Teens getting bored on ship

[MaiTaiMary]

How do you keep your teens from getting board on a ship that doesn't have a lot for kids to do?

 

My kids are 11, 12, and 14. They aren't big into the kids clubs, but I'm sure they will give them a try. No waterslides or bells & whistles on this ship. (NCL Star)

[cb at sea]

The 11 and 12 year old are the perfect age for the clubs....they will meet other kids their age, and probably want to hang out with them! Same with the 14 year old, as far as finding friends goes....kids that age aren't usually into the clubs much!

 

Have them bring a good book, if they are prone to boredom. I'm betting you won't have an issue, tho.

[Ashland]

How do you keep your teens from getting board on a ship that doesn't have a lot for kids to do?

 

My kids are 11, 12, and 14. They aren't big into the kids clubs, but I'm sure they will give them a try. No waterslides or bells & whistles on this ship. (NCL Star)

Sail on a ship that does like RCI...Your kids will tire out from the activities offered on most of their ships.

[kitkat343]

I was on the Star with a 3 year old, and he loved it because he was happy with the kids clubs. I'd have to agree with you that there isn't as much for older kids on board as other lines. Try to encourage your kids to go to the kids clubs on the opening night/first days just so they can meet other kids their age. If they can explore the ship with kids their age, they'll find ways to have fun if the kids club doesn't work out for them. What is your itinerary? If it is a heavy port itinerary with fewer sea days and they make friends on the ship, I think you'll all have a nice time.

[MaiTaiMary]

Sail on a ship that does like RCI...Your kids will tire out from the activities offered on most of their ships.

Of course. We already have our cruise booked on NCL, though.

[mjkacmom]

Sail on a ship that does like RCI...Your kids will tire out from the activities offered on most of their ships.

NCL has mega ships that are packed with bells and whistles too, the lines are very similar. OP, have your kids go to the clubs the first night, especially the 14 year old. All of my kids loved going to the teen club and always made friends the first night. Tweens are harder, none of my kids liked any tween club, but have them go anyway to meet other kids. At that age my kids just hung out at the pool, buffet, and sports court, and were rarely bored.

[A&Jfamily]

Honestly, I have never worried about if my kids were bored; the clubs are there if they want to use them (and they do). If at their age they can’t self entertain I am sure as heck not going to worry about it. It’s a skill they need to develop and what better place than a cruise?

 

 

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[Ashland]

NCL has mega ships that are packed with bells and whistles too, the lines are very similar. OP, have your kids go to the clubs the first night, especially the 14 year old. All of my kids loved going to the teen club and always made friends the first night. Tweens are harder, none of my kids liked any tween club, but have them go anyway to meet other kids. At that age my kids just hung out at the pool, buffet, and sports court, and were rarely bored.

In response to you quoting my post....

 

The OP clearly stated that their "not" sailing on a NCL mega ship...No harm in my suggesting RCI for a future consideration.

[mjkacmom]

In response to you quoting my post....

 

The OP clearly stated that their "not" sailing on a NCL mega ship...No harm in my suggesting RCI for a future consideration.

My point was that NCL also has mega ships as well, the fact that the Star is older and smaller is not a NCL issue, NCL, RCI and Carnival all have huge ships with tons to do, and smaller older ships without bells and whistles.

[onthelake]

There are the kid’s clubs but there is also shuffle board, ping pong, the pool, pizza, sleeping in, firiends, the sports court, buffet, . . . They will find plenty to do and friends to do it with. Really, it is only sea days that they will need to be occupied so it will not be a problem.

[UnorigionalName]

when I was that age I was dragged on a couple of cruises. Back then there were even less things for kids. I hated it. Got super bored. Knew I would be bored, brought lots of books, and yes, got super bored. Put me off cruising for a loooooooong time. I also hate making friends, especially if it's for like one week, too much hassle.

 

Bribe them with some Nintendo switches or something.

[HOSKI]

Just a suggestion but could you set up a scavenger hunt for them? You could do a few throughout the cruise. Also I see something about a murder mystery cruise for that ship. There is an arcade where they will meet other kids. There are games in the teen club they could hang out together in there. There may be board games in the library and don't forget the pools.

[arlodog]

Our kids were middle school when we took our first cruise.  They didn't like the kids club and never went.  They enjoyed spending time with us  or just exploring the ship  We just made it a rule that if they weren't with us they had to stick together.  They would go to the arcade (they had a spending limit each day) or swam in the pool on sea days. There is still things to see and do outside of the kids clubs on board.  They loved having the freedom to explore.   In port we just picked things for the family to do together. 

Some things they liked more than others.  We always tried to infuse a bit of culture and history in our vacations--it was fun as they got older because they could understand and speak to what they had seen.  They must have enjoyed it because they are both grown up and still want to come with us!  Next month we are taking our granddaughter on a cruise with us.  She can't wait.  We have great family memories of our vacations together.  We didn't worry about them being bored.  They were lucky enough to go on a cruise.  A privilege not given to everyone!  

[1964IceCreamLady]

We sailed Holland America last summer.  It has a reputation for being for old people.  My 3 teens had a BLAST.  They went to the teen club (HAL’s is The Loft) and played video games and made friends.  They also loved the freedom of all the food choices at all hours.  They hot tubbed and just ran around without having to ask for permission.  We only had 2 sea days.  In fact, they had wished there were more time on the ship.  They did not miss their phones.   Good luck!  

[NikkiDee-Canada]

Those ages are hard for NCL. The 11 and 12 year old will end up in Splash Academy, and it really caters more to the younger kids. My 12 year old was in it last December, and went once and was done with it. My oldest was 14, and was in their Entourage club which was much more appealing. We barely saw her on sea days, once she connected with a few kids. She absolutely loved cruising. It was all about the social aspect for her (and she's a total introvert, really came out of her shell!)

 

My 12 year old is a foodie, so he entertained himself by checking into the restaurants and getting very experimental with food. He'd try anything, lol. Other than that, he spent a lot of time with us and our youngest in the pools and hot tubs, we played a TON of mini golf, and we'd check the dailies for any interesting mini events or shows going on. He'd keep an eye on the kid club dailies to see if there were any activities he could try out. But the biggest issue for him was that he never did connect with any other kids his age, on that cruise. I found that really makes or breaks the experience for the kids. They roam around in packs, and find their own fun.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, NikkiDee-Canada said:

Those ages are hard for NCL. The 11 and 12 year old will end up in Splash Academy, and it really caters more to the younger kids. My 12 year old was in it last December, and went once and was done with it. My oldest was 14, and was in their Entourage club which was much more appealing. We barely saw her on sea days, once she connected with a few kids. She absolutely loved cruising. It was all about the social aspect for her (and she's a total introvert, really came out of her shell!)

 

My 12 year old is a foodie, so he entertained himself by checking into the restaurants and getting very experimental with food. He'd try anything, lol. Other than that, he spent a lot of time with us and our youngest in the pools and hot tubs, we played a TON of mini golf, and we'd check the dailies for any interesting mini events or shows going on. He'd keep an eye on the kid club dailies to see if there were any activities he could try out. But the biggest issue for him was that he never did connect with any other kids his age, on that cruise. I found that really makes or breaks the experience for the kids. They roam around in packs, and find their own fun.

I agree those ages are hard, but I don’t blame the clubs (10 - 12, a short span), it’s the awkward age. All 5 of my kids tried the clubs at that age, all declined to go back (some outgoing, some shy). All were fine in the younger and older clubs. As long as they have someone to hang out with, it’s all good.

[KittyloverCA]

This summer my son was almost 14 and once he got up the courage o go he spent almost every free minute in he teen club, he learned to play poker p, did some various tournaments and played video games. My 10 yo, however, refused to go to the club for her age. However, on our cruise we were hardly ever on the ship as we only had 2 sea days out of 9 days

[plaz70]

My kids haven't always enjoyed the kids club.  Especially as tweens.  They go a few times to make friends.  My boys spend a lot of time at the sports court with their new friends and my daughter likes to go to arts & crafts, shows, music trivia and sometimes dresses up and goes to dinner in the MDR with her new friends.

[1025cruise]

And you felt it necessary to pull a thread that is almost a year old to say this? I assume by now the OP has already sailed.

[plaz70]

6 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

And you felt it necessary to pull a thread that is almost a year old to say this? I assume by now the OP has already sailed.

We are hopefully about to go on a cruise that was booked a year in advance.  People sometimes do that.  I've been battling cancer for the past year and looking forward to a break (if my doctors agree it's ok to go).  We can't always know other's situation and there's no need to get sarcastic.

[MississippiMom]

Last Spring Break, we went on a multi-generational family cruise.  I was surprised that two of my nephews, ages 8 & 10, had no interest in the kids’ club.  They went a couple of times, at first, but it wasn’t their thing.  I know they both loved the freedom of making their own selections at the breakfast buffets, the constant availability of pizza and soft-serve ice cream, and family sit-down meals in the dining room.  The ship we were on had a “library” where you could find board games to play, which they took full advantage of, and different family members would take time to play with them.  The ship played lots of college basketball games in their all-ages sports bar, so the nephews & their dad watched several games there.  In the evenings, they would often attend the live productions with their parents.  And, of course, there was swimming in the ship pool.  I know they did bring a couple of books, but I’m pretty certain they never opened them on the ship.  Those boys stayed busy.

 

The boys stayed so busy that they never even had a chance to watch movies on the big outdoor screen, even though there were several that were kid friendly.

Edited October 24, 2019 by MississippiMom
Forgot to add . . .

[mjmalino]

We have almost always cruised Princess and my kids were never really bored. When they were younger they really enjoyed the kids camp. As teens, my older one would go to it to find friends and then branch out while my younger one would close the teen center down.

[MississippiMom]

On 10/6/2019 at 7:43 AM, 1025cruise said:

And you felt it necessary to pull a thread that is almost a year old to say this? I assume by now the OP has already sailed.

I’m not the OP, nor the person you directed this comment toward.  I am looking for threads related to family cruising, and a 2018 thread is still applicable for my research.  Sometimes older threads have great information in them.

[eddietusox]

On 10/6/2019 at 1:43 PM, 1025cruise said:

And you felt it necessary to pull a thread that is almost a year old to say this? I assume by now the OP has already sailed.

I love forum banter - such fun

[cmp03]

On 9/29/2018 at 10:26 AM, MaiTaiMary said:

How do you keep your teens from getting board on a ship that doesn't have a lot for kids to do?

 

My kids are 11, 12, and 14. They aren't big into the kids clubs, but I'm sure they will give them a try. No waterslides or bells & whistles on this ship. (NCL Star)

My daughter was never a fan of the kids club when she was younger - would refuse to go (on Disney, Princess, or Carnival) but we took her on a cruise last year when she was 11 (almost 12) and requested if she could be in the 12-14 yr old age group club which they did without any issues (instead of the 9-11 yr old group).  I "made" her go the first night during the meet and great they had but she made friends with some of the kids then had a blast meeting them throughout the week to do things.  Both club things (like movie night, smoothies, scavenger hunts) or just meeting them to go to arcade or walk around ships. 

So I would just recommend "making" them go to the meet and greet that's offered at the beginning of the cruise (if they do one) and maybe they will make some friends and have more fun than expected.