Is the Dream young teen friendly?

[Drumrun]

We are taking the Dream from Houston April 8th. Wondering if it's teen and kid friendly. Do kids have to pay for their sodas? That can't be can it?

Anything else we should know about?

Thanks

[much2buzy]

We took our two kids (11 & 8) on an 11-day Alaska cruise in August. I have to say that the kids program is in a very small and dim room, however, my 11 year old had a blast. The staff that was in charge of the age group for my 11 year old was absolutely outstanding. So what I am saying is that the facility is like a closet, however, the staff on hand during that time was amazing! My 8 year old chose not to participate in the kids program which was okay too.

 

The daily's for the kids program was planned out exceptionally well. The kids were busy and having a great time!

 

They do charge for pop. We bought one teen passport (which allowed us "x" number of fun, blended, non-alcoholic drinks) for our two girls to share. I feel as though that worked out perfectly because I didn't want my kids drinking pop all day long!

 

Enjoy!

[mousey]

I don't know what the teens club is like. On our last cruise we took our then 9 yr old son to the kids club and he absolutely hated it and didn't want to go back. That is because it was way too young for him. He wasn't old enough for the teen club. So, here's what we did and it worked out wonderfully. We had taken walkie talkies with us as we always do because cell phones don't always work. Anyway, we went with him to the arcade and were playing some games with him when he met some other kids 12 - 15 yrs old. For the first time ever we left him on his own with three rules. 1. he had to call us whenever he left one spot to go to another. 2. He was not allowed to go on the outer decks ever. 3. he was not to go into anyones cabin for any reason whatsoever. It worked out great. It showed us how responsible he was (never broke a rule) and it made him feel great that we trusted him and he felt really was great for his self-esteem. Had he broken a rule that would have been the end of his freedom and he would have been stuck with us the whole trip. As it was we were together more than he was with other kids. He checked in with us every time he made a move to the point where we just said "okay, honey, you don't have to tell us every single move you make just check in with us every 1/2 hour. He did a really great job. We are also going on the Dream on 4/8 sailing. We got him a softdrink card so that he could get soda or fruit punch whenever he wanted. We told him if he used up his card on the first few days he wouldn't get another and he did really well with that responsibility also. Usually, the kids like to go into the disco during the early evening and watch people dancing or dance themselves. They would meet each other in the game rooms and hand out and play games when in port or at the arcade. Again, we gave him a certain amount of spending money every day and when it was gone that was it for the day. All in all he had the best time of his life!

[karen2cruz]

This was my 14 yr old son's 3rd cruise, with Mariner of the Seas and Disney being the other two. Guess which one he liked the most-the Dream.:) Too many kids on the other two. A lot of hanging out on the other two. The teen counselors on the Dream kept all the youth engaged. They played all kinds of interesting games. Some of them they had to search around the whole ship. At the end of the week they had a teen only dinner with all their new friends.

 

Arcade is pretty good, for a small ship. We got him the specialty drink coupon book for the youth- he liked that.

[mousey]

This was my 14 yr old son's 3rd cruise, with Mariner of the Seas and Disney being the other two. Guess which one he liked the most-the Dream.:) Too many kids on the other two. A lot of hanging out on the other two. The teen counselors on the Dream kept all the youth engaged. They played all kinds of interesting games. Some of them they had to search around the whole ship. At the end of the week they had a teen only dinner with all their new friends.

 

Arcade is pretty good, for a small ship. We got him the specialty drink coupon book for the youth- he liked that.

We will have our son check out the teen club when he comes of age to see if he likes it. Right now at age 10 1/2 we will repeat what we did last year and take him to the arcade so that he can meet some kids he can make friends with. With the walkie talkie and some strick rules we are hoping he will have as great a time as he did last year. You are going on the same cruise as us. How old are your kids? Last year our son made friends with kids (he was the youngest but he's a cool little dude) from ages 10 1/2 to 15. The kids had a great time meeting in the arcade and playing games in the card room. They liked going into the disco. They younger ones watched while some of the older kids danced. If your kids are younger teens take them to the arcade before dinner and maybe we'll see you there. That's where we plan to take our son the first night out.

[mousey]

We are taking the Dream from Houston April 8th. Wondering if it's teen and kid friendly. Do kids have to pay for their sodas? That can't be can it?

Anything else we should know about?

Thanks

Hi, I'm new to the boards and accidently posted a respone to you to Karen2cruz. Checkout my response to her. Hope to see you on board on the 8th!

[cruiser-dude]

My 14 year old is sitting here right next to me, playing guitar. I just asked him to give me his opinion. He said the were: "Fine." "Fun."

 

This I can tell you: he didn't go the first two days, then decided to go and we never saw him again. We did catch a glimpse of him doing the scavenger hunts and peeked in on him a couple of times watching movies ansd playing games. He stayed there almost all the time on our sea days (and nights)...

 

And - our 7 year old little girl loved it.

 

Bet your kiddos will too.

 

If your young teen(s) want to know specifics, post them and I will have my son answer, if that helps... that way we can answer these through the eyes of the guy who experienced it first hand.

[marthasue]

Will anyone be on The Dream 4/1? We're traveling w/3 teenagers and a 9 yr. old.

[cruiser-dude]

Will anyone be on The Dream 4/1? We're traveling w/3 teenagers and a 9 yr. old.

 

Check roll calls and you should find folks that will be on your cruise.

[Falling Rock]

What's the best way to purchase these drink tickets? Before cruise, through NCL or travel agent, or on-board?

[mousey]

We got our onboard. Easy to do.

[boontongirl]

We are going to be on Dream April 1st with our 8 year old son! Can't wait to sail!

[mousey]

Boontongirl, When you get back would you please, if you have the time, give us a review of the Dream. We sail on 4/8. Thanks!