What's there to do for teenagers?

[grannyc]

Hi all,

Well, I did it! For our 50th wedding anniversary next summer I booked a cruise for 17 family members!! Yippee!! First cruise for all but as is usual for me I'm second guessing everything..........

 

First off, we will have three kids 12....14.....17 with us and worried that on sea days they will be bored as have not read anything about what there is to do for this age group. I have friends who tell me I should have booked with RCI because they have rock climbing wall, ice skating and other fun things for kids. Could someone with kids this age group please tell me how they occupied their time.........as you can tell I'm a definite newbie and know nothing about cruising!!

 

We will be on the Miracle sailing July 2, 2006 and really looking forward to it. Would appreciate anyone who has sailed with kids in this age group to give me a little feedback as giving this to the family for Christmas........

 

Thanks and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!

[Kathy555]

First, congratulations on your anniversary and what a great way to celebrate it!!

 

This will be my son's 4th cruise. There are ping pong tournaments, video game tournaments, disco, and just making memories with the new friends they meet. The important thing they do is go to the teen meet that will be listed in the capers the first night. My son doesn't want to do land vacations, just cruises. They will have a great time. During the day he would do the port excursions with us. The kids will hav a grat time.

[hockeyluver]

This will be our dd's 3rd cruise and they cant wait 14 and 16, They have never been bored on the ship there is so much for them to do. We mostly see them for dinner and at night while they are sleeping so dont worry about them not having anything to do and getting bored. our one dd still talks to people online that she hung out with on our first cruise in '03

[Lurkyloo]

Last time we cruised, Ryan was 11 and he was totally turned off by the Camp Carnival (they treated all the kids like they were 5!) He hung out with us by the pool and met friends that way and had a great time. This time he will be 14 and I see that the teens have to be 15 to be in the teen group. It sounds like the activities they offer in the teen group would fit his interests, but he is a year too young. He will definately NOT want to hang out with young kids (he thought it was lame when he WAS a young kid :) ) so I'm a bit worried about it, although he had a great time last cruise just hanging out with us and meeting kids at the pool or arcade so I'm sure he'll be fine! I just wish they offered 3 separate programs - youngsters, young teens and older teens because most kids don't like being talked down to....

[Hot Hockett]

alright, im 14 so this is a reliable source. First of all, we were never bored. Go to the camp carnival registrar thing the first day. Then, you meet other kids. From there, you dont have to hang out at camp carnival anymore. We (my brother, 12 and my neighbor, 13) There are ping pong things, a basketball court, pool, food :D, and alot of things to do. Trust me, they will never be bored. Im 14, and so i am the oldest in my camp carnival age group, and i made awesome friends who are like a year or 2 younger than me. Hope that helped and have fun and congratulations on 50 years

[LHP]

I think that the cruise experience can be as individual as the child. Just like us adults, we all seem to like different things. If your grandchildren are outgoing, then they will make their own fun. If they are more reserve, then you may have to help them along a little. RCCL may have a couple more bells and whistles, but Carnival will provide them just as good a time. My sons are now 17 and 14 and have been cruising since they were 5 and 8. They grew up in Camp Carnival and while they don't spend that much time at Camp Carnival any longer...they still love it. They love the freedom of enjoying the Camp Carnival activities....if it is something that interests them or going on their own. Our 17 year old loves ping pong and always finds a group that shares his interest. Our 14 year old is a special needs child and usually hangs with dad but still has a great time.

 

They will probably be just as excited over the "cruise experience" as they would any resort you took them to....so relax. "You done good" and if they don't appreciate it....there are many of us "grandkids' that would love to be spoiled by grandparents who will take us on a cruise!!!

[Hot Hockett]

oh, i aslo meant to say, i have never been on an RCCL cruise, but my neighbor has. He said that the rock climbing wall and all of that stuff is not that great. They hurry you through the whole thing and the line takes 30 minutes at least to get on it. So, either way, they will hopefully have fun.

[snowy owl]

Hello,

I have two dd's 11 & 13 and they love cruising. We signed up with camp then they pick the things they like to do. They make friends after that then we hardly see them. We have cruised on Carnival only. When we booked this next trip we gave the girls a choice what cruise line. We did research on other lines first and they said Carnival only. Do research on everything before you go it will help you so much with understanding things. My neighbors are cruising with us this time and they have no clue as to what to exspect. They are excited though. Happy cruising!

[FamilyDoc]

Granny,

 

My kids (now 13/16) have cruised for years and always have a great time. I just asked my 13 yo son what he liked about cruising and he said "everything" He mentioned the great arcade, hanging out in the pool, cool excursions (particularly swimming with the dolphins) and being treated like royalty in the dining room...lots of dessert. :)

 

He hung out with his sister some, Camp Carnival some and us some. He never seems to get bored. Of course he does bring the Gameboy to help with the embarkation/debarkation lines and other down time. :rolleyes:

He has cruised 3 different cruise lines and liked them all.

 

Congrats on the 50 years! Don't stress and if it isn't all perfect--so what?? It'll still be fun.

[DGNewton]

My kids (all boys) will be going on their 3rd cruise this summer that makes it 3 years in a row, they are now 16, 16 & 19....they didn't join the camp thing and never had a dull moment....instant friends, just running around, never bored and left us alone to R&R....oh, they'd stop bye to say hi every now and then...lol....what better place to go with the kids, let them run and no worry.....

[serene56]

http://community.webshots.com/album/299741566PLYKOu

 

to give you an idea of what camps has to offer

[hockeyluver]

Athough we are on a different ship my kids enjoyed looking at what was offered on the capers, some things have changed since the last cruise but for the better.