Why does the Teen Club make me nervous?

[cruisenfromstlouie]

I know it's open till 2:00 am but for some reason the "mom" instinct kicks in and I'm feeling uncomfortable for my daughter to come back at that time or earlier to her room. Does anyone else feel this way? Thanks!

[MEGADAN]

I know it's open till 2:00 am but for some reason the "mom" instinct kicks in and I'm feeling uncomfortable for my daughter to come back at that time or earlier to her room. Does anyone else feel this way? Thanks!

How old is your daughter? I am not crazy about the teen club myself but RCCL seems to do a decent job of supervising the teen club.

[RiverRev]

I was not impressed with the teen club in preparing for my cruise, but found onboard that the place was not what I expected and I rather enjoyed my son's reviews of the place. The staff was very good and ran the program well.

 

It may have helped that we were traveling during the school year and there were only 30 teens onboard.

[cruisenfromstlouie]

She is 15 and I am more concerned with her WALKING BACK TO HER ROOM AT THAT HOUR OF THE NIGHT/MORNING....I told her I would be up or may meet her...I am just not familiar with it but at the same time ...I am not keen on messing up my sleep either....I just wanted to hear from other people..... Thanks!!!!

[Iamthesea]

I believe the OP's question concerned the time of evening (or morning) that her teens returned to the room and not how the program was run.

 

I agree! I think 2:00 is TOO late. I wonder if the cruiselines set this time, thinking that parents will be out this late? We are usually in bed by 12:00 -12:30 ourselves, so we end up worrying until our teens come in.

 

PS - Funny that we posted the same thing at the same time. :D

[sweet angel]

Simple answer -- no one says that just because the club is open that late that your daughter has to stay that late. Do you let her come home (at home) after you're asleep or does she have a curfew?

[sagiter]

My kids were recently part of the 12-14 yr old group. Their curfew was 1:00Am. they were usually in the room before that on their own actually. If you tell the teen supervisor you'd like your daughter excorted back to the room late, they will arrange it.

 

my kids had a ball and made allot of friends on board, exchanged emails and phone numbers etc.

 

Sagiter

[BonnieNYTX]

For the OP. Just remember YOU are the parent. Just because the teen club closes at 2AM doesn't mean your daughter HAS to be up that late. I would also be concerned with her walking back alone. When my daughter was a teen (she's 18 so not long ago lol) she had a curfew and I seem to remember my husband going to pick her up. It's all a fog. LOL Whatever you decide have a wonderful, worry-free cruise.

[cruisenfromstlouie]

Your right...I posted the question wrong....Sorry!!! She won't be staying out that late and it wasn't the club that I am worried about...it's coming in that late....There will be a curfew and she knows and understands that.....I just didn't want her by herself that late/early walking back.....ONe of us will be up to meet/greet her....I just wanted to know how others felt....Thanks for your opinions!!!!!

[Desertbelle]

There are still a lot of people awake and enjoying the ship at midnight to 2 AM, so it's not like she's walking home along a deserted, dark road.

 

If it was my daughter (I have 4 adult children now, but it wasn't so long ago that they were teens :)) I wouldn't have a problem with her walking back to the room at that time. Hopefully by the age of 15 she's been well taught the dangers of speaking with and going anywhere with strangers. I would forbid her from entering anyone's cabin that she didn't know BEFORE the cruise. If she stays indoors and takes a direct path to the cabin, she should be fine. And I would ask her to please call me/wake me, as soon as she arrived, no matter the time.

 

I tend to be a worry-wart parent, but I have worked very hard to not instill too much fear in my children. Before you know it children are adults and out of your protection and must be prepared to make decisions and deal with the real world on their own. Giving them more and more freedoms, especially in relatively safe environments, is so important for their development into strong, confident, wise and independent adults.

 

Have a great cruise!

[bug18]

On my last cruise I travelled with a family and they picked up their daughter at the teen club at the time they had arranged with her previously. I wouldn't feel comfortable either if I were you of her walking back to the cabin alone.

[devils6]

I'm a 16 year old male, and i normally stay out later than 2 in the morning on the ship. My parents dont mind because they trust me, and they know theres nowhere for me to really go, ill be on the ship. If your daughter wants to stay out later than 2 i think you should let her, your only on the ship for probably 7 days, let her enjoy herself. If your nervous of her walking back to her room at night, tell her, or you yourslef ask some of her friends to escort her back to her room at night. Last cruise i was on i was asked to do that for one of my friends and everything turned out great. I dont think you should be as worried as you are.

[justaknucklehead]

I'm certain the OP trusts her daughter, it's the other 2500 strangers that she doesn't trust. And truthfully, as a mom, I know that until you know your kids are in bed, you can't sleep yourself. I'm glad your mom could sleep Devil, but not everybody can if their kids aren't in the room yet. For that reason alone, she should abide by her mother's curfew, so mom can rest easy.

[stargate fan]

Until you are a parent, you'll not understand our concerns.

 

I have two teenage sons; 17 and 14.5. I trust my sons completely. It's the other people out there that I don't trust. I don't know who is lurking about the ship. And though it might sound outdated, I still think a girl alone is at more risk than a boy alone. My sons have a 1:30 curfew on cruises and they must stay together always.

 

So, cruisenfromstlouie, I think you have a valid concern. Would you feel the same way if she was with a group of kids walking together? Can a staff member escort her back to her stateroom? She's your child. No one will ever care for her like you do. Listen to your heart.

 

 

I'm a 16 year old male, and i normally stay out later than 2 in the morning on the ship. My parents dont mind because they trust me, and they know theres nowhere for me to really go, ill be on the ship. If your daughter wants to stay out later than 2 i think you should let her, your only on the ship for probably 7 days, let her enjoy herself. If your nervous of her walking back to her room at night, tell her, or you yourslef ask some of her friends to escort her back to her room at night. Last cruise i was on i was asked to do that for one of my friends and everything turned out great. I dont think you should be as worried as you are.

[stargate fan]

Great minds think alike! I just posted the same answer.

 

I'm certain the OP trusts her daughter, it's the other 2500 strangers that she doesn't trust. And truthfully, as a mom, I know that until you know your kids are in bed, you can't sleep yourself. I'm glad your mom could sleep Devil, but not everybody can if their kids aren't in the room yet. For that reason alone, she should abide by her mother's curfew, so mom can rest easy.

[ladiebug05]

Hey Cruisin ... we are sailing with you. I have a son (15) that I think your daughter has been communicating with on these boards. I totally understand your concerns and I can promise that my son will not stay out until 2:00 a.m. We haven't set a curfew for him yet ... I told him that once we are onboard and can check out everything and meet some of the friends he will be hanging out then we will assess this curfew time. I am thinking midnight.

[phtktz3]

My son is 19 and on our last cruise he worried me half to death one night when he did not come back to the cabin until 4:30am. I woke up and he wasn't there and all I could think of was that I could not call him on his cell. At home he would never stay out that late without either letting me know before he leaves the house that he might not come home or he will call and let me know. It is not about control for me as a parent, it is about teaching him common courtesy. When you live with another person it is just common courtesy to let them know if you will be out until a late hour or not coming home at all....especially if your roommate is your mom...lol! With that said, as I stated he is a 19 yr old man and I was worried about him so I can understand the worry about a teenage daughter walking back to the cabin alone.....we must never let our guard down when it comes to the safety of our children...no matter where we are!

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

It's been my experience that although there are people out and about after 1am, when you get to the corridors where the rooms are located there's hardly anyone around at any given moment. Someone will appear, walk down the hall a short way and go into their room, and then it's deserted again. I do think a parent of a young teen girl has a right to be concerned and should set a time limit.

 

Also, in the Adventure Ocean program for kids anyone 15 and older can come and go as they please so the teen may not be where you think he or she is. They're usually not at the teen center unless there's a teen disco activity that night.

 

I think 1am is a very reasonable time for a 15-year old as it's likely later then they could be out at home yet not so late that the parent can't keep tabs.

 

BobK/Orlando

[MrsPete]

There are still a lot of people awake and enjoying the ship at midnight to 2 AM, so it's not like she's walking home along a deserted, dark road.

Yep -- those are the people I'd be worried about! I trust my daughters completely, but they are young and naive. It only takes a moment to get them dragged into a cabin . . . 2 AM is way too late.

[HighSeaslover]

We cruised last October with our 14yr old son and I was also not to crazy about those late hours, therefore I told him that he had to be back by midnight. We also had two of his 13yr old cousins with us and the three of them were in everynight but one by midnight. One evening they came back to the cabin and asked to go to the pizza parlor for a late night snack, my husband talked me into giving in and they were back at 1:30am all tucked in and sound asleep by 2pm. To this day they say they had a blast and have never cared that I had an earlier curfew than the ship allowed.

 

Look at this way, I don't let him stay out past 10pm at home so the midnight curfew seems GREAT!

[VacationNut]

We have cruised since my daughter was 13 and my take on this is that I need to enjoy my vacation too. If my daughter is out too late, I cannot sleep.... so her curfew at 13 was 12:30 which was just about the same time my husband and I got back to the cabin.

 

She complained bitterly that no other kids had a curfew, but I told her that that was their parents' concern. On the last night we let her stay out until 1:30.

 

Now she is 17 (very nearly 18), we have to negotiate a new curfew time - I guess I won't sleep so well!

[GhickfromTN]

My 14 year old daughter and my 15 year old niece absolutely LOVED the teen club and wanted to do every little thing they offered. That being said, we had them come home by midnight- except for a midnight buffet night. The workers did a wonderful job and sent back unruly kids ( which I appreciated).

We leave NEXT WEEK on SOS and my daughter can't wait to meet some teens. I think it's wonderful because she is normally pretty shy!

Have a great trip!

[huskerdude]

I know it's open till 2:00 am but for some reason the "mom" instinct kicks in and I'm feeling uncomfortable for my daughter to come back at that time or earlier to her room. Does anyone else feel this way? Thanks!

 

Yes we feel that way also, we also are parents. Try not to think about it to much, you'll give yourself an ulcer, or gray hair, or any of the other things that happen when your a parent.:p

[cruisenfromstlouie]

Thanks everyone for their replies!!!! A curfew will be set and she knows and understands this. My BIGGEST FEAR was her walking back and someone lurking in the hall or wherever and not making it back to the room and then we would have to go looking for her. Again, as I always have stated, they all need to stay in groups and never, ever go into someone's room. Thanks everyone.....Leaving on Sunday......Thanks!!!!!

[sweet angel]

Also, in the Adventure Ocean program for kids anyone 15 and older can come and go as they please so the teen may not be where you think he or she is. They're usually not at the teen center unless there's a teen disco activity that night.

What about the kids under 15? My son will be 14 when we sail. I don't have to sign him in and out, do I?