amazing christmas present

[Jody Miller]

Hi everyone

My mum and dad surprised me over christmas by giving me a present of a cruise holiday. It's actually a Xmas come birthday present as I am 21 in November this year.

 

I am meeting up with my American cousin in Miami to cruise on the Emerald Princess on 8th May to cruise around the Caribbean for 16 nights. Neither of us have cruised before and I have a number of questions that some of you may be able to answer.

 

Will we be able to make friends on board as I don't really know my cousin that well and it would be nice to talk to others over the 16 days? Will there be others our age (I am 20 and my cousin is 21)?.

 

How fussy are cruises? what should I wear in the evenings at the dinners? Apparently I can only pack 23kgs so I want to make sure I take the right things.

 

Answers to my questions would be great and I would love yo hear from anyone that is going on the same cruise and perhaps correspond before we sail

 

Thanks

Jody

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

What a wonderful Christmas present.

 

You may want to check with the Princess cruise lines as to what age they allow you to cruise without being accompanied by an adult.

[arlodog]

Cruises are not that fussy, but a nice simple dress will do for evenings or pants and a nice top. Since you are limited on the weight of your baggage make sure you bring things you can mix and match.

 

It is too bad that you are not 21. You will not be allowed into the bars/dance clubs at night due to our drinking laws--you must be 21 to drink alcohol. You will be able to go into the clubs/bars in ports. Just watch yourself! It is easy to miss the ship when having lots of fun in port.

 

There will be lots of opportunity to meet others about your age, but if I had a choice and was your age I would postpone the trip until I was 21 just because it limits where you can go and what you can do in the evenings.

 

As long as your cousin is not upset by the limited venues you should have a ton of fun and get to see some great sites. You will generally have an older crowd on a longer cruise, and since it is in early May most US schools are not over until mid-May limiting the number of young people on board.

 

Hope this helps!

[Betsy's Mom]

You may have to have another adult with you, in your cabin, to board the ship! Age restrictions are quite rigid. Do not be disappointed!

B.

[cherylandtk]

You may want to check with the Princess cruise lines as to what age they allow you to cruise without being accompanied by an adult.

 

You may have to have another adult with you' date=' in your cabin, to board the ship! Age restrictions are quite rigid. Do not be disappointed.[/quote']Princess only requires that one person be 21 to book; OP will be fine since her cousin is 21.

[Fredr]

hello,

 

You will have a great time. Although there will not be a lot of passengers your age, lots of young people work on cruises ships. And you will meet cruise staff your own age. There are rules about how much the cruise staff can interact with passengers but surely you will meet staff such as the junior officers, waiters, activities staff and so on.

[lovevacadays]

I wouldnt worry too much about getting into the venues and not being 21. I've taken a couple of my younger than 21 nieces on cruises and they didn't have any problems. Only place ID's were checked with one of my nieces was Skywalkers Lounge which is the disco. You may not be able to drink but you should be able to enjoy the entertainment in most lounges.