Which Ship for eighteen year olds????

[Familyfour]

My eighteen year old gal pals and I are planning to cruise shortly after we granduate in June 2005. Which ship in the Caribbean do you consider to be "top of the line?"

 

Any suggestions on itinerary? Girls just wanna have fun.....

[serene56]

hmm, cant book Carnival or Royal since you wont be old enough. Everyone has to be 21 or a person has to be 25 in the cabin.

 

Look at Princess or Norweign for 18 year olds. No cruise will let 17 year olds. Plan your cruise for when you all are over 18.

[Familyfour]

Forgot to mention my parents are going, too - a graduation gift for the four of us!

[pholter]

You've made the right choice on doing the Caribbean itinerary. There are lots more young folks on those cruises. If it were up to me, I'd stick to a Destiny or Conquest class ship. Just depends on where you're coming from, if you're trying to save on airfare to spend more on board, etc. Do you parents have a budget or are they going all out?

 

I really enjoyed the Eastern itinerary, but Jamaica is my favorite port of all- it's on the Westerin itinerary. But, only if the ship ports in Ochos Rios, not Montego Bay!

 

We're doing the Southern itinerary this year and I can't wait to visit the more exotic places I've always wanted to go.

 

Have a great cruise!!

[JYeagersGrl]

I'm going to be 21 in June 2005 and will be sailing on the Legend to the Eastern Carribbean out of NYC on June 14. I've looked at the excursions and how long you get to spend in certain places and where you go and that's how I made my decision. We were originally going to go on a Windjammer Barefoot cruise but we would have to travel far and pay the same for a small room and small boat etc. so we chose carnival instead. I've also heard the newer boats are better to book if you want to be part of the "party crew" . I can't wait till our cruise I'm so excited who knows maybe you'll decide to go on the same one and I'll see ya there :)

 

~Lisa

[shannonfromhawaii]

wow that sounds like my family and i.

summer of 02 we took a cruise trip for my sisters graduation..my parents,my sister, her best friend and i. i was 16 at the time. that was on the carnival pride and we had a blast. we're more partiers :D and into dancing, so being honest..we didn't even really care about the ports. the boat in itself was enough fun!! however..if you're curious, that was the western carib..cozumel, belize, progresso, key west fl i believe. our parents had us go to the mayans ruins in progresso (fairly interesting). we went to a beach (fun) and on a city tour (no fun) in key west. belize was boring..we just went into the small town (we didn't do a shore tour) and i think i came right back after 5 minutes. we went to another beach type place called playa del sol in cozumel. this was the most fun off the ship.. the beach was absolutely beautiful and that's a lot coming from someone who has lived in hawaii her whole life. it was super cheap, and there were a bunch of water equipment and all you can drink anything :p but as i said..all our fun was all on the boat.. in the disco, singing karaoke, and with the many friends we made. people are super friendly and just want to hang out. i dont think we went to bed before 3am on any night.

the summer before we took a cruise on celebrity and it wasn't fun at all. it was a bunch of old people. oh, and my teenage sister and i. bleh! carnival is definitely the only way to go for teens (from my experience.. i know nothing about the disney line..etc but i'm so happy with carnival i don't think i'd waste time or ..dads money trying something new)

 

anywho, this summer i just graduated so my parents are taking my best friend and i (both 18), along with my sister(now 19) on an eastern carib cruise.. 08/07 carnival glory. i couldn't be more excited. again i'm not that concerned with the ports.. as we'll probably just lay around the beaches and go shopping. i'm actually very happy we'll have more days at sea on this one (3 in total..as opposed to 2 on the pride) dancing late, sleeping in and longing by the pool is my idea of a vacation. plus getting dressing up every night!

 

 

I Guess my point is..any carnival ship is a++++ for teens. pride was stellar..and i'll let you know how the glory goes if ya want.

 

and you'll be with a group of girlfriends, so you don't even have to depend on making friends although it's better i think. my sister her best friend and i would've been fine on our own, but we must've had a group of about 15 teens we met on the first night, that we hung out with on a daily basis.

 

anywho sorry for the essay, I Just love to talk about this sorta thing because it gets me even more excited

bye!! :)

[halos]

Shannon!! Such an exhuberant cruise addict you are!!!!!

I'm glad you had such an awesome time!!

[serene56]

Thats an awesome gift family four.

Here is what Carnival will do for you- you will be booking two cabins. One for your mom and your friends and the other for your dad and you. You can always change once onboard. If you dont want to do that--then look into Norweign or Princess as these cruise lines allow 18 year olds to book independantly.

 

Any cruise to the Caribbean will be great. Will this be your first cruise?

 

You came to the right place to get information about cruising.

[Familyfour]

Sounds like you had a blast, Shannon! Thanks for the info, have fun on the Glory, let me know what you think.

 

This will actually be my fourth cruise, but my friends' first. If we end up choosing carnival, your "musical cabin" idea may be very helpful...

 

Thanks again, and keep the suggestions coming!

[justme_123]

I just graduated High School in June, and my parents too gave me a cruise for my gift. This was my seventh cruise, but my favorite so far. We went in February cruising on the Carnival Spirit and went to Panama, Costa Rica, and Belize. I had an amazing time. My dad paid for just me and my mom to go. ( I am very close to my mom and wanted "mother daughter" bonding before college in September.) This was a 8 day cruise with 3 ports, so there was 4 or 5 days at sea. We didn't do any excursions except Panama, but we took all the money we had for the other excursions and went to the spa every morning. Very much enjoyed that!!!!!! I didn't get to go with my best friends on this cruise, but I will be going on a short cruise in 2 weeks on the Victory with my best friend. All in all, it doesn't matter where you go with your friends, because you are guarenteed a good time. Your cruise will be exactly what you make it, and hopefully even better. The spirit however, I didn't find it a party ship. Infact I found myself actually a little bored, trying to find something to do. I am 19 now, and am too old for the teen groups, and too young still for the partying with the over 21 crowd, but I made the best of it. Just enjoyed my vacation to the fullest! hope you have a wonderful cruise in whatever you figure out to do.

[halos]

Your cruise will be exactly what you make it, and hopefully even better.

 

 

You're a bright woman!!!! :D

[yarlenna]

Carnival has always allowed me to book adjacent cabins for the kids traveling with me - even when they were about 8 years old. The understanding was that if there was ANY problem, one of us (adults) would move in with them.

I would pick a newer ship traveling the western Caribbean itinerary - There is just so much to do. In Jamaica, you can climb Dunns River Falls. In Grand Cayman, you can swim with stingrays. In Cozumel, my favorite is spending the day at Chankanaab State park. If you find their online site, you can even book a dolphin swim in advance! (These sell out quickly and are sooooo much nicer than the encounter generally available from cruise lines.)

As for which ship - that depends on what you like to do.

Carnival generally has a great party atmosphere. The food is really good with decent pizza available 24/7. Their lemonaide can't be beat. The pools are salt water and a little small by land standards - but normal for a cruise ship. The water-slides are fun, but not always open. (Just ask around). The rooms aren't as large as in a hotel, but large by ship standards. The entertainment is sometimes great and sometimes awful. Depends on your taste and what they have going that week. Usually, there is some decent Caribbean music about for dancing, but dance floors are tiny.

RCI Yoyager class ships have lots of athletic stuffl. The pools are also salt water and smallish by land standards. BUT they have rock-climbing, miniature golf and ice skating! Radiance class ships have the rock-climbing, and miniature golf but not ice skating. While (IMHO) the food is not as good as Carnivals. You won't starve. (But no 24 hour pizza.)

I don't think you can go wrong with either line. You are in for the vacation of a lifetime!