18 year olds

[billylen]

I will take my son on his first cruise as an adult. In the past he was able to take advantage of the activities for kids, but now he is in that 18 to 21 year old range. Will he have plenty to do? I mean he is still a big kid, but I think too old for the "kid" programs.

 

What activities do they have for his age group?

 

We will be on the Mariner in August

[Iamthesea]

No activities for that age group because 18 year olds are not kids...they are adults. ;)

Don't worry! He will find a group of kids his age or he may hang out with you (not a bad idea!)

Be sure to give your son some restrictions about curfew and make sure he knows about the ship rules. Know what he is getting into and check in with him often.

He will be allowed to drink and gamble, so you may want to revoke his spending privileges.

[sealeggs]

He will also be able to get into the nightclubs.There will be plenty of young men around his age, so he should have plenty of things to keep himself occupied.

[aebalc]

He will also be able to get into the nightclubs.There will be plenty of young men around his age, so he should have plenty of things to keep himself occupied.

 

Who am I to judge BUT - There will be plenty of young LADIES around his age, so he should have plenty of things to keep himself occupied.

 

And oh yeah also beer and gambling. I imagine he'll be plenty occupied!

[beijobeijo]

I'm 19 - and sure there are no planned activities , but after one nigt in the nightclub, and im sure he will have heaps of friends.

[Clarkk W Griswald]

He will be allowed to drink and gamble, so you may want to revoke his spending privileges.

 

 

He can drink and gamble ONLY with your signed permission.

[cruisin from florida]

My 18 year old son spent a lot of time on the sports deck. Basketball, volleyball (on Voyager Class). I do wish they'd have an official "college age" mixer the first night or so. This age group really is different than the older singles crowd.

[PEGLEG]

There is plenty for an 18 y.o. to do. Casino, Beer & Wine, Gamble, Beer & Wine, Slots, Beer & Wine, Poker, Beer & Wine, Black Jack, Beer & Wine, Roulette, Beer & Wine, Caribbean Poker, Beer & Wine, Craps, Beer & Wine. Well, you get the picture.

[Ericknow32]

Be sure to give your son some restrictions about curfew and make sure he knows about the ship rules. Know what he is getting into and check in with him often.

He will be allowed to drink and gamble, so you may want to revoke his spending privileges.

Come on this kid is now an adult. He doesn't need his mommy or daddy telling him what he can or can't do.

[cage keeper]

I just showed PEGLEG'S reply to my soon to be, 19 yo, first time cruiser, DS. He laughed so hard. This is going to be some cruise.:D

 

We're on the Aug 6th Mariner. Are you on the same cruise?

[Merion_Mom]

He can drink and gamble ONLY with your signed permission.

Sorry, Clarkk, wrong. He needs parental permission to drink beer and wine but NOT to gamble. No permission needed. Just photo I.D. that proves that he is at least 18.

 

billylen: When my daughter turned 18, I made her put her cabin charges on HER credit card, not mine. It made her MUCH MORE responsible about her actions and entertainment on board. :)

[billylen]

When I took my son on the last cruise I made him pay for his charges on his card too! He learned some responsibility.

 

I am not worried about him being responsible, he knows the game, but it will be his first cruise without structured activities.

 

We dont drink..but we love to have a good time...maybe I can teach him the fine art of BLACKJACK!

[Iamthesea]

Come on this kid is now an adult. He doesn't need his mommy or daddy telling him what he can or can't do.

Maybe not, but he sure might NEED them when he gets put off the ship because he was throwing lounge chairs overboard at 3:00 am. Actually, if he gets thrown off, the parents could get thrown off as well.

 

It's just a better idea to keep your kids in check...no matter what the age. We returned last month from a cruise with our 18, 21 and 25 year ODs. You better bet that they had restrictions, because I wanted them to be safe, wanted them to be courteous and didn't want anything ruining our vacation. ;)

[BayMan123]

You'll need to sign a wavier since he's between 18 and 21, to be able to drink wine and beer.

Are you ready for that?

[beachchick]

Come on this kid is now an adult. He doesn't need his mommy or daddy telling him what he can or can't do.

 

I disagree for the sole reason that RCI doesn't care. RCI considers his parents the responsible parties. They will be responsible for his behavior, etc. onboard, so you bet they should be setting some rules. If this young adult decides to do something stupid (not saying he will, but it does happen), it's mom and dad who will be footing the bill and paying the consequences. They've got a vested interest in this because RCI does not consider an 18 y/o to be fully adult. In fact, he would not be allowed to book a cruise with RCI unless he was traveling with someone over 21.

 

beachchick

[tchr_mommy]

We just got back from a week on NOS and it was so wonderful. The one thing that stands out the most, though, was the amount of 18-yr-olds!! Mind you, it was spring break for most schools that week. There also happened to be a whole senior class taking their senior trip on board. But, I think ALL the parents must have signed the drinking waiver because they were everywhere! Every bar was filled with silly drunk kids who didn't care at all about being in public! It was a wonderful cruise and, though, we had to avoid the bar areas, we had a good time. We will NEVER go at spring break time again, though!!

[denred04]

I think it is a great idea to have a college mixer! someone should suggest it to all the cruise lines. when we cruised several years ago, they made sure to have a get together for the 12-14 year olds the first night,,,,why not do it for the older "kids" I am traveling with my 19 & 20 y/o DDs and have told them not to go overboard with the drinking. lol. but not really funny:( I just e-mailed RCCL with the suggestion...maybe if everyone with college aged kids wrote, we could get what we want.

[brycee_alpha]

My 17 year old son read on the message boards that when you're 18, you get to (legally) drink with parents' permission. We haven't even been on our first cruise yet, and he wants me to book next year.

 

My son legally drinking.

 

It's a little scary.

[Green Eyed Mom99]

Come on this kid is now an adult. He doesn't need his mommy or daddy telling him what he can or can't do.

 

If mommy and daddy are footing all of the bills, there will be rules. Our 18 year old knows once he graduates from college and moves out on his own, brings home his own paycheck, then he starts by living by his own rules, until then, he will still have to listen to us:D

[Green Eyed Mom99]

My 17 year old son read on the message boards that when you're 18, you get to (legally) drink with parents' permission. We haven't even been on our first cruise yet, and he wants me to book next year.

 

My son legally drinking.

 

It's a little scary.

 

Beer and wine with your written permission

[cruzin virgin]

Planning a first cruise with the family for July 2007. We figured we should do something special for our 25th anniversary and our son's high school graduation. The boys will be 18yrs and 15yrs when we go. Since we've never cruised (OK, I'm going on a cruise with my friend in Sept just to make sure I like it) I wasn't sure if I should look at an all inclusive resort or a cruise...it sounds as if a lot of people take their teens on a cruise. Never thought of the drinking. Judging from the type of kid he is, I don't think it will be a concern, but now you have me wondering. I guess we won't know until we go. If you have a "good kid" do you sign to let him have wine with dinner? Right now he doesn't even like the taste and would prefer pop. Just wondering what your thoughts are for a newbie like me.

[cruzin virgin]

Do you think the boys would prefer cruising to all-inclusive? Just wondering. I'm thinking Southern Caribbean at this point.

[cruisin from florida]

Planning a first cruise with the family for July 2007. We figured we should do something special for our 25th anniversary and our son's high school graduation. The boys will be 18yrs and 15yrs when we go. Since we've never cruised (OK, I'm going on a cruise with my friend in Sept just to make sure I like it) I wasn't sure if I should look at an all inclusive resort or a cruise...it sounds as if a lot of people take their teens on a cruise. Never thought of the drinking. Judging from the type of kid he is, I don't think it will be a concern, but now you have me wondering. I guess we won't know until we go. If you have a "good kid" do you sign to let him have wine with dinner? Right now he doesn't even like the taste and would prefer pop. Just wondering what your thoughts are for a newbie like me.

 

When we took our good kid, we signed and he had wine with dinner with us. We took him to the wine tasting too. With the limits on his seapass and the cost of a beer, we didn't worry about his drinking elsewhere - he is a broke college student and $6 beers would freak him out. We also bought the soda sticker so it was free soda or $6 beer. Never saw an alcoholic beverage on his seapass. He spent most of his time with us or with dad and brothers on the sports deck. We are the shipshape bucks (you get those for doing physical activities and spend them on tshirts visors and stuff like that) family!

[erniesband]

My 18 year old son spent a lot of time on the sports deck. Basketball, volleyball (on Voyager Class). I do wish they'd have an official "college age" mixer the first night or so. This age group really is different than the older singles crowd.

 

Ditto to this age group being different! Our 20 year old was with us on Serenade in January, at a time when most others his age were back in school, at the end of his winter break. He went to the rock climbing wall as often as he could, but the one or two times he went to the disco, or tried the singles mixer, there was no one else even close to his age - all quite a bit older, and he's not a bar/drinker guy. We had signed the waiver, but the only drinks he had were after dinner shooters DH bought him at dinner, and champagne at the C&A and Captain's receptions. His choice, not ours. He did know he was going to be responsible for any charges he rang up on the Sea Pass (it was all on our charge card), and chose not to spend a dime. He went into the casino every night (looking for DH), but only gambled a couple of times, with DH, and did get carded every time he went in there, and not always politely.

 

I wrote RCL when we got home, suggesting a mixer for the 18-23/24 year old group. If more people suggested it, it just may happen.

 

I think the OP's son will be fine in August - there should still be a large group of kids his age on board. And while he will need parental permission to drink, he won't need permission to gamble.

 

Jodi

[beijobeijo]

Come on this kid is now an adult. He doesn't need his mommy or daddy telling him what he can or can't do.

 

I agree with you , ever since i was 16 , my parents have basicly given me the run of the ship . I eat dinner with thim, and might sit with htem out by the pool, but oter than that , we both have seperate social groups. I would after dinner, go and get ready for he club , go dance my little bum off till 2, 3 am. sure i drank-( I'm female , and cnt really say no to a free foo foo drink) but i would get back to the cabin, slep till 10 ish , and then go tan and read all day. I really dont think you can get into that much trouble on the ship. plus, if youve brought up your child well, they should know that thier are unwritten social rules. My parents dont worry about me,as they know i'm not going to be sloshed, and getting into trouble.