To put names on FE or not?

[GrumpyBelle]

We have our names on our FE. I understand why some may not be comfortable with that. I like it more personalized so that it is less likely to walk away (hopefully). I agree with whoever said you can get just as much by listening to people around the pool calling to their kids and each other.

 

[chateau]

Not to minimize your concerns, but I am having a tough time seeing this happen on a cruise ship. For one thing, when would a toddler or young child not be attended to? The other thing, where would a perpetrator go? The ship is only so big and there are people everywhere. I would think if a child was missing a massive manhunt would commence pretty quickly. Anyone know of anything like this happening on a cruise ship? I think I would be more worried about teens and young adults making poor decisions about entering someone's cabin. But even that is pretty risky. You can't lie about who you are to get on the ship. So if someone did such an unthinkable thing, I believe it wouldn't take much to find him.

That being said, I don't see any problem with not putting names on an FE.

One second with a stranger (with bad intent) is one second too long. There was a post, a while back, of an older teenager assulting another teen. Not to start a debate, but bad things can happen in a HEARTBEAT!

People take pictures of their FE's and put them up on the boards too. Someone doesn't have to be on the ship to get private information.

 

[mammacaryn]

We have participated in 2.

Our first names were on it.

We have never zip tied or made some special attachment....just hung it on the fish.

Our rooms have always been near busy places (close to elevators) so maybe that was in our favor...I don't know. Honestly I just don't think they get taken that often.

We don't invest a ton of money in making it, though I do actually make one. If it was to get swiped, it wouldn't ruin my vacation , I think I could find something else to hang out there in a bind

I mean, we left a whole bag of purchased items on the bus in Grand Cayman, that sucked!

 

[gr8vthsfam]

Thank you everyone; lots to consider! LOVE Dis boards for all the experience everyone has to share!

 

[slg4crzn]

I put our last name on our FE.... I dont want it walking off, and I have it hanging up at home.. we use it all the time.

As for names.... spend 5 minutes at the pool or wherever..and you will be able to know half the kids names by the parents calling them etc.

A little off topic but totally agree with this. We were at a store and a man started talking to my young son stating my sons name just by hearing me say his name while being around us in the aisle. Spooky.

 

[hurleysweety]

Just made my first FE for our upcoming cruise. I just learned to sew so while the item has little cash value, after working on it for a few weeks, it has a lot of sentimental value (being the first thing I've ever sewn!). I have our first and last names on there, but we don't have kids. I'm sure I'll feel differently as a parent. I hate to admit it, but I would be so sad if anyone took it! (Plus we'll be on the WDW radio podcast cruise and with all their door decor contests and such, I'm sure our ship will be filled with all kinds of stuff!)

 

[kathi]

I had the same thoughts a few days ago and decided to go with no names. When it comes to my child, I'd rather err on the side of caution.

 

[BealsRwe]

We are a family of 3, and frequent cruisers. We have everything on our door from 1st names, last names on magnets, 1st names on our FE. Our DD is either with us or in the clubs. She's 8 now, and we may give her a little more freedom this upcoming cruise. She knows to NEVER answer a door at the house without mommy or daddy there to verify, even if someone knows her name. She's never home alone, and I don't foresee her being in our stateroom alone either. We usually put a dry erase board out too and DD even got a personalized note from Mickey Mouse wandering by.

I also felt it was nice when delivering FE gifts to know I had the right room. I put people's name and stateroom on bags when delivering, and with room changes/upgrades it truly helps to double check names.

 

[chateau]

We've been passing out FE gifts and saw one hanging, not on the list..... added some to theirs in the spirit of FE giving. On two occasions we later realized someone moved (cabin maintenance) and they hadn't gotten around to passing it along to the FE group yet. We then stopped personalizing, realized it made the process that much more difficult. I do appreciate personalized ones, but to us its just an appreciation for all the kindness offered that means the most. If someone inquired about the process they received too.

 

[katiemugs2]

We put our last name on ours, we ordered a xmas stocking so we could use it over and over through the holidays. But I have a young son, and I didn't want to put his first name on it.

 

[disbugsmomma]

I put our last name on the top of our FE and each person's name was on a pocket. We also had magnets on our door that had first names and location on them.

 

[realityland]

First names on our FE. We are hyper-vigilant when it comes to ANYONE having contact with our children. Outside of school or family, there is rarely (if ever) a time that they are out of our sight.

As far as we are concerned, everyone is guilty until proven innocent when they could potentially have access to our children. Some may call it overboard - but one look at your local sex offender registry tells you that it is not overboard in the least. And the scary thought is that the sex offender registry only lists the ones who have been caught.

 

[n8tivecaligirl]

After reading this, our first FE is in December and I had put our last name at the top of our FE and our first names on the Pockets. We are all adults BUT now I just purchased a bunch of Iron on patches (disney of course) to cover our last name. Even as an adult only cabin, I still want to be safe (c: Thanks for posting this

 

[needAcruise]

Our FE has our last name on it, just in case it "walks". But no first names.

And all the gifts we give have the dis boards names (not real names) and the room number.

The FE organizers (I've particpated in 3 exchanges) were always very good about updating upgrades or room changes to everyone at the meet-n-greet. SInce I attend those, I knew what was changed. But for those who did not attend meet-n-greets, I have no idea how they would know.

Our magnets do have a habit of walking though!

 

[FlyingBelle]

I purchased pins from Hobby Lobby that had letters on it, purchased the first initial for each one in our family.

They were white with a black script letter - really cute - and used those on the pockets of our FE.

That way - if someone had a personalized gift they knew who's pocket to go to and I felt safer not having my daughter's name outside our cabin door.

That said - someone left us a magnet as a FE gift, with our all names on it - I loved it, but pulled it off the door right away. Now it sits on my refrigerator at home.

 

[Ptwolfman]

I never even thought about this issue. Our FE only has our first names. I figured it would be helpful to those delivering gifts. Also, I just like the personalization. I like what a pp said about using the FE at home. Great idea. We have a few personalized magnets with our first names as well. I had planned to hand out calling cards with our gifts but now I don't think I will do that. Thanks for the info in this thread.