America's Cup w/ kids

[RysMom]

Has anyone done the America's Cup excursion with kids? We will be there in Nov and we really want to do this. Our boys are 12 and 8. They are big for their ages and we are a boating family, but not sailing. The company website instructs you to book through the ship, and the NCL site does list a child's price so children are allowed. I want the kids to enjoy themselves, but I don't want to annoy others if this is not necessarily a kid friendly excursion.

 

Thanks for any help.

[crewsweeper]

I have done this excursion and there were older children on board. I noticed the boys had a better time than the girls (especially the older tweeners and younger teen girls). If your boys like boating and being on the water, they may enjoy this. You'll be given a position/job, partially based on which jobs need to be filled and partially based on what you'd like or not like to do. Grinders (sail trimmers) and backstays are probably the toughest positions. Main sail and jib grinders require some strength and ability to move quickly for a short period of time.

 

Just be advised that this is NOT a sightseeing tour in a sailboat. You will see some different views of the island and harbor, but no one will be pointing out sights to you. During the action phases, it'll be difficult to snap a picture.

[gtaylor]

I'll assume that you've read the website's FAQ's.

 

Can we bring our children on the tour?

We do not encourage children under the age of 12, unless they are from a sailing family or are very strong or big for their age.

 

But your boys should qualify, and there are positions for them to participate and/or stay out of the way.

 

And yes, if you had daughters, they would probably be assigned bartender/waitress duties as crewsweeper implies.

 

gary

 

p.s. We enjoyed the ride.

[johneeo]

Has anyone done the America's Cup excursion with kids? We will be there in Nov and we really want to do this. Our boys are 12 and 8. They are big for their ages and we are a boating family, but not sailing. The company website instructs you to book through the ship, and the NCL site does list a child's price so children are allowed. I want the kids to enjoy themselves, but I don't want to annoy others if this is not necessarily a kid friendly excursion.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

This is an absolute must! DO IT!

 

Did it with my son who was 12 at the time, he was a grinder.

 

We had a blast. So will your kids.

[johneeo]

Forgot to mention, we were on Canada's yacht, True Blue or True North, and we beat Stars and Stipes by about two feet at the finish line.'

Here is a shot from our boat of Stars and Stripes:

 

[johneeo]

BTW, it is VERY competetive. Each Captain wants to win, and when it comes time to perform, the Captain expects full effort. Also, as we changed leads, it was common to exchange obscene gestures with the other team.:D

 

And here is another, up close and personal:

 

[petersonwith3]

We took our 15 year old last year and although it was competitive, I thought our capt (capt morgan) was obnoxious and it made the excursion less than perfect.

 

I would recommend it but going into it knowing full well that you could spend a couple of hours getting yelled at if you can not do your assigned job perfectly.

[RysMom]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We have a much clearer idea of what to expect. I ended up contacting the company directly and they said that children ages 7 and older were welcome. They do require that one parent not take an active role in the sail in order to keep an eye on the kids, which I understand and appreciate. My younger one is more of an observer than a participant anyway, so all should work out well.

[johneeo]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We have a much clearer idea of what to expect. I ended up contacting the company directly and they said that children ages 7 and older were welcome. They do require that one parent not take an active role in the sail in order to keep an eye on the kids, which I understand and appreciate. My younger one is more of an observer than a participant anyway, so all should work out well.

 

You should have a great time.

 

My only suggestion is that multi tasking is a big no no.

 

I was main sail trimmer, drinking a beer, and taking pictures. We had to do one of those sail boat maneuvers, .... dropped beer, dropped camera, batteries fell out of camera, tried to grab them, cut hand on one of those sailboat things, and batteries went overboard.:eek:

 

Still had tremendous time.