graduation cruise

[bbcruiser67]

Planning my 5th cruise for June, but this one will be different. Instead of a family vacation, this is a graduation cruise for my son and 4 of his friends. :eek: One other mom coming with us.

 

Any advise or suggestions? I plan to let them be as independent as possible once we are on the ship, but with some ground rules. But I also want to make this trip as memorable as possible.

 

One thing they would all like to do is rent jet skis, but they will all be only 17 and usually there is an 18 yr age limit to do it on your own. Anyone know of a place to rent them for 17 yr old? We did it on St Thomas when my son was only 15, but we just got lucky.

 

Thanks for any input!:)

[cb at sea]

If you stop at Coco Cay or Labadee, I think 16 (driver's lic) is ok to do the waverunners...it will be a "follow the leader" style thing....which might be good for teens!

 

If you don't want to do it there, then almost every public beach at ports will offer rentals!

[Capt_BJ]

did this very thing this past May

 

my advice: DON'T

 

the problems were many and in a significant portion due to the kids sailing with no parent around making another responsible coupled with learning things about the other parents we never knew b4

 

never never again

 

I'll cruise again, will be on my second since then in another week....and I'll cruise with people I know well...did that in Nov'

 

but people I don't know well and recent H.S. grads . . . . no way.

 

we had ground rules too - and the other parents said "never mind"

[sail7seas]

I wonder why you would be eager for boys for whom you are responsible to do the jet ski thing when it seems most companies who rent those machines don't think they are old enough. If the majority of the companies who certainly want the business refuse to rent them, do you want the responsibility of permitting these young boys traveling with you, without their parents, to to that activity?

 

[6rugrats]

4 boys on a graduation cruise - am I nuts?

 

Yes, IMO you are! Way too many potential problems and this is something I would never, ever consider doing.

[klauer]

It sounds as if we are talking about five boys -- the son and four friends, with only two moms as chaperones.

 

I can see a lot of potential problems with this arrangement, with how to rent jet skis being the least of them. I think that it would be hard to enforce "ground rules" for kids that aren't your own, and you can't be supervising everyone 24/7.

[imsulin]

Of course, there are the problems concerning trip insurance (I'd make this mandatory!), notarized parental permission and designation of a guardian (You and Other Mom), spending money, LIABILITY for a minor, Proof of Citizenship documents, etc. What cruise line and itinerary? I wouldn't do it in a million years! I think your concern about renting jet-skis would be the least of your worries.

 

BTW - I'm a retired teacher with five kids of my own, and worked as a travel agent for several years. I spent a lot of time booking "graduation cruises" (as I live in a large University town) for University kids, but after booking two HS graduation cruises (where I had some pretty stiff requirements for parental involvement) I stopped doing them. Too many problems with the "under-18" situations.

[bbcruiser67]

Sorry, 3 friends, 4 boys total. One is my son, one has been with us on cruises the past two years, and one will have his mother along. All of them are good kids who chose to do this in part to avoid the big senior week trip with its inevitable parties. I am certainly not naive enough to think that means nothing will happen, but I trust all of them enough to give them a chance.

 

As for the jet ski thing, I am not crazy about them doing it alone either. I would be happy to go along as a rider, but I can't ride 4 jet skis at the same time. What I would hope to find is a tour where there are guides along for safety purposes. I was hoping for some advise that would lead me to a solution that would allow them to do what they want, but safety is definitely my first concern.

 

Sorry that you all feel so negatively about this, but thanks for the input anyhow.

:(

[imsulin]

Of course they're all good kids. They always are.

[Hlitner]

You can rent jet skis just about anywhere in Mexico at that age. There was a bit of a scandal last year when a 14 year old was killed on a jet ski not far from Puerto Vallarta.

 

Hank

[kitty9]

Of course they're all good kids. They always are.

 

I'm a former teacher, and it always amazed me on how the "good kids" were the ones in the most trouble. We just had an incident here with a group of kids who went to Mexico with some moms and these supposed good kids, all A students (don't get me started on these schools who give out A's like candy canes), and two got arrested for drinking so much, they passed out on a street. Good kids know how to break rules, just as much as the not so good kids. Good luck to the OP and make sure all your ducks are in a row. You will need all your paperwork, and I would make up a contract for each kid, even your own, delineating rules and have them all sign it. One of the consequences for breaking the rules, being sent home, at mom and dad's expense.

[klauer]

Speaking as one of the "good kids" in high school (quiet, straight A student), I can tell you that there was a big difference between a trip with my parents and a trip with my friends where there was alcohol readily available. I honestly think that most boys their age would have other plans for the cruise than "avoiding the parties". Hopefully everything will go well and the trip will be memorable in a good way!

[Luv2Kruize]

I did this very thing last May, but with all girls who just graduated high school. The only problem we had were the other parents !!! The girls that I was responsible for were no problem at all! They were all 18 except for one and that caused a few minor complications on the ship. There are a few places where under 18 is not allowed.

 

The following weekend I also cruised with 3 boys and 3 girls who also recently graduated high school. We did not have any problems at all with kids or parents!

 

I have cruised 4 times since then and 2 more cruises soon and will continue to travel with friends! The more the merrier!!!