Can teens wander alone?

[DarceyJK]

Hi All! We are a family of 6 and all first timers. Our cruise is over Xmas vacation and I will have two 14 year olds. Is it safe for them to wander the ship alone or should they always be with an adult? Any and all info would be appreciated! Thanks!!

[cruzeluver]

Only you know what is right for you and your teens, however, unless they are particularly immature or have really bad judgment, there is no reason they cannot wander around the ship unescorted.

[paul929207]

Most ships have a childrens program that is split by age, so your 14 yo could participate in that.

[luvs2travl]

You know your children better than anyone else. Just keep in mind that a ship is really like a small city. There are the good, the bad, and sometimes even the 'ugly' on board. Are your kids responsible children at home? Do they obey your 'house rules' or do they tend to push the envelope? Are they always where they say they will be? Are they easily influenced by others? Those are questions only you can answer.

 

Generally speaking, ships are pretty safe places. Just remember that the ship nor the crew are 'babysitters' for your kids. The one exception being, of course, the Kid's Club's on board where they will keep a close eye on the kids.

 

We take a family cruise every year. The younger kids (not teens) love the Kid's Clubs. We have two older teens which may or may not choose to participate in the ship's teen activities, but they are also extremely responsible kids (16 and 17) and the family always knows where they are.

 

Only you can decide what's best for your children. Set down some firm ground rules and I'm sure you all will be fine. Enjoy your cruise and Smooth Sailing to you always. :)

[DarceyJK]

Thanks all! They are very responsible girls - they both babysit alot, are not easily swayed by peer pressure, and (most of the time) respect our house rules! I think we should be ok if they do a few activities by themselves - hopefully they wont totally diss their parents on vacation.. Lol!! Thanks again!

[rian90]

Be careful. Some bad things happen on cruises, just as bad things happen anywhere you have crowds of people, a number of them drinking heavily. I do not allow my girls to wander alone on the ship except to meet us somewhere during the daytime. I will tell them, for example, to come to such and such place after the kids' program and they better be there or we will come looking for them. I would not let my 14 year old wander around after dinner when people are more likely to be drinking or on a cruise with a lot of young people who might be drinking more than usual.

 

I would do a little research if I were you. There have been cases of young girls tricked into drinking ending up in their cabins, most likely because 14 year olds can look like 18 year olds these days. Its very difficult to tell. After reading these stories, I no longer treat the ship as if its any safer than letting my child run around in a tourist destination anywhere. Sometimes its that false sense of security that can cause problems.

[DarceyJK]

Thank you for the input! We aren't really night-lifers - I guess what I was really wondering about was during the daytime for our two days at sea. Is it safe for them to be at the pool (for example) by themselves, etc. We plan on doing all of our shore excursions together and such. We are going on NCL Pearl on Dec 26th. My other two will be 21 and 20 by that time. Thanks Again!!

[DonnaK]

My kids have always explored the ship on their own during the day. As long as they stayed together, told us where they were going, and checked in with us regularly, we were totally fine with it. In the evenings, we were a bit more specific about where they were allowed to go, and how long they could stay, but we still didn't feel the need to be with them at all times. They followed basic rules...stay in public areas, no going to anyone else's cabin without our permission, stay together, etc.

[libertylover]

Last summer I took my son, then 13, on a cruise. On the first day he went to the teen hangout and met up with some new friends. When he wasn't hanging out with them or on the flowrider he would be hanging with me or just exploring the ship by himself.

 

My son is not easily persuaded to do things he knows he is not supposed to do so I pretty much trust him. However, in the cabin I kept post-it notes. I would leave a note when I expected him back and where I would be. He would do the same. He knew my rules (i.e. always meet me when I say). He knew the ship rules (i.e. in room by 1am). There isn't a whole lot of trouble they can get in on the ship since there are so many eyes watching.

[momoforeo]

On our last cruise my DS, 13, went to the teen club the first night and made a large group of friends. Except for port days, dinner and breakfast, he mostly hung out with these new friends. We would pass him during the day or at select times he would meet with us. At night he had a curfew (self-imposed at 12:30am, we were more lenient and would have let him stay out until 1am). He is generally a responsible kid, not willing to take risks, drink etc. He had a great time and I didn't worry about him any more than usual. My younger DS, 10 stuck with us or was at camp. His only freedom was in leaving camp at 10 and going back to the cabin or meeting up with us at a specific spot. We gave them the usual speech about strangers, not going into anyones cabins, etc.

[OceanSea]

I took my first cruise when I was 12 going on 13. I walked around the ship by myself without a problem. But I also wasn't dumb and was careful. If your child is responsible they should be fine by themselves.

[Set Free]

If nothing else were an issue, I'd say it's not a problem to walk around alone as a teen.

 

However, I know of at least one time that a 14 year old was raped on a ship so .....

 

I'd say that if they stayed together, absolutely. That would be my stipulation - they stay together at all times.

[DogGroomer]

We always have Walkie Talkies so we can keep in contact with each other. We stay together at night.

 

Take care, Jane

[Putterdude]

We no longer have teenagers but during the day I would have no trouble with them being alone. In the evenings I would want to know who they were with and what exactly they were planning to do...but as long as they understand the basics of life then I would let them be out in the evenings but with a return time.

[dadroy]

I took my 10 year old on a cruise, gave her in and out privleges on the kids club and she had a great time. I am one of those parents who does not worry about the 1 in a million events, so she enjoyed the freedom, but also always knew where to find me.

 

I did the same at Disneyworld pool. Gave her free reign and she found me when she needed to.

[euro cruiser]

My kids have always explored the ship on their own during the day. As long as they stayed together, told us where they were going, and checked in with us regularly, we were totally fine with it. In the evenings, we were a bit more specific about where they were allowed to go, and how long they could stay, but we still didn't feel the need to be with them at all times. They followed basic rules...stay in public areas, no going to anyone else's cabin without our permission, stay together, etc.

This was pretty much the story for us as well. Our 14 and 17 year old girls wandered about the ship together.

[KAYEF]

My grandson (13) is quite shy AND his Mother didn't want him leaving her side.

The first night when we got our "tree mail" he saw the schedule for Kid's Club and said he WAS going. He had a blast, made "friends" and really enjoyed being with them.

One night we went up for our Sleeptime Tea and there they were, at the huge oval table in the buffet.............boys and girls............not talking with one another because each one had earpieces in and was listening to his/her own music!:) BUT, they were "together"......... "hanging".........being part of a group.............enjoying their cruise.

The only time we had problems with kids on a cruise was NCL..........not the fault of the ship but of poor parenting. Our cabin was near the elevators and a large group of 13, 14, 15 or so year olds was attempting to foul up the entire elevator system..............running up stairs, riding, pushing all the buttons, banging on doors of nearby cabins. We had to call a couple of times but Security finally got onto them.

[ldubs]

We always have Walkie Talkies so we can keep in contact with each other. We stay together at night.

 

Take care, Jane

 

 

I agree. This is one of the best things you can do.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I certainly wouldn't let a 10-yr-old have free range around the ship (basically because you don't know who else is onboard in all reality), but if you have a pair of 14-yr-olds that you trust to hang together, that' s a great start. Take them to the orientation for the kids' program so they can meet the other kids their age. The teen center onboard may some fun stuff for them to do with the other kids (video games, dances, etc.). And the group might want to go swimming together or take part in some of the adult activities.

 

Definitely set ground rules: nobody allowed in the cabin without your permission, and they don't enter any cabins without your permission. They also need to watch beverages (so that they aren't drugged) -- unfortunately, you have to make sure they're savvy about such things.

 

They are to be back in the cabin by a specified time and not just wandering the halls. That way, nosy adults aren't just assuming your kids are trying to cause trouble.

 

Unfortunately, even if they are good kids, there are some that aren't being brought up by responsible parents. The only time we've seen kids under 18 causing any problems on our cruise was the last one -- and these were kids from the same extended family with parents who apparently wanted to hang up their parenting hats during the cruise (maybe all the time:(:eek:). The other kids onboard were either involved in the kids' program or were under the supervision of their parents.