19 year old on Carnival

[alwalaska]

Hi! We are considering our first Carnival cruise and this will be the first time our daughter will be too old for the teen clubs.

 

Are there any activities designed for those who are between the teen clubs and 21?

[firefly333]

None that Im aware of. Maybe she will be interested in the adult activities, the trivia, whatever? ping pong or mini golf, trowing the bean bag contests. She can do adult stuff other than drinking now.

[Roz]

I've always thought that those in that age group are sort of in a cruise twilight zone. :D

 

Roz

[kiraryker]

We had 3 19yr olds and 1 18yo on our cruise in March - The 19year olds were allowed in the Disco but you had to be 19(there was a security guard at the door checking) - they also had all the on board activities on the lido deck that they participated in.

 

They also had adult show comedians late night that they went to see but again had to be 19.

 

 

The disco was a hit but the 18 yo did feel left out and was a little bored at night probably more so because the 3 19 year olds had the other stuff to do and she had to stick with the younger kids or just hang on the lido.

 

But all in all EVERYONE HAD A BLAST - and kids make friends so easy - they all left with email addresses and good memories of the new friends they made.

 

We were on the Triumph

[cbressler76]

We had 3 19yr olds and 1 18yo on our cruise in March - The 19year olds were allowed in the Disco but you had to be 19(there was a security guard at the door checking) - they also had all the on board activities on the lido deck that they participated in.

 

They also had adult show comedians late night that they went to see but again had to be 19.

 

 

The disco was a hit but the 18 yo did feel left out and was a little bored at night probably more so because the 3 19 year olds had the other stuff to do and she had to stick with the younger kids or just hang on the lido.

 

But all in all EVERYONE HAD A BLAST - and kids make friends so easy - they all left with email addresses and good memories of the new friends they made.

 

We were on the Triumph

 

 

:eek: No fair!! :( I'm glad that she still had fun!!

[mrpayroll]

I've always thought that those in that age group are sort of in a cruise twilight zone. :D

 

Roz

I feel bad for that age group..To young for the REAL adult activities but to old for the kid stuff....:rolleyes:

[crzndeb]

I think the security person that wouldn't let the 18yo in the disco was confused...you can go to the disco (can't purchase alcohol), and the casino at 18.....at least every ship I've been on has been that way.

[kiraryker]

I think the security person that wouldn't let the 18yo in the disco was confused...you can go to the disco (can't purchase alcohol), and the casino at 18.....at least every ship I've been on has been that way.

 

 

Well if that is the case DONT TELL OUR 18YO!!!! She was soooo mad at him - especially since she had spent so much time on her face and hair and just thought she'd give it a try. HA:(

[RN1986]

Just back from the Valor with 2 20 year olds. The 18-20 is definately the lost group. The 18-20 can get into the disco, but they need to have photo id with them. A drivers licence etc. The casino was a big hit and the adult shows.

I was on a excursion with some people from a Royal Caribbean boat and i read their capers. They have special meet and greets for the 18-20 group. At least this way the 20 year old guys wouldn't be worried about hitting on 14 year old girls that look 20??!!

[pe4all]

After our last cruise, dd18 actually wrote on her comment card that some sort of organized meet and mingle would be great for the 18-20 age group. Truthfully, all it would take is a 10 minute get-together the first night, and most would "find a friend" to hang with for the rest of the cruise. We always try to meet with some role-call teens, but last cruise there weren't any her age! She definitely misses the opportunity club 02 gave her to meet others her age. Others on Cruise Critic have directed letters to Carnival about the possibility of having a quick, informal meeting of the older teens on board, but so far nothing has materialized. (though I thought I read on some thread that one of the ships did have one organized by CCL?)

[JordanLovesCruisin]

Coming from someone who was "stuck" in that age group for the last cruise...

 

It sucks. Sorry to put it that way.

 

My brother got to have fun with the kids he met the first night.

FH was 21 and able to do everything.

 

..And there I was...not able to go into the club, or see some of the comedians.

 

Make sure you cruise on a ship that has the SeaSide Theatre. That's what saved me. I watched the late night movie almost every night. A couple nights my dad took me to the casino...(and paid! thanks dad!) but it felt a little off.

 

I also noted on my comment card that the cruiselines (not just Carnival) need a Meet and Greet on board for the 18-20 group. That way they are enjoying the cruise as much as their siblings or parents. I understand that it is an awkward age, but not having many people my age on the ship made me want to go on Facebook all day and chat with my friends at home, which I wasn't able to because it was so expensive.

 

Is it possible to bring a friend for your 19 year old? That would make it so much better.

 

Regardless, she will have fun, no doubt. I know it was just hard for me coming from the previous cruise that I had been on and meeting so many people at the club, then not being able to do that on the next cruise.

 

Best of luck!!

[alwalaska]

We had 3 19yr olds and 1 18yo on our cruise in March - The 19year olds were allowed in the Disco but you had to be 19(there was a security guard at the door checking) - they also had all the on board activities on the lido deck that they participated in.

 

They also had adult show comedians late night that they went to see but again had to be 19.

 

 

The disco was a hit but the 18 yo did feel left out and was a little bored at night probably more so because the 3 19 year olds had the other stuff to do and she had to stick with the younger kids or just hang on the lido.

 

But all in all EVERYONE HAD A BLAST - and kids make friends so easy - they all left with email addresses and good memories of the new friends they made.

 

We were on the Triumph

 

I don't think DD would mind hanging with the younger kids, but I am sure they won't let her. She is kind of shy and I worry that she won't meet others her age and be stuck with us the whole time.

 

Even if she was 21, she still wouldn't be drinking, so a few more year really wouldn't solve the problem any way.

[alwalaska]

Coming from someone who was "stuck" in that age group for the last cruise...

 

It sucks. Sorry to put it that way.

 

My brother got to have fun with the kids he met the first night.

FH was 21 and able to do everything.

 

..And there I was...not able to go into the club, or see some of the comedians.

 

Make sure you cruise on a ship that has the SeaSide Theatre. That's what saved me. I watched the late night movie almost every night. A couple nights my dad took me to the casino...(and paid! thanks dad!) but it felt a little off.

 

I also noted on my comment card that the cruiselines (not just Carnival) need a Meet and Greet on board for the 18-20 group. That way they are enjoying the cruise as much as their siblings or parents. I understand that it is an awkward age, but not having many people my age on the ship made me want to go on Facebook all day and chat with my friends at home, which I wasn't able to because it was so expensive.

 

Is it possible to bring a friend for your 19 year old? That would make it so much better.

 

Regardless, she will have fun, no doubt. I know it was just hard for me coming from the previous cruise that I had been on and meeting so many people at the club, then not being able to do that on the next cruise.

 

Best of luck!!

 

Thanks for all the info. Sorry you had that experience, but that was what I was afraid of. I wish we could bring a friend, but it would be cost prohibitive at this point for us. Her brother will be in the teen club, so that will make it even harder. I guess if she goes in with open eyes, we can help her find things to do. Since it will probably be over the holidays, hopefully there will be some people on our roll call that she can get to know.

[G'ma]

Hi! We are considering our first Carnival cruise and this will be the first time our daughter will be too old for the teen clubs.

 

Are there any activities designed for those who are between the teen clubs and 21?

 

Nope, no activities. She is considered and "adult" and can do anything on the ship----except drink.

 

She'll have no problem finding something great to do and people to do it with.

[ERTHDOG]

OP -good question:)

 

we will be in that situation in april, our DD is 19 on this cruise , and DS is 16....this should be interesting;)

 

at least its not the other way around , DD will make do,i know her and she will manage , but DS on the other hand would go nuts , and find trouble:rolleyes:

 

best of luck to all of us:D

 

dave

[pe4all]

 

She'll have no problem finding something great to do and people to do it with.

 

I wish this was true - unfortunately, one cannot always count on that. DD18 had just turned 18 on our Fantasy cruise. No one her age on our roll call. She is a social butterfly - makes friends (still facebooks with people from our first CCL cruise ever on Liberty) incredibly easily - I wish I had her skill to be able to do that. Sends/receives around 8,000 texts a month. She "wandered" the ship each evening for at least an hour or two looking for people to hang with. On that cruise, it seemed everyone her age was with a friend, cousin, etc., and didn't want to socialize with any one else except those they came on board with. I felt terrible for her - she made the best of it, and hung with us (first time in 7 cruises she spent so much time with us.) She was pretty disappointed, as we usually only see her on cruises for dinner/excursions. She still wants to cruise, but I definitely think something should be set up for that "lost" age group.

[matj2000]

Most of the 16-20 year old manage to find booze somehow. Someone will buy it for them or they will get it themselves from port and bring it on.

[Jay B]

We took our son who was that age on a cruise. He was bored stiff until he found an equally bored girl that age. I didn't ask and he didn't tell - but I think he had a great time.

[DMaugle]

Find some other way for your late teen to vacation. We had the misfortune to do a 12 night Baltic cruise with our 18 yo and it was a disaster for him. Too old to be a kid and too young to be an adult. We had Mr. Heald on board and asked, cajoled, and begged for them to set up a meet & greet or set aside a few hours in a lounge for this age group or something and we got absolutely nowhere. I would never counel anyone to miss out on cruising but for this age group... Maybe Club Med would be better. Regards, DMaugle

[stephic411]

So not sure how helpful this is but I am going to be really honest..

 

My first cruise I was 18 and I am now 24.. I had a blast and met a ton of people my age.. the thing was is that it was RCCL and at the time ( not anymore) if you were 18 you could drink on the ship.. so I think that had ALOT to do with it. You could go out drinking with people your age and it was something you could never normally do at home. So I had a great time.

 

My next cruise was with Carnival and I was 20 and also days away from turning 21..and they did not allow me to drink. For almost the whole cruise I could not drink and somehow I met no one my age. With 1 day left I turned 21 but still did not seem to have the time of my life like I did before. I would much rather have been on the cruise then back at home but I really felt there was nothing to do my age.

 

Most people on here will not agree with me but I think they should bring back the letting 18 year old and up drink! You can drink 18 in almost every other county and since the ship is in foreign waters then I just feel they should let them! The 18-21 year olds have nothing else to do so just give them that one thing!

 

I am going again now at age 24 and I am going with my boyfriend and I think I will have a wonderful time. I think it just helps to have at least 1 person your age to hang out with. Or else it is just not as fun:rolleyes:

[BooBooMonkey]

This is exactly the reason we're taking our boys on DH and my 20th anniversary cruise in March. Our oldest DS will turn 18 in May, so we thought he deserved one more chance at a cruise where he can hang with the Club O2 crowd--he had a great time the last time.

 

Last year, I took my DD (who turned 18 on the cruise) and had her bring a friend (17). They both got to do the Club O2 and had a blast. If they had both been 18, they would have at least been company for one another.

 

If I were bringing 18-20 year-old kids, I'd have them bring a friend.

 

Used to be the 12-14 age group was a black hole too. Now that they have Circle C, we'll have to wait and see how it goes. We cruised once when DD and DS were 12 and 14. They were miserable and clingy the whole time.

[5waldos]

Wait wait- on the Splendor at least, according to the Capers, there are 2 meetings for 18-20 year olds. On the first night at something like 8pm, and then on Monday at about 11am. Now, don't know if anyone goes, but Carnival is obviously giving it a try.

[zqvol]

Hi! We are considering our first Carnival cruise and this will be the first time our daughter will be too old for the teen clubs.

 

Are there any activities designed for those who are between the teen clubs and 21?

Not much really but they always seem to find something to do.

[shakwurst]

if shes an attractive girl i can guarantee she will not have any problem finding something to do

[JordanLovesCruisin]

if shes an attractive girl i can guarantee she will not have any problem finding something to do

 

You're kidding, right...

 

OP, I'm sure your daughter will have fun. Encourage her to go to the shows...they were a blast.

 

Not to rattle G'ma's bones on this subject, but I ordered a Miami Vice, they made it for me with no problem. I was under 21. I'm not a drinker and I assumed that when they scanned my card to charge it to my account, that they would be unable to ring up an alcoholic beverage, and would give me a "virgin" one, which is what I wanted. Maybe it was a bartender error, but if you're weary about drinks, they are accessible. One sip of the drink and I handed it to my pops. Not a fan of "gasoline" going down my throat.