RCL: Please Consider Adding College Mixers for Ages18 - early 20s Traveling with Parents

[LAnn]

One reason my family has cruised so much over the years is because we have an only child, and the kids clubs on the ships made it possible for my daughter to hang out with friends her own age while we were on vacation. My daughter has enjoyed cruise line kids clubs since she was young enough to participate, up through her teen years. Our 2020 cruises, when she was 16, were of course cancelled, and it is unclear how soon cruising will resume in 2021 now that she has turned 17. 

 

When she turns 18, the teen club will no longer be available to her. She will be in college, and we will continue to take her on vacations, but at that point will look beyond cruising for other vacation options; i.e., those for which it would be more practical to bring a friend of hers along. 

 

However, as a loyal RCL cruiser and stockholder, I have to think other families are "in the same boat," so to speak 🙂, so I thought I would just put out there this idea of adding college mixers as young adult programming.  I believe RCL reads these boards from time to time, and it would be helpful to get input from fellow cruisers. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

(I may post this on the NCL board also since we've done a lot of cruising with them as well). 

[TheMastodon]

19 minutes ago, LAnn said:

One reason my family has cruised so much over the years is because we have an only child, and the kids clubs on the ships made it possible for my daughter to hang out with friends her own age while we were on vacation. My daughter has enjoyed cruise line kids clubs since she was young enough to participate, up through her teen years. Our 2020 cruises, when she was 16, were of course cancelled, and it is unclear how soon cruising will resume in 2021 now that she has turned 17. 

 

When she turns 18, the teen club will no longer be available to her. She will be in college, and we will continue to take her on vacations, but at that point will look beyond cruising for other vacation options; i.e., those for which it would be more practical to bring a friend of hers along. 

 

However, as a loyal RCL cruiser and stockholder, I have to think other families are "in the same boat," so to speak 🙂, so I thought I would just put out there this idea of adding college mixers as young adult programming.  I believe RCL reads these boards from time to time, and it would be helpful to get input from fellow cruisers. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

(I may post this on the NCL board also since we've done a lot of cruising with them as well). 

That age group finds one another very easily on a cruise ship 

[mjkacmom]

My oldest were 18 and 20 on our last NCL cruise and met a lot of new people at the young adult meet-ups (informal but advertised). I also gave permission for them to order beer and wine, and they were determined to meet people (not shy). They found a group to hang out with for the rest of the cruise.

 

ETA they said it was harder than meeting others in the clubs (although close in age, none of my 5 kids had the same friend groups on cruises, including my shy one).

Edited January 11, 2021 by mjkacmom

[Ourusualbeach]

Ther are several 18-20 yo meetings that are set up.  My guess is they aren’t very popular otherwise there would be more of them. 

[molly361]

Another group of LMP😇

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, TheMastodon said:

That age group finds one another very easily on a cruise ship 

Agree...that age group doesn't need staff to help them socialize.

1 hour ago, TheMastodon said:

That age group finds one another very easily on a cruise ship 

Agree...if young adults that age need help socializing, that in itself should be a concern.

[ReneeFLL]

7 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Agree...that age group doesn't need staff to help them socialize.

Agree...if young adults that age need help socializing, that in itself should be a concern.

I would guess they don’t need help in socializing, but it sure would make it easier with a meet-up set up by RC. Also faster to meet people of their own age group especially on shorter cruises.

[ReneeFLL]

16 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Another group of LMP😇

Maybe I’m interpreting your comment wrong, but I don’t see anything funny about LMP regarding the young adults. 

Edited January 11, 2021 by ReneeFLL

[erinsmom03]

2 hours ago, LAnn said:

One reason my family has cruised so much over the years is because we have an only child, and the kids clubs on the ships made it possible for my daughter to hang out with friends her own age while we were on vacation. My daughter has enjoyed cruise line kids clubs since she was young enough to participate, up through her teen years. Our 2020 cruises, when she was 16, were of course cancelled, and it is unclear how soon cruising will resume in 2021 now that she has turned 17. 

 

When she turns 18, the teen club will no longer be available to her. She will be in college, and we will continue to take her on vacations, but at that point will look beyond cruising for other vacation options; i.e., those for which it would be more practical to bring a friend of hers along. 

 

However, as a loyal RCL cruiser and stockholder, I have to think other families are "in the same boat," so to speak 🙂, so I thought I would just put out there this idea of adding college mixers as young adult programming.  I believe RCL reads these boards from time to time, and it would be helpful to get input from fellow cruisers. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

(I may post this on the NCL board also since we've done a lot of cruising with them as well). 

 

We also have an only child. Our daughter will be 18 on our next cruise. We usually cruise with her same age cousins, and this will be the first one that she might be on her own, no club to make friends. I've actually wondered about this myself!

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, erinsmom03 said:

 

We also have an only child. Our daughter will be 18 on our next cruise. We usually cruise with her same age cousins, and this will be the first one that she might be on her own, no club to make friends. I've actually wondered about this myself!

I’ve asked on roll calls if anyone has kids around our kids age, also on other social media groups.  My daughter has connected with others before many of our cruises.  Made it nice and easy once on board as they had already been communicating with each other. 

[erinsmom03]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

I’ve asked on roll calls if anyone has kids around our kids age, also on other social media groups.  My daughter has connected with others before many of our cruises.  Made it nice and easy once on board as they had already been communicating with each other. 

 

Thank you, this is a great idea. I guess we've had our cruises canceled and switched so much lately, I've forgotten about roll calls. I actually am beginning to have hope that our December cruise will be a go. I need to check into the roll call!

[erinsmom03]

29 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I’ve asked on roll calls if anyone has kids around our kids age, also on other social media groups.  My daughter has connected with others before many of our cruises.  Made it nice and easy once on board as they had already been communicating with each other. 

 

I went to find our roll call and it didn't exist...yet lol! I started it. Not sure what I'm doing with the roll call but I started it!

[ace2542]

3 hours ago, LAnn said:

One reason my family has cruised so much over the years is because we have an only child, and the kids clubs on the ships made it possible for my daughter to hang out with friends her own age while we were on vacation. My daughter has enjoyed cruise line kids clubs since she was young enough to participate, up through her teen years. Our 2020 cruises, when she was 16, were of course cancelled, and it is unclear how soon cruising will resume in 2021 now that she has turned 17. 

 

When she turns 18, the teen club will no longer be available to her. She will be in college, and we will continue to take her on vacations, but at that point will look beyond cruising for other vacation options; i.e., those for which it would be more practical to bring a friend of hers along. 

 

However, as a loyal RCL cruiser and stockholder, I have to think other families are "in the same boat," so to speak 🙂, so I thought I would just put out there this idea of adding college mixers as young adult programming.  I believe RCL reads these boards from time to time, and it would be helpful to get input from fellow cruisers. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

(I may post this on the NCL board also since we've done a lot of cruising with them as well). 

They do an 18-25 meetup on the larger ships  or on the more packed sailings on NCL I know that for a fact I have seen in the program. I think they usually do it in Mangums or one of these 3 connected bars they have going on. Surprisingly they don't use the club give them a bit of privacy as there is a door that closes. They did it on Gem 2017 Christmas with an average age of 29 onboard. I have heard a tale but my have got the wrong end of the stick about it but there is or was rumoured to be girl in her 20s late 20s I think who may live onboard/spent considerable amount on 4 NCL ships back in 2018-2019 hitting that meetup I don't they would really care she was a few years older . Make of that what you will.  Not sure if they do it on Royal or Carnival main line and MSC ships which go younger. They might do I am just not sure.

Edited January 11, 2021 by ace2542

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

Another group of LMP😇

Not sure what this means...I can't keep up.

[Ourusualbeach]

37 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Not sure what this means...I can't keep up.

Like minded people. 

[LAnn]

Thank you all so much for your feedback, particularly to ace2542, mjkacmom regarding the 18 - 20/25 meet-ups, and to Ourusualbeach for the ideas about checking roll calls and other social media sites in advance. 

 

erinsmom03 so good to hear from someone else like us!

 

ReneeFLL, you are absolutely correct - since there is limited time on a cruise, to have a meet-up within the first day or two would go a long way towards facilitating friendships.

 

I'd recommend RCL have an event coordinator at the college mixers to welcome people, facilitate introductions and conduct icebreaker activities. This would avoid any potential confusion when people show up (is this the right place? Should I wait?) and awkwardness.

 

The RCL rep could also recommend different activities (on board and shore excursions) for this age group as well as tell them about the sports courts, the hours they're open and where to get equipment. From a business standpoint, it would be to their advantage to encourage the next generation of cruisers/cruising families to keep coming back. 

 

 

[ReneeFLL]

15 hours ago, LAnn said:

One reason my family has cruised so much over the years is because we have an only child, and the kids clubs on the ships made it possible for my daughter to hang out with friends her own age while we were on vacation. My daughter has enjoyed cruise line kids clubs since she was young enough to participate, up through her teen years. Our 2020 cruises, when she was 16, were of course cancelled, and it is unclear how soon cruising will resume in 2021 now that she has turned 17. 

 

When she turns 18, the teen club will no longer be available to her. She will be in college, and we will continue to take her on vacations, but at that point will look beyond cruising for other vacation options; i.e., those for which it would be more practical to bring a friend of hers along. 

 

However, as a loyal RCL cruiser and stockholder, I have to think other families are "in the same boat," so to speak 🙂, so I thought I would just put out there this idea of adding college mixers as young adult programming.  I believe RCL reads these boards from time to time, and it would be helpful to get input from fellow cruisers. 

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

(I may post this on the NCL board also since we've done a lot of cruising with them as well). 

Regardless of which line you choose I hope you have a good one.

 

[Joseph2017China]

I'm thinking they need to have a organized event to meet people almost retired.....like 55-65 age group.  I go to all the bars, but it seems so hard to meet people. 

 

My adult kids had no problem meeting people in dance clubs, and bars on the ship, even though they could only drink soda

 

[LAnn]

3 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Regardless of which line you choose I hope you have a good one.

 

Thank you for your kind wishes! I hope the same for your next cruise, too! 

[LAnn]

33 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

I'm thinking they need to have a organized event to meet people almost retired.....like 55-65 age group.  I go to all the bars, but it seems so hard to meet people. 

 

My adult kids had no problem meeting people in dance clubs, and bars on the ship, even though they could only drink soda

 

Yes, why not have a facilitated icebreaker/orientation event for people in the 55-65 year old age group who would like to meet others? For it to be most effective, RCL would need to keep the group sizes to no more than 10 - 20 people, maybe by requiring sign-ups in advance (they could schedule multiple groups if it was popular). 

 

As for young people meeting others in dance clubs, that would be easier if my daughter wasn't an only child; she'd have to go the clubs by herself in search of people who looked to be around her age.

 

I know we may be in a minority, but for what it's worth cruising would be more appealing to us and I'm sure others in our situation if RCL organized structured orientation/icebreaker activities (not just unhosted meet-ups) which would give the 18s - early 20s an opportunity to meet one another, and make plans to go to dance clubs, out to bars for mocktails, or just to hang out by the pool and play basketball on sea days, etc.

 

Having said that, I really appreciate all of your input -- it's encouraged me to at least dip a toe in the water to try out a post 18-year old family cruise, armed with your helpful suggestions. 🙂 

 

 

[erinsmom03]

1 hour ago, Joseph2017China said:

I'm thinking they need to have a organized event to meet people almost retired.....like 55-65 age group.  I go to all the bars, but it seems so hard to meet people. 

 

My adult kids had no problem meeting people in dance clubs, and bars on the ship, even though they could only drink soda

 

 

 

Out of curiosity, were any of your kids 18 year old girls that would be going to a dance club or bar by herself to try to meet people? 

[Joseph2017China]

45 minutes ago, erinsmom03 said:

 

 

Out of curiosity, were any of your kids 18 year old girls that would be going to a dance club or bar by herself to try to meet people? 

Sorry, I work on a college campus.....and dance clubs do allow under 21.  They are ID'd just like anyplace else and usually have wrist bands.  I'm pretty sure, there are plenty of both sexes going out from what I hear.  On a cruise ship, there are several places to meet others, such as on the Sports Deck, swimming pool area or in the common bars/clubs.  The primary place for socializing on a ship, is in the bars.  On the ship, they are adults, and not kids.  Only difference is they can't drink but they have access to everything adults have access to.  Just like when they are sent off to college, or the Army, or someplace else, they will handle being social just fine.  I also know under 21 young people of both sexes that have traveled Internationally.  So I don't know what to tell you, but if parents want to hover over young adults, then chances are they won't have as much fun......

[erinsmom03]

4 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

Sorry, I work on a college campus.....and dance clubs do allow under 21.  They are ID'd just like anyplace else and usually have wrist bands.  I'm pretty sure, there are plenty of both sexes going out from what I hear.  On a cruise ship, there are several places to meet others, such as on the Sports Deck, swimming pool area or in the common bars/clubs.  The primary place for socializing on a ship, is in the bars.  On the ship, they are adults, and not kids.  Only difference is they can't drink but they have access to everything adults have access to.  Just like when they are sent off to college, or the Army, or someplace else, they will handle being social just fine.  I also know under 21 young people of both sexes that have traveled Internationally.  So I don't know what to tell you, but if parents want to hover over young adults, then chances are they won't have as much fun......

 

Wow... I certainly don't hover over my daughter. I was just curious if your own, not work related, children were young girls of 18 going into a bar by herself. I don't see where you actually answered that question.

[kwokpot]

I was on 2 Christmas cruises on the Grandeur with my niece and nephew who were under 21 at the time. They had no issues finding other people their own age. We also did a Christmas cruise on MSC from Genoa, Italy and it more problematic due to the language and cultural barriers sailing in Europe.  

[mets07]

LAnn, I agree with you that it would be helpful. We had our younger son with us on a cruise with us when he was about 19 - 20 (every other cruise we were on with him, our other son was on as well) . It is not necessarily as easy as some people think, particularly if there are not a lot of people in the same age range on the particular cruise. I think a simple scheduled mixer or two would be great.