18 y.o. on Monarch

[GAJayhawks]

Hello!

 

We are less than one week out from our family reunion cruise on the Monarch (6/23). Yippee!!

 

There will be 16 of us ranging in age from 9-74. One concern I have is for my son who just turned 18. His brother and a few cousins are only a year or two younger yet I understand that he cannot participate in the organized youth activities with them.

 

So the poor kid has the ability to hang out in the bars and casino around people who might have had too much to drink or people his grandmother's age. Fun.

 

Do they ever make exceptions to letting kids like him into the youth areas? I'd feel much more comfortable with him there than the adult bar scene. He doesn't drink (and I know he's not allowed to anyway) and he's still just a kid.

 

Just wondering if other people have been in this situation and what their 18 y.o.'s did for fun.

 

Thanks!

[HorrorFan]

Hello!

 

We are less than one week out from our family reunion cruise on the Monarch (6/23). Yippee!!

 

There will be 16 of us ranging in age from 9-74. One concern I have is for my son who just turned 18. His brother and a few cousins are only a year or two younger yet I understand that he cannot participate in the organized youth activities with them.

 

So the poor kid has the ability to hang out in the bars and casino around people who might have had too much to drink or people his grandmother's age. Fun.

 

Do they ever make exceptions to letting kids like him into the youth areas? I'd feel much more comfortable with him there than the adult bar scene. He doesn't drink (and I know he's not allowed to anyway) and he's still just a kid.

 

Just wondering if other people have been in this situation and what their 18 y.o.'s did for fun.

 

Thanks!

If the other kids are only a year younger (17?), I doubt if any of them will be participating in many of the organized youth activities, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Most of the older kids just meet other kids about their age and do their own thing. At least that was my sons exerience. he was 15 on our last cruise and he spent very little time in the 'teen areas'. The time before that he was 12 and still mostly just hung out with other kids he met.

EDIT: oh, to answer your question, I have heard they are usually fairly strict about ages and the groups the kids can participate in, but thats not from first hand experience.

[galavant3]

Check out your roll call. On ours someone set up a Facebook meeting for the kids in the 18-22 year age range so they can communicate before hand.

 

When our daughter was 18 RCI gave her the option of being 17 or being 18 and they would punch her card accordingly. Since the drinking age was 18 at the time and she did want the option of going to the adult clubs, she opted to be 18. She had a great time!

 

Our 18 year old son will be cruising with us in July and even though he can't drink, he is looking forward to going to the clubs at night (with his sister and cousins so he won't be out on his own). It has been our experience that there are lots of kids in that age group.

 

Regardless, have a great cruise!

[cb at sea]

18 is allowed to gamble on the ship! He'll most likely be spending his time checking out the females on the pool deck! He won't be bored!

[Hard2Choose]

18 yr olds can gamble on board, but not drink? Interesting.

[Markmom18]

18 year olds can gamble? We were just on the Monarch in November and I don't recall seeing 'kids' in the casino. Mmm...does anyone know for fact that this true?

[karatemom2]

18 is allowed to gamble on the ship! He'll most likely be spending his time checking out the females on the pool deck! He won't be bored!

 

I have never been on a ship that allowed 18 year olds to gamble. Every ship we have ever been on has had the same age requirement as Vegas - 21.

[vickiw0318]

From the RCI website:

 

GAMBLING POLICY

Guests eighteen (18) years of age and older are welcome to play in our casinos (for all Alaska sailings, guests must be 21 years of age in order to play in our casinos).

[karatemom2]

This post from the Monarch thread has some very good info re: activities for an 18 year old:

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angelcreek

Hey there all you Monarch lovers! We have never sailed RCI before, but are seriously thinking about this ship for a June 08 trip for my son's graduation. A few questions if I may.........are there alot of things for 18 year olds to do or participate in on this ship? :D

 

I guess it depends on what kinds of activities your 18 year old is interested in. Our 18 year-old son came with us and had a blast. He loves the Monarch. However, he's also very outgoing and makes friends easily. He also loves sports and spent a lot of time playing basketball and ping-pong. He also loves the shows, the food (he's 6'2" and eats like a horse!), the rock wall, and just hanging out at the end of the day with his newly-made shipboard friends. My DH and I went to every dance lesson and there were plenty of young women (say, 16-25 years old) at the lessons, but not as many guys. Same thing with the dance floor at Boleros (salsa music); lots of younger women, not as many younger men. So if your son likes to dance, he'll have a wide choice of partners.

 

There are some activities for 14-17 year olds that are held outside of Fuel. Whether or not an 18 year old can participate in them is up to the crew member in charge of that particular activity. I.E., our son was asked by the crew member in charge of a teen water balloon fight to participate; he did and had a lot of fun. No 18 year olds are allowed in the teen lounge, however. Our son didn't miss it. Being 18 also means they're allowed in the Circuit (an adult party & dance lounge). I'd check the crowd in the Circuit before letting him go; sometimes it's a nice group, sometimes a pretty wild one. There's also a 70's pool party on one night that attracts a mixed crowd of young and old alike where you guys can "boogie down" together and have a lot of fun. The crew's costumes for this party are hysterical and not to be missed.

[karatemom2]

From the RCI website:

 

GAMBLING POLICY

Guests eighteen (18) years of age and older are welcome to play in our casinos (for all Alaska sailings, guests must be 21 years of age in order to play in our casinos).

 

Wow that's interesting. This info might turn my son into an RCI convert. He is only 14, but is itching for the day he can join his Dad in the Casino.

[bplazo]

My daughter did not participate too much in the kids programs when she was older than 16. She just preferred to hang around the pool.

 

She did enjoy going to the casino with me when she turned 18. She loved the slots.

[ehfl]

They usually have activities for 18-21 year olds (mixers, dances, etc). Of course, he can meet people his age at the pool, rock climbing, basketball, etc. The younger kids can also join him at these places.