Disney Cruise and older teens???

[oracer]

We have 2 older teens (16 and 19), do you think that they will have a good time on the either the Magic or Fantasy out of Port Canaveral? The perception is that it is for the younger crowd and wondered if that is perception or reality? We have been on the RCI line of boats (Freedom and Oasis class) the past 5 years and have had a great time because they find a good group of teens there age and are able to form relationships from there. Just not sure if that can happen or does happen on the Disney cruises.

 

I want to try Disney because I know the food is great and customer service would be also first class.

[moki'smommy]

My daughter has cruised DCL at every age from 7 to 23. And you hit the nail--the key is finding a group of kids that they connect with and enjoy hanging out with. This is less a matter of the number of teens on the ship (one of our best had 14 teens total!), but is a matter of finding a "friend." So my answer to the groups on the Disney ships is "sometimes it works great, other times it doesn't gel."

 

Your 19 year old will not be permitted in the teen program. The Vibe is for 14-17 and the upper limit is strictly enforced after an "incident" some years ago. The "college club" morphed into the 18-21 club...which is OK except that the college kids don't want to hang out with 18 year old high schoolers. Sorry, but reality is that there is a huge maturity difference between an 18 year old who has been away at college for a year and one who is still in high school. And the 16 year old can't be in "adult" areas.

 

On the good side, the kids will be welcomed together at any "family" event. And they will have each other.

 

I think it depends on how they feel about Disney--do they like the parks? Do they like Broadway style shows? Are they willing to "play along" with the fantasy? Or is it just "lame?"

 

Worst case....dump $89 on an internet package and they'll be OK. Caution them to not download or video. We did the $89 package for 14 nights and DD still had half of it left at the end!

 

You KNOW that the food is great? How? I'd tell you that the food is adequate, but I've had better on other lines. Unfortunately, those lines did not really have a place for a college kid and she chooses to not cruise them again. But hey, it was Alaska, and Alaska is great on any line!

Edited January 2, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Shmoo here]

We have 2 older teens (16 and 19), do you think that they will have a good time on the either the Magic or Fantasy out of Port Canaveral? The perception is that it is for the younger crowd and wondered if that is perception or reality? We have been on the RCI line of boats (Freedom and Oasis class) the past 5 years and have had a great time because they find a good group of teens there age and are able to form relationships from there. Just not sure if that can happen or does happen on the Disney cruises.

 

I want to try Disney because I know the food is great and customer service would be also first class.

 

 

While I can't really speak to the 16 year old, we have cruised with a 19 year old. First, they won't be able to be in the teen club (Vibe) together as the ages there are 14-17. Once someone is 18 they are considered and adult and cannot participate in Vibe. That being said, your 2 could hang out together outside Vibe, certainly. And there is an 18-21 group for the 19 year old, but the 16 year won't be able to participate in it.

 

The 18-21 group meets the first night (with a DCL crew member) to set up what sort of activities they are interested in doing during the cruise. It's real important that your 19 year old attend this meeting if interested. If no on shows up, or not enough to come up with ideas of things to do, the club fizzles.

 

I will say on our cruise with our 19 year old the group was not large (about 15 of them), but they tended to break up into smaller groups of 5-6 (not always the same 5-6) to do things every day/night on our cruise and he had a great time.

[moki'smommy]

Shmoo is right--the CM in charge of the 18-21 club will set up as much or as little as the group wishes. Generally, they meet at 10 each evening and often move as a group to the "adult only" 10:30 activities. There will also be ONE luncheon set up as a default--meet at Parrot Cay (now Carioca's) at X time and tell them you are with the group.

 

If the group wants, they will set up game time, sports deck time, craft time, etc. as well as additional lunches. If the group shows no interest, the CM will only do the 10 pm each evening.

[cb at sea]

Disney is not just for children! Lots of adults without kids sail Disney!

[meatloafsfan]

I think it really depends on the kids.

 

When taking my 16-turning-17 year old god daughter on a birthday cruise, she was thankful it wasn't a Disney cruise. She enjoyed going to Disney world but wanted a different experience on the ship.

 

If your kids are the active type, they might be a little disappointed with Disney (especially if they did the ziplining, rock climbing and flow rider on the Oasis class ship. Disney doesn't have those things).

 

At 19 your oldest won't have the kids clubs so I'd really focus on what is on the ship for them.

[ma23peas]

Mine are 16, 17, and 19...when looking at all the options of other cruise lines...we seriously considered doing a non-Disney cruise...but what brings us back is the experience...they love hamming it up with our servers (same ones each night)..they love the on board experiences, and they love the excursions.

 

For us, it's family time, but we usually only see them at the meals and shows..my son even though he's been the oldest always makes it to the show..he enjoys them! Brings back a little of his childhood memories.

 

We traveled with my two nieces 3 years ago, one had just graduated college at 20 and one had just graduated high school at 18...both were readily received into the 'college' age group, their leader was from Ireland and they just loved his accent...the 18 year old was probably the most social out of all the college age group dragging them everywhere and making sure they all knew where to be and meet up.

 

What I love is that you don't have the uber party crowd on these ships..I'm sure there's some underage drinking going on, but there are enough kids just there to have fun that it's not a great concern if you don't party. We are taking our fourth cruise this May and the kids are all excited...my 17 year old is sad this is her last time to visit Vibe..but she'll see her brother's group having just as much fun...they still keep in touch with friends made on all the cruises...love that!

[moki'smommy]

My only comment to the above--there is no longer a "college" group. It has been re-designated the 18-21 group and is open to all in that age range.

[ZaWeible]

I just got off the Wonder a week ago. Speaking first hand as an 18 year old HS Senior, I didn't participate in club 18*21 and still had the best time doing whatever I stumbled upon. My favorite activity the whole cruise was eating. Being on a Disney cruise, I found it better to let myself roll back and go with it and embrace the Disney cheese when it presented itself, just let yourself have a good time. (I waited in line for 20 minutes and took a picture with Pirate Minnie by myself because why not?)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Ex techie]

Unless your 16 and 19 year old's love Disney, are really social and just enjoying hanging out with other people, apart from the scheduled activities, TBH they would most likely have a better time on another line.

 

Try as DCL might, apart from social activities there is next to nothing for them to do apart from spend time in the clubs or time with the 18-21 group.

 

Other lines offer wall climbing, rope courses, wake board simulators, bumper cars, zip lines etc etc.

The Aqua Dunk looks like fun, but how many times can you ride it before they are over it.

The Aqua Duck..... Twice I would think was enough for not much more than a flume ride with a couple of drops and a dark bit.

 

And most of the other major lines have improved their service levels and now compete with DCL for personable MDR servers. Just not the same each night.

 

And you can all upgrade to eat with each other on other lines if you so wish.

 

Horses for courses! All depends on your kids personalities, time of year and what you and they want from their cruise experience.

 

But my personal opinion for young adults that age is go elsewhere than DCL unless they want to see the shows and Characters.

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

If you are going to do a line other than Disney with older teens, choose Royal Caribbean or one of the other lines that specializes in families and activities.

 

We chose a more upscale line than these and frankly it did not suit my daughter's desires. She was about 20 at the time. We had a good Alaskan cruise--great scenery, great excursions, lovely amenities on the ship. But the entertainment main stage entertainment was not good, there was really nothing to do on the ship that would be of interest to that age group, and the next youngest person at our dining table was over 65 (it went up from there). There may have been 3 non-employee college age people on the ship. Spending a week being nice to elderly people was not her idea of fun. BUT this was not a ship with an ice rink, climbing wall, golf course, etc. on board.

 

We had a good laugh at the costumed eagle, bear, etc. that appeared as we disembarked at the various ports. The costumes were terrible and we could see no function for them other than to have something in a furry costume on the ship. Now the hot chocolate, warm wash cloths, and cookies that greeted us on our return were another matter! That was great. Our stateroom host was sweet and as nice as anyone on DCL (the stateroom was TINY). The dining servers were not very personable but the food was good. And for this mom, they had Splenda at every place that had beverages--no need to bring my own or go hunting around the ship for it.

 

I see only 3 viable choices for this older teen/young 20s age--DCL, Royal Caribbean, and maybe one of the newer Carnival ships. Currently, my family has informed me that they will only do DCL.

Edited January 5, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Ex techie]

I would agree, but think Norwegian Cruise Line with the Breakaway deserve a mention.

 

From the website: http://waterslidedatabase.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/norwegian-breakaway-aqua-park-water.html

 

With five very impressive WhiteWater West brand water slides sitting above decks 16 through 18, the Aqua Park aboard the ship is one of the most unique you could find on any vessel out there! Ranging from the average small sized flume for those not ready to take on bigger slides yet, to the fast spiral of The Whip, to the thrilling first of its kind on a ship, Free Fall dual aqualoop water slides.

 

First, the family slide is the smallest water slide on the ship, and consists of an open flume figure 8-like layout before coming to the shutdown lane on deck 16. The slide is nothing special, though if one slides down it correctly, they can reach some impressive speeds and come flying high on the curves! This slide has the lowest height requirement, so little kids can enjoy it the most, while many of those who are tall enough can brave the more thrilling slides.

 

The next couple of slides start many stories above deck 17 and has a very quick spiral all the way down. The Whip slides are two dual yellow and purple tunneled body slides that consist of a few left helixes downward, starting from opposite ends and meeting in the same area side-by-side with their own shutdown lanes. The turn on both slides become tighter the further down the slider goes, giving the illusion that one is significantly increasing speeds, but the feeling of pulling more g's. This is especially noticeable in the purple flume due to it having a slightly longer course and the tightest radius near the bottom, allowing very impressive g's to be reached for those that go down fast enough!

 

The last of the slides is one of the tallest, fastest, most intense, and most spectacular on a ship. Free Fall are two dual aqualoop water slides, the first of its kind ever built on any cruise ship. The slide consists of a trap door beginning, where a countdown is given by a speaker in the capsule before the floor gives way and allows the sliders to come to a freefall start in the tunnel and reach very fast speeds, before rocketing up an upward incline (an angled loop) and coming to an end in the splashdown lane. These very fast water slides are definitely the most spectacular to ride, but also to watch due to the translucent tunnels that allow people on and off the ship to see riders go up the "loop" portion.

 

And yes I get that DCL adding the Aqua Dunk tried to appeal to low to mid Guest ages, but it is lame. Same for the Aqua Duck. Young families and young age.

I sympathise with their struggle of how to maintain a certain look of the ship without it looking like a floating water park, but they need to try harder, or sacrifice Staterooms beneath to accommodate the space required to make thrilling rides. LOL like they would!

A thrilling twin flume ride from deck 14 to deck 4 (twin tube width with a divide so you could still see each other) going internally throughout the ship would win them over with the teens and be an industry first! ;)

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

OK, I won't claim to know everything out there.....I'm pretty good on DCL. AquaDunk is lame? I was chicken--didn't even try it. Aqua Duck is OK even for old ladies, which means too lame for adventurous teens.

[Ex techie]

On the Dream class, why couldn't the forward funnel have been extended to remove that wasted stage area 10' further forward, and an internal climbing wall created within the AFT new space still keeping the faux funnel look, but provide a tween, teen and Adult climbing space there and would be covered by the Funnel Vision screen?

But the "Imagineers" are pretty much only young kids at heart, and just don't know how to deal with 14-25 year olds properly when designing spaces for them.

Just give them a disco, hang out space, a hot tub, put it away from the adults and exclusive and the >17 will be happy! :(

 

This is not aimed at YOU moki'smommy at all, just why the "Imagineers" do not think and imagine and accommodate more for teens and young adults on DCL?!

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

There is lots of room for improvement on the newer ships. In fairness, I think that some things don't always turn out the way the Imagineer's picture them. For instance, the concept of a teen pool is nice...but it means that it is either closed or they need 2 CMs in the area. It is closed way too often IMHO.

 

There are a few improvements on the Fantasy, but those don't involve the older teens.

 

I guess it's easy to second guess when we see how things really work out.

[Ex techie]

OK' date=' I won't claim to know everything out there.....I'm pretty good on DCL. AquaDunk is lame? I was chicken--didn't even try it. Aqua Duck is OK even for old ladies, which means too lame for adventurous teens.[/quote']

 

lol! OK it's not lame, but how many times are you going to ride a 30 second drop slide in 7 days (if you were so inclined to do so?) on your own? Once a day, twice a day, Once and again the next sea day?

Racing someone would increase that probability IMO. Timed drops!

 

 

ex techie

[Ex techie]

There is lots of room for improvement on the newer ships. In fairness' date=' I think that some things don't always turn out the way the Imagineer's picture them. For instance, the concept of a teen pool is nice...but it means that it is either closed or they need 2 CMs in the area. It is closed way too often IMHO.

 

There are a few improvements on the Fantasy, but those don't involve the older teens.

 

I guess it's easy to second guess when we see how things really work out.[/quote']

 

NOPE!

They ran with their idea's thinking they were the best in the world at Imagineering EVERYTHING for EVERYONE.

These "Imagineers" are from the parks. And think about the way the parks work. The family is all together all the time, so we have to accommodate the whole family and everyone has to enjoy this or it doesn't work. Not the same for DCL.

Joe is a figure head for DCL Imagineering.

 

How about DCL actually interview every YAC onboard DCL about what they think should be on the next gen ships?

How about they make THEM consultants as to how the spaces should work and involve them in every step of the design process?

How about they consult the Dining Room Managers, Servers, Assistant Servers on the design of the Dining room and layout and involve them through every step of the design process?

Same for Engine and Marine, Shipwide Technical, House Keeping, Guest Services, IT etc etc etc.

Maybe that would remove a lot of the room for improvement on the ship 2.0 that they have to undertake and make things smoother and better?

NOPE. It pretty much all has to be imagined by them and designed by them only.

What do the people on the ship know anyway?! lol!

 

Plus the fact the next gen ships are already designed, signed off and well.....

 

Again not aimed at you at all Moki'smommy!

 

ex techie

Edited January 5, 2015 by Ex techie

[moki'smommy]

Completely agree--the people who work the ships on a day to day basis should KNOW what is needed and have the chance for input during the early design process!

 

But even there, you get the question of who should be consulted. IMHO, it should be the day to day workers, perhaps with a certain amount of tenure on the line. In reality, IF they would talk to anyone, it would be management level. Sorry, those aren't the people who have to use the system!

 

But we will not change the world, so.....life goes on.

 

Personally, I'd like to see construction/implementation such that there would be no logical way that a kid could traverse the adult only areas. I mean, I can't get into kid only areas...why should kids be in adult only areas?

[Ex techie]

Completely agree--the people who work the ships on a day to day basis should KNOW what is needed and have the chance for input during the early design process!

 

But even there' date=' you get the question of who should be consulted. IMHO, it should be the day to day workers, perhaps with a certain amount of tenure on the line. In reality, IF they would talk to anyone, it would be management level. Sorry, those aren't the people who have to use the system!

 

But we will not change the world, so.....life goes on.

 

Personally, I'd like to see construction/implementation such that there would be no logical way that a kid could traverse the adult only areas. I mean, I can't get into kid only areas...why should kids be in adult only areas?[/quote']

 

I absolutely agree. Should have been worked out better and could have been worked out better!

 

This article I read yesterday made me vomit a little (sorry have a protein spill ;) ), and smile (because he has done a lot of good to drag Disney up again), about how Iger has pioneered the tech for both WDW, WDL, DCL and everything Disney owned company, whilst promoting shifting the decision-making power away from a central strategic planning division toward the individual business units. The change enabled each division to devise its own strategy.

http://fortune.com/2014/12/29/disney-ceo-bob-iger-empire-of-tech/

 

If only the Park's would allow DCL to be a completely separate entity. Control itself and have its own "imagineers" without them being centralized and only focused on that one business unit. Obviously consult with them, share tech and knowledge as well. But have specialists that know how a cruise line works.

Then DCL could get back to creating greater ships for all ages, more cost effective for the line, better suited to the whole market, with specialists like YAC's consulting, and not paying B2B costs at extortionate rates, blah blah blah. lol!

 

ex techie

[holula]

We have 2 older teens (16 and 19), do you think that they will have a good time on the either the Magic or Fantasy out of Port Canaveral? The perception is that it is for the younger crowd and wondered if that is perception or reality? We have been on the RCI line of boats (Freedom and Oasis class) the past 5 years and have had a great time because they find a good group of teens there age and are able to form relationships from there. Just not sure if that can happen or does happen on the Disney cruises.

 

I want to try Disney because I know the food is great and customer service would be also first class.

 

Honestly I think after Freedom and Oasis class ships then your teens would be disappointed with the limited range of activities on Disney. The adult section on Disney is 18+, so your 16 year old wouldn't be allowed in there. Same with Palo, or the adult shows at night. I don't have any experience with the teen clubs but there always seem to be groups of teens on board hanging out in the stairwells.

 

I found the MDR food marginally better on Disney and the buffet marginally better on Royal. Overall it's very similar. We have had great and not so great MDR teams over our nine Disney cruises. Customer service recently on Disney has been VERY hit and miss for us. It's not even the same as when we started cruising Disney three years ago.