"Tweeners"...18-22 year olds (girls)

[spongerob]

You're right, the only place that under-21's aren't allowed is the casino. I think that under-18's are kept out of Skywalkers afer a certain hour.

[CruiseYVR]

This is my favorite age group for some reason ;)

 

I am 25 and love cruising.

[bdjam]

Obviously I don't know if there are any "special" circumstances with your 18-year old daughter, but based on the assumption that she is a "normal" healthy young woman, IMHO, I think it is WAY too overprotective to not "allow" her to wander the ship alone!!! Is she going away to college? How will she handle that, if she can't even walk around a cruise ship by herself???

Based on the description of how these young adults were wandering the ship alone – dancing all night, sleeping on the loungers on deck, finding a cruise card and using it to buy alcohol when they are underage (which by the way can result in crew members being fired as well as a hung over kid) – I’d be keeping my 18 year old close at hand as well. It is one thing to have responsible kids out having a good time. It’s another thing to see them involved with what was described in the post, vacation or no. Underage drinking more often than not becomes a problem. Right, an 18 year old is old enough for college and should be responsible – but as the post attests, many are not.

[edYYZ]

The term "tweener" confuses me too, although I do tell people I'm "twenteen" (oh the fear of getting old!). I've been to Alaska twice, once on the Diamond, once on the Coral and there are plenty of things to do if you're up for it. It was really nice to just lie in the sun with all the amazing scenery in Alaska. And then there were also the movies and gameshows. I didn't see any of the gameshows on the Diamond, but I went to almost all of them on the Coral this year because they were hilarious! Between all that and the gym, I found myself running around all the time. I'll be honest, there aren't too many young people in Alaska (maybe more in June, there are almost none in May) so what scottmik33 said may not necessarily apply. But it's actually quite interesting to talk to some of the "older" passengers too.

 

In terms of the wandering the ship alone comment, I think it depends on the teen in question. Not everyone is going to run around, "borrow" cruise cards and get drunk. Underage drinking becomes a problem often because those people haven't been as exposed to alcohol and can't buy a drink whenever they want, so when they can access they it, they overconsume. It's not the actual age, it's more the experience/knowing your limit that matters (which I guess, is determined by a country's drinking age). As a 20 year old, all my friends and I have been "legal" for over a year now. I find it funny that we may become a "problem" in the US but not in Canada. Do we behave differently than a group of 20 year olds in the US in terms of alcohol? I don't know but I'm guessing probably not - those who think that underage drinking doesn't happen or happens rarely are probably just in denial.

 

But back to the OP's question, if they can be open minded about the cruise, they'll have lots of fun. It's different than hanging out with friends at home, but still a good time. I agree that the 18-21 age group is awkward on a cruise ship - they don't really cater much for us. Hopefully, Princess will change that in the future (although the 18-21 meeting that various posters have mentioned sounds like a good step in that direction).