Questions from first-time cruisers

[jdlr]

We (DH, me, DD-9, and DS-4) will be going on the 4-day cruise in December.

I have a few questions and would appreciate input from the experts out there.

1. Can we leave our DD and DS in the evening in the stateroom when they are asleep? I'm wondering if my DH and I could go on the deck or maybe one of the bars late at night. Maybe we'll bring a two-way radio so DD can contact us if they need us.

At home, I wouldn't leave my kids at home by themselves to go say to the store. I don't know if this is somewhat similar - or if it's just like leaving them in their rooms while my husband and I watch TV downstairs.

2. When you book shore excursions ahead of time (say a Dolphin Encounter) and the ship ends up not docking on the port - do you get refunds? Or are you not charged until you actually participate on the activity?

3. The other thing we're thinking is not schedule any shore excursions. There seems to be a lot of interesting shore excursion stuff, but we are only on the 4-day cruise. I'm thinking maybe we should just go with the flow and not schedule anything on the ports. That way we'll save money and we're not too stressed out with making it to certain places by a certain time.

Thanks a lot!


Jdlr

 

[ducklite]

I wouldn't leave children that young alone in the rooms, even with a two-way radio. Too me it's like going down teh street to a neighbors. Yes, you are close, but a lot can happen in the first mnute or two of an emergency.

JMHO.

Anne

 

[jporter]

I don't want to sound mean spirited but maybe you and your
husband should consider taking a cruise by yourselves. J.

 

[bahama97]

I think the Disney clubs are open until late at night. You could let them hang out there if you wanted to do something extra.

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

I can understand how it might be confusing if you have never cruised before.. best thing to think about is... it's a resort that floats. So would you leave your kids in a hotel room at a resort, and then head to the bar at that resort?

I think the kids club and the Flounder's nursery are open until 10pm or midnight..

I don't know what your budget is either, but a coworker of mine went on a cruise, and her friends that traveled with her brought a babysitter with them. It worked out well since the babysitter really only worked in the evenings and at night, while the parents were out.

It's a personal choice though...

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I think it all depends on your kid. Would you trust your 9 year old. It really depends on the kid. If it was me and I could trust the kids, I would. But thats just my opinion.
Matt

 

[goofygal1975]

I also don't think it would be a good idea to leave kids your childrens age alone in the stateroom. Although it may feel a little safer on a boat...(ex. someone snatching the kids and running off with them) there are still way to many things that could go wrong. I do know that the childrens clubs are open till midnight. Do you have a room w/a verandah? That would be a nice "escape" while still in hearing range of any problems.

I"m thinking the same regarding excurisions. It's just my DS and I going, so I really just think we'll hang out and "go w/the flow". We may rent bikes on castaway cay, but I think that's it for us on our first cruise!! We just really want to relax and enjoy it!!

 

[tkd lisa]

I'd use the kid's programming. My kids really enjoyed the late evening activities! Our first cruise (last May), we didn't do the dancing things, and the kids wanted to stay in the programming. We used the pool/hot tub a few times, and other times just wandered around until around 12:00. Our January trip, we did enjoy more of the evening activites, and the kids really liked being in the "late night at the lab" stuff.

As far as excursions, unless there is something that you really want to do, I wouldn't book anything on the 4 day. For us, nothing looked interesting on Nassau, and we had the day at sea itinerary. Nassau day, the kids stayed in the lab and we just shopped around near the boat for a couple of hours.

Have a great time!

 

[jdlr]

Thanks for all your replies!

My daughter is pretty mature and smart for her age. But to be safe, we will not leave our kids in the stateroom. If they're not too tired in the evening and would like to go to the kid's clubs, then we'll drop them off there and my husband and I will find something to do. Otherwise, we'll just hit the sack early too and we'll all wake up early the day after (maybe).

We'll probably also follow tkd lisa's and goofygal1975's advice and not book any shore excursions ahead of time on our 4-day cruise.

Thanks,
Jdlr

 

[zbuddy]

I would not leave kids that young alone in the room. It can still take you a while to get to the room in a hurry if you had to. Use the kids clubs! Even if the kids don't want to be there at night, I'll bet they will love it during the day and give you and DH plenty of alone time.

I would save your money and not do shore excursions...especially with a child as young as yours. The boat gets very uncrowded when it docks and it's the best time to enjoy the pools and the rest of the activities. Just plan to do Castaway Cay, of course!

Have a great time!

zbuddy

 

[thatmom]

Hi,
I think you should remember that your not the only one with a key to your room.
A while ago there was a post about someone coming in the room in the middle of night to take out the trash. The guests were a sleep and when they woke up they could tell someone had been in there room while they were sleeping.
My husband has a saying that I think fits here, SH-T HAPPENS!!!
Why take the chance.
thatmom