conversation with 14 yr old son...

[golfntob]

this may be a long first cruise for him...:p

 

ME: you know there's no clocks in the cabins

 

SON: well yeah b/c like everyone will have their phone with them

 

ME: uh, cell phones don't work on the ship

 

SON: what? no 3G??

 

ME: no, no 3G for you

 

SON: no WiFi?

 

ME: no, no WiFi We'll be in the middle of the ocean.

 

SON: Man, I thought they'd have better technology than that....:confused:

[Cruzface]

Funny. They are all the same. Make sure he has the phone on "Airplane mode" or completely off or it will keep searching for a signal.

[Berzle986]

Oh man!! Taking my son, 15, on his first cruise and we had the almost identical conversation last night. Haha.

[laumicmah]

That is funny! My DS and his friend just had to carry on their laptops 2 years ago when they were 13...they found out real quick that they couldn't really do anything with them and were not too happy to have to lug them back off the ship when we disembarked. DS was like 'man...I don't want to carry this...couldn't even use it all week...wish I didn't bring it'.

[5waldos]

All phones are locked into our safe- my son didn't quite know what to do with two hands without electronics to poke at. His thumbs twitched. Withdrawal. But he got over it. Mind you here I am on CC......:rolleyes:

[kayhold]

Funny. They are all the same. Make sure he has the phone on "Airplane mode" or completely off or it will keep searching for a signal.

 

If it has one, you could take the SIM out of it. That way it works with WIFI in ports, and he can play games or get girls phone numbers, but he can't rack up any charges.

[luddite]

They have skirts to chase. He'll get by.

[cccer]

Last year on our cruise out of Puerto Rico our son was able to use his cell phone in PR so on the way back to PR he got up high on the ship and as soon as he got bars, he started to text. Well he spent a lot of time to pay off that $160.

[5waldos]

Last year on our cruise out of Puerto Rico our son was able to use his cell phone in PR so on the way back to PR he got up high on the ship and as soon as he got bars, he started to text. Well he spent a lot of time to pay off that $160.

 

Couple of years ago there was a report of someone who sat onboard while still in port (Miami I think) before sailaway watching the superbowl on his phone. Cost him thousands. Our phone go off no later than when we get our s&s cards. We are getting away- not taking it all with us!

[SardisGrandma]

Had same conversation with my 14 yr old granddaughter. I'm taking her on cruise in May. She looked at me like I had completely lost my mind when I said no cell til we get back. She said, No really G'Ma you kidding right? Nope.. We'll lock them in safe. She still thinks I'm crazy. She said but grandma you dont understand I'll have hundreds of texts when we get back maybe thousands. I said oh good then you'll have plenty to do this summer. You'll probably have to get up early every day instead of sleeping in. I hate eye rolls!

[nybumpkin]

Another tip: If he's using his cell phone as a clock, make sure he knows what "ship time" is. Our oldest son showed up an hour late for dinner one night because he was relying on his phone for the time - and the phone switched to port time.:rolleyes:

[live2cruise2011]

Haha I am so lucky my 13 & 14 yr old don't have cell phones... Although youngest has laptop already heard from him about bringing that but considering will have no Internet he was ok with leaving it home lol

[Colorado Kat]

Take the batteries out, and lock them in the safe! Hand him a pen and piece of paper for phone numbers.....

[BananaAnna]

I'm taking my nephew on a cruise this summer and I made sure he understood no phone, no wi-fi, etc before I paid the deposit!

NOTE: in addition to turning the phone off, make sure you don't have the alarm set! I turned off my phone and locked in safe, but the next morning when I came back from breakfast phone had turned itself on and alarm was chiming - INSIDE THE SAFE!

[Jolimont]

That was an issue with my 13yo on our last cruise actually. We don't realize how much we rely on texting to keep in touch until we're on a ship and no more texting between kids and parents!

 

Also, save yourself money and do two things: airplane mode AND make sure everyone in the family has Data Roaming OFF (Settings/General/Network on the iPhone). That way your phone won't try to download your email or facebook while at sea or abroad.

[Cruzface]

That was an issue with my 13yo on our last cruise actually. We don't realize how much we rely on texting to keep in touch until we're on a ship and no more texting between kids and parents!

 

Also, save yourself money and do two things: airplane mode AND make sure everyone in the family has Data Roaming OFF (Settings/General/Network on the iPhone). That way your phone won't try to download your email or facebook while at sea or abroad.

 

Thank you. I just put that on my "To do:" list because we all have IPhones.

[Tortelvis Himself]

The ships should have a local network so people can keep in touch with fellow travelers and access cruise information. Maybe it's too much trouble/expense for them to bother.

[Andoria]

When I told my 13 year old that I booked another cruise for us. He told me that this time around he's going to bring his cell phone so that he can just enter the numbers for the kids he meets on board. I told him that he will NOT be bringing his cellphone on the ship but it hasn't sunk in yet.

 

Oh well, he has 9.4 months to get used to the idea and learn how to write with a pen and paper...

[4hunters]

Wait a sec! I thought teens already knew everything? How could he have not known about the lack of cell reception at sea!? :eek::eek:;)

 

He sounds just like one of my teenagers. :D

[futuremrscresap]

My brother was 19 when we went on our first cruise. He texts day and night, so for the entire 5 days I swear I saw him develop a twitch in his thumb. We had fun, but it was rough for him to not text or check facebook for 5 days. I was with my fiance at the time and sure I missed him but hey, we were on a cruise. No withdrawl for me ;)

[M&MGirl1]

My 15 year old niece was certain the world was going to end when I took her phone and locked it up in the safe on our cruise in June. She was SURE she couldn't survive five whole days without texting. Funny.........after about three hours she completely forgot about the phone until we got off the boat! Too busy running from one Club 02 activity to the next to even think about it.

[parrotthead]

FYI depending on your carrier, even if he gets a Text and opens it, your carrier can (and will) charge you (outragous) roaming fees.

Turn phone off and lock it up...

a week w/o a phone will do him good.

;);)

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Take the batteries out, and lock them in the safe! Hand him a pen and piece of paper for phone numbers.....

 

 

can't take a battery out of an iPhone

[txstarla]

The ships should have a local network so people can keep in touch with fellow travelers and access cruise information. Maybe it's too much trouble/expense for them to bother.

 

They do. The carnival portal is no charge and has a message board.

[big_duck]

Wait a sec! I thought teens already knew everything?

 

They do, but they have an intrinsic trust that their parents wouldn't lie to them.

 

It's a pity that within 24 hours of being on the ship, that illusion will be shattered.