Verandahs and Children

[Greg0ire]

We are five people, 2 adults and 3 kids ages 8,11,13. Is it safe to give kids their own verandah cabin or do we need to split the kids and adults? I thought I heard something about the door to the outside being locked.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Split up the kids I wouldn't think it's safe.

Whilst there are locks my four year old son opened them by climbing on a stool. The newer ships have better locks. Would an older child open it and then a younger one gave an accident, needs an adult IMHO.

When they are all teenagers maybe but I would be uncomfortable.

 

[Greg0ire]

Ooh, thanks!

 

[bethy]

It has two locks but of course they can be unlocked....

We are in the same boat but with younger kids. We got connecting verandahs and there will be a strict rule that they are NEVER allowed to open their sliding glass door.
We will also have the deck furniture removed

I'm still a little worried but I cannot cruise in an inside cabin.

We actually deal with this a lot while traveling with balconies etc

 

[lanejudy]

The verandah door does lock, and it's rather high, but I suspect an average 11 or 13 year old could open it and possibly even the 8 year old. That said, I also think an average child of those ages is old enough to follow your instructions about not going out on the verandah without mom or dad present. You know your kids best. And only you can determine your comfort level with the verandah.

You will have to split the adults to reserve 2 staterooms, but can shift around who sleeps where. If you have connecting staterooms it should be quite easy.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[dcassetta]

We are five people, 2 adults and 3 kids ages 8,11,13. Is it safe to give kids their own verandah cabin or do we need to split the kids and adults? I thought I heard something about the door to the outside being locked.

You may want connecting rooms, but there is another option. Book a verandah for yourself and an inside cabin across the hall for the kids. They have their own space, and you do not need to worry about an unsupervised verandah.

 

[dsnydaddy]

The Veranda Door is double locked and require two hands to operate. One hand which is higher on the door than young children can reach. However, I agree with the above Keep and adult in the room. Kids get creative

 

[Greg0ire]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, we are only allowed to book verandah cabins and we won't find out if they are connecting until a week before the cruise.

 

[squirk]

This is one of those "parenting opinion" questions that can cause flame wars, but my opinion is that unless there are trust/responsibility issues at hand, kids aged 8/11/13 are more than old enough to be trusted to not mess with the verandah door if so instructed.

And if your kid can open the verdandah door, they can also open the main stateroom door and leave at any time. So if you don't trust them with the verandah door, you have another issue to consider as well.

We've always had connecting verandahs on the Fantasy and kept the kids in one room while we stayed in the other. The verandah divider was removed and the inside connecting door was almost always open, so it was kind of an open-loop floorplan between the two rooms. We never felt uncomfortable locking up the kids' room and leaving them to sleep on their side.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

You know your children best. If they are well-behaved and responsible, then I wouldn't have any concerns having them in their own veranda room given their ages. Just go over the safety rules.

 

[Greg0ire]

I plan to do that. And one would think their children are mature enough however how can we not question it a little bit in the back of our minds. What fun is being a parent if you aren't stressed about something?

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, we are only allowed to book verandah cabins and we won't find out if they are connecting until a week before the cruise.

That's an odd limitation.

 

[Greg0ire]

That's an odd limitation.

I work for Disney.

 

[Weedy]

They will be fine. Set the rules and let them know the dangers.

 

[squirk]

I plan to do that. And one would think their children are mature enough however how can we not question it a little bit in the back of our minds. What fun is being a parent if you aren't stressed about something?

Like Maggie'sMom said, you know your kids best. "Safe" is subjective and none of us here can tell you what's right for your family. If you think one or more of your kids will ignore or forget your rule of not opening the verandah door at night without an adult present, then your course of action is pretty clear.

To put it another way, if you properly lock the verandah door, it's pretty hard, if not impossible, for someone to accidentally unlock the door and then accidentally open it.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

To put it another way, if you properly lock the verandah door, it's pretty hard, if not impossible, for someone to accidentally unlock the door and then accidentally open it.

Heck, I had trouble intentionally unlocking and opening it.

 

[tinkerone]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, we are only allowed to book verandah cabins and we won't find out if they are connecting until a week before the cruise.

are you meaning that the cabins may not even be on the same floor? I swallowed hard when I read the first post but if i'm understanding this as two cabins that could be anywhere there is no way I would put my children in their own cabin.
no flames please, I like to know where my children are and what they are up to. even the most behaved child will sometimes wonder 'what if', and then there is always the stranger that could be lurking around the corner.....my mind runs wild sometimes.
however....to each their own. only you can decide.

 

[Minniesgal]

are you meaning that the cabins may not even be on the same floor? I swallowed hard when I read the first post but if i'm understanding this as two cabins that could be anywhere there is no way I would put my children in their own cabin.
no flames please, I like to know where my children are and what they are up to. even the most behaved child will sometimes wonder 'what if', and then there is always the stranger that could be lurking around the corner.....my mind runs wild sometimes.
however....to each their own. only you can decide.

I agree even the most well behaved and sensible children take mad cap ideas sometimes. Mine are generally very good but there have been one or two things they have done that we have just gone what!!!! and even they afterwards said I really don't know what I was thinking.

Also what if there is an emergency on the ship in the middle of the night. No way I'd leave an 8 year old without an adult. I wouldn't leave my 12 year old without one. Might consider it for my 17 year old! but would think twice.

 

[squirk]

Yeah, I would split the adults up if the cabins did not connect. Not because of the verandah doors per se, but just for general purposes - the kids will screw around with things besides the verandah door, they will fight, they will have questions only a parent can/should answer, etc. One parent will often find themselves in that room herding cats, I would think, and to have to run down the hall every time the kids needed something would be a hassle.

 

[mmouse37]

I work for Disney.

Welcome to the Disboards!!!

As you are a new member to the boards keep in mind the board guidelines are not to discuss any CM discounts on a public forum. You didn't, just throwing it out there for future reference. Also, there is a CM only discussion sub forum on here that you can visit once you get access from the admins.

MJ