Kids wandering the ship...what age?

[su_A_ve]

Edge kids come and go as they please. Frequently they have organized activities like scavenger hunts, and these take place all over the ship.

 

[egesicki]

Really good reading. Ds will be 10 on our next trip and with two previous sailings I expect he will navigate pretty easily. He used to have terrible separation anxiety but he's getting more and more independent. He is also not much of a risk taker so I don't worry too much about going places he shouldn't be. I think if I set up some rules like check in times and no other cabins I will let him go by himself. Thinking about a magnetic white board or post its in addition to the wave phones, he doesn't have a smart phone for the app.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Our first cruise was when DD was 11. We were comfortable with controlled wandering - she would let me know when she was leaving one location, where she was going, and when she got there. She didn't really want to be on her own a lot.

 

[Sydnerella]

does the app work with wifi, so my DD10 could use her ipod touch?

 

[LindyWebb]

Great thread! My kids will be 10 and 13 on our cruise. Once we all get our bearings I will be fine with them wandering together. My biggest concern will be if they can't find us. I would always want them to be together. And I am lucky because they like to be together. We will have to see if the wave phones or app works best for us to prevent the lost parents event!

 

[disneyholic family]

At WDW, I don't let my DD wander without being in eyesight. The last time we were there she was 9. When we do go on a cruise, she will be 11 going on 20.

How much do you let a child wander and explore on their own?
If they are in a kids club, do you let them go check themselves in or out on their own? Is it permitted?

your 11 year old daughter is way too young to be left to wander the ship on her own..
even much older girls than she is have been sexually assaulted on cruise ships, including disney ships...
do not let her go on her own....not now....and not for many years...
if she is with another child, then i would probably let her go to the kids club and back, but only with another child....never on her own...

as for my kids, my daughter never went on her own anywhere, my son started to go to the kids clubs and back on his own when he was 15....but we never permitted him to aimlessly wander the ship, even with friends....

 

[BigredNole]

After reading all of the valuable information, we do not plan to let her wander alone. I think the only things we will allow her to do on her own is if the kid's club does a group activity (like a scavenger hunt) she can go with a group. The rule will be she has to stay with the group and return to the club. If the group starts breaking apart and depending where she is when it happens, she has to return to the club, contact us through the app, or go somewhere public that we can meet her like a shop or something.

 

[lanejudy]

Great thread! My kids will be 10 and 13 on our cruise. Once we all get our bearings I will be fine with them wandering together. My biggest concern will be if they can't find us. I would always want them to be together. And I am lucky because they like to be together. We will have to see if the wave phones or app works best for us to prevent the lost parents event!

Just so you are aware... at 10 and 13 your kids may not be in the same kids' group. Oceaneer Club/Lab is for ages 3-12 and absolutely will not allow the 13 yr old except during open house times. Edge is for ages 11-14; occasionally they allow 10 yr olds but it will depend how many 11-14 yr olds are booked on your cruise, if that age group is full they won't allow 10 to age up, you won't know until you are onboard. You'll want to talk with the kids and make alternative plans if they are expected to stay together. There are lots of other activities they can do together on the ship outside of the designated kids' groups.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[storknurse13]

When I was 14 and my sister 12, we were out and about on our own after dinner on our first cruise ever (Alaskan on Princess). A bunch of (male) staff setting up for the midnight buffet tried to get us to come join them behind closed doors in the dining area (where no other guests were), offering champagne too. We had the good sense to get the heck away as fast as we could, and I'm very grateful we were together. So I always come back to that memory when I think about my 11yo daughter wandering the ship. I want her to have freedom, but I definitely feel like I need to give her a lot of big-time stranger-danger talks in advance, especially b/c I think kids will see Disney CMs as more innately trustworthy than other strangers. She's extremely trustworthy herself, so that part doesn't concern me at all. So I guess seeing the responses above to this thread, that almost all revolve around the kid's trustworthiness rather than the stranger adults around (both CMs and other guests), makes me wonder if I'm being overly paranoid? Yes, she has places she goes off without adults at home, but always with a friend her age that we also know well (who isn't going to ditch her randomly like a new acquaintance might). I cruised many times in my teens and 20s, but this will be our first DCL cruise, and the kids' first cruise ever... do there tend to be many kids on their own? (serious question!)

There are MANY kids that wander on their own...some that can handle it and some that can't. My 9 year old wants to be one that will be able to wander the ship but is not responsible enough in my opinion to be one of hose kids!

 

[smiths02]

your 11 year old daughter is way too young to be left to wander the ship on her own..
even much older girls than she is have been sexually assaulted on cruise ships, including disney ships...
do not let her go on her own....not now....and not for many years...
if she is with another child, then i would probably let her go to the kids club and back, but only with another child....never on her own...

as for my kids, my daughter never went on her own anywhere, my son started to go to the kids clubs and back on his own when he was 15....but we never permitted him to aimlessly wander the ship, even with friends....

While I don't presume to know the OP or her kid, and I won't judge her for letting her kid have freedom...
I would not let an 11 year old wander a ship alone. I wouldn't let my 10 year old store wander a mall or store alone or even with other 10 year olds he just met. But I am a bit of a helicopter (trying to reform some). My younger children are twins, and I'm sure they will be allowed more freedom at younger ages because they will be together.

 

[DallasToDis]

does the app work with wifi, so my DD10 could use her ipod touch?

Yes, it definitely does. My daughter used hers.

 

[socababy]

All my kids are platinum now so they know the ships pretty well. That being said, this January on the Dream will be the first time I'll be letting my boys go off on their own with hard limits set. They will be about a month shy of 14 and 12. Since my oldest can't go to the lab anymore, he'll have to deal with his brother tagging along. I think going in pairs is a good thing. Our last cruise was a year ago and I have never given them the ability to check themselves out at the club/lab so this will be a big deal.

 

[Ofinn]

your 11 year old daughter is way too young to be left to wander the ship on her own..
even much older girls than she is have been sexually assaulted on cruise ships, including disney ships...
do not let her go on her own....not now....and not for many years...
if she is with another child, then i would probably let her go to the kids club and back, but only with another child....never on her own...

as for my kids, my daughter never went on her own anywhere, my son started to go to the kids clubs and back on his own when he was 15....but we never permitted him to aimlessly wander the ship, even with friends....

I wish there was a dislike button. I hope you realize most kids are molested by family, friends, teachers, coaches etc. It's not your place to tell another parent what is right or wrong for their child because you have some irrational fears. Raise your kids how you want, but don't lecture others on how to raise their kids.
OP wanted to know if other kids would be out on their own... and yes they will.

 

[Laundress]

I think it may be a bit easier to decide when you get on board. You will have a feel for your situation. We travel with at least 6 cousins. lots of buddies to travel the ship. about 10 years old they started traveling in groups

 

[Mickeymouseisking]

I wish there was a dislike button. I hope you realize most kids are molested by family, friends, teachers, coaches etc. It's not your place to tell another parent what is right or wrong for their child because you have some irrational fears. Raise your kids how you want, but don't lecture others on how to raise their kids.
OP wanted to know if other kids would be out on their own... and yes they will.

Ummm...did you actually read what OP wrote before going of on a tirade? OP asked "How much do you let a child wander and explore on their own?" Disneyholicfamily replyed with what they do, which is what OP asked. Maybe try reading the original question before waving your finger around.

As for "irrational fears" a cruise ship is a small city. If you allow your 11 year old daughter walk around town by herself - by all means, let her walk around by herself onboard. However, I think most people don't allow this - "irrational" is it may be - but then get on a cruise ship and think it's a sterile environment, especially when it comes to Disney. OP asked what people think and what people do. Just because your child is a good kid doesn't mean he or she won't encounter very bad people onboard (heartbreakingly, the little girl who was sexually assaulted on a Disney cruise was alone on the elivator with a crew member. She wasn't breaking any rule or doing anything she wasn't supposed to be doing. She just encountered a bad man) . In short, I think a cruise ship should be treated exactly like a city. To think a Disney ship is safer than anywhere else is to be naive.

 

[SoozCruise]

Ummm...did you actually read what OP wrote before going of on a tirade? OP asked "How much do you let a child wander and explore on their own?" Disneyholicfamily replyed with what they do, which is what OP asked. Maybe try reading the original question before waving your finger around.

I think Ofinn read it just fine - before Disneyholicfamily actually replied about what they do, they lectured someone else about how to raise their kids.

your 11 year old daughter is way too young to be left to wander the ship on her own..
even much older girls than she is have been sexually assaulted on cruise ships, including disney ships...
do not let her go on her own....not now....and not for many years...
if she is with another child, then i would probably let her go to the kids club and back, but only with another child....never on her own...

 

[Lauralaylin]

I let my son check himself out when he was almost 10. He has auditory processing disorder, and the loudness really bothered him. He did great, but we also gave him an old phone so he could text us the entire time . He's also a rule follower, and we set up lots of rules like not using the elevators.

 

[disneyholic family]

there have been at least 3 known sexual assaults of teens on DCL ships (one of the victims was an 11 year old) - those are the ones we know about..
for obvious reasons, cruise lines do everything in their power to keep attacks from being publicized, so there may have been more attacks than these, we have no way of knowing.....
if memory serves, in the three known cases, two of the attackers were crew members and the third was a passenger..
you are on a ship with thousands of other people....all types of people, including sexual predators....anything and everything can happen..

and yes, 11 years old is too young to be wandering around alone....
the OP asked for our opinions....that's my opinion.....

 

[Ofinn]

Ummm...did you actually read what OP wrote before going of on a tirade? OP asked "How much do you let a child wander and explore on their own?" Disneyholicfamily replyed with what they do, which is what OP asked. Maybe try reading the original question before waving your finger around.

As for "irrational fears" a cruise ship is a small city. If you allow your 11 year old daughter walk around town by herself - by all means, let her walk around by herself onboard. However, I think most people don't allow this - "irrational" is it may be - but then get on a cruise ship and think it's a sterile environment, especially when it comes to Disney. OP asked what people think and what people do. Just because your child is a good kid doesn't mean he or she won't encounter very bad people onboard (heartbreakingly, the little girl who was sexually assaulted on a Disney cruise was alone on the elivator with a crew member. She wasn't breaking any rule or doing anything she wasn't supposed to be doing. She just encountered a bad man) . In short, I think a cruise ship should be treated exactly like a city. To think a Disney ship is safer than anywhere else is to be naive.

I dont tell people what the should do with their kids .Thats the difference. Op asked if other kids wandered on their own. I answered. Never do I tell someone what they should do with their kid. I dont know them or their kid. I do not have an 11 year old daughter.
Ive been on 13 dcl cruises in 5 years. I see lots of kids running around on their own. I can only report what I see. Its not my place to tell another parent what they should do. I alo wouldnt call someone naive because they may parent different then you.

 

[MinnieMouse64]

My daughter is 12, and I would not be comfortable with her wandering the ship by herself. If she was with another tween or group of tweens, I'd be okay with that, but I'm just not yet in the headspace where I'd be comfortable with her on her own.

I don't have any young children anymore (just little grandsons ages 4 and 6 months, which I worry about also), but I am 100% with you! I see kids wondering around on cruise ships like they are invincible. Their parents are on vacation and as long as they are not bothering them, allow their kids to run around. I am not saying we should not give our kids some independence and trust them, but allowing them to run around ALONE is just asking for trouble. Just because your on a cruise ship things can happen, just like things can happen when walking around in your home town ALONE. Any one can open their cabin door and drag a child into their room. I have read where there has been sexual abuse by crew members on cruise ships. Just google it, if you don't believe me. It even happens to young women. I know I am not your children's parent, but please be aware things can and DO happen. Last year on our Disney cruise, I heard kids running up and down the hallway after midnight with no parents in sight. If you want to give your kids some independence, just stay a few steps behind them where they can't see you but you can see them.
Here is a link that I found that happened in 2013 on a Disney ship….
http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2013/0...estation-of-11-year-old-girl-on-disney-dream/

so be safe, be aware, and have fun!

Sorry I did't realize a poster above had already talked about the 11 year old girl before I posted this, but I will leave the link in my post if anyone is interested in looking it up.