Traveling solo with my teen-aged daughter - NERVOUS!

[LivLove2Cruise]

We have cruised several times as a family when my daugher was younger, but this time I just booked a cruise for she and I. My husband is not a fan of cruising and didn't want to go.  As we are getting closer, I am becoming nervous.  She is an only child and an introvert. We have done mom and daughter trips to Disney and Universal but we were always on the go.  I am nervious she will get bored. Our last cruise was in 2019 on NCL. We were a party of 6 but she was the only child in the group. She didn't enjoy the youth club. While she enjoyed the cruise, she did say she was bored at times. We were in the Haven so she spent a lot of time in the Haven pool and didn't really venture out much.  This time it is just she and I. She is 15.  We are sailing on the Anthem in April.  I intended on getting the streaming service and she already has books set aside to bring as she is an avid reader.  However, I don't want her spending at sea days on her phone or in a book the entire time.  If anyone has experience traveling with a teen solo, I would love to hear it.

[DesireeC03]

My daughter is introverted as well and there is no way she is hitting the teen club alone.  I would suggest finding roll call and other sailing groups and asking if anyone else is traveling with an introverted teen and then connecting them pre cruise via texting.  I would also look at the daily schedule on your app pre cruise and choose fun activities to do together.  That way you have some expectations of together time preset and also honoring that she needs alone time to recharge.  We never get internet on our cruises so that the kids can completely disconnect.  That is how we avoid being married to phones on cruises.  There are fun trivia games, bingo (always a hit with my daughter), shows, karaoke...  Also my daughter enjoys attending the raffles and informational sessions with freebies and then touring the jewelry shops at ports.  Try to focus on being present with your kid and enjoying small moments!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

there is so much to do on RCI ships that I cannot imagine anyone being bored on them, even if they don't go to a teen club.

We don't have a teen yet (he is 11 next month), but he is a huge introvert. DS hates the kid's club and does not make friends on cruises. He is never bored on RCI ships, though. Princess ships - yes, but never on RCI. There are so many activities that can be done solo or with mom/dad! As a matter of fact, DS does a lot of activities alone (we supervise from nearby) or with DH (DH is much more mobile and adventurous than me). Oh, and he is not an avid reader (I wish!) but can stay buried in a video game for hours.

 

As a matter of fact, I recently had this conversation with my DH asking him if he thought DS would ever just go to a teen club and not be attached to our hip the entire time on the cruise. DH doesn't think so. 🙂

[LivLove2Cruise]

39 minutes ago, DesireeC03 said:

My daughter is introverted as well and there is no way she is hitting the teen club alone.  I would suggest finding roll call and other sailing groups and asking if anyone else is traveling with an introverted teen and then connecting them pre cruise via texting.  I would also look at the daily schedule on your app pre cruise and choose fun activities to do together.  That way you have some expectations of together time preset and also honoring that she needs alone time to recharge.  We never get internet on our cruises so that the kids can completely disconnect.  That is how we avoid being married to phones on cruises.  There are fun trivia games, bingo (always a hit with my daughter), shows, karaoke...  Also my daughter enjoys attending the raffles and informational sessions with freebies and then touring the jewelry shops at ports.  Try to focus on being present with your kid and enjoying small moments!

Thank you.  I wasn't getting the internet package for myself for the same reason you described. I need to disconnect from work. On the otherhand, I was thinking about getting her package so she would remain connected. Maybe not getting the package will keep her present in the moment and force her to have fun with her mom!

[xxHadleyxx]

My youngest is 23 now, but I have plenty of experience with teens who would not go to the teen club (two introverts).  

We tend to do things together: trivia, the various game shows, flow rider, bumper cars, etc......hopefully if YOU suggest, "hey, this looks interesting, let'S go" then she'll join in.  Mine alwas did (and it wasn'T long before the tables were turned and htey were dragging me away from the pool to play a game, etc).

 

Anthem has so many things to do...just make the effort to get our there and encourage her to do them with you and I bet it will be a nice time.

 

(BTW other than if needed for work/interviews both of my kids,,,,now 23 and 25, will not use their phones/laptops on the ships....they won't even use their free Diamond coupons for internet.   They learned to LOVE disconnecting for the crusies we take.  It's kind of funny...I like using MY free coupons and checking in with social media, but they don't anymore)

Edited February 6, 2022 by xxHadleyxx

[martikus]

I would insist on making her go to teen club first night.  If not interested after that no problem but my introvert son would have to try it once before he could tell me no way and I hear it’s first night or don’t bother.

 

we love traveling with our son and he almost never did clubs.  We do get him streaming and agree to 2 hours of relaxing each afternoon back in room.  He you tubes and I read.

 

mornings are late breakfast and mini golf.  Then maybe trivia if we can find it or pool time he loves slides if they have them and I just sit and watch.

 

I drag him to most trivia and bingo.  He complains until we arrive 😉.  We only do buffet for breakfast and lunch as he asks for only one sit down a night which we do dinner.

 

we always go see the show and most times he enjoys it (or enough).  After we will usually do a pizza snack and maybe mini golf again.
 

it’s actually easier as a teen as he doesn’t wake up at 5am anymore.  Do you know how little there is to do from 5am to 12pm?!  One of our favorite things is shuffleboard around dinner time.  Try to do it daily.

 

he actually loves the belly flop comp so we always make a point to watch it.  
 

honestly the days go by fast.  And it’s a lot easier at this age because you know they can navigate the ship themselves so sometimes I will go sit on deck while he hangs in room and he comes meet me.  We just don’t try to do as much as we would alone.  Giving him some downtime to you tube, even though I prefer to unplug really does make a difference in his willingness to try everything else.

 

have a great time!

[ronandcarla]

2 hours ago, LivLove2Cruise said:

We have cruised several times as a family when my daugher was younger, but this time I just booked a cruise for she and I. My husband is not a fan of cruising and didn't want to go.  As we are getting closer, I am becoming nervous.  She is an only child and an introvert. We have done mom and daughter trips to Disney and Universal but we were always on the go.  I am nervious she will get bored. Our last cruise was in 2019 on NCL. We were a party of 6 but she was the only child in the group. She didn't enjoy the youth club. While she enjoyed the cruise, she did say she was bored at times. We were in the Haven so she spent a lot of time in the Haven pool and didn't really venture out much.  This time it is just she and I. She is 15.  We are sailing on the Anthem in April.  I intended on getting the streaming service and she already has books set aside to bring as she is an avid reader.  However, I don't want her spending at sea days on her phone or in a book the entire time.  If anyone has experience traveling with a teen solo, I would love to hear it.

My wife and I along with our daughter, of which she was probably the same age did a 4 day trip to Atlantis in Nassau thinking it would be a great trip;  it was the worst trip, expensive and she was bored. 

All the trips in the past, whether it was down the shore, Disney or a cruise were great, so we chalked it up with the age factor.  So Good Luck with whatever decision you make.

[megs193]

I’m cruising alone with my 12 year old in a little less than 3 weeks. He is also not interested in going to the teen club but it seems like there are so many activities and events happening that we won’t have any issue filling our day. We are going on Independence of the Seas and some of the things on my list are the flow rider, pools, slides, sky pad, mini-golf, basketball, table tennis, arcade, art auctions, ice skating, escape room and shows. Between that and his favorite past time of eating I think we will run out of time or I will be exhausted every night.

[ustasmom]

I did 20 nights on the Jewel with my 14 year old daughter (the youngest of 8.) She loves cruising and really doesn't care where she is if she is on a ship. Teens sleep late and stay up late. There really wasn't anything to do on the ship anyway so that was fine with me. I bought the streaming internet package and by 9pm I would give it to her. 

 

She cruised with me in August, September, October, November and December. And we have a cruise in a week. This time is just weird. And it has gotten weirder as the time has passed. So her comfort level was to pretty much stay in the cabin. I brought her breakfast. I brought her lunch. We did go to the main dining room for dinner followed by shuffleboard. She went to two shows in those 20 nights, one less than me. 

 

It has been a long two years. Her behavior on ships is pretty much how life has been for the past couple years. So let her call the shots. If she doesn't want to do anything, she hangs out with you. To me, that is still a win. 

 

 

[LuCruise]

Not travelling with a single teen, but I will say that when we go on a cruise, our kids...now 16 and 12...don't go to the kids/teem clubs.  In fact, we look at it as this is our time together to do things.  (Otherwise, our kids at home are typically in their rooms on their phones/computers with their friends).  Not sure you specified which ship you are going on, but even from the daily activities alone, there is always stuff going on that is fun to do together...e.g. trivia, game shows, scavenger hunt, grab a snack, shows in the evenings, movies.  Then depending on your likes, you can swim, rock wall, watch/try flowrider, ping pong, slides (depending on ship), bumper cars (depending on ship), etc  The odd time we have a lull, but there is lots to do together. And so special for you to have this mother/daughter trip.  Something you will both always cherish.

 

P.S. - Just noticed you did mention Anthem...so no slides but bumper cars.  It'll be our first time on her, hopefully in March, and I've been watching the daily planner.  Seems like tons to do.

Edited February 6, 2022 by LuCruise

[mek]

We have taken all of our grandkids on cruises and one was with a 13 year old girl and her 14 year old brother.

For many reasons it was one of the worst experiences we have ever had.  The girl was impossible to control and was constantly on her phone - she actually called home from the ship several times each day. They had an adjoining room, which was the only good thing about the trip.  I should have confiscated their phones and put them in the safe, but I didn't realize what was going on until late in the cruise.

I'm sure my case was extreme, but no way would I let kids play with their phones or tablets on a cruise.  If they want to do that then they should stay home.

 

[RockHoundTX]

As noted above, check out the roll-call either here or on Facebook to hook her up with someone pre-cruise. Next, require her to at least go to the Teen Meet and Greet. That is where she is most likely to meet someone she can hang out with for the cruise. Also, the Teen club is probably the quietest places on the ship for most of the day since there are very few "formal" activities. I have seen quite a few teens just hanging there by themselves during the day. They then tend to get "swept up" by other kids later in the day (to play video games, watch a movie, etc.).  

 

My kids are total Extroverts (oldest is also 15). Funny enough, introverts tend to gravitate toward them. On at least 3 cruises I have had a parent come and say "My daughter is super shy so was a little worried. Thanks to your kids, she had a great time.". In every case they had met during the first day, formed a little group of 5-6 kids that would go do trivia/karaoke/rock-wall/etc together, and had a great time. As long as your daughter is in a place where she is near other kids, there is a high probability that someone will at least say "hey, what you watching? Seen the latest Mark Rover video?". Another trick is to have her wear a t-shirt specific to something she is interested in. Seen lots of random conversations started based on someone wearing an anime/manga/video game (especially Minecraft) based t-shirt. Best of luck on your trip.      

[Jimbo]

6 hours ago, ustasmom said:

I did 20 nights on the Jewel with my 14 year old daughter (the youngest of 8.) She loves cruising and really doesn't care where she is if she is on a ship. Teens sleep late and stay up late. There really wasn't anything to do on the ship anyway so that was fine with me. I bought the streaming internet package and by 9pm I would give it to her. 

 

She cruised with me in August, September, October, November and December. And we have a cruise in a week. This time is just weird. And it has gotten weirder as the time has passed. So her comfort level was to pretty much stay in the cabin. I brought her breakfast. I brought her lunch. We did go to the main dining room for dinner followed by shuffleboard. She went to two shows in those 20 nights, one less than me. 

 

It has been a long two years. Her behavior on ships is pretty much how life has been for the past couple years. So let her call the shots. If she doesn't want to do anything, she hangs out with you. To me, that is still a win. 

 

 

When is our next cruise Mom? 🙂

[MightyMike]

If she is introverted and an avid reader, then what's wrong with reading a book onboard? Why set so many social expectations of fun when her bliss lies elsewhere? The last time my family went on a cruise, we spent much of the last afternoon in our cabin watching some HGTV shows. Yes, that's something we could just as easily do at home, but it felt great to just waste the day away on a cruise ship. Some people spend so much time and attention trying to get their "money's worth" by participating in as many activities as possible that they forget how to relax and enjoy the experience of simply *being* on an amazing ship and *being* in distant locations. For introverts like us, sometimes the greatest pleasure is just to be.

[flamingos]

Please let her read as much as she wants - but you can request she leave the room to do it.  There are plenty of nice spots on deck to be out in the fresh air.  At 15, that would have been heaven to me!

 

There are plenty of activities you can do together - trivia, bingo maybe?  Walk around and explore the ship - the artwork in the stairwells and cabin hallways is fascinating. 

 

Enjoy yourself, don't put pressure on her.  Have a great cruise.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

11 hours ago, MightyMike said:

If she is introverted and an avid reader, then what's wrong with reading a book onboard? Why set so many social expectations of fun when her bliss lies elsewhere? The last time my family went on a cruise, we spent much of the last afternoon in our cabin watching some HGTV shows. Yes, that's something we could just as easily do at home, but it felt great to just waste the day away on a cruise ship. Some people spend so much time and attention trying to get their "money's worth" by participating in as many activities as possible that they forget how to relax and enjoy the experience of simply *being* on an amazing ship and *being* in distant locations. For introverts like us, sometimes the greatest pleasure is just to be.

in this case I'd go with Princess ships - better food, fewer activities, and all that for less $$. When we are on Princess ships, we definitely spend more time just chilling by the pool, reading or playing on phones/tablets, watching TV, or enjoying the balcony. But we choose RCI ships when we want to have more active fun: slides, zip line, figure skating, rock climbing, surfing, carousel for the kiddo, etc., which costs us more, but is worth it.

[bhsolo]

Just going to chime in, nothing wrong with her head being in a book if that is how she enjoys her time. My last cruise, I finished 4 or 5 books. I was in heaven reading by the pool, met some nice people who asked how the book was/chatted for recommendations, and felt such relaxation and joy.

[cindyscruise]

As a retired librarian, I love when teens love to read.  But you may be surprised and she may also want to participate in activities such as trivia.  Being just the two of you together enjoy the time, they grow up too fast.  

[owensamo]

My only introverted teen daughter stopped going to the teen club by the time she was 15 on both Celebrity and Disney. She prefers to hang with us, attend the activities (Trivia, game shows, etc) and find a quiet spot in a lounge or on deck to read, draw, or watercolor paint. She's now 19, and is used to interacting with the crew/cast members and enjoys her down time from school on a ship where people will bring her fruity non-alcoholic beverages, and compliment her on her artwork. If she can make friends on the cruise group prior to the cruise, that's a bonus, and she's fine with going off and doing her own thing, or hanging out on her own while we do something less interesting as well. 

 

We haven't been on RCI yet (currently have a trip scheduled this summer) but from what I can tell, there's so much to do on the ship for all ages, I doubt anyone could be bored. Check the activities and plan your days, but be prepared to sit in an ocean breeze and read with a cold beverage on occasion if that's how she recharges. Being an introvert myself, sometimes quiet time not being around people is the best part of the vacation!