Traveling with teens

[luckyjtiger]

I have not traveled with any kids my last few cruises since my own are in college. My 14 yo nephew will be with us on this cruise. Does anyone know if Carnival has a curfew time for teenagers? If so, what time does he have to be in the cabin each evening? Thank you!

[crusinmama06]

Carnival does not have their own curfew but that doesn't mean that you can't impose your own. ;)

 

Our daughter who was in the teen club on the last cruise had a midnight curfew. There is nothing that my daughter needs to be doing out on a cruise ship after midnight.

 

And I did unannounced walk bys to make sure she was where she was suppose to be. She has been cruising since she was an infant. She is very mature. But let's face it - she is STILL a child.

 

There have been a number of stories of kids "throwing deck chairs in pools" and "throwing life preservers overboard" -- all done late at night - in a group. And the ENTIRE FAMILY is put off in the next port. Yeah - no thanks. I impose my own curfews ;)

[luckyjtiger]

Carnival does not have their own curfew but that doesn't mean that you can't impose your own. ;)

 

Our daughter who was in the teen club on the last cruise had a midnight curfew. There is nothing that my daughter needs to be doing out on a cruise ship after midnight.

 

And I did unannounced walk bys to make sure she was where she was suppose to be. She has been cruising since she was an infant. She is very mature. But let's face it - she is STILL a child.

 

There have been a number of stories of kids "throwing deck chairs in pools" and "throwing life preservers overboard" -- all done late at night - in a group. And the ENTIRE FAMILY is put off in the next port. Yeah - no thanks. I impose my own curfews ;)

Thanks Michele! I totally agree with you. My two that are in college have been cruising for years and I have always explained very clearly the expectations and checked on them throughout the day. My sister was hoping there was a written policy. I had already suggested that my nephew needed to be in by 11 pm each evening.

[Keith1010]

No curfew on Carnival.

 

The key is to have a lot of rules and to go over them several times before and during the cruise.

 

Even the best of kids can get into some trouble but having and reenforcing rules really helps and also spending time with one another throughout the day.

 

Keith

[crusinmama06]

Thanks Michele! I totally agree with you. My two that are in college have been cruising for years and I have always explained very clearly the expectations and checked on them throughout the day. My sister was hoping there was a written policy. I had already suggested that my nephew needed to be in by 11 pm each evening.

 

Very smart advice! :)

[higgib]

This may help you to come up with some ground rules that are right for your family. We recently cruised for the 1st time with our DDs 14 and 17, and whilst it didn't stop every problem, it did set out our expectations, so they knew when they'd be in trouble!!! Have a great cruise. :)

Cruise Contract

First of all we want all of us to have fun. This should be a relaxing, enjoyable holiday. We hope that noting our expectations and rules before we depart will avoid any misunderstandings on-board. Note that violation of these rules will result in you being required to stay with us or in your cabin and therefore you will not be able to participate in any of the teen activities or do anything else without adult supervision. These rules are not in place to say that we do not trust you, but to ensure we can all enjoy our trip.



* You are not to enter any cabins other than ours or yours. It does not matter if it is the cabin of a new friend or someone we know. If you want to meet up with anyone, do so in a 'public' area such as the Teen club room, the pool, a restaurant or lounge.

 

* No one else is to enter our cabins.

 

 

* If you are in your cabin alone/together (meaning one or both of us is not with you) – hang the 'do not disturb (Snoozin’)' sign on the door. This should prevent any Carnival (ship) staff from entering. Please ensure you remove it when you leave the room. If you get back to your cabin and there is a staff member in there, leave and go back later.

*You are not to drink anything unless it is handed to you by a family member or waiter/bar person. You are not to drink from anything you have let out of your sight. Some people have been known to slip drugs into other people’s drinks. This is a lifelong rule that should be followed in any social situation.

 

 

* We expect to know where you are on the ship. We will use notes in our cabin/phone messages to let each other know where we can be found. (If we are not in our cabin, slip a note under our door).

 

*You are not to:

· Hang around or play in the stairwells, hallways, or lifts. Activities such as “knock and run” or calling other cabins to hang up will not be tolerated.

· Go on any cabin deck other than Deck 1.

· Go in any 'Crew Only' areas.

· Be alone with any other passenger or crew member where you cannot be seen by others.

· Run anywhere unless as part of an organised activity.

· Be noisy anywhere unless as part of an organised activity.

 

 

*We will decide on a curfew each night. We will check the activity schedules each day, and agree how late you can stay up. If the next day is a port day we will need to be up early so you will not be allowed to stay up past midnight. This means you will be in your cabin and in your beds by midnight or earlier.

*If we agree for you to be out later (eg. the night before a sea day) to attend an organised activity, you will be in your cabin and in your beds within 10 minutes of the end of the activity.

*You will not be allowed to roam the ship either alone, or with other teens after 10pm.

 

*Your cabin keycard (Sail & Sign) is tied to our credit card but has zero credit. If you want to buy anything on board you will need to ask one of us to buy it for you, and you will pay us back when we get home. This also applies to anything you want to buy in a port that we use cash or our credit card to pay for. You can only spend money that you have saved, and shown us before we leave. Once this amount has been reached, you will not be able to spend any more money. You will not be allowed to anticipate any money that you may get in the future to spend on holiday.

We will buy a sticker for your cards allowing you unlimited fizzy drinks and juice. You may not use this to buy drinks for anyone else.

 

* If you lose your card you are to immediately notify one of us.

 

 

* We expect to eat breakfast and dinner together most days. There is flexibility if there is an alternate activity you would prefer to attend as long as we have discussed it and agreed in advance (at least that morning).

 

* If there are kids you would prefer to hang out with instead of the teen club, we need to meet them.

 

* If you order room service, you must tip the delivery person. We will provide a small amount of money for this.

 

 

* If we arrange a check-in time and you miss it then you are “grounded” for the next 24 hours. This means that you must stay with us or in your cabin.

 

 

* No visits to the outside areas of the decks at night (after dark) unless as part of an organised activity

 

 

* Do not leave the ship without us.

* This list is not exhaustive - there may be other things we haven't thought of, but if we add any other rules, you will abide by them!

Signed:

[sherryf]

Thanks Michele! I totally agree with you. My two that are in college have been cruising for years and I have always explained very clearly the expectations and checked on them throughout the day. My sister was hoping there was a written policy. I had already suggested that my nephew needed to be in by 11 pm each evening.

 

You might want to wait until you get on board and see the teen activity schedule for the week before setting a specific time, or even vary the time by what activities are happening. When we took my kids last summer on Princess, often the evening teen activities didn't end until 12 or 1... or later! My son didn't often spend the evening in the teen club, but he did enjoy a couple of late night activities. He was 15 at the time, and I wouldn't have dreamed of making him come in as early as 11.

[#1TravelMom]

higgib,

 

Great Guidelines. I wish all teens would adhere to these. Sometimes kids let peer pressure affect their decision making. I met a mom on our last cruise - RCCL - very nice ship. Someone told her that her son and other teens were throwing ice at random people around the pool deck from the deck above. They were also moving personal belongings from lounge chairs to different locations around the pool. They also made huge plates of food concoctions and let them sit - completely wasting the food(ahuge pet peeve of mine). She said she never thought he would do these things if he weren't trying to fit in with a new crowd on the ship.

 

I definately think random "look sees" are a great idea - just to make sure they are where they are supposed to be.

[topspot]

Along with the random checks which I do,specific check in times which DD must adhere to, and imposing MY curfew:rolleyes::rolleyes:, DD has also used me as an excuse if she is feeling uncomfortable with "unplanned teen activities". She simply says "OH CR*P, I have to meet the dragon lady for a check in if I want to be allowed out on my own tomorrow". :D:D

(I am also known as the "fun sucker" since I suck the fun out of things sometimes. It is a name that any parent should be proud to have!!)

[Onessa]

I have chaperoned large inter-state scouting trips, athletic trips, band trips with groups running from 8 to 200 teens. While having rules is important, keeping the number small and keeping them pretty basic is generally best. When dealing with teens, they will be more likely to listen and remember a smaller, simpler list :D.