Kids in Clubs while parents on Port Adventures?

[Seamama]

Thanks for the info. Just out of curiosity, what would DCL do if it was time to depart the port and the parents were nowhere to be found? I assume you would delay the departure, but would you do so indefinitely?

A DCL crew member a few years ago told of us a story where it was a Dad and Daughter traveling, and he left her in the kids clubs while he went ashore. He didn't come back. The captain delayed departure as long as possible, but eventually they did have to leave. A CM (someone from the kids clubs- so, trained, background checked, etc.) took care of her until they got to the next port, where the dad met back up w/ them. Supposedly, the girl had fun and wasn't too distressed- CM was all about the fun and games, and I think DCL gave her some free toys. Still, not ideal, obviously.

 

[squirk]

Thanks for the info. I wonder what happened with the Dad that he didn't make it back in time........

 

[bcwife76]

I have to say I am a bit surprised this is allowed. When we were in Mexico last year we stayed in a resort (two in fact, on two separate trips) that had amazing kids clubs. We were given beepers that buzzed and lit up (much like you are given in a restaurant) if your child wanted to leave/needed you, etc. Under no circumstances were we to leave the resort while our children were in the club (not that we would) - if they found out you had left (obviously you were no reachable by the beeper) the resort automatically charged a fee (I think $30) per hour that you were gone as a babysitting service.

Personally with our childrens current ages, no we would not leave them in the club if we went ashore, as tempting as it would be. When they are older we would absolutely revisit this topic.

 

[Back40]

On our very first Disney Cruise and very first port, we did this with our then 3 1/2 year old and 1 1/2 year old. The port was Key West. We reserved 3 hours in the nursey for the youngest, got off the boat, walked around, and stopped into a few of the bars. It was perfect, and the kids loved being where they were.

 

[DahliaRW]

Just this past June, cruise passengers were killed in a plane crash in Alaska. I can't imagine taking the chance to leave my children to fend with cruise officials or foreign personnel in the event of an accident like this, no matter what their ages.

There have been car accidents reported too, with or without death occurring. I just wouldn't want my children to hear about any accident that involved me from strangers and then having to deal with this on their "vacation".

While is is possible, it's highly unlikely. IRL (as in not on a cruise) this could happen too. What if my dh and I meet for lunch while the kids are in school and we die in a car accident on the way there? I'm not going to stay at the school with my kids all day to ensure this doesn't happen, kwim? There are risks to everything, and DCL does have contingency plans for these unlikely situations, and you can't let fear rule your life. That being said, I probably wouldn't take a plane or helicopter sightseeing excursion with my kids on the ship because the risk is a bit higher, just like I wouldn't do a long non DCL excursion which makes it slightly more likely I'll miss the ship. Likewise, I probably wouldn't go bungee jumping or on a day-long float plane trip while my kids are at school either.

 

[wombat_5606]

While is is possible, it's highly unlikely. IRL (as in not on a cruise) this could happen too. What if my dh and I meet for lunch while the kids are in school and we die in a car accident on the way there? I'm not going to stay at the school with my kids all day to ensure this doesn't happen, kwim? There are risks to everything, and DCL does have contingency plans for these unlikely situations, and you can't let fear rule your life. That being said, I probably wouldn't take a plane or helicopter sightseeing excursion with my kids on the ship because the risk is a bit higher, just like I wouldn't do a long non DCL excursion which makes it slightly more likely I'll miss the ship. Likewise, I probably wouldn't go bungee jumping or on a day-long float plane trip while my kids are at school either.

I'm not making the point that bad things can happen.

But if it happened at home, my children would have the support of extended family and all of our friends. They would be in familiar places. My point was just that they would be surrounded by strangers in a strange place.

 

[ctnurse]

On our last cruise we recently left our DD 2 on the ship on two different occasions. The first time was a 10 hour tour of the castles in Denmark. DH and I remarked several times on the tour, there was no way that DD could have come in her stroller, since there were tons of stairs making it almost impossible. Then we left both DD and DS, 11 for a couple of hours in St. Petersburg while DH and I went on a canal tour. There were quite of few on the canal tour that left children onboard, especially after touring for 8-10 hours in St. Petersburg. They both were non DCL tours and the ship was overnight in the port, so there was no chance of leaving the kids behind while we were in port. Even though DD is a great traveler she is still 2, and it was nice for DH, DS, and myself to be able to enjoy the Copenhagen tour without worrying about DD. DS loved the tour in Copenhagen. She was on the ship and in great hands in the nursery. She had wonderful caregivers and there was only a handful of children in the nursery at any given time.

 

[bellanapoli]

Thanks for asking the question. I'm thinking about doing this for the first time on our upcoming cruise with our 9 year old. There's an excursion we want to do that he would just hate. I think he'd have way more fun in the clubs but I wasn't sure how it all works.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I personally would not feel comfortable sending my kids to the clubs, getting off the ship, and going incommunicado for hours in a foreign country. I wouldn't even go incommunicado for hours when at home in the States.

Yes, things would *probably* be just fine, but I still wouldn't want to risk being unreachable if something happened.

This. If others want to do that, more power to them, but I couldn't. Maybe if my son were a teen and begged to stay on the ship at Castaway Cay, I would consider it because of the wave phones and the fact that you most likely could never be left behind there. But otherwise, I would prefer not to do an excursion at all.

While is is possible, it's highly unlikely. IRL (as in not on a cruise) this could happen too. What if my dh and I meet for lunch while the kids are in school and we die in a car accident on the way there? I'm not going to stay at the school with my kids all day to ensure this doesn't happen, kwim? There are risks to everything, and DCL does have contingency plans for these unlikely situations, and you can't let fear rule your life. That being said, I probably wouldn't take a plane or helicopter sightseeing excursion with my kids on the ship because the risk is a bit higher, just like I wouldn't do a long non DCL excursion which makes it slightly more likely I'll miss the ship. Likewise, I probably wouldn't go bungee jumping or on a day-long float plane trip while my kids are at school either.

The big difference for me is that if it happened at home, family would be there for my son. On a cruise ship, it would be strangers.

 

[DahliaRW]

The big difference for me is that if it happened at home, family would be there for my son. On a cruise ship, it would be strangers.

Not everyone has family nearby at home.

 

[squirk]

Not everyone has family nearby at home.

Yes, but the point is that most people have some kind of support system (be it family, friends, parishioners, etc.) near home, or at the very least, loads closer than Cozumel or Falmouth.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

Not everyone has family nearby at home.

I know. That's why I spoke in specific, personal terms instead of general terms.

 

[kollerbear]

Just this past June, cruise passengers were killed in a plane crash in Alaska. I can't imagine taking the chance to leave my children to fend with cruise officials or foreign personnel in the event of an accident like this, no matter what their ages.

There have been car accidents reported too, with or without death occurring. I just wouldn't want my children to hear about any accident that involved me from strangers and then having to deal with this on their "vacation".

I kind of see your point... except bringing the kids with you instead in this scenario means... that they would have died/been subject to a horrible injury, too. I don't know that this balance of worst-case-scenario scenarios really seems super logical. However, of course, we all follow the logic of what feels right to us when our families are concerned.

 

[ashley0139]

Just this past June, cruise passengers were killed in a plane crash in Alaska. I can't imagine taking the chance to leave my children to fend with cruise officials or foreign personnel in the event of an accident like this, no matter what their ages.

There have been car accidents reported too, with or without death occurring. I just wouldn't want my children to hear about any accident that involved me from strangers and then having to deal with this on their "vacation".

I don't understand. You'd rather your children be killed in an accident with you than survive but have to hear about it from strangers?

 

[squirk]

I don't understand. You'd rather your children be killed in an accident with you than survive but have to hear about it from strangers?

That's your takeaway? Seriously?

I took wombat's point as "When sailing abroad, consider that if something happens to you (lost, hurt, killed) on your excursion, your child on the ship will likely have no one but strangers to comfort them for many hours, if not days. Pick and plan your adventures with that in mind."

 

[JTBE]

I really agree with the other posters. It's really about how comfortable you are with leaving ur child in the kids clubs. My friends don't even want us to allow our kids explore the ship on their own yet. I considered letting my 10 year old explore the ship with her other 10 year old friends on their own. But my other friends who are coming on the cruise with us have vetoed that idea saying that they are too young and anything can still happen. So it's really varies by each family depending on comfort level.

 

[Crystal O_o]

I really agree with the other posters. It's really about how comfortable you are with leaving ur child in the kids clubs. My friends don't even want us to allow our kids explore the ship on their own yet. I considered letting my 10 year old explore the ship with her other 10 year old friends on their own. But my other friends who are coming on the cruise with us have vetoed that idea saying that they are too young and anything can still happen. So it's really varies by each family depending on comfort level.

Don't let your friends control what you want to do with your child.

 

[Trera]

damn, i have too active of an imagination. I can think of a number of scenarios that make this a bad idea. . . at least for me

Thanks

Heaven forbid you somehow miss the boat and your kids are in the kids club as the boat sales away from the port.

 

[lisamarie12]

I thought I would have been one of the "never do it either." I am protective of my daughter. She has not even been in traditional day care, only private individuals that I know well. But we did do it and I do not regret doing so. My DD is 4 and it was our 10 year anniversary. We really wanted to do an ATV excursion through the rainforest and she was not old enough. And its the only 10 year anniversary we have. So we did a Disney excursion and left her on board. I was a little nervous about doing it, especially since it was a bus ride to the rainforest. But they took great care of her and everything went well. I would not do it if it were just us going off on our own or a private excursion. We told them when we dropped her off that we were going to be on an excursion and when we would be back to get her. They kept her entertained while we were gone. And it was an experience I will remember forever. I vacation to spend time with my kiddo too, but I can't handle every second of every day without a break. I am sorry if that makes me a bad parent for some people, but that is my life. And when its my 10 year anniversary and 40th birthday trip, I want one moment that is me and DH centered. The rest of the trip was family centered, you know we did take a DISNEY cruise.

 

[mab2012]

That's your takeaway? Seriously?

I took wombat's point as "When sailing abroad, consider that if something happens to you (lost, hurt, killed) on your excursion, your child on the ship will likely have no one but strangers to comfort them for many hours, if not days. Pick and plan your adventures with that in mind."

I don't really see how you can interpret it otherwise? The context of the discussion was whether it's reasonable to leave kids on the ship while the adults go on an excursion. The point made was that if the adults were killed while on an excursion, the kids would be left to cope alone. The clear implication, in the context of the discussion, is that families ought always stay together. If you follow that through to it's logical conclusion, this means that the kids are either also dead, or directly witnessed the event. I'm certain that the poster didn't intend to imply that having the kids along would actually be preferable in that scenario, but the implication is there nonetheless.

The point is that "stuff can happen" whether the kids are with you or not. "Stuff can happen" even if nobody gets off the ship. Having the kids along isn't a guarantee that all will be well, and as this example unintentionally points out, having the kids along is not even necessarily better. If I found myself in a dangerous situation while in port, I would certainly prefer my kids to be in the relative safety of the club on the ship.

That's not to say that I think it's always a great idea to leave the kids on board. I've never done it myself, and I certainly wouldn't be comfortable with it in all scenarios. But suggesting that it's never a reasonable choice, based on low probability hypotheticals, is just not logical. Clearly, there are many families who are not comfortable with it, and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's also nothing wrong with the alternative choice, for those who prefer it.