Teenagers

[ellamalta]

How strict are NCL about leaving teenagers on the ship whilst parents go ashore? My kids like to sleep late and would prefer to stay on board. Also I just discovered Entourage is closed when ship is in port. Is this every day?

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, ellamalta said:

How strict are NCL about leaving teenagers on the ship whilst parents go ashore? My kids like to sleep late and would prefer to stay on board. Also I just discovered Entourage is closed when ship is in port. Is this every day?

I watched a video just last night where Mom and Dad missed the ship in a port.  Children were left on board.  Could happen to you.

[ChiefMateJRK]

It would likely greatly depend on the age and maturity of the teenagers.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

What ages?

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I watched a video just last night where Mom and Dad missed the ship in a port.  Children were left on board.  Could happen to you.

But the kids were with their Aunt and Uncle, and the Dad voluntarily left the ship to go look for the missing wife in the port. 

[DrUrsula]

We had to leave one once - but he was  16. We were in the Haven and the butler noticed he was "home alone" and brought him soup and a BLT. We all had cell phones in case of emergency and cabs were plentiful in case we needed to bolt.

 

 

[Travelling2Some]

When our teens (now in their 30's) used to sail with us they liked to party late and sleep in.  It was never a problem, rather is was one of the benefits of cruising in that everyone can do their own thing without making the whole family conform one way or the other.  We would meet up at dinner.  Never any problems.

[Bulk-head]

Do not know how strict NCL is with enforcing this policy. Listed in the FAQs under youth programs here is how your question is answered.

 

Can my child/teen, under 17 years old stay, onboard unattended without supervision while I go ashore?

No. Parents are not allowed to leave their minor child(ren), under 17 years old, onboard without adult supervision or adult guardianship. Anyone under the age of 17 is a minor. A minor child/teen is not able to be a guardian for another minor/child. Parents found to have left their minor(s) unattended, are subject to fines, ship dismissal, and a legal investigation. Splash Academy is offered on port days for children 3-12 years old. Currently not being offered. Teens should accompany their parents ashore. Entourage opens an hour before departure.

[cmph]

Make sure they realize they aren't going to be able to get off the ship without a parent (assuming they are minors). We left ours (then 14 and 18) onboard last year at one port at the end of the cruise; I doubt anyone realized, to be honest, b/c they just napped in their room. At another port, they got back on while my husband and I stayed ashore. Crew did not care that our 14yo reboarded without a parent but definitely wouldn't let him off without one.

[Travelling2Some]

9 minutes ago, Bulk-head said:

Do not know how strict NCL is with enforcing this policy. Listed in the FAQs under youth programs here is how your question is answered.

 

Can my child/teen, under 17 years old stay, onboard unattended without supervision while I go ashore?

No. Parents are not allowed to leave their minor child(ren), under 17 years old, onboard without adult supervision or adult guardianship. Anyone under the age of 17 is a minor. A minor child/teen is not able to be a guardian for another minor/child. Parents found to have left their minor(s) unattended, are subject to fines, ship dismissal, and a legal investigation. Splash Academy is offered on port days for children 3-12 years old. Currently not being offered. Teens should accompany their parents ashore. Entourage opens an hour before departure.

Jeez . . . glad we never got that memo or maybe the policy has changed.  Ours just liked to sleep late (which is typical of the age)  not causing any trouble, just asleep in their cabin until mid-afternoon.  This was 20 years ago so maybe things have changed.

[ellamalta]

They are 13 and 16, and used to staying on their own in hotels when we go abroad.  Anyone with recent experience, after this thing was changed?  Will they really fine us, or throw us off the ship?

[RocketMan275]

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

But the kids were with their Aunt and Uncle, and the Dad voluntarily left the ship to go look for the missing wife in the port. 

True, but   OP has not indicated other relatives to baby sit the kids while OP and wife leave the ship.

[KeithJenner]

We sailed many times with our son, starting when he was 7 until he was 17 (a couple of years ago)

 

Obviously when he was young we didn’t leave him on board, but for the last few years (from him being about 14) we did so quite regularly. We only did this when we were staying local to the ship and we could always contact him by phone.

 

I don’t know whether the rule changed since then or whether we just weren’t aware of it and it wasn’t enforced, it was never a problem.

[Peachypooh]

When making decisions like this I always think what could happen and what is the  policy. Where I live someone can't leave an 18 year old alone overnight. So I think what could happen and what are the consequences of breaking the rules. I never left them alone overnight until they were 18.So think what could happen if they are onboard alone and what are the consequences of breaking the rules. You can decide then.

[mjkacmom]

27 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

When making decisions like this I always think what could happen and what is the  policy. Where I live someone can't leave an 18 year old alone overnight. So I think what could happen and what are the consequences of breaking the rules. I never left them alone overnight until they were 18.So think what could happen if they are onboard alone and what are the consequences of breaking the rules. You can decide then.

Where do you live? An 18 year old is an adult, they can buy a home, rent an apartment, book some hotel rooms (every year juniors and seniors had a party weekend at a hotel down the shore, there needed to be one 18 year old in each room). They go off to college. My daughters stayed 2 night in Philadelphia without an adult in their room (there were other parents in the hotel). OP don’t worry about entourage being closed, teens really use that space to meet up, not to be babysat.

[Peachypooh]

I meant to say under 18 can't be left alone. I was living on the east coast at the time.

[Travelling2Some]

25 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

I meant to say under 18 can't be left alone. I was living on the east coast at the time.

Seems very odd since babysitters are generally high school girls.  I stayed home alone for 2 months every summer when I was a teenager while the rest of my family stayed at the family beach house.  I was working summer jobs so needed to stay home.

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Seems very odd since babysitters are generally high school girls.  I stayed home alone for 2 months every summer when I was a teenager while the rest of my family stayed at the family beach house.  I was working summer jobs so needed to stay home.

Yeah, I don't believe this to be true anywhere in the USA.  I had a buddy who was seventeen and at home while his parents visited India for a month or so.

[kitkat343]

3 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Seems very odd since babysitters are generally high school girls.  I stayed home alone for 2 months every summer when I was a teenager while the rest of my family stayed at the family beach house.  I was working summer jobs so needed to stay home.

Most states don't actually have rules as to what age a child must be before they can be left alone, as a child's maturity level greatly affects this decision.  On our last Princess cruise in August, our private excursion was cancelled at 10 pm the night before due to a lack of wind for sailing, and I asked the front desk if  I left the port briefly in the morning to try to arrange an alternative last minute excursion could I leave the children briefly behind on the ship (some hotels that sell day passes only allow you to purchase them in person).  I was told that my younger children understandably needed to be secured in the kids club, but "no one would go looking" for my 13 year old if we let him sleep in.  Thankfully, I found a spot on another excursion overnight and we didn't need to leave our kids behind, but I was grateful to know I wouldn't have to wake up my 13 year old to drag him to the kids club.  

[cmph]

13 hours ago, ellamalta said:

They are 13 and 16, and used to staying on their own in hotels when we go abroad.  Anyone with recent experience, after this thing was changed?  Will they really fine us, or throw us off the ship?

The posted rule was the same when we traveled last summer. I actually did try to get more clarification on it, b/c you can't book a minor under 18 into a room without someone 21 or older. I wasn't sure whether the supervising adult, as the posted rule referenced, meant 18 and up or 21 and up. I got a sassy response from the NCL rep via chat, reiterating the posted rule without answering my question. I rephrased my question, and the best I got was something along the lines of "ask crew once you're onboard." So - I think none of us is really going to be able to give you a firm answer, b/c apparently enforcement of the posted rules apparently will vary by ship/crew.

 

I can tell you that absolutely no one batted an eye on the Dawn, when my 14yo got back on the ship without my husband and me. They did not ask if my two kids were together or confirm in any way that our 14yo was with an adult. 

[Turtles06]

13 hours ago, ellamalta said:

They are 13 and 16, and used to staying on their own in hotels when we go abroad. 

Except the hotels can’t sail off without you.