Teens On Board

Stinkerbellorama--

Just looked at your blog as I was trying to personally message you. What beautiful pictures!

For the right teenagers, SD is a wonderful vacation.

Might be "right" for the teens but what about the rest of the passengers who relied on the representation it was going to be 56 adult couples? There is the rub isn't it these days in this situation and so many others, no? People not respecting boundaries!

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jes4845,

I agree to a point, however...if Seadream does not make its policy clear to the public then I assume we are allowed to bring teenagers? I have seen worse behavior from adults on Seadream...we may be joining another couple in July who will be bringing their teenage son...and I would travel with him before I would some adults I know...Seriously though, I think there's more of a problem with younger children...running, jumping on furniture screaming in the hallways...that sort of behaviour. We think there definitely should be an age limit. IMHO.

Kathy.

Agree with fpeebles. Seadream is just fine for the right teenagers, and most of the guests will enjoy the company of people with different ages and backgrounds, that's one of the attractions of seadream, pound for pound it seems to attract more interesting people than most.

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Agree with fpeebles. Seadream is just fine for the right teenagers, and most of the guests will enjoy the company of people with different ages and backgrounds, that's one of the attractions of seadream, pound for pound it seems to attract more interesting people than most.

100 % agreement from my side!

We met such nice people (an one very special "son of a gun") onboard SD II - these encounters stay in our hearts and our minds for a long time ... :)

At the risk of getting a virtual drink thrown at me here, and despite my earlier post about some past SD voyages with teens working out great and others horrendously, please permit this provocative threshold question. No matter how well behaved in fact or perception one's teens may be, why in the first place would one want to bring them on a small luxury yacht that markets itself as being for 56 couples? There are so many other options. Why not enjoy the ship as a couple and leave your teens something to look forward to when they can go as a couple? Said differently, why wouldn't one respect the nature of the voyage including the target audience and self-select to go elsewhere? Is this caught up in people wanting their kids to be their friends?

 

 

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It is a fair question and deserves an answer.

I spend what seems like every waking moment searching for vacations for my family. So far, my record is unblemished. Whether Seabourn or Rome or St Barths or Amalfi or dozens of other places, I have picked fantastic trips for us.

As it happens, I must plan months or even a year ahead of time because I get no flexibility in my schedule. And the week with which I have to work is the last time I will ever get Spring Break with our last child because I only get Spring Break off once every three years. Long story short, I have ZERO flexibility in the week chosen.

Having only one week, we wanted to stay nearby and not do Europe for this trip. And having stayed at several fine caribbean hotels - and having some on the book for later this year - we decided to mix it up a bit. We looked at Seabourn but they vacate the region a couple of weeks prior to our date. So they are out. And, not wanting to sound too much like a pigdog, once you have done Seabourn and some of the other things we have done, the Lesser Brands just don't cut it. I suppose I should state here that I have been on over a dozen cruises and on multiple different lines. Loved them all. But we have worked our way, or at least our preferences, to enjoying luxuries.

We could have gone to any of the several caribbean hotels we have visited before but this is our last spring break as a family so we wanted to do something different.

My daughter is quiet, impeccably mannered and polite well beyond her years. I find it inconceivable that folks would fine her a nuisance. Indeed, she was the youngest on our Seabourn Cruise a couple of years ago and was the darling of the ship.

I suspect that we will have a very good time as we have booked the trip. We are friendly folks who are happy to leave others alone unless they choose to visit with us. Since our cruise will go to some places that we have been to DOZENS of times, we will be happy to pass long information to fellow passengers who would like such information.

We look forward to the trip and I appreciate everyone's input.

Seabourn again,

You will have a wonderful experience on Seadream! We are thoroughly hooked on it ourselves! 😀 sorry if I missed it but what islands will you be headed to?

Your daughter sounds lovely! And I am sure she will be fine and love the experience. After all! You can't go wrong in the Caribbean! Where everything is IRIE!! 🌴☀️

Kathy.

Seabourn again,

 

You will have a wonderful experience on Seadream! We are thoroughly hooked on it ourselves! sorry if I missed it but what islands will you be headed to?

 

Your daughter sounds lovely! And I am sure she will be fine and love the experience. After all! You can't go wrong in the Caribbean! Where everything is IRIE!! ☀️

 

Kathy.

Hello Kathy:

We are doing the standard "northern caribbean" which will include St John, BVI, Saba, St Barths, Barbuda, etc. We have done USVI, various islands, multiple times. We have done Puerto Rico (one of the ports) by boat a couple of times. We have done St Barths dozens of times. Saba will be new for us and we look forward to seeing it.

We have done other islands (Jamaica, Anguilla, etc) that are not on this cruise but which we also enjoyed.

Might be "right" for the teens but what about the rest of the passengers who relied on the representation it was going to be 56 adult couples? There is the rub isn't it these days in this situation and so many others, no? People not respecting boundaries!

I assume you are joking. Are these your boundaries?

Because the logical extension is that only adult white heterosexual couples in their 50's, beautifully tanned and at their target BMI's need apply. To fit your image of the "perfect" Seadreamer.

Seadream is not a gated community. We have really enjoyed the diversity of people we have met, and found that the Seadream product is more about the interesting conversations, relaxed lifestyle, and fabulous service than whether the guests are just like us.

As to why we travel with our children (occasionally) - Seadream also offers some pretty special itineraries in the Med and Adriatic which are culturally enriching. We are fortunate enough to be able to share these exposures with our children at a time in their life when it really broadens their horizons. Once out of their early 20's, it is unlikely that their work schedules and ours will cross again for another 20 years.

Are our children "our friends"? We have travelled all over the world with them, and lived abroad multiple times. They are at least as interesting as some of the Seadream passengers we have met. Better read, and help us see the world through different eyes.

I understand the concern about children and teens who behave in ways that are intrusive and rude to other guests. But to object because they don't match your image of the perfect guest (and therefore crosses your boundaries)? I'd recommend a charter.

Reunionmama,

While I know JES4845 and some others have had near scarring experiences with poorly behaved children on SeaDream, and don't doubt that many of us would have had similar reactions if we had spent our hard earned money on a cruise and were welcomed by out of control children (or adults!), I appreciate the spirit of your post as it gets to what the heart of what I enjoy about SeaDream. Fortunately, the bad experiences with misbehaving children or adults are the exception, and if one wants a guarantee in life, you will likely miss out on many wonderful experiences. I'd rather take 5 SeaDream cruises with one of them badly impacted by misbehaving children or adults than have never taken a SeaDream cruise and miss out on all of the good.

Just my opinion.

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You have to play the odds here and the odds that children (and I'm not talking teens here) will misbehave are far greater than adults. The misbehavior on their parents' part is not intervening.

Hard to disagree with that, as you go from teens to "kids", the odds they add to the experience of other passengers goes way down and the odds they become a distraction goes up. Sad but true.

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Welcome the opportunity to clarify what I was trying to convey earlier. This is especially important as to reunion taking my perhaps imprecise, ill-advised use of the term "boundaries" to an extreme not intended and certainly not applicable to our political views and how we conduct our lives including on board. Trust me, the last thing I would enjoy is a voyage of folks just like us. We, too, enjoy SD and travel around the world generally to share experiences with people from various countries and walks of life. The reference to "boundaries" was meant only to refer to what is plainly on the home page of SD - 56 couples as in adults. Granted they don't enforce it but it is what they market the experience to be and no doubt why many sail with SD. As I've posted often on this topic, those postings show I've readily conceded we have had voyages with teens and younger kids that worked out just fine and the teens were part of what made it enjoyable. However, and it is a big one, we spent a long 13 days in August 2013 going around the Black Sea with a large group that included children and teens egged on by parents and other "adults" in the group to yell, scream and run in the hallways and at the pool. Because of the size of the group (read dollars spent) they were largely given the latitude to do so. Also agree that the experience on SD is well worth taking the risk so we will be returning this August for the first time since the ill-fated Black Sea misadventure. To SD shoreside's credit they readily answered when asked that thus far no groups and no children are booked. We are eagerly looking forward to this voyage.

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I, as most of you know, wish SD would become "Adults Only". Exactly one less than half of all our SD voyages have been marred by unruly kids on board. Yes, they will tell you if you ask but SD is singular in that cancellation penalties begin at 120 days out and escalate from there. Lots can and does happen in the last 4 months. We love SeaDream when they deliver what they market. Without a doubt a product worth what is charged. However, if you pay $10,000+ for a week in the Caribbean (as yall know other itineraries can go quite a bit higher) it is disconcerting to guess whether or not you will get what is advertised and what you pay for. It is why we have been so careful about booking SD. If there was just some guarantee that the only thing you need to worry about is the occasional drunken adult (well, and the weather) I would be much more agreeable to more SD trips. Yes, adults can cause problems but the major difference is they will put disruptive adults ashore. I have witnessed it twice. Never have I seen them send a kid ashore.:eek::D:D

I guess the moral, Jim, is to book during the last month prior to sailing. And if you can't get what you want count yourself lucky that you didn't get stuck on another "Disney" adventure.

So, after all that's been said...how does it look for children on my voyage?

Febuary 14th...yikes!! Still in school right? :eek:

Kathy.

So, after all that's been said...how does it look for children on my voyage?

Febuary 14th...yikes!! Still in school right? :eek:

 

Kathy.

Give SD a call and ask. As far as "still in school", not just SeaDream, it seems people take kids out of school and take them everywhere at any time. :eek:

Anyone sailed over thanksgiving with SeaDream? I assume extended families are on board at this time with a few kids? Got a good Past cruiser offer for Nov 22.....