Teenager afraid there will be nothing for her to do.

[dlsiowa]

There is a group of us going on the Explorer of the Seas March 5th, with the ages ranging from 16 - 77. My 16 year old is afraid there will be nothing for her to do, as her sister is 19 and can go in the casinos and bars. She is afraid to go to the teen room by herself. Does anyone know if they will let the 19 year old go in with her just to check it out and help her meet people?

 

Another question would be, my folks have a hard time doing a lot of walking, are there plenty of places for them to stop and rest when they adventure out of their room on the ship?

[dlsiowa]

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[ctbrown24]

There is plenty to do. She will find friends and then will hardly be seen cause she is off having fun somewhere.

[cb at sea]

I don't think the older child will be allowed in, but the 16 year old--shoot-she's in high school and has met new people before, hasn't she??? should find plenty to do in the teen center. Point out to her that none of the other teens know anyone, either!

[smrtypnts]

The first night of the cruise in the teen cruise compass there will be a meet time and place. She should absolutely go to this. My daughter never wants to do any other type of vacation. This past Nov was her 2nd cruise. She was 15 then and turned 16 this weekend. Almost every child in the room will have no friends and need to meet someone. From the very first night my daughter made friends and we had to search the ship for her some nights as she thought she could come "home" any time she felt like it. She had the best time ever!!! Your daughter will too. These older kids were good kids on our ship and we would notice them traveling in packs. Never doing anything wrong, mind you, just hanging out whereever they land.

 

Again, just make sure she goes the first night to the meeting place. It's likely to be around 10pm.

[selectone]

There will be plenty of teen age boys drooling around her. Now, doesn't that make you feel better?

[MiniMom57]

She won't have a BIT of trouble meeting girls (and guys) her age. On 4 cruises, my daughter )on the last cruise was 18 yo) has connected with new friends by day 2, and I rarely saw her after that!!! My then-12 yo stepson was just as busy socially. And neither of them ever went to the teen programs!

 

For some reason, the kids have far less inhibitions, and just start talking to each other, walking together, and bantering back and forth.

 

She will have a BLAST!

[crusinmama06]

Sorry but I seriously laughed out loud at your post. I KNOW that she is worried there won't be anything to do, but when the time comes, YOU will be worried when she is coming back to the cabin at 1am. :D

 

I am the mom of two young girls (6 and under). I DREAD the thought of going on a cruise with TWO teenage daughters. :eek:

 

She'll have a great time. Believe me! You, on the other hand, not so much...lol.

[Merion_Mom]

Sorry but I seriously laughed out loud at your post. I KNOW that she is worried there won't be anything to do, but when the time comes, YOU will be worried when she is coming back to the cabin at 1am.

 

I am the mom of two young girls (6 and under). I DREAD the thought of going on a cruise with TWO teenage daughters. :eek:

 

She'll have a great time. Believe me! You, on the other hand, not so much...lol.

A well-founded dread, Michelle. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[crusinmama06]

A well-founded dread, Michelle. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

LOL...thanks for the encouragement ;)

[cmsjab]

dlsiowa -

I am also on the March 5th Explorer sailing. There is a roll call for the March 5th sailing: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=208728

I know that we have at least one teen near your daughter's age. We have plans to meet after the muster drill in the Viking Crown Lounge and our Meet and Mingle has been confirmed. Please check out the board, sign up for the Meet and Mingle (if you haven't already done so) and join us in the Viking Crown!

[WaterCrazzy]

as a 21 year old guy and the last cruise the imagination i went on when i was 19

i thoughly enjoyed both, friends were not hard to make and normally made on the first night. :cool: of course you gotta watch out for us guys :)

 

anyways just remember to tell your daughter that the cruise will be what she makes it. My brother (14) just went on the cruise with me this past weekend and he didn't make any friends and just hung out by me and went to bed early and never really danced or anything and was pretty bored and lonely. I think if he would have made friends (as i was hanging out with well over 8 different groups) he would have had alot more fun but the negativity just kinda killed that

[jmps]

A well-founded dread, Michelle. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

We are taking our 13 and 15 YO girls on a spring break cruise. They LOVE to cruise. It is all about meeting friends on the ship. As others have said the concern will be getting her in at a time that is OK with you.

[Traveler05]

We sailed on a cruise a few weeks ago. Brought along my daughter, also age 16, my son age 13 and my daughter age 10.

 

Since it was during the school year, very few kids on the ship were on the ship. There were a group of teenage boys but very few girls for my daughter to hang out with. They wouldn't let my 16 year old participate in the programs for my 13 year old and vice versa. None of my kids participated in the organized activities because I think they were cancelled often due to lack of participation. In addition, early on, a couple of ill-behaved kids decided to show their friendship by giving my son the finger. Of course, these kids were the exception. Most kids were friendly. After that, my son didn't want anything to do with the programs since these kids seemed to participate in it.

 

With that said, my kids thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, though. They hung out with each other and had a great time at the pool, theatre, shopping, bingo, ping pong and even shuffleboard! They have great memories and are looking forward to the next one. I think it's really true about how your attitude will effect how much you will enjoy the cruise. Your daughter will have a great time with all the planned activities the ship offers.

[Green4me]

"Another question would be, my folks have a hard time doing a lot of walking, are there plenty of places for them to stop and rest when they adventure out of their room on the ship?"

 

I think they will have plenty of places to rest along the way. While I have not sailed your ship, most all have lots of public spaces to sit and rest, The promenade deck where yopu can walk around the whole ship on the outside, is a very relaxing place to be. It has lots of chairs and benches for this purpose.

 

Encourage them to get out and about. Using the elevators should also be a plus.

 

Enjoy

 

ps regarding your 16DD, worst case tell her she has to hang out at the pool, eat free ice cream and food all week. Not too shaby ;)

[Treven]

as a 21 year old guy and the last cruise the imagination i went on when i was 19

i thoughly enjoyed both, friends were not hard to make and normally made on the first night. :cool: of course you gotta watch out for us guys :)

 

anyways just remember to tell your daughter that the cruise will be what she makes it. My brother (14) just went on the cruise with me this past weekend and he didn't make any friends and just hung out by me and went to bed early and never really danced or anything and was pretty bored and lonely. I think if he would have made friends (as i was hanging out with well over 8 different groups) he would have had alot more fun but the negativity just kinda killed that

Often times it's what you make it.

[sas80]

There is a group of us going on the Explorer of the Seas March 5th, with the ages ranging from 16 - 77.

 

My 16 year old is afraid there will be nothing for her to do, as her sister is 19 and can go in the casinos and bars. She is afraid to go to the teen room by herself. Does anyone know if they will let the 19 year old go in with her just to check it out and help her meet people?

 

They let DH and I go in and look at the teen area so I doubt they will be policing your 16 year old.

 

Re: she's afraid she will have nothing to do....ask her if the words "SPRING BREAK" mean anything to her.....

 

March is THE spring break cruising month....

 

Another question would be, my folks have a hard time doing a lot of walking, are there plenty of places for them to stop and rest when they adventure out of their room on the ship?

 

I hope thier room is close enough to the elevators..? Other than that, yes, there will be planty of places to stop and rest.

 

Happy Sailing!

[Toxgrl]

I was a teenager on my first cruise and loved it. There is enough to do on a cruise that doesn't involve organized activities, and, if she's shy, the organized activities may make her feel left out. Tell her to explore on her own on the ship. Give her a time to be back, standard safety rules, and let her loose. She will find more interesting things than she thinks!

[bayyore]

I was glad to see this thread. I have 2 boys ages 12 and 16 and have been concerned that they wouldn't have anything more than video games...when my husband and I were on the Celebrity Constellation, the ship only had a few video games for that age. Younger kids had a nice center but not much for the bigger kids. One of the reasons for a family cruise we chose RCI.

[burritopunk]

she'll meet boys.

 

you'll hate it

[emdia43]

The first cruise I took was on Majesty with my 2 grandsons who were then 15 and 11. The 15yr old whined all the way from Indiana to Miami that he was going to be bored,lonely,wouldn't have anything to do. yadayada I was so annoyed with him I was tempted to put him on a plane right back home,I thought he would spoil our trip......but as soon as we got on board they went up to the basketball court and in a few minutes they had made friends- all the kids are literally 'in the same boat' from then on they were all joined at the hip- the teen club/sports area is great and very popular. By the time we left they were in tears and begging to book another cruise ASAP.

From then on we have cruised several times and they LOVE it.

The older boy is outgoing but the younger one is a bit shy,but on the basketball court he just starts playing,and he has friends before you know it. They have freedom that they don't have at home,they can go off and get a pizza,go to Johnny Rockets,'hang with groups of teens.

There is a Dj in the teen club that will get them mixing if they are sitting alone..... :)

[grangermom]

As for your parents walking around the ship, there are definitely places to sit. However, they will probably get pretty worn out, depending on their age. I just cruised with my 80 y.o. mom last December. She walks with a cane, verrrrrry slowly. I had to be patient and just take my time. The customer service desk will let you check out a wheelchair at no charge. I borrowed one when we went into Nassau, which made it so much easier for both of us.

I hope you all have a great cruise!:)

[Casshew]

There will be more to do on the ship than at home!

[emdia43]

And just think,every time they sit down to rest,there is something to eat close by.....LOL

Study the deck plans before you go and you will save a lot of wandering/exploring time and energy.:)

[Amymacc]

E-mail me at Amymacc@comcast.net and I will send my daughter's e-mail address to you so your daughter can contact mine about her three cruise experiences.

 

Amy