But I bet in a different conversation you would talk about how you spent all sorts of time outside, away from parents, you could do all sorts of things on your own that kids these days can't....
And the fact is, many times those of us who were given such freedoms (seriously, what was wrong with parents in the 70s? did they just not care about us? HOW does one send kids outside from dawn to dusk in the summer and not wonder where or how they are? boggles my mind) (and my dad growing up in the 40s/50s, well his mom routinely full on drugged her 7 kids when she needed them to calm down, so that's not lovely) acted up just as you are describing. MANY of my friends were up to no good, and their parents had no clue. Some kids drinking the booze their parents so innocently left out. Others sneaking out. Others going places they weren't supposed to go. Shoplifting. etc Or the group of teens who went for a liquid lunch then went to "catch air" on a hill, and only one survived when a garbage truck came out from a side street while they were in the air... The parents of that group had NO idea what they were doing when they were on their own.
Not sure where you grew up, but NONE of my friends were guilty of the things you are talking about. Again, we were raised with common sense, to know right from wrong, and our parents were consistent with their expectations. I was one of the ones who was gone riding my bike all morning, my Mom had no idea what we were doing. But times were different then, and if any adult saw you doing anything even remotely silly, and they knew who you were, they would be calling your Mom to make her aware. She would thank them, and would be waiting when I got home. It wasn't any of the "how dare you tell me how to raise my child". Everyone looked out for all the kids, and the parents appreciated it.
I think we can pretty much boil this gazillion page thread into this:
People pay so much money for these cruises they are going to do what they damn well please. That this surprises *anyone* is amazing to me.
I think it is sooo very sad that you feel that way. You are going to have to live with people who feel the same way you do, and think they are soo entitled to do whatever they want. So you are ,or think everyone should just be thoughtless of other people's feelings. That "you" should be able to just push your way to the front of every line, knock people out of the way, make fun of people, push little kids into the pool when they can't swim. Etc. But since everyone is basically paying the same amount, and everyone is going to do whatever they want, is it basically going to be 1 big fight the whole week?
Just like the "pre-saving chairs by the pool debate", the fault for this falls directly on the CM who served this woman and her under aged children! That CM should have addressed the issue immediately by politely reminding this woman that it was an adults only area!
Of course, Disney probably wouldn't have let them for fear of a future gripe!
Again, as others have said, the parent should be the one teaching the child right from wrong, and that they should not even have been in the adult area.
I agree that kids should stay out of the adult areas. However, you chose to go on a
Disney cruise. You knew there would be tons of kids on the cruise. I think many of you are getting bent out of shape that CMs & parents can't keep kids out of the adult areas 100% of the time. I don't blame CMs for not using gestapo tactics to try to invoke a zero tolerance policy with the adult areas.
My wife and I love the adult areas of the ships, but we recognize kids are going to wander in there from time to time. There going to bend/break the rules. Oh well, it doesn't impact our enjoyment of the cruise, like it appears to with some of you.
Have to disagree with this also. Disney aggressively markets their cruises for adults as well as for the entire family. They make a point of saying they have KID FREE areas for the adults. The adults are probably the ones that Disney makes the most money on, largely because of alcohol sales. Adults have "classes" they attend that are paid for just as the children do, as well as the shore excursions. The spas, Palo's and Remy's make quite a lot on adults. Adults spend quite a lot in the gift shops buying for children or grandchildren that are not with them on this cruise. So just as I would not dream of going into the areas for the kids and teens, I expect them to show the same courtesy for ALL of the adult areas. Walt Disney himself said that Disney was for kids of all ages which includes adults.