18-21 year olds

[NoVa Mimi]

Our son will be 18 on our next cruise. He will be too old for the teen activities, but too young for the bars, etc. For those of you that have children in the 18-21 y/o range, what do they do? I'm concerned that there just will not be any type of activities for him, as he is at that on-between age. Where do the young people meet one another? I'd appreciate any information you folks could share! Thank you!

[rushedmom]

I believe he can go to the clubs just not drink. I also remember seeing one meet time for people in this age group listed on the compass the first full day of the cruise.

[MarinerBride]

My brother cruised at 18, and my parents signed a waiver allowing him to drink since we were in international waters. Just watch the Sea Pass carefully. :)

[love2float]

We had the same problem when we cruised the Mariner in April '07. Our son took the PADI SCUBA certification class. It gave his things to do during the sea days. He met a couple other people and had a great time. He could go into the bars, but not drink as another poster stated. He also enjoyed the casino. He learned to play blackjack! (I'm still not sure that is an important life skill, LOL) and left with more money than he came with.

[Gonzo70]

My brother cruised at 18, and my parents signed a waiver allowing him to drink since we were in international waters. Just watch the Sea Pass carefully. :)

 

This can no longer be done from cruises that leave out of the U.S. or Puerto Rico. The waiver only applies for cruises that leave from Europe.

 

Nevertheless there will be plenty for him to do. He can use the casino, go to the clubs (but just not consume alcohol), do rock climbing, work out at the gym, participate in activities like Quest, trivia, pool games etc. It should work out just fine. :)

[MarinerBride]

This can no longer be done from cruises that leave out of the U.S. or Puerto Rico. The waiver only applies for cruises that leave from Europe.

 

Nevertheless there will be plenty for him to do. He can use the casino, go to the clubs (but just not consume alcohol), do rock climbing, work out at the gym, participate in activities like Quest, trivia, pool games etc. It should work out just fine. :)

Oops - thanks! We haven't cruised with anyone underage in a couple of years, so I didn't realize it wasn't the rule anymore. :)

 

Can you at least still watch the Promenade from the television? My aunt watched her 16 year old daughter each night and had a lot of fun with it. :)

[Tabbymom]

We were on the Mariner with our 20 year old son and believe this is one area where RCI falls short. Our only real disappointment was the lack of support for our son’s age group; if you weren’t already in a group it didn’t seem easy to meet others, especially if you’re under drinking age. Maybe RCI has determined that planned activities in that age group don’t work but it would have been nice to have one or two organized events since there did seem to be a fair number of kids that age. Some of the young adults do meet on the sports deck, but that may not work for everyone. And maybe your cruise will organize a meet for them; our didn't. DS also felt that most of the people in the bars and clubs were above drinking age.

 

DS had set up a Facebook group for the Roll call but it didn't get much business; I think we (the adults) should have set up our own meet for them since there were several kids in that age group that could have come. So use your Roll Call to help your son meet others ahead of time - even if they are technically adults, sometimes they still can use a little parent involvement!

 

But he reviewed the compass every night and participated in a wide variety of activities, some with us and some on his own. This included the minigolf tournament, dodgeball with other guests and against the crew, Sudoku contest, ice skating, dance lessons, and tried out gambling for the first time. He went to the parades and shows and watched some of the pool games. And even if he didn't find the social involvement, he still had the cruise experience.

[andyjo0930]

My nephew was 18 on our last cruise and as the other poster said, there are not many scheduled activities for people in that age group. They are too old for the kids club and too young for the bars. We participated in a lot of trivia and games such as love and marriage and the quest and my nephew always came with us. We never went to the disco since you have to be 21. He was allowed every where else. He doesn't mind being with us so we didn't have any problems. But if you have a person who doesn't want to "hang out" with his parents, they might not have a good time.

[financialgrl]

I had two really mature teen nieces with me (both were 17). They went to a few organized teen activities but here's where, as others said, this age group (along with your son's) is harder to gauge. I think that many things organized probably come off as "too baby". They had no problem with the teen skate at 11pm to 11:45pm. However, on activities that had a larger age span, they felt that the group was mostly younger teens. That's why I took the two of them together so they'd have someone to hang with.

 

Having said that, one niece is outgoing, tried everything - the other is very shy, held back and I think that makes a huge difference. So depending upon how outgoing your son is as to how difficult it will be for him. When the sports deck is not organized, they have a lot of pickup basketball games and there were a lot of guys that age range there (also saw some much younger kids on deck with them that held their own). They had volleyball and soccer as an organized sport on the same deck. They had teen rock climbing wall competitions which both nieces participated. (Oh yeah, guess I should say we were on the Explorer). Good luck.

[IBookHePays]

I believe he can go to the clubs just not drink. I also remember seeing one meet time for people in this age group listed on the compass the first full day of the cruise.

 

This is true. My daughter had a good time in the clubs and did meet some people, although initially, she was with her big brother. I agree that this is an area where RCCL falls short.

[JOROSAM]

We cruised on Mariner last year when our daughter was 18. It was very hard for her to meet others in her age group as there were no organized activities for the 18-20 year olds.

We just got back from another cruise on Mariner and I noticed there were several things listed in the Cruise Compass just for this age group. Looks like Royal is reconizing the gap they had for this age group.

[Tabbymom]

Wow, we were on Mariner July 6 and I put the issue on my comment card - maybe they already were acting on it by Jorosam's cruise on July 20!

[AZ ParrotHead]

We have a 16 yr old daughter and an 18yr old son. DS is very social and outgoing--always the life of the party. We just returned from Carnival Valor and he had no problem finding new people to hang out with.

 

...Including a nice young lady with whom he had a tearful goodbye at the end of the cruise. Tsk Tsk Tsk.

 

DD is a flibberdigibit and can talk up a storm with just about anyone. She enjoyed the teen club activities and met lots of new friends, including one she met up with at home after the cruise. Both kids keep in touch with their new friends via Myspace.

 

Both kids have been on several cruises and they didn't have any problems finding things to do. In fact, as soon as we got back, we booked another cruise!

[erniesband]

You didn't mention which ship or what time of year - this can make a huge difference. We took our then 20 year old son with us on our favorite ship, Serenade a couple of years ago, in early January when most colleges are back in session, but his was still on break. I'd have to agree whole heartedly with the poster who said that this is one area where RCCL falls short.

 

During the day while we were off the ship it was fine, we do active excursions, things we all enjoy. Evenings and the sea day were more difficult. He loves to rock climb, but due to weather conditions, the wall wasn't open all the time. He looks younger, and he got hassled in the casino, even standing right next to my husband. In fact, we took this up with guest relations he was so poorly treated in there, even after he showed ID and my husband intervened. There were few others his age, and he wasn't interested in hanging out in the bars or trying to pick up mid-20's or older women. It wasn't his most enjoyable vacation, by far.

 

When we got back we wrote RCI and suggested that they hold a mingler for 18-21 year olds early on in the cruise to give them a chance to them a chance to meet at the beginning of the cruise, and I still think that would be a good idea.

[erniesband]

You didn't mention which ship or what time of year - this can make a huge difference. We took our then 20 year old son with us on our favorite ship, Serenade a couple of years ago, in early January when most colleges are back in session, but his was still on break. I'd have to agree whole heartedly with the poster who said that this is one area where RCCL falls short.

 

During the day while we were off the ship it was fine, we do active excursions, things we all enjoy. Evenings and the sea day were more difficult. He loves to rock climb, but due to weather conditions, the wall wasn't open all the time. He looks younger, and he got hassled in the casino, even standing right next to my husband. In fact, we took this up with guest relations he was so poorly treated in there, even after he showed ID and my husband intervened. There were few others his age, and he wasn't interested in hanging out in the bars or trying to pick up mid-20's or older women. It wasn't his most enjoyable vacation, by far.

 

When we got back we wrote RCI and suggested that they hold a mingler for 18-21 year olds early on in the cruise to give them a chance to them a chance to meet at the beginning of the cruise, and I still think that would be a good idea.

 

Jodi

[Marla07860]

I haven't cruised RCCL, so I don't know about this age range on this line, but I have been on Disney Cruise line when I was 18 and 19. I just got back from a Disney Cruise July 13th-20th, 2008 and I am 20. Disney has actually gotten better in this age group the first night on the ship they had a thing called the college club social for young adults ages 18-21 that helpped us all the meet and then all during the week we planned stuff and then there were a few things planned, but if we didn't want to do it, we just talked to the person in charge and we all just talked and played wii or did other stuff. I'm thinking about doing RCCL so I was just reading this thread to see how RCCL is with this age group

[lisapz]

We just returned from RCCL Liberty OTS and my 19 yr son had a blast. The Flowrider was a big hit. He was able to go to the clubs but not drink. He felt like a big shot in the casino. He certainly met guys and girls his age and had a great time. The pool deck, the sports court, the gym, the night club (over 18 are allowed in) karaoke and more. One night, the Solarium pool area was transformed into a south Beach type dance club. My son loved it.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Our son will be 18 on our next cruise. He will be too old for the teen activities, but too young for the bars, etc. For those of you that have children in the 18-21 y/o range, what do they do? I'm concerned that there just will not be any type of activities for him, as he is at that on-between age. Where do the young people meet one another? I'd appreciate any information you folks could share! Thank you!

A great place for that age group to meet is also the sports deck. Alot of guys play as soon as they board just about. Its always busy and people come and go. Just another good venue.

[Leesbrug Land]

Are 20 year olds allowed in the clubs if they don't drink, what if they are with their parents?

[Tabbymom]

On the Mariner, 20 year olds could go anywhere except the kid's sections and do anything except drink. They were allowed into the disco; just couldn't order alchohol.

[cruiseorbust]

You didn't mention which ship or what time of year - this can make a huge difference. We took our then 20 year old son with us on our favorite ship, Serenade a couple of years ago, in early January when most colleges are back in session, but his was still on break. I'd have to agree whole heartedly with the poster who said that this is one area where RCCL falls short.

 

During the day while we were off the ship it was fine, we do active excursions, things we all enjoy. Evenings and the sea day were more difficult. He loves to rock climb, but due to weather conditions, the wall wasn't open all the time. He looks younger, and he got hassled in the casino, even standing right next to my husband. In fact, we took this up with guest relations he was so poorly treated in there, even after he showed ID and my husband intervened. There were few others his age, and he wasn't interested in hanging out in the bars or trying to pick up mid-20's or older women. It wasn't his most enjoyable vacation, by far.

 

When we got back we wrote RCI and suggested that they hold a mingler for 18-21 year olds early on in the cruise to give them a chance to them a chance to meet at the beginning of the cruise, and I still think that would be a good idea.

 

I hope RCI takes your suggestion seriously...my two sons fall into that category and evenings ended up pretty boring for them especially since we cruise often...how many times can you go to quest, and they don't want to donate to the casino.

[rclcruzer]

Our son will be 18 on our next cruise. He will be too old for the teen activities, but too young for the bars, etc. For those of you that have children in the 18-21 y/o range, what do they do? I'm concerned that there just will not be any type of activities for him, as he is at that on-between age. Where do the young people meet one another? I'd appreciate any information you folks could share! Thank you!

I know there are plenty of other place's to meet besides the sport court, but I have noticed on all of our cruiess that the basketball court is crawling with boy's between the ages you mentioned. If he is into that sort of thing, that's a great place to start. They usually get a game going before sailaway the first day!

I have an 18 year old son as well (15 too) and all he keeps talking about is the casino! YIKES!

he will be just fine, he will be sure to meet people his own age, everyone else his age is looking for that same thing ;)

[glendon3281]

I have to also agree with "cruiseorbust" and "erniesband". I have twin 20-year old sons who look more like they are 17 yrs old. They are not into basketball-type sports and are not in the night-clubing scene either. They do gamble a little but that does NOT fill up an entire night for them.

 

I agree that there should be more organized activites for that age group. A college club social, that someone else mentioned would be a good starting point.

 

On past cruises and if we travel with teen relatives, my sons can usually sneak into the kids' club with no problem, at least they have oragainzed activities.

 

I'm hoping by our Jan. '09 cruise that RC implements something for this age group.

[lisapz]

Are 20 year olds allowed in the clubs if they don't drink, what if they are with their parents?

 

Yes . We just returned from Liberty and my 19 yr old DS was allowed in all the clubs. Just no drinking. Their Sea Pass has a hole punched in it indicating between 18 and 21. I did join him in the club one night but left quickly when I realized I was cramping his style . LOL

He made friends with some of the younger staff members too. The guys and girls running the Flowrider.

[RCCFAN]

On our 11/09 cruise on the Liberty, our children will be 17,22 & 25, and I totally agree that some kind of organized get together for those 18-21 & even 25-30 would be great, like a meet and mingle or game night etc..:rolleyes: .