Question about Cruise for HS Senior Trip

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

Just starting to toss around the idea of taking my daughter on a cruise for her senior trip in 2015. She is feeling out her friends to see who else is interested.

 

Here's my question: My daughter will be 18 and most (if not all) of her friends will still be 17. Is there a cruiseline that will allow her to hang with her friends and the "teens" in the teen club and do those activities? this could be a make it or break it deal on whether or not we pursue a senior trip cruise (and I hope the answer is yes because I do NOT want to go to a resort in Mexico!! LOL)

 

Thx :)

[erkevin]

We are doing this very thing on March with our son and three of his friends. One will be 18, the others, 17. Everything on the Carnival message boards indicate that if the 18 year old has his high school ID, he will be allowed into the teen club. This is not official policy, but quite a few reports confirm the unofficial policy.

We chose a cruise over an AI resort in Mexico because of the alcohol policy on Carnival. Less to worry about!

On shore, we will watch closely over our children :-)

Edited January 30, 2014 by erkevin

[cb at sea]

Nope....at 18, you're considered an adult. 17 year olds will still be considered kids. The only way they will be able to "hang out" is outside of whatever clubs or organized activities there might be.

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

We are doing this very thing on March with our son and three of his friends. One will be 18, the others, 17. Everything on the Carnival message boards indicate that if the 18 year old has his high school ID, he will be allowed into the teen club. This is not official policy, but quite a few reports confirm the unofficial policy.

We chose a cruise over an AI resort in Mexico because of the alcohol policy on Carnival. Less to worry about!

On shore, we will watch closely over our children :-)

 

Thank you! This is what I was hoping. Maybe I'll give Carnival and call and see if I can confirm it. And I'd love to hear how your trip went when you get back :) I think this is the fair way to do it, honestly. She turns 18 in March, spring break is in April. But she's still in high school and obviously no different than a kid turning 18 in June.

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

erkevin - I sent you a friend request so I won't miss your post if you do a trip report. Hope you don't mind :)

[Hawaiianwhaines]

Carnival let a bunch of 18 yr olds into the teen club when they showed their high school id this past summer. (According to my 17 yr old daughters)

[1025cruise]

There is no guarantee that the youth director will let the 18 year old in. Be prepared for a no. It seems recently that a lot of lines are taking the hard stance on this due to liability.

[janetz]

Just starting to toss around the idea of taking my daughter on a cruise for her senior trip in 2015. She is feeling out her friends to see who else is interested.

 

Here's my question: My daughter will be 18 and most (if not all) of her friends will still be 17. Is there a cruiseline that will allow her to hang with her friends and the "teens" in the teen club and do those activities? this could be a make it or break it deal on whether or not we pursue a senior trip cruise (and I hope the answer is yes because I do NOT want to go to a resort in Mexico!! LOL)

 

Thx :)

 

Be prepared for no. Sometimes, the people that answer the phone for the cruise line do not even give the right answers. You sure would not want to hear a no once onboard. There are other places to go besides Mexico. ;)

[Capt_BJ]

did this very thing with a group of 17 & 18 girls on a RCL ship for graduation

 

WOULD NEVER DO IT AGAIN

 

line did enforce the 18 is adult and 17 is not rule and hours into the cruise the 18's discovered how much fun it was to taunt the 17's for being kids ... so began the teen girl drama

 

then a chaperone revealed they had no problem buying drinks for the under aged which again split the group since other chap's certainly didn't agree with this one . . .

 

ended up being the worst cruise experience we ever had in some ways ... and best in others as we simply split from the group and went our own way after the second day ... moved out of the group seating and the whole thing. We'd gone as a family of 5 as part of the group and as part of the chaperones. Needless to say the kids w/out parents thought the chap's buying them booze were cool and we were not.

 

never again

Edited January 30, 2014 by Capt_BJ

[HeatherC430]

Does your daughter WANT to spend time in the teen club? Personally, I took my first cruise with my mom & other extended family members at 16 and at that time I wouldn't have even considered going to any teen activities - I hang out with the adults the whole time. And when my high school "senior trip" rolled around, we went unchaperoned to Ocean City for week and certainly weren't doing "teen activities".

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

did this very thing with a group of 17 & 18 girls on a RCL ship for graduation

 

WOULD NEVER DO IT AGAIN

 

line did enforce the 18 is adult and 17 is not rule and hours into the cruise the 18's discovered how much fun it was to taunt the 17's for being kids ... so began the teen girl drama

 

then a chaperone revealed they had no problem buying drinks for the under aged which again split the group since other chap's certainly didn't agree with this one . . .

 

ended up being the worst cruise experience we ever had in some ways ... and best in others as we simply split from the group and went our own way after the second day ... moved out of the group seating and the whole thing. We'd gone as a family of 5 as part of the group and as part of the chaperones. Needless to say the kids w/out parents thought the chap's buying them booze were cool and we were not.

 

never again

 

Wow, that doesn't sound good :eek: I already told her if we go, I will NOT be responsible in anyway whatsoever for an unchaperoned student. I guess we will just have to see how our cruise goes in April since we've never been on a ship. If we end up hating it, I guess this whole thing will be moot anyway.

 

Does your daughter WANT to spend time in the teen club? Personally, I took my first cruise with my mom & other extended family members at 16 and at that time I wouldn't have even considered going to any teen activities - I hang out with the adults the whole time. And when my high school "senior trip" rolled around, we went unchaperoned to Ocean City for week and certainly weren't doing "teen activities".

 

Haven't ever cruised yet so we will see if she has any interest in the teen stuff this spring. And ya, I went to Daytona unchaperoned in the 80s :D My kids are much better than I ever was but that's still not going to happen ;)

 

I guess I just don't understand what kind of liability there would be. Even the US government acknowledges 18 year olds OR graduated from high school, whichever comes last, in reference to things like social security and child support, etc... So basically an 18-20 year old is persona non-grata on a ship - can't be a teen/ can't really be an adult. Why would they cruise? to sit by a pool?

[Glaciers]

I guess I just don't understand what kind of liability there would be. Even the US government acknowledges 18 year olds OR graduated from high school, whichever comes last, in reference to things like social security and child support, etc... So basically an 18-20 year old is persona non-grata on a ship - can't be a teen/ can't really be an adult. Why would they cruise? to sit by a pool?

 

There are very few things onboard that 18-20 year olds couldn’t do that any adult 21 and over could do. If you are worried about them not having enough to do on a cruise than maybe a cruise isn’t the right choice. Research the activities; they will be able to do most or all of them. If nothing appeals to them why would you take them? You certainly wouldn’t want them to be bored.

 

I think this applies to young adults on a cruise more than most circumstances. “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.”

[MCC retired]

Wow, that doesn't sound good :eek: I already told her if we go, I will NOT be responsible in anyway whatsoever for an unchaperoned student. I guess we will just have to see how our cruise goes in April since we've never been on a ship. If we end up hating it, I guess this whole thing will be moot anyway.

 

 

 

Just stating that you "will Not be responsible" is not good enough .

You could have a mess on your hands mixing 18 adults with 17 teens .

Perhaps delay this graduation cruise a year ?

[FinallyCruisinIn2014]

Wow, that doesn't sound good :eek: I already told her if we go, I will NOT be responsible in anyway whatsoever for an unchaperoned student. I guess we will just have to see how our cruise goes in April since we've never been on a ship. If we end up hating it, I guess this whole thing will be moot anyway.

 

 

 

Just stating that you "will Not be responsible" is not good enough .

You could have a mess on your hands mixing 18 adults with 17 teens .

Perhaps delay this graduation cruise a year ?

 

What I was saying, in reference to the previously quoted poster is that I won't have anything to do with students, whether they are 17 or 18, who's parents choice to send them on a trip without them. I think it's ludicrous that any parent would let their child go on a senior trip without them or a relative, no matter where it is. But I know many do. I won't be a babysitter.

 

As far as "adults" and "teens". These are kids literally months apart. If senior trip was 2 weeks prior, my daughter would be 17 and not 18. There is no mental or maturity difference in kids in the same grade who happen to be born a few months apart. Well, there probably is, but that doesn't mean the 18 year old is more mature than the 17 year just because they were born sooner.

 

And what kind of "mess" would anyone have on their hands? That's confusing to me. 18 year olds can't drink. We are talking about all females. It's basically a matter of the cruiseline possibly telling my daughter that she can't dance in the teen nightclub with her friends because she wasn't born after the second week in april.

[kcwingwalker]

My son's high school class did this with parents acting as chaperones. My son did not go on the trip. Several students did go including some from the Junior, Sophomore and Freshmen classes. Carnival did not enforce their policy for serving alcohol and beer, wine and mixed drinks were served. The result was tragic http://www.cruiseshipdeaths.com/Cruise_Ship_Deaths/Bruce_Okrepki.html

 

According to accounts from students onboard Bruce had been drinking and was angry with another boy about a girl. Bruce was sitting on the rail of the Lido deck and threw a punch and then lost his grip and went overboard. This tragic accident was completely avoidable. Lots of blame all around and such sadness and grief.

[kimanjo]

When my daughter graduated high school, there was no "senior trip" thing.

 

I took her on a cruise to Europe, just she and I.

 

If you ask her, to this day, it was one her favorite trips ever.

 

But, in all fairness, she is not a "group" sort of person. Touring the cities, reading by the pool, early to dinner, breakfast outdoors, she was perfectly happy.

 

Just a thought.

[HeatherC430]

My son's high school class did this with parents acting as chaperones. My son did not go on the trip. Several students did go including some from the Junior, Sophomore and Freshmen classes. Carnival did not enforce their policy for serving alcohol and beer, wine and mixed drinks were served.

 

Each person's sail n' sign card on Carnival is coded with whether or not they're over or under 21. How do you know that Carnival served the boy? Was it documented on recordings onboard the ship? I would think that it was more likely that some of the kids snuck alcohol onboard in their luggage.

[kcwingwalker]

Each person's sail n' sign card on Carnival is coded with whether or not they're over or under 21. How do you know that Carnival served the boy? Was it documented on recordings onboard the ship? I would think that it was more likely that some of the kids snuck alcohol onboard in their luggage.

 

I'm sure some did smuggle alcohol. But there were also security cameras and they did show that the students were served. And the other students onboard said they had no problems being served. This happened in 2009 and the drinking age may have been 18 on Carnival at that time. But there was underage drinking that night.

[LrgPizza]

 

What I was saying, in reference to the previously quoted poster is that I won't have anything to do with students, whether they are 17 or 18, who's parents choice to send them on a trip without them. I think it's ludicrous that any parent would let their child go on a senior trip without them or a relative, no matter where it is. But I know many do. I won't be a babysitter.

 

 

So I'm confused... Are you just taking your daughter on a cruise, or are the kids actually organizing this as their own senior trip? As far as chaperones, I'm pretty sure that anyone under 18 will need to have an adult with them. I don't think kids are allowed to cruise alone. I'd be on the phone with the parents of anyone my daughter was inviting along to be sure they are clear.

[MCC retired]

My son's high school class did this with parents acting as chaperones. My son did not go on the trip. Several students did go including some from the Junior, Sophomore and Freshmen classes. Carnival did not enforce their policy for serving alcohol and beer, wine and mixed drinks were served. The result was tragic http://www.cruiseshipdeaths.com/Cruise_Ship_Deaths/Bruce_Okrepki.html

 

According to accounts from students onboard Bruce had been drinking and was angry with another boy about a girl. Bruce was sitting on the rail of the Lido deck and threw a punch and then lost his grip and went overboard. This tragic accident was completely avoidable. Lots of blame all around and such sadness and grief.

 

This kind of a mess .:eek:

[Glaciers]

Another consideration is that most lines require anyone under the age of 21 to be accompanied by an adult, in the same cabin, that needs to be at least 21 and on some lines 25 years of age.

[janetz]

Wow, that doesn't sound good :eek: I already told her if we go, I will NOT be responsible in anyway whatsoever for an unchaperoned student. I guess we will just have to see how our cruise goes in April since we've never been on a ship. If we end up hating it, I guess this whole thing will be moot anyway.

 

 

 

Just stating that you "will Not be responsible" is not good enough .

You could have a mess on your hands mixing 18 adults with 17 teens .

Perhaps delay this graduation cruise a year ?

 

I agree. The cruise line WILL consider you to be responsible. Because you are the adult and she is your guest. Trust me, I know this.

[zoncom]

Finally, First, do not go to Mexico, esp. with young girl(s). You do not want to hear things that can happen in addition to Tourist murders by the drug cartel.I do not think you realize what problems you are in for with underage girls who are not familiar with alcohol and will look 21 with a little makeup. Bar staff works for tips and could care less their ages. Problems; one gets drunk/ drugged, intimate with staff or other cruiser, gets pregnant. Girls sneak liquor on board.Run up charges on sea pass, cannot pay. Guess who is responsible.

Offer your daughter only a cruise of her choice(within certain $), upon successful completion of freshman year at college.A cruise will be a wonderful family connect n after being away.

[RJ2002]

Finally, First, do not go to Mexico, esp. with young girl(s). You do not want to hear things that can happen in addition to Tourist murders by the drug cartel.I do not think you realize what problems you are in for with underage girls who are not familiar with alcohol and will look 21 with a little makeup. Bar staff works for tips and could care less their ages. Problems; one gets drunk/ drugged, intimate with staff or other cruiser, gets pregnant. Girls sneak liquor on board.Run up charges on sea pass, cannot pay. Guess who is responsible.

Offer your daughter only a cruise of her choice(within certain $), upon successful completion of freshman year at college.A cruise will be a wonderful family connect n after being away.

 

I have not heard about tourists being murdered by drug cartels in the Mexican cruise ports. Where have you read this?

[erkevin]

These horror stories are why my son's senior trip, on the Miracle in March, consists of him and his 3 best friends and ALL 8 PARENTS! Each teen is in a cabin with his parents.