My 14 yr old, just shy of 15

[HeyGoob]

My son is 14, just 2 wks shy of being 15 when we sail. He will have his 15 yr old cousin with him on the cruise. I want him to have a great time. Will he be "carded" to join the 15-17 activities? If so, I'm tempted to make him 15 on paper.

[hammybee]

I may be mistaken but I think they will want to see your son's passport or birth certificate upon check-in. Regardless, they will most likely make an exception and let him participate in the 15 year old group.

[big_duck]

My son is 14, just 2 wks shy of being 15 when we sail. He will have his 15 yr old cousin with him on the cruise. I want him to have a great time. Will he be "carded" to join the 15-17 activities? If so, I'm tempted to make him 15 on paper.

 

No need to card him, they will have all his info from your booking registration. A better bet would be to discuss the situation with the CC staff.

 

Usually though in these circumstances they will have the 15 y.o. go down a level.

[silentbob007]

It will really depend on the staff ... some will make an exception and other won't because rules are in place.

[Scoutcat]

When we were on the Valor last December it was full to the max----and about 1000 of these happy cruisers were kids age 15 and under, according to the cruise director. From what we could tell, there was very little flexiblity in the age groups. I suspect it was at least partly because there were so many kids. Our twins were 16 at the time, and when they went to Club O2 events (for the 15-17 year old crowd), they said that they were checked for age. I wouldn't count on the younger kid being allowed in the O2 activites.....although I have heard that if the child is in high school and has an ID from the school to prove it, they MAY be allowed in Club O2.

 

"Scout" aka Carol

Dayton, OH

 

Carnival Valor~December 2005

[FriscoLady]

I agree that it depends on the staff. Last year on the Elation my 13 year old daughter (granted, she looks 16) was let in with her 17 year old sister and was never questioned. They didn't even ask.

 

However, she didn't care for it. She didn't like the way the kids in there were behaving so she hung out on the pool deck while I threatened the college boys that kept hitting on her.:D Oh the joys of motherhood:p

[robintennis]

We travel with 3 teenagers, now 17, 15 & 13. In the past the youngest has always tagged along with DB & DS. He is quite shy and didn't want to go to the other group alone. The 2 older siblings always looked out for him and he was never asked for ID. He attended their party.

 

I do know that he sometimes had them walk him back to their cabin when the strange partiers of the bunch got a bit carried away and he was uncomfortable with some of the behaviour.

 

If some of the age appropriate behaviour gets too much, your child may feel uncomfortable as well.

 

Robin

[Randycurit]

We went on the RCCL when the kids were 18 daughter(turned on the ship), 14 step-daughter, 12 son. The girls hung out together at the club a little and the 14 y/o who looks much older had no problem getting in but it just wasn't for them so we did the family thing. We actully pushed the family thing because that is what we were there for.

 

I think it depends on the staff. We went and asked and they sat down and talked to her to see her age level rather than here actual age.

 

My DS was with me all the time and at late night they were in the room together if we went out. We did the shows as a family and then it was our time. We had the buddy system for them. DD(18) thought we were foolish "She is an adult" HEHE but I reminded her she was my daughter and "I" was paying and she was still in high school at the time. - DADDY rules!!

 

Randy

[sweetpea-2]

I think it will depend on the staff.....there is really no way of knowing ahead of time....they are all different and have their "own rules".....

[abitaturbodog]

On the Glory last year, my 8 year old wanted to be in the same group as his 9 year old brother. On the first day of Camp Carnival, I just brought them both to the 9 year olds room and told the staff that he was 9. The staff didn't ask for proof of age for either of them. He spent the duration of the cruise with the 9 year olds.

 

I'll bet that if you just say that he's 15 no one will question it.

 

Have a great time!

[carncruise411]

don't worry about it--we sailed last year on Sensation in july before my son's 15th bday in september--they let him choose which activities he wanted to do. sometimes he went w/the younger ones but most of the time he went with the older group.

[POF5]

We were in the same situation on the Valor last July. One of my children being just 2 weeks short of her birthday. She hung out with a girl from our table that was a year older in that age group and went to the teen activities for that group and was never asked to see her fun pass for her age or to leave. There were many kids on the dance floor and the staff just stood by the counter. They will however kick anyone under 18 out of the regular disco at 11pm. They even have security guards to check IDs at the entrance and at the tables.

[crazidude1400]

According to my friends son, your child must bring his/her student id from their high school. If they are 14 with the high school ID, then that is fine. They will accept your 14 year old into the program, if he/she has a high school ID with them.

[CruiserKatie]

We just got off the Sensation last week...

 

My daughter and her friends are 14(actually one was 13, turning 14 next month). They were in the Club OZ, on most nights. They were NEVER asked their age, and nobody gave them any trouble. The first/second night they went to the 12-14 age group, where they were stalked by 12-13 yr old boys( NOT WANT THEY WANTED), I suggested going to Club O2(15-17) and trying that..and they had no problems and a GREAT TIME..and of course, older boys:rolleyes:

[goodml]

According to my friends son, your child must bring his/her student id from their high school. If they are 14 with the high school ID, then that is fine. They will accept your 14 year old into the program, if he/she has a high school ID with them.

 

Not true crazidude. My kids have been on five cruises and never had to show school id to participate in any of the kids programs. The counsellors have access to the kids ages from the reservations. If a teen is trying to participate in adult activities such as entering the disco after the teen program is over, they may be asked for id but not for the kids programs.

 

On one of our cruises my daughter was 11 and her friend was 12. There was no problem keeping them together. The counsellors said they would assess them and decide whether to put them in the 9-11 group or the 12-14. As it turned out the kids behaved properly and were allowed to choose themselves.

[GoinCruisin]

How in the world would you make your child "15 on paper"??? Change his birth certificate? Because that is what you would have to do. I would not go tampering with documents. If they don't allow him to participate, there will be other things he can do... don't worry, he'll have a great time regardless. Nothing is really consistent.. if you get someone lenient, they may let him go... but they may not. Nobody here can tell you if they will or won't.

[KK41]

just returned from the Conquest. My daughter was 1 month shy of 15 and she was never asked when she participated in the O2 club.

[Cotton]

GC - My thought exactly.:D

 

HeyGoob - His Sail & Sign card will be encoded with his birthdate, so there's no way you could try to fool anyone into thinking he's older.

[sharonella]

I don't have any kids (just a bunch of nieces & nephews) but I'm not sure why people would automatically want or allow their kids to be lumped into the next older crowd. As the original poster states his/her son is almost 15, so it doesn't seem like a big deal, but what if most of the kids in that age group on the ship are 17-almost-18 - seniors in high school, or already even graduated? That's a 2-3yr age difference. I'd look into that before making a final decision.

 

And why someone would want or allow their 14yr old girls to hang out with older boys they've never met??????? (I mean if you're at home & have a chance to meet the boys or know their families, that's one thing, but strangers on a ship, where everyone has a bit of the "I'll never see these people again" mentality?)

 

Again - I don't have kids, but I think I'd be wanting my kids (or my nieces & nephews) to stay within their appropriate age groups & hope Carnival is enforcing that there is not much mixing between the age groups in Carnival sponsored activities. Otherwise, why even separate the groups? For the same reason the 14yr old girls didn't want to "hang" with 12yr old boys, I'm sure 17yr olds don't necessarily want to hang with 14yr olds (or younger), especially the older boys with the younger girls. (And if they want to, I'd definitely question those boys' motives........)

 

I applaud the rest of you who keep tabs on your kids & let the younger siblings hang with their older siblings (for some supervision) & stress the family part of your family vacations.

 

Just my .02

 

Sha

[sharonella]

That said - I forgot to add that it probably depends on how many kids are already in each group for your cruise if they will "officially" bend the rules for you.

 

I sorta got carried away after reading the other posts. I still think that Carnival should pretty much enforce the rules regarding age, with appropriate exceptions. All sorts of personal info - including age - is encoded in your S&S card, so parental permission to attend "older" activities could be encoded, too, I guess.

 

IMHO, it's one thing if parents are aware (like the OP & other posters here - it's your right & prerogative as parents to allow it if you choose) that their kids are joining the "older crowd", but after reading these posts, it seems like many times, the kids could just do what they want & the parents would never even know their kids are with the older teens, if the kids don't choose to tell the parents..... If the parents are trusting Carnival to enforce the rules & they don't, it's just not a good thing.

 

Sha

[daynab]

We will have the same situation as the OP but our daughter will be 2 weeks shy of turning 6. Her brother will be in the six to eight group and I would love to keep them together. I know she will be bored in the 2-5 group as she is matrue for her age. I think I will just sign her in to the 6-8 and see what happens.

 

 

Dayna

[Jacquelyn11]

Sha, Don't know your age or if you have any siblings, but growing up I hated having to "do things" with my younger brother just so he would not be left out. On cruises it is nice that they divide by age groups, and each can get to do their own things. My brother just got back from the Sensation and his 3 girls (13,9,5) got to each do things with their own age group.

 

My DS was 12 on our last cruise, but didn't like the activities in that group so he went down a group to the 9-11's to join his brother.

 

With kids, it's great when you can "DIVIDE AND CONQUER!"

 

Jacquelyn :D

[Lurkyloo]

I forgot to mention - Ryan went to the first 12 - 14 orientation and met several kids (boys and girls) that he liked to hang out with. But after the first night or so, the older kids in the 12 -14 group and the younger kids in the 15 - 17 group kind of "merged" and Ryan actually ended up hanging out with a group of kids ranging from 14 - 16. After the dance every night, they would all end up heading to the Lido deck, or to the Arcade, or to get some pizza. Ryan is a mature 14 1/2 and some 16 year olds (especially boys) aren't all that mature for their age so I think the groups kind of "merged" according to their maturity level and interests outside of arranged activities. Fortunately, we had a great group of teens on board that week (Spring Vacation for K - 12) and they all seemed well behaved - didn't see any evidence of drinking or misbehaving in any way. I had more concerns with some of the younger groups - saw a little lady of about 7 riding the elevator up and down for several hours all by herself. She wasn't misbehaving or pushing buttons, but I worried about a little girl that age being allowed to wander the ship on her own! And there were many in the 7 - 10 year range that seemed to come and go with little or no supervision. Guess their parents don't read the Cruise Critics Board! :D

[CruiserKatie]

My daughter who is 14, didn't want to hang out with the younger crowd, so easily "moved' up to the older group, without being asked her age. It seemed like this group was between 14-17 years old. This the same age group she runs with at home. Her younger brother is 12, and trust me, she tried the younger group and felt she was hanging with her kids her brother would hang with...NOT COOL..lol!

 

She had a great time, she had rules and check-ins every 2 hours with us. The night of the party of the LIDO deck, her friends and the boys they met came up and sat with us. It wasn't like she was going to marry these boys...she was just having fun. As long as she has a good head on her shoulders, and doesn't do anything that kills my trust in her, then she is "innocent" into proven guilty!

 

I do not know how well supervised the O2 club was, so just thinking they are in the club, might not be a good idea. I "checked" in several times, at the club, to make sure everything was going Ok. Of course, being the "cool" mom, I am( LOL), I always had a reason to come and tell her something. My DD said there were several kids" hooking-up" in there, and everybody was watching...ohmy:rolleyes: . She complained how stupid they looked, and I told her to remember that , when she felt the urge to "hook-up"...lol:)

[willandjonsmom]

We cruised on the Conquest in March during Spring Break and the crew seemed to have a handle on the different age groups, my 15 year old looks very young and was never once asked for any type of Id, he just acted mature and polite each time he entered into club 02 and he never had any problems, so if your son acts mature he should be able to join in with that age group without problems, don't sweat the small stuff, have a great cruise and just have your son act like he would normally act. And if they ask for his sign and sail they would have to scan it to know his age

and most 15 year olds don't have Ids and school Ids do not have birthdates on them. At least here in Dallas they don't they have what grade your in.

Cindy