Teens first Cruise

[jesturn]

I'm taking my 2 teens on their first cruise. They DO NOT like to participate in the "teen groups".

 

What activities are typically restricted to "adults" only. They would enjoy Bingo & some of the "game show" activities etc.

 

Can they go to some of the activities in the lounges (in the daytime)?

[serene56]

I'm taking my 2 teens on their first cruise. They DO NOT like to participate in the "teen groups".

 

What activities are typically restricted to "adults" only. They would enjoy Bingo & some of the "game show" activities etc.

 

Can they go to some of the activities in the lounges (in the daytime)?

 

 

How old are these teens. Getting together with the kids of their age group is VERY important on a cruise-- or you will have bored kids all week.

Most kids in the 12-14 group only tend to hang out with each other--play cards and eat pizza all week.

When we sailed with 3 13 year old girls we made the meet and greet mandatory-like the life boat drill. (wont know if you like it if you dont try it

 

They can participate in the trivias, (they can play bingo but will need an adult with them in case they win- have to be 18 or over to win and bingo is very expensive now-- 20 bucks a pop)

 

Game shows-- will pick adults. The shows at night they can head to.

 

Some of the activities in the lounges might be boring to them-- shopping talks or port of calls talks.

There is a family pool games one day

[Essiesmom]

I'm taking my 2 teens on their first cruise. They DO NOT like to participate in the "teen groups".

 

What activities are typically restricted to "adults" only. They would enjoy Bingo & some of the "game show" activities etc.

 

Can they go to some of the activities in the lounges (in the daytime)?

If this is their first cruise, how do they know they do not like the teen groups? They can't go into the casino, nor the bars...There will be hours they can't be in karaoke and the disco (perhaps after 10pm).

They can go to all the shows except the late night ones, which will be marked for adults only.

It is my understanding that the teen groups do not have the same structure as the younger groups, and teens pick and choose what they want to attend, mostly just hang out together around the ship. EM

[arpie05]

the teen group is what they make of it. My son on his last cruise said that if he hadn't been in there the first night, that there would have been kids who wouldn't have stayed. There was a group of boys that ended up hanging out the whole cruise together. They took advantage of the planned activities - making pizzas, games, computer game times, music etc and then did other stuff the other time. The only chance to meet kids their age is if they go to the meet and greet. Give it a chance and meet a few kids and they can be their best friends for the week. Otherwise they will hate the vacation. By going to the meet and greet, they end up running the show and having a great time. He is 14 and started cruising at 9.

[jjtimes6]

We just took three teens on a cruise. For the 13 and 16 year old, it was the first. For the 17 year old, it was her second.

 

The 17 year old was not excited, as she has been on an Alaskan cruise with her grandparents (on another cruise line), and there were about 30 kids in the club. She spent the week hanging out with her grandparents. She did not want to go the clubs on Carnival, due to that experience. The 16 year old made her go to orientation, where they discovered that there were 900 kids in their age group! They made a ton of friends, and had an incredible week. They are in constant contact with about 20 of the kids they met.

 

The 13 year old missed the orientation, due to the fact that she is the most obstinate human being to ever walk the planet, and would not let me take her there. (She insisted on going alone, and did not find the room in time.) She proceeded to spend the first day at sea in her room, reading a book. My husband and I were finally able to coax her out, got her to the club room, where she met a girl her age who scooped her up and took her to meet her new friends. That was pretty much the last we saw of her, aside from dinner and excursions!

 

Get them to go to the club orientation. Once they go, they will meet people their age and have a blast. Bribe them if you have to!

[seguincruiser]

I agree with the other posters. Have them go to the meet at greet. Its not that long and on the first day when theres not much going on anyway. If they don't end up liking it, they can just hang with each other. I don't know about your cruise but usually there is only 1 or 2 sea days, the rest you'll be busy doing port stuff.

[Warm Breezes]

How old are these teens. Getting together with the kids of their age group is VERY important on a cruise-- or you will have bored kids all week.

Most kids in the 12-14 group only tend to hang out with each other--play cards and eat pizza all week.

When we sailed with 3 13 year old girls we made the meet and greet mandatory-like the life boat drill. (wont know if you like it if you dont try it

 

They can participate in the trivias, (they can play bingo but will need an adult with them in case they win- have to be 18 or over to win and bingo is very expensive now-- 20 bucks a pop)

 

Game shows-- will pick adults. The shows at night they can head to.

 

Some of the activities in the lounges might be boring to them-- shopping talks or port of calls talks.

There is a family pool games one day

 

I disagree with this statement. It all depends on your kids. Your teens sound like mine. They don't get into the group things on cruises either but they still have a great time. They are 13 and 15 and are always in separate age groups when we cruise so they prefer to hang out together or with us rather than a bunch of kids they don't know. Cruising is their favorite vacation so they find a lot to do without hanging out with the kids in the teen clubs. Some of the things they enjoy: basketball, ping pong, arcade, trivia, bingo, horse racing, mini-golf, the slide, laying out on the deck listening to music or playing on their ipod, watching activities on the lido, going to the shows, playing card games with each other by the pool...the list goes on and they are by no means bored. Don't worry...I'm sure they will have a blast and will find plenty to keep them busy.

[LemurCat]

I disagree with this statement. It all depends on your kids.

 

Pretty much, WB. Some kids just aren't joiners or prefer the company of their siblings.

[myers0214]

Another person who agrees with the above comments. My son(15) is not the most outgoing and we convinced him to go the first night. He says the cruise was the best week of his life. He met tons of friends and they still keep in touch. They can come and go from the club - usually they just roamed the ship together. I think they might have a bad idea of what the "teen club" is. It would not hurt to just have them check it out so they don't miss out on something fun.

[NC66]

Did you let your kids walk around by themselves or where there Carnival counselors with them most of the time? We're thinking of going on the Dream in November and I'm a little concerned about our 13 year old being on her own just exploring or going to different places on the ship with people she's just met. We have cruised before,once on Carnival and 4 times with Disney Cruise Lines. On the Carnival ship it was only a 3 night cruise and we had nieces and nephews with us. On the Disney cruises most of the time that she was out and about she was going to the kids programs and meeting up with Disney cast members/counselors then they would venture out together as a group. Sorry if I'm being over paranoid but this is a crazy world we're living in today!

[serene56]

Did you let your kids walk around by themselves or where there Carnival counselors with them most of the time? We're thinking of going on the Dream in November and I'm a little concerned about our 13 year old being on her own just exploring or going to different places on the ship with people she's just met.!

 

 

we set rules for the kids when they sailed- They were only allowed in the public spaces of the ship and going to someones cabin for any reason was forbidden. As long as she stays in the public areas she will be fine.

 

They would let us know where they were--- and use a public phone to leave a message at the cabin when that place changed to another location.

[Tbay-eh]

I am with the others who say - take them to the meet for teens. If they decide after that not to participate - then fine. My kids didn't want to go on the first cruise, I said okay but any whining about being bored, nothing to do etc they would be confined to cabin (wouldn't really do it) - had a couple of close calls. Half way through they went to one of the clubs just to see what it was like and bingo, they had fun and wished (their words) "that I had made them go the first night" Go figure - Ma was right. Some times kids just need a nudge but only you know what your kids are like - not us.

[barbnbrian]

My daughters are 16 and 13, so they'd be in separate clubs, right? Then there's my niece or will be turning 12 on the last day of the cruise. My niece and my 13 yr. old would love to hang out in the same club. Will they make an exception for my niece to let her in the next age group club if she is turning the correct age during the cruise?

[md10074]

I hope my kids make friends and enjoy the clubs, but it's not gonna be easy. My 14 year old son has PDD, a form of autism. He isn't outgoing, doesn't like to talk to strange kids and would rather stay in his room all the time. I'm going to force him to go to the first night and hope some outgoing kid makes friends with him. If they make that first step towards him, then I know he'll enjoy going. If not, then he's going to be my shadow for the week. :(

 

Same with my daughter, although she'll only be 7. She's shy to the point of selective mutism, but if another kid makes friends with her first, then she'll be happy to go there.

[Tbay-eh]

I hope my kids make friends and enjoy the clubs, but it's not gonna be easy. My 14 year old son has PDD, a form of autism. He isn't outgoing, doesn't like to talk to strange kids and would rather stay in his room all the time. I'm going to force him to go to the first night and hope some outgoing kid makes friends with him. If they make that first step towards him, then I know he'll enjoy going. If not, then he's going to be my shadow for the week. :(

 

Same with my daughter, although she'll only be 7. She's shy to the point of selective mutism, but if another kid makes friends with her first, then she'll be happy to go there.

 

I truly hope for the best for you and your children - it sounds like you also really need a break too. There are alot of out going children and hopeful one will take them under their wing. Have a great cruise and your children are very lucky to have such an understanding parent.

[pokergirl34]

I hope my kids make friends and enjoy the clubs, but it's not gonna be easy. My 14 year old son has PDD, a form of autism. He isn't outgoing, doesn't like to talk to strange kids and would rather stay in his room all the time. I'm going to force him to go to the first night and hope some outgoing kid makes friends with him. If they make that first step towards him, then I know he'll enjoy going. If not, then he's going to be my shadow for the week. :(

 

Same with my daughter, although she'll only be 7. She's shy to the point of selective mutism, but if another kid makes friends with her first, then she'll be happy to go there.

 

I am sure even if they hang out with you they will still have a great time. My 15 yr old son is like your daughter :(. He absolutely needs another kid to bring him out of his shell. (Last time we really saw him socialize with an unknown kid, it was a gorgeous, very outgoing, and very sweet girl ;)) Otherwise he'll end up in the room all day too chained to the tv or his DS. That's one of the reasons we chose an itinerary with 4 ports, so he'll be active with us.

 

My 9 year old went to Camp Carnival a little it on our last cruise but really had more fun with the kids by the pool.

 

We are hoping to get them both to enjoy other kids on the cruise. Unfortunately we are probably going to miss the meet and greet since we have Late Dining. I am going to try to get them in contact with kids from our roll call before we sail to help them make friends.

[NotWthOutablcony]

I don't agree with making them go, many many years ago :rolleyes: my parents took me on my first cruise, I was 15 and the Elation was new (enough said) anyhow, I also was not a mingler, I didn't do the club thing, I didn't want to speak with anyone my own age, I don't like loud music or dancing, yes I'm boring, but truth be told, I have not changed much over the years. I would have MUCH rather spend time with my parents, and that's exactly what I did, and still do to this day, as they are my "travelling buddies" :D Wouldn't have it any other way, I knew what I wanted and didn't want, had I been forced into something I did not want to do, I would have had a miserable time, and probably would have discouraged my being on any other cruise with my parents. To this day we still have a wonderful time together, it made us much closer.

[Tbay-eh]

We are hoping to get them both to enjoy other kids on the cruise. Unfortunately we are probably going to miss the meet and greet since we have Late Dining. I am going to try to get them in contact with kids from our roll call before we sail to help them make friends.

 

This my own personal opinion so please feel free to tell me take a flying leap but I would miss dinner and eat at the buffet if it meant taking your child to the meet and greet. It is only one meal and it is the first night - you can make all the others and meet your table mates the next evening - I am sure they would understand why you missed if you even want to explain

[5waldos]

My son is very much NOT a group person or a joiner. Except onboard. He adores the club (now 16- 3 cruises so far). He is at the club before sailaway and we barely see him until we disembark. He mostly hangs out- does a bit of the organized ativities, but gets to know lots of kids. It is more like a club for teens rather than a camp (in the older groups anyway). I would recommend that they check it out at least- never would have expected my kid to enjoy it, for sure. In fact, I'm not sure about cruising with him after he hits 18- I'm not sure what he would do.

[17andacruiseaddict]

I just wrote about this on my roll call. so I will just copy and paste what I said there.

For all of the parents who are worried about their kids not finding any other kids their age to hang out with, don't. Lol that is the best advice I can give you.

My first cruise was when I was 6 years old. There was some little parade the kids group was having out on deck the first day. My mom suggested that I go and join them. I told her I was shy. She kind of got a little mad at me. She said, "I did not pay all this money and come all this way for you to get shy. Now go and play with those kids and have a good time."

Ever since then, I have loooooved cruising. Every cruise, I could not wait to go to the kids group and meet new friends and party hard for the rest of the week. I'd walk in, not knowing anybody. Sit down somewhere, introduce myself to the nearest kid, and BAM! New friend. The last time I was in a kids group was 3 years ago when I was 17 (ClubO2). I miss every moment of it. Being in groups made it much easier to meet people. From about 13 til now, I never really saw my mom on a cruise except for excursions. We would decide early in the day if we wanted to meet up for dinner or not.

When I turned 18, it was a little harder to meet people around my age, b ut every cruise I have managed to do so.

Remind your kids that they only have a week to make the most of this vacation. Now is not the time to freeze up. If they are clinging on to you, peel em off and drop them off with the next kid you see that is close to their age. Let them have their own vacation away from you, but still not too far from you. Give them certain times to meet up with you so you can check up on them and spend some time with them. But give them the chance of coming back to you telling you stories of what they did that day instead of you knowing their every move because they were at your side the whole time.

 

 

 

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[Havingfun2010]

Just two comments:

 

#1. Not every teen likes to make new friends, and hang out with strangers.

#2. Please encourage them to go to the first night activities, and let "THEM" decide what to do. They already do group activities everyday in school and not all activites are group activities. So they just might find something, or events, that they might enjoy!

 

They can not play Bingo, it is gambling but they can watch you. They can go to the adult type shows, like the wonderful art auction during the day with you, or have an xbox competition in the teen room. (Somehow, the art auction doesn't seem appealing to a teen).

[BarJen]

I agree with the points other CC members are making, let the kids see what activities are available in their groups, if they really aren't into it there are still pleanty of thing that you guys will enjoy seeing and doing as a family.

We like to take advantage of the time away from computers and television and spend time together just talking, and hanging out and enjoying watching the world go by on the ship. :)