Questions re Teen Club (Entourage), Curfew, and Teen Attire in Haven Restaurant on the Joy

[hmbc1977]

Hello!  We are considering a mid-June sailing on the Joy out of NYC to Bermuda.  Our two teenagers will be with us, a boy (14 - turning 15 shortly after the cruise) and a girl (16).  This will be our first time on NCL with them as teens.  We took a cruise last summer on RC (the Wonder), and that was the first time we cruised when they were old enough for the teen club.  They LOVED the teen club on RC, especially my son who is very social.  A few questions:

1. I read that the teen club is sometimes separated into younger and older teens.  My 14 year old would be in the younger teen group, which would probably be problematic because he tends to hang out with older kids and he is the size of a full grown man (6' tall, 165 lbs).  Is it common that they split the teens up by age, or are they typically all together?

2. Is the teen club open while the ship is in Bermuda?  Typically it opens an hour before departure, which makes sense when you're in a different port every day, but it seems odd that it would be closed for 3 days while the ship is docked in Bermuda.  

3. Is there a teen curfew on the ship?  Last summer on RC they had a 1 a.m. curfew that the teens seemed to mostly ignore, and my son was pretty unhappy that I made him come back to the room by 1 a.m. every night.  I, on the other hand, appreciated the curfew because it was imposed by the ship, not something I was imposing on him (other than making him abide by it, of course).  

4.  For anyone who has stayed in the Haven with teens, how strict are they on the dress code in the Haven restaurant?  In the past we ate most breakfasts and dinners in there and the kids wore whatever we told them to wear.  Now that they're older, they don't take direction regarding attire nearly as well, so I'm concerned they may simply refuse to eat in there with us if they have to wear non-athletic clothing.  They don't typically wear crazy loud or distracting clothes, but my son wears athletic shorts and a solid color dry-fit Under Armor t-shirt and dark tennis shoes pretty much every day year-round, and my daughter wears black shorts and either a solid color or nicely patterned non-athletic cotton tshirt with solid black tennis shoes every day in summer.  Is this going to fly in the Haven restaurant?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide on any of these issues!

[Two Wheels Only]

8 minutes ago, hmbc1977 said:

For anyone who has stayed in the Haven with teens, how strict are they on the dress code in the Haven restaurant?

 

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are "Cruise Casual" in the Haven restaurant. Shorts and t-shirts are fine for all meals.

[mjkacmom]

1 am curfew, I’m not sure about the activities by age but they tend to end up befriending kids their age. On one cruise I had a 15 and 17 year old in there and they hung in the same circle, next cruise had a 14, 14, and 16 year old and they had 3 different friend groups. They definitely spent more time socializing outside of the club than in the club, but were happy to have the club to meet up at.

[BrownEyedGirl686]

2 hours ago, hmbc1977 said:

Hello!  We are considering a mid-June sailing on the Joy out of NYC to Bermuda.  Our two teenagers will be with us, a boy (14 - turning 15 shortly after the cruise) and a girl (16).  This will be our first time on NCL with them as teens.  We took a cruise last summer on RC (the Wonder), and that was the first time we cruised when they were old enough for the teen club.  They LOVED the teen club on RC, especially my son who is very social.  A few questions:

1. I read that the teen club is sometimes separated into younger and older teens.  My 14 year old would be in the younger teen group, which would probably be problematic because he tends to hang out with older kids and he is the size of a full grown man (6' tall, 165 lbs).  Is it common that they split the teens up by age, or are they typically all together?

2. Is the teen club open while the ship is in Bermuda?  Typically it opens an hour before departure, which makes sense when you're in a different port every day, but it seems odd that it would be closed for 3 days while the ship is docked in Bermuda.  

3. Is there a teen curfew on the ship?  Last summer on RC they had a 1 a.m. curfew that the teens seemed to mostly ignore, and my son was pretty unhappy that I made him come back to the room by 1 a.m. every night.  I, on the other hand, appreciated the curfew because it was imposed by the ship, not something I was imposing on him (other than making him abide by it, of course).  

4.  For anyone who has stayed in the Haven with teens, how strict are they on the dress code in the Haven restaurant?  In the past we ate most breakfasts and dinners in there and the kids wore whatever we told them to wear.  Now that they're older, they don't take direction regarding attire nearly as well, so I'm concerned they may simply refuse to eat in there with us if they have to wear non-athletic clothing.  They don't typically wear crazy loud or distracting clothes, but my son wears athletic shorts and a solid color dry-fit Under Armor t-shirt and dark tennis shoes pretty much every day year-round, and my daughter wears black shorts and either a solid color or nicely patterned non-athletic cotton tshirt with solid black tennis shoes every day in summer.  Is this going to fly in the Haven restaurant?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide on any of these issues!

I don’t know much about the teen clubs as my children do not go - but we haven’t had any issues with attire in haven from sweatshirts and leggings for breakfast to casual (teenage casual) for lunch/dinner.  
 

hope this helps.  We are doing the same cruise but in May.  With a. 21;16;11 year olds 

Edited January 15, 2023 by BrownEyedGirl686

[palpieha]

1. I know that Splash academy separates by age, but that's for the 12 and under sort. I don't think Entourage separates. My teens were definitely both in the same group, and we went when they were 14 and 16 too.

 

3. 1am, I don't know how well it's enforced. Mine knew it was the curfew and abided by it.

 

4. Yes, no issues with that clothing in the Haven restaurant. Shorts and tshirts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

[complawyer]

teen club is teen club. while the kids themselves may separate by age, the entourage does not. my grandson went to the entourage from 13-18 with  no problems.  the 1:00 curfew might be when the club closes, but the only other curfew is that imposed by you.  he met a group of other kids, and they hung out at o'sheehans. a few times my wife and i had to go down there to advise the management it was ok for my grandson to be there. there is no real dress code in the haven restaurant. so long as its semi-neat.  

my only request of my grandson was if he was going to hang out with other kids, just to check in periodically.

 

so, not  to worry ,im sure both  your kids will have a great time and you'll be lucky if you see them after embarkation, and just before disembarkation

[cruiseny4life]

I'm not going to chime in on the teen club as I don't have kids.

 

BUT! I do dress like a teen when on vacation and only cruise in the Haven. Three cruises in the last year and for all meals I wore a t-shirt (or hoodie), athletic shorts, and flippie floppies. When on vacation, I go for ultimate comfort! Your kids will be fine. 🙂

 

Oh, if you were wondering, hats are not allowed at the included Shanghai Noodle Bar, but are perfectly fine in the Haven Restaurant. You're paying for luxury. What's more luxurious than dressing how you want?