Taking Teenagers on Mercury

[Piperpals]

I am taking my two teenage daughters (14 and 15) on Mercury to Alaska in August for our first Mother, Daughter (& Daughter) cruise. We are really looking forward to spending the week together (without the male side of the family, no offense intended).

 

We (my dh and I) took them last year on their first cruise, we went to Alaska on RCI Serenade. Everyone had a great time, they loved the trip and look forward to doing again. However, we took Grandma with us last year so they all went to room after entertainment and we carried on enjoying ourselves.

 

My question is what are the rules as to where they can go in the evening to enjoy entertainment? I can't remember what Celebrity's rules are regarding minors in lounges etc. I know that most cruise lines is no one under 18 in nightclub after 10 and some lounge shows come with a warning regarding suitablity. I know that they can go to theater to see the shows but can they go in the general lounge also?

 

My daughters really enjoy the dressing up and sitting in a (people watching) area/lounge with a fancy drink (non-alchohol, them, not me) . If someone has been on Mercury recently and can give some info would be appreciated.

 

Cheers.

[beachmom57@aim.com]

How did you make out on the Mercury? We are taking two 17 year olds the end of October. Are they allowed to get anything done in the spa? Was thinking of a mother daughter massage?

Thanks, Karen

[mahdnc]

We were on board Summit last month with our 18 yr old daughter and 14 yr old son. There was another family from our roll call that brought their 17 yr old daughter and 18 yr old friend.

 

As we talked to one another during our sailing, one of the things that we shared was the impressively consistent enforcement of the age rules at the casino and the forward observation lounge (night club). Even if the parent was present, the staff consistently took our kid's SeaPass and ran it thru the system to verify their age.

 

Aboard Summit the age restrictions were:

Casino: 18 yrs old

Nightclub: 18 yrs old

Thalassotherapy pool*: 16 yrs old

 

*the T-pool on Summit is free and open to the public. I think Mercury's t-pool is for spa customers, suite passengers, etc.

[QueenDido]

I went on several family cruises when I was in the 14/15/16 age range. I don't recall if any were on Mercury, but I know there was at least one on Galaxy and one on Century. This was about 10 years ago.

 

I did spend a lot of my time in lounges, having pretty non-alcoholic drinks with my sister and some other friends we met on the ship. I remember the teen club events being very hit-or-miss, which led to a reasonable amount of just sitting around at the pool and riding the elevators (I know a huge pet peeve of adult cruisers!)

 

It probably depends on the personality of your kids. If they are very active, you might run into trouble, since they can't go to the clubs or participate in the more adult (i.e. alcoholic, gambling, etc.) related activities. If they are more inclined to sit at the pool and drink a virgin pina colada in a lounge and socialize, however, they'll have a great time. I was always perfectly welcome in those situations.

[algorithmannie]

I agree with QueenDido on this one. It depends very much on your teens. My sister and I also cruised as teenagers and seldom attended the pre-planned activities. We enjoyed getting dressed up, having drinks and people watching. We also would watch movies in our room and have snacks or listen to music in lounges that weren't age restricted. We played cards, ballroom danced with each other, and attended the main shows.

 

However, my sister and I were probably not the norm. We traveled with our parents and were quite close. We entertained ourselves quite easily and didn't create any problems. Other teens may not be "problem causers" but just might be bored. Planning activities might help... bring dvd's, good music and books, cards or games, an ipod with games on it... something like that.