RCCI Young Teens program..any comments?

[zaffydad]

My 2 oldest kiddies will be 12 on our next Royal Caribbean cruise. Does anyone have experience with what they call the "young teens" program?

The website says it has scheduled activities during the day and then a "teens only" lounge at night.

I am concerned that there will not be adequate supervision...we have always been pleased with Adventure Ocean and the staff..

Any input is welcomed!

 

Thanks

 

Kat

[famcruiser]

Hey Kat,

 

We were on Freedom at the end of June and our son was 12. We were with another family who had a 13 year old boy, so they were always together. I think it helps if there are 2 that know each other or are related. I don't know how comfortable I would have been if our son would have been without someone he knew (although the 2 did make new friends on the cruise). As far as activities go, they had them sceduled, but some were canceled if there wasn't enough participation. That was hard to imagine, because there were 700 tweens/teens on this cruise. Anyway...our group of boys enjoyed the activities that they did (dodgeball, 4-square, scavenger hunts, etc.). They, also, loved the evening activities (pool parties, dances, etc.). Since we were on Freedom, the Flowrider was the big hit for the boys (and my DH). They were there whenever it was open. We had scheduled times during the day and evening to meet them. They ate all meals with us. And, they had to let us know where they were going to be at all times. We did a few surprise checks to make sure they were where they said they would be in the evenings, if they weren't with us for the shows. They had a great time! We have Liberty booked for Thanksgiving with just us and my Mom and Dad. So, I'm not sure how it will be for our son (who will be 13 by then) without his friend. Enjoy the cruise!

[zaffydad]

Hey Kat,

 

We were on Freedom at the end of June and our son was 12. We were with another family who had a 13 year old boy, so they were always together. I think it helps if there are 2 that know each other or are related. I don't know how comfortable I would have been if our son would have been without someone he knew (although the 2 did make new friends on the cruise). As far as activities go, they had them sceduled, but some were canceled if there wasn't enough participation. That was hard to imagine, because there were 700 tweens/teens on this cruise. Anyway...our group of boys enjoyed the activities that they did (dodgeball, 4-square, scavenger hunts, etc.). They, also, loved the evening activities (pool parties, dances, etc.). Since we were on Freedom, the Flowrider was the big hit for the boys (and my DH). They were there whenever it was open. We had scheduled times during the day and evening to meet them. They ate all meals with us. And, they had to let us know where they were going to be at all times. We did a few surprise checks to make sure they were where they said they would be in the evenings, if they weren't with us for the shows. They had a great time! We have Liberty booked for Thanksgiving with just us and my Mom and Dad. So, I'm not sure how it will be for our son (who will be 13 by then) without his friend. Enjoy the cruise!

 

Thanks! Have a great Thanksgiving!

[famcruiser]

I forgot to mention a couple of things. The activities that are scheduled are supervised by AO staff. And, there are staff in the tweens/teens lounges. This made me very happy! Also, there will be a meet and great kind of thing the first night of the cruise. Check the Compass for where it will be held (ours was in the teen lounge). That's where new friends can be made at the beginning of the cruise.

[akcruz]

My son turned 12 during one of our cruises and was allowed to go into the 12 - 14 group. My one suggestion to you is to make sure your kids go to the meet and greet the 1st night. This seems to be when all the friends are made and the groups formed. After that night, they may or may not actually go to the teen lounge. As famcruiser stated, they do have scheduled activities but they only have them if there are enough kids there. Since starting at 12 there is no official sign in and sign out often times there aren't enough kids. They do have a staff member in the room, but they really don't do much more than make sure the kids aren't getting out of control. It is much different thanthe younger group.

 

Make sure to meet the kids your kids are hanging out with and make sure you know where they plan to be if they are not going to the lounge. Check up on them periodically to make sure they are where they said they would be and you'll all be fine.

[junglejane]

We were on the 3-7-10 Mariner of the Seas. I asked my 13 year old DD to summarize what she did:

 

I have a couple of thoughts about the teen program on RCCL. On the first night, there was a "Meet-n-Mingle" that was supervised. However, on the rest of the days, the "Living Room" was open all day without any adult supervision for teens to come in and hang out alone. The organized activities had a varying level of supervision. Many of the activities (such as "Bigger and Better" and the multiple scavenger hunts) involve running around the ship in groups of five or six, without any adults. The activities that were both organized and in the "Living Room" or "FUEL" were generally supervised by two adults--Lorena and Mac, the main youth supervisors--for all of the teens (maybe twenty?).

 

There was a teen rock climbing competition, a teen ice skating activity and a teen pool party. Those were supervised, as was the "Prom" dance party.

 

I would definitely suggest going to the teen activities, especially the DJ classes. Many of them are a lot of fun, and if you don't like them, it's very easy to leave.

 

BTW, I was in the 12-14 group.

[zaffydad]

We were on the 3-7-10 Mariner of the Seas. I asked my 13 year old DD to summarize what she did:

 

I have a couple of thoughts about the teen program on RCCL. On the first night, there was a "Meet-n-Mingle" that was supervised. However, on the rest of the days, the "Living Room" was open all day without any adult supervision for teens to come in and hang out alone. The organized activities had a varying level of supervision. Many of the activities (such as "Bigger and Better" and the multiple scavenger hunts) involve running around the ship in groups of five or six, without any adults. The activities that were both organized and in the "Living Room" or "FUEL" were generally supervised by two adults--Lorena and Mac, the main youth supervisors--for all of the teens (maybe twenty?).

 

There was a teen rock climbing competition, a teen ice skating activity and a teen pool party. Those were supervised, as was the "Prom" dance party.

 

I would definitely suggest going to the teen activities, especially the DJ classes. Many of them are a lot of fun, and if you don't like them, it's very easy to leave.

 

BTW, I was in the 12-14 group.

 

Why, thank you 13 year old DD!!!!:)

[VikkiGarcia]

My kids loved the teen programs. The one thing you must discuss with your child is whether or not they can leave the program whenever they want. Since there is no sign in/out for that age group set some rules beforehand. My kids were allowed to come and go during daytime hours. If we were to ever catch them running or acting like troublemakers anywhere around the ship they would lose this privilidge. At night our rule was they must be with the teen club or with us (watching a show ect.)They were not allowed to wander the ship with new friends they made. My kids complained a bit, but found that there are plenty of other parents who had the same rules. If they hated what was going on in the teen club they could always come back to the cabin. But the options at night were only: teen club, with us, or cabin.

[Wilda]

My 2 oldest kiddies will be 12 on our next Royal Caribbean cruise. Does anyone have experience with what they call the "young teens" program?

The website says it has scheduled activities during the day and then a "teens only" lounge at night.

I am concerned that there will not be adequate supervision...we have always been pleased with Adventure Ocean and the staff..

Any input is welcomed!

 

Thanks

 

Kat

 

So glad to see you found the forum and are receiving good information;)

[cruisinaz]

Our boys first cruise was when they were 12 and 13.... best vacation they ever had. Loved the teen programs - mad at us cuz we made 'em check in alot and come in at midnight. Made some great friends and often didn't want to get off the boat on shore days, but we made them. LOL

 

They have a great time!

[ugen512]

My daughter was not happy with the teen program on Enchantment last month. Very little was supervised and under 15 were kicked out of the teen club after 11 pm. Nothing was structured except for the rock climbing and bungee. Her and the freinds she made on the ship always had to find a place to hang out..library, centrum, etc.