Teen Tower on Summit

[luvtacruise27]

Just booked Summit cruise and will have some teens (16-17 yr olds) going. Can anyone tell me if they have any kids that used the "Teen Tower" while cruising on the Summit. Wanted to know how they liked it, etc.

 

thanks,

Luvtacruise27

[ozark74]

Just booked Summit cruise and will have some teens (16-17 yr olds) going. Can anyone tell me if they have any kids that used the "Teen Tower" while cruising on the Summit. Wanted to know how they liked it, etc.

 

thanks,

Luvtacruise27

Have never heard of Teen Tower all they have now is fun factory. It may be something they are adding on the redo in January 2012. It sound like the tower on the port side forward on deck 11. The area has not been used for a few years.

[Lsimon]

I've heard of it but don't know much. Do look at the deck plans before and after the upcoming renovation. I beleive that whole area of the ship is going to be changed as they are relocating the kids club there taking up that space and part of what is now the forward lounge.

[jdvmd]

The Teen Tower is what used to be the Convervatory Flower Shop, i.e. the spiral staircase. The floral guy is now outside the area around the elevators, or at least it was on the Summit this past April.

 

You used to be able to go up there but now it is completely used by the youth program. Bean bags etc.

[roe2ship]

I have a teen who never went because he thought it was too "lame". I also had a teen niece with us and she only went maybe twice however both times the teens met at the one of the lounges...i.e. Revelations.

 

My younger son attended the Fun Factory (Ensigns ages 9-11) in the evenings after dinner. Most of the time during the week, this group would meet at the Tower first and the place is very small....it does have a spiral staircase however not sure what was up the stairs.

[luvtacruise27]

Thanks for the responses. Maybe I'll have to wait for renovations to see if they do something better with that space.

 

Marilyn

[jdvmd]

There is nothing else that could be done with the space. It is glass and two stories tall -- hence its original purpose of being a glass conversatory. At the top of the spiral stairs are the bean bags etc. Just a place for the kids to hang out. My teen refused to go also. The only reason I knew this was the Teen Tower was because we went looking for it as we had been on the ship before and knew what its intended purpose was. Originally when the flower designer/store was there, you could go up the stairs and sit, read etc. It was for anyone, not kids.

[Lsimon]

The Teen Tower is what used to be the Convervatory Flower Shop, i.e. the spiral staircase. The floral guy is now outside the area around the elevators, or at least it was on the Summit this past April.

 

You used to be able to go up there but now it is completely used by the youth program. Bean bags etc.

 

I think you have the locations confused. The Conservatory Flower Shop is on deck 11 by the mid ship elevators. I think that this area is where they will be putting Qusine specialty restuarant after the Solsticizing renovation.

 

The teen towers are by the forward elevators. I think this area will be incorporated into the new kids club area which is being moved from the aft of deck 11 as that area is being totally redesigned and new cabins are being added there.

[jdvmd]

I think you have the locations confused. The Conservatory Flower Shop is on deck 11 by the mid ship elevators. I think that this area is where they will be putting Qusine specialty restuarant after the Solsticizing renovation.

 

The teen towers are by the forward elevators. I think this area will be incorporated into the new kids club area which is being moved from the aft of deck 11 as that area is being totally redesigned and new cabins are being added there.

 

 

I can only tell you what I saw on the Summit in April. The area that I have spoken about was definitely used by the kids and previously on the Millenium (twice), we were able to climb up the stairs and use the space to sit, read etc. Could not use it on the Summit. Also, the flower shop area outside of it was used for our Cruise Critic roll call that Celebrity set up.

[SingingMom1]

We never found it. lol Only the Fun Factory. We cruised in early June, before many schools were out for the summer, and our DD (almost 18 at the time) found NO ONE her age to mingle with. It wasn't a great trip for her until we got to Bermuda, which she enjoyed immensely. Many more activities on the Disney Magic for all age groups. Celebrity really is geared to couples, in my opinion. (DH and I enjoyed it ;) )

[Lsimon]

I can only tell you what I saw on the Summit in April. The area that I have spoken about was definitely used by the kids and previously on the Millenium (twice), we were able to climb up the stairs and use the space to sit, read etc. Could not use it on the Summit. Also, the flower shop area outside of it was used for our Cruise Critic roll call that Celebrity set up.

 

Ah! that explains the difference. On the Millennium the conservatory and flower shop are in the tower location by the forward elevators on deck 11, on the Summit that area has been the teen towers and the conservatory & flower shop has been by the mid ship elevators on the same floor. One of the minor differences there has always been between the Millennium and the Summit and Constellation. You can see the different locations of the Conservatory/flower shop on the existing Summit and Millennium deck plans and how that will all change after the Solsticization renovations

 

 

[luvtacruise27]

Ah! that explains the difference. On the Millennium the conservatory and flower shop are in the tower location by the forward elevators on deck 11, on the Summit that area has been the teen towers and the conservatory & flower shop has been by the mid ship elevators on the same floor. One of the minor differences there has always been between the Millennium and the Summit and Constellation. You can see the different locations of the Conservatory/flower shop on the existing Summit and Millennium deck plans and how that will all change after the Solsticization renovations

 

 

Thanks LSimon for clearing that up! I appreciate it.:)

 

marilyn

[Sonicked]

My brother and I used it once during our 2006 cruise. I found it a bit dull, as I was a fair bit older than the other people that were going at the time. My brother, 16 at the time, ended up making a few friends, who then spent their days doing other stuff outside of the tower, rather than hanging out up there.

 

I'd imagine your son will probably get up to much the same. There's plenty to do on board for teens, and as long as your son is well behaved and is comfortable hanging out with people he's only just met, he should be fine =)

[luvtacruise27]

My brother and I used it once during our 2006 cruise. I found it a bit dull, as I was a fair bit older than the other people that were going at the time. My brother, 16 at the time, ended up making a few friends, who then spent their days doing other stuff outside of the tower, rather than hanging out up there.

 

I'd imagine your son will probably get up to much the same. There's plenty to do on board for teens, and as long as your son is well behaved and is comfortable hanging out with people he's only just met, he should be fine =)

 

Thanks for the info. I'm sure she will have fun, as she has no problem making new friends.

 

marilyn

[Sonicked]

Thanks for the info. I'm sure she will have fun, as she has no problem making new friends.

 

marilyn

 

Sorry! Perhaps I shouldn't have assumed that you had a son! I was sure I had read son, but I must have been muddling my posts.

 

Glad you found the info helpful at least :)

[ghstudio]

I have never seen 16-17 yo teens actually go to an organized place to meet other teens....it's just not in their genes. However, they will meet others and start to hang out with them even before you get to your first dinner :) I would not worry too much about a place being available for teens over the age of about 12....they will self organize and pretty much disappear....and have a great time.

[Wildgrits]

Please let us know how you fare on this issue. We will be on the Summit in October.

 

Last October we took our 14 & 15 year old girls for their first cruise on the Carnival Legend. My oldest made tons of friends at the teen center and has made lots of faceb00# friends. Now mind you my girl won't do anything on a stage or draw attention to herself but she loved the independence of coming and going with friends.

 

I do find it a little odd that Celebrity says the room is for 13 to 17 year olds. That seems to me a vast difference in maturity for that group.:confused:

 

If the teen center truly is lame that will probably be a deal breaker for us.

 

Does anyone else have any experience with this?

[junglejane]

I'll just make a few comments about the teen activities in general. Our DD has participated in the teen program on the Mariner OTS, the Sapphire Princess and the Celebrity Equinox. So these comments aren't specific to the Summit but more general comments. On both Princess and Celebrity, the teen activities don't rely on a fixed location the way the younger kids do. The teen club is a sort of default place to hang out, but the activities tend to be organized around the ship. So in that sense the actual teen club room itself isn't that important. Here's a quote I cut and pasted from our review about the teen activities:

 

Teens

: overall the activities were very similar to Princess. The first night is sort of an ice breaker, and after that there were organized activities like pool volleyball, ping pong tournaments, dodge ball, bocce ball, scavenger hunts, teen dance night in Quasar, teen free bingo, etc. Surprisingly, our DD liked the fact that there were fewer teens onboard because it made it easier to make friends in the smaller group. Our DD emphasized that teens shouldn’t be put off by some of the “lame” names given to activities (e.g., 007 Swank Formal Night Party or Mission Impossible Hunt), because most were just launching points for groups of teens to meet up and then go off on their own. Going the first night is super important, according to DD, so that you meet people to hang out with later. DD says that the program itself was very similar to that on the Sapphire Princess, and that the success of the experience depends a lot more on the mix of teens and how they get along than it does on the activities themselves.

Also, I think the breakdown of teen ages depends on how many teens are onboard. If it's a smaller group, they may lump 13-17 together. If it's a larger group, then they will break it down 13-15 and 16-17. But no matter what they do, the kids will sort themselves because the older kids don't want to hang out with the 13 year olds (or the occasional 12 year old whose parents demand they be allowed to "move up.")

[junglejane]

One correction to my post above: DD reminded me that the age breakdown started at 12, not 13. It was supposed to be 12-14 and 15-17, but there was an 11 year old whose parents demanded he be let in.

[Wildgrits]

Thanx JungleJane.

 

My DD read your post and feels better about leaving the "Fun Ship" to try a different company.