teens cruising during non peak times?

[ccampbell]

We are planning on sailing on Voyager of the Seas on 1/15/05. Since we have 3 boys 16,12 and 9, we are wondering if there will be many kids this close to the Christmas holiday. We really want there to be some other kids, but don't want to pay the $$$$$ for a Christmas or other school holiday sailing date. Does anyone have any idea on the # of kids we could expect?

[BaliChic]

We have the same situation! Sailing on the Constellation - Jan 8th 2005!

[kitty9]

We've cruised RCCI in January on many ocassions and there were hardly any kids on board. I guess it might be because, at least here in our area, that those weeks in January are the end of the term and it's test time for the first semester and parents don't pull their kids out of school during test time. I would say there are more toddlers and pre-schoolers than there will be teens at that time. I would guess that there were no more than 10 to 20 kids on board that were school age.

[eisco17]

Uh oh! I was beginning to be afraid of this. We are going 11/14/04 on RCI and hoped that there would be plenty of teens (12-13 group) for our children to pal around with. But school is in session and it is right before Thanksgiving.

They are really looking forward to the Adventure Ocean group...... I guess it will be empty.

 

One good thing - they won't have to wait in line for kid-only activities.

Eileen

[serene56]

Even though there may not be lots of kids onboard I am sure there will be some. (not many at all) but the activities will be there. Go to the meeting the first night and check out how many kids will be onboard. Im sure your kids wills till have a great time/

[eisco17]

serene56 -

When you said "not many at all", did you mean there won't be many kids or many activities?

PLEASE tell me the activities for the kids still go on.

I know they will have a great time - I just want them to enjoy having the freedom of the ship with other kids like I've heard so much about. Having freedom alone is not as much fun.

Eileen

[serene56]

Many kids-- the activities will still go on.

 

We sailed in September= there was only 35 kids under the age of 18 onboard.

How old are your kids? we sailed our first cruise back in 2000 with my whole family. Kids ranged from 6-20 they all had a great time- they all stated it was the best vacation ever.. the younger ones went to the camp and were kept busy.

[eisco17]

Boy - age 13, girl - age 12.

My son is saying he won't go. He's afraid to fly since 9/11. But he really does. We surprised them with a trip to Disney October 2003. We were going for my cousin's wedding, and we told the kids that only we were invited. They believed us. We told them AT the airport they were going with us - my son instantly started to cry. It took about 5 airport personell along the way to assure him it was safe to fly. The extra security helped him also. I know he'll come around. The ice skating rink on the boat (he plays hockey) along with being away from school is enough to get him to go (eventually).

LOL

Thanks for you assurance about the kids programs.

Eileen

[serene56]

Eileen: THe first night there will be a meeting for the teens. Most kids that age think its lame or theythink they are too cool to attend. Do yourself and them a favor and make it mandatory. (they dont have to particiapte.. just check it out. THey will thank you later.

 

Here is a web site to give you somewhat of an idea of activities about a ship

http://www.webshots.com/search?query=carnival+camp+capers&tab=photos

[eisco17]

serene -

thanks - I am sure they will want to go to this intro. They will be shy, but they'll want to know what activities will be available since I have been talking about it to them for some time.

Eileen

[koolcruiser43]

We sailed the Explorer a couple of years ago in January and the Voyager this past October with our 2 DD now ages 8 and 13. Both times our kids had a fabulous time and there were many kids on board. Parents I spoke with who had kids on these sailings usually choose a week where their kids already had a day or two off because of teacher conferences or some Holiday like Columbus day in October or Martin Luther King day in January. By cruising in during those months families can save thousands of dollars on their cruise. During Christmas and Spring Break weeks these same ships are double and some times triple the price. So you will definitely see many kids on board. Your kids shouldn't have any trouble finding other kids to hang out with if they go to the teen centers on the first night. After that the teens just meet there and then go out on their own. Since there are less kids than vacation times it seemed the kids my older DD hung out with were mellow compared with some of the stories I have heard on these boards about wild teenagers. These Voyager class ships are designed for families and I think there are always about 300 kids on every sailing except summer and holidays were there are more like 800. We have always been placed at a table with another family also with 2 kids our kids ages. One family we sat with in the dining room was from London and their kids had off during that week. We live in Colorado where the elementary schools are year round. We go to school for 9 weeks then were off for 3 weeks so we had 3 weeks off in Ocober and then again in January. Now that my older DD in Middle School she is on traditional calendar so we are going this year the week right before Christmas and there might be too many kids.

[serene56]

I dont have kids activites located on my web page but the kids can look at the daily menu to see what it is they want to eat...or check out the daily activities for the ship.

 

http://joephila.net/cruise/

[Gingee]

We are planning on cruising in late May since our school gets out early. One of my daughters is l6. Do you think there will be others her age?

[serene56]

Late May there will be more kids because schools close in May for a lot of states and prices are still cheaper.

[VikkiGarcia]

I just returned from a 14 night Panama Canal cruise with my 9 and 13 year old. There were 24 kids age 3-17. But there were only 3 in the "teen" years. My son, a girl from Holland, and a boy from Germany. They sent a daily compass with things listed each day. The daytime activities never really materialized. My son was not too dissapointed because he loves doing all the shipshape activities. The staff let him participate in everything that is suppose to be adults only during "regular" sailings (meaning they have enough kids in his age group to run a full program of events.) But the staff did have the teen center open (and staffed) every evening. The kids (all 3) watched movies, catering brought them fingerfoods. The staff taught each of them how to be DJ's. They played dance music, and all the kareoke, board games, ect. It ran late into the night some evenings. The idea was to keep this age group from just wandering around the ship at night. It worked well. Royal Caribbean did a nice job. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[BaliChic]

I'll be on the Constellation this January. I'm positive there will be less kids compared to my last cruise in Easter on the Explorer! Theres no question, but i'm hoping there will be at least some people around this age. This will be my 7th cruise. definitely assure your kids that they should go to the first meeting on the first night which is usually after first seating is over, around 8PM. and if you go the next day, you'll feel like everyone has already made friends. Everyone is also nervous, so dont worry about approaching anyone and starting a conversation. I guarantee that going the first night will break the ice and it'll be nice to go to bed the first night knowing that you have friends to hang out with for the entire week. Swap room numbers and organise to meet them the next day outside someones room. There'll always be the odd person anyway so be careful and take care. Wishing you and your teens a great cruise!

 

Diahndra

[eisco17]

So does that mean that we can't have dinner in the dining room the first night if we have late seating (RCCL - Mariner)? That stinks! Why don't they have the program intro after both seatings so we can introduce ourselves at our table the first night AND the kids can meet new friends afterwards? Seems like a lose situation no matter what - If we don't go to dinner we miss out on meeting our tablesmates and finding out what the dining room is like, and if we don't take our children to the program intro. they feel uncomfortable the whole trip for being left out the first night. The first night for both are equally important, especially since it is our first cruise!

Eileen

[VikkiGarcia]

We have never done the program intro the first night.(We are a late seating family) Kids met everyone the next day at events. I think they are geared more for people who have not sailed before with questions regarding rules and regulations and want to be introduced to all the staff. If your kids plan to eat in the dinning room with you each night they will be missing a majority of the night events. Our daughter eats with us first night and formal night. The other nights she eats in the solarium or windjammer before heading to the program at 7pm. Teen son just meets up after dinner at around 9:30. His program does not end at 10pm like hers. But the teen "activities" are earlier in the evening. From 10pm it becomes more of just "hanging" out,socializing, playing music, ect.

[DEERINH2O]

If you call the cruiseline they will let you know approx how many kids in each group.

 

We sailed in off peak, early October last year on the VOS and there were lots of kids, we didn't take ours, but our friends did and the talent show was fun to watch. We ususally travel in off peak (4 kids) this is the first year for thanksgiving.

 

Have fun... the kids will:p

[bld16]

I keep seeing mention of a talent show. My daughter loves to dance and is wondering if she should take her Tap shoes and music with her. Or is the talent show more of a group thing? EOS in one more week, can't wait.

 

Brenda

[DEERINH2O]

Take her tap shoes and music, its the kids talent show, and it was so fun to watch..... Let her have fun.

[BaliChic]

i think it depends on the cruise line as some of them have open seating on the first seating due to people arriving at different times, early and late and others dont. First night teen meet is a must. It was 8pm on the Explorer but 10pm on the Golden Princess. We usually booked the alternative dining areas for the first night if it interfered with the schedule.

 

Diahndra

[fifa]

We are an Australian family and sailed on the Norwegian Spirit - 15 night Panama Canal cruise with our two teenagers (14 yo girl and almost 17 yo boy) recently so hope the following helps.

Apparently there were only 6 teenagers on board and our two were the only ones that registered in the teen club.

They had an absolute ball - the teen staff were fabulous and our kids won all the prizes! They came and went as they pleased and were always welcomed. If they didn't want to do one of the planned activities, they could choose another!!!

As it was freestyle dining, we often chose to share a table and met the most interesting people who didn't seem to mind sitting with the kids at all. We got complemented on their behaviour all the time which was delightful. (all those years of discipline have paid off!)

Most passengers we spoke to couldn't believe we were sharing one cabin but when I explained there was more room than when we go camping in our tent they agreed. The only time we felt we needed another cabin was when we all wanted a shower but we sorted this out early on by asking the kids to shower early.

They joined in lots of the adults games, went to every show and made friends with all ages.

Both agreed it was the best holiday ever. And so do I!!!

(And we have made some life long friends)

[eisco17]

I could see my children enjoying all the attention of the staff (and all the prizes!) LOL. I'm going to call RCI tomorrow and ask how many kids my children's ages are on going to be on the ship in 2 weeks (ages 12 & 13)

 

Thanks

Eileen

[eisco17]

I called RCI today and they told me they don't have anyway to find out how many kids my children's ages (12&13) will be on the cruise I am on - 11/14 Mariner. Has anyone else had success in finding out this info from RCI prior to their cruise?

Eileen