Pride- need advice for lots of teens and tweens

[javafreek]

We are going in August. This is our parents 50th ann, so they wanted their kids and grandkids to go on the cruise. My question concerns the older cousins, ages 13 (boy and girl),14,15,18, 19,21 (boy and girl). These cousins do not know each other well (half are new to the family). Due to the cut off ages for the teen club it seems they will not be able to do that together. I was wondering what there is for these kids to do outside the club activities, like are they allowed to go to the dance club together (will they allow the 13 yo's and 18+yo's to be there as a group during the teen allotted hours?) Can they all go to the arcade or are there age limits there too? What else is there on board for this age group to do TOGETHER? Is there any chance that they would allow the 13's and 14 and 18 to be a part of the teen club together?

My DS (13 yo) is upset and pessimistic that he will have nothing fun to do because the kids clubs are "babyish and boring" for him.

Any advice, or previous experience with this would be appreciated!

[buddyjo143]

The 13 and 14 year old will be in the same group. There are some scheduled activities for this age group and they do a fair amount of "hanging out". The 15 year old is in the 15 to 17 year old group. They have Club O2 which is mostly hanging out.

 

The 18 and 19 year old will be able to go into any of the night clubs although they are not old enough to drink. They will not, as a rule, let the 18 and 19 year old into the club for 15 to 17 year olds. The 21 year old is considered an adult, able to drink, dance and gamble with all the other grown up people :o.

 

I can't find an arcade on the Pride deck plans but if they have an arcade, all ages can hang out there and play video arcade games, table hockey and the like.

 

Sorry that your 13 year old thinks the kids' program will be babyish and boring. He will be with 12 to 14 year olds so if he thinks they all are babyish and boring I feel sorry for him. My 13 year old niece loved it. She met several girls and boys to hang out with for the week. They would go to the dance, go to the production shows as a group, played some games, basically behaved like teenagers. :p

 

The program for teens is not heavy on sports so if your teens want to bring a basketball, soccer ball or volleyball on board, they can start their own activity and probably attract other like minded teens.

 

You can remind them too, that this vacation is for the grandparents anniversary and while it is fun to meet others, this is also a family trip to do some things together.

[bubbadog]

maybe he should stay home,when i was 13 i would of died to go on a cruise:)))):rolleyes:

[suziehmkr]

I can't find an arcade on the Pride deck plans but if they have an arcade, all ages can hang out there and play video arcade games, table hockey and the like.

 

We saw that most of the kids on the Pride were having a great time...

 

There is an arcade - it is in the front of the ship on Deck 4. It is for all ages, even adults. It isn't huge, but it is there. Look for Real Virtuality...

 

I am confident that our DD13 will have a great time on this ship! We can't wait for her to be there with us this time.

[javafreek]

I appreciate your comments. DS and his cousin are 13. the other cousins 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 etc. The boys (13, 14, and 15) wanted to be together and the girls (13, 16, 18) wanted to be together. (not worried about the older ones)Our only cruising with the kids was a Disney, and although fun for the little ones, the Tween and teen at the time did not like their experiences (all were split up and the program WAS babyish for the middle one). They wanted to be together on this cruise and the 18 will have just turned 18 and would want to be with her 16 yo cousin.

Looks like we will just go to the first meetings and see if they meet kids. Seems like they would let the 18 yo go in the teen club since she is w/in 3 months (I read that somewhere)?

[Dabbler]

I wouldn't worry about your 13 yo. Once all the kids get together I think they will do things together. With a large family group like that they will just meld together. My Girls (12 yo) don't care for "camp"...it just isn't there thing. they would/are just as happy getting up at 8 and in the pool at 8:01 and not leaving till 4:59 and then back in after supper till they close the pool at 10:00. Check out the camp but get the kids together..... they will do just fine.