18 YO , Will he get lost between the ages....

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

My husband and I are cruising on RCCL's Radiance to E Caribbean in Mar 08 during Spring Break with 17 yo DD and 18 yo DS. When we cruised last time with them, they were 15 and 16 respectively and found other teenagers that they have remained friends with into college. I know there is a teen program for the 17 yo but will the 18 yo DS be lost between the teens and over 21 crowd. I know that RCCL allows 18 yo to gamble and he will love that... assuming his luck holds but he can't do that 24/7. Does RCCL offer an 18-20 singles meet group?

 

Started a thread on the Radiance Roll Call but no response from others in similar situation. This is a surprise for the 2 kids so I'm the one worrying about the situation not the DS....:confused:

[Sue L]

On the Serenade they had a Meet and Greet Party the first night for 18-25 year olds. Both my 19 year old DS and 21 DD went and had a great time. They had a blast the whole week but to be honest they did spend a good amount with us (their choice). I would definitely suggest he goes that first night if they have it.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thanks Sue.... hopefully they'll have the same on Radiance the first night

[Rala]

There have been many threads and posts on this subject. In SOME cases, if the 18 yr. old is a high school senior, they have been allowed to participate in the 15-17 yr old program. If this is true in your son's case, you may want to check with the AO staff when you board.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thanks Rala! He is a freshman in college and will be 18 at the end of this month. Big differences between freshman/soph in high school and freshman in college. He's very sports minded so hopefully there will be another guy similar in age to shoot hoops or run with, maybe even play golf with. Really caught in between the ages.....

[volleyballmom87]

I will be traveling with 2 senior girls 17 & 18 over xmas. They will not want to hang out with 15 year olds, but I don't want them hanging out with 22 year olds. (especially boys):eek: Quite a quandry.

[vickiw0318]

I am guessing that Spring Break would be one of the best times to cruise with this age group. More likelihood of others the same age. I would just relax and go for it.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Volleyballmom - I understand perfectly! With some of RCCL's single meet & mingle's, they are for 18-25. I certainly don't want my son hanging out with a 25 yo woman but then again, why would a 25 yo want to be with a 18 yo guy? Too bad you and your girls are sailing with us :)

 

Vicki, hopefully you are right and I'm worrying for nothing... but that's what a mom does! I noticed you are on the Radiance in February with a similar itinerary. Have you made any excursion choices yet? We've been to St Thomas on a previous cruise but the other ports are all new to us.

 

Pam

[DrivesLikeMario]

I don't think your son will get lost if YOU include him in the things you & your DH are doing. If he wants to join you, fine, if not, that's okay too.

 

Our teen sons never participate in the teen program anymore. They found it incredibly boring. They hang out with us, go to the video game arcade, play sports, chill in the cabin with their iPods, play trivia with us and also hang out by the pool with us. At night, we all go to the shows or play a board game in the card room. On our last cruise, our oldest son was gambling a little, which he thoroughly enjoyed. (not necessarily a good thing! lol )

 

Just make sure your son brings some magazines he hasn't read yet, his iPod, and a Nintendo DS if he's into that. Also, he might like using the internet, writing his friends, etc. so if you can, budget some internet money for him.

 

I don't know about your son, but ours is at the point where he begs us NOT to book another cruise. :rolleyes: He's been on 15 so far and he's "done with that". I think it's just the age - I remember feeling like that at his age too.

[rclcruzer]

I'm in the same situation if indeed we do cruise in 09', he will be 19. (other son will be 16, and still involved in AO).

He has already told me not to worry about it but I do....I'm a Mom!!!

I think he will be fine. Funny.....a couple of years ago he would not hang out with us, but now he is starting too (will be 18 this March)...so I think he will hang out with us more than he ever has on any cruise before, if he can't get with a group.

Have a good time together as a family, before they ALL get to old :eek:;)

[vickiw0318]

Hi, Pam. We are really looking forward to the itinerary. It's been years since I've been to those ports and my husband has never sailed to any of them. He's big into racing - any kind, so I booked the America's Cup excursion in St. Maartan for us. Other than that, we'll probably just go snorkeling and hang out at the beach.

 

When I cruised with my daughter last Spring, we did a zipline/canopy tour in Jamaica and loved it. I would do something like that again in a heartbeat, but DH isn't up to it. I think there are a couple of options for similar excursions and I bet your kids would love it.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thanks to all of you for your reassurance. We love to involve the kids in our activities. Especially since my son has been at college, 15 hours away, I'd love him to spend alot of time with us.

 

The last cruise they hooked with some new friends and had a great time although my son did manage to break away and he and I had a wonderful dinner at a specialty restaurant while the rest of the family did an evening excursion. When in port, if not playing golf, I'm sure both DD and DS will do excursions with us especially if we do the zipline and America's cup excursion. My concern was more on board in the evening when there aren't sports activities. He won't want to hang out with his sister in the teen club. He's very social and would rather hang out with friends than read or be online. Plus he can do that on land! I'm hoping he won't spend all of his time and money at the tables:eek: .

 

Again, thanks for all the suggestions... Should be a great trip no matter what - no work, school or snow! Just fun and relaxation. Now if only a couple of balcony cabins become available - we'll be golden!

 

Pam