Letting kids wander around the ship

[Deck6crew]

At what age do you let your kids wander around the ship on their own?

My kids will be 8 & 10 when we cruise next month. At home, they don't wander around on their own unescorted (unlike my brother and I 3 decades ago!). I'm thinking that as long as they stick together or with our fellow travelers, it's AOK to let them loose.

Your thoughts?

 

[xlxo]

Do you have private plans at Palo or Quiet Cove?

I would say.... yes it's safe for that age to wander on the ship. Give them their room cards so they can stalk the photographers for photos.

I wonder if they have the abillity to authorise purchases. Mommy deserves a new watch?

Then again, do you foresee them as angels or will they terrorize other passengers or the crew on the ship? There's been a few threads of missing cabin Wave phones.

 

[jburge12000]

We allowed our son to go off with friends he met at Edge when he was 11 and go on his own/or take his sister (8) places on our last cruise when he was 12. I think it depends on the maturity level of the individual kid as to what age they can go off on their own and how well they can get around the ship (our daughter is actually better about finding her way around then our son). We did set some very clear rules about what floors he was allowed on, only deck with Edge, top 2 decks, and the floors with the restaurants and D Lounge/Studio Sea, but not on any of the floors with only staterooms other then ours. We also picked him up his own wave phone from guest services and he had to call us when he left Edge an let us know were he was going.

 

[Bear3412]

at what age do you let your kids wander around the ship on their own? ....

12 - 13 y/o.

HTH

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

It all depends on the kids. Some can handle and others can't. You know your kids so it is up to you. No one here can say if it is the right thing for them or not.

 

[lovin'fl]

12 - 13 y/o.

HTH

I agree. 8-10 is too young, IMO.

 

[truck1]

It all depends on the kids. Some can handle and others can't. You know your kids so it is up to you. No one here can say if it is the right thing for them or not.

I agree. One of mine I have no problem with by themselves. The other because she's panic prone about being left alone no. There older now but if they went somewhere when we first started cruising they had to call when they got there or left so we knew where they were and to expect them. And it wasn't something we said just go. We would let them lead us to certain places so we knew they would not get lost. Then we gradually let them go. It's easier now with the wave phones. They still have to call when they get to the the clubs or leave.

 

[wallawallakids]

I agree. 8-10 is too young, IMO.

Your going to get so many different answers to this OP and it will all be personal opinions. IMO, 8-10 is too young. If you look in the past there have been a lot of threads about this. Everyone has a different opinion.

 

[jerseygal]

Your going to get so many different answers to this OP and it will all be personal opinions. IMO, 8-10 is too young. If you look in the past there have been a lot of threads about this. Everyone has a different opinion.

Too many sexual predators "out there" just waiting for "crimes of opportunity"! Cruise settings are "perfect" opportunity for these SICK molesters! If you can't watch your "precious" kids on a cruise, dont take them. RESPONSIBLE parenting!

 

[Sur]

You'll think back to inquiring should anything (even relatively minor) happen. I'd suggest not leaving opportunity for regret on things within your control.

 

[sambycat]

while i would let my DSS (and would have been allowed when i was a kid) to go to something or do something “on my own”, i personally wouldn’t let or want my kid to “wander around”? if there is something they want to do - go to a movie, go play in the arcade, go to a certain activity, they might be allowed to do that and report back or meet up after? for us, even when he was 15, he didn’t want to be “on his own”. when i was a kid, i’m sure probably at 10 my mom would have let me take my little brother and go to a movie and then meet back up. it’s going to depend on you and your kids.

there seems always to be a lot of kids “wandering around” and kind of running around unsupervised on the cruises i’ve been on.

 

[lbgraves]

With a wave phone I wouldn't have been as concerned about DS being on his own at 8. He handled the responsibility beautifully on our 15-night cruise and let us know whenever something happened where he didn't follow our rules. Each time his reasoning was right. Now, we didn't let DD go anywhere on her own at 8, and she has either been with friends we booked the cruise with or DS if not with us. Double standard but that's the way it is.

 

[jjje]

While I was on the EBPC recently there was a group of Edge aged kids who spent a lot of time wandering around the ship. They were knocking on doors and running away, stealing door decor, playing with wheelchairs in the hallways, and even engaging in some bullying of kids not in their group. Security had to address this eventually. I wish their parents had thought to ask themselves if letting their kids wander freely was a good idea.

That said, on that same cruise my 14 year old and (very nearly) nine year old were given (what I think were) reasonable freedom to be on their own. My nine year old was allowed to leave dinner early and walk herself to the Lab or leave the Lab at an agreed upon time and meet us somewhere for a family activity. My 14 year old had freedom to leave the Edge when he wanted to get ice cream or pizza or participate in an activity with friends. They both were given the rules of only using stairs and staying in public areas (instead of hallways with just staterooms) and they both knew if we ever saw or heard about them acting like drunken monkeys they would lose their wandering privileges. Worked out ok for us.

 

[tinkerone]

this is not going to be a popular response but i just do not understand the mind set of someone not comfortable allowing their children to go unescorted at home but yet allow them to go unescorted on vacation. to me it should be the opposite if at all.
this is a floating city full of people you do not know. what would make this any safer? the very last thing i would allow my children to do is walk down any hallway on any ship alone. its just not safe. that being said it is everyones individual choice and the 'know your child' rule is a good one. keep in mind, when something happens, its seldom your childs issue. a predator is very good at what they do and a child often can't control that.
i certainly respect everyones thoughts on this and this is only my thought so please, no flames. please…...

 

[Happy100]

My DS and his friend both 8 at the time were allowed to go do specific things on their own. Both boys are very good well mannered kids.

While we were all at the pools the boys could go to the aqua duck, pool, aqua lab or golf, food, ice cream without finding us to tell us. We didn't give them a wave phone but all of us adults would just locate them or check in on them from time to time. They were not allowed to go below deck with out telling us.

At dinner the boys would finish before us and could then go get in line for pics with the characters (this was awesome not to have to wait in line too) or go to the lab by themselves.

A small amount of freedom and alone time for kids at 8 I feel is necessary to help them grow up and feel confident in them selves. I practice this at home too.

 

[Deck6crew]

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I should clarify that when I said "wander around" I didn't mean wandering aimlessly. I meant letting them walk from A to B with one another or with one of our friends' kids.

Will see how it goes when we get there and how comfortable they will feel.

(I look forward to learning what the heck is Edge and a wave phone!)

 

[niccikatie]

DD is 10 - 9 while we were cruising. We had initially decided that we didn't feel comfortable having her check herself in and out of the club by herself. She made fast friends with the 9 year old that we were seated with at dinner. We changed our minds and allowed self check so that the other girls parents were able to have our DDs come and go with all of us (and vice versa for their DD). The girls had wave phones and each set of parents kept a wave phone. They kept in touch with us on sea days and had a blast.

We will be on an EBPC in Oct 2015 and will decide at that time (DD will be 11 on that cruise) what we feel comfortable with. This question is so dependent on the individual kids and the individual set of circumstances/activities.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

(I look forward to learning what the heck is Edge and a wave phone!)

The Edge is the club for tweens (ages 11 to 14).

A Wave phone is the mobile type phone that can be used on the ship and at Castaway Cay. There are two in each stateroom but more can be rented if you want each person in your room to have a phone.

 

[CaliforniaMama]

I would not personally let me 8 year old wander alone on a cruise ship, but maybe when he is 10 I may change my mind. I do agree with the people who say you are still on a boat full of strangers. Also, I would worry about how my son would cope with any emergencies or urgent situations being alone. My child would probably panic if he got lost or couldn't find me. I don't see myself letting my guard down any more on a cruise ship than I would at say the local mall or park.

 

[sefowler1]

Our DD was 10 on our first cruise and I did not allow her to do anything alone. She is one week shy of 12 and was allowed more freedom on the cruise last week. She is mature and honest. She was capable of texting with the wave phone after she got over the initial, "What is this thing doing?" She was able to understand our directives (not allowed outside on deck 4 and don't use the elevator alone). We started the week allowing only certain movements but gave her more freedom as the week progressed. It really depends on the child, their maturity, and your comfort.