Cruising with 21 yr old daughter....any tips please?

[chunkster20uk]

We are a couple cruising with my 21 year old daughter this August and are a little concerned that she'll feel 'left out'. This will be her first cruise, though dh and I have cruised several time before, mainly with DCL.:cool:

 

Does anybody have any idea of whether there are many young people of this sort of age on board normally? A lot of her University friends are in the 18 - 22 year old bracket so we're crossing our fingers she will find some friends onboard!

 

Any tips to help?:D

 

Thanks!

[joteacher]

A lot of it depends on her personality...I know that either of my kids (both in their 20's) are fairly shy and if they traveled alone with me, they may not go out of their way to meet new friends:confused: Is she really outgoing? You could always let her ask a friend to travel with you. I did that several years ago when we took my son on a cruise...my son's friend paid his own cruise charge and had his own on-board account. It worked out well for both of the boys...my son had someone to pal around with, and his friend was able to cruise very inexpensively as a fourth person in the cabin...just a thought.

-Joanne

[chunkster20uk]

Thanks for your quick reply Joanne.:) She makes friends pretty easily, although is quite happy with her own company (as an only child she's used to it) too. It's not really an option for us to take someone else with us this time, but we're hoping she'll find some younger cruisers to chat with , as well as us 'old fogies' ;)

[sparks1093]

I saw a good mixture of ages on the Sky in April and figure that would be case on most cruises, so she should be able to find people her own age fairly easily.

[bakerintn]

I think that a lot depends on the ship and the itinerary.

 

There are "roll call" sections of Cruise Critic...by ship and then by sailing date. These are good places to "pre-meet" people and it is fair to post just what you did here, there and ask if there are any others in her age group in the roll call....the roll call list will grow larger as you get closer to sailing, so keep checking it, and encourage your daughter to check it out also. If there are others in that age group in the roll call, definitely encourage her to go to the Meet and Greet for that group, if there is one planned. If there is not one planned, suggest that she put one together.

 

Also, the various NCL U classes, and if appropriate, the drinks clinics (ie, Margarita, Martini, Beer, Wine tastings) would also be a good place to connect.

 

The pool area usually attracts younger people, too ... there may be pool games that are appropriate, too.

 

She can also join others at restaurant tables as a way to meet people.

 

Overall, if she is not terribly shy, don't worry about her.

[peg013]

I agree with the above poster. Check out your rollcall to see what ages are going to be on your cruise. She may "meet" a friend before you even get onboard. We had at least 15 20-somethings on our cruise May 31 on the Dawn just on the rollcall. And most of them were traveling with their parents (we had 4 with us alone.)

[CruisnGram]

I also suggest checking out your roll call if you haven't already. Hopefully, you will find someone there that is also cruising with an older teen/young adult and they can meet up on the ship.

 

That's a tough age to meet people as they aren't allowed at any of the teen clubs activities. However, the good news is that she's an adult and can go into all of the clubs, bars and casino. Also, around the pool and hottubs may be a great place for her to meet other 20 something's.

 

CG

[bqkali]

I'm 22 and cruised with my 19-year old sister in December on the Spirit...and we had a great time!

 

Admittedly, we had each other to hang out with, but we have differing personalities so we split up a lot. I had NO trouble meeting people at the hot tubs, at activities, even before shows. Unless she's really shy, I doubt she'll feel left out. If she's not comfortable approaching friendly faces to start a conversation, I guarantee someone else will take the first step. :)

 

The amount of people in that age bracket will depend on what time of year you travel. If you're cruising anytime when universities are on break (summer, holidays, spring break, etc), you're in luck - there will be tons of young adults onboard! Most American colleges don't start until the end of August, so if you're there in early August there should be plenty of young adult cruisers. If you're going when classes are in session, there may be fewer people on the cruise in that age bracket, but there will still be some. But there's no reason she has to only talk to people close to her age, either - I enjoyed talking to some older people to hear about their many cruise and travel experiences!

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise - and she will too!

[flashdog_1]

Also via your roll call, your whole family may be able to hook up with other families to share independent excursions. My daughter was slightly older than yours when she went with me to the Western Caribbean and we did a private excursion with 5 others from our roll call, two of whom were only 4 or 5 years older than she. I think the opportunity to get to know some successful young adults was an inspiration to her. Both of those nearer her age were architects and had their own firm 100 miles from us. We socialized before dinner with this group, as well, and some friends they had made on board. These interactions with adults allowed my DD to feel at ease on the ship and to sleep in and then join me and old fogies when she awakened. She seemed interested in meeting people of all ages. No, she was not looking for a boyfriend for the week. That may be a difference. Since she is an adult, allow her to be adult and decide for herself. Initially she'll probably traipse along with you and see that you meet people of all ages. Then after she gets the feel for the ship she will venture off on her own, but always knowing where you'll be in case she gets "stuck."

[acandon_8592]

do not worry about it at all!!! think about it, you're on a cruise ship where everyone is basically stuck onboard unless you are at port. if you were on a land vacation then you would have more to be worried about. she will be fine and definitely meet people on her own. going to the hot tubs is where you will meet people, as long with going to the bar. i'm sure your family will have a great time!

[chunkster20uk]

Thanks for all the input! We have already joined the roll call and put our names down for the meet and greet thats been arranged.:) There don't seem to be any others around her age just yet but we'll see.

 

We're cruising to the Western Med on August 9th btw, on the Jade.:cool:

 

Sounds like there will be plenty of opportunities for her to mix well so I shall sto worrying and carry on planning!;)

[petesweet]

Any tips to help?:D

 

Thanks!

 

Talk about nickle and diming! Now even the passengers want tips!:D

Just kidding, of course. But no, I have no tips. No children. Just couldn't resist this when I saw the word "tips."

[chunkster20uk]

lol...funny!;):D

[crew mom]

She may also want to check out the single's events. They are designed to get people to meet others in their age groups, not for lifelong commitments! :D

[chunkster20uk]

lol, ok, that sounds good too! ;)

[Cruisin250]

How does she feel about the situation? It may not be an issue, you'll have ample family time and we often find ourselves going off on our own, I'm not interested in the golf simulator and my DH has no appreciation for the shopping and jewelry. She may be looking forward to a relaxing vacation and may be looking forward to some alone time. I've done lots of things solo on a ship and never felt ackward.

Have a great time.

[fxcarden]

The only tip I can offer for a 21 year old daughter is to keep her away from another passenger's 21 year old son.

 

Of course, if it was the other way around, then it would be OK.

 

 

:D

[lgfromdg]

I travel with my daughter who just turned 21 in March. To be honest, she has never had any luck in finding young people to hang out with. When she was young enough for the Teen Club, she'd meet a lot of kids and hang out with them but once she got older, it became a problem. We have a good time together but she would have liked to have someone her age to go to the clubs with.

[jBuckets]

I have been cruising with my family since I was 18. I have had my four -year younger brother with me for all of the trips and this has been a blessing and a curse as I am sure he would say about me. As an above poster mentioned, it will certainly depend upon the time of year as to how many people of her age-group are going. One other item is the itinerary. When we did Hawaii, we were closer in age to our parents than anyone else. The singles events are hit or miss. Like most things in life, I would recommend that she just be active. Get the daily itinerary and go to as many of the events that interest her. I have found just as many people on trips, dancing, cooking lessons, and the like as at the bar or the casino. That being said, the "dance club" is a good place to meet people. The only caveat is that as a single woman, she might find herself with some unwanted admirers. She should also find plenty of fun and interesting people coming up to her as well, and I have never seen anyone being pushy after being rebuffed. I hope that she has a great time as I have found our family cruises to be a consistently great time. We would have family time when we were in port. Dinner together at night, and a show if we all wanted to go. Otherwise my brother and I enjoyed our evening while our parents were able to enjoy theirs.

[zqvol]

We are a couple cruising with my 21 year old daughter this August and are a little concerned that she'll feel 'left out'. This will be her first cruise, though dh and I have cruised several time before, mainly with DCL.:cool:

 

Does anybody have any idea of whether there are many young people of this sort of age on board normally? A lot of her University friends are in the 18 - 22 year old bracket so we're crossing our fingers she will find some friends onboard!

 

Any tips to help?:D

 

Thanks!

 

My son, and I escape for boys time at least once a year. He is also 21. The biggest issue that I have is that I never see him! He seems to always find people his age to hang out with.

 

I suspect that your daughter will have a great time!