Club O2 Experience w/ 18yr old in high school

[MidWestChill]

I have a 15 year old with autism that I was hoping we could put into circle c with his siblings.  Now I'm quite worried.   I had no idea it would be SUCH a big deal to others.    Circle C would be a much better fit for him.

 

I also agree that 18 in high school verses 18 and in college can have a big difference and that should be accounted for.

[bryanbusch12]

It’s usually not a big deal at all on the ship, other parents are not involved. It all is just up to the director if the person is allowed to participate. I also experienced this age leniency in circle c where my son was a few months younger but was allowed in to be with sister.  

[ShakyBeef]

11 minutes ago, coevan said:

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

 

Nor is it about maturity.  It's about 18-year-olds in the 15-17-year-olds club. "Maturity" is not any more on topic than is "legality".

[jsglow]

We purposefully took a cruise just before our oldest turned 18 largely so she could enjoy O2 one more time.  Certainly the director 'can' exercise discretion but no parent should ever expect it.  Historically, 18 was a pretty strict deadline.

[ShakyBeef]

2 minutes ago, bryanbusch12 said:

It’s usually not a big deal at all on the ship, other parents are not involved. It all is just up to the director if the person is allowed to participate. I also experienced this age leniency in circle c where my son was a few months younger but was allowed in to be with sister.  

 

And that right there is an issue: the rule-following parent who allows her 15-year-old child to go to the 15-17-yr-old club should be able to trust that 18-yr-old adults are not allowed in the club - that Carnival will enforce their own rule. 

 

But since some parents of said 18-yr-olds don't think the rules should apply to their offspring, and "other parents are not involved" (because those other parents are not informed of the rule-breaking adults getting into the kids club), the kids club is not necessarily the environment and experience it is touted to be.

 

One more example of "the rules don't apply to me and mine".

[dcgrumpy]

5 minutes ago, jsglow said:

We purposefully took a cruise just before our oldest turned 18 largely so she could enjoy O2 one more time.  Certainly the director 'can' exercise discretion but no parent should ever expect it.  Historically, 18 was a pretty strict deadline.

That's what we did. We sailed on Allure of the Seas 2 weeks before my son's 18th birthday. Our upcoming cruise is a "bonus cruise". My sister was going and invited us along. 

[bryanbusch12]

I was much happier having my son and his friend in O2 rather than wandering around the ship aimlessly or even worse hanging around drunk people many years older than them

[Elaine5715]

4 hours ago, bryanbusch12 said:

I was much happier having my son and his friend in O2 rather than wandering around the ship aimlessly or even worse hanging around drunk people many years older than them

Considering any 18 yr old can return from most ports drunk and hook up with an 15 yr old girl.  

[jessbp]

This would never happen in Australia, where 18 year olds can legally purchase and consume alcohol. 

 

I love how people are all quick to accuse the 18 year old of being a rapist though. Your 15 year old could just as easily be raped by another 15 year old- ‘becoming an adult’ doesn’t suddenly make people a dangerous predator. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by jessbp

[fuddrules]

 

10 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

But since some parents of said 18-yr-olds don't think the rules should apply to their offspring, and "other parents are not involved" (because those other parents are not informed of the rule-breaking adults getting into the kids club), the kids club is not necessarily the environment and experience it is touted to be.

 

 

For the record, I don’t think they should apply to my 17 and 19 year old either, just sayin.  

[fuddrules]

6 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Considering any 18 yr old can return from most ports drunk and hook up with an 15 yr old girl.  

 

Club O2 wouldn’t/doesn’t stop this.     Club O2 is just one relatively small room.  Far more teen activities happen outside the room. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by fuddrules

[fuddrules]

4 hours ago, jessbp said:

 

I love how people are all quick to accuse the 18 year old of being a rapist though. Y

 

 The whole 18 year old (USA thing) is now a legal adult is for the most part, a myth.  Not much changes at 18.  

 

Some 17 year olds can vote, my daughter did. 

You can drive at 16, exceptions (younger) for big farm equipment 

You can drink at 21, with a ton of exceptions.     My 16 year old could drink with me in a restaurant in some states.  

In some cases you can join military at 17

Legally charged as an adult far younger than 18

 

It’s an endless list, with tons of exceptions, but Carnival must toe the line exactly.  

 

 

Edited January 7, 2019 by fuddrules

[Jenjer]

My 17 YO (HS junior)who FYI started college at 15 (so she is a college sophomore) and has never been raped. Do you really think that's going to happen if your 15 YO is hanging out with 18 yo? Is looking forward to her last year in Teen club.

 

It would be nice if the ships had a young adult meets ups and activities for 18-20 yo.

 

 

[jsglow]

2 minutes ago, Jenjer said:

My 17 YO (HS junior)who FYI started college at 15 (so she is a college sophomore) and has never been raped. Do you really think that's going to happen if your 15 YO is hanging out with 18 yo? Is looking forward to her last year in Teen club.

 

It would be nice if the ships had a young adult meets ups and activities for 18-20 yo.

 

 

 

 

So true.  It's really a bit of a gap for Carnival.

[ShakyBeef]

15 minutes ago, Jenjer said:

My 17 YO (HS junior)who FYI started college at 15 (so she is a college sophomore) and has never been raped. Do you really think that's going to happen if your 15 YO is hanging out with 18 yo? Is looking forward to her last year in Teen club.

 

It would be nice if the ships had a young adult meets ups and activities for 18-20 yo.

 

To whom are you speaking? If it is to me: no, I do not think that will happen.  I never even implied anything of the sort.  I said:

 

"But since some parents of said 18-yr-olds don't think the rules should apply to their offspring, and "other parents are not involved" (because those other parents are not informed of the rule-breaking adults getting into the kids club), the kids club is not necessarily the environment and experience it is touted to be. 

 

One more example of "the rules don't apply to me and mine"."

 

BTW, coincidentally, my 16-year-old HS Junior also started taking college classes at age 15, in her Sophomore year of HS.  And I don't think she's going to be raped in her college classes, either.  Or when she's doing Community Theatre productions with people of all ages, etc.  I was never speaking of rape.

 

I would just like to be able to trust that when she is in a Carnival kids club that is restricted to 15- thru 17-year-olds,  that there are indeed only 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds in attendance.  I should have realized, though, that this is not something I can expect when so many believe the rules do not apply to them.  That, because (fill in individual justification here) , their son/daughter should be an exception.

 

 

 

 

[bryanbusch12]

2 hours ago, Jenjer said:

My 17 YO (HS junior)who FYI started college at 15 (so she is a college sophomore) and has never been raped. Do you really think that's going to happen if your 15 YO is hanging out with 18 yo? Is looking forward to her last year in Teen club.

 

It would be nice if the ships had a young adult meets ups and activities for 18-20 yo.

 

 

Carnival had a 18-20 program in 2015 and part of 16 then it was scrapped. They would hold a meetup on the first night and possibly schedule more activities based on interest.

 

A lot of other cruise lines do a 18-20 meetup. The ones who seem to put the most care into it are Disney and princess

[stellarose]

my teens are 2 years apart. I was allowed to let my younger teen "age up" since she was almost at the age for 02. I signed a waiver and she did as well for behavior. she was fine. no worries. 

 

both were glad to be in the same teen group together. 

[Elaine5715]

21 hours 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.

They aren't in their high school.  There is no pre-existing information that lets the younger kids know what kind of reputation the 18 yrs have.  There are also kids well under 17 attending college plus kids who are homeschooled would not have HS ID. 

[Elaine5715]

13 hours ago, jessbp said:

This would never happen in Australia, where 18 year olds can legally purchase and consume alcohol. 

 

I love how people are all quick to accuse the 18 year old of being a rapist though. Your 15 year old could just as easily be raped by another 15 year old- ‘becoming an adult’ doesn’t suddenly make people a dangerous predator. 

Simply kissing between a 15 yr and and 18 yr can result in prosecution.  There have been fisticuffs on Serenity when men have been ogling "the suppose to be 21 yr" in the hot tub and Dad took offense.   

[fuddrules]

8 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Simply kissing between a 15 yr and and 18 yr can result in prosecution.  There have been fisticuffs on Serenity when men have been ogling "the suppose to be 21 yr" in the hot tub and Dad took offense.   

 

Yet according to federal law those two could do the tango (not the dance) and it would be perfectly legal.

[DramaQueen22]

On 1/6/2019 at 5:34 PM, bryanbusch12 said:

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. 

A GPA doesn't prove "good nature"!  I teach in a high school and let me tell you, there are kids who get fantastic grades that are miserable misbehaving brats.  Just as there are kids who get poor grades and are wonderful people.  Silly argument.

[WIFamily]

On our upcoming Magic cruise, my son will turn 18 halfway through the cruise.  We're already prepping him for the possibility that he could be turned away the day he turns 18.   We'll of course talk to the club director to see if he will be able to stay the three final days of the cruise after he's 18, but won't dispute their decision on it.

 

But it has been mentioned here, a lot of times they meet up at the club and then hang out around the ship instead of in the actual club... so it shouldn't be too traumatic for him either way. 

[jsglow]

On 1/7/2019 at 10:34 AM, stellarose said:

my teens are 2 years apart. I was allowed to let my younger teen "age up" since she was almost at the age for 02. I signed a waiver and she did as well for behavior. she was fine. no worries. 

 

both were glad to be in the same teen group together. 

 

 

That's more commonly allowed if the 'age up' isn't too much.  Again, that '18 y/o age of majority thing' is more rigidly adhered to although no deviation from the stated policy should ever be assumed. 

[bnorris10]

On 1/6/2019 at 5:55 PM, 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.

 

This is exactly what we are doing we were gonna take our daughter on a week long cruise for her graduation but realized she will have just turned 18 so no kids club and they don't have an 18-20 club which I seriously think they should have or at least do a couple of meet ups for that age group - Anyways I told her if we did a 4 day one instead of a 7 day one I would pay for her best friend to come with us so she could have someone to hang with

[1025cruise]

They tried having an 18-20 meet up. Unfortunately, it wasn't well attended, so they stopped doing it.