Opioions....... please!!!

[gemjoy]

This will be our first cruise (myself, DH, DD 9 and DS 11) and there was never any doubt ~ it would be Disney! So..... we sail on the Eastern March 4th-11th 2006. DH and I feel the kids are at a great age and this will be a trip to remember! My question..... I've read several posts where on occasion kids are "on this deck and at that pool or in the arcade" (outside of the oceaneer lab of course) while their parents are at another pool or whatever. Now, Disney is known for being extremely child friendly and safe ~ which is one of the reasons it was our #1 choice. However ~ I'm sure there are many parents like us who really need to adjust to being able to "let go" (My DH and I are having a problem with the Oceaneer Lab ~ the thought of letting them swim while we're sunning on another deck would just send us into a tail-spin!!! ) I'm assuming the majority of the time will be spent together, after all it's a family vacation ~ but, is it really so relaxed that you can go your separate ways? I need help knowing what to expect ~after all this is a huge ship. Thank you!!!!!

 

[TheWog]

Except for going in the clubs we were with our DS6 the whole time. We did leave him in the club while we went ashore in St. Thomas for a couple hours, but he wasn't roaming the ship. We swam together, arcade, movies, etc.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

We will be on our 5th sailing in November....our first in 2000 DDs were 9 and 7. They stuck by our side pretty much, but the next sailing they roamed the ship a bit and the next two we even go them a seperate room. There is plenty of areas to lay in the sun by the pools.....

 

[rotary2808]

The kids are in good hands. They are always supervised. I don't have children of my own, but have been on previous Disney cruises and they always seem to have a great time. You can spend as much time with them as you want. Just because you register them for the kid's clubs doesn't mean they have to spend the whole trip there. I think you can give them sign out privledges and they can come and go as they want. It's really easy to spend as much time together and as much time apart as you want or are comfortable with. Relax, your on vacation and everyone will have a great time, together and apart. Use it as a time to spend together just you & DH.

 

[PPFQP]

Every family is different, every child is different, every parent has a different comfort level. I think it's a very personal decision.

We were perfectly comfortable with letting our 10 year old twins have some freedom and independence on the ship -- moreso than at home in the real world. Our rules were that they had to be together at all times, and that we always had to know where they were. If they wanted to leave the lab and go to the room, that was fine. But they had to page us and tell us exactly where they would be (usually the room, the shops, meeting characters, or the arcade). And they had to both wear their watches at all times and be where they were supposed to be, and on time. If they flubbed up even once, that was the end of their freedom.

For us, it was a great opportunity to give them a little taste of independence and teach them about accountability. They performed beautifully and I think it set a precedencefor the future.

We were comfortable -- but you will have to judge for yourself. We have the advantage of a built-in buddy system, but that's not the case for every family. I doubt I would be as comfortable with one child on their own.

Good luck, and have fun planning! I think the beauty of a DCL vacation is that it is offers such a wonderful balance of family time and separate time. We had so much fun *with* our kids that I wouldn't want them to be on their own all the time. But it was nice that we could each pursue our own fun at times.

 

[daisymae]

Gemjoy,
I just returned from the Magic last week and went through your same concerns. My kids are ten and had check out privileges. I was not happy with them checking out and not knowing where they were. By the way, the kids can not go swimming with the Oceaneer's lab - only with parents. The problem was that sometimes they didn't like the planned activity and thus felt trapped in the lab. We compromised by giving the kids a walkie talkie and any time they left the lab or went somewhere else on the ship they had to call us. We also called them a lot and checked up on them as well. They had to stay together - there were some fights over that one. They really did like the freedom to move around the ship and I found they stayed mostly at the lab, ping pong tables, and shuffleboards. My kids were not big on the pools so swimming wasn't an issue. We stayed on the ship on Key West day and they had their fill of the slide. They didn't like the crowds in the pools - had their swimming on excursions and Castaway Cay - they loved the roped swimming area. That was less crowded, but my husband still swam out to supervise the kids - it's hard to see them from the beach. I saw some smart parents swimming with their kids in the early mornings and late afternoons/evenings - no crowds. I wasn't around the pool much but I heard about a lady who broke her leg and another who sprained her ankle. I think that area directly around the Mickey and Goofy pool can get pretty chaotic. Good luck.

 

[gemjoy]

thanks everyone for your input!! I'd like to give DD and DS a little "freedom" in between family time ~ I like the idea that was mentioned about the kids always staying together and using walkie-talkies to keep us in touch, I think this would work as long as I always know where they are and that they are together and like someone said - if they flubb up... privilege gone! They are responsible kids, its me that has the trouble letting go!

 

[jhorstma]

Magic Eastern (3/19 - 3/26) with DD9 and DS11 - if you haven't done so already you can read my detailed thoughts in our trip report.

You're going to have a great time!

 

[pacercolt]

Our kids are 13 and 6. So we could let them go around on their own because of having a teenager. But, we like to do most things together,so our girls just went to the club a few times. I went on vacation to be with them so we didn't use the kid programs that much.