Cruising with 16 year old daughter

[Sunny42100]

I am so glad I found this board! I am a single mom that is planning to cruise, (first time for both of us) with my 16 year old daughter in a couple of months. She is concerned that she will be bored and have nothing to do. Can someone please offer some insight/advice/comments as to things a teenage girl might enjoy on a ship or the excursions with her Mom? She likes to shop (duh, lol), swim/sun bathe but that gets boring after a few hours. She likes the idea of a dress up formal dining evening, but other than that, she thinks it will be a total bore. We are looking at a 4 day cruise from Port Canavral to Freeport and Nassau. Any comment or suggestions are welcome:cool:

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I am so glad I found this board! I am a single mom that is planning to cruise, (first time for both of us) with my 16 year old daughter in a couple of months. She is concerned that she will be bored and have nothing to do. Can someone please offer some insight/advice/comments as to things a teenage girl might enjoy on a ship or the excursions with her Mom? She likes to shop (duh, lol), swim/sun bathe but that gets boring after a few hours. She likes the idea of a dress up formal dining evening, but other than that, she thinks it will be a total bore. We are looking at a 4 day cruise from Port Canavral to Freeport and Nassau. Any comment or suggestions are welcome:cool:

 

 

Our DD was 16 on her first cruise and was concerned about the same thing. She now says it was the best vacation of her life. She'll be 20 on our upcoming cruise and is counting down the days.

 

I suggest you encourage your DD to go to the teen get together they have early in the cruise (usually first night). She'll meet other teens there right at the beginning of the cruise.

 

You don't say what line you're sailing, but I think they all have some sort of newsletter (Carnival has Capers, Princess has Patters, etc.) that is delivered to your stateroom every evening. It has a schedule of activities for the following day. There's always something going on--I'm sure your daughter will find activities and friends she'll enjoy.

 

Have a great first cruise!

 

Jayne

[CaptData]

Have her get on the computer for the roll call for your trip. She may be surprized and find that there is another teen willing to talk before hand. She can also go and watch the entertainment with you at night (not in the bars but the shows).

[Keith1010]

Most people going on their first cruise whether they be teenagers or adults are concerned that they will be bored on a cruise. But, once most people cruise for the first time they can't wait to go on their next cruise. Your daughter will likely meet others her age and will start to do things with them during the course of the cruise, whether it's sitting by the pool or going to some event on board or whatever. We used to bring our children (they are now young adults) on cruises with us each year and they easily made friends with others there age and to this day they still correspond with several of those they have met on cruises over the years.

 

Keith

[smrtypnts]

My daughter's first cruise was on Disney when she was 11......she had a blast! Her second....last Nov when she was not quite 16. She now believes cruising is the only way to vacation!!! Like a previous poster noted.......make sure she goes to the teen area the first night and meets up with the kids her age. I know you want to spend time with your daughter, but once she meets up with the kids, she's not going to want to spend a lot of time with you.:o There's tons to do, but she'll likely mostly just hang out with her new friends. If she'd like to email my daughter and discuss it with her, you can email me first and then I'll give you her email. Mine is smrtypnts at hotmail dot com. You didn't mention what ship or which itinerary, so I can't help you with excursions, but once I know where you're going, I might be able to help you decide. BUT......go to the boards of the places you'll be visiting and I'm sure you'll find loads of info on what to do and don't be afraid to take an excursion that's not ship related. As another posted noted, go to the shows with your daughter and then let her hang with her friends and you can go to the casino or go do a bar or karoke or some other adult thing. ENJOY......these boards are full of info and only enhance the entire experience!

[FSUNole]

In addition to everyone's great advice, realize that bad things can happen to naive people on cruise ships. Just like everywhere in life, there are bad people here as well. Be sure to know where your daughter is going and who she is going with. Even though these can be unpopular, I recommend the 2 way walkie talkies so she can reach you more often. Just be respectful how you use them so as to not irritate other passengers.