HELP What is there to do for young adults on Celebrity Equinox

My son is a bit upset. He came home from college and said he looked a bit at this cruise we booked and it has nothing exciting on it. I did kind of book it spur of the moment and it does have a lot of sea days. He's too young to drink and too old for the kids club. I also have a 14 year old who doesn't like the kids clubs either.

From your experience, what did your kids enjoy doing on this ship? I can see them enjoying the pool but for maybe an hour or two tops.

When & where are you going? Depending upon when and where you are sailing there may be others his age that he can hang out with.

Celebrity doesn’t have many of the things (water slides, rock climbing wall, flow rider, mini golf, ice rink) that other cruise lines have that interest young adults. There is the pool, fitness center, sports court and a arcade but frankly I can’t think of much for a late teen to do. Hopefully others who have cruised with children that age can help.

I agree with your son. Celebrity is probably not the right cruise line for teenagers. You might look at Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

Back when my kidz were younger I might have empathized w you, but now they are grown and gone. [emoji106]

I like Celebrity because they do not cater to children or families. There are lots of cruise lines that do. Enjoy your vacation!!

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Finding things to do on a Celebrity ship for a teenager depends a lot on the personality of the teenager. Our kid uses the sea days to catch up on sleep, attending enrichment speakers, watching the hot glass show, making many visits to the cafe for cookies, and using the gym. On our Equinox cruise the enrichment speaker was a spelunker who gave talks / slide shows on 4 different days about world-wide exhibitions he had done. Our kid also does not use X-Club and finds it boring.

Where are you sailing? If you visit Europe, the days are extemely full, same for Alaska, Asia, Australia etc., and he’ll probably welcome the downtime. We have 2 teens who thoroughly enjoy their time on X cruises. During their sailings, they usually make many friends from all over the world. If he’s looking for rock climbing walls etc., then they are not on X ships but there are alternatives as mentioned in the above post. I do think sometimes it’s also what you plan as a family - we get off at every port and explore (whether it be independent excursion, ship tour or just exploring on our own).

Our experiences are similar to Villauk. Our son, as a teen, was involved with all our cruise planning.

We generally cruised RC when our son was a pre and early teen. By his mid teens we were cruising X more than RC.

On world wide trips we would always vary the excursion choices including sporting opportunities like paragliding and snorkelling, visiting historical sites (all of which we ensured he knew something about before visiting), city visits....We didn’t always visit the obvious sites, for example, in Barcelona we visited the football stadium (he loved watching and playing football).

Whilst as a pre-teen he enjoyed the wall climbing, mini golf and other activities on RC ....we found the novelty did wear off. By the time he was an early teen he was far more interested in where he was going than what the ship was like as long as we had good food and a nice room! Whilst there were fewer young people on board X ships he usually found a few to mix with. He had never engaged with the large RC children’s clubs.

As Villauk said, our son also enjoyed just crashing out on sea days...he would always take his latest gadgets with him...A visit to the gym, swimming, a behind the scenes tour and the days flew...

A real bonus to us has been about sharing precious family time...We always took playing cards and a chess set with us. Amazing to have quality time together....We chatted to our son recently about cruising memory highlights. His highlights included watching the stars on the balcony late at night with his Dad, sailing into Sydney Harbour, a sea plane excursion and dining with the Captain for the first time! No mention of flow riders....

I suggest you all, as a family, look at some you tube videos of Equinox. She really is a nice ship. Then look closely at the ports of call and excursion opportunities and then see what you think.....

I can empathize with you! I think the worst ages to cruise are 18, 19 and 20. Too old for the organized activities where it's easy to meet other people your age and too young for all of the adult activities.

My oldest son did not enjoy cruising. His last cruise was at age 16. My youngest son loved it. The last time we cruised together he was 20. Kids that age are allowed in the casino! They can play the machines but not the tables. We did that a lot... he won enough to buy himself a really nice watch. We were traveling with his grandmother so he spent time with her... shopping, bingo, trivia, etc.

If your son is outgoing and enjoys meeting people he will find others to hang out with. My oldest wasn't interested in doing that and was bored. My youngest is a social butterfly and always made fast friends. He was never bored.

Plan to be very busy on port days... so sleeping late and having a down day at sea is more enjoyable.

Also... he's spending his college break ON A CRUISE. I mean, come on. How bad can that be? If he were my ADULT son, I'd have a talk about being grateful or staying home alone. This is about family time, not his vacation time. And if I were you, I would not be concerned about him being pleased with the cruise you chose. When he's paying for it, he can choose.

Probably not a good thing but if he's 18 he can play in the casino on Celebrity.

My son is a bit upset. He came home from college and said he looked a bit at this cruise we booked and it has nothing exciting on it. I did kind of book it spur of the moment and it does have a lot of sea days. He's too young to drink and too old for the kids club. I also have a 14 year old who doesn't like the kids clubs either.

 

From your experience, what did your kids enjoy doing on this ship? I can see them enjoying the pool but for maybe an hour or two tops.[/quote

On a Celebrity longer cruise you might get lucky with some younger people for your son to play sports.

The basketball court is rarely used but if enough young people are onboard then pick up soccer and basketball will be ongoing. Years ago when I was younger I found the crew playing basketball late at night and joined in. Very competitive. Pool volleyball and ping pong is something offered.

We did take our 3 children when they were in college and luckily during semester break they found friends and really enjoyed their experience.

Try contacting Celebrity for information on age of passengers. I did in years past and knew ahead of time.

I hope you enjoy!

Young adults usually meet others and find their own things to do. Perhaps checking on the roll call for others in the same position might help.

WHat does he like to do in his free time?

Is he shy or outgoing?

What's his major?

Without knowing something about him, it's hard to give recommendations

Hmmmm.....

Celebrity generally does not cater to this age group. I went on a spring break cruise and the kids couldn't even use their cell phones. The kids of one of the families we encounters upstairs in the sky lounge noted that their cruise was 'intolerable'! Those were their exact words! I pointed out that there were whales surfacing and they rolled their eyes at me. I guess I shouldn't have gotten involved.

Now, all teenagers are different but we took my nephews on a cruise right before they turned 21 and those poor kids were bored to death. We did happen across them in the casino A LOT ... but not sure if you want to introduce your older one to that habit. BTW, the only other people on that cruise that were even close to their age were a couple of the crew members. They had a young adult gathering set up but nobody else showed so they thought it had been canceled. It wasn't that it was canceled, it was that nobody was in that age group (I seem to recall it included from 18-21 years old).

It looks as though maybe you've already booked it but if not, RCCL has more family activities. If so, as others have stated, there is basketball and fun lawn games on the S-class ships. The glass blowing show is also fun and there are movies, both on demand in the room and in the theater. Trivia might also interest the older one. Most activities are geared towards a more mature crowd on Celebrity, though.

My son is a bit upset. He came home from college and said he looked a bit at this cruise we booked and it has nothing exciting on it. I did kind of book it spur of the moment and it does have a lot of sea days. He's too young to drink and too old for the kids club. I also have a 14 year old who doesn't like the kids clubs either.

 

From your experience, what did your kids enjoy doing on this ship? I can see them enjoying the pool but for maybe an hour or two tops.

Are you able to cancel and book another ship? Maybe find alternative cruises and have your children look at them so they can help decide. After all it's them themselves who know what they'll enjoy doing. :)

While we have seen roving packs of teens all looking like they were having fun, I think your years are numbered as to how much longer the kids will want to vacation with you. Celebrity does not have as much of the fun stuff for teens as some other lines, so why not make this trip one that all will enjoy? You'll have plenty of time as empty nesters to enjoy Celebrity before the grandkids come along and you're all on Disney. :)

I wouldn't cancel the cruise. Celebrity is a great cruise line and the Equinox is a nice ship. If your son is really worried about not having anything to do, you can always purchase an internet package. Then he can show off on social media that he's on a cruise. Like other people said, there are shows and various entertainment options throughout the day as well. Post on the roll call and it is possible there will be other people his age sailing with their parents too, especially if it's during a college break. He can also download the Ship Mate app to meet other people on the sailing. There's also a nice gym with fitness classes.

My son is a bit upset. He came home from college and said he looked a bit at this cruise we booked and it has nothing exciting on it. I did kind of book it spur of the moment and it does have a lot of sea days. He's too young to drink and too old for the kids club. I also have a 14 year old who doesn't like the kids clubs either.

 

From your experience, what did your kids enjoy doing on this ship? I can see them enjoying the pool but for maybe an hour or two tops.

X is boring for all age groups.

Ok what is it with parent that think that the children might get boarded on vacation ?

Stop it your paying for this and I’m sure your going to like Celebrity. He’s a young adult and if he’s a friendly person he will find others to hang around with and if not he will just have to spend good family time with his generous parents that brought him on this cruise.

Why would you have to adapt to his needs and not him to your ?

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My son is 22and we will be on Reflection next week. He told me yesterday that he is looking forward to being unplugged for 11 days. We are super active while in port but chill in an alcove on sea days.

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He can do the same things he does in college, but in a ship. Drink, gamble, chase girls.

My son preferred Royal Caribbean, but he also loved his Celebrity cruises. It's all about expectations. He slept in, chilled out on his laptop watching movies or playing downloaded video games, played games with us like Scrabble, swam, worked out, enjoyed the shows, read books, enjoyed the meals, and amazingly enough enjoyed time with his FAMILY, who not coincidentally was footing the whole bill:). and on and on. He was not into mixing with other teens, but he could have done that as well.

Celebrity is not a good choice for families with young children or teenagers. He’ll be completely bored. Book with another cruise line.

Assuming the cruise is during a school break period there will be other young adults on the ship. We spent Christmas and New Years on the Equinox in 2011 and our then 16 and 17 year olds loved it. They spent almost no time at the organized kids club, but had no problem meeting other similar aged young adults who they very much enjoyed spending time with on sea days and in the evenings. They had no trouble entertaining themselves. They even continue to stay in touch with a few of them to this day. I assume you are paying his way, and really he should be happy he's going.

My son is a bit upset. He came home from college and said he looked a bit at this cruise we booked and it has nothing exciting on it. I did kind of book it spur of the moment and it does have a lot of sea days. He's too young to drink and too old for the kids club. I also have a 14 year old who doesn't like the kids clubs either.

 

From your experience, what did your kids enjoy doing on this ship? I can see them enjoying the pool but for maybe an hour or two tops.

Did you actually go? If so, did your older son find something to do?

We are booked with our 15 & 19 YO children We have traveled Celebrity, RCI & Carnival before and have a very solid appreciation of what each line offers. As the one paying for vacation, I prefer the Celebrity Ships. That being said, our daughters have consistently rated the Celebrity kids program and activities over RCI & Carnival. Take away the port days and the "mandatory" time with mom and dad and they really only need to fill a relatively small slice of time.

Our recent experience with the teenage traveler is they find a pack and shuffle around harmlessly from place to place.

I do appreciate the gap years of 18-20 might be a bit of a challenge. I have seen a Gen NXT "event" listed in a couple of the dailies. Do any 18-20 YO actually show up?

As I said, we have already booked. Posted on our Roll Call. We complicate matters by not telling our kids ahead of time what we will be doing so she cannot be proactive in trying to figure things out.

Anyway, just curious what any 18-20 YO passengers or parents have to say. Equinox specifically, but general comments welcome.

When my daughter was 18 and just graduated from HS we took a Mediterranean cruise on the Millie. She did have a friend with her, but because it was the summer, there were plenty of young people around her age - they usually met up around the pool on sea days (in port we had extensive shore excursions - some of which her and her friend picked and went on by themselves) and after dinner later at night, went to the venue with dancing till the wee hours of the morning. Neither of them had any issues with being on a Celebrity ship (and the Millie isn't even an S class ship).