I am Sailing with a friend. I'm 17, he is 18

I am sailing with a friend who is a year older than me. I'm worried we won't be able to do much stuff on the ship together. The thing that stinks is that I turn 18 the week after the cruise… I heard club 02 is cool but my friend wouldn't be aloud to go in there. Whats the best thing for us to do because we definitely want to make some friends of both genders...

I am sailing with a friend who is a year older than me. I'm worried we won't be able to do much stuff on the ship together. The thing that stinks is that I turn 18 the week after the cruise… I heard club 02 is cool but my friend wouldn't be aloud to go in there. Whats the best thing for us to do because we definitely want to make some friends of both genders...

Many people sneak booze, chair hog and seat save and they shouldn't. Perhaps you can go in to the disco and dance with your friend. If you don't act up and draw attention to your self chances are you will not be asked for ID. You will get no's on here for this. On board chances are you will be able to attend adult Kareoke, dance in the adult club and attend adult comedy shows. Many of the folks that will flame me on this think that the speed limit is a just a suggestion. Keep that in mind. Putting on flame retardant suit as I push send! :eek:

nope

not in our experience

the 'cruise card' or what ever your particular line calls it is coded to your age .... once age restrictions kick in (time) if in doubt they scan you and BANG ... the door slams shut.

How do I know?

We took a cruise where dd was turning 18 during the cruise. First few days out the doors were shut to her!!!!

Then the birthday >>> and we were at the desk at 0001 to get her card updated

for the next three nights there were still issues when she tried to enter the clubs late .... she got in but it usually involved a trip BACK to the service desk . . .

nope

 

not in our experience

 

the 'cruise card' or what ever your particular line calls it is coded to your age .... once age restrictions kick in (time) if in doubt they scan you and BANG ... the door slams shut.

 

How do I know?

 

We took a cruise where dd was turning 18 during the cruise. First few days out the doors were shut to her!!!!

 

Then the birthday >>> and we were at the desk at 0001 to get her card updated

 

for the next three nights there were still issues when she tried to enter the clubs late .... she got in but it usually involved a trip BACK to the service desk . . .

No problem on NCL. They kicked out the teens that caused issues but others under 18 were not asked to leave even though many cruise director staff knew that they had not reached their 18 th birthday yet. There was no one at the door checking either.

I see you're on Carnival. When are you going and are both of you still in HS?

The two of you can do almost everything. Of course there are some restrictions. On Carnival you need to be 18 to gamble, disco or Adult comedy. 21 to drink and use the Serenity area. Security does check IDs at the disco and the casino takes care of itself. The only teens I've seen kicked out of Adult Comedy were younger and sat in the front.

If your friend is in HS go to Club02 the first day and bring his HS ID. Depending on how many teens are onboard he may be able to join the club. If not, our DDs discovered that many of the teens hung around outside.

I see you're on Carnival. When are you going and are both of you still in HS?

 

The two of you can do almost everything. Of course there are some restrictions. On Carnival you need to be 18 to gamble, disco or Adult comedy. 21 to drink and use the Serenity area. Security does check IDs at the disco and the casino takes care of itself. The only teens I've seen kicked out of Adult Comedy were younger and sat in the front.

 

If your friend is in HS go to Club02 the first day and bring his HS ID. Depending on how many teens are onboard he may be able to join the club. If not, our DDs discovered that many of the teens hung around outside.

Maybe the teens club is a good idea for the first night to meet others close to your age but by 17 and 11 1/2 months and 18+ hanging out with 15 year olds might not be your thing. As a parent of girls, my DH would rather guys your age be at the adult shows.;) Sorry but dads of 15 and 16 year old DD's can be quite protective.:)

I am sailing with a friend who is a year older than me. I'm worried we won't be able to do much stuff on the ship together. The thing that stinks is that I turn 18 the week after the cruise… I heard club 02 is cool but my friend wouldn't be aloud to go in there. Whats the best thing for us to do because we definitely want to make some friends of both genders...

Even if you skip the clubs altogether, there will still be tons of stuff for you to do. From what I have read on here over the years, it will vary alot as far as how diligent they will be at the door. Also it seems to depend on how many kids on are the ship. Example, spring break they may be more strict about checking ids.

Just be the polite and nice kids you are at home and don't draw attention to yourself. Watch out for girls/boys that might be too young for you, like above said, dads are protective. So are momma bears like me. I don't advocate rule breaking, but I do feel like they are too rigid in this area, honestly keeping kids apart for a year age difference? But then there are younger once in that grouping. No real good solution. I have always said the age groupings should be different, maybe overlaps. That being said 18 is the magic age of accountability.

But don't worry about not having fun, you will have a great time!

Perhaps you can go in to the disco and dance with your friend. If you don't act up and draw attention to your self chances are you will not be asked for ID. You will get no's on here for this.

I think ship's security picks up pretty quickly on the people who hang out in this or that group, and when someone "crosses the lines", they're quick to notice.

The question people will ask, of course, is how do I know that she was behaving herself? I have only her word for it, but her three cousins also ascertain that she was just dancing and behaving in a socially appropriate manner.

Anyway, if the 17 year old goes in to dance, he or she needs to be prepared for the possibility of being asked to leave. Does the person in question have a thick skin? My niece is more of a sensitive type, and she cried and cried at being "thrown out". Cried so hard that I, seeing her immediately afterward, thought she'd been physically injured in some way. The truth was that she was embarrassed and thought that no one would want to have anything to do with her afterward. In reality, her cousins say that security was firm but polite, and they don't believe anyone other than their small group even knew anything was happening.

We actually took a break from family cruising while our girls got past the awkward age. It's too bad the cruise lines haven't figured out that there's a hole in their programming for the 18-21 year old crowd.

However, the couple of times they did cruise while 17-19, they always found other kids their age and went to shows together and hung out in general. They would be togehter in the buffet area or around the pool in the evening and found that the security staff was very nice to them - as long as they were behaving appropriately.

We actually took a break from family cruising while our girls got past the awkward age. It's too bad the cruise lines haven't figured out that there's a hole in their programming for the 18-21 year old crowd.

 

However, the couple of times they did cruise while 17-19, they always found other kids their age and went to shows together and hung out in general. They would be togehter in the buffet area or around the pool in the evening and found that the security staff was very nice to them - as long as they were behaving appropriately.

Wow if hanging out in the buffet and around the closed pool is the best options then the cruiselines really should look into more offerings for the 17-19 year olds. Sounds like a boring way to spend 7 evenings to me at least.

Maybe the teens club is a good idea for the first night to meet others close to your age but by 17 and 11 1/2 months and 18+ hanging out with 15 year olds might not be your thing. As a parent of girls, my DH would rather guys your age be at the adult shows.;) Sorry but dads of 15 and 16 year old DD's can be quite protective.:)

There are 18yos in HS. Both DDs were 18 for part of their senior year.

There are 18yos in HS. Both DDs were 18 for part of their senior year.

That's true but the school dances, at least where I live, have teachers and police supervision and not only 21 year old "camp councellors".

We actually took a break from family cruising while our girls got past the awkward age. It's too bad the cruise lines haven't figured out that there's a hole in their programming for the 18-21 year old crowd.

 

However, the couple of times they did cruise while 17-19, they always found other kids their age and went to shows together and hung out in general. They would be togehter in the buffet area or around the pool in the evening and found that the security staff was very nice to them - as long as they were behaving appropriately.

You are right -- all the cruise lines should have some kind of a "club" for the 18 - 21 age group.

You are right -- all the cruise lines should have some kind of a "club" for the 18 - 21 age group.

A first night meeting for 18-21 year olds would be nice so that they can meet each other that's for sure. However, this age group has many options on board. All can attend any of the adult events including Quesst, the disco and adult comedy shows.

We had similar problem on RCCL a few years ago with DS in reverse. He was just off the teen age group but I thought the group he would have been in would be too young for him. We spoke to teen counselor at embarkation and he told DS he could join the teen club but any sign of trouble he would be demoted. It didn't hurt that DS looked much older and was 6'3 at the time so no one else knew he was under club age. He had a blast and you will too! They did go to teen area a bit but mostly just met up there and then took off to wherever. It didn't seem to be a big deal.

We had similar problem on RCCL a few years ago with DS in reverse. He was just off the teen age group but I thought the group he would have been in would be too young for him. We spoke to teen counselor at embarkation and he told DS he could join the teen club but any sign of trouble he would be demoted. It didn't hurt that DS looked much older and was 6'3 at the time so no one else knew he was under club age. He had a blast and you will too! They did go to teen area a bit but mostly just met up there and then took off to wherever. It didn't seem to be a big deal.

So if your DS was too young for the teen club that would put him at 14? So in other words there is a chance that this 17 and 11 1/2 month year old will be in a club with 14 year olds. That is a very big spread IMO. I don't see how that is better than this cruiser being bumped up 2 weeks to adult status so he can hang out with his 18 year old buddy. Oh ya, i almost forgot, if his buddy is still in high school he may be able to get bumped down to the teen club. That would make the teens club potentially a 14 to under 19 year old gathering place. I see lots of potential issues with this myself. Legal and otherwise.;)

There are 18yos in HS. Both DDs were 18 for part of their senior year.

I agree 100%. I was one of the youngest in our school because I skipped 4th grade. But even then, with a VERY protective father, I still went out with the star running back on the football team when I was 15. He was a senior and 18, I was a junior but only 15. We continued to date for another year even after he went to college. Girls mature so much faster than boys mentally. I can't even imagine going out with a guy my own age way back then. They weren't old enough to drive, still riding around on their Honda 50's.

I agree 100%. I was one of the youngest in our school because I skipped 4th grade. But even then, with a VERY protective father, I still went out with the star running back on the football team when I was 15. He was a senior and 18, I was a junior but only 15. We continued to date for another year even after he went to college. Girls mature so much faster than boys mentally. I can't even imagine going out with a guy my own age way back then. They weren't old enough to drive, still riding around on their Honda 50's.

My husband would have called the police if an 18 year old man drove over to pick up his 15 year old DD.:eek:

In the end... The teen club on RCCL Jewel Baltic cruise was not all that great... Just a dark room with bar/ dance floor and couches. He met very nice 15-17 yr olds that he had a lot more in common with than if he were in the "appropriate" group. If I knew then what I was told after, I would have had WAY more concerns with the teen counselor than the older kids he hung out with. Maybe the cruise lines need to have some sort of buffer for kids who are just off the age range. Let the parent decide based on kids personality/ maturity if the should move up.

I'll be one of the noes. Why? Because my not-quite-old-enough niece did this very thing; that is, she went in to dance and was minding her own business, dancing with her cousins, enjoyed 15-20 minutes . . . and she was indeed carded and asked to leave.

 

I think ship's security picks up pretty quickly on the people who hang out in this or that group, and when someone "crosses the lines", they're quick to notice.

 

The question people will ask, of course, is how do I know that she was behaving herself? I have only her word for it, but her three cousins also ascertain that she was just dancing and behaving in a socially appropriate manner.

 

Anyway, if the 17 year old goes in to dance, he or she needs to be prepared for the possibility of being asked to leave. Does the person in question have a thick skin? My niece is more of a sensitive type, and she cried and cried at being "thrown out". Cried so hard that I, seeing her immediately afterward, thought she'd been physically injured in some way. The truth was that she was embarrassed and thought that no one would want to have anything to do with her afterward. In reality, her cousins say that security was firm but polite, and they don't believe anyone other than their small group even knew anything was happening.

Whether you sneak booze, chair hog or go to an 18 and above venue at 17 you may get caught and you may be embarrassed if you do get caught. That's the chance you take.

My husband would have called the police if an 18 year old man drove over to pick up his 15 year old DD.:eek:

and what would he have done to his daughter for accepting a date from an 18yo?

and what would he have done to his daughter for accepting a date from an 18yo?

That wouldn't have happened as our DD's didn't date until 16. They were told the house dating rules at 10. So we nipped that in the bud before it was a possibility.:)

So if your DS was too young for the teen club that would put him at 14? So in other words there is a chance that this 17 and 11 1/2 month year old will be in a club with 14 year olds. That is a very big spread IMO. I don't see how that is better than this cruiser being bumped up 2 weeks to adult status so he can hang out with his 18 year old buddy. Oh ya, i almost forgot, if his buddy is still in high school he may be able to get bumped down to the teen club. That would make the teens club potentially a 14 to under 19 year old gathering place. I see lots of potential issues with this myself. Legal and otherwise.;)

Yes, my biggest concern with Princess that group kids 13 to 17. My very young 13 year old was in the club with kids almost 18:eek: I would not have my middle age kids hanging out with high school seniors at home. Heck,my sophomore is not allowed to hang out with seniors.

That wouldn't have happened as our DD's didn't date until 16. They were told the house dating rules at 10. So we nipped that in the bud before it was a possibility.:)

What's your definition of date because try as we might be can't stop people liking each other. If you give them permission to like then you can keep an eye on them and nip things when necessary. My DS girlfriend was not allowed to date. I was shocked to know her parents none dating rule when I wanted to team up with her mom to keep an eye out for the kids.

Request - give the kids permission so we can work together and keep them safe and they don't have to lie.

What's you definition of date because try as we might be can't stop people liking each other. If you give them permission to like then you can keep an eye on them and nip things when necessary. I wasn't allowed to date and my version to my mom is that I still don't.

Alone time. :)