Allure with teens- should I wait?

[lovetocruisemom]

Please forgive me if my questions seem silly, this is my first post here, and I'm learning every day. I'm trying to plan our first family cruise, and so excited to have finally decided on the Allure- hey, why not do it big? Now I'm trying to decide when. My original plan is June, 2013. My boys will be 17 and 20 then. They are very close, and will likely hang out together. But, are there places my 17 yr. old will not be able to go? Is there an advantage of waiting until the next yr. when he will be 18? I just don't want him to feel left out, but boy that's a long time away! Thanks for your help!

[vcasey]

The clubs and the casino will not let the 17 yr old in. So it depends on what they would want to do at night, the shows, Quest, and the Street parties are all ages. I've done the Oasis when my daughter was both 17 and 18, when she was 17 she was frustrated she couldn't go dancing at night with some older friends but they always seemed to find something to do and ironically when she turned 18 and could go the clubs she said they weren't that great anyway (although that could be because that trip was in May and there were less people her age).

[CaptData]

If the kids are close I would wait the year and go when the youngest is 18 (and before the other turns 21. There is a program for the 18-20 year olds that includes dancing ect. It is just for this age group as they are to young to drink but to old for the teen club. Royal started this a little while ago. It starts with a get together the first night.

[vcasey]

I agree with the above post that it may be easier to wait until the 17 yo is 18 BUT the 18-20 events not attended very well AT ALL, maybe 4 people showed at most when we went in July (per my dd friends) and when she went last May NO ONE showed up for the Meet & Mingle the 1st night and therefore all subsequent activities basically were cancelled or deemed 18 plus so it wasn't anything different from any other nighttime non-family activity.

[lovetocruisemom]

Thanks everyone, it sounds like perhaps it would be best to wait another year. That seems like such a long time away though, tough decision. I wonder if there would be enough other things to keep him busy without the clubs at night. I guess he could visit the arcade, and I'd imagine some of the shows would run fairly late?

[runnerandme]

I would go ahead and go. I do not think that missing hanging out at a teen club or clubbing at night is worth waiting a year. My cousin took her 19 and 17 year old boys and they had a wonderful time. They just hung out and neither one went to the teen activities. They really had no desire to do so. She made it clear from the begining that this was a family cruise and would like them to spend some time together. They got connecting cabins so she would know they were in at night after a trip to get food. The boys spent the week eating more than anything..lol.

[vcasey]

There is definitely stuff to do even if he can't do the clubs. Besides the reservable shows, there's Love and Marraige, Battle of the Sexes, an Improv Show, Quest and 70s street party all of which are great fun. I'm pretty sure there were other 'open to all' parties. The Karaoke bar, piano bar and salsa club and I'm pretty sure the pub don't check ids at the door, there are some late night flowrider and skate sessions for the 18+ crowd but they aren't strict on age either. My daughter and friends also just enjoyed playing mini-golf and ping pong. It would be simpler if he was over 18 but I'm sure they'd have a great time either year.

[lovetocruisemom]

Thanks runnerandme, my boys are the same way, they'll probably be more excited about all the food than anything, lol. I agree about spending time together, it seems like the older they get, the less I see them! I'm sure they'll have a great time regardless of the age. Decisions, decisions... (Not a bad thing to decide, what cruise to take :rolleyes:)

[lovetocruisemom]

Wow vcasey, it sounds like there's a lot to do at night for him as well! I'm glad to hear that, I wasn't sure about some of the places such as the Karaoke bar, I'm sure he'd like that. So they don't ask for ID at Quest or the Comedy show?

[galavant3]

So they don't ask for ID at Quest or the Comedy show?

 

I think it depends on the ship. Last cruise (Mariner) my son was 17 and he was refused entry into the Quest. I think they would have allowed him in if he was with us but I'm not sure. On other ships we have seen many kids, obviously under 17, in the audience.

 

I'm not sure he will be able to get into the Comedy show. If you are able to get him a reservation, you should be ok. He might be blocked because he is under 18.

 

Regardless, there will be so many things they can both do they will have a BLAST.

 

We have cruised many times with kids in these age groups and it has never been an issue. Whatever you decide, have a great time!

[vcasey]

All my answers were specific to the Oasis, which I assume is the same as Allure. My daughter has never been asked for id for Quest on any of the Freedom class ships or the Oasis. The Improv show is different from the Comedy show. The comedy show does require a reservation, the Improv show is in Studio B one night (at least on the Oasis) and does not require a reservation.

[cruise 4 fun]

I would definitely wait. We took two boys 17, 18 on a high school grad trip and they couldn't do anything together in the evenings. One was too old for the teen group and the other was too young for the over 18 club. They do check id's for these venues and are VERY strict about it. I agree that there is a lot to do on the ships, the evenings hold little if they are in different groups.

[renech]

I wouldn't wait a whole year just so one could go into the clubs. My kids are 5 years apart in age, and I've taken them cruising at various ages and regardless of how old they were. They always had a great time. There are so many things for them to do during the daytime and evening hours, even if it's just hanging out. My kids were never really into doing stuff with the organized age groups, but they often met kids to hang out with anyway. I guess I'm fortunate that they get along well and enjoyed hanging out together, or with us, for the most part. We've never had any issue with the kids being carded for any shows (i.e. Quest), but the dance club is pretty strict after a certain hour.