Help compiling a caregiver list for cruising parents

[EnjoyLife]

I have friends taking their first cruise vacation without the children. Relatives will be staying with the children (ages 5 and 8) while the parents enjoy a 10 night Panama Canal cruise. They have asked me to help with the pre-cruise preparation - what vital information, documents, consent/emergency forms, etc. should be left. I would love to get cruise-chatters help with feedback and suggestions.

[Marian]

Summation of childrens' health history. Allergies.

Doctor's phone number and directions to the office. I'd call them ahead of time and explain the situation and ask them what they need.

Phone number and directions to the closest hospital.

Permission to seek medical care. Make sure it passes the legal requirements for your state.

Cruise phone numbers. Also ship to shore number but stress that it's only for emergencies. $$$$ per minute.

Airline schedule and phone numbers.

Your friends' phone numbers.

Phone numbers of childrens' friends in case they want to spend the night or play away from home.

Childrens' school phone number, name of teacher.

Childrens' schedule and basic rules.

Inexpensive gifts from you to the children, wrapped with quickie notes. Hugs and kisses. By inexpensive I mean a matchbox car, a coloring book with fresh crayons, just little things saying I love you. One a day for as many days as you will be gone.

[Carlalena1]

Great list, Marian! Definitely leave a note authorizing "emergency medical treatment" (they would treat them anyway, but...) AND the insurance cards!

[Suzi]

You will also want to contact the school ahead of time to let them know the children will be in the care of others. Follow that up with a letter to the school stating the names of those who have permission to pick up your children from school, if necessary.

For security, you may also wish to give the relatives a code or password (that the school is also aware of) that they would use when picking up the children.

Suzi

[BeachBunny]

In this day of internet connections - make sure you have their e-mail addresses and they have yours. That is my primary source of contact with home while on a cruise.
Sandy

[BJC123]

We cruised with our 3 yr. old grandson's parents on 5 day last holiday season. We left him a bag with his other grandparents that had a wrapped Hot Wheel car and a Little Debbie Christmas tree (his all time favorite snack)for each day we were gone. He opened them every evening after supper time. Then he had a big Hot Wheel to open on the night before we came home. That way he knew when he got his bigger package, mom & dad would be home the next day.

We left the standard info with them ... insurance papers, doctor name and number, shot records, copy of our cruise paperwork with cabin & ship information, toll free numbers for Carnival and then had his 2 aunts call him each evening to talk to him.

By the way, he did just fine and no problems were encountered.

[farmerjohn]

When my mother-in-law comes to stay with our children, she always brings an old prescription bottle filled with jelly beans or some other treat and labeled "Home Sick Pills" or "Missing Mommy Pills". She then dispenses the pills when the children are missing us.

An additional name to leave on your list of contacts is the person they should call if there is any type of trouble with your home. Once while we were gone our whole neighborhood lost electrical power for about 10 hours. Fortunately we had left the name of who to call for house problems.

As a thank you to my in-laws for over 10 years of baby-sitting, we are taking them on a "mystery" vacation in February. We are cruising on the Sapphire Princess to Mexico. We have only told them what to pack and when to show up at the airport. They have never been on a cruise before and we look forward to a wonderful time.