Seniors in high school and in age….

[flyboyswife]

My husband and I are taking my mom and her BFF (two 85yo women with mobility issues who still prefer the finer things in life!) AND two soon-to-be college bound high school seniors (17yo) on a cruise over the December holidays. I’ve picked HAL for the 85yo’s, plus, this 55yo likes the finer things too!  Folks are telling me the teens will be miserable on HAL. Frankly, I don’t see anything miserable about being on a ship in the Caribbean over the holidays but now I’m second guessing myself. Have you travelled on HAL with a broad age spectrum of family? Any tips on pleasing the younger family members? TIA!

[oaktreerb]

I can’t imagine that the teens will be miserable on HAL.  The cruise will be an adventure for them, they will probably enjoy the music venues and the food choices.  Teens make their own fun when they are together.  They will probably meet other teens onboard and have a great time.  The Crows Nest has been converted to a family games area with a variety of board games.  The older ladies will enjoy the attention of the wonderful HAL room stewards and other crew members.

 

Multi generational families are common on HAL. The mid size ships are family friendly. 

[julia]

If you are worried about your teens being "miserable" on a Caribbean holiday.... well. Enough said.

[oakridger]

Besides the great ports and beaches, there are the pools, food, pickleball courts, movies, food, port days, ping pong, food, and live music at night in either the Rolling Stone Rock Lounge or if on a Pinnacle class ship also BB Kings Lounge.  There will be lots of kids on the holiday cruises so they will likely meet some others their age to do things with.  

 

We can get more specific if you tell us which ship you will be sailing on.

 

~Nancy

[ski ww]

Find the Roll Call for your ship and sign up. It's a good place to find out who you will be  travelling with.

[grannyshell]

We took a Mediterranean cruise with 3 generations this summer, including our tween granddaughter. She found friends, enjoyed the pool, music venues, fine dining, shooting baskets on the top deck, loved every excursion...in short, definitely not miserable. You probably won't see much of your kids once they board.

[srsurman]

I assume these teens are getting a free cruise?  If so, who gives a hoot if they're bored or not...

[Sir PMP]

They have Club Hal:

[FOPMan]

If you’re on the Nieuw Statendam, you are in port quite a few days. Both Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay have great beaches and easy access from the top of the pier. St. Thomas is fun to explore, as is Puerto Rico. Swimming with the rays at Grand Cayman is the “thing” to do.

 

Holland America usually has a Hoby Cat or other small sailboat available for rent by the hour at Half Moon Cay. It’s pretty easy to sail it- my 83 year old mother would likely be happy to show your boys how to sail it or help them with snorkeling. She’s taught sailing for almost 70 years and swims at least a quarter mile almost every day. She’ll be on the NS with us  Christmas week. I’m the easiest guy to find on the ship- I use an orange power wheelchair.

 

I’d bring a water-friendly  ball or paddles and a ball or a flying disk to use on the beaches.

Edited September 10 by FOPMan

[Mary229]

During the holidays there are a lot more minors on the ship. My experience with teenagers is entertainment is not as important as hanging out.  I agree with going to your roll call and asking if others are bringing minors. 

[Torquer]

Have you traveled a lot with your kids in the past, not necessarily on cruises, but sightseeing trips?  If so, I think they will love HAL, and seeing new places on this cruise.  We went on several cruises on HAL when our sons were in their teens, and they enjoyed it, and now that they are in their mid/late 20s they want to keep going along with us on cruises whenever they can get off time from work.  They really like the "upscale experience" on HAL.

 

On the other hand, if you only took them to "high-energy" travel destinations like Disney World, water parks, and places like that then maybe HAL isn't for them.  They might be happier on the ships that have the water slides, climbing walls, and stuff like that.  Really only you can answer this question, since you know your kids.

Edited September 10 by Torquer

[FOPMan]

There aren’t surfing simulators (or rock walls) on HAL ships. There IS a surfing simulator at Margaritaville on Grand Turk.

 

If you’re hitting Puerto Rico, the bioluminescence kayaking is pretty cool. I haven’t looked to see where the moon is going to be.

 

HAL does not make a huge deal out of Christmas. The ships are decorated and the crew performs a Christmas concert.

[ksqueak]

A heads up, there is no longer a club HAL for teens.  At least there wasn't in Alaska this past summer.  I had a shy 12 yr old with me and he wasn't bored but there wasn't a lot for him to do.  They told me he could participate in any of the arts and crafts and sporting activities.  Plenty of families with teens he was just too shy to approach them.  He did the adult coloring, watched lots of movies, and swam.  

[NowVoyager2]

The kids find each other  &  as long as there are other children their age your son will be fine.

[RGBFamily]

If they are content with a calmer atmosphere and don't need vegas style entertainment they will be fine.  My fou kids preferred line is HAL - we have tried a variety and with a variety of ages.  I took my 17-year-old senior and her cousin on NCL last year and she was like HAL is better. 

 

I also took my 12 & 14-year-old boys for the January Hawaii 17 night last year and they loved it.  In January there were 27 kids onboard.

 

This year we have chosen HAL for our family holiday as well.  One thing we find works well is that if we go off on excursions or do different things during the day, plan to meet for dinner be it at the Lido or dining room and talk about the day.  We also had opt out days where sometimes someone didn't want to join and that was fine too.

[doone]

What ship are you sailing?

[Grandmaanne7]

We took grandkids aged 13, 15 and 19, who are Carnival regulars, on a week long HAL cruise in July. Not only were they not bored, they're asking when the next family cruise will be? Your kids will have fun!

[topspot]

   We have taken our daughter and a friend on several HAL cruises during their teen years.  During the holiday times there were always several other teens and they would hang out in the teen club.  There was one cruise we did NOT during a holiday time.  There were 15 kids of all ages, but our girls went to hang out in the club area every sea day.  The kids club staff was great with the kids.  They found out what their hobbies were (DD was a dancer and her friend worked on the stage crew (mostly sound) in high school.  The girls spent an afternoon in the theater during a rehearsal.   DD met with the dancers and her friend worked with the sound people.  On another afternoon staff arranged a tour of the bridge for all of the kids.  We were jealous!

[willoL]

I'm a parent who chose HAL for my first cruise with both kids (they were fairly little) and again in 2022 with my spouse and two teens (final family voyage before eldest started college & maybe too busy to travel together.) We did a long voyage (TATL) where there were very few other young people, but it was still wonderful. Of course, we actively wished to spend time together as a family, so the HAL environment fit our goals.

 

Both "kids" loved it, though the one visit to the "teen" hours at Club HAL (that I nudged my younger one to try) was pretty bad. It was just him with three babysitters for an hour or so where he played some video games; one other kid stuck a head in and left. During the holidays, this would be less likely, though. Shorter itineraries & vacation time journeys always have more kids.

 

What matters is the personality mix in your group, as others have said. My kids loved HAL from childhood, but they grew up in a low-key household led by introvert parents. They were always encouraged to entertain themselves. Some people (children & adults) need more outside direction not to be bored, but most people today--perhaps especially the young--can amuse themselves pretty well with their devices. I'd expect teens being brought on a cruise to have that capacity, and I'd encourage them to pack what they need to enjoy their own down time.

 

Maybe also plot out, roughly, how everyone expects to spend their days. Will you be together 24/7, or will family just come together at meals? Just dinner? Decide before you leave so people can pack accordingly. (For example, I bring jigsaw puzzles and small board games when I cruise, but those are things we do as a family when on vacation.)

 

For my family, booking the right stateroom combo was the other key to happiness. The kids had an interior room across the hall; they slept WAY later than we did, and the room service dishes suggested they were up a lot later (noise, light, smells), too. 😄 We wouldn't have been as happy if we hadn't had our lovely Neptune Suite across the hall to ourselves...

 

 

[Moriah]

I took my daughter and nephew on a HAL Caribbean cruise when they were 19 and they had an amazing time and still talk about it all the time.  I personally don't think kids need an entire ship full of kids their own age to have a fantastic time.  Presumably you are not taking yours out of school so this cruise falls during a time when other teens could and probably will also be on the ship - not hundreds of them - but likely enough that they can meet new friends.  I think the two 17 year olds you are taking are going to have a WONDERFUL time, as will those of the other two generations!! Relax and enjoy! 

[MamaKD]

Our first cruise included our kids who were 17 and 22 at the time. They loved it - in my experience young people will find each other. On our cruise over Easter this year there were a lot of multi generational families and around 600 kids, all ages. 
 

I don’t think you will have any issues!

[Ray4Fun]

Would you do me a favor. After you all return, post a message how it all went. Curious,,,

[SeeSun&Sea]

Give the 18 year olds a budget for excursions, and let them explore scuba diving, paragliding, jungle ziplines, stingrays & dolphins, and just walking city streets by themselves. They will be voting adults. Ask them, please, to stick with ship excursions, for your peace of mind: Missing the boat can be quite tedious. However, if the ship excursions are already gone, well, dockside can be both cheaper & better. This is a great chance in a safe environment to give them adulting opportunities!

 

 

[Petronillus]

To @flyboyswife;

Thanks for starting this thread. I have enjoyed the conversation.

By leaving out the details, you've given leave for folks to share all kinds of reminiscences. Notably, nobody has mentioned any misfortunes. I'm sure there have been some, but sometimes people don't like to dredge up bad memories.

Kudos to you for making the most of three-generation togetherness!

On the other hand, if you do still have unanswered questions, maybe a few more details would be useful. Is it a 7-day cruise or longer? Is it, as has been assumed, on the NS? What's the itinerary? How many ports of call, how many sea days? What are your cabin arrangements for your three separate groupings? Are the two 17yos g/g, b/b, b/g?

I myself have just two suggestions to add:

* Try the sting ray excursion on HMC. It's relatively inexpensive. The handlers are personable and top-notch. The sting rays are glorious -- not just tame, but personalities like dogs, amazingly smooth to the touch, and larger/heavier than I expected. I bet not many hs seniors come back from Xmas vacation with that story to tell.

* You're sinking a ton of money into this adventure. If the budget allows, I suggest springing for the nonalcoholic beverage package for the teenagers.

I join the others who have asked you to report back afterwards, when you're still basking in the pleasant afterglow.

Best wishes!

[albingirl]

Teens and the beach. No bored kids, ever.  Teens and the ship.  No bored kids ever.  If they are, well, it's nothing I would worry about.  Ever.