Freedom - 14 yr old move up to Teen Club??

[buzymom3]

Hi Everyone

I am a newbie to this board! My hubby and I have cruised before on RCL on Sov of Seas 19 years ago! We have also been on other cruise lines, but I have dreamed of coming back to RCL for years...Well now it is coming true.

 

We are sailing Spring Break with our three kids and my mom. Two cabins.

 

My questions is: My youngest is 14 - she won't be 15 before the cruise. Her sister is 16 and will be in the Teen Club. The 14 year old, who is in HS, she is the youngest in her grade, just making the cut off date. She really wants to be with her older sister. Will FOS allow us to move her up?

 

My son will be 18 at the time of the cruise...will he be able to utilze the teen club at all? Or is he on his own?

 

HELP!

 

Also any helpful suggestions about this ship would be greatly appreciated. My kids have dreamed of this day for years...it's gonna be great!

J

[barryn]

Your son will not be allowed in the teen club. We had a similar situation when we boarded the Freedom of the Seas last July less than a week after my daughter's 18th birthday.

 

As a consolation, she was allowed in the casino.

 

Anticipating a follow-up question, RCL will not grant a waiver of this policy. Keep in mind the difficulty they would have if they allowed an 18yo male into the teen club, and the parents of a 16yo female then complained out of concern for their daughter's well-being.

[uksimonusa]

Hi Everyone

I am a newbie to this board! My hubby and I have cruised before on RCL on Sov of Seas 19 years ago! We have also been on other cruise lines, but I have dreamed of coming back to RCL for years...Well now it is coming true.

 

We are sailing Spring Break with our three kids and my mom. Two cabins.

 

My questions is: My youngest is 14 - she won't be 15 before the cruise. Her sister is 16 and will be in the Teen Club. The 14 year old, who is in HS, she is the youngest in her grade, just making the cut off date. She really wants to be with her older sister. Will FOS allow us to move her up?

 

My son will be 18 at the time of the cruise...will he be able to utilze the teen club at all? Or is he on his own?

 

HELP!

 

Also any helpful suggestions about this ship would be greatly appreciated. My kids have dreamed of this day for years...it's gonna be great!

J

 

It depends on the crew and the child. My daughter, 13 on Labor day and 5'10" tall has always been allowed to move up. Mind you, she looks about 18 years old, so that may have helped. They are sometimes worried about the younger children mixing with the older teens, as they sometimes combine the 14 - 18 year olds, depending on quantity of children. The fact that your daughter has an older sibling in the higher group should help her chances of being moved.

[msmayor]

The PP indicates that an 18 year old can't move 'down' to the teen clubs, but no answer yet on moving 'up' from 14 into the teen club? I hope the kids can; my son is 14, daughter is 17 and I'm sure they'll be more comfortable joining in a group if they can go together.

[westwingjazz]

My questions is: My youngest is 14 - she won't be 15 before the cruise. Her sister is 16 and will be in the Teen Club. The 14 year old, who is in HS, she is the youngest in her grade, just making the cut off date. She really wants to be with her older sister. Will FOS allow us to move her up?

 

I just expirenced this...your 14 year old, with your permission will be allowed to move up. You have to ask the counselor. My daugther was 13 and wanted to stay with her sister 15 yrs of age and I was told she had to be 14 to move up into the 15-17 year old age group. They are very strict.

 

I learned after the cruise, that she 'some how' ended up at the 15-17 parties.:mad: I should have expected this...I have not been able to separate them since birth. When she was three, the school tried separating her from her 5 year old sister. She ended up attending pre-school two years early.

 

I hope that answers your question...

[Sugar*Magnolia]

I think you will hear varying experiences. I think it has a lot to do with how many kids are on board/ what time of year. I have seen a 14yo allowed to move to the 15-17yo bracket- all that means is the 14yo was allowed into the "Teen club", because there is no counselor for that age group- but, they ALL Want to get into the teen club. They will not allow a waiver for a 13yo to go into the teen club- nor will they allow an 18yo in.

 

18 -20 is a VERY tough age on board- Tell your 18yo son to scope out the same age looking kids, both boys and girls and to try the 'old fashioned' way of meeting, just say hello! There are MANY kids the same age in the same boat (no pun lol) and also looking to meet same aged people. Its tried and true and always works. My DD has met others this way on our past 2 cruises. Also, there IS sometimes..............a meet and greet for this age...READ the Compass cover to cover on day 1 and 2....it isnt highly publicized so isnt highly attended, but again, every cruise is different.

[Uncle Fester]

It has been suggested by others that bringing her high school identification may help in being allowed in the older group. The 12 to 14 year old group appears, based on the age, to be centered on junior high/middle school students, while the 15 to 17 is clearly centered in high school students. Showing that she is already in high school may help to sway the staff, but it is still up to the staff's discretion.

[buzymom3]

Thank You so very much for all the helpful hints...:D What I did not mention is that my 14 year old is 5'9" and would probably look like a babysitter in the 12-14 group! lol

 

I will bring her HS ID for sure. I am more concerned about my 18 year old....he is not real outgoing...but if pushed a little I think that he will expand his social horizons! I am 1/2 way thinking of letting him bring a friend, but now sure how that would work out with rooms.

 

I'm gonna just play it by ear and hope it all works out. He would love the arcade and also just hanging by the pool, etc. He and my hubby are really close so they may go out and about too. I think it will be fine.

 

Just hope that they have that 18 - 20 meet n greet that would be wonderful.

Again, everyone...thank you so much for your help! What a nice board this is!!

janet

[Tweety1961]

I think sometimes it depends on the ship and how many teens are on board. We sailed the Vision in Aug and my 14 & 16 year olds did alot together. I was a bit upset at first that they did let 18-20 yr olds in the teen disco at night. But my girls said they were well behaved. There were even some younger kids in there, no one was checking id's or anything, but some of that is up to the parents to tell them they shouldn't be in there. One parent complained about how some of the teens were dancing, and they made everyone leave. My girls said they think it was a parent of a "younger" teen that was "sneaking" in. I think some 18 yr olds don't want to be in the adult disco because it's too boring! My friends and I were sometimes bored in there too. Our kids had a good time every night!!!

[krmlaw]

We were on Grandeur in 2006, and my 13 yo DS moved up to the teem club, with no problems.