Cruising with a 13yr old

[jessMN74]

First time cruiser here. We are taking a Carnival Magic cruise for 7 days. My son will be 13 (well behaved). My question is for other parents with children this age. When your on the ship do you let your children freely do what they want? Where do they keep there room key, especially when they are swimming? Do you have check in times? I know that I am a little more protective then some parents but I am having a hard time thinking that parents just let there children do as they want even at 13. Any advice would be really helpful.

 

Thank you

[teknoge3k]

Oh this topic will yield some fun responses. ;)

 

On our last cruise my son was 12 and was allowed to roam the ship at will. He met a lot of friends and had a great time. I think he set up camp somewhere between the ice cream serving station and the pizza parlor. Typically at home he would sleep until noon and stay up late at night. On the ship, he'd come in about 11-12 at night and then be ready to go back with his friends by 9am. He had so much fun and enjoyed every minute of himself. There were tons of kids younger than him doing their own thing and they seemed to all well behaved.

 

As far as the sail & sign card, his swim trunks have pockets so he just kept his card in his pocket.

[Tiger0613]

I took my first cruise in 2002 when I was 13. My parents allowed me to check myself in and out of the kids program. I roamed around on my own, but I also hung out with my parents. I had the soda card(a separate card back then) and went up to bars on my own. I played bingo by myself. I got in bed sometime after 10:00pm(a time or two after midnight).

 

I swam alot(got a nasty skin peeling sunburn on my nose). I just hid my card in my shoes under my towel. I looked over at it every so often to make sure it was still there. I didn't have a lanyard.

 

I was always ahead of my classmates in terms of size and intellectual maturity(behind them emotionally). I was never the type to be a menace.

 

The 90s and early 2000s were a different time. Parents weren't as overprotective(not that there is anything wrong with that). My parents were apparently comfortable with giving me more freedom.

[Cruisegirl6]

My children were under the age of 8 when they first cruised. I would always chosen a deck on a higher floor at that time the ships had less decks but I made sure they never needed to go "below our deck" as I didn't want them on any deck with no public areas.

I had them study the ships deck plans, when we board I would put them somewhere and tell them to go back to their cabin and I timed them to see if they arrived at the cabin in a timely matter, they always did lol....I made sure they knew how to navigate around without going up to people asking for help, but should an emergency arise, to go right to their muster stations TOGETHER and wait for me there and never to use the staircase in case of a fire.

 

Yes, I would have check in times, I would keep a pad on the desk and have them check in every hour or whatever I told them and they would write their name and the time. At night I left them in their room to sleep with strict instructions to NEVER open the door for anybody regardless even if it were the captain unless an emergency, again, go together to the muster station and use the staircase. My husband and I would take turns checking on them every hour.

 

At the age of 13 I had them checking in every two hours instead of every hour and we still took turns checking on the children....at the age of 14 they were basically knowledge cruisers so I didn't do the check in thing knowing they were experienced and older and knew what to do in emergencies.

[kctwinmommy]

Yes, we do the same as what others have said so far. You'll get a variety of responses for sure though. Our son was given the rules before we left. And he's done 2 cruises with another family who has a son around his age, so he had someone to start the cruise hanging out with, but they also did their own things too. And then he's been on 1 where it was just our family (from the age of 12-13). He liked to get to the camp in the day, check in, see who was around. Then they would sometimes play the video games there for awhile, then go eat, roam around, etc... I was usually on the deck, sunning, etc... and I'd usually see him pass by a few times during the day. He pretty much knew where we would be (we tend to find a spot to hang and go there every day, or close by). But then he had to be back in our room at a certain time to get ready for dinner (and camps close at this time anyway) and then he had to be back when the camp closed at night (sometimes midnight, sometimes 1 a.m.). For us, on the Caribbean cruises it's a pretty loose vacation for us, we're not doing much anyway. Our one cruise to Alaska though, he had to be back earlier since we were getting up early for excursions.

 

I just think you need to make sure your child knows what you expect and what the consequences will be. I've really not had any problems with the kids around the ship. Even on Alaska, where there was a very large high school group of kids! Oh, and make sure you tell him where he can and can't go (other kids rooms for example). We trust our son and he's earned that trust so he knows what he should and shouldn't do.

[cb at sea]

At that age, I'd have frequent "physical" check ins......I wouldn't allow my child to go all day without me seeing them, and getting their plans for the next couple hours.

I would have them check with me whenever plans changed....so tell them where you'll be, so they can come and find you and update you!

[ranblaise]

I mean this as my own personal opinion and not an indictment of anyone else's so please don't attack. I do understand that kids like some space and down time from parents and the "organized fun". However, I go on vacation with my children to be with my children. We spend so much of our daily lives split up between work, school, dance class, lacrosse, gymnastics, friends, etc that we relish this uninterrupted time together. My DD's are 17 and 12, so I will feel a bit more comfortable with them traveling around the ship together, but I definitely wouldn't be ok with my 12 year old being on her own with kids whose parents I don't know. Both have indicated that they are uninterested in the kids' club primarily because they would be split up due to age. That may change as the cruise progresses. My kids are well behaved and respectful, but even I'm not naive enough to believe that they are angels 100% when Mom and Dad aren't watching (long time middle school teacher!).

[packer99]

My son was 11 when we went on our 1st cruise. He had a cell phone and used the IConceriage app so we could communicate on the ship. He wasn't gone all day. A trip to the arcade, or the ropes course, down the slide. (we were on the escape) I have to say though my son is extremely responsible and his a boy scout so he knows what he can and can't do. He always knew where to find us and we knew where to find him.

[Drazil65]

My son is 14 now and has been cruising since he was a toddler, he mostly stays with us truthfully on many of our cruises (we cruise once or twice a year, Christmas time always). This past December on the Magic was the first time we let him go off with friends after dinner and comedy club, we had to meet the parents of the 2 kids he was hanging out with (we were able to meet them one day near the water slides) and get their last name and cabin number. He had to check in physically every 90 mins at a predetermined area, then we (or one of us if the other was saving a seat for the other) met him in our cabin at midnight. On sea days it was off and on where he would meet up with those same friends at the water slides or ropes course (basketball court was also popular) but he would have the same check in schedule of every 90 minutes.

 

Midnight was curfew for him, it worked well for us as a family but truthfully on port days he was too tired by time we got out of the PG/family comedy club and wanted to go back to cabin. Our son is not typically a late night kid anyway so just staying out and up until midnight on sea days was a stretch for him. He no longer likes to go to the kid clubs but he has no issue with finding kids to hang with on the sports deck near the chess/golf/basketball court.

 

Remember, your kid may be mature and a good kid but you really do not know these other kids and how they grew up so if they get into some trouble on board your kid will be in the mix as well. Do what feels right for you and your family.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Drazil65

[Smithkids5521]

First time cruiser here. We are taking a Carnival Magic cruise for 7 days. My son will be 13 (well behaved). My question is for other parents with children this age. When your on the ship do you let your children freely do what they want? Where do they keep there room key, especially when they are swimming? Do you have check in times? I know that I am a little more protective then some parents but I am having a hard time thinking that parents just let there children do as they want even at 13. Any advice would be really helpful.

 

Thank you

 

Roam freely... but with limits. Our rules are the same (basically) as they are while at home. If my son walks to his friends house- he lets me know he's leaving, checks in when he gets there and when he'll be home, he's not allowed to go into someone's house if their parents aren't home, etc. While on board rules will be similar- if he is going somewhere he is to let us know where he's going and we will determine what time he should be back. If plans change, he is to let us know his new plans. No going into anyone's cabin, etc.

At his age they basically float between lido, club O2 to play video games and the sports deck to play basketball, mini golf, ping pong, etc. Water slides too but our next cruise is Alaska so it may be too chilly for water slides or pool.

 

With the new chat feature on the HUB app it's super easy to stay in touch. Olden days (LOL!) we had to bring walkie talkies from home to use so the kids could check in. Now he can just text me through HUB and let me know if plans change.

 

You said your son is very well behaved so just set boundaries that you are ok with (like no going into cabins, must stay with group- no walking alone around the ship, etc.). Enjoy your cruise!! :D

[bralli]

It's a little different for me because my teens are daughters (now 13 and 16), but I DO let them roam as long as they stay together. The last time we cruised, we did let my oldest who was 14 at the time roam but honestly, it was a little stressful. We had her check in regularly. They didn't have the wifi app back then, so there was one time she blew us off and I had to scour the ship to find her.

[jessMN74]

Thank you so much everyone for all the tips and great advice!

[johno1234]

We took 3 - 16yo B, 12 yo G and 10yo B last month. Our girl made a group of friends in the CircleC club on the first day. After that we hardly saw her! The boys were a bit less social and hung around with us about 1/2 the time and hung out with other kids the rest.

 

We found the ship to be a very safe environment with plenty of things for the kids to do.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I think it depends on how "worldly", mature and "popular" (yuck I know) your 13-yr old is, but definitely get them into the kids club early the first night. My daughter has been traveling (Europe mostly) since age 6, but was 13 when we went on our first cruise four years ago. She was an avid cruiser from day one and it's somewhat disheartening when she exclaims she wants a cruise over a trip to Italy, but it really makes her happy. I went in to our first cruise thinking we would try it, and maybe do it once a year if we like it... also thinking we would be doing a lot together every day. But by day two she begged if she could just join me for the excursion/in port and have dinner together, and on sea days she'd do dinner and one funship activity with me each day. Never saw this kid get up so enthusiastically, so early every morning, texting new found friends. One she met lives in Brooklyn and we spent the next Christmas in Manhattan - that 14-yr old trained from south Brooklyn to mid-town Manhattan by herself and picked up my daughter for a sleepover.

 

Once in the kids club, they will gravitate to other kids like them.

 

We didn't do check in times because we both had the internet plan so we could communicate.

 

Mine keeps her room key/sail and sign in her little purse, or on her lanyard if she's swimming.