Question.... kids on the ship while you're in port?

[FigmentSpark]

At what age would you leave the kids on the ship while you go into port? Or would you do it at all?

I don't mean take a tender in and go for the day, but maybe just in to the port area for shopping or a walk around?

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

We just did it in Bermuda with DS8, closer to 9.
He begged us to let him stay and knowing we had another day in Bermuda we gave in. We didn't leave him there all day, I'd say we got off the ship around 10 am and came back around 1:30. He loved it, the staff took the kids around the ship and to Windjammer (this was Anthem of th Seas) for lunch.

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I could never do it. I realize this is a personal choice, so don't in any way judge someone for doing it, but I just personally couldn't do it. Maybe when they are 16+

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We left our DD13 onboard while we went snorkeling for a couple of hours on Cozumel. If you had asked me prior to our cruise if I would ever do such a thing, I would have said "no way". But, once we were onboard for a few days and experienced how much time she spent in the club anyway, I was more comfortable with it. I spoke directly with the Edge CMs and told them I was pretty nervous. They assured me that all would fine and to go and have a good time.

We took our 9yo off the ship with us. I would not have left her onboard at that age, not so much because of her age but because of her maturity level.

Every child is different. I say go with your gut, you will know if it feels right or not. And what you feel about it now may change once you are onboard and the comfort level you have at that time.

 

[cruiser21]

I've never seen the difference between leaving your kids in the Club vs leaving them at day care or at school. They are perfectly safe and well cared for in the club. IMHO they are safer in the club then at school. The only difference I see is if you were to get hurt you can't call neighbors or family to come take care of them. The chance of anything like that happening is very, very small.

 

[SteveMP]

I've never seen the difference between leaving your kids in the Club vs leaving them at day care or at school. They are perfectly safe and well cared for in the club. IMHO they are safer in the club then at school. The only difference I see is if you were to get hurt you can't call neighbors or family to come take care of them. The chance of anything like that happening is very, very small.

Yeah the likelihood of you getting left behind in a foreign country while your kids sail away is far less likely in a daycare/school.

 

[MunFam]

Yeah the likelihood of you getting left behind in a foreign country while your kids sail away is far less likely in a daycare/school.

This is kind of where mind is at. I trust the CMs and would leave my 4 year old there. My fear is missing the ship or getting hurt and being stuck in an emergency situation with our now scared child..spending one or more nights alone on the ship with "strangers". That scares me. Again, not that I do not trust DCL to give her the royal treatment if something did indeed happen, but as a parent I could NOT live with myself if that happened. If something happened while she was at school, close friends and family would be there to care for her.

 

[Dug720]

Yeah the likelihood of you getting left behind in a foreign country while your kids sail away is far less likely in a daycare/school.

This is kind of where mind is at. I trust the CMs and would leave my 4 year old there. My fear is missing the ship or getting hurt and being stuck in an emergency situation with our now scared child..spending one or more nights alone on the ship with "strangers". That scares me. Again, not that I do not trust DCL to give her the royal treatment if something did indeed happen, but as a parent I could NOT live with myself if that happened. If something happened while she was at school, close friends and family would be there to care for her.

This is where you're at more of an advantage if you are on a ship-based excursion, because IF something makes the excursion late, they will hold the ship as long as possible and if they have to get you back to the ship ASAP. If you are all anti-ship excursions and do your own thing, yeah...you're at the mercy of your provider to make good on their promises to get you back.

 

[lklgoodman]

We left dd in the kids club while we walked around Skagway. I felt ok doing it there, since we were only a 5 min walk from the ship, plus we were only gone for about an hour. We just walked around the shops before our excursion later that day. DD was 6 yrs old at the time. I wouldn't leave her on the ship if we were on an excursion that was far away from the port.

 

[SteveMP]

This is where you're at more of an advantage if you are on a ship-based excursion, because IF something makes the excursion late, they will hold the ship as long as possible and if they have to get you back to the ship ASAP. If you are all anti-ship excursions and do your own thing, yeah...you're at the mercy of your provider to make good on their promises to get you back.

Good points. And I understand the likelihood of something happening are low. To be honest I never really thought about it until my FIL broke several ribs slipping down a mayan ruin. We made it back ok. But its just that now, if we ever left our kids on board, there would be that little "what-if?" voice inside my head just gnawing away at any fun i might me be having.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I read the responses above and I feel "compelled" to give my reasoning...
We left DS on the ship in Bermuda, yes. Not in the cabin or roaming around, but in a secure kids program with adult supervision.
I had a talk with the staff in the club about their procedures first and I knew he's safe there.
We didn't do an excursion, we were back on the ship by around 1:30 pm and the ship was staying in Bermuda overnight so there was no chance of the ship sailing away without us...

As one of the above posters said... I would have not considered this prior to the cruise.
Once you're there, go with your personal comfort level, trust me there will always be parents that will never ever do it... and parents that will... there were plenty of kids that were in the club with DS in Bermuda.
When I came home and told a friend that we left DS on the ship in Bermuda she said "oh no way" would never do it herself. She's the same person though who's been allowing her "tall for his age" son to ride in the front seat of the car since age 7.
I would never do that! But I don't judge either. Just goes to show you that peoples' comfort level and reasoning will vary greatly from situation to situation

 

[mcgluvint]

At what age would you leave the kids on the ship while you go into port? Or would you do it at all?

I don't mean take a tender in and go for the day, but maybe just in to the port area for shopping or a walk around?

If I don't want to get of my parents will leave me on ship and Im 14.

 

[CamColt]

I left my kids on board when they were 13 and 16. We were in Costa Maya when DH and I got off just to look around, have a drink at Carlos and Charlies, and look in a jewelry store. I don't think I could do it if they were young or if we were traveling far away for a long time, but we never really had a reason to do that.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

As PP said, it is completely a personal decision, based on yourself and your child. Many people do it successfully. Others don't feel comfortable with it.

From my point of view, I just want to point out the great advantages to your children when you take opportunities to tell them that you trust them and that life is something they can handle, not something they need you to protect them from. We have sent our sons to Boy Scout camp for a week (not a foreign country, just another state) for a week every summer since they were 11 (summer after 5th grade). I feel that experiences like this (or leaving them on the ship while you go to a port) show them that they can handle life and that they don't have to be afraid. My one son took to going away to camp immediately, the other was bawling to come home after 2 days. But we didn't come get him. We told him he could handle it. Now he loves it. This year will be his 5th year. But if we had brought him home that first time, we might never have gotten him to go again.

I'm not judging anyone. I'm not telling you what to do.

I am sharing my experiences, and urging people to consider the benefits to their children of allowing them to spread their wings a little, when the situation warrants. DCL programs are well supervised. It might be an excellent time for them to be away from their parents for a bit.

All the best with whatever you decide.

 

[cruiser21]

Yeah the likelihood of you getting left behind in a foreign country while your kids sail away is far less likely in a daycare/school.

If your not responsible enough to make it back it the ship on time then you probably should not do it.

 

[Disney_traveler]

I'm just one of those that believes family vacations are for spending time together as a family, especially with kids.
If this was an all adults (and I don't mean teens) group, sure go for it. Taking your kids and dropping them off so you can do what you want???----why take kids at all.

 

[tcufrog]

If your not responsible enough to make it back it the ship on time then you probably should not do it.

Sometimes circumstances happen that are beyond your control. My car was rear ended and I suffered from whiplash when I was leaving to go on vacation with my younger son. At the time I was staying further back than usual from the car in front of me because I was driving a stretch of freeway that has a habit of backing up suddenly for no reason. That saved me from rear ending the car in front of me when I was hit but it didn't prevent me from getting hit by someone behind me.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I'm just one of those that believes family vacations are for spending time together as a family, especially with kids.
If this was an all adults (and I don't mean teens) group, sure go for it. Taking your kids and dropping them off so you can do what you want???----why take kids at all.

There's plenty of time to spend together and still have a couple hours to do things apart while on a cruise. The kids clubs are outstanding and most kids enjoy having some time to spend with peers. The OP was asking about a couple hours to walk around the port area, not leaving the kids for an entire day.

 

[Disney_traveler]

There's plenty of time to spend together and still have a couple hours to do things apart while on a cruise. The kids clubs are outstanding and most kids enjoy having some time to spend with peers. The OP was asking about a couple hours to walk around the port area, not leaving the kids for an entire day.

I don't care if it is 15 minutes.

 

[cruiser21]

Sometimes circumstances happen that are beyond your control. My car was rear ended and I suffered from whiplash when I was leaving to go on vacation with my younger son. At the time I was staying further back than usual from the car in front of me because I was driving a stretch of freeway that has a habit of backing up suddenly for no reason. That saved me from rear ending the car in front of me when I was hit but it didn't prevent me from getting hit by someone behind me.

I don't know what that has to do with leaving a kid on a ship. Bottom is your kids will be safe on the ship. You can dream up all these horrible one in a million things that could happen to you while on shore. I don't spend my life dreaming up these up these kind of scenarios.

I don't care if it is 15 minutes.

You must not have teenagers. LOL