Places to meet, things to do for 19-20 year olds? NOT A DRINKING ISSUE THREAD

[mistyinca]

I've looked for threads on this, but I only find debates on whether or not kids this age should be allowed to drink on the cruise. That is not the question here. :)

 

My oldest is going to be 1 month shy of 21 and my youngest will have just turned 19. They have previously cruised and were in the teen clubs; they loved it. But I'm wondering if they have meeting places for the kids too old for the clubs and too young for drinking and gambling.

 

My kids have no interest in drinking (but the younger one would probably like to gamble, LOL) so this is not a thread about whether they should or shouldn't be allowed to.

 

I'm just trying to find if there are any activities, hangouts, meets that Carnival plans for kids this age.

 

Thanks! :)

[SadieN]

There will be some sort of meeting held the first or second night for this age group but do not expect many to attend.

 

Once they age out of the clubs they are expected to find activities thru the FunTimes. They can do almost everything onboard as you can do. The exceptions are drinking and the serenity deck.

 

18 is the minimum age for gambling onboard.

[mistyinca]

They can gamble at 18??! Ny 19year old will love that!

 

Misty

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[hightownCO]

At 18 they can go into any of the nightclubs, discos and adult comedy offerings. If they look obviously under 21, they will have to bring a D/L or something to show their age. But they can dance the night away - just do it sober.

 

And as said, gambling age on Carnival is 18.

[loveJake]

At 18 they can go into any of the nightclubs, discos and adult comedy offerings. If they look obviously under 21, they will have to bring a D/L or something to show their age. But they can dance the night away - just do it sober.

 

And as said, gambling age on Carnival is 18.

 

Will not need anyother ID except their sail and sign card, there age is listed on there.

[RuthlessBoss]

And likely meet others in general and start hanging out together.

[hightownCO]

Will not need anyother ID except their sail and sign card, there age is listed on there.

 

They sent kids back for photo id and would not let them enter at all. Sign and sail was not enough

[semichigan]

Will not need anyother ID except their sail and sign card, there age is listed on there.

 

The age is not shown on the card but it is in the computer...my DH and DS have the same name, got their cards mixed up and they wouldn't sell my DH a drink...said he wasn't 21! :) good thing we figured it out before DS did LOL :)

[HeidiHo]

Will not need anyother ID except their sail and sign card, there age is listed on there.

 

Yes, they do ask for photo ID. We were on a cruise with a family that had a girl with them that was over 21 but looked young and she was asked for photo ID to enter the disco.

[cbCRR]

How outgoing are your kids? My DD was 18 on our last cruise. She brought a friend and they met others their age (17-20) just in various places hanging out on the ship. They actually met some just by riding the elevators later in the evening on the first night and talking with people. Ended up with a small group that hung out together for the rest of the cruise. They were able to dance in the clubs and can go to the comedy.

 

Others are right - they did have to carry their ID to prove age when going out to dance.

 

I'm sure you will, but make sure you talk to them about safety. Will they hang out together? Check ins are still a good idea, as we do with my girls. We let them do their own thing most of the time, but we'll meet up for an activity or something, and always have dinner together. They never leave the ship on their own.

[Litewait]

My son is 19 and also grew up in the Carnival camps and clubs and loved them. On day two of an eight day cruise he was bored and said he probably wouldn't cruise again. This is a an outgoing kid~ plays college baseball ect.. The 3rd day we met a family on an excursion with a 17 year old daughter and they became friends. She took him to Club O2 with her and he made a lot of friends and had a great time the rest of the cruise. Those kids saved my cruise..my kid was not having a good time and there is no where to meet kids (young adults) his age. No one goes to those meetings.. He gambles maybe $30 the whole cruise..

At this point from now on I will encourage him to take a friend along when we cruise . He doesn't want to hang out with mom all the time:rolleyes:

 

It's a tough age~

[mousey]

My son is 19 and also grew up in the Carnival camps and clubs and loved them. On day two of an eight day cruise he was bored and said he probably wouldn't cruise again. This is a an outgoing kid~ plays college baseball ect.. The 3rd day we met a family on an excursion with a 17 year old daughter and they became friends. She took him to Club O2 with her and he made a lot of friends and had a great time the rest of the cruise. Those kids saved my cruise..my kid was not having a good time and there is no where to meet kids (young adults) his age. No one goes to those meetings.. He gambles maybe $30 the whole cruise..

At this point from now on I will encourage him to take a friend along when we cruise . He doesn't want to hang out with mom all the time:rolleyes:

 

It's a tough age~

 

Your DS was lucky because Carnival is very stricktabout not letting older kids into Club O2. I believe, could be wrong on this, that the oldest you can be is 18 to hang out at Club O2. Our DS has taken a friend on his last 3 cruises. He's 18 now. There really is not a lot for that 19-20 age group to do except hope that they can meet someone near the pool or in the dance clubs. Taking a friend along is the best option for kids in this age group.

[mistyinca]

How outgoing are your kids? My DD was 18 on our last cruise. She brought a friend and they met others their age (17-20) just in various places hanging out on the ship. They actually met some just by riding the elevators later in the evening on the first night and talking with people. Ended up with a small group that hung out together for the rest of the cruise. They were able to dance in the clubs and can go to the comedy.

 

Others are right - they did have to carry their ID to prove age when going out to dance.

 

I'm sure you will, but make sure you talk to them about safety. Will they hang out together? Check ins are still a good idea, as we do with my girls. We let them do their own thing most of the time, but we'll meet up for an activity or something, and always have dinner together. They never leave the ship on their own.

 

My boys aren't real good at initiating conversation etc. but my youngest gets acquainted pretty quickly in the teen clubs. I think he just needs to be started off.

 

 

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[crzndeb]

Your DS was lucky because Carnival is very stricktabout not letting older kids into Club O2. I believe, could be wrong on this, that the oldest you can be is 18 to hang out at Club O2. Our DS has taken a friend on his last 3 cruises. He's 18 now. There really is not a lot for that 19-20 age group to do except hope that they can meet someone near the pool or in the dance clubs. Taking a friend along is the best option for kids in this age group.

 

There are a lot of things that 19-20 year olds can do. They can do everything adults can do except drink. There are a lot of adults that don't drink, and I don't think it lessens their cruise experience.

 

And if the 19-20 year olds want to have a drink, they can usually do that on the port stops.

[cruise_crazy68]

They sent kids back for photo id and would not let them enter at all. Sign and sail was not enough

 

 

They never asked my kids for ID and one was 21 one was 18. They used their S&S only. I had their ID in the safe all week unless we were leaving the ship!!

[Lerin]

I've always thought ages 16-20 would be the worst for taking a cruise, it doesn't seem there is much for them. They are getting a bit old to be in a Kid Club, but they are hardly adults.

Good to hear from this thread that there are in fact a few things for them to do.

[hightownCO]

They never asked my kids for ID and one was 21 one was 18. They used their S&S only. I had their ID in the safe all week unless we were leaving the ship!!

 

Maybe they were stricter than normal because of the time of year. We sailed on 5/26 and there were TONS of kids celebrating HS graduations and most of the colleges had just had their graduations too.

 

It was probably the loudest, kids in the hall at 3am, door slamming cruise I've ever experienced - and we've done many spring break cruises.

 

They had to use sign and sail to order of course but they were getting carded at the door to make sure they were 18+.

[kangaand2roos]

I would also suggest looking into your roll call to see if other kids in that age range are traveling. And on FB too. If the kids could pre-meet some other young adults, they might have an easier time getting started.

[G-Luvs2cruise]

We took 3-19 yr.olds on a cruise two years ago. Thankfully they had each other. They had a hard time meeting people their age. Did not seem like there were a lot of them on board. We went in the middle of summer so you would think there would be a ton of young people.

 

They are out going kids. They went to the clubs, gambled and went to Comedy Club but you can only do so much of that. They said they would not cruise again until they were older. It wasn't about the drinking either. They could drink when they got on the islands. Not that they did much of that.

 

The days at sea were the hardest. Really nothing for them to do for their age group. Not interested in laying out. They seemed to hang out in our room, A LOT! They only want to hang out with the parents for so long! HA HA! It didn't ruin the trip they just said they would wait until they were older before the cruise again.

 

I had joined a Roll Call for the cruise and asked if anyone had kids around the same age. Nobody had kids around that age. I know that people that did have kids the same age met up during a Sail Away party. This way the kids could meet and hopefully have someone to hang out with.

 

They will be fine one way or the other! Good Luck! Hope you all have fun!

[MsTabbyKats]

I've looked for threads on this, but I only find debates on whether or not kids this age should be allowed to drink on the cruise. That is not the question here. :)

 

My oldest is going to be 1 month shy of 21 and my youngest will have just turned 19. They have previously cruised and were in the teen clubs; they loved it. But I'm wondering if they have meeting places for the kids too old for the clubs and too young for drinking and gambling.

 

My kids have no interest in drinking (but the younger one would probably like to gamble, LOL) so this is not a thread about whether they should or shouldn't be allowed to.

 

I'm just trying to find if there are any activities, hangouts, meets that Carnival plans for kids this age.

 

Thanks! :)

 

OP....since you've been on previous cruises, I think you know the answer to your questions......

 

I think that "clean cut kids" of that age would be bored, and there's no guarantee of meeting others.

 

It's not a matter of "what they're allowed" to do....but what they like to do.

 

Then again...if they're really into eating....they'll love it.

[silvercrikhix]

Our kids that age had a good time!

They played basketball, mini-golf, went to shows that interested them, swim, hot tubbed, ping-pong, found the secret deck, watched movies, danced, met lots of others their age.

It will be what they make of it.

If they want to have a good time, they will!

It is harder if they are shy, but if outgoing and looking for fun, they can do it!

[mistyinca]

OP....since you've been on previous cruises, I think you know the answer to your questions......

 

I think that "clean cut kids" of that age would be bored, and there's no guarantee of meeting others.

 

It's not a matter of "what they're allowed" to do....but what they like to do.

 

Then again...if they're really into eating....they'll love it.

 

Actually, no. This is the first time were going with them in that age group. I never paid any attention to the capers/fun times for if they have anything set up for meeting for people in that age group. What I have been getting at is a fun times listing something along the lines of "young adults meet, 6-8 at the so and so lounge" kind of thing. I've never paid attention to that before since it did not apply to us.

 

That's basically what I'm asking about. But I'm gathering that the answer is no; they don't have anything like that. Seems easy enough to include something like that. If you build it, they will come.

 

In that case, my intention is to steer them towards the singles meet and to encourage them to engage in as many activities as possible, while keeping an eye out for similarly aged peeps. It would be nice though if a meet like I mentioned above was available.

 

Alas...

 

 

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[careycouponer]

Actually, no. This is the first time were going with them in that age group. I never paid any attention to the capers/fun times for if they have anything set up for meeting for people in that age group. What I have been getting at is a fun times listing something along the lines of "young adults meet, 6-8 at the so and so lounge" kind of thing. I've never paid attention to that before since it did not apply to us.

 

That's basically what I'm asking about. But I'm gathering that the answer is no; they don't have anything like that. Seems easy enough to include something like that. If you build it, they will come.

 

As mentioned in the first reply to you... this DOES exist. It's just not very popular. They built it and almost nobody came. :p

 

There will be some sort of meeting held the first or second night for this age group but do not expect many to attend.

[ourfamilylovescruising]

most kids that age hang out on the sports deck and ping pong my oldest son who just turned 21 is out going and that was a tough age between 19 and 21 but he would go up to where the ping pong tables were and before long he would have someone ask him to play and then they would hang out on the ship. I just talk to him and he said that is where almost all the kids that age hang out. so good luck:)

[onegroundcafe]

I've always wondered how they know your age on the ship. While on dry land I still get offered kids menus at restaurants but on the ship I am never carded when I order a drink. Interesting....