Gini's Blog

I just got off a cruise ship.  I spent 7 days trying, in vain, to escape other people's children.  This entry will probably tick a lot of folks off, but I feel the need to vent.  The ship in question holds over 2500 paying passengers, approximately 10-15% of whom were children under the age of 16.  There was an entire area of the ship devoted exclusively to children, teens, young people, etc., with activities, games, movies and entertainment, just for them.  There were informal eating establishments that were kid friendly.  There were crew members whose entire existence was devoted to keeping the little darlings occupied and happy.

There was one, I say again one, area on the ship devoted exclusively to the adult population.  Naturally, being a childless adult, I happily sought out this child-free zone of peace and quiet.  But, alas, there were children there too.  There was a group of young teens with an iPod attached to external speakers so that everyone could enjoy their music.  There was a duo of eight-ish boys splashing and running around the adults-only pool, entertaining us all with their joie de vivre.  There was the young couple with their toddler and infant, both in diapers in the hot tub.  In the formal dining rooms, there were children virtually running rampant. 

I was so tempted to reach out and slap someone!  NO!  Not the children!  I wanted to slap their parents!

When a staff member asked one parent to please look after their child (who had been running through the gift shop pulling over displays and tripping fellow passengers up), I actually heard her say this, "I'm on vacation.  I shouldn't have to deal with my kids."

I'm sure this is going to tick many parents off.  I know my sisters, both mothers, think I'm overly sensitive about children's behavior in public.  I'm going there anyway.  Discretion has never been my strong suit.

Folks, they're YOUR children.  They are YOUR responsibility.  Not just some times, not just when you feel like it, ALL THE TIME.  You wanted them, you gave birth to them, you brought them with you on vacation, TAKE CARE OF THEM.  If you don't want to have to watch your kids while you're on vacation, leave them with a relative and go on vacation without them.  If you choose to take them on vacation with you, try to teach them a few manners before you go. 

A dining room is for dining.  Sitting still at a table for an hour (in a chair, not on the table or under the table) is not punishment or torture.  It will not kill Junior's chances of getting into an Ivy League school.  It's good manners and good practice for life.  If your child can't do this, or you don't want him/her to, please don't ruin my dinner by bringing him/her with you.

Areas with posted signs for "Adults only" are just that.  Your darling offspring may be a beautiful human being, but I am seeking a bit of peace and quiet just for me.  Please respect that and teach the child to do the same.

There are sick people and perverts everywhere.  Why it is that people think their children are any safer unsupervised on a cruise ship than any other place with 6000+ strangers is beyond me.  Especially when you think about the fact that said sicko has a private room at his or her disposal.  Use some common sense.

Finally, teach your children to wash their hands after going to the rest room.  I saw so many children (and disturbingly, adults) breeze right by the sinks on their way out of the rest rooms.  This is not only disgusting, it's dangerous.  Norovirus is rampant on cruise ships.  Look at any cruise bulletin board and you'll see complaints about it.  Hand washing is the number one way of preventing this. 

Okay, my rant is over.  I feel much better now.