Crusing with a Tween and Teen-Please Help

[Shelle2]

Our family of four is sailing on the Ruby for spring break. My husband and I just sailed on our first cruise last month so we are still really newbies. I am having a really difficult time finding reviews that include the kids/teen program. I am wondering how strict the cruise lines are regarding the ages for the kids progam. Princess has the age groups listed as 8-12 and 13-17. My son will be turning 13 in June which puts him at the very high-end of the age range for the kids program. I'm wondering if he can attend the teen program with his 16 year-old sister? I've heard there may be 1000 kids on our cruise so I guess their will be no shortage of kids to hang-out with. Do most kids seem responsive to the sponsored kids events? I want to book a couple of days at the sanctuary, however, I've been hesitant because I'm worried my son won't want to go to the kids programs. Anyone have any experience with the teens or tweens? Do kids usually eat dinner with their parents or do they typically dine with other kids? I've heard it's important to make sure they attend the orientation the first night. Any advice for concerned mom would be greatly appreciated.

[mcorrus]

Well we have cruised with our kids on Carnival twice and the last time I had a similar situation with my son. Albeit a quite a bit younger it was the same situation, he was five a month shy of six and the age group was 2-5. He had already finished kindergarden so he was way ahead of others in that age group. Anyway carnival let us put him in the older group as a trial which he did fine and then let him stay for the remainder of our cruise.

[KRN]

Teens can be a tricky age. We were on a spring break cruise when my daughter was just shy of 13. There were a ton of kids on the ship, but she didn't really find any to hang out with. She met a couple the first night, but since the next day was a port day, she never saw them again. She stopped by the teen club a couple of times, but never saw much going on.

 

That said - she hung around with us a lot, but had a GREAT time. We were on a port intensive cruise, which we prefer. Both kids had dinner with us every night but 1 - we went to the specialty restaurant 1 night without them. My son (who was 8) ate with the kids that night. I kept my daughter company at the buffet, then she went to a show with the teens. We were fortunate that it was an activity she could drop in on (and was taking place) while we were occupied.

 

The funny thing about a spring break cruise with tons of kids was that many seemed to be with large groups. It was kind of surprising how difficult it was to meet any. But she still enjoyed herself.

 

Good luck and have fun.

[fennema1]

It really depends on your son. Is he outgoing? Will he make friends easily? Is he "young" or "old" for his age? I can tell you that his sister is going to find her own group that won't include her little brother very quickly. So, if he is excited about the idea of making friends, he will do fine. Choose his placement based on his personality. If he is shy, put him with the younger group. If he has fully grown into being a teen, let him go with the older group (assuming the cruise line goes for it!)

 

For us, we required our kids to eat dinner with us....it was the only time we were sure to see them...and it made sure everyone got a shower and out of their swimsuits at least once a day! They usually ate quickly and were ready to go.

 

The first time we took them, the boys were 14 and 9 and our daughter 8. Last year's cruise the boys were 18, 14, 3 and our daughter was 13.

[njmomof2]

I think you will find that the line will be reluctant to move a 12 yo up into the teen group. Let's face it, 16-17 yos don't want to be hanging out with a 12 yo kid. I understand that he's turning 13 very soon, but the reality is older kids don't want kids around.

 

We ended up moving our younger son from the 3-5 group to the 6-8 group. They gave us the chance to "test" him with that group and since he did fine, they agreed. But 8 yo kids don't know an "almost 6" from a full 6. Older teens do.

 

I think that getting your son up the first night to the meet and greet is a good way for him to meet some of the kids on the cruise. My older son always meets a group and gets into the groove with them. He'll eat with us then head up to the club for the evening.

 

Also, I'm not sure your 16 yo daughter will want to spend her cruise keeping an eye on her 12 yo brother. Don't worry so much and let things happen as they will. I'm sure he'll be just fine.

[kitty9]

With that many kids on board, they will not allow younger kids to move up to an older group---they do this for liability reasons, if you get my meaning. And, the general rule is, you're the age you are on the first day of the cruise for the entire cruise, even if your birthday is during the cruise.

 

But from my experience, teens tend not to attend many of the ship's activities. To be honest, they find them rather lame, especially the older teens. They do tend to find each other and do their own thing. We were on RCI last month and there was a group of 75 fifteen year olds from Argentina, and they just hung around the pool and didn't go to the teen center at all.

[jenonacruise]

In 2008 My son was 7. We went on the coral princess for a b2b 18 day cruise. There were a total of 10 kids on the ship so the teens had there section and all the other kids played in the other 2 kids rooms with no seperation in age. My son had a blast.

[cb at sea]

I doubt they will waive 3 years....I'm betting your 13 year old will have more fun with his own age group...give it a try, and see!

There's no "rule" that he has to attend the kid's clubs....

[CurtS]

On the other side of this discussion--what about children who have not matured to their age? We have foster children who are a few years behind in their maturity (13 year old acts like he's 9 or 10 and the 14 year old acts more like 10-11). Could they moved down to a club with kids more their age? They could, physically, pass for the age that they act (shorter than a lot of children their age).

[kitty9]

They will definitely NOT move older kids down to a younger group. You have to understand the liability issues with something like this. I don't think most parents of younger kids would feel comfortable with a teenager in a group of younger kids. They don't make a determination of age based on looks, and they will know the age of the kids because of passports. So, no, they do not allow older kids in younger kids' programs.

[CurtS]

Thank you, Kitty9. I thought that there would be liability issues but was not sure of the cruise lines' policies. That helps.

[mary_228]

They will definitely NOT move older kids down to a younger group. You have to understand the liability issues with something like this. I don't think most parents of younger kids would feel comfortable with a teenager in a group of younger kids. They don't make a determination of age based on looks, and they will know the age of the kids because of passports. So, no, they do not allow older kids in younger kids' programs.

We just returned from a spring break cruise on the Emerald Princess. And I beg to differ with the comments kitty has made.

 

Our thirteen year old did not feel comfortable in the teen room (and I bet many parents of teens would not be comfortable seeing the flirting going on there, either, had they bothered coming up there once in a while). She and another teen who had younger sister/brothers in the middle age group were allowed to hang out in the tween room with them. The two rooms are connected and the counselor allowed the older kids to come in and do crafts with the younger kids.

 

As for the question about teens dining together, on the Sea Princess, the teens had a formal night when they dined together (at anytime dining) and had a group picture taken on the staircase.