocol extends to the Fantasy in November. I don’t think I would let them roam the ship without us (more because I don’t trust other people not because I don’t trust them) but I know that people do leave their kids alone both in the room and in the common areas after 8, and I feel like we might consider leaving them in the room with a phone.

 

[Fruto76]

Would you leave them home alone to run to a neighbors or to the store for the same or less amout of time as a Palo dinner? If so, then I think you could leave them for a movie in the room. Personally, I would only do that if I were in an OV or Inside stateroom and I would make sure they have a cell or wave phone to use so you or they could check in every so often.
I would probably also make the rule re: OC and OL that they must come and go together- always, but that's just me. My kids are all over the age 18 now- but when they were your kids' ages, they loved having a little bit of "freedom" and always respected the rules and boundaries.

 

[lanejudy]

As PP says, if you are comfortable leaving them home alone they should be fine in the room with a wave phone or cell phone. Maybe give it a try this summer at home.

 

[LambertLion]

All depends on the kids maturity level and your comfort level as parents. Some 8 year olds are very self sufficient and responsible, some are very much not. I was taught independence and responsibility at a young age as a latch key, but we were fortunate not to have to raise our son that way, but we still had him very responsible at that age. We let him self checkout bc of that, and bc we had done several Disney cruises by the time he was 8 or 9, so he knew the ship, the rules, and our rules very well. I’ve known other 8 and 9 year Olds I wouldn’t turn my back on for 10 seconds, so it all depends. Good luck!

 

[TestingH2O]

DD was 7 on our WBPC in 2020, and, while she wasn’t allowed to check in and out of the club, we did let her move around the ship a little bit. She could go get her own food/ice cream at the pool and to run back to the room a couple times after she had proven to us that she knew how to move around.

I actually think that the number of cruises they’ve been on matters too. DD knows the ships very well including how to read the carpet to help her navigate. We’ve also reviewed so many times how to get help if she needs it (find someone with a name tag.)

 

[Makmak]

We cruise what most would probably consider an excessive amount. One of my child’s first words was Lido. That said, I allow her at 8 to also check out of clubs and run to get snacks on many cruise lines as she knows a lot of the ships (better than I do). She has a phone and knows how to use it and has proven responsible since a young age. from
one mom to another: You should always do what you think is best. There will ALWAYS be ppl that want to scare or shame you, have “their” way be validated through your conformity, etc.

 

[rere101399]

They have been on 3 DCL cruises (1 dream, 2 fantasy) and all 3 have been recent (2 in 2019 and 1 in 2020). I would say they feel very comfortable on the ships and are responsible.

 

[Makmak]

They have been on 3 DCL cruises (1 dream, 2 fantasy) and all 3 have been recent (2 in 2019 and 1 in 2020). I would say they feel very comfortable on the ships and are responsible.

As far as staying in the room, sometimes my kid just doesn’t want to play bingo or whatever so we stick the DND sign on the door and tell her do not open it, don’t order room services or go anywhere and she’s got her phone. So I don’t see any prob with that at all. Unless as a pp said it’s a kid “you would not turn your back on” hahaha. Your kids sound like really great responsible kids and I bet they are building so much confidence through being raised by you! *Virtual high-five to you!

 

[Cheburashka]

Given the descriptions of your children, in your shoes I wouldn't have any problem giving the responsible 10 and a half year-old free reign of the ship (with prior discussions about proper behavior, check-in procedures & stranger danger). I would not allow the 8 year old who sometimes makes questionable decisions to check himself out from the club. If the younger one complained about it being unfair, I would simply attribute it to their different ages & not mention his behavior history. I'd say that at age 10, you will allow him the same privileges as his brother. Given your description, it sounds like by age 10 he likely will be more responsible. Leaving them alone in the stateroom together is fine imo.

 

[rere101399]

As far as staying in the room, sometimes my kid just doesn’t want to play bingo or whatever so we stick the DND sign on the door and tell her do not open it, don’t order room services or go anywhere and she’s got her phone. So I don’t see any prob with that at all. Unless as a pp said it’s a kid “you would not turn your back on” hahaha. Your kids sound like really great responsible kids and I bet they are building so much confidence through being raised by you! *Virtual high-five to you!

Thank you!!

 

[MichelleCanada]

I just wanted to add that when your child checks themselves in or out if the kids club you do get a text message telling you this. We found that comforting as well. Our DS8 had places he was allowed to go when. He was on his own - in case we wanted to meet up with him.

 

[lklgoodman]

We let our dd stay in the room by herself and do club check out when she was 10 yrs old. She had done 5 cruises by then, so she was familiar with how things worked. When she stayed in the room by herself, she had snacks/drinks in the room so no need to call room service or to leave to get something on deck. As others have said, as long as you go over your rules with them beforehand, they will do great.

 

[kathi]

We did not allow self-check out until she was 10. And she was not allowed to just roam all over the ship at that age. The packs of children we have experienced on some of our cruises was not a good experience (and other cruises the kids out and about on the ship were well mannered and calm.) It's really about setting limits/guidelines for your child if they can do self-check out, IMO.

Every child is different and you know your kids. It sounds to me like they would be fine together in the room while you go to an adult dinner. Leave one of them with a smart phone so they can text you. Make sure they know they are not to leave the cabin unless there is a ship emergency.

 

[dvcdisney]

Our children were not permitted to check themselves out until they were 10 and even then, our rule was that if they were going out, they would need to text us and we would meet them just a few steps from the club (they liked the idea of checking themselves out but they know that we don't want them roaming around.

As they got older, rules changed. When they moved to the Edge, it was about texting us every time they left the club and where they were going. They needed to be in public areas and never in someone else's stateroom. They learned pretty quickly to make plans to meet up at the pool or game area if they needed to go back to the stateroom to get something. A few times, their friends would suggest they all go together, but one of our main rules is not to go in the staterooms hallways except going to our room and out.

With regards to leaving them in the stateroom, we rarely did but our rule was that they don't open the door for anyone other than us and text regularly.

Our children knew that ships better than us, but it's not about that. We also trusted them, but until they were older, we felt they weren't mature enough to know if some people had different motives. We didn't scare them, but we did discuss that not everyone has the same values.

 

[tlprice]

My daughter was either 9 or 10 when she was given self check out privileges. I don't remember exactly. I must admit, it was more for me than for her. She liked to stay in the kid's clubs until they closed, and I didn't want to go that late at night to check her out. She has always been really good about coming straight back to the room when the club closed. She also has only ever hung out with other kids that are our table mates on cruises, so as a group of parents at dinner, we kind of tend to set the rules together. On our last cruise, which was a transatlantic, there were 2 kids that had check out privileges at our table and two that didn't. It was never an issue for any of them though. She also knows she is not allowed in anybody else's stateroom or anyone else in ours without permission. She is great at checking in with me often to either do activities with me or to excitedly tell me what she has been or will be doing with her friends. She also knows to be really respectful in the hallways and elevators as she has seen the rude kids enough times and doesn't want to be one of them.