Club O2 Experience w/ 18yr old in high school

[bryanbusch12]

This past spring break, I took my son and his best friend on a spring break cruise to celebrate them wrapping up their senior year. My son was still 17 for a few months at the time but his friend had just turned 18 a week before the cruise which proved to be an interesting dilemma. My son had always enjoyed the teen clubs on past cruises and was going to be heartbroken if he couldn't on his final cruise before he was out of the age group. So, on the first day during the time people were registering their children, we took them up and decided to have a chat with the director in their over just having them sneak in. We were able to pretty easily reason with the director to let them both participate for the week, which made my son very happy. Afterward, I learned from my son that most of the people in there had just snuck in any way with the director not seeming to care. 

 

To make a long story short, cruising with an 18-year-old still in high school provides an interesting situation. However, with the right circumstances such as with my son and his friend you should have no trouble getting them into the Club O2 depending on the director. 

[1025cruise]

You got lucky. I'm actually surprised that the director would sneak an 18 year old in. Its 100% a legal issue.

[michiganredrose]

We had the same dilemma when I took my son and his best friend on a cruise and they absolutely would not let his best friend in. They ended up hanging out outside Club O2 and making friends that way. So, it is very much up to the discretion of the director. 

[nybumpkin]

In 2014 our middle son was 18 and entering his senior year of high school (as we said, he liked 5th grade he did it twice). We had two cruises booked, one an Alaska cruise and the other a Western Caribbean cruise. (We booked the Alaska trip a year earlier, and then I just couldn't bear the thought of a summer with no beach.) He knew Club O2 wouldn't be happening, but on the Alaska cruise he ended up meeting some of the high school kids who were in Club O2 - and they asked the Club O2 director if son could join them. It took some paperwork, but it worked out.  What helped was (a) son had his high school ID and (b) Club O2 wasn't crowded.  It was a completely different story on the Caribbean cruise - I don't think he even hung out with any Club O2 kids.

[dcgrumpy]

Thanks. We'll be on Magic next month with my 18yo high school senior. I guess it can't hurt to ask. We have 3 other teens in our group so I told him hopefully he could meet kids to hang out with through them.

[Elaine5715]

Pretty sure the parents of the 15 yrs won't be thrilled that crew are allowing 18 yr men in to the Teen club.

[bryanbusch12]

9 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Pretty sure the parents of the 15 yrs won't be thrilled that crew are allowing 18 yr men in to the Teen club.

 

I mean if the 15-year-old is in high school they come into contact with 18-year-olds all the time. It all requires the diligence of the parents on both sides to make sure their children are making smart decisions. 

[ShakyBeef]

One more reason my minor daughters won't be going back to the "teen clubs".  Eighteen-year-olds don't belong in there. Period. 

[ShakyBeef]

5 minutes ago, bryanbusch12 said:

 

I mean if the 15-year-old is in high school they come into contact with 18-year-olds all the time. It all requires the diligence of the parents on both sides to make sure their children are making smart decisions. 

 

It's not a "high school student club" it's a "15 - 17-year-old club". There was a 27-year-old in my senior class back in HS.  By your justification, she would be allowed in the teen club.

Edited January 6, 2019 by ShakyBeef
hyphen missing

[Elaine5715]

Same argument that people use to justify their kids should be on Serenity.  The posted rules about age don't apply to them.  It is also risky for the 18 yrs because there is alot of pairing off in the teen group. 

[Elaine5715]

14 minutes ago, bryanbusch12 said:

 

I mean if the 15-year-old is in high school they come into contact with 18-year-olds all the time. It all requires the diligence of the parents on both sides to make sure their children are making smart decisions. 

The parents should be apply to trust that the posted ages are checked and enforced.  The parents trust underage kids will not be permitted to purchase alcohol, to enter the dance hall or to gamble and those are enforced.  Yet, the one area reserved just for 15-17 yrs, hey let's ignore that policy.  

[bryanbusch12]

This is all why if I had the chance again I'd probably not cruise with an 18-year-old in high school, it's just an awkward time to bring them. Stuck in between young adulthood and high school life. 

 

I am just glad it worked out for my son and he had a great time and no major issues happened from the directors leniency 

[MomtoCCC]

I would not object if they are still in high school.  Like a previous poster said, they are all in high school anyway.  They should just make the club for high school students (18 and younger).  If person is in college then they are not able to attend.  A valid high school id should be shown.

[bryanbusch12]

12 minutes ago, MomtoCCC said:

I would not object if they are still in high school.  Like a previous poster said, they are all in high school anyway.  They should just make the club for high school students (18 and younger).  If person is in college then they are not able to attend.  A valid high school id should be shown.

I think this would be a good system, possibly the 18yr olds should have to provide a GPA or something else to prove their good nature. 

[3smithboys]

My son would have fallen into this category exactly. He’s an August birthday and turned 18 right before his senior year of high school. He’s a great kid, an honors student, and specifically said he did not want to go on a cruise that year because he would have no where to hang out.

 

He loved the friends he made in the clubs (even went to FL when he was visiting colleges and visited a friend he made on one of our cruises) and even though these kids would be the same age as the kids he would be going to school with in a few weeks, he wouldn’t be allowed to hang out with them. 

[ShakyBeef]

2 minutes ago, 3smithboys said:

My son would have fallen into this category exactly. He’s an August birthday and turned 18 right before his senior year of high school. He’s a great kid, an honors student, and specifically said he did not want to go on a cruise that year because he would have no where to hang out.

 

He loved the friends he made in the clubs (even went to FL when he was visiting colleges and visited a friend he made on one of our cruises) and even though these kids would be the same age as the kids he would be going to school with in a few weeks, he wouldn’t be allowed to hang out with them. 

 

He'd be allowed to hang out with them, just not within the confines of the teen club.  The teen club is age-based, not student status-based.  I understand and sympathize with the plight of that awkward 18-20-year-old age group on a cruise.  But breaking the rules of the kids club should not be a way of dealing with it.  Cruising with extended family or friends might be a good choice - built-in cruise friends for the 18-yr-old.

[3smithboys]

4 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

He'd be allowed to hang out with them, just not within the confines of the teen club.  The teen club is age-based, not student status-based.  I understand and sympathize with the plight of that awkward 18-20-year-old age group on a cruise.  But breaking the rules of the kids club should not be a way of dealing with it.  Cruising with extended family or friends might be a good choice - built-in cruise friends for the 18-yr-old.

In our cruising experience the kids tend to make friends by meeting each other the first night in the club. After that, they either hang out there or around the ship. We didn’t have any one else to cruise with that would be in his age group, so we just chose to do something else. It’s was fine; I wasn’t complaining, just sharing that we were in the same boat with another poster. We chose not to cruise because he aged out of the club.

 

Now we are going on a summer cruise to celebrate his 21st birthday, and his brothers are 16 so they are still ok for the club.

[Super27]

If the cruise is an "awkward" experience for your 18 year old, just teach them to gamble. The beauty of international waters is the casino age is 18, not 21. Once they are flush with cash from the blackjack table, I can promise you they won't miss Circle C.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Pretty sure the parents of the 15 yrs won't be thrilled that crew are allowing 18 yr men in to the Teen club.

 

 

Are you saying a 17 year old is a boy and an 18 is a man? I truly believe it is how the "child" was raised. I have seen 17 year olds way more mature than an 18 year old. 

[bryanbusch12]

This is all quite the topic, I don’t think carnival should have trashed the 18-20 year old program that they started. Could save them from a lot of issues like this

[dcgrumpy]

5 minutes ago, Super27 said:

If the cruise is an "awkward" experience for your 18 year old, just teach them to gamble. The beauty of international waters is the casino age is 18, not 21. Once they are flush with cash from the blackjack table, I can promise you they won't miss Circle C.

My son spent enough in the arcade 2 months ago when he was still 17.  He'll be 18 next on our cruise next month. I already told him he better not go near the casino, since he doesn't have a job. LOL

[coevan]

or just allow 18 year olds to drink, they are not guided by any laws other than Maritime. They can drink in any of the ports.

[ShakyBeef]

10 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

Are you saying a 17 year old is a boy and an 18 is a man? I truly believe it is how the "child" was raised. I have seen 17 year olds way more mature than an 18 year old. 

 

Legally, in most states in the U.S., anyway, yes:  "a 17 year old is a boy and an 18 is a man".

 

Eighteen is the Age of Majority in 47 of the 50 United States.

 

Age of Majority is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over them. Most countries set the age of majority at 18.

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by ShakyBeef

[coevan]

doesn't have anything to do with the level of maturity. This thread is not about legality. 

[sanmarcosman]

14 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

Are you saying a 17 year old is a boy and an 18 is a man? I truly believe it is how the "child" was raised. I have seen 17 year olds way more mature than an 18 year old. 

Maturity and legal age for an adult are not the same thing. In this case it is not about law, it's about their rules and how they bend/break them.

Edited January 6, 2019 by sanmarcosman