18 year olds on an 8 day cruise

[Jenn1974]

I will be taking my son and his best friend on an 8 day cruise on the Magic as a gift for my son for his graduation this coming June. Is there much onboard for 18 year olds to do? They will have their own cabin as the rest of my family is going as well. It seems there are activities for all ages of kids then adults 21 +. Can anyone who has traveled with young adults this age shed any light on the subject?

[topspin1267]

18 can go to the dance clubs and casino, just no drinking. Not many organized activities for that age group though.

[imjacismom]

We're a cruising family. We go at least once a year, but my daughter who is soon to be 18 has vowed not to cruise until she's 21 because of the lack of activities. She has always loved the organized kids/teen activities, but from what she's been told, after she turns 18, there is very little for her to do besides sit by the pool. Like the other poster said, there is the nightclub, but I think that after midnight the age requirement changes to 21 and older. She won't go to the casino because of the smoke, so that really leaves little for that age group to do.

[IsanTom]

They'll have a Magical time! I think they would have preferred Mickey Mouse on Disney!

[RuthlessBoss]

They will make their own fun.

[patchofheaven]

We've taken both of our boys on "Graduation" cruises. Our oldest son is not nearly as social as our youngest so we had 2 totally different "Graduation" cruise experiences.

 

The oldest brought his girlfriend, they ordered lots of room service and went to late night comedy/karoke sessions - other than that hung out by the pool all day.

 

Our youngest brought his best friend on his graduation cruise - they hung out at the O2 club, danced all night, went to comedy shows, meet lots of new friends (and girls) stayed out until 5 am and slept most of the day...they had the time of their lives and we barely saw them. :)

[Julienatul]

It depends on what your son likes to do. They do have sports activities-basketball, pool side games etc. If he likes hanging out by the pool, playing ping pong, mini golf, ropes course etc. he will like it. There aren't really many organized activities for that age group. You could always pick adventurous activities in port. Get on your roll call for that sailing and see if he can meet others of a similar age and they can hang out. Enjoy!!

[Havingfun2010]

I will be taking my son and his best friend on an 8 day cruise on the Magic as a gift for my son for his graduation this coming June. Is there much onboard for 18 year olds to do? They will have their own cabin as the rest of my family is going as well. It seems there are activities for all ages of kids then adults 21 +. Can anyone who has traveled with young adults this age shed any light on the subject?

 

Without know exactly what your teenage boys are like, I would recommend going on one of the larger Freedom Class, or Oasis Class ships of RCCL. They offer for young adults, a full array of sports activities on their full sized sports decks, along with other fun stuff like flow rider, rock climbing, golf, and even ice skating. The sports deck is always packed with young adults enjoying themselves with the non-stop activities geared just for them. My boys loved these ships, and what they offered.

[fla33023]

I think they'll be fine especially with the time of year you're going because they'll be lots of young people on board. If they're pretty social, they'll make friends and have things to do all week. Combine that with the time spent in ports and they're going to have a very enjoyable time! Congrats to you and your son on his graduation!

[AdGuyMG]

Without knowing exactly what your teenage boys are like, I would say you made a great choice by booking the Magic. It offers for young adults, a full array of sports activities on the full sized Deck 12 SportSquare that has a full size, lighted, enclosed basketball court that also offers volleyball, and dodgeball, ping pong and foosball along with other fun stuff like 2 ropes courses, a 2 level minigolf course, 2 300 foot water slides and a 500 gallon dump bucket. There are 4 hot tubs on the Lanai deck that hang out over the ocean. The sports deck is always packed with young adults enjoying themselves with the non-stop activities geared just for them.

 

At night they have the comedy club with 2 comedians and karaoke most every night.

 

My son and his friends always had a great time on Carnival when he was in the 18-20 age group.

[Floating Lanai]

I think they will find fun in trying to chat up similarly aged girls on the ship

[SadieN]

They can do everything except drink alcohol and go to the Serenity deck.

[LaurieHoffman]

My last cruise in June was a graduation for my daughter who turned 18 in April. It was definitely different from past cruises for her. In the past she would be able to meet up with teens her age in the kids club and then they could do things on their own. This cruise she was not comfortable going to the 18 - 21 group as she assumed it was more of a hook up type meeting... She did attend the comedy club several times but usually alone.... She is not looking forward to going for a while - which makes me sad as she is usually my traveling companion......

[mamajules]

We're a cruising family. We go at least once a year, but my daughter who is soon to be 18 has vowed not to cruise until she's 21 because of the lack of activities. She has always loved the organized kids/teen activities, but from what she's been told, after she turns 18, there is very little for her to do besides sit by the pool. Like the other poster said, there is the nightclub, but I think that after midnight the age requirement changes to 21 and older. She won't go to the casino because of the smoke, so that really leaves little for that age group to do.

 

I somewhat understand this thinking, since there are no organized activities and hang-out space once they are out of the teen programs; however, there are organized activities for adults on the cruise, same as all of us over 21. The only thing 18-20 year olds cannot do is drink on board and go to the Serenity deck. Otherwise, they can do all the activities us older kids can do - nightclub, comedy shows, karaoke, dive-in movies, trivia, piano bar, sports deck, arcade, etc. Drinking alcohol is not required to have fun on the ship. MY son did miss the teen club when he aged out, but he discovered lots of other activities, many I have listed, and had a great time.

 

And 18 and above can stay in the nightclub after midnight. Here are the restrictions per Carnival:

 

Lounges, Shows and the Dance Club

 

Guests under the age of 18 should be accompanied by an adult in all public areas of the ship.

Guests under the age of 18 must vacate the dance club by 10:00pm.

Guests under the age of 18 may not attend the Late Night Shows, which are "R" rated.