Quinceniera on Serenade of the Seas

[wolv4life]

The above stories are why we avoid sailing out of PR like the plague...we love the southern itineraries but will avoid those that embark from SJ...from posts on this board I thought the problem was worse on AOS and have never heard of it on Serenade...guess it doesn't matter which ship.:(

 

And you can't avoid these groups...you never know when one of those groups will be onboard...

 

In fairness to the Serenade, we had an awesome trip overall, and I would never let the quince girls dissuade anyone from sailing on her. Do book the Serenade, despite the fact that it leaves out of San Juan.

[Aquahound]

The above stories are why we avoid sailing out of PR like the plague....

 

This was my final sailing out of SJU...that's all I'll say about it.

 

It's very unfortunate this has to happen. I cruised the AOS back in 2004 out of PR and it remains one of my favorite cruises to date. If there was a Q group on board, it was too small to notice.

 

Fast forward to 2007. It was hell. Imagine the entire Promenade or the entire Solarium on a Voyager Class ship having to be blocked off due to cleanup from out of control teenagers. My cruise was also one you could only do room service by phone because they stole all the hanging door menus. I could go on and on with the behavior on that cruise, but when I started a thread about it back in 07, I was called everything from a liar to a racist. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Point is, there are fantastic and horrible cruises to be had out of PR. Those who have not had the experience we had will never know. Hopefully, for their sake, they never will.

[bajathree]

This is why we don't travel when kids are out of school..... I'm glad people start these threads to remind me! :D But I do feel sorry for those that have to travel during school breaks because of work schedules.

 

I travel almost exclusively during school breaks and haven't had a problem yet. Royal are family ships and families/KIDS are to be expected....if it's no kids you want then I suggest looking more at Celebrity. You could have bad cruises with adult groups also;)

[MrsPete]

We just left Liberty on August 1st, and they also had a quinceniera group onboard; however, they were nothing like what some of you are describing -- they were not a group of unaccompanied girls causing trouble. Instead, FAMILIES were onboard. I don't mean just Mom, Dad, and daughter -- we saw extended families, grandparents, cousins, etc. with the girls. I did not personally observe any of these girls behaving badly.

 

We noticed the group in the terminal before we even boarded. As we were waiting in line we saw a mom carrying what appeared to be a wedding dress, and we commented that someone was getting married onboard . . . then we saw more and more dresses, and it seemed rather improbable. Once we were through the check-in station and were waiting for the ship to open, we realized that LOADS of people were wearing the same light blue tee-shirts, all from the same travel agency, advertising a Quice-cruise. At that point we realized that the first girl wasn't a bride.

 

On Monday, the first formal night, we saw families having formal pictures made with their daughters in their dresses. As someone else said, the families were dressed to the nines as well. We saw all the Quince-girls together -- was it in the Champagne bar? -- and they had a "waiting for something to start" look to them. I imagine they were brought into the dining room together as a group, or perhaps they were waiting for a group picture. Also, they had some sort of a private event on Monday while they were all dressed up. They looked absolutely lovely.

 

I think the difference is that the girls I saw were traveling with famlies, and they were on a one-week cruise. These things tend towards better behavior!

[jbrezen]

I was on the same cruise and have to agree. The girls were overall very well behaved. Only issue we ran into was the elevators, pushing to get on before people got off, and actually it seemed more the adults than the young ladies.

 

We just left Liberty on August 1st, and they also had a quinceniera group onboard; however, they were nothing like what some of you are describing -- they were not a group of unaccompanied girls causing trouble. Instead, FAMILIES were onboard. I don't mean just Mom, Dad, and daughter -- we saw extended families, grandparents, cousins, etc. with the girls. I did not personally observe any of these girls behaving badly.

 

We noticed the group in the terminal before we even boarded. As we were waiting in line we saw a mom carrying what appeared to be a wedding dress, and we commented that someone was getting married onboard . . . then we saw more and more dresses, and it seemed rather improbable. Once we were through the check-in station and were waiting for the ship to open, we realized that LOADS of people were wearing the same light blue tee-shirts, all from the same travel agency, advertising a Quice-cruise. At that point we realized that the first girl wasn't a bride.

 

On Monday, the first formal night, we saw families having formal pictures made with their daughters in their dresses. As someone else said, the families were dressed to the nines as well. We saw all the Quince-girls together -- was it in the Champagne bar? -- and they had a "waiting for something to start" look to them. I imagine they were brought into the dining room together as a group, or perhaps they were waiting for a group picture. Also, they had some sort of a private event on Monday while they were all dressed up. They looked absolutely lovely.

 

I think the difference is that the girls I saw were traveling with famlies, and they were on a one-week cruise. These things tend towards better behavior!

[Puffinater]

A quick search on google shows several companies that specialize in these cruises.

One thing to note is that many of the groups on these cruises are not from the US. Sailing from Miami does not mean that is where the families are from. Thus the language barrier.

[aldewitt]

Based on what was written in the previous two posts I thought I would add my observation. We had no issues with the girls and observed them to be well behaved. I guess each trip brings it own set of circumstances.

 

I had the same thought. The last time we were on the Adventurer of the Seas out of San Juan, we had a bunch of these folks. There were a few that were rowdy, a few that were well behaved, and a few you wouldn't have known were even there.

 

Different cultures have different customs, and we sometimes forget that what we learn growing up about waiting in line and taking our turns isn't always what others learn.

 

As others have observed, all the girls were very well dressed, and their adult chaperones (not a bunch of college students on our trip) generally took pains to keep the girls in check.

 

I've cruised on Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and RCL. I have had far more negative encounters with rude American children (one 14 year old male explained to me how I might perform certain acts on myself that were in fact anatomically impossible after I asked him to move so I could get around him). I have never been cussed by or experienced rudeness from Hispanic children. That's not to say others might not have a different experience, but that's been mine.

[sandinmypants]

I travel almost exclusively during school breaks and haven't had a problem yet. Royal are family ships and families/KIDS are to be expected....if it's no kids you want then I suggest looking more at Celebrity. You could have bad cruises with adult groups also;)

 

I don't want NO kids, bajathree.... we're traveling with our 9yo son, we take him out of school. We have a 24yo daughter & a 22yo son as well, we always took them out of school to travel. We stay home during spring break, holiday breaks, and the summer (other than an odd weekend here & there). We just prefer to travel when there will be fewer kids - and Celebrity seems a little too fusty for us (and it didn't seem to offer anything for our 9yo). If parents would teach their kids manners, and keep them under control, life would be all good. :D

 

And you're right about the adults sometimes being the problem as well. Lord knows we've observed that on occasion!

[Bakincakes]

I'm not happy when any large group takes over a ship.:( If "public" venues are closed to other pax it doesn't seem fair.

 

But add on distinct rudeness and rowdiness to the other inconveniences and it can become intolerable.

[golfer1966]

I am a high school teacher. When I see teenagers running around and acting rude, I say something to them. If they are in my way, I say, "Excuse me." It makes DH crazy, but after teaching so many years, I can't help myself. I even say something when they butt in line :eek: SOMEONE needs to teach these young people, if their parent aren't. Oh, and I have NO PROBLEM speaking to their chaperone. :p I pay good money for my vacation and I will not be annoyed by an obnoxious, misbehaving, teen. Of course, I prefer not having to get into "teacher mode" but I can turn it on in a second, if I have to.

 

 

What gets me is when they all try to rush into the Elevator once the doors open and the peoeple inside are trying to get out....:eek:

[kyriecat]

I've sailed from Puerto Rico twice and neither time noticed any large Quincenera groups. However, I did encounter groups on Majesty (Miami) and Rhapsody (Galveston).

 

On Majesty the group was AWFUL! There were 38 girls travelling with their extended families, not just chaperones, but the families didn't seem to care what the kids did. Those kids were constantly blocking the stairs, they knocked on doors at 4 AM, they started a food fight in the Johnny Rockets, they were horrible to the staff, and they knocked over several people doing "elevator moshing". I'm sure at least some of them spoke English since the cruise left from Miami, but if you said "Excuse me" to get down the stairs, they ignored you. If you tried to step around them, they would grab your leg to trip you. They thought it was funny to watch people fall. The cruise staff was so overwhelmed that they couldn't control them.

 

On Rhapsody the group was smaller - only a couple dozen girls, but they must have had at least 10 chaperones. We didn't notice them at all except for one night the staircase in the Centrum was closed so the girls could walk down it in their dresses for photos.

[bug18]

I was on Oasis in July and there was a group of quinceras. I've also been on other Royal Caribbean cruises in July and almost every time there is a quincera group. I guess we have been lucky and I have never felt that they disrupted my cruise. With that being said of course you will always find some people who are rude but that could be anyone. I must admit on Oasis I saw the group the least of any ships I have been on. They were in the dining room and one night the girls paraded through the dining room as they entered but besides that I never saw them much. They were dressed beautifully and seemed to be having a good time.

[travellovers2]

We just got off the Serenade of the Seas yesterday Aug 1st. This week they were celebrating the quinceniera of about 30 girls onboard. Does anyone know how often royal carribean hosts these parties for the girls turning 15 yrs old. I forgot to ask when I was there.

 

 

We saw about three on Oasis of the Seas for the 4th of July cruise.

 

By the way, it's Quinceañera. :p

[travellovers2]

We just prefer to travel when there will be fewer kids - If parents would teach their kids manners, and keep them under control, life would be all good. :D

 

I totally agree. We also prefer to travel when there are fewer kids or none at all. The last two cruises we had a lot of obnoxious teenagers sitting on the elevators just going up and down. The staff did their best to get them off, but not enough. I would have told them to get off the elevator now, instead he just told them that if they didnt have anything else to do, to go to their rooms, yeah right. They thought that was better than going to their rooms, so they kept doing it. I dont see why parents think they can take a cruise and just let their kids run wild for the rest of us to have to put up with them. But remember, these kids are only a reflection of their parents. IF this is how they act, then this is how they raised them.:eek:

[travellovers2]

The childen, teens & some of the adults on our cruise from Miami semed not to understand English so I just spoke in Spanish--kind of shocked them! Why childen from Miami don't speak Eng--not sure??

 

They may be from a latin american country and travelled to Miami to take the cruise. We meet a lot of people from many different countries on our cruises. We always sail out of Miami or Ft Laud. Just because they get on the ship there, does not mean they are "from Miami". :cool:

[travellovers2]

What gets me is when they all try to rush into the Elevator once the doors open and the peoeple inside are trying to get out....:eek:

 

Adults do this all the time. I had to say something to a couple that would not let us off because they rushed in before we could get out and the elevator was full anyways!!! :rolleyes:

[libertylover]

They had one while we were on board in June. Probably 40-50 girls then. This was my final sailing out of SJU...that's all I'll say about it.

 

Doesn't matter that it was a San Juan sailing.... Liberty sails out of Miami and there were a load of them. I was told by one of the relatives of one of the girls that the travel agency that recruited them was out of California.

[will work to cruise]

Based on what was written in the previous two posts I thought I would add my observation. We had no issues with the girls and observed them to be well behaved. I guess each trip brings it own set of circumstances.

 

I will second what Puffinater said. We did a B2B on the Serenade in early June and we had a shipload on our second leg of the cruise. They were very nice and considerate of others.

[fourwaystreet]

We are thinking of booking a late Jan. cruise on SOS out of San Juan, should we be concerned about this group thing which I have to admit I never heard of until I read this tread.

[Puffinater]

We are thinking of booking a late Jan. cruise on SOS out of San Juan, should we be concerned about this group thing which I have to admit I never heard of until I read this tread.

 

I would not let it affect my decision in any way but that is just me. Do a google search and see if the dates you are looking at pop up.

[bplazo]

I cannot remember which cruiseline used to have something called a Youth Security that would roam the ship supervising the children and young adults on cruises. I think all lines should have this.

[LRY229]

Just sailed on the Grandeur on 7/17 - we had a group of 170 from Argentina. For the most part they were well behaved. Other than pushing to get on the elevators and not letting you get off first. At times it was kind of crazy in the buffet area - gave me an excuse to eat breakfast in the MDR. Other than that it wasn't too bad.

 

I do have to say - there were some beautiful girls in the group on the Grandeur. I have no idea how they walked around in the high heels they wore though :D (guess I'm getting old)

[Puffinater]

I cannot remember which cruiseline used to have something called a Youth Security that would roam the ship supervising the children and young adults on cruises. I think all lines should have this.

 

On our recent RCI (New Years and Spring Break) cruises that have had a large number of kids there has been a "Deck Patrol" in place at night to enforce the curfew.

[golfer1966]

Adults do this all the time. I had to say something to a couple that would not let us off because they rushed in before we could get out and the elevator was full anyways!!! :rolleyes:

 

 

I always speak up to rude people. Then I get the tug on the shirt from my DW....;)

[workinmom3]

We just left Liberty on August 1st, and they also had a quinceniera group onboard; however, they were nothing like what some of you are describing -- they were not a group of unaccompanied girls causing trouble. Instead, FAMILIES were onboard. I don't mean just Mom, Dad, and daughter -- we saw extended families, grandparents, cousins, etc. with the girls. I did not personally observe any of these girls behaving badly.

 

We noticed the group in the terminal before we even boarded. As we were waiting in line we saw a mom carrying what appeared to be a wedding dress, and we commented that someone was getting married onboard . . . then we saw more and more dresses, and it seemed rather improbable. Once we were through the check-in station and were waiting for the ship to open, we realized that LOADS of people were wearing the same light blue tee-shirts, all from the same travel agency, advertising a Quice-cruise. At that point we realized that the first girl wasn't a bride.

 

On Monday, the first formal night, we saw families having formal pictures made with their daughters in their dresses. As someone else said, the families were dressed to the nines as well. We saw all the Quince-girls together -- was it in the Champagne bar? -- and they had a "waiting for something to start" look to them. I imagine they were brought into the dining room together as a group, or perhaps they were waiting for a group picture. Also, they had some sort of a private event on Monday while they were all dressed up. They looked absolutely lovely.

 

I think the difference is that the girls I saw were traveling with famlies, and they were on a one-week cruise. These things tend towards better behavior!

 

I agree...we were also on this sailing & other than some pushing in & out of the elevators, there wasn't any rude behavior that I witnessed. We were amazed by the amount of spanish being spoken all over the ship. We were told by Mike, the Cruise Director, that there were over 600 people from Mexico on our cruise. I'm not sure if these were some of the quincey girls, or just a coincidence, but no rude behavior from anyone that I saw.