Carnival Teen Program?

[musik07]

I am 15 and i am going on the pride on July 18th. What types of activities do they have for teens or do they just sit around and watch movies?

[altheariley]

Just got back from the pride on 6/27 with my 18 year old and she was disappointed she was too old and didn't fit a group. There were loads of teens your age. Everything from Goth to preppies. They had a lot fun activities each day, scavenger hunts, fake game shows, and the most popular was the disco each night at ll:30 - the kids lined up for this. It didn't take long for the groups to get to know each other and form these roaming packs. I know on the last night they stayed up after the dance and never went to bed. Parents should be warned although the ship was a safe environ for these kids to hang out alone, I got the distinct feeling these kids weren't always acting any differently then they did at home. Smoking in halls, hanging out in rooms without adult supervision and a lot of sexual energy amongst them. But then they looked to being having more fun they staying home and going to the mall.

 

Have a fun cruise and bring your own camera - they had a blast taking pictures.

 

PS most kids never ate with their parents in the Dining Room - they ate with each other on the Lido deck.

[LisaTX]

We just got back from the Elation (6/27) and I have three kids 12, 14, 16 - I agree with the above post except my 12 year old did not feel like there was enough structured activities. She was grouped in 12-15 age range and most of the older kids didn't want to do that type of thing but preferred the disco. My 14 and 16 year old met lots of kids and had a blast! I did make them eat in the dining room every night as that was a good time for all of us to come back together! Otherwise, I never saw my 14yo and rarely my 16yo.

 

Have a blast - we did!

[SoccerMom#3]

How did your teens initially meet other kids? We are going on the Pride next week and my kids who are 13 and 14 are not sure they want to do any of the teen activities.

 

Elise

[serene56]

There will be a teen meeting the first night. Even if your kids dont want to go may I suggest that you force the issue. This is where the kids meet everyone onboard for their week. They do not have to particiapte in any activities if they dont want to. Mostly kids that age just hang out. K

[anniem03]

I agree with the others, get the kids to go to the meeting on the first night. My daughter is not the most outgoing and was reluctant at first, but met lots of other teens and had a great time.

 

Keep an eye on the teen programs on the Carnival ships, they have some cool things in the works.

[CruiseCATnMACK]

We were on the Pride in December and our 16 year old was unhappy with the lack of activities for her age group. Seems those 15 - 18 really get missed. She did meet some other teens but often times they where involved in questionable activities so she would go off on her own or go back to her cabin. She had a good time and would like to cruise again but next time she will bring a friend. This is an area that Carnival could really improve.

[musik07]

i always eat with my parents at all meals. i like to get all dressed up and eat the greatfood!

[serene56]

Musik7 : When we cruised we cruised as a family and I expected my kids to eat dinner with me EVERY night. Dinner and Ports were the only mandatory things. I figured they could chat with those friends all week. Dinner was only 2 hours.

[sea-n-ski]

My teens have always met others on the CC Roll Call boards. They meet up on the ship and have an instant group to hang with. I'm sure you'll have a blast on your cruise!

 

Laura

[musik07]

my parents (25dbb) and i have not met any people on our ship at all....i ahve been on all the message boards and NOTHING!! It is rather frusterating. I hope they have stuff to do like scavenger hunts and stuff, if not i hope i can go on the water slide....is there i height restriction i am like 5"6' so i hope that wont keep me off of it like it did on rcl! Pools are salt water right, our first cruise i didnt know that and i jumped in with my eyes open and got a really nasty supprise!!! I know Princess uses fresh water.

[hilltopfamily]

Musik07: yes, you will find scavenger hunts and other fun activities while you are on board. I believe adults can go down the slide, so you should have no problems yourself in using it. And yes, the pools are filled with saltwater. (we were on Disney last summer and they, along w/Princess, have freshwater pools).

 

I would like to make a recommendation and hope that the moderators of this board see it. Last summer, prior to our Disney cruise, we were on the Disboards message boards all the time. They have a forum just for kids/teens to post on and it was a great place for those about to cruise to "hook up" with other kids on the same ship/date or just to talk with others who are planning to cruise or have already cruised. I (and my DD13) wish there was such a forum here. She had 3 or 4 friends all "lined up" to meet with our Disney cruise, and this really added to her enjoyment and eased her into the kids clubs. Then on our Carnival cruise she hadn't "hooked up" with a single person ahead of time, and consequently she had a more difficult time and was not nearly as excited about going in the first place. Now we're about to sail in less than a month and similar situation. We ended up inviting her best friend along, so I'm sure she'll have fun, but I know that many kids out there would have a great time with a forum for them to post to! Wonder if this is a possibility, or has it been tried in the past???? Lets all let them know what we think! :)

[cruisinfamilytx]

For our 14.5 year old--the meeting the first night was nothing, people just came and went and got a schedule for the week and papers to enroll the teen. The first morning there was an ice breaker, with get to know each other games, etc. She enjoyed that but didn't hook up with anyone her age for the week. She had a blast doing her own thing, reading in her bathing suit, buying non-alcholic drinks. She loved the behind the scenes tours of the ship, bingo, newlywed game, etc.

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time!

[kapcruiser]

I am glad to hear that not much is done at the first meeting because we will be eating dinnner that night. We have late

seating and I don't want my boys to miss out on our first dinner in the dining room. I think I will go to the camp and see if I can fill out paperwork in advance.:confused:

[musik07]

behind the scene tours?? really...we got to walk trhough the kitchen on princess but that is it, sounds soooooooo cool

[serene56]

kapcruiser: there will be another meeting the next morning for a get together. You can inquire when you are touring the ship the first day.

[northerner]

Were there just a couple or were there plenty of friends to choose from?