Paranoid Dad?

[mamajules]

My son has sailed with me since he was 8. When he reached the teen club ages (Circle C is 12-14 and Club O2 is 15-17), where they can come and go, then we had ground rules. Sparks1093 has good ones, which pretty much mirror mine for my son. If I found out he broke those rules, the consequence was sticking by my side from then on. Never did have to invoke that.

 

I would suggest that on the first night, go to the Club O2 orientation. They will have you sign him up (this does not obligate him to go, simply registers him with them), and they will hand you a sheet with all the activities they have planned for the week. Your son can then pick and choose which ones he wants to go to. My son met several people in the youth programs, and hung out with them most of the time. My rule was he met me for dinner, and he was back in the cabin after the last planned event of the evening (mostly by midnight or shortly thereafter).

[Essiesmom]

Once he has discovered the 24/7 pizza and soft serve ice cream, you should know where to find him and his friends. EM

[Californiacruizers]

I allowed my 12 year old son to check himself in and out of the kids club while we were on board the Norwegian Sky. I allowed him also to visit the basket ball courts on the ship alone. There was one evening where he participated in the kids club until 10:30pm and he signed himself out and came straight to the cabin as instructed. He also had access to $$ on his stateroom card to play in the arcade alone. I did not have a problem with him roaming around at all. I know my son and he isn't much of a risk taker. So if your son can be trusted and knows what to do in the case of an emergency I don't see the harm in it.

[CruisingCuisine]

Many comforting experiences here.

 

My concerns were not necessarily regarding my son, more so with staff and or fellow cruisers.

 

Thank you again for all the advice.

 

T minus 11 days!

[CruisingCuisine]

I allowed my 12 year old son to check himself in and out of the kids club while we were on board the Norwegian Sky. I allowed him also to visit the basket ball courts on the ship alone. There was one evening where he participated in the kids club until 10:30pm and he signed himself out and came straight to the cabin as instructed. He also had access to $$ on his stateroom card to play in the arcade alone. I did not have a problem with him roaming around at all. I know my son and he isn't much of a risk taker. So if your son can be trusted and knows what to do in the case of an emergency I don't see the harm in it.

 

 

 

Did he end up finding kids his age to hang out with?

[Hawaiifrank]

Many comforting experiences here.

 

My concerns were not necessarily regarding my son, more so with staff and or fellow cruisers.

 

Thank you again for all the advice.

 

T minus 11 days!

 

It happens, but probably less than on land. I worry more if I send my grand kids to the restroom at Walmart.

 

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Carnival-Cruise-Worker-Charged-With-Molesting-Boy-on-Ship-321993752.html

 

On our March "spring break" cruise the kids were beyond out-of-control on the last night. I watched 22 teenagers pile out of an elevator after finally getting the door to open. They were wedged in too tightly to be able to open the door at first, but they were whooping it up bragging about 22 in an elevator when they got out.

 

A little supervision goes a long way.

[dsrdsrdsr]

My wife, my son (15) and I are sailing on the Carnival Sensation on Sept. 6th.

 

I know there will be a few times on the cruise when my wife and I will want to spend time in the casino or have a few drinks.

 

Am I being too paranoid to ask if it's totally safe to let my 15yr old son roam the ship on his own?

 

He is not allowed to step foot into the casino correct?

 

If he isn't safe to wander round an enclosed holiday environment at 15, then he sure as heck won't be safe to go to college in three years' time. If you think he's not safe, then perhaps it's time to train him up.

 

It isn't totally safe, of course. But if you want total safety, you need a padded cell.

[Californiacruizers]

Did he end up finding kids his age to hang out with?

 

Unfortunately, my son did not find any kids his age to play with. We sailed the week after spring break so there weren’t that many children onboard.

 

Anyhow he said he was bored a zillion times and wanted to stay in the room watching TV or playing video games (which I finally locked in the safe) while on the cruise which drove me insane. Next time I am going to force him to socialize a bit more.

[Jane2357]

I would start out day one with more restrictive rules - "meet us here in 1 hour, be back to the cabin by x time". If those were followed then give him more freedom. The ship isn't that large - tell him you want him to cruise to the casino at a certain time for a brief catch up.

 

I've seen some well behaved teens and I've seen some delinquents in the making. I'd pay close attention to who he is hanging out with - a bad idea doesn't necessarily have to be his.

[Sauer-kraut]

Of course he can enter the casino, most of them are in the middle of the ship and have a walk-thru to get from one end of the deck to the other. Its not like Vegas where they're not even allowed on the floor.

 

I would recommend that he gets signed up for the teen program on the ship on the FIRST DAY that is when the groups form up. From then on make sure he knows what you expect.

 

Have a great time!

[clb5]

As others have said, it depends on your child's level of independence. Our family allowed our daughter and her cousins (ages 10-12) to go about the NCL Pearl by themselves on an Alaska cruise earlier this month. There are very few private places on a cruise ship (the story someone referenced below involved a teen using the sauna alone; our kids would never think to use the sauna themselves, which is why we say it depends on your child; also my daughter and nephews have taken various martial arts -- they know how to punch and kick with force to vulnerable body parts).

[cruisinfromorlando]

We just cruised on the Sensation on August 16. I have two daughters(ages 12 and 15). I signed both up for their onboard clubs online before we boarded. I didn't find the Camp Carnival orientation helpful. It would have been necessary if I hadn't signed up online or had small kids. It took forever to start and it was aimed mainly at the younger kids. While we were exploring the ship after lunch on the first day, we found both their clubs. There were itineraries for the entire cruise available in each club. The kids can come and go to the clubs as they please for Circle C and O2. Even if there are no scheduled activities. At 8:30 on the first night, both girls went to their respective clubs. My oldest loved the kids in her club and they hung out every night of the cruise and are still in communication. My younger daughter didn't like the kids in her club and ended up back in the room within 1/2 hour. On the ship, there was a mix of older people, families and twenty somethings. I didn't come across any objectional behavior and lots of teens were walking around in small groups or on their own. I felt safe walking around by myself as well. Of course it does depend on your kid and how they are in peer pressure situations, too.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My son has sailed with me since he was 8. When he reached the teen club ages (Circle C is 12-14 and Club O2 is 15-17), where they can come and go, then we had ground rules. Sparks1093 has good ones, which pretty much mirror mine for my son. If I found out he broke those rules, the consequence was sticking by my side from then on. Never did have to invoke that.

 

I would suggest that on the first night, go to the Club O2 orientation. They will have you sign him up (this does not obligate him to go, simply registers him with them), and they will hand you a sheet with all the activities they have planned for the week. Your son can then pick and choose which ones he wants to go to. My son met several people in the youth programs, and hung out with them most of the time. My rule was he met me for dinner, and he was back in the cabin after the last planned event of the evening (mostly by midnight or shortly thereafter).

 

I was going to suggest taking your son to the teen club the first night. That's when the teens will meet the others and see who they want to hang with. I wouldn't wait til the second night.

 

My qualm would be that you're cruising when school will be already started in most areas So there may be less school-aged kids on board, maybe just some homeschooled ones.

 

My daughter was 13 and 15 on our last cruises (she already has been on several cruises, but finally hit the teen mark). She met some girls her age on that first one and would hang out with them and some of the other teens. There was a Facebook group page that the kids conversed on for a while after the cruise. Then when we made our plans for the next cruise, which was incidentally on the same ship, the Golden Princess, on the same itinerary, and almost the same sailing date, our girl found out that one of her friends was also repeating the cruise. They made plans to meet up, and they ended up joining another girl and three boys in their age group.

[john watson]

One thing that seems not to mentioned about first time cruisers children is finding your way around the ship. I recall a youngish girl getting in an elevator I was in and asking if it went to a location she wanted. I explained it did not go there because it was an aft elevator. Floods of tears instantly happened and I had to get out and explain to her to go midships and get an elevator there. Fortunately mum happened by and all was well. The thing is can your son locate his cabin and all the other places he needs to on board? This issue can be daunting to some.

 

Regards John

[widallas]

My wife, my son (15) and I are sailing on the Carnival Sensation on Sept. 6th.

 

I know there will be a few times on the cruise when my wife and I will want to spend time in the casino or have a few drinks.

 

Am I being too paranoid to ask if it's totally safe to let my 15yr old son roam the ship on his own?

 

He is not allowed to step foot into the casino correct?

 

I don't think you're paranoid. I worry about our kids "roaming the boat"....with thousands of passengers and crew, lots of places to get lost, and then the whole 'middle of the ocean' thing. It's a little scary!

 

Our last cruise our boys were 12 and 10...our youngest did the kids program, and the oldest was not into the teen scene, so he spent his time merrily exploring from deck to deck, haunting the frozen yogurt machine, and making friends with the room service guys who brought him pizza so he could sit on the balcony and read to his heart's content. Since we were traveling with family, we did most things as a family, and had a great time.

 

Fast forward 4 years. Now with two boys that are 16 and 14 -- both of whom are excited about the teen programs -- I'm confident they make good decisions, and I know they want some independence. (Plus, they don't actually acknowledge us in public, so....)

 

For this cruise, we have a balcony cabin and they are in an interior across the hall, so we need some pretty clear ground rules. My husband is the king of "trust but verify"...we put together a cruise contract based on similar ones we've seen (on CC of course). We plan on going over it once; that way they know our expectations, and there's no "but you never said...." Boundaries are clear -- don't be stupid, use your God-given common sense and have an awesome time!!!

 

Hope you AND your son have a great cruise...

Edited September 2, 2015 by widallas

[candycaramel]

Your 15 year old will be fine on the ship without you and your wife houvering. As others have said he will meet friends and have fun.

 

My 12 year old son had a blast in the kids club and outside. At some point after the cruise, my son informed us that his dad and i missed out alot on the cruise cause we were sleeping at night. He said there were ballroom dancing lessons one evening and a competition which he entered and got 5th place or something. Who did you dance with? We asked. Some "old lady" he met at the dance lessons earlier in the day. :) Was it a youth/teen activity? No.it was all grownups he said.

 

Anyway let your son have fun. There is no reason for him to sit in the casino with you and your wife.