age guidelines

[3shar]

I was wondering how strict they are in regards to activities. I will have a 12.5 year old and two 17 year olds. They want to do things together but it seems the age is grouped 13-17.

[Demonyte]

It's not a guideline, it's the limit and they are very strict about it.

[time2cruise1]

They can certainly do things together but as far as the youth center they will be in separate groups. No exceptions. :mad:

[mjkacmom]

Nothing preventing them from doing stuff together, although the 17 year old will probably meet other older teens in the club who don't want to pal around with a 12 year old. Dd17 and ds15 1/2 hung out with a lot of kids together - dd12 1/2 wasn't even introduced. She h ng out with her 10 1/2 year old siblings. I certainly didn't want her in the teen club!

[SissasMomE]

I was wondering how strict they are in regards to activities. I will have a 12.5 year old and two 17 year olds. They want to do things together but it seems the age is grouped 13-17.

 

Very strict ... and I definitely wouldn't want my 12-year old in a group with 17-year olds!

[SissasMomE]

They can certainly do things together but as far as the youth center they will be in separate groups. No exceptions. :mad:

 

As it should be.

[che5904]

Very strict ... and I definitely wouldn't want my 12-year old in a group with 17-year olds!

 

Oh me either. Actually I'd love to meet these 17 year olds that would be upset with not hanging with their 12 year old sibling, when they have new friends their own age :) There was 4 years between my sister and I and although we were very close and did enjoy to do things together. I just can't picture her hanging on the ship with new friends her own age and them wanting to have a 12 yr old tagging along. Or vice versa, her wanting to hang out with my new 12 year old friends.

[3shar]

ok...I am sorry I asked. Apparently my kids should not like to be around each other on a family vacation

[juksing]

ok...I am sorry I asked. Apparently my kids should not like to be around each other on a family vacation

 

I don't think u should be taking it so personally. I think most of the replies were emphasizing 1) cruise ship youth clubs are very strict on the age groupings and I doubt they will deviate from them and 2) the difference between a 12 year old and 17 year old is very different and most folks would probably not want their 12 year old hanging out with a group of stranger 17 year olds let loose on a cruise ship.

 

None of the replies said it was bad that your kids want to hang out with each other and outside of the youth clubs they can and should.

[maja651]

I think if I was the OP i would take some of those responses personally too. :rolleyes:

 

OP- unfortunately, i have read on these boards they are very strict about the age groups. For us, it poses a problem as well as my nephews will be 16 and 18(will be just graduated from H.S) and the 18 year old is not able to join his brother in the teen club. :mad: My bet is that my younger nephew will not end up in thr teen club for this reason. Bummed.!

[2boyzmom]

My boys, now 12 and 14 refuse to go the clubs now because they are separated. It's a shame but I guess there has to be some guidelines :(

[3shar]

Thank you maja651 and 2 boyz mom... My kids are quite close and my 12 year old is very mature.( Not that I am saying I want her hanging out with a group of 17 year old boys that I don't know). I was concerned because the cut off is 13 and she will be close to that. I think the same thing will happen that they will not use the teen club because of it.

[peg013]

Thank you maja651 and 2 boyz mom... My kids are quite close and my 12 year old is very mature.( Not that I am saying I want her hanging out with a group of 17 year old boys that I don't know). I was concerned because the cut off is 13 and she will be close to that. I think the same thing will happen that they will not use the teen club because of it.

 

I would still encourage them to attend the first day to meet other kids in their age groups. Your daughter may hit it off with someone and if not they still can all hang out outside the kids club.

[sdmike]

I would still encourage them to attend the first day to meet other kids in their age groups. Your daughter may hit it off with someone and if not they still can all hang out outside the kids club.

 

This is a great response. Have the kids attend the first evening when the clubs have different events/games to focused on introducing the kids. If they decide after the first day they would rather hang out together and not in the clubs, there will be plenty of opportunity.

 

On my Jewel AK cruise my 17 and 15 (at the time) went the first night and ended up with different groups of friends. They had a blast.

[sparks1093]

On our first cruise our youngest was 12 and was upset that he wouldn't be in the teen club but enjoyed the group he was with, so I would also recommend having them go the first night to check it out. FWIW our 13 was ditched by the older kids at every opportunity because they did not want to hang out with the "kid" (and yes, his 17 year old brother was part of that group too). The next cruise was a little better for the two youngest because there were more kids their age in the teen crew and they enjoyed it more.

[rvsullivan]

I think sometimes the folks that ask this question are hoping to get the answer they want or hope for. When the facts are pointed out and it is emphasized that this is a very strict rule with NCL it sounds harsh. Too many times folks come back all upset because they assumed this would work out the way they want. No one is attacking the OP for this, although it may feel that way sometimes.

If you reverse the question and say, how would you feel if we allow the 17+ year olds hang out with the 12-13 year olds it makes more sense. Because the OP's kids want to be together even though the age differences is large, it cannot be allowed because of the obvious issues that could arise.

I agree they should all attend the first night and if they want to ditch it and hang out as a threesome, so be it.

I also think some picked up on this because the OP stated "age guidelines" and most on here know they are pretty strict rules.

Edited March 16, 2014 by rvsullivan

[PCLMassachusetts]

ok...I am sorry I asked. Apparently my kids should not like to be around each other on a family vacation

 

It is great that your kids want to hang out together. Unfortunately, they just won't be able to be in the same group in the kids center. The ages are not guidelines, they are the ages.

 

My kids wanted nothing at all to do with the kids center. They went on the first day for a couple of hours and begged not to go back. There are plenty of things for them to do that don't involve the kids center.

[newmexicoNita]

I was wondering how strict they are in regards to activities. I will have a 12.5 year old and two 17 year olds. They want to do things together but it seems the age is grouped 13-17.

 

Like most cruise ships they are very strict, especially when you are talking about 6 months. Just to make you feel a little better, if they are like most of the 17 year olds, they might very well decide not to take part in the 13-17 year old group. Most of the kids that do are closer to your age. The older ones are inclined to just make friends apart from the group. Of get to know others and hang out, but not as part of the teen club.

[GORDONCHICK]

IME, the 13-17 yos roam the ship during the day, and may only check out the teen club in the evenings. On our Christmas cruise, the 10-12 group used the teen center during the days.

 

I also echo the suggestion of the kids going to their respective age groups on the first night. That's the best time/place for them to meet up with other kids their age. The 12.5yo will have the option of checking themselves out if you sign up for that - but make sure you understand how that works. They usually have to be there an hour before they can leave.

[robinbtigger]

I've read that most lines are very strict on the age limits for the teen clubs and this is the exact reason we chose NCL over Carnival and MSC, both of which were in my price range. NCL's teen club starts at 13 and the other 2 line's clubs start at 15. If we chose one of the other lines my 14-year old high school DD would not be with other high school kids.

[lisakoivu]

I had the opposite problem this cruise. DN is 13 and DS 17. So you think they must have had a great time together in teen club...well, DS did, but DN took a long time to warm up, because he was so much younger (and physically smaller) than the other kids, he felt really intimidated and did not want to go the first few days (DS was there every minute!) Slowly he got into it and I think he would have a good time next time. However, even if your 12.5 year old is mature, etc., he might find the 17 year old kids intimidating anyway. Even DS said there was a lot of "drama", which he just ignored. I agree with the posters who say each of your kids should go and register the first night to their respective clubs... a lot of times they play Mario and stuff and they might enjoy having a place to go or meet people. They might also collect a group of friends that never use the club, but go swimming, etc., together. Like everything else on the cruise, try it out and if you don't like it, do something else.

 

Unfortunately, all the rest of the posters are correct, "tone" notwithstanding, the age limits are written in stone - even if a kid has their 13th birthday on the cruise, they can't go to teen club until the birthday. I've never heard it has to do with insurance, but that's what I suspect (okay, so that's just conjecture on my part people, please don't leap down my throat) which would make sense as to why it's so rigid.