Advice for Cruising with a Group of Teenagers

[2wheelin]

Make sure they practice the basic manners they have been taught at home. Cabin walls are thin and people may be trying to rest any time of the day or night. Hallways are not the place for loudness. Some cabin doors slam if not controlled. This is not acceptable to the neighboring cabins.

Now lest you think I am a cranky old bat, they can still have a lot of fun. Have you heard about hiding ducks? A thought I had is that you might check with the cruise director for places to hang out for your group. They may even have some freebies or ideas for you. Trivia games can be fun competition. If doing the photos, plan ahead for a budget. They are not cheap and they will want them all. Lol 

Have you thought about joining a “book of faces” group as they have lots of ideas.

[KatieBug28]

I agree on the whiteboard/sticky notes! Sometimes the Hub app can be a bit spotty and it can take a while for messages to come through, so it is nice to have a backup. Plus you can draw fun pics of the day's activities, etc. and it helps to find your room!

 

I also agree with the buddy system, and just stressing that they need to let the group know where they are. Our kids pretty much have free rein when we go, as long as we know where they are and they understand the safety rules.

 

One more thing: make sure they understand charging to the room or possibly even have that disabled! We've always just put a limit for each kid for arcade, etc., but some friends did not and their daughter ended up spending around $80 at the candy store!

[Elaine5715]

Door decorations need to be non flammable materials.  Consider learning some greetings in languages of ports to be visited.  

[Colorado Cruzer]

In my expereince there are so many areas outside or inside where a few tables or an area can be taken over by a larger group.  We sailed with 22 once and never had a problem finding spaces for us.  We actually like to play games like cards or dominoes at a table around the lido deck or pool area.  great people watching and nothing like being outside on a cruise!

 

Definitely download the hub app, pretty much everything they need to know about dining menus, activities, etc. is on that app. You can plan out the days based on activities that might interest the group.

 

If they want to listen to music or watch shows/movies on netflix, they need to download everything they want onto their phone before leaving for the port city.

 

Stress the airplane mode rule many times.  Phone must remain in airplane mode while on the ship. We turned our phone on once in the port of Ensanada while in our room docked and it was $150 for a 2 minute mistake!  Cellular at sea is very expensive and their parents don't want to be dealing with that after the cruise!

 

Bottomless bubbles might be something they want to have so there is one bill if they drink soda or juices.

 

Comfortable shoes!  A lot of walking is goign to happen and I don't know if your group is used to it and if they choose to wear some fancy heel shoes, theyre gonna hate it!

 

Bonine for sea sickness.  You never know if someone is going to get sea sick.  Look into bonine for everyone.  People take it a few days before leaving and then every day of the cruise and it really helps to not feel miserable on the ship if you have any motin sickness.  It doesn't make you as drowsy as dramamine.

 

Power source.  Not sure if your cabins will have more than one outlet but many of mine haven't.  Take an outlet extender without a surge protector to charge their devices or take a few power banks to charge as you need.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

 

[Elaine5715]

21 minutes ago, Colorado Cruzer said:

In my expereince there are so many areas outside or inside where a few tables or an area can be taken over by a larger group.  We sailed with 22 once and never had a problem finding spaces for us.  We actually like to play games like cards or dominoes at a table around the lido deck or pool area.  great people watching and nothing like being outside on a cruise!

 

Definitely download the hub app, pretty much everything they need to know about dining menus, activities, etc. is on that app. You can plan out the days based on activities that might interest the group.

 

If they want to listen to music or watch shows/movies on netflix, they need to download everything they want onto their phone before leaving for the port city.

 

Stress the airplane mode rule many times.  Phone must remain in airplane mode while on the ship. We turned our phone on once in the port of Ensanada while in our room docked and it was $150 for a 2 minute mistake!  Cellular at sea is very expensive and their parents don't want to be dealing with that after the cruise!

 

Bottomless bubbles might be something they want to have so there is one bill if they drink soda or juices.

 

Comfortable shoes!  A lot of walking is goign to happen and I don't know if your group is used to it and if they choose to wear some fancy heel shoes, theyre gonna hate it!

 

Bonine for sea sickness.  You never know if someone is going to get sea sick.  Look into bonine for everyone.  People take it a few days before leaving and then every day of the cruise and it really helps to not feel miserable on the ship if you have any motin sickness.  It doesn't make you as drowsy as dramamine.

 

Power source.  Not sure if your cabins will have more than one outlet but many of mine haven't.  Take an outlet extender without a surge protector to charge their devices or take a few power banks to charge as you need.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

 

Good point...

There aren't outlets in the bathrooms for hair appliances.  Just one at the desk and it can't handle two blow dryers and two flat irons.  The girls might be able to use the showers in the gym. 

[BigAfts]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:06 AM, she_the_cougar said:

Later this year, I'll be taking my Girl Scout troop on a 5-day cruise on the Ecstasy.

 

Looking forward to post-cruise regret thread.

[BigAfts]

21 hours ago, evandbob said:

I would not recommend door decorations as that can serve as a target for bad intentions molesters or "innocent" boy scouts.  

 

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[wgeddings]

A couple of follow ups and echoing of other's suggestions. 

 

Get each girl's parents to fill out a medical questionnaire with prior conditions, allergies, medications, etc.  Not only have the paper but keep a PDF of each one on your phone and elsewhere (like each chaperone have a full set) on their phones.  You may not be on board ship or near the paper but you will probably have your phone.  Genius Scan is a free app that works great for making and storing PDFs.  

 

Outlets - they will not be accustomed to only 1 outlet so the power strip is a must.  

 

Sea sickness - although medicines and herbs are easily available, and given out on the ship, I have found that SeaBands work great.  They are like wristbands that put pressure on your inner wrist and incredibly do work.  I keep a set in my travel bag at all times.  Cheap at CVS or Walgreens so you or the girls might want to pick up a few pairs just in case.  The downside of the medicines and herbs are that they can have side effects like drowsiness so I suggest trying the SeaBands first and if they do not work, then use drugs/herbs.

 

The most likely danger will be someone who forgot something so is going to run back to the cabin to get it.  It is quick so they do not take their buddy.  Be prepared and warn them again and again and even have a sanction (like both have to miss something fun or making them wear one of the child leash things connecting the two of them for a couple of hours).  I would not worry too much about predators or door decorations luring people in but as always the best advice is to be aware and keep a buddy handy.  

[dallasdan]

Remind them that the specialty coffee shop on the ship cost extra.  It isn't included in the Bottomless Bubbles.  

[ninjacat123]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:09 PM, KatieBug28 said:

I also agree with the buddy system, and just stressing that they need to let the group know where they are. Our kids pretty much have free rein when we go, as long as we know where they are and they understand the safety rules.

 

Security in numbers.  Just because you are on a ship doesn't mean everyone is trustworthy.  Make sure a child doesn't walk off on their own.

[Linsuesue]

I won’t be on your cruise, but will be hiding ducks  on my next two cruises. Tell your scouts to keep their eyes open, because there have been duck hiders and hunters on the last 3 cruises I have been on. It might be a really fun thing for the girls to try, and they could even bring their own ducks to hide , if they wanted. Check out Carnival Cruising Ducks to get an idea what it is all about. I am sure you will all have a wonderful time🛳!

[bigrednole]

We have an only child. First cruise was over Thanksgiving. We thought it the best vacation type so she could meet other her age to hangout with and have fun. Absolute best decision ever. We had our family time, she had her fun time away from mom and dad, and everything was mostly great. 

 

The one issue we had was staying in contact. The Carnival app was useless at communication and texting. Most of the time (more than 99% for our cruise), messages never got through. After that, the new rule was to call and leave a message on the room phone if going somewhere after 11PM. There are phones all over the ship. Quick call to the room, leave a message "hey we are going to deck 12 to hangout". Done.

[pe4all]

Just have to add this - dd30 is just now telling us of some of the shenanigans she was involved in when cruising as a teen with us.  Nothing too horrible - but nothing we knew about!    We found out water bottles weren't just filled with water at times!  And this was our "good" child - lol!   Peer pressure can have kids do things they would never do at home. 

[wgeddings]

When teenagers (guys or girls) get together, the stupidity is multiplicative, not additive.  So 3 together are not just 3 times more likely to have a bad idea, they are 3-cubed (27 times) more likely.  I am including me in that group as a teenager too.  Mix teenage boys with teenage girls, and the number of "hold my beer" (not referencing alcohol, only the dumb things we do) moments becomes staggering and impossible to predict or prepare for.  "Who can lick the blender the longest while it is running" is not something any adult would prepare for but completely within the realm of possibly to a group of teenagers.  

 

Some teens love the group activities, some hate them.  My kids hated doing anything in the kid's clubs or teen nightclubs. Others loved it.  You have to let your girls be themselves as much  as possible.  The girls will likely try to attract the boys' attentions and the boys are going to try to show off for the girls.  In my opinion, the best approach is being honest and open and making sure they know that you and the other adults want to help them, not constrain them, so that you minimize the tendency to rebel.  Encourage them to talk to the adults about an idea before doing it (I bet we could drop down onto the lower deck) and make sure that if they screw up, tell you because hiding it is SO much worse. 

[she_the_cougar]

We're back, and we had a wonderful time! The cruise was the perfect combination of organized adventures and unscheduled time, and all the kids seemed to really appreciate the opportunities to make new friends and try new things. Several kids learned to snorkel, several kids sang karaoke for the first time, all the kids made their first transaction using foreign currency, ox tongue was ordered and passed around and giggled over, and many kids' weight in ice cream was eaten.

 

As some of you predicted, some kids really loved the kids' club activities, and some kids really hated them. Fortunately, with eight kids, there was always somebody interested in doing whatever somebody else wanted to do, so the buddy system wasn't a problem. I do wish the Hub Chat hadn't been functionally useless, though! 

 

One kid did get food poisoning (nobody in our group will ever eat salmon eggs benedict again...), but the med bay gave her a shot, a couple of prescriptions, and a couple of Covid tests, and after 24 hours quarantining in her cabin she felt much better.

 

Overall, everyone had a really positive experience! Thanks again for all your tips!

[Ferry_Watcher]

Thanks for the update!

[CheckersMidwest]

I LOVE this! I spent many years as a Cub scout den leader as well as Cubmaster. Then followed up with my daughter as a Girl Scout troop leader. Her troop loved to travel, mostly weekend stuff. However, we went to the Mall of America & slept in the tunnel of the aquarium and also went to Disney for 4 days. This will be a great trip!

 

Space for projects will be easy. Just look around for empty lounges. You'll find them. Open areas inside (without wind) . Or maybe the library if your ship has one. The Red Frog Pub (not the one by the pool) tends to be quiet during the day & has tables too.

 

Some things that come to mind are if they do have free time....have a designated check in time. Like 1:00 by Guys Burgers. Surprisingly, you'll see them across the deck or run into them on the promenade. You'll see them more than you expect. Our rule when sailing with our teen kids was 'dressed & ready for dinner by 5:50'. They could do whatever they wanted during the day but we went to dinner together. Clear expectations. Night time curfew. 

 

The teen club will have 10:00 pizza parties. Dance dance revolution tournaments. Their own karaoke. Let them go. Sometimes a hole is already punched in the Sign & Sail card but not always. Take your own hole punch or have them done at the casino. Have the girls bring lanyards. They have blingy pretty ones at Dollar General & Walmart by glasses. Harder to lose that card on a lanyard than loose to lay down somewhere.

 

Rules: Only go on floors/hallways WITHOUT rooms unless going to your own. No new friends in your cabin. Do not go into strangers' cabins. Buddy system.

 

Something that helped my kids stay organized (and know what day it was!) was a schedule taped to the mirror in their cabin. Just a simple one, in calendar format.  It showed formal night, port days & what to bring like cash, sign & sail, towell, breakfast together at ** and off the ship at *** for example. anything special. When staying in a different cabin, it made it easier for everyone to stay on time.

 

(I haven't read all the posts, I'll go back & do that now. 🙂 )

 

 

[CheckersMidwest]

A couple of thoughts added:

 

Decorate your cabin doors on the outside! People do it all the time. Helps you find your cabin quicker but also a fun thing to do. Bring tape as some doors are magnetic & some aren't . Not necessarily with your names (security issue) but fun stuff like streamers, signs, palm trees, etc. You can also hang white boards with command hooks. You can leave notes like "Went to the pool"....."Going to arcade. Meet you there"....You have all the room keys but assume the girls only have theirs. This is a quick way to communicate if you can't get in that room.

 

Sometimes people hide rubber ducks. They add a little tag with their name & where they're from. When found, you can keep them or rehide them for someone else to find. Ducks are fairly cheap at Oriental Trading if interested. There's even a F....book group called the Carnival Cruising Ducks.

 

Formal Night: When my daughter was in high school, she had a 'cruise section' in her closet. We found great Homecoming type dresses on clearance at Dillard's for like $15 and $20. (If your girls don't already have something of their own)

[CheckersMidwest]

On 2/8/2022 at 9:21 AM, she_the_cougar said:

 

Okay, door decorating is one thing that I cannot quite figure out! I've seen tons of people referencing door decorating, but I haven't yet happened upon an absolutely basic tutorial for total newbies. Off to do more research!

PINTEREST! Search Cruise Ship Door Decorating.

[CheckersMidwest]

Well. There you go, I was so excited I posted before reading all 3 pages - and your'e back ! So glad you had fun. My daughter is now 25 and her & the other girl scouts still talk about certain trips. And good for you - for understanding, encouraging, and letting them experience this.  What trip is next?!

[she_the_cougar]

6 hours ago, CheckersMidwest said:

Space for projects will be easy. Just look around for empty lounges. You'll find them. Open areas inside (without wind) . Or maybe the library if your ship has one. The Red Frog Pub (not the one by the pool) tends to be quiet during the day & has tables too.

This WAS a lot easier than I'd thought it would be! We met twice in the Lido Buffet for travel journaling, with a couple of chaperones showing up about half an hour before our planned meeting time to claim the perfect combination of tables for us. The kids would grab a snack or some ice cream and then work away! 

 

We also met up in the lounge area next to the Alchemy Bar to play a BINGO game that I'd brought in my suitcase (the kids had been SO excited to see BINGO listed in the copies of the Fun Times that I brought to a troop meeting, and then SO sad when I told them that it was 18+). The lounge had a giant leather ottoman that perfectly fit eight teenagers and their BINGO cards!

 

When we were going to do activities together that required moving around the ship, like our photo shoot in Girl Scout vests, I eventually figured out that the easiest solution was to tell them to be standing out in the hall outside their room at a stated time. This way, they could pop out into the hall, tell me they were ready to go, I could look at them and say, "Okay, but where are your shoes?", they could reply, "Oops!" and pop back in, and repeat with the next kid who'd forgotten her Sail and Sign card, etc.

[DukeASUGirl]

I know this is a super-old topic, but I'm so glad to have found it because my 8th grade Cadette troop is going to be voting on their end-of-middle-school trip. We have a bunch of cookie money saved up and want to do something big because several of them have decided this will be their last year in Girl Scouts. 

 

We have 7 girls going, and one of the options we're leaning towards is a 4-day cruise from Long Beach (going to Catalina and Ensenada). Other choices are National Parks in Utah, a cabin in Colorado, and Disneyland. I've priced it out, and the cruise is actually really doable for them and I think they'd really enjoy it.

 

Lots of great tips in this thread!

[Haljo1935]

On 2/8/2022 at 8:51 AM, Essiesmom said:

...  In the past they have done a Behind the Fun tour, visiting places on the ship that the public doesn’t see.  Crew areas, bridge, kitchens, laundry, engine control room…lots of stairs and requires closed toe shoes.  I believe is was $55 pp on Fantasy class ship.  But this has been suspended with Covid....

BtF (Behind the Fun) tours are very much alive and well...well attended, lol.

Last week on Venezia cost was $130/pp. Sign up is at Shore Excursions desk. Sign up early as it is FCFS and even at $100+ it is very popular. Might be worth a call to Carnival to see if you can negotiate a group rate for the Girl Scouts.

Yes, I realize the original post is old, but it's been resurrected and still applicable. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Haljo1935
Additional comment

[ninjacat123]

@she_the_cougar Great to hear your troup's trip was so successful!!  Thanks for the update!!

[DukeASUGirl]

On 2/8/2022 at 10:20 AM, wgeddings said:

Also, onboard there is the captain but there is also the cruise director and the hotel director.  Few people really try to contact the hotel director for something other than complaints.  It cannot hurt to write a letter to the captain, cruise director, hotel director and any other officer you can think of asking them to let you know if they would have a few minutes to meet with the girls.  If they do, set a time in one of the empty lounges and you will all love that experience.  When we had Meet and Greets set up through CruiseCritic, we often had one of the main officers attend and it was wonderful.  

 

 

I love this idea, and am wondering how to contact these individuals. I'm taking my Girl Scout troop on a cruise on Radiance on June 3-7, and we'd love to set up an opportunity with any of the officers to meet with the girls, but don't know who to contact about this!