Cruising with a 19 year old?

[Cruiser Nonna]

My grandson is really into history and World War II and the Journey Scandinavian and Russia cruise really fits our plans and since my grandmother was born in Stockholm thought it a great adventure.

 

I realize that Azamara is not a typical "teen" experience (he has been on RCCL and Celebrity several times)- has anyone traveled with teens previously - thoughts and suggestions?

 

Thank you as always - Cruiser Nonna

[lisiamc]

I hope your grandson likes the company of people older than him.

 

There may be a wider age range in the summer, but on our Quest cruise last November, I don't remember any teenagers at all. There were two children under ten, and then the next youngest passengers were probably in their late 20s. Some of the crew members were early 20s.

 

I saw people playing with a Wii in one of the lounges, but otherwise no activities that would have particular appeal for a 19-year-old.

 

Lisa

[treasure4two]

If I am guessing correctly, your grandson has grandparents that he gets along with quite well and enjoys being around. I am old enough to be his grandmother and on the last cruise, I was doing karoke with 10 year olds(I was terrible!!). If you all are sociable and he can deal with older people, he probably won't meet anyone to date on the ship, but he will have a great time between seeing the different ports and learning about all the history and then playing trivia, bingo, etc. with everyone. I think it sounds like he would have a trip of his lifetime!! We are on the

July 12, 2009 cruise and would love to meet you all!

[molfetta]

your grandson will be bored to death! i have never met a 19 year old that likes playing bingo & trivia with the over the hill gang.find a different cruise line with people that he will have things in common with.

[What A Market]

Don't be discouraged by some on the comments on this topic. A few years ago, my wife and I took our 19 year old son and 16 year old daughter on a 14 day Baltic cruise with Oceania. We had a great time, mainly due to the fact that we were in port everyday but one. (This was a summer trip so there were a few other teenagers on board.) My kids will admit (readily) that cruising with old farts is not normally on their top ten things to do, but several years later they still speak fondly of the fun we had together on this trip. It still ranks as one of the greatest family vacations we've done together.

[tgg]

Cruiser Nonna,

 

I'm guessing that the only person on Cruise Critic who knows your grandson is you. :) Because you sound like a thoughtful person, I'm also guessing that you've explained to him the demographics of his prospective fellow passengers. If he's balked at the idea of spending time with your contemporaries (or those even a few years older perhaps) then Azamara or Oceania would not be good choices. If he's excited about the itinerary and can deal with the possible lack of teenage companions, then Azamara is a great choice.

 

Enjoy.

[MrPony]

We (my wife & I) have always taken each of our grandkids on a "ten-year old cruise" and for the two oldest (the only two done school, so far), a "high-school graduation cruise". When we setup the most recent one, we asked him if he would like to take one of his friends. The aggrement was that we would pay for him and the buddy would pay for himself. The two kids had an inside cabin just across the hall from us and they had a blast. No problems and the kids had a ball.

 

Mr Pony

[Cruiser Nonna]

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and suggestions, we have talked in LENGTH about the type of ship, older crowd MAYBE, no teen activities which now he would not qualify for on any line but that this cruise (7/28) gives so much history and have explained that we are thinking of it as a FLOATING HOTEL and most hotels that we stay in do not have nightly entertainment - we have to make our own.

 

One thing has been added since last - my son (his uncle) and wife have decided to go and they are in early 30's so our family will have a mixture of age and if we are still moving at the end of each long day of sightseeing, we usually can make our fun.

 

Thanks for the encouragement and totally understand the hesitantcy - I guess I will report back after and see how we all did.

 

Thanks again -