Single mom with Teen

[sarkat3715]

I'll be taking my 15 year old daughter on a cruise. It's the 3rd cruise for me, 2nd for her, but our 1st together as a single mom/daughter unit. Do you have any recommendations for excursions we would enjoy in St. Thomas and St. Maarten? Any advice on what teen activities are available? How do the teens dress for formal night? (The last time we cruised she was 9 and none of this was an issue.) Any advice is appreciated. I'm a little concerned about her roaming around by herself, too.

[doone]

It would help if we knew which ship you are sailing.

 

As always, you need to be very careful letting your teen roam anywhere, not just a ship. A week or so ago, 20/20 or one of those shows did a report on cruise ship safety. People think being on a cruise ship is safer than anywhere else, unfortunately it is not. They were saying you need to be diligent with your children, and yourself, when going anywhere. I'd be very careful letting my child roam anywhere alone and don't ever let your guard down.

[sarkat3715]

Sorry, we're sailing on the Caribbean Princess. Naturally i do not intend to let my daughter have free reign all day every day, but neither do i expect to be tied at the hip. We'll spend MOST of our time together, but I'm assuming she will want to be "on her own" sometimes, as will I.

[luv2cworld2000]

Congratulations on your upcoming mother daughter trip. I was on a mother daughter trip on the Star Princess with my teen this February. Princess does run a tight ship and security is even tighter than it was a couple of years ago. They even have security guards just for teens. I felt secure letting her have some freedom as long as she followed the rules. At the off limits zone for teens you can decide if you want her to be able to come and go as she wishes or if you want to sign her in and out. If I had it to do all over again I would have brought walkie talkies, most teens had them. I had my daughter tell me where she was going and made sure she knew where to find me. If either of had a change of plans we needed to go back to the cabin and write a note. We set up times where we both needed to be in the cabin to check in. Because of her seizure disorder, she couldn’t go in the pool or hot tub without me being there. She was not allowed to go into another cabin or have anyone in ours. We didn’t need a curfew, because she is shy and wasn’t one to want to stay out late. Other words of advice. 1. On the first day, take her on a tour of the ship and make sure she knows how to get around. 2. Make sure she knows where the munster station is. Ours was the princess theater, but every time we passed it I referred to it as our munster station. 3. Make sure she knows what to do if her swipe card gets demagnetized and she can’t get into the room. This was the one thing I didn’t think of and it happened to her. I was going to take pictures of the ship leaving port and she was going to get ice cream. Seems harmless enough, but when I got back she told me of her crisis. She had a mini panic attack when her card wouldn’t work, but a kind passenger walking by heard her cries and saved the day. He took her to the purser’s desk for a new card. (if you are out there reading this, kind person, thanks.)

Formal night: She wore long dresses that we picked up at post prom sales but I have seen teens in knee length or just above the knee dresses.

:) :mad: :eek: :confused: all the emotions of traveling with teens. But mostly:D

Enjoy the memories the two of you will make.

[dougiefresh]

A cruise ship is a hotel as well as transport, in my mind the same rules apply for a teenager; I'd say at 15 you'd wnat to have a good idea where she is but you don't have to be joined at the hip: you're at the health club, I'll meet you there in 2 hours, pool, etc. I assume you wouldn't let a teenager go off with a stranger, same applies: and as Princess says in their lifeboat drill/safety briefing, crews quarters are off limits to guests, do not go even if invited.

[caribbean dreams]

If she has gone to a school formal she can wear the same dress, if not Gottschalks & Penny's has formal dresses on clearance in the jr. department, you should be able to pick one up for about $30

My teens love the beach and i love to spend the day being with them, ask her what she would like to do in port and decide together.

[5ofus]

We went to Maagens Bay in St. Thomas, my kids loved it but was crowded (3 ships in port Spring Break). Rented floats. Divi Bay in St. Maarten because one of my kids was sunburned and was close to ship,they rented jetskis. others seemed to enjoy Orient (45 minute ride) with water trampeline(snorkeling was closed there). The jeep excursion looked fun, I didn't realize that all the excursions do have some beach time too so be sure to bring a suit...excursions are nice because you do not spend the whole day baking in the caribbean sun.

 

We were also concerned about the kids on the ship. First night my daughter(15) went to teen club and met a bunch of kids. You will want to know what type of kids they are and where they are "hanging out." Supervision not strict on any of these ships (we were on RC), their main focus is keeping the kids out of the other passenger's hair (one activity was a hottub party!). We made sure she was in by curfew (which got moved to 1, 11 at home...alot of kids did not have them!), kids club closed at 12:30. Biggest rule is never to walk alone....always walked back by her friends, biggest worry is the other passengers who are out partying all day and night (20 plus crowd!).

 

It seems that your daughter might have some other concerns, she may not even want to hang out at night...my boys (11 and 13) were perfectly happy to be with us. Have fun!!!

[5ofus]

One more thing...we got wrist bracelets (look like phone chords)at Walmart and wore them on our wrists with our key cards (had a hole punched in ours at the desks, the kids already had them). Great for teenagers to always have card available (my daughter even had a pink one with a heart)

[sarkat3715]

Thanks for all the great info. I like the idea of the walkie-talkies and the wrist cord. Definitely will be giving her a curfew. I'm hearing good things about the catamaran/snorkeling excursion in St. Thomas, so that will be a must-do. I'm so exciting about our trip that I'm starting some shopping today!:)

[sarkat3715]

Does anyone know if there is a place to "swim with the dolphins" on either St. Thomas or St. Maarten? I haven't seen it on any of the excursion lists. THANKS