Letting Kids Check Themselves Out of the Clubs

[meremac]

Hi all,

We'll be sailing on our fourth Disney Cruise in January. Our kids are 8 & 10, and they are very familiar with the ship layout since we've sailed so many times. It's my understanding that kids ages 8-12 can check themselves in and out of the Oceaneer's Club, and we're thinking of letting our kids try this...with rules of course. Has anyone ever done this? Good/bad experiences?

P.S. Not looking for judgment, here...just info and shared experiences. TIA!

 

[ksucats]

We did when ours were about that age and just asked that they send us a message each time they left. Didn't have any problems.

 

[jahber]

We did when our kids were that age and it was great. The kids loved the independence, but we had strict rules. They were only allowed to go get a snack or go back to the room and they had to call us every time they left the club and when they checked back in. There are phones all over the ship. They also weren't allowed in elevators with strangers or in ANYONE's stateroom. And no one was allowed in our stateroom. It worked perfectly and they loved it.

 

[wilkeliza]

I've met a lot of parents who have allowed their kids to do it. If you trust your kids to be on their own then I see no problem with it. I've heard the pretty common family rules are no horse playing (sliding down banisters, being loud in the cabin hall ways, going to pool on their own etc) and to never go into the elevators or into someone else's room or go to your room when the state room attendant is there.

It is a great way to allow to have your kids gain some independence in a relatively safe environment.

 

[Alexle2007]

I gave DS8 sign-in and out privileges on our cruise last April. He did a great job with it and it was so nice to not always be making the journey with him. He is a year ahead in school so we have to allow him some independence and know we can trust him since he will be the youngest when he starts middle school in a couple of years. I also gave him purchasing privileges and he didn't purchase a single thing

 

[jahber]

One thing that helped, in our experience, was that my kids have only had sign-out privileges on the Wonder, which is a small ship. We often ran into our kids on their way around the ship and were able to observe them without them knowing at the time. They always behaved well when we saw them. And we made a point of telling them that we had seen them and would see them again. If we ever saw anything inappropriate or heard a bad report about them, they would lose the privilege. Not even so much as a punishment, as for their safety. If a child isn't ready for that kind of responsibility, it does them no favors putting them in those situations.

 

[bumbershoot]

My son is 11, an only child, and he has NOT yet been allowed to have checkout privileges on any ship.

 

[Weedy]

Once our kids were old enough to have sign out privileges theywere allowed. Never had a problem. They are now 17 and 19. It was a great experience for some independents.

 

[meremac]

Thanks, all! We're on the Magic, so it's also a small ship. Our kids often ride their bikes to school by themselves, and we leave our 10-year-old home alone for 10-15 minutes at a time (if I have to pick my younger kid up from a playdate, after-school activity, etc)...so they are pretty independent. I love the idea about not riding in the elevators. I never would have thought of that one. Any other specific rules you give your kids that you feel worked really well?

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Well, I was given sign out privileges when I was 8 and on my first cruise (not DCL, it didn't exist yet). I am still here to talk about my experiences, so it can't have gone too poorly.

 

[MarleneP]

My DS (10) will have the privilege on our December cruise. It will be our 3rd cruise and I think he knows enough about cruising and can follow the rules of the ship and that we set for him. On our 2 previous cruises our DS (14) was allowed to check him in and out....it worked out well.

 

[KristiMc]

We gave our boys (14 & 11) check-out/in privileges when they were 9. They did very well with it and followed the rules that we had in place.

 

[Weedy]

Let th know there are house phones by the elevators so if they are lost they can call Guest Services or your wave phone for help.

 

[KristiMc]

If they have smartphones or even a itouch with wifi you can use the Navigator App to text each other to keep in touch. This was great to use on our last cruise.

 

[aggiedog]

We keep our kids on a pretty short leash, and after the first day, we let ds10 check himself in and out. I bought him a mickey watch, made him demonstrate he could navigate around the ship, and told him if he showed up late for any family activity he would lose his privileges. We also set ground rules for no going to any stateroom but ours and not even going into the stateroom halls (our room was just off the elevators.) He is not the most responsible kid at home, but he did great. He was 10 minutes early to everything. Consider getting a dry erase board for the door so he can leave messages. We found the Navigator app to be less than helpful sometimes due to the delay between sending and receiving.

 

[bumbershoot]

If they have smartphones or even a itouch with wifi you can use the Navigator App to text each other to keep in touch. This was great to use on our last cruise.

We liked that, too. It was nice b/c he would send a message letting us know he would like to leave. Even with the delay and with the need to re-open the app and navigate all the way into the messages each time, it was faster than anyone figuring out the wave phones.

We actually meant to give him the access on the last cruise but somehow she put it to ONLY check IN on his own. He decided he didn't *want* to leave all alone and walk the hallways all alone, so he was cool with that. We were in room 6666 which was REALLY close to the checkin for Lab, and he did check himself in once. Which basically meant we were all walking one way and he did it himself when we were steps behind. Since it's just the 3 of us we aren't often far behind anyway.

 

[Ofinn]

We started letting them at age 8 and 9. Never had any issues.

 

[darkwing818]

OP, this question has come up many times before with various opinions, so don't take this to be negative please. Regardless of what other folks have or haven't done with their children; only you know your children, their maturity levels etc. . You should do what you feel is best & what you are most comfortable with.

 

[wilkeliza]

One rule I've seen is that they are not to be on the outside decks with out an adult. That is so if you don't trust your kid not to horse play around the railing. I imagine if you trust him to check himself in and out you trust him not to jump over board too.

 

[meremac]

OP, this question has come up many times before with various opinions, so don't take this to be negative please. Regardless of what other folks have or haven't done with their children; only you know your children, their maturity levels etc. . You should do what you feel is best & what you are most comfortable with.

I don't take it negatively at all! Honestly, I was just trying to hear people's experiences to see if there was something I wasn't considering. I also thought it would be good to crowd-source the rules that people have their kids follow.

And I did try to find a recent thread on the topic, but I could only find threads from years ago, so I wasn't sure it was relevant anymore.