Anyone taken kids/teens on a crossing on the QM2?

[junglejane]

We plan to take our 2 DD's on a crossing on the Queen Mary 2 on June 1st. They will be 16 and 12. They love to dress up and enjoy sea days, but 7 sea days will definitely be something new. Anyone done this with kids this age?

 

I am particularly wondering about the 12 year old. Does anyone know if she will be in the teen program? She is not the independent type like her sister, so I am sort of hoping that she still will fall under the kids program, or at least that they break the teens into 12-14 and 15-17. The Cunard website doesn't have much info at all about the kid/teen programs, and I've not had much luck getting a response to this type of question on the Cunard board, so I thought I'd try here. :) Any feedback would be appreciated.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I've done QM2 with my son on a TA from London- NYC and we were never bored but we did it in August. The youth program is small and divided into two sections. One area is for the little ones, ages 3-7 and the other room for ages 8-12. The teen activities are in other areas of the ship and they don't have a dedicated space for the teens (they meet in the same room as the 8-12 year olds). I don't think that the youth program is going to be the big draw on the QM2 in early June. School is still in session in England and in the US. So there will be very few children ages 12-16 onboard. There is no video arcade.

 

I would be prepared for this to be a family vacation and don't expect them to have many children onboard. QM2 is a wonderful ship. It is really something to behold. The outside pool areas will be a bit cool and definitely very windy but there is an indoor pool which the kids love. There is a planetarium that does three different shows. There are board games, trivia games, afternoon tea and dancing at night.

 

It will be a memorable experience for all of you. Just make sure that you take advantage of the onboard activities offered each day.

[junglejane]

Thanks for the feedback! My 16 year old is very outgoing and independent, and while I'm sure her preference is to meet a few other teens, she's very capable of entertaining herself onboard. She's always enjoyed the cruise stand bys of trivia and afternoon tea. In fact, after looking over some sample Cunard programmes, I wondered if there were any age restrictions on certain activities. For example, I saw Introduction to Foil Fencing. She would totally love that! Or what about line dancing, watercolour classes, or intro to bridge. Or those RADA acting workshops? Will they let a 16 year old participate? I'm also wondering about the fitness center. Can she work out there? I'm afraid the Cunard website is not very user friendly.

 

My 12 year old, on the other hand, is much more shy and reserved. I'm hoping for at least a few structured activities and other kids for her, but if not then I'm sure she'll enjoy the planetarium, indoor pool, and exploring the ship with mom and dad.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

More than likely no one will say anything about the 16 year old in the gym but I would post questions on the Cunard site here on Cruise critic. They will have more answers for you.

[junglejane]

I'll definitely give it a try, but the Cunard board moves rather slowly -- unless it's a good ole dress code or "declining standards" thread. ;)

[alise007]

I was wondering if you were able to find out more information for your TA cruise?

 

We are considering this option on the QM2 out of NY to London end of May/June for a relocation to Germany for a year. Figure the plane ticket is 1K/pp might as well spend the same $$ and get a mini vacation out of it.

 

My kids will be 5 and 7 at the time of crossing. I am sure there will be very few if any kids on board however we took them on a NCL Canada New England one with NCL this September and they were among 10 kids on board and they LOVED all of the attention.

 

We miss the window of opportunity for all of the other choices in April and Cunard seems to be our only choice for the time we need to arrive. I am bit concerned it will be too stuffy! I won't be packing formal wear in our luggage!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The transatlantic crossing will be somewhat formal. By day- I did feel compelled to dress country club casual. I brought collared shirts for my son- polo type and in the main dining room people dress for dinner. On formal night- I saw mostly tuxedos.

 

I did the Southampton-NYC journey in summer time and it was formal.

 

if you don't want to dress for dinner- they do have a great buffet area with made to order pasta at night- which we loved.

 

By day your kids will love the Planetarium and Indoor pool.

 

You will have a good time but bring dressy clothes for evening- you will get a lot of looks if you don't.

[kitty9]

Alise, Cunard, especially their crossings, of which I've done three, is very dressy at night. Even in the Britannia Dining Room, dinners are quite formal. Lots of tuxedos and dressy clothes for the women. Things are different when the Queens cruise the Caribbean, but on a crossing, it's a different story. Plus, the average age can be quite high, especially if school is in session.

 

JungleJane, I've found that the activities like the acting academy are for adults. The fitness area has had different age limits, for what reason I don't know, but on most cruises it's 18, but they did have a policy that 16 and older could work out with a parent there at all times. They do this to keep the facility from being taken over by teens.

[mirp]

I did a transatlantic when my son was quite young -- 3 years old I think.

 

The nannie were very good at that age.

 

The dining room was great -- after the first day they always had his appetizer on the table (fruit salad) and I would order him adult food but it would come almost immediately so he could go down to kids club and we could finish meal i in piece.

 

Bring one formal item -- the buffet for 7 days; all meals would be depressing. I wore the same dress for dinner every night -- changing my scarf.