Which cruise line for reluctant seventeen year old?

Cost permitting, we are considering an August 2014 Mediterranean fly/cruise from the UK with our younger son who will be nearly 17. We have been blessed to travel a lot but have never taken a cruise.

As a starting point it would be helpful to know which cruise lines would offer the most teen friendly vibe and onboard activities - water slides etc and which should I avoid? We will need to book 2 cabins - budget is currently flexible.

I would say Royal Caribbean or NCL. But in all honesty, Med cruises are usually so port intensive that activities aren't all that big a deal because everyone will be off the ship for a majority of the time doing tours. Also, I don't know if you know this, but if your son is in his own cabin alone, you'll be paying two full fares for him, which is known as a single supplement.

Yes..the cost of the cabin is based on DOUBLE occupancy....so if there's only 1 in a cabin, you still pay the double price, as that is the COST of the cabin!

I would say RCI, as well....lots to do on their bigger ships. However, no waterslides....on the ships that do have a slide, it's for the little kids...not adults or teens. I think Carnival is the only line with big slides...I certainly wouldn't base my choice of ship on that alone.

if you can swing it and your paying double occupancy anyway, have your teen bring a friend. Its a sure fire cure to them being "bored".

Just know that at least one occupant of each cabin must be at least 21 ,at least on paper!!;)

That is line dependent.... my 17 year old had her own cabin on our last December trip.

Had to smile at the OPs post. Dealing with teens can be a difficult task (been there...done that) and we sometimes wonder why parents try to force teens into things for which they have no interest. If a teen has made up their mind they do not want to take a cruise, they may go out of their way to make their cruise and everyone around them as miserable as possible. So we think it is important to get the teen very involved in the decision making process. If the still has no desire to take a cruise you might want to consider leaving him with a Grandparent or some other trusted family member.

Hank

If you're wanting to sail from the UK, then the most teen friendly ship is probably Independence of the Seas, which has a surfing flow rider, ice skating etc....and you'll need that sort of activity for the fortnight's cruise as there's several sea days going and coming from the Med. There's also another ship, Adventure OTS, with the same RCI line, which again has activities for teens.

If you're flying out, then have a look at NCL's Epic, which has lots of things for young people. NCL Jade has a water slide.

I'm afraid that the prices on all ships will be high in August, as it's the school holidays throughout Europe...if you want a separate cabin for your son then, yes, it's perhaps a good idea to add another person in it.

if your cruise calls at Civitavecchia, there's an aqua park in the town; if you're at Barcelona then there's the football site to visit; if you're going to the Greek isles or the Balearics, there's lots of beaches for a good day out- just hunt for the local bus, or take a taxi.

With a busy itinerary, he'll find things to do in most ports.

oh, I forgot- there's a big P&O ship in the Med this summer- Ventura- doing 7 or 14 nights, and it's a proper fly/cruise, with their own dedicated aeroplanes.....it can work out cheaper than finding your own flights, and they're responsible for you from your UK airport. there seems to be bargains on her, because she's a big ship to fill.

Which ever has the most on board bells & whistles. It will probably be RCL, NCL or CCL

To see if you can spark some interest, as soon as you narrow it down to 1-2 perhaps empower the teen by giving the teen the final choice.

Thank you for your helpful posts.

Yes I am expecting to pay a double occupancy on the second cabin. Gulp!

I have been looking at NCL and will also consider RCI. I am not too sure about Carnival - what is the general opinion about the quality of services, cabins etc? Many of the cheaper options seem to be with Costa cruises;I imagine that the guests will be mainly European - any thoughts about Costa?

My son has always been reluctant to go on holiday, even when younger, but he is usually fine once he is away. He has a quiet nature and will not make our lives miserable - but I don't want him to be miserable either. The older he gets the more reluctant he becomes which is understandable. He misses the company of his elder brother who stopped coming on holiday with us a few years ago. I suspect that this will be the last year that we will be able to 'coerce' him to come away with us. He is not socially confident or proactive - one of the reasons for planning a holiday is to occupy him for 1 week of his 11 week summer school holiday! Not that taking a cruise will be any hardship for his parents, ha ha.

Thank you again for your advice and great suggestions.

If your son isn't socially confident or pro-active, then it may not matter whether there are a lot of activities geared to his age group as he might not participate.

We took our teens (18 and 15 at the time) on an Eastern Med cruise with Celebrity. It was their first and they LOVED it. But they didn't join in any of the teen actvities. They enjoyed the ports and hanging out at the pool. And they really liked the people-watching.

But I think another poster made a good recommendation to include your son in the planning/selection of the ship. Why not show him deck plans and the itinerary?

Took my first cruises as a teenager as well. I'm an only child and have always been perfectly content on my own (also the kind of vibe I'm getting from the 17 year old in question). Despite the fact that cruises tend to be marketed as "meet new people!" I've been able to relax alone and have an enjoyable time. When not on excursions or walking around ports, swimming or laying by the pool listening to iPod/reading magazines can usually be enough to entertain a teen. Bigger ships will naturally have more to offer in all kinds of activities, like arcades and waterslides. This is probably more of a "girly" thing, but the best part of my cruise was (and still is!) getting a massage on a day with no port. :D

Teens can be finicky:

But I suspect as long as there are 16 and 17 year old girls on the ship, he'll be happy.

Larger ships usually have more scheduled activities -- something like a Royal Caribbean voyager class or higher.

We did the Med with a teen on RCCL. Loads of activities, even if they don't want to join any organized groups. It really is port intensive and your teen won't have much time to get bored, but RCCL ships have the flow-rider, rock climbing wall, ice rink, pool games organized by the staff. Whether they like meeting new people or really aren't interested in that, they'll have plenty to do in the limited time while you are on board. We left the ship early in the morning and returned with barely enough time to get ready for dinner. We only have one sea day on the upcoming cruise, but he likes having the options.