Leaving a child on the boat while the rest of the family is in port

[ThePicketts]

As a pediatrician, I think this is fine. I may not do it myself, but I have no problem with your decision. I have no doubt that you will come back to the ship early because you know you don't want the ship to leave without you. Also, I have no problem with your son doing something he enjoys while you do something you enjoy.

A lot of people post "what ifs." "What ifs," frankly, are of little value. "What if" you bring your son with you and get into a car accident and he gets horribly hurt? "What if" your son comes with you and breaks his wrist in a fall walking down the street? "What if" bandits appear and start shooting everyone and your son is with you? All of these are possible, as are all of the "what ifs" if you leave your son behind.

Rather than "what if," I prefer to look at "what is," or at least what is extremely likely. In this case, we have thousands and thousands of data points. For the Disney Magic alone, if we assume an average of 2500 passengers a week for 52 weeks a year for 15 years, we come up with 1.9 milion passengers. Assuming only one third of those were children, that leaves 600,000 children who have been through the kids' clubs without a fire, without the ship sinking, and without any problem that the cast members couldn't handle. NOTE: I am sure we can find a couple of cases where something bad happened. You don't need to point them out to me. One recent well mentioned case on the boards did not involve the kids' clubs. Anyhow, I am talking about the 600,000 data points on the Magic alone that say time and time again you can safely go to the kids club.

Again, the "what if" something happens to you when you are off the ship can easily be changed to "what if" something happens to your son while he is off the ship with you. So do what is right for your family.

Wow! Very thought provoking! Thank you

 

[k3chantal]

Well put. I guess when I started this thread I failed to mention that I'm leaving our son in the kids club because that is what he really wants. We REGULARLY take him to museums and historical sites all over the USA and the UK and he will be doing a full day learning excursion with us in Naples.
I just want him to not only enjoy the great things of this world, but as a homeschool parent, I also want him to play with others his age as much as he can.
I have a hard time being frozen with fear about leaving him for a few hours. Thank you for the great discussion so far and I have found all the comments either encouraging or thought provoking.

Just for the record , I too was very fearful about leaving my children for a few hours. But, like you, my two older children wanted to stay on the ship. (Would not have done it if any of my kids expressed discomfort) My 18 month old came back happy too; no diaper rash (and that would have happened if they left her in a dirty diaper even for a 'little' while) and she was fed (did not want more food when I offered it to her soon after pick up) and happy go lucky (obviously she had a good day).

Now that I am on the other side, I am thankful that I took this risk for it turned out to be a fantastic day for all. My kids have been exposed to many educational experiences throughout their lives and all operate above their grade level so I too was hoping that they could have a more social day with their own age group which they really appreciated.

 

[brochad1611]

The reason we cruise as a family is to do things together as a family. I guess the question this brings to mind is why take the kids if they will not participate in the port exploring?

You choose a cruise as a family vacation and choose it based on the ports. Why not just leave the kids with relatives at home?

We are doing a 7 night Eastern Car. in October with our 5 and 8 year olds. At St. Maarten, my wife and I will be doing the Rhino Riders alone and leaving the kids in the kids club. After our excursion, we will take them off the boat and let them see the sights and shops of the island. We will also take them to the beaches of St. John and CC.

Kids get to see the islands, parents get a solo excursion, and the Cardinals are going to win the World Series. Everyone is happy!

 

[sunryzez]

I LOVE the Disboards 99% of the time...but the other 1% people post rude comments and I don't understand it. NO ONE is a bad parent for taking a few hours for themselves. I have my children 24/7 besides school and we do EVERYTHING together. If I want to dine at Palo or go to an excursion for a few hours then it is MY business and does not make me a bad/neglectful parent. All of these judging are also saying they took vacations without their kids and I'm sure people could say a lot about that too....So no one should be judging anyone.We make decisions based on our own families.

I believe OP was asking if others have done it before, if it was safe, and for views on both sides, not people attacking others and calling them bad parents...

To OP - As a few others have said, do what you and your family feels comfortable with. Enjoy your cruise, let the kids have a say in what they want as well. Disney cruises are magical, don't let anyone else spoil that for you =)

 

[jetskigrl]

Wow..this has been an very interesting thread.

I'm surprised by the people saying if you aren't going to spend all your time with you kids, leave them at home Why would you deny your children the opportunity to enjoy the parts of the cruise that they want to?
I'm assuming that was actually just an extreme comment to make a point rather than a reality, since it appears to me to be a total contradiction (if we aren't going to spend all our time together, we won't spend any time together)

But for those that think this, do your children never attend the clubs at all on the cruise? If they want to go, are they told no because they are expected to be with you all the time? Do you not spend any time with just your spouse or at the spa, etc? Honestly, I'm just curious because I'm sure there are people that want their children by their side 24/7 and that is cool too. It just seems like taking a cruise vacation wouldn't be the best vacation for them since, by design, it caters to providing unique experiences for each age group.

Another thing that surprised me a little was people posting "who would take care of your child if you don't make it back." This would be the least of my concern (I would be more concerned with how quickly I could get back). DCL would know your child is on the ship and you are not. They are not going to close down the kids clubs and then send the child out onto the ship on their own. That child will be watched over until the family can be reunited. I'm also sure that if your missing the ship was your fault, you would probably pay a steep price for this service But I do think they would take very good care of your child.

I do however understand the difference between being together 24/7 vs. being together on excursions. We do try to find things that work for everyone. Some excursions we will do together, while others we may split up. Ex. on the MR, my DS wasn't old enough for the Scuba excursion so my DH took my DD and I took my DS whale watching. The other option was for me to go with DH and DD and leave DS on the ship in the club, but he found an excursion that he wanted to do and I was very interested in it also, so that is what we decided on.

So far we haven't had the situation of leaving a child alone on the ship, so I can't say for certain how I would handle it. There are too many factors (age of child, secure club vs. one he could check out on his own, location of excursion, DCL vs. non-DCL, etc). At my DS's age now, I would encourage him to go and see places he might never get to see again. But when he was 4 or 5, I probably wouldn't have pushed to have him tour museums or walk through shops, etc.

Each situation is unique and there is no one right or wrong about it. OP, look at all the factors for your situation and decide what you are comfortable doing. And if your child remains on the ship without you, make sure the CMs in the Kids Clubs know where you will be going and when you expect to be back.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

No, I wouldn't leave our son at a kids' club for no other reason than the experience of viewing a different culture is broadening. A child can play anytime but can he see the Mayan pyramids? Travel provides unique opportunities and I want to share them as a family.

Agree. You said this very well.