ejan Posted September 30, 2007 #1 Share Posted September 30, 2007 We're thinking about taking Explorer of the Seas 9 day cruise out of NJ to Canada next summer. Our daughter will be 18 in March (our son, 15 in June). RCI's older teen age group is 15-17. I called Royal Caribbean, they couldn't guarantee she'd be allowed in the teen lounge, or able to participate in teen activities . They say it's up to ship's personnel. (Great - I won't know til I get there?) Last summer, we took Golden Princess to Alaska, and our kids, then 14 and 17 loved the teen lounge, made many friends and had a great time. (Princess's teen age group was 14-17 - perfect for our kids at the time.) Any advice out there from people who have sailed with their 18 year-olds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitzLA Posted September 30, 2007 #2 Share Posted September 30, 2007 No, sorry. At 18 they age out of AO. But 18-20 year old can participate in just about everything else, except drinking. They can go to all the clubs and lounges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejan Posted September 30, 2007 Author #3 Share Posted September 30, 2007 But then how do the 18-20 year olds find each other and meet? There should be some sort of activity geared just for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kindlychap Posted September 30, 2007 #4 Share Posted September 30, 2007 But then how do the 18-20 year olds find each other and meet? There should be some sort of activity geared just for them. How do people of 21+ meet? There you are. The answer to the problem of 18-20 year olds. Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurs Fans Posted September 30, 2007 #5 Share Posted September 30, 2007 They can also gamble in the casino. I would suggest posting on the Meet and Mingle thread for your cruise. We were able to find several friends for our 18 year old niece to hang out with through that venue. They had a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue L Posted September 30, 2007 #6 Share Posted September 30, 2007 On the Serenade the first night there was a gathering in one of the clubs for 18- to I think 25 for them all to meet. My kids 19 and 21 went and had a great time. They found plenty of people to hang with for the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejan Posted September 30, 2007 Author #7 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Thanks for replies. Posting on the meet and mingle thread is a good idea. Also, I was glad to see at least one ship attempted to get this age group together at the start of the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inshape Posted September 30, 2007 #8 Share Posted September 30, 2007 During the months you cruise there will be enough people her age to meet. I can hardly believe she will want to hang out with 15 yr olds with a group leader. She will find a few others her age and hang out with them. She will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jallison8378 Posted October 1, 2007 #9 Share Posted October 1, 2007 But then how do the 18-20 year olds find each other and meet? There should be some sort of activity geared just for them. This was the topic of a recent thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=634350 I must say, I have no clue why some people get so rude and argumentative when it comes to this topic. At 19, I cruised w/ my parents and my 15-year-old brother and ran into the same dilemma. I agree; there should be a meet-and-greet activity for that age group. There is a "meet and mingle" opportunity for "singles" that age, but that's about it. I had a boyfriend back then (he's my fiance now, 5 years later), but even if I hadn't I would not have been interested in attending an event for "singles." (Too many expectations associated w/ that for me to be comfortable with.) Like you were told, an 18 year old participating in the teen group is up to the discretion of the Adventure Ocean staff. I would be very surprised if you daughter was turned away, though. I considered meeting up with the group at one point, but decided against it. I was able to meet a couple people at the dance classes I attended (though the process of finding a dance partner :) ), so she might want to attend those kind of activities. A meet-and-greet for ALL 18-20 year olds, not just swingin' singles, is a great idea, though. It would have made my cruise more enjoyable at that age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jallison8378 Posted October 1, 2007 #10 Share Posted October 1, 2007 But then how do the 18-20 year olds find each other and meet? There should be some sort of activity geared just for them. This was the topic of a recent thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=634350 I must say, I have no clue why some people get so rude and argumentative when it comes to a legitimate discussion topic like this. At 19, I cruised w/ my parents and my 15-year-old brother and ran into the same dilemma. I agree; there should be a meet-and-greet activity for that age group. There is a "meet and mingle" opportunity for "singles" that age, but that's about it. I had a boyfriend back then (he's my fiance now, 5 years later), but even if I hadn't I would not have been interested in attending an event for "singles." (Too many expectations associated w/ that for me to be comfortable with.) Like you were told, an 18 year old participating in the teen group is up to the discretion of the Adventure Ocean staff. I would be very surprised if you daughter was turned away, though. I considered meeting up with the group at one point, but decided against it. I was able to meet a couple people at the salsa dance classes I attended (though the process of finding a dance partner :) ), so she might want to attend those kind of activities. I found the nightclub scene to be a little raunchy and alcohol drenched, but maybe that was just me. A meet-and-greet for ALL 18-20 year olds, not just swingin' singles, is a great idea, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 1, 2007 #11 Share Posted October 1, 2007 This was the topic of a recent thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=634350 I must say, I have no clue why some people get so rude and argumentative when it comes to a legitimate discussion topic like this. None of us were rude to you. We were just trying to point out that we have no idea how anyone could be "bored" on a cruiseship. Under 18 have AO (and the Teen Activities like the Living Room) 18-20 have access to everything that any other adult would have access to, except the alcohol. And I agree about joining roll calls before you leave. That is the fastest way to meet people before you cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HNicoleL Posted October 1, 2007 #12 Share Posted October 1, 2007 This was the topic of a recent thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=634350 I must say, I have no clue why some people get so rude and argumentative when it comes to this topic. At 19, I cruised w/ my parents and my 15-year-old brother and ran into the same dilemma. I agree; there should be a meet-and-greet activity for that age group. There is a "meet and mingle" opportunity for "singles" that age, but that's about it. I had a boyfriend back then (he's my fiance now, 5 years later), but even if I hadn't I would not have been interested in attending an event for "singles." (Too many expectations associated w/ that for me to be comfortable with.) Like you were told, an 18 year old participating in the teen group is up to the discretion of the AdventureOcean staff. I would be very surprised if you daughter was turned away, though. I considered meeting up with the group at one point, but decided against it. I was able to meet a couple people at the dance classes I attended (though the process of finding a dance partner :) ), so she might want to attend those kind of activities. A meet-and-greet for ALL 18-20 year olds, not just swingin' singles, is a great idea, though. It would have made my cruise more enjoyable at that age. The people were rude to you because (a) they don't understand young adults as well as you and others(like me who is a young adult) do and (b) some people get completely offended when someone says anything about Royal Caribbean should be changed. People are comparing 21+ to 18 thru 20 and they are not comparable. If a person just got out of high school they are not going to have the same social skills as someone who has been on her or his own for three years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted October 1, 2007 #13 Share Posted October 1, 2007 The people were rude to you because (a) they don't understand young adults as well as you and others(like me who is a young adult) do and (b) some people get completely offended when someone says anything about Royal Caribbean should be changed. Yep we don't understand young adults cause we have never been one. ;) And at 17 I started my first year at Penn State and lived away from home. So 18-21 are college aged and *usually* live on their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jallison8378 Posted October 1, 2007 #14 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Oops, sorry for the double post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onthewaves Posted October 1, 2007 #15 Share Posted October 1, 2007 We just returned from a 3 day cruise on Monarch of the Seas. Our 18 year old son was asked by a crew member to participate in a teen activity. She said his age was not a problem. He met lots of kids his age all over the ship, but particularly on the sports court, and had a blast. The trick is just to, as RCI puts it, "get out there" and they'll hook up with other young people. Remember, they do it in school all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sar4boy Posted October 12, 2007 #16 Share Posted October 12, 2007 So just wondering what everyone thinks..... In Jan myself, DH and DS will be cruising with DSGF, DSGFDM, DSGFDB. My DS is 17 and his DGF is 18, does anyone think that they will have a problem going into the teen disco or living room together on the Sovereign? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sar4boy Posted October 12, 2007 #17 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I forgot to mention that they are both HS Seniors if that makes a difference. Don't know if they will want to go to those places or not but want to get the feeling if they should just stick with us and not even try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sailinglisa Posted October 12, 2007 #18 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I can usually figure out what the abbreviations mean, but what the heck do these " DSGF, DSGFDM, DSGFDB" mean? I think at times these abbreviations get WAY out of hand! As for the 17 and 18 year old hanging out together, yeah, the probably will be able to. Just talk to the director of AO the first night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchantment 04 Posted October 12, 2007 #19 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I can usually figure out what the abbreviations mean, but what the heck do these " DSGF, DSGFDM, DSGFDB" mean? I think at times these abbreviations get WAY out of hand! I'm assuming they mean: Dear son's girlfriend dear son's girlfriend's dear mother dear son's girlfriend's dear brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Mono Posted October 12, 2007 #20 Share Posted October 12, 2007 We're thinking about taking Explorer of the Seas 9 day cruise out of NJ to Canada next summer. Our daughter will be 18 in March Any advice out there from people who have sailed with their 18 year-olds? If your daughter will be 18 in march do you really think that she would like to hang around some "teen" club? It depends if she has a boyfriend or not, but I would guess that she would have NO problem whatsoever of meeting friends in the Casino or the bars onboard... One does not have to drink alcohol to hang in a bar, many people drink only "virgin" drinks, during my white periods I also orders only club soda or similar.. I don't have teenage children, but I remember when I was 17 on a cruise almost 20 years ago... I was superlucky when I discovered that I could order beer without showing id and play the roulette table.. Unfortunately not a winning combination but it was the first time I learned to play a casino game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyitsmema Posted October 12, 2007 #21 Share Posted October 12, 2007 So just wondering what everyone thinks..... In Jan myself, DH and DS will be cruising with DSGF, DSGFDM, DSGFDB. My DS is 17 and his DGF is 18, does anyone think that they will have a problem going into the teen disco or living room together on the Sovereign? The teen area has a list of kids and ages and they do check it, at least on the Mariner they did. They did not allow 18 yr olds in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagiv666 Posted October 12, 2007 #22 Share Posted October 12, 2007 We're thinking about taking Explorer of the Seas 9 day cruise out of NJ to Canada next summer. Our daughter will be 18 in March (our son, 15 in June). RCI's older teen age group is 15-17. I called Royal Caribbean, they couldn't guarantee she'd be allowed in the teen lounge, or able to participate in teen activities . They say it's up to ship's personnel. (Great - I won't know til I get there?) Last summer, we took Golden Princess to Alaska, and our kids, then 14 and 17 loved the teen lounge, made many friends and had a great time. (Princess's teen age group was 14-17 - perfect for our kids at the time.) Any advice out there from people who have sailed with their 18 year-olds? I would leave the final decision to the personnel in charge of teen actriities. If they have boys and girls much younger than 18, than an 18-year old may have an unfair advantage in many activities, especially where there are contests. The younger individuals may get more discouraged and bored with the daily activities. At the same time, the 18-year old may feel out of place if the general age range is much lower, and she may enjoy being with passengers too old for the teen groups but closer to her age. I think if the parents work together with personnel to understand their feelings and the limitations they may enforce, the 18-year old as well as his or her parents may enjoy the cruise much more.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It'sRC4ME Posted October 12, 2007 #23 Share Posted October 12, 2007 So just wondering what everyone thinks..... In Jan myself, DH and DS will be cruising with DSGF, DSGFDM, DSGFDB. My DS is 17 and his DGF is 18, does anyone think that they will have a problem going into the teen disco or living room together on the Sovereign? I hate to say this, but they will most likely have a problem. The teen disco doesn't normally let in anyone over 17, and the adult disco won't let in anyone under 18. At the adult disco, security staff is usually there carding everyone going in (I even get carded and I'm 35 and DO NOT look under 18). I think they are strict about the teen disco because if they weren't they might wind up with a teenager's creepy 22 year old brother in there hitting on 15 year olds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sar4boy Posted October 12, 2007 #24 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Enchantment 04 - you were right on the abbreviations! El mono - Yes, I do think she wouldn't care because she is still in high school and most of the kids in her grade are 17. It would be no different. I guess they will just stay with us. There is so much to do anyways that I don't think that it will matter and I think I would want them with me anyways! The whole point of the trip is to spend quality time with them before they graduate and move to Alaska for 2 years to go to school (we live in WI) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boaterette Posted October 12, 2007 #25 Share Posted October 12, 2007 My 18 year old participated in the teens club. The staff told her it wouldn't be a problem. She had a blast. She was a senior. She is very active and didn't want to just hang out around the ship. she did spend time in the casino with me but that was after the club closed. So hopefully the op won't have any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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