Traveling with almost 18 year old

[gypsysoul66]

We have 4 teenagers going over Christmas break and are so excited! Our 2 youngest are 15 & 14 so should have a great time at the teen center. I am worried though because our daughter will be 17 and will be just 1 month shy of her 18th birthday. Our oldest son is 19. I would hope that my daughter would be able to be included with the 18-20 year old meet & greet. She is mature for her age and think she would be bored with the teen center age. Also, I would like her and her brother to be able to hang out together since otherwise he would be by himself.

My questions are...
* Do they have to prove their age for the meet & greet or to go into a club? Can we as parents just say she is 18 since she will only be 1 month shy of it?

*Is there a curfew for under 18?

Thanks so much!

*Does anyone know the cost of unlimited soda/coffee wristbands?

[julieds]

I can't believe this hasn't been answered yet--by someone who knows more about this than I do...

I can only share our experience from a Christmas cruise three years ago, when our daughter was 18 but the friend who accompanied us was 17. (I think she was three or four months shy of her 18th birthday...) They didn't go to the meet & greet so I can't answer that question, but I do remember that the friend wasn't able to get into any of the "late night" clubs that were restricted to 18+ after a certain time--and they did try! So there's no real "curfew" overall, but certain areas are restricted at certain times.

I think their room cards are coded as to age, and I don't think you could lie (or "stretch the truth") about your daughter's age at sailing, since she'll have to present a passport... But good luck--I know how hard it can be to be not quite old enough to join in...

The girls did have a blast on the one beach excursion we let them do on their own--they were served beer and margaritas at the lunch buffet (in Mexico, where the drinking age is apparently 18, as it is in the Bahamas also). .. Fortunately they didn't overdo it (and were totally grossed out by the couple of young people who DID, and were sick on the way back to the ship)...

[DrivesLikeMario]

Their onboard account/room key card is punched with holes depending on their age. Often, when going into Club Fusion, they have to show picture ID along with their seapass card and they can only stay until a certain time (think it's something like 10pm-2am). It is rare that a 17 yr. old can pass for older in the clubs. I have a 17 yr. old and he wouldn't even think of trying to get away with it.

I really wish they had a curfew of midnight for anyone under the age of 18. Can't tell you how many times I've heard really loud kids coming back to their parents' cabin at 3am just to "check in".

[Pam in CA]

Originally Posted by DrivesLikeMario

I really wish they had a curfew of midnight for anyone under the age of 18. Can't tell you how many times I've heard really loud kids coming back to their parents' cabin at 3am just to "check in".

I agree about the curfew. In my case on the Sapphire Princess last April, it was the kids' partying and the parents joining in from the hallway with the door open at 2am. When they weren't screaming and partying, they were slamming the door every few minutes (hard enough to rattle things in my cabin) pretty much all night long. My guess is that they were 16 - 18 years old with 3 in an inside cabin. Arrgghhh!