Pirate Cruise..Why can't I come???

[Gymbomom]

Okay, you might think I am a freak, but I have a really hard time letting my ds (will be 4) take the pirate cruise by himself.
He LOVES pirates and I think he will get the biggest kick out of going....
I just don't trust people I don't know!
Are my fears unfounded? Are there enough people on the "trip" to watch out for all of them? Any chance of them being taken anywhere by themselves?
I called and asked if my brother who is 14 could go and observe him and stay with him, no, they said no to parents too.

I know ya'll are shaking your heads at the over protective mother..........

 

[ducklite]

Because it's a kids only event.

If you aren't comfortbale sending him, then wait a couple years.

The kids are well supervised, and all safety precautions are taken.

There are some family events that might make you more comfortable that you can accompany your child to. Maybe you should look into those.

Anne

 

[mommykds]

I know people have different opinions on this but I am right there with you Gymbomom. I have 3 kids & I just cannot see my 4 & 5 year old alone (on a boat no less) even with my 9 year old there to watch...I am afraid they will get lost, fall overboard, or something else. I now they would have fun but I am not wracking my brain over since the whole WDW week will be fun.

I decided to do the lunch party with Alice & Mad Hatter at the GF. They are not alone, they don't go anywhere, & you can stand outside the room or browse the GF shops so you are nearby.

If you feel guilty (like me! ) & he loves pirates, I'd take him on pirate f the carribbean & get him some pirate stuff at the shop nearby so he can walk around like a pirate.

I don't think anything would happen to him but you & I are just more neurotic but at least we have peace of mind (ok whats left of our minds!)

Whatever you decide, remember the time at WDW willl be a fun experience & you don't have to do the pirate cruise to make it more special unless you are totally comfortable with it.

Have a great time.

 

[rmontgo892]

Okay, you might think I am a freak, but I have a really hard time letting my ds (will be 4) take the pirate cruise by himself.
He LOVES pirates and I think he will get the biggest kick out of going....
I just don't trust people I don't know!
Are my fears unfounded? Are there enough people on the "trip" to watch out for all of them? Any chance of them being taken anywhere by themselves?
I called and asked if my brother who is 14 could go and observe him and stay with him, no, they said no to parents too.

I know ya'll are shaking your heads at the over protective mother..........

No worries! Your doing your job as a parent to question this, imho. I know I read a thread about this subject and if you do a search I guess for Pirate cruise you'll find others with similar concerns. I would find the link for you but I am still learning to navigate the site and I'm a tad computer illiterate.

I had concerns and going as often as we do I figured we would wait. Our son is now 9 and I still have concerns.

Good luck and have a magical vacation!

 

[goofy4tink]

Let's view this from another point...how safe would you feel letting a child go on a cruise if there were non-Disney adults there? I wouldn't feel nearly as safe letting my child do it then. I don't think I would let my 4 y/o child do it in any case. My dd did do the Tea Party when she was 8. The mother of the other girl she went with was a basket case worrying about her dd in there without her. So, you're not alone!!! I sometimes think we rush our kids to do these things before they (or we!!) are ready for them. I agree with another poster...head for PoC and hit the gift shop after. Your son will love it and he'll never miss the Pirate Cruise if he knows nothing about it.

 

[krystyana]

I'm on the obsessive mommy bus too....I have absolutely no intention of letting someone else watch my little guy on a boat.....I mean if he can manage to climb into the window to try to fly in the five seconds I run to the bathroom then god only knows what could happen in a min. or two if a CM got distracted. Not that I don't have faith in Disney....I'm just well aware of what a determined little one can attempt. But then I am also super protective and have a hard time leaving him with anyone. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone!

 

[brynnsandra]

My sister and I were looking at that same event. Our boys are 8 and the girls are 5. There is no way I would send them out with people I don't know on a boat. What if the child is uncomfortable with the adults. They could be upset the whole time and we have no way of knowing. Not to mention the whole water thing. Both of my kids are good swimmers (lessons since they were 6 months old) but I would never chance. We decided to do the Magic Fireworks Cruise were adults are included

 

[madalex]

I am sure the kids wear life jackets on the boat, are closely supervised and that there are lots of adults there to keep an eye on everybody.

That being said, if you are not comfortable sending you child alone on this, don't do it this year. He won't know the difference and you will feel a lot better.

 

[Brina]

I guess I am ina distinct minority on this one. My boys will be 5 when we go to Disney this fall. They will definitly attend the pirate cruise. They will get a stern talking to about the consequences of not listening to the CMs - my kids know we always follow through on consequences, and in this case it will be something along the line of not getting to attend another event that they want to see. Disney has been doing this cruise for a long time, and they appear to have it down pretty well. The kids are in life jackets. Will I be worried and anxious while they are out? sure, but I will still let them go.

 

[DisneyaholicRaquel]

My DS just turned 7 last week and I am still uncomfortable sending him on this cruise. Although, I asked him if wanted to do it without me and he said a big "YES". He thinks it would be cool. A friend of mine is sending her DS7 & DD5. Maybe, I will let him go at the same time. I don't know...it's a big step! He has never stayed with anyone other than immediate family (never overnight). Am I being a paranoid freak??? You read & see so much negative stuff all you want to do is protect your child forever!

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

I am so glad to hear others concerns. I plan on try to get the cruise for my boys now that my oldest son is 9 and the twins will be 5. I know my pirate crazy boys will love this ( Yo, HO, Yo HO it's a pirates Life for me" is still a favorite song since our trip in 2003). It is just so hard to let you kid do something new on their own. The twins were too young on our last trip. I feel better about all the boys being able to go together and like the twins having their big brother with them, before he gets to old. Now that my son is getting involved in activities at the local nature center and 4-H I am getting better at letting him go a little. Also as long as I have seen this trip offered, it must go well or it would have been history long ago.

 

[Stimpy]

First, let me say that I am a big believer in "every parent needs to do what they feel is best for their kids". If you feel uncomfortable letting your child go, don't do it! You will be stressed the whole time. It's not worth it to be stressed on your vacation!

Seond, I just wanted to give some information. My DS was 5 when he did the Pirate cruise in December. (I am generally very protective of my children) He loved it! He is a very outgoing and independent child. (He was already in Kindergarten and had been in preschool for 2 yrs before that.)

All the parents are given a pager. All the Pirates, including the CM's wore life preservers. There were 3 CMs for about 15 kids. Every kid was partnered up with another child. They had to stay and/or hold hands with their partner at all times. They were VERY firm about explaining the rules to the kids. If any kids were not listening at the dock, the boat was not moving. We watched for quite a while and the kids definately listened to everything the CMs said. (Most kids listen better to other adults than their own parents LOL)

The boat my DS went on is a pontoon type boat with benches lined up decorated with some pirate stuff. With the walls they had, you could barely see most of the kids heads. The CM went really slow.

When they got back to the dock, each kid was sitting in their seats with their partners. In order to get your child back, the parents had to wait in line. Each parent would give the pager back one at a time and the CM would call that Pirate up from his/her seat. The pirate then got their loot and most of them reluctantly returned to Mom or Dad

BTW, I don't know if this was on purpose or not, but I did notice one of the safety boats with a life guard CM (Don't know their real title LOL) was pretty close by most of the time. They went around the pirate ship a few times and the kids were yelling ARGH at them. (the kids loved that!)

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Again, I'm not trying to persaude any one to do it if they don't feel comfortable! Do what YOU feel is right!

 

[Gymbomom]

First, thank you for all of your comments!!!!!!! I am glad that I am not the only mom out there who feels this way, makes me feel normal.

Yes, Stimpy, I have questions....

So, you can actually see them get on the boat? DO they stay on the boat the whole time, or do they get off anywhere? I know they stop at resorts marinas, do they get off? What if they have to go to the restroom?
If I can see them get on, know they are not getting off for long periods of time, and see them get back, I might be open to this. I could send dd (8) with him to make me feel safer.
If they get off for long periods of time, I am apt to say no. Also, what if I pay and he refuses to go, which could very well happen.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

My 4 year old son went last July and loved it! Of course his sisters (5 and 6) were with him but I think he would have been fine without them. They were experienced women who run all of the kids activities. The kids all had life jackets on. THey even paired up kids who were alone with another child. I don't think any of the kids have any problems.

 

[elan]

If you have concerns I would suggest you not do it. It wouldn't be worth the stress. That said....My two went last oct. and loved it. They were 7 and 5. Every child is different and I probably wouldn't of sent my oldest when she was 4 (she is too much of a nervous nelly).

Parents put the life jackets on their kids before they get on the boat and take them off when the cruise is over. Our kids found the treasure at the WL beach. Even though you see them leave and arrive at the marina you can not monitor the stops along the way.

You will need to give a CC when a reservation is made, but your card is not charged until the day of the cruise. There is a cancellation policy but you will be charged if you cancel that day (say your son doesn't want to get on the boat).

There is so much to do at WDW you and your son will not even miss this.

 

[Stimpy]

So, you can actually see them get on the boat? DO they stay on the boat the whole time, or do they get off anywhere? I know they stop at resorts marinas, do they get off? What if they have to go to the restroom?
If I can see them get on, know they are not getting off for long periods of time, and see them get back, I might be open to this. I could send dd (8) with him to make me feel safer.
If they get off for long periods of time, I am apt to say no. Also, what if I pay and he refuses to go, which could very well happen.

Yes all the parents stood there while the kids got on the boat. You meet at the marina, you need to put the life vest on your child yourself and watch them until they leave the marina. All the parents are standing there while the CM's give all the rules and wave goodbye to the pirates. You can actually see some of the time they are on the water. They go to the Poly and the beach of the WL. Yes they do get off the boat at both places. But again, the kids are paired up and there is a ratio of about 1 adult for every 5 kids. There seemed to be quite a few siblings on the cruise and they were paired with each other.

Towards the end of the cruise, I was able to watch them from the pier with the restaurant (drawing a blank on the name! Citricos?) They were just driving around and yelling ARGH to the passing boats (1-2 water mice and the WDW safety boat guy LOL) for about 10 minutes until the time was up.

I'm not sure what would happen if he refused to go. Maybe someone else can help there?

 

[PlutoPony]

Not drawing on personal experience here but if your child refused to go at the last minute I assume it would be treated similar to a "no show" and you'd still be paying for it (since they couldn't get someone else to take your child's place so late). If your child doesn't seperate well (or vice versa ) WDW may not be the best place to "make the break" - maybe save that for a more familiar environment JMHO.

 

[Gymbomom]

Water sprites....hmm there is an idea, maybe I can just chase the boat around.......

 

[disneygoof]

...I just don't trust people I don't know!
Are my fears unfounded? Are there enough people on the "trip" to watch out for all of them? Any chance of them being taken anywhere by themselves? ...I know ya'll are shaking your heads at the over protective mother.........

I'm not shaking my head, I'm with you. Posters have addressed the water safety issue but not the personal safety issue.

Your concerns are my concerns, and the reason why I haven't participated in this activity.

 

[dtsaos]

I just asked my DS who will be turning 5 on our trip this fall which he would prefer doing, the pirate cruise or the adventures in cooking. I tried to explain both to him in a way he could understand. He said he'd prefer the cooking one because you get to decorate a chef hat! Of course he said he would do both, but if he had to pick one it would be the cooking. Originally we were going to book him on the cruise, but the more I think of it the more I think that it might be one of those things that's better to do with siblings or friends. Whereas i think the cooking class would be okay by just himself. In two years, my DD will be 5 and the two of them could do the cruise together. Just something to think about, because you're older one (8 right?) will probably be too old to do the cruise in a couple of years so perhaps you should let them do it together now while they have the opportunity to do a sibling activity they will both enjoy!