Suggestions for cruising with teens

[Phoenix33]

Hello. My family just booked our very first cruise. We are going to the Bahamas next spring on the Carnival Ecstasy. We have 5 nights at sea. I'm wondering if anyone has advice for traveling with teens. My sons will be 17 and 14 at the time of the cruise. They are worried that they will be bored on the ship. I assured them that they wouldn't be, but I'm not really sure what they will be able to do all day. I'm also a little nervous about letting them loose on a cruise ship. I'm a little over protective. :rolleyes: Has anyone taken teens on a cruise? Are they able to use their key cards for charging?

 

Thanks for your help.

[Keith1010]

You may want to post on the Carnival board where you'll get lots of comments.

 

There will be a lot of kids on the ship so they will have a wonderful time with others around their age and there will be lots to do to keep them very busy. If they are like most kids by the end of the cruise they won't want to leave the ship and will be asking you when can you take another cruise.

 

Keith

[mamajules]

Carnival has teen programs. Your 14 year old will be in Circle C (12-14) and your 17 year old will be in Club O2 (15-17). They have orientation the first night and will hand out a list of activities for the week. At these ages they can pick and choose what they want to participate in, and they can come and go - do not need a parent to sign them in/out. My son LOVED both programs, made lots of friends. I had ground rules on board for checking in, time to be back in the cabin, etc.

 

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[cb at sea]

At that age, they can certainly come and go to events and activities on your own. There's no need to allow them to "roam free" for no reason, tho! Phyysically checking in with your kids is important.....and you can set tentative plans for the day, so everyone knows where everyone else will be.

[TracieABD]

There will be plenty for your kids to do. If they don't want to participate in the structured programs, they may enjoy movies, performers, eating, swimming, playing trivia...

[#1TravelMom]

The key is definately the kid's clubs. Make sure they go the first meeting. There will be lots of other teens that also need to find new friends and something to do. They can make friends at the first meeting. They find lots of things to do together and hang out for the entire cruise.

[oavcech95]

You mean 6 days or 5 days at Sea?

Carnival is good for families, so they will not be bored, although 5-6 days is kind of a lot to spend at Sea.

I'm not a fan of kids programs but they can sure try them.

The 17 will not get bored, maybe the 14th will get, a bit.

[mrsjetpup]

My twins were almost 16 when we went on our last cruise. They weren't really into the teen club that much. My son pretty much swam or ate the entire cruise, and my daughter hung with me or did hang with her brother sometimes.

 

One thing we did that was helpful was bring a post-it note pad and they left notes on our door if they were going some place other than previously discussed, on the ship. It worked perfectly.

 

In answer to your question, yes they can use their Sail & Sign card to charge. You can stop that though if you want, or you can limit it. We set our kids' up as cash accounts and put a certain amount on them at th beginning of the week, so they knew how much they had to spend. They can check their balances on the tv.

 

Hope you and your famil has an awesome first cruise! My family can't wait to go on our second family cruise this December! :)

[Phoenix33]

You mean 6 days or 5 days at Sea?

Carnival is good for families, so they will not be bored, although 5-6 days is kind of a lot to spend at Sea.

I'm not a fan of kids programs but they can sure try them.

The 17 will not get bored, maybe the 14th will get, a bit.

 

It is a 5 day cruise. There is technically a 6th day, but we disembark at 7am, so I wasn't really counting it. I'll look for the Carnival board, too. Thank you to everyone.

[chipmaster]

Congrats on booking your first cruise!

 

My "teens" have always found plenty to do. IMHO if they are bored it would be like addressing adults who are bored, they simply need an attiude addjustment :D THere are so many activities that are "age" appropriate, some they might not enjoy some they will enjoy more. My three kids have always found plenty to do and they are all pretty different.

 

 

I'm suprirsed if you really have 5 sea days, I got to believe there are port days, and with that come beachs and other water sport or many other sightseing and other activity options, but be ready to be spending some $$$$ for excursions with active teens.

 

As to letting them charge or "loose" everyone has a different comfort level with this. If you trust your kids for a day at the mall or amusement park with your CC than its similar on the the ship. I treat my kids with the same rules and guideliens on the ship as I do on vacation in a amusement park.

 

 

Hello. My family just booked our very first cruise. We are going to the Bahamas next spring on the Carnival Ecstasy. We have 5 nights at sea. I'm wondering if anyone has advice for traveling with teens. My sons will be 17 and 14 at the time of the cruise. They are worried that they will be bored on the ship. I assured them that they wouldn't be, but I'm not really sure what they will be able to do all day. I'm also a little nervous about letting them loose on a cruise ship. I'm a little over protective. :rolleyes: Has anyone taken teens on a cruise? Are they able to use their key cards for charging?

 

Thanks for your help.

[luddite]

They will be chasing skirts.

Find the girls and they'll be there.

Boredom shouldn't be a problem.

[pdmlynek]

...They are worried that they will be bored on the ship...

 

It seems that you will be taking your cruise around April, I assume during a spring break from their school. A spring break exists to catch up on studying, and to zero in what will be on the final. Have them bring school work with them, so that they can study for finals.

I am sure you wont hear a peep out of them about being bored. :):)

[Cruisin' Chick]

The Ecstasy 5-day cruises next March and April have three ports. I'm guessing the OP means a 5-day cruise, which is different from saying his family will have five days at sea. (OP, don't worry, you're new to cruising and many of us understand)

 

Anyway, when you first get to your cabin, there should be packets of info about the programs your kids will be assigned to, with info about the registration the first night and a day-to-day list of activities. If the packets aren't there, just go to the purser's desk and ask.

 

Take your kids to the teen area the first night and they can meet the other teens while you're filling out the required form. After that, the kids can come whenever the center is open (usually it will be closed during meal times and possibly while in port). There should be some set activities as well as video games the kids like to play.

 

My daughter was 13 on our last cruise, which was on a Princess ship, but things run similar to Carnival when it comes to the kids' programs. She was at that age when anything an adult designs is "lame," so she and the girls in her age range would often met up there and then go to the pool. She also went to a lot of the shows. Other kids went to trivia matches if they're into it or take a class in lei-making (that's applicable to the cruise I was on...probably not lei-making on yours, but maybe other arts and crafts). Our cruise was two weeks long (she's a vet of many cruises by now) with several sea days, so she saw a lot of movies.

 

One thing to be aware of, is whether your cruise falls into spring break time for teens. That may determine if there's a lot of kids for yours to friend or not. The cruises that leave from Los Angeles the week leading up to Easter would have a lot of kids, maybe not so many a few weeks from then.

[SadieN]

On Carnival there will be a signup desk somewhere for the kids programs. Check the Funtimes (the ship paper). Many times there will be camp staff greeting you as you walk into the atrium.

 

There is a way to sign up online.

 

If you do not get to the signup desk, don't worry the clubs will open around 8pm. You will be given a schedule for the week. Our DDs had one and so did we.

 

Have them go to the first night's meeting. The younger kids seem to stay in the camp more than the older ones do. The older ones make friends, meet up at Club then come and go. Sometimes they get a freebie, one year it was a nice mesh bag.

 

Activities include parties, dinners, gaming system contests, board game contests. dances etc. The Club usually close at 1am. Our DDs curfew was 1:15am YMMV

 

Whether the boys like the clubs really depends on who is sailing with them. The best time, for our kids, was when there were only four kids in their group. The worst was when our band kid encountered the 'entire football team and cheerleading squad' from his high school.

[SadieN]

They will each have a Sail & Sign card. This card is their room key, off/on the ship key and their 'charge cards'. You can set them up however you want, cash or credit card. There are ways to limit the amount of spending. One way is to put cash on their account, when it's gone it's gone. Guest Services can help you with this.

 

There is an arcade. Daily limits can be placed for arcade token purchases.

[Phoenix33]

The Ecstasy 5-day cruises next March and April have three ports. I'm guessing the OP means a 5-day cruise' date=' which is different from saying his family will have five days at sea. (OP, don't worry, you're new to cruising and many of us understand).[/quote']

 

Thanks. I didn't mean 5 actual days out to sea. I just meant 5 days of cruising. We do have 3 port stops. I'll learn the lingo eventually. :)

 

I appreciate all the tips. I'm glad to know I can limit the spending for my boys. We are going after spring break, so I don't know how many teens will be there at the same time. My oldest will be a senior, so we tried not to plan it in May during finals, but we planned it at the end of April to avoid spring break.

[CheckersMidwest]

My D was 15 when we cruised in May and our S was 20.

 

You can sign up for the teen clubs online under your "To Do" list. this saves you a little time once onboard.

 

Our first night at 5:00, we had a group orientation to turn in forms, etc. later that night is a greet & meet, which is really important for the boys to attend .....they'll meet other kids right off the start.

 

The teen clubs have their own programs all day and evening. You can pick & choose what to go to. They had basketball tournments, dance offs, guitar hero matches, etc. Occasipnally, they were given free non alcoholic daqueris and soda. at the end of the week, my D got a nice sling backpack as a gift.

 

our kids (me too) had the soda bubbles sticker and we did let them charge to the room. They understood they had a limit, but honestly there wasn't much for them to buy.

 

We all did our own thing during the day and had the rule EVERYONE dressed and ready to leave for dinner at 5:45. Worked great. After dinner, our D went to teen club stuff with a curfew & required " check in". Our S usually went to the shows with us. he also went to the late comedian and casino with his father.

 

we had 2 rooms, so everyone just got up when they felt like it and went for breakfast. Sometimes we went together, other times not.

[Jimnbigd]

The Ecstasy is a nice ship. Your teens will like the pool slides, the mini-golf, and oh yes the food. Lots of food. Lots and lots and lots of food. If your 17-year-old is like mine at 17, all they need is some girls -- and he'll probably find this at the teen club. The 14-year-old will also likely make some friends to hang out with. The biggest problem might be getting the kids to meet you for dinner or other functions. The kids might like the shows too, especially the family (not R rated) comedy shows that should be happening most every night. Kids usually like to watch karaoke too. They won't be bored. I hope you got a suite or 2 cabins, because 4 people in a standard cabin will be very crowded. Two connecting cabins work well I think, although your kids are old enough for you to get a balcony cabin and put the kids in an inside cabin across the hall. As for safety, I think a ship is very safe. Cabins have phones where you can leave messages, and post-its work well too, so the kids can tell you where they plan to be. I'd have no problem letting them run loose on the ship, after some ground rules have been established.

 

You might check the family board for additional info: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

You can find some suggest "ground rules" here among other advice.

[cookiebox]

Others may not agree with what I do when I take my teens on a cruise -- but I basically let them go to do whatever they want to do. I always have them in an interior cabin at the most, 4 doors down from me. I have 2 keys to their room, and each of them has a key to their room. I have it so they can not charge on their key, only we the parents can charge. However, I take post-it sticky pads for both us parents, and the teens (two girls, 17 and 15). It is a rule (without exception) that they must leave sticky notes either on the outside of the door or the inside of the door when they leave their rooms to go anywhere on the ship. Husband and I do the same - we leave notes on the outside of our door telling them where we will be so they can come to us if they need us, and vis-a-versa. They have never minded doing that since we can't communicate through phone. In general, and I hate to say this...my kids love the first day of a cruise, but after that they get bored. The first day is always new, exciting, etc., but neither of them like being in the Teen rooms (they're at the age where they don't "like" other kids). They do the sports things together and they swim and eat but other than that..they just sit around either outside or in their cabins. We get them together with us at least twice a day - specified time for meals or a family event such as a show to watch together. Granted..we see each other many times throughout the day/night and they come to our cabin to just talk, play a card game, or whatever. But they like knowing that they are independent and can go where ever they want to go. I trust them enough to know that they won't be around anyone who seems shady, and I also find that the folks who take care of our rooms easily got to know the children and any time I asked the gentleman (don't recall the exact title) if they saw my kdis, he always knew and told me what direction they went and about what time.

[Phoenix33]

I love the post-it note idea. Thank you everyone.