Never again

[jeepnjudy]

Sadly it’s not just the European cruises. My last 2 out of Port Canaveral in May and July of this year had hellacious teens on it. It was awful!!

 

[bakerworld]

I see my daughter and her 'talking' to her 5y, 13y step and 20m. DD & SIL both work FT to afford a small house (1300sqft). SIL works 10 hour days and he makes what I think is a good hourly wage. Yeah, I watch her talk and then, being my daughter, I watch her lose it but she won't lay a hand on the G-kids. They get sent to their rooms. The rooms are loaded with toys. Shame this world we're in where the 'no touch' rule encompasses everyone - kids, parents, teachers. Kids know they can't be touched and one touch means repercussions so they're Bullitt-proof.

 

[asgur5]

Children model the behavior of their adults including entitlement, rudeness & lack of civility. DCL's lack of policing guest rude & unsafe behavior is a lesson to kids that you can get away with anything.
After 16 DCL cruises going back to 1998, it's been the last 8 years or so that we've seen more abhorrent parent behavior. One fight so bad at the fireworks that a man was beating another with his belt claiming the man blocked his view--took quite a while for DCL staff to respond; a couple so drunk & loud in Skylight Lounge that that they were falling off their stools--the bartender kept serving them as other passengers fled & the cruise director ignored them; parents sitting in the adult pool next to the pool bar late in the afternoon with their empty beer buckets around them watching their two kids fling deck chairs--no DCL stuff ever appeared; etc.
We have sailed on multiple other lines at various times of the year; DCL is the worst. IMHO It's because Disney markets the "perfect family cruises", the codeword for parents to leave their kids in the clubs all day, have dinner with the kids on their tablets then send them right back to the clubs until bedtime (they DCL staff even come get them from the dining room); this leaves the parents time to relax without a thought or care to what the kids are doing. There's even a kid's club on CC & parents can leave on an excursion in port while the kid stays onboard in the kid's club!

"parents have time to relax without a thought or care about what their kids are doing"

Isnt that what a holiday on a disney cruise is about? Parents who bust their gut all year because they never have any down time getting a bit of a rest while kids are both safe and being entertained.

Every other cruise is geared more to non families. Disney cruises are about families.

 

[asgur5]

When you have thousands of people on a ship letting their hair loose there are always going to be some poorly behaved.

Given dcl is mostly about families then the poorly behaved are mostly going to come from families.

On cruises aimed at the party crowd the problem is drunk college aged people (a much worse and more threatening problem then misbehaving teens).

Even cruises with mostly old people have problem passengers. Some old people can be awfully entitled constantly complaining about the tinniest of things and holding up other passengers all the time while they endlessly complain.

If you are on a disney cruise you need to expect there might be some misbehaving kids.

 

[Mango7100]

"parents have time to relax without a thought or care about what their kids are doing"

Isnt that what a holiday on a disney cruise is about? Parents who bust their gut all year because they never have any down time getting a bit of a rest while kids are both safe and being entertained.

Every other cruise is geared more to non families. Disney cruises are about families.

Um no, being on a DCL cruise does not give a parent the right to “not have a thought or care about what their kids are doing”. That’s the exact attitude that causes these behavior problems in the first place. Parents all about me time and letting their kids do whatever they want because the parent wants to drink by the pool uninterrupted. Absolutely parents should have some adult time to recharge and relax, but you still are a parent and are responsible for your kid, whether you are on vacation or not. As a parent, my kid goes to the clubs which are supervised entertainment areas that I feel comfortable letting my kid be at. But I am still ultimately responsible for their behavior and I don’t just leave them unattended for hours at a time doing whatever they want or going wherever they want and not giving a thought about it.

And I don’t get the statement that every other cruise line is geared more towards non families. Other cruise lines have kids clubs, rock walls, zip lines, arcades, carousels, bumper cars, go karts, ice skating rinks, water slides, splash pads, etc. sounds like they are also geared toward families

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

"parents have time to relax without a thought or care about what their kids are doing"

Isnt that what a holiday on a disney cruise is about? Parents who bust their gut all year because they never have any down time getting a bit of a rest while kids are both safe and being entertained.

Every other cruise is geared more to non families. Disney cruises are about families.

Getting rest at the expense of other vacationers that busted their gut to afford a vacation away from stress and worries? If you want time away deom your kids send them to whatever camp they care for but dont met them ruin other peoples vacation

 

[dreamer17555]

I see my daughter and her 'talking' to her 5y, 13y step and 20m. DD & SIL both work FT to afford a small house (1300sqft). SIL works 10 hour days and he makes what I think is a good hourly wage. Yeah, I watch her talk and then, being my daughter, I watch her lose it but she won't lay a hand on the G-kids. They get sent to their rooms. The rooms are loaded with toys. Shame this world we're in where the 'no touch' rule encompasses everyone - kids, parents, teachers. Kids know they can't be touched and one touch means repercussions so they're Bullitt-proof.

I don't need to physically hurt my children nor do many others to instill good values. "Losing it"- I guessing you mean screaming which I have yelled but I try really hard not to because that is not behavior I wanted them modeling and if I am yelling it means I do not have good emotional regulation at that moment and I need to take a break and calm down first. Talking to them, and giving clear consequences for actions (and when possible allowing them to face natural consequences - ex. You didn't do your homework so you earned that grade and not arguing with a teacher to correct it) is what has worked for me.

The goal is to raise people who are considerate of others (not just scared but actually thoughtful) and you do not need to lay a hand on children to do that. But being a parent is not a job that you can really ever turn off while they are in your care. You are responsible for them and what you have chosen to teach and model for them.

If parents are modeling the "I'm on vacation I can do whatever" vibe expect children to 100% follow that lead.

 

[dreamer17555]

"parents have time to relax without a thought or care about what their kids are doing"

Isnt that what a holiday on a disney cruise is about? Parents who bust their gut all year because they never have any down time getting a bit of a rest while kids are both safe and being entertained.

Every other cruise is geared more to non families. Disney cruises are about families.

Nope. You never get to turn off being a parent. Now if you have raised your children to listen to rules and know they apply to everyone (including while on vacation), and they are respectful then you might grant them freedom to explore the ship on their own... but you are still responsible for their actions (legally and otherwise).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

On cruises aimed at the party crowd the problem is drunk college aged people (a much worse and more threatening problem then misbehaving teens).

I'm sorry but you're saying college kids are going cruises? And enough amounts that they are being targeted for specific cruises and enough in amounts to be much worse?

Who are these college aged kids you speak of?

 

[dreamer17555]

I'm sorry but you're saying college kids are going cruises? And enough amounts that they are being targeted for specific cruises and enough in amounts to be much worse?

Who are these college aged kids you speak of?

Im super curious as to how they are paying, as a mom of a college age DD. The only cruises she is taking are the ones I am providing as a parent.

 

[tink1970]

Im super curious as to how they are paying, as a mom of a college age DD. The only cruises she is taking are the ones I am providing as a parent.

There are some dirt cheap cruises out of Florida, Mobile (AL), and Galveston...and college kids can and do work and can and DO allot their money towards relaxation/entertainment possibly more than my generation. They also have grandparents/parents who enjoy treating them to money and/or trips as rewards. My DD only cruised once as a college student on my dime when I paid for the extended family for my parents' 50th Anniversary but some of her high school classmates cruised often during college breaks (most of them stayed in state or at least near FL) so I do know whereof I speak. Different strokes/different priorities and students are very savvy about last minute deals.

Even I went on a cruise for spring break prior to my graduation from professional school with two classmates and funded it myself so while it was a stretch for my budget, I made it happen...and this was the Dark Ages

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There are some dirt cheap cruises out of Florida, Mobile (AL), and Galveston...and college kids can and do work and can and DO allot their money towards relaxation/entertainment possibly more than my generation. They also have grandparents/parents who enjoy treating them to money and/or trips as rewards. My DD only cruised once as a college student on my dime when I paid for the extended family for my parents' 50th Anniversary but some of her high school classmates cruised often during college breaks (most of them stayed in state or at least near FL) so I do know whereof I speak. Different strokes/different priorities and students are very savvy about last minute deals.

Even I went on a cruise for spring break prior to my graduation from professional school with two classmates and funded it myself so while it was a stretch for my budget, I made it happen...and this was the Dark Ages

Right but the PP said it was "On cruises aimed at the party crowd problem is drunk college aged people (a much worse and more threatening problem then misbehaving teens)." Which implies large amounts of them consistently. The PP is from Australia maybe they see something we don't see

And you still have to get there to the coasts, have to have enough time to do a cruise, money to do a cruise (sure parents are paying but are parents taking their kids on booze cruises en masse? not to mention alcohol-related age policies that may be in play.

If we were talking about a beach totally believe it but it's a bit hard to believe there are party cruises of college aged kids (normally 18-22-ish) in droves getting slammed on booze and in enough numbers to make it more of an issue than kids and teens on the loose? Sounds off to me. Even Virgin Voyages (which isn't cheap) can't get that age group and had to release promos to try and gain that (they skew 50s rather than what they hoped for which was 20s-40s).

 

[Smugpugmug]

Im super curious as to how they are paying, as a mom of a college age DD. The only cruises she is taking are the ones I am providing as a parent.

There are some pretty cheap cruises that leave out of Baltimore. I know a few people who did a cruise with Royal Caribbean and Carnival out of Baltimore recently. There are also a ton of universities not too far from the port so it's possible. Now I don't think college students are doing Disney cruises without their families.

 

[kylenne]

And you still have to get there to the coasts, have to have enough time to do a cruise, money to do a cruise (sure parents are paying but are parents taking their kids on booze cruises en masse? not to mention alcohol-related age policies that may be in play.

If we were talking about a beach totally believe it but it's a bit hard to believe there are party cruises of college aged kids (normally 18-22-ish) in droves getting slammed on booze and in enough numbers to make it more of an issue than kids and teens on the loose? Sounds off to me. Even Virgin Voyages (which isn't cheap) can't get that age group and had to release promos to try and gain that (they skew 50s rather than what they hoped for which was 20s-40s).

College kids are sailing out of regional ports like Galveston and New Orleans on dirt cheap Carnival fares and on Spring Break specials on NCL and RCCL, and this is such a well-known phenomenon in cruising at this point I’m floored that you’re just learning about this. For that matter the vast majority of cruisers during Spring Break 3 and 4 nt sailings out of Miami are college kids trying to party. I’m an elder millennial and this has been a thing since I was in college in the early aughts. I never partook, because that just wasn't my scene, but this is nothing new.

It’s not the middle aged parental set packing it in at Señor Frogs during Spring Break.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

College kids are sailing out of regional ports like Galveston and New Orleans on dirt cheap Carnival fares and on Spring Break specials on NCL and RCCL, and this is such a well-known phenomenon in cruising at this point I’m floored that you’re just learning about this. For that matter the vast majority of cruisers during Spring Break 3 and 4 nt sailings out of Miami are college kids trying to party. I’m an elder millennial and this has been a thing since I was in college in the early aughts. I never partook, because that just wasn't my scene, but this is nothing new.

It’s not the middle aged parental set packing it in at Señor Frogs during Spring Break.

Just learning about it? Um no. We're not talking about the existence of these. That's been long known. We're talking about it being a prevalence issue of party and if you want to look at the PP's comments a worse issue than errant teens. And in these days the youth of today aren't as interested in those booze cruises the same as the past one for prevalence of drinking is lower and two they aren't as interested in using what money they have on cheap cruise like that. In recent years they are going towards the upper end of the market and is why you're seeing a shift in high end cruise lines adapting trying to get the youth. Now my point about money was talking about that specific age group going in such amounts that is overrules the issues with kids and teens. I find that hard to believe. If parents are paying they are often not going on those cruises and if the youth are paying the ones of today aren't as interested in those types of cruises.

My gut was that they were thinking Margaritaville cruises and not considering the age of the kids today. Sorta like thinking Millennials are still college aged. Even Margaritaville (about as cheap of a booze cruise you can get) skews older than teens and early 20s.

 

[RedHead0186]

"parents have time to relax without a thought or care about what their kids are doing"

Isnt that what a holiday on a disney cruise is about? Parents who bust their gut all year because they never have any down time getting a bit of a rest while kids are both safe and being entertained.

Every other cruise is geared more to non families. Disney cruises are about families.

No, that's not what a holiday on a Disney cruise is about. It's about cruising together as a family. It is not about parents not caring what their kids are doing. If the parents want to go on a holiday and not pay attention to the kids/what they're doing, then leave them at home (with a relative/friend/etc.). Don't bring them on the ship and then ignore them and let them run amok.

Yes, parents bust their gut all year. Being a parent is very hard work, and parents do typically deserve some down time. However, that still doesn't mean they are absolved of their parenting duties. Disney cruise line is about families, yes, not poorly behaved children with no proper parental oversight/supervision.

 

[Girl of the South]

College kids are everywhere on the planet during Spring Break. I have seen many fly to BALI for a week! And yes, that are definitely on cruises.

 

[auntlynne]

1. Family vacation by my definition is you spend time as a family doing things. Not sending kids off to be with other kids. That is called Summer Camp. And that affords parents a break. (I am from the generation /economic level which didn’t put kids in childcare or after-school programs).

2. It IS news to me about college age people cruising (without parents).

…After all the posts I read this week, I think it’s time for a River Cruise or adult-only cruise.

 

[auntlynne]

^ Not to say others can’t have a different definition of family vacation, either. I’d like to think it still meant parental responsibility wasn’t abandoned, though.

 

[asgur5]

Um no, being on a DCL cruise does not give a parent the right to “not have a thought or care about what their kids are doing”. That’s the exact attitude that causes these behavior problems in the first place. Parents all about me time and letting their kids do whatever they want because the parent wants to drink by the pool uninterrupted. Absolutely parents should have some adult time to recharge and relax, but you still are a parent and are responsible for your kid, whether you are on vacation or not. As a parent, my kid goes to the clubs which are supervised entertainment areas that I feel comfortable letting my kid be at. But I am still ultimately responsible for their behavior and I don’t just leave them unattended for hours at a time doing whatever they want or going wherever they want and not giving a thought about it.

And I don’t get the statement that every other cruise line is geared more towards non families. Other cruise lines have kids clubs, rock walls, zip lines, arcades, carousels, bumper cars, go karts, ice skating rinks, water slides, splash pads, etc. sounds like they are also geared toward families

You state parents should be constantly thinking about their kids but then two sentences later state parents should have some adult time to recharge and relax? Which is it? These two statements contradict each other. Recharging and relaxing means reading a book, having a drink, having an adult conversation, doing a non kids activity. During these activities you do not think of your kids.

And no one said parents arent responsible for their children. Parents should not absolve responsibility if their kids are badly behaving. Im not advocating for parents to just ignore badly behaving kids. But kids also should be able to do their own thing and not constantly be supervised by their parents once they reach a certain age. And most of them are well behaved. Running down halls and talking with their friends does not constitute bad child behaviour. Thats just kids having fun.