Can my just turned 13 year old stay with his 11 year old brother?

[2boyzmom]

Hoping they will make an exception on the Sun sailing and let them stay in the 10-12 grouping in the kids club. It is an 11 day cruise and doubt there will be many kids on board..

[sdmike]

No. They are VERY strict on the age policies. Even kids that have birthdays a week after the cruise are denied participation in the other group. Sorry

[ladybugpug]

Very doubtful, sorry.

 

I had the same dilemma last April with my girls ages 12 and 14. They would absolutely not let my 12 year old with her sister and the older kids. We tried the kids club for her age group and since there were so few kids who joined they combined her group with the younger group with kids as little as 6. Needless to say she lasted about 15 minutes and never went back.

 

She loved the cruise but was very envious that her sister made new friends and got to do a lot of fun activities. We barely even saw our 14 year old the entire cruise.

 

Luckily our next cruise they will be in the same group.:)

[sstrong]

I notice this is a frequent question here. I don't have kids, but I wonder how the Cruiselines know the age of your children? Do you have to bring their birth certificate? Most little kids don't have passports, do they?

[crusinmama06]

Yes the cruise line knows the age of the child ;) And believe me when I say this - it is not wise to travel with kids without passports - if anyone is accident prone, they are ;) I have plenty of personal experience with this one.

 

And to answer the original question - nope, NCL is very strict. No moving up or down in the kids clubs.

[2boyzmom]

Yes the cruise line knows the age of the child ;) And believe me when I say this - it is not wise to travel with kids without passports - if anyone is accident prone, they are ;) I have plenty of personal experience with this one.

 

And to answer the original question - nope, NCL is very strict. No moving up or down in the kids clubs.

 

Well- i am gonna give it my all and try anyway. What the heck :)

[jdvmd]

I notice this is a frequent question here. I don't have kids, but I wonder how the Cruiselines know the age of your children? Do you have to bring their birth certificate? Most little kids don't have passports, do they?

 

All passengers have to have some form of identification. For under 16, they need a birth certificate. I advocate having a passport for all, however.

[RYMOMA]

On our most recent shortened GEM cruise, they combined the kids

There were the little ones, then the 6-12 years olds. Then 13 and up.

 

I think once they hit the teen group they won't combined with the youngin's

 

I even tried to get my month short 10yo into the 10-12, but they said no..

Since there were not a lot of kids, they combined what they could.

 

But since the teens have there own room where 12 and under are not allowed, your kiddos will be separated.

[2boyzmom]

On our most recent shortened GEM cruise, they combined the kids

There were the little ones, then the 6-12 years olds. Then 13 and up.

 

I think once they hit the teen group they won't combined with the youngin's

 

I even tried to get my month short 10yo into the 10-12, but they said no..

Since there were not a lot of kids, they combined what they could.

 

But since the teens have there own room where 12 and under are not allowed, your kiddos will be separated.

 

The idea of my immature 13 year old missing out on pajama parties and late night fun with his brother saddens me :(

[crusinmama06]

And yes - Rymoma is correct - they do combine ages. We combined on Gem - so my then 7 year old was with my then 11 year old.

[crusinmama06]

The idea of my immature 13 year old missing out on pajama parties and late night fun with his brother saddens me :(

 

Have you checked the teen dailies because I know on RCI the "teens" still had PJ parties.

 

I know I was REALLY concerned when my 12 year old graduated to the teen club in August on RCI but my fears were REALLY unfounded. She had an awesome time. The young ones hang out with each other. I assure you - the young teens don't want to hang out with the older teens as much as the older teens want to hang out with the younger ones. There was a clear cut line of division every time I checked out their events. ;)

 

When we got back to Epic in November - she was a little disappointed that she wasn't back in a "teen" club because of her experience in August. She was bored with the pirate parties. And she usually loves the pirate parties.

 

So I know you want your boys together - but just be positive and warn them that they won't be together. My girls usually aren't together. The Gem was a surprise for us.

[rbrugler]

Why do you want to do this to your sons? A fourteen year old wants to be with other teens. The eleven year old will be fine, unless you have convinced him that he isnt going to like it. Too many parents to this. I would never set up this kind of fiasco for my kids.

[ColinIllinois]

The idea of my immature 13 year old missing out on pajama parties and late night fun with his brother saddens me :(

 

 

Look at it as an opportunity for him to grow and mature. Ultimately it's on you as to what happens on their vacations.

 

Hope you have fun whatever you decide to do.

[newmexicoNita]

Hoping they will make an exception on the Sun sailing and let them stay in the 10-12 grouping in the kids club. It is an 11 day cruise and doubt there will be many kids on board..

 

quick answer: most likely not, but if there are not too many kids on board they will make an exception. I think I have only seen the exception posted here a couple of times. And there is a good reason for not letting kids cross over age groups..

[2boyzmom]

Why do you want to do this to your sons? A fourteen year old wants to be with other teens. The eleven year old will be fine, unless you have convinced him that he isnt going to like it. Too many parents to this. I would never set up this kind of fiasco for my kids.

 

Read my message- he just turned 13 and dont question my parenting skills.

[che5904]

The idea of my immature 13 year old missing out on pajama parties and late night fun with his brother saddens me :(

 

LOL, hate to break the bad news but most 13 year olds are immature, unless of course you ask the 13 year old, that usually thinks they know everything, so would be quite insulted ;).

 

Why not take him at the sign up time, see how many others there that are 13ish, then get sad at that time. I don't mean to get personal but does he not go to school with other kids 13ish? You may be ultimately surprised, how well he copes and how much fun he will have.

[newmexicoNita]

I notice this is a frequent question here. I don't have kids, but I wonder how the Cruiselines know the age of your children? Do you have to bring their birth certificate? Most little kids don't have passports, do they?

 

just like they know our age: many kids do have passports, and the records show the exact age including birthdate...every person on a cruise has to prove their identity, regardless of age.

[2boyzmom]

LOL, hate to break the bad news but most 13 year olds are immature, unless of course you ask the 13 year old, that usually thinks they know everything, so would be quite insulted ;).

 

Why not take him at the sign up time, see how many others there that are 13ish, then get sad at that time. I don't mean to get personal but does he not go to school with other kids 13ish? You may be ultimately surprised, how well he copes and how much fun he will have.

 

I am sure he will be fine too- the kids been on 10 cruiises and knows his way around :)

I am just leary of the new found freedom on board...

[che5904]

I am sure he will be fine too- the kids been on 10 cruiises and knows his way around :)

I am just leary of the new found freedom on board...

 

I can understand that Mom, but if he's that experienced in cruising, I'm pretty sure your fears are unfounded and you will all have a fabulous time, regardless to which group he goes into. And it may be very good for little brother to branch out with his own wings, without the security net of big bro.

 

It's tough as a parent to step back, but sometimes we have to. And BTW that feelling never leaves even when they're all grown up.

[katyjeka]

We've been on the Jewel, Spirit, Dawn, and Star with 3 of our girls. They did allow our "middle" daughter to stay with her youngest sister. It may have been because the groups were little. (12, 12, 11, 11 day cruises early December, so few kids) She had 8 other kids in her group, all boys(no kidding), and we felt she would have a little more fun with some girls.

[rvsullivan]

No reflection on anyone's parenting skills, but if I found your older teen in a group with my younger children, NCL couldn't imagine the outcome! Why should they violate the trust of the other parents to accommodate your child? They tell you in advance so you can plan and decide whether this is a good fit for your family. Hope it all works out for you.

[leekel619]

Who knows. Chances are kids in each age group have siblings close in age, in other groups. They all identify and enjoy their cruise with new friends.

Or not.