Cruise ship leaves Nassau with kids on board under supervison of uncle ;-)and late parents on land

[NHdisneylover]

Actually, it's 21.

Possibly on NCL--I do not sail the line. Otherwise it varies from 18 to 25 depending on the line, and sometimes also on here they are sailing out of (RCI, for example, has a lower age when sailing in Europe than out of the US) Some lines also allow booking kids in rooms next to or across from adults with no adult booked in a room. And every line we have been on is happy to give us extra keys and rearrange once we are onboard for our kids to sleep in their on room, even if they are not close to our room,--and we are totally honest about why we are asking for the keys with both the guest services people and the room stewards. Basically it seems that they want to know they have adults around in case there is a problem kid (since you cannot so easily kick someone off property as you could on land) , but also realize most kids are not problems

 

[jahber]

Maybe they could have. But if my spouse was nowhere to be found and they are not typically a person who is late, then I'm worrying. Were they mugged? Have a heart attack? Lying in a ditch somewhere? I'm getting off when I have a sibling that can take care of my child.

My sister and I were talking about this today, and we both agreed we would've disembarked. Therefore, leaving the kid(s) with an aunt. I'm sure the uncle did just fine.

(we both said our kids would've lived it up without their parents after knowing they were fine)

They consulted with the husband and decided he should leave the kids with the adult relatives for the remainder of the cruise. It was probably his call and be decided to leave the kids with people he trusted and not leave his wife alone on a dock in a foreign country. Either way, the father ,uncle and cruise employees were involved in the decision so it's not like he just jumped off to look for her thinking they get back on. He knew he wasn't and was ok with that.

I agree. I would not have been able to stay on the ship not knowing if my husband was ok, either. But I was specifically responding to a poster who suggested the man had no other option than to leave the ship, which I don't think is necessarily true. If my husband had been able to contact me in that situation saying he was going to miss the ship, I would have been fine with sending the passport along to the port authority. The phone number for port authority is in every port navigator--you're supposed to call them when you have a problem (such as running late).

 

[mjkacmom]

I agree. I would not have been able to stay on the ship not knowing if my husband was ok, either. But I was specifically responding to a poster who suggested the man had no other option than to leave the ship, which I don't think is necessarily true. If my husband had been able to contact me in that situation saying he was going to miss the ship, I would have been fine with sending the passport along to the port authority. The phone number for port authority is in every port navigator--you're supposed to call them when you have a problem (such as running late).

I absolutely would have left DH if I knew he was safe and just running late (we discussed this, and he said I'd probably throw his passport into the ocean and make him dive for it, which is true).

 

[ronandannette]

Really? Honestly, that seems like a terrible policy.

It does seem a little "reckless" and like something most of us wouldn't do on land, but the statistics must be in their favour. We actually did it ourselves on one cruise when DS was little but admittedly, I never really thought through all the things that could go wrong.

Here's something that might freak you out even more: When you get off at a port there is no way for the ship to know whether or not you are travelling with children, or how they might be accounted for. At any given time there could be TONS of tweets/teens on-board with no supervision.

 

[aaarcher86]

Leaving the kids on board or not allowing the second parent to leave the ship without them if the other parent isn't back on time?

It would be silly to not allow kids to remain on the boat as long as they were supervised. This is one story of parents missing the ship out of how many millions of cruise ship passengers? And the kids were with other members of the party who likely had some sign out privileges. When I sailed with my sister, we and the dads all had sign out privileges for each other's children--so as far as the ship was concerned--the aunts and uncles were adequate.

As far as the next part if that is what you mean...If the children have no other family on board, it would make sense that DCL--if they had such a policy, we have never heard of it--would not allow the one adult to leave when the ship knows they won't be able to wait if that parent doesn't return either.


As far as the damsel in distress talk--

I'm a mixed opinion on this...

On the one hand--assuming no contact was possible via phone or whatever--even if it was my own dumb fault, part of me wouldn't want my husband leaving me high and dry--even if I deserved it. The other part would have been upset to return and find that my family was on the pier and the boat was gone. I would have expected him to stay on the boat.

Another true story--I posted on here a few years back...we thought my wallet had been stolen. While I eventually found it (oddly my sister and I lost ours at the same time)--before I did, while I was umm....devestated that I would not be able to cruise due to possible lack of id, I told my kids that they would go and have fun just fine that they were fine and dad would take them. Seems silly--but they shouldn't miss out due to my error. So applying that here--I guess my husband and I would have a discussion (seems silly--but hey, I bet this mom doesn't feel so silly)--he could dump off my documents with the port and then stay on the ship. I would be a little bit miffed, who wouldn't even if they were dummies? But I would not want my kids to pay for my error. Just as I didn't when I thought my wallet had been stolen.

But I would expect any spouse--to not leave their other spouse without options. It isn't their job to "teach lessons". I guess this husband was hopeful. It is clear in the video that he did not immediately comfort here. I'm not going to question their marriage--but at that point, he was justifiably angry. He was doing what he could to help the situation and seemed that he was rightfully displeased.

That said, I am okay with ships allowing kids to remain on the boat. Yes it is a family vacation, but that doesn't mean that every moment on a cruise--by its very design--means everyone needs to be attached at the hip. Not everyone has to get off the ship and even do the same things. And that's okay. In this case, we don't know if the parents were in port while the kids stayed on the ship since dad was on the ship and had to get off.


I still want to know what kept her. She had no visible sign of injury. And had she had ANY justifiable reason for being late--then I don't think her husband would have been so stand offish once he realized the ship wasn't re-docking and he walked back to the golf cart.

On the DCL boards, someone mentioned an epic story of a guy named Gavin who missed a cruise because he fell in a (dormant) volcano. Now, that is an epic story.

IMO, it seems like a bad policy to allow both parents to leave kids somewhere and head off on land in general, not just this instance with other family members. It just seems like it would open up a TON of room for error. We don't travel with family, so if DH and I left the kids on ship and didn't get back in time, what happens? Are they forced to wait? Do they leave and take care of the minor kids? Seems like it would avoid what could be a huge liability issue by requiring at least one adult to stay on ship with kids.

It does seem a little "reckless" and like something most of us wouldn't do on land, but the statistics must be in their favour. We actually did it ourselves on one cruise when DS was little but admittedly, I never really thought through all the things that could go wrong.

Here's something that might freak you out even more: When you get off at a port there is no way for the ship to know whether or not you are travelling with children, or how they might be accounted for. At any given time there could be TONS of tweets/teens on-board with no supervision.

Honestly, this is probably why I won't do DCL. I could be entirely wrong, but I feel like there'd be so many kids just running around chaotically. And now given the fact parents can leave them on ship, double no. Honestly, just seems kind of crazy to me.

There was a kid on our cruise that we saw every day with parents just wandering around, talking to people, etc. He felt very ASD when we interacted with him. He wasn't a problem, and he didn't cause trouble, but he just had zero boundaries and social awareness. After awhile it becomes a little taxing. I was pretty baffled his family just let him wander around all day, every day.

 

[sam_gordon]

The cruise policy is that when booking a room someone needs to be 18 in each room.

I know RCI allows kids under 18 in a room by themselves provided the responsible adults are next door or immediately across the hall.

 

[NotUrsula]

Am I the only person who saw this thread title and thought that the parents died during the shore excursion?

Come to think of it -- imagine if that was what had happened. The kids would need to get home somehow, and had their adults met with foul play the bodies would not have been immediately released in any case.

 

[Kae]

I think( yes just thinking out loud) the mom stayed back to shop, let's say the kids and adults wanted to go back to ship. Mom not back, dad gets off boat with documents. Knows there is a good chance they won't make it back, doesn't want wife to be left by herself. He spoke to the uncle about this before he got off the boat.

No matter how it happened, it's sad for the kids and the family. Live and learn.

Kae

 

[msjprincess]

Thanks for the correction. My point is that may be how they may you actually book the room, but no one monitors where people sleep.

I don't know about other cruiselines, but RCI allows kids to be booked in their own room either next door or directly across the hall from their parents.

 

[morgan98]

I don't know about other cruiselines, but RCI allows kids to be booked in their own room either next door or directly across the hall from their parents.

Yes, I believe NHdisneylover said the same thing is a post above. My original point is just that no, cruise lines do not do bed checks and make sure there is an adult sleeping in a room with a child.

 

[Deb]

Here's something that might freak you out even more: When you get off at a port there is no way for the ship to know whether or not you are travelling with children, or how they might be accounted for. At any given time there could be TONS of tweets/teens on-board with no supervision.

Sure there is, every card is scanned as you leave the ship and as you reboard. They know exactly who is onboard at any given moment, assuming you don't go overboard. They also know who was booked in each cabin and as part of the same party

 

[ronandannette]

Sure there is, every card is scanned as you leave the ship and as you reboard. They know exactly who is onboard at any given moment, assuming you don't go overboard. They also know who was booked in each cabin and as part of the same party

Agreed, they could check at any given time but NEVER ONCE when we were going into port without our child did anyone ever ask where he was. I don't believe for a minute when your ship card "bings" that the security screener has any immediate information about your travel party. Nor at any time that we left DS in the kids club (either on a port day or while at sea) was there any protocol for "keeping in touch". Heck, after about age 10 or so (depending on the cruiseline), kids can come and go from the clubs on their own. No parent is ever required to check them in or out. If parents just failed to return from a shore excursion, it's very possible that kids could be stranded alone on-board.

 

[Deb]

Agreed, they could check at any given time but NEVER ONCE when we were going into port without our child did anyone ever ask where he was. I don't believe for a minute when your ship card "bings" that the security screener has any immediate information about your travel party. Nor at any time that we left DS in the kids club (either on a port day or while at sea) was there any protocol for "keeping in touch". Heck, after about age 10 or so (depending on the cruiseline), kids can come and go from the clubs on their own. No parent is ever required to check them in or out. If parents just failed to return from a shore excursion, it's very possible that kids could be stranded alone on-board.

There is no policy that says you have to take them with you if you get off the ship, on the other hand minors will be stopped from getting off the ship without an adult from their party, so if they wanted to set a policy to keep families together, I imagine it's doable. But even so, before they leave you behind at a port, they do know who you are traveling with and whether they are onboard

 

[ronandannette]

There is no policy that says you have to take them with you if you get off the ship, on the other hand minors will be stopped from getting off the ship without an adult from their party, so if they wanted to set a policy to keep families together, I imagine it's doable. But even so, before they leave you behind at a port, they do know who you are traveling with and whether they are onboard

So just for the sake of pondering, if children were on-board unsupervised, do you think it would change the decision to sail without "late" parents? From what I understand the ship has to depart by a certain time. Just thinking about it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

 

[Deb]

So just for the sake of pondering, if children were on-board unsupervised, do you think it would change the decision to sail without "late" parents? From what I understand the ship has to depart by a certain time. Just thinking about it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

just speculating here, but I imagine it might buy them a short time but at some point the ship would need to leave. I guess the next step would be to try and reach the emergency contact they always ask for

 

[The Mystery Machine]

So just for the sake of pondering, if children were on-board unsupervised, do you think it would change the decision to sail without "late" parents? From what I understand the ship has to depart by a certain time. Just thinking about it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

No.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

IMO, it seems like a bad policy to allow both parents to leave kids somewhere and head off on land in general, not just this instance with other family members. It just seems like it would open up a TON of room for error. We don't travel with family, so if DH and I left the kids on ship and didn't get back in time, what happens? Are they forced to wait? Do they leave and take care of the minor kids? Seems like it would avoid what could be a huge liability issue by requiring at least one adult to stay on ship with kids.



Honestly, this is probably why I won't do DCL. I could be entirely wrong, but I feel like there'd be so many kids just running around chaotically. And now given the fact parents can leave them on ship, double no. Honestly, just seems kind of crazy to me.

There was a kid on our cruise that we saw every day with parents just wandering around, talking to people, etc. He felt very ASD when we interacted with him. He wasn't a problem, and he didn't cause trouble, but he just had zero boundaries and social awareness. After awhile it becomes a little taxing. I was pretty baffled his family just let him wander around all day, every day.

Well--as I said, it is not a problem for most passengers who can follow instructions. Yes it is weird. We have left kids on the boat before. It feels a little weird to do that.

In general, there are tons of kids on a DCL, not just on port days.

But pretty much all cruise lines allow parents to leave their minor children on the ship. Something to keep in mind when considering any cruise. One cruise, I was even off ship with my minor sister while my parents were on board. I was an adult at the time. Cruise lines are not in the business of telling parents how they should parent and allow much discretion within certain reasonable limits of safety for the child. It is not considered unsafe to leave a child on the ship unless the child is incapable of caring for themselves AND not left with an adult when they should be.

 

[Aliceacc]

I'm sorry, but aside from a medical/legal issue, how on earth did mom fail to get back to that ship on time?? Agreed, the shopping bags she's holding would seem to indicate that she simply didn't pay attention to time... not that she spent time in an ER or a police station.

This story screams "It's all about me."

It looks to me as though mom screwed up, big time. I don't blame dad for going in search of her; the kids were in the care of a family member. In his shoes, I would have assumed that my spouse was in desperate trouble and needed help.

I wonder if they charged mom with the costs associated with staying in port an extra half an hour?

 

[ronandannette]

I'm sorry, but aside from a medical/legal issue, how on earth did mom fail to get back to that ship on time?? Agreed, the shopping bags she's holding would seem to indicate that she simply didn't pay attention to time... not that she spent time in an ER or a police station.
This story screams "It's all about me."
It looks to me as though mom screwed up, big time. I don't blame dad for going in search of her; the kids were in the care of a family member. In his shoes, I would have assumed that my spouse was in desperate trouble and needed help.
I wonder if they charged mom with the costs associated with staying in port an extra half an hour?

I don't think anybody yet has suggested the #1 reason (according to CruiseCritic) that people are late returning: Getting drunk and losing track of time.
If you've ever observed "pier-runners" they could often be more aptly called "pier-staggerers"... We've personally cut it close twice and been on the last scheduled tender back; once because of a rental car breakdown and once due to the much-feared private excursion gone awry. Both times we seemed to be among the few non-drunk people in line and were surprised that even after our very last-minute arrival, quite a number of people skidded in after us.

And I appreciate the point you made about the Dad leaving the ship. Most of us with normally responsible, conscientious SO's would assume something really bad had befallen them. It would be pretty darned hard to just sail away, not knowing. For sure my first assumption would be that to do something so out of character, my DH must be unable to get back to us.

 

[Disney Ella]

IMO, it seems like a bad policy to allow both parents to leave kids somewhere and head off on land in general, not just this instance with other family members. It just seems like it would open up a TON of room for error. We don't travel with family, so if DH and I left the kids on ship and didn't get back in time, what happens? Are they forced to wait? Do they leave and take care of the minor kids? Seems like it would avoid what could be a huge liability issue by requiring at least one adult to stay on ship with kids.

On Cruise Critic, someone said they asked the staff of one cruise line (can't remember which one) what would happened if the parents didn't make it back in time. The staff told them that a staff member would be assigned to stay with the kids 24 hours a day and the parents would be charged by the hour for babysitting services.