Advice for Uncle Brining 14 Year Old Nephew on Carnival Liberty

[Ithocles]

Hello All,

 

My nephew has been living with us for the past year and we have decided to bring him with us to the Western Caribbean next January on the Carnival Liberty. He's a great kid, but not fiercely independent and will probably spend more time with his uncles than alone. However, we want to schedule some time for him to possibly make some new friends to hang out with from time to time, and allow us to spend some time alone as well. Any advice from those of you with teens this age? What do you all think about Circle C?

 

Also, how do you keep track of them? I want to make sure and know where he is at, at all times. I've thought about leaving a notebook in the room and if he goes anywhere, he has to go back to the room and leave us a note with where he is at so we can get him at any time. We would do the same thing. Any better ideas?

 

Thanks for all your help in advance.

 

-Danny

[Nursegirl81]

Pickled nephew.:eek: I don't think they let you do that.

[Ithocles]

Hah --- Oops. We aren't brining him, yet, although we'd like to keep him from getting any taller. Should have checked that before posting. Sorry folks. :)

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

We sailed with our teens (14 and 16 at the time) on the Valor. They went to the initial meet and greet in the teen club and we barely saw them after that. They seemed to all bond together very well. The capers (or whatever they are called now) should list the activities for the club so you can find him if needed (you might have to do some searching because sometimes they do activities that bring them all over the ship). I think the notebook thing is a good idea for touching base as well. He should have a great time and form some lasting friendships!

[comeon530]

I agree with the notebook idea. We are taking some post-it notes. My son will have a little more freedom on our next cruise, but he will have to leave a note telling us exactly where he is. There will be some 'spot checks' as well. I would encourage your nephew to go to some of the activities the first night so he can get a feel for what it will be like. You may end up scheduling time for him to spend with you.:)

[RWolver672]

Some families use walkie-talkies to keep track of others in their group.

[dstone]

A notebook is great, but it's only as good as what is written in it - 14 yr old boys mean well, but have a tendancy to stray - let's just say "he'll be on the ship"!! He can't spend the whole day running back to the cabin to change the itineray.

The program for the teens is great - my niece has participated every yr we have cruised and she is now 16. You will inevitably see them around on the ship and we have had a standing "rule" she must have breakfast and dinner with us and go ashore with us.

[Ithocles]

We thought about the walkie talkies but from what I hear, the reception isn't so great. Plus, keeping track of it would be a challenge, from my end and his.

 

I'll be very glad if he finds some people his age to hang out with. Although, I'm already starting to feel like I'm not the cool uncle anymore. I hope he hangs out with us some. I'll have to do the mandatory breakfast as suggested if it comes to that! <grin>

 

Thanks everyone.

 

-Danny

[Katoo]

Please make sure you know exactly what paperwork you'll need to bring. I don't know your circumstances, but you will need the right paperwork to show you have either parental consent or court documented custodianship. If you do not have the right stuff, you will not be allowed to board.

[Ithocles]

Thanks Katoo. I already have the form ready to be signed and notarized. His mother (my sister) and his father are excited about him being able to travel with us. I try to plan for everything, hence this posting. Thanks for checking though.

 

-Danny

[gusandgidgetsmom]

I took my 14 yo grandson on the Liberty cruise to Panama (8day). He was very shy and I figured he would stay with us the entire time. Wrong!!!! The first night we went to the talk about the teen Camp Carnival. He said maybe he would sign up the next day. I said ok but why dont you go down and look at it. Well he did and he was busy the entire cruise with others. I made him check in every two hours with us as well as eating all meals with us. We would set a place that we were going to be and he would have to come face us then he could go back out. I was a little leary of letting him be by himself as I am the cautious type but his Mom said to allow him some freedom. I am also a Guardian Ad Litem and have seen teens gone wild!!!! This worked great except one time when I was not where I was supposed to be--my hubby and I took longer than we thought to get back to the room and he was so afraid not to do what we said that he looked al over the ship until he found us--after leaving a note saying he was there.LOL

We did need the note from his parents as Carnival asked us for it.

Have a great time. I know your nephew will!!!

[HawaiianGoose]

We have found that the walkie-talkies only work when you are very close to the other person. Check-ins are a good idea, but depending on the size of the ship, you may actually run into your kid every few hours. Our two kids, 14,16 share an inside cabin and have a curfew. They never break it. Dinner is mandatory as are shore excursions. Get your kid down to the teen area asap. They form groups of about 6-10 kids so if they are a little shy they can just hang and watch the dynamics form. He'll do fine.