18-20 year old events - CB

[DonnaK]

Does Princess have a gathering on the first night for people in this age group, so they can meet each other? I have some very recent Patters, and I do not see any such activity listed. There seems to be absolutely nothing for these kids - are they expected to just make their own fun???

[Krausssj]

Does Princess have a gathering on the first night for people in this age group, so they can meet each other? I have some very recent Patters, and I do not see any such activity listed. There seems to be absolutely nothing for these kids - are they expected to just make their own fun???

 

 

I have asked this question before and didn't get an answer either. I did see in a recent patter a time for something and it was called 'Club 18-20'. My assumption is this was a time and place for 18-20 year olds could get together. I don't have any recent Patters for the 1st or 2nd day so I couldn't confirm if anything was scheduled early in the cruise. I'm hoping someone will know the answer...

[Colo Cruiser]

I have seen a notice in the patter at some point but not the first night.

[scottsgal]

My oldest was 18 when he sailed CB 2 years ago with us - it was his worst cruise of 12. My 14 year old agreed - he didn't enjoy the cruise as much as others either. We sailed over Thanksgiving and there were more kids - both are very outgoing and friendly and they met other kids but they both were bored to tears on this ship and will not sail Princess again. We sail Royal or Carnival for family trips now as they have better activities for teens and the under 21 set - when just hubby and I sail, it's Princess.

[sunluva7]

My oldest was 18 when he sailed CB 2 years ago with us - it was his worst cruise of 12. My 14 year old agreed - he didn't enjoy the cruise as much as others either. We sailed over Thanksgiving and there were more kids - both are very outgoing and friendly and they met other kids but they both were bored to tears on this ship and will not sail Princess again. We sail Royal or Carnival for family trips now as they have better activities for teens and the under 21 set - when just hubby and I sail, it's Princess.

 

I think it depends on your kids' personality and their likes and dislikes. My kids found plenty to entertain themselves - MUTS, for one. Then again, they are not fans of ice skating, rock climbing, or surfing, either.:rolleyes:

[scottsgal]

I think it depends on your kids' personality and their likes and dislikes. My kids found plenty to entertain themselves - MUTS, for one. Then again, they are not fans of ice skating, rock climbing, or surfing, either.:rolleyes:

 

Actually my kids are complete sports nuts so Royal does suit them better. Although they enjoyed MUTS and watching football on the big screen, they found the overall cruise atmosphere to be quiet and boring for a holiday sailing. Just one opinion - I know there are tons of kids who love Princess. Hubby and I are sailing CB again in November and we're elite so definitely love Princess, but my kids found the teen and 18-20 group activities really lacking.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We were just on the CB last Dec. during Christmas week with a 20 yr. old and a 17.5 yr. old. In over 20 cruises, I think it was our best cruise to date.

 

On the second day, they advertised in the Patter a "Club 18-20" in Club Fusion on Deck 7 Aft. The Patter says, "Meet with the Cruise Director's Staff and fellow passengers" for all 18-20 yr. olds at 11:30pm. There may have been more of these get-togethers - this is the one that I noticed.

 

Our sons preferred to join in on the other adult activities like trivia, Scattegories, basketball, ping pong, etc. so I can't help with the amount of people that showed up to the "Club 18-20".

[DonnaK]

My oldest was 18 when he sailed CB 2 years ago with us - it was his worst cruise of 12. My 14 year old agreed - he didn't enjoy the cruise as much as others either. We sailed over Thanksgiving and there were more kids - both are very outgoing and friendly and they met other kids but they both were bored to tears on this ship and will not sail Princess again. We sail Royal or Carnival for family trips now as they have better activities for teens and the under 21 set - when just hubby and I sail, it's Princess.

 

 

My kids absolutely prefer RCI (and so do we), however this cruise was the right price at the right itinerary and the comparable RCI cruise was about $2000 more for our family of 4.

 

Our last CB cruise was towards the end of the summer, and very few kids were aboard. There were hardly any teen activities. Fortunately, it was a port-intensive itinerary so they weren't looking for as much as they would with a lot of sea days. As well, they were content to just hang out with each other.

 

This year, my oldest is 18 and we are traveling with another family who has a 20 year old. They won't be able to participate in teen activities with their slightly younger siblings, so they were wondering if there was an 18-20 event or mixer.

 

 

(My kids worst cruise was on Carnival Miracle - they were bored to tears with the lack of organized tween and teen activities. It was our worst cruise too. Never again.)

[bubbadog]

I Think that royal has a better set up for the kids,and yes carnival too,and also think princess could be a little better with the 16-20 age:rolleyes:

[DrivesLikeMario]

(My kids worst cruise was on Carnival Miracle - they were bored to tears with the lack of organized tween and teen activities. It was our worst cruise too. Never again.)

 

Our kids' didn't like Carnival when they were younger either. Now that they're older, they can always find plenty to keep themselves busy no matter what cruise line.

[SandG]

We sailed with our 18 year old daughter on the May 27 sailing of CB and she was looking forward to attending a 18-20 group meeting but sadly, never saw mention of it in the patter. Well, except for the next to last sea day, there was a "Club 18-20 basketball shoot out". That was the only event mentioned.

 

There were several "Singles and Solos" events listed but she assumed that was for people trying to meet the opposite sex and he had a boyfriend at home.

 

She had a decent enough time just relaxing in the room or balcony anyway, but not like the wonderful time she had last time when she could visit the teen club.

 

Sue

[NthernLgts]

My oldest was 18 when he sailed CB 2 years ago with us - it was his worst cruise of 12. My 14 year old agreed - he didn't enjoy the cruise as much as others either. We sailed over Thanksgiving and there were more kids - both are very outgoing and friendly and they met other kids but they both were bored to tears on this ship and will not sail Princess again. We sail Royal or Carnival for family trips now as they have better activities for teens and the under 21 set - when just hubby and I sail, it's Princess.

 

Basically the same story here 3 yrs ago with our then 18 yr old on the CB. Its just a tough age for cruising. Too old for many of the ship sponsored youth activities and too young for the adult nightlife. If your 18 yr old does well without having to be entertained by others theyll probably do well. For what its worth, our newest 18 yr old son will be with us on the Emerald in September... so it must not be that tough!

[financialgrl]

I think the 17 to 21 year olds are the hardest to plan anything due to the varying degrees of maturity in this age group. Only been on Princess twice but both times the demographics were mostly in their 50s and over and guess I never thought of them as trying to recruit or offer much for any age kids really.

 

Also don't think this problem is Princess specific either - I took two 17 year olds on Royal Caribbean and even with all they had to offer, the girls came back and said on their own they were fine but the organized stuff available for their age group was "lame" and never went back.

[DrivesLikeMario]

...Also don't think this problem is Princess specific either - I took two 17 year olds on Royal Caribbean and even with all they had to offer, the girls came back and said on their own they were fine but the organized stuff available for their age group was "lame" and never went back.

 

That's a good point and I agree. My sons felt the same way about RCI too.

[yesaccasey]

As a cruiser who cruised from age 9 to mid 20s, I have had nothing but great experiences on Carnival. The time of the year matters most when looking for younger people on a cruise(spring break,summer,etc). Also, they will tailor the schedule to accomodate the passenger list that week. If there are quite a few 18-20 yr olds then they will have activities to target that group. RCCL and NCL were ok IMO but for the teen/20 age bracket but Carnival has it because of the price point for younger people traveling without mom and dad to foot the bill. Just my experiences as I will be on my first Princess in July but have sailed CCL, NCL, RCCL, Celebrity...

[caribill]

We sailed with our 18 year old daughter on the May 27 sailing of CB and she was looking forward to attending a 18-20 group meeting but sadly, never saw mention of it in the patter.

 

For those that have this happen in the future, if you do not see it listed in the embarkation day Patter, seek out the Cruise Director and ask that such a gettogether be scheduled.

[apeller]

On the Golden last year they had "The Grey Zone" for the 18-20 year olds. I can't remember whether or not I noticed it in the Patters or if they sent something to our room, but DD went to the 1st get together and they handed out a schedule. Most of the events were not in the Patters, but the kids/teen activities rarely are listed there either.

I agree that you should check with the Purser or Cruise Director's staff when you get onboard. As I recall there were 2 people from the cruise director's staff who ran the group. There was always at least one daytime activity and one nighttime activity. DD did not really like it as much as she enjoyed the teen club, but she managed to find people her age to hang out with. She is much happier knowing her cousin will be traveling with us next Christmas when we do the cruise again.