Royal Caribbean caters to families. The cruise line welcomes passengers of all ages and has all sorts of things that appeal to younger passengers.
On its biggest ships, the cruise line offers everything from its trademark rock climbing walls to water slides, mini-golf courses, and the FlowRider surf simulator. Every ship in the fleet has multiple kids' clubs serving different ages while some Royal Caribbean ships offer ice skating rinks, laser tag, escape rooms, and even bumper cars.
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Most kids, of course, are well-behaved, or forced to be so by their parents. Some kids, however, get unruly and their parents do not reign them in.
It's not uncommon on a Royal Caribbean ship to see unsupervised little kids or teenagers being a little (or a lot) too loud, late at night. It's mostly kids being kids while mom and dad relax a little too much on their vacation.
Royal Caribbean currently has a 1 a.m. curfew for passengers under 18 which is generally enforced. It's considering some new rules that would rein kids in a little bit more while also preserving the cruise line's reputation as a family cruise line.
That's a very fine line for Royal Caribbean to walk, but the cruise line's CEO Michael Bayley has said it's considering solutions for the problem.
Image source: Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean may add rules for kids
Bayley addressed the issue of kids misbehaving at a question-and-answer session for travel agents on Utopia of the Seas.
"Icon is fantastic, but [at] the swim-up bar, there's kids splashing into your drinks." one agent told Bayley, the Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
She also noted that she saw kids crawling through people's legs at the Bolero's bar after midnight. The problem is not unique to Utopia of the Seas, she added.
"Icon is fantastic, but [at] the swim-up bar, there's kids splashing into your drinks," she added.
Bayley acknowledged that the cruise line has received more complaints about kids in public areas. He also shared that the cruise line is considering different steps to address the problem.
"It's probably time for us to take a look at [the curfew]. I think the idea of curfews in some of the bars is a great idea," he said.
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Some of Bayley's team suggested that there could be earlier curfews in adult-oriented areas like bars and lounges.
"We do need to make sure that we respect the adults," he added. "And you know what they say, everybody loves their own kids, but they're not so fond of everybody else's kids."
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Royal Caribbean tests new way to track your kids
As a parent, it can be challenging to keep track of your children on a cruise ship. That's especially true of teenagers who can check themselves in and out of the kids' club.
That's a problem Royal Caribbean has been trying to solve, according to a Facebook post from Shannon Sinclair, who reported that the cruise line was testing "Kidfinder" bracelets on Icon of the Seas.
"The device is a waterproof bracelet that allows parents to track the bracelet's location via the Royal Caribbean app," according to the Royal Caribbean Blog.
Royal Caribbean's test involved children 12 and under.
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"When you sign up for the Kidfinder, parents can choose which cruise ship passengers can track the kids. This means potentially parents, older siblings, or friends and family can opt into it as well," the blog, which is not affiliated with the cruise line added.
Royal Caribbean also offers free text messaging within its app which does not require a WiFi package.
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