Would you let teens room by themselves?

[bplazo]

I have another story about sneaky kids.

 

My daughter admitted to me one time after our cruise that she and her friend snuck out after they had come in for the evening. I am a deep sleeper and can sleep through anything. My daughter told that they just went up un deck with a few other teens and just talked. I doubt that I would allow her to have her own room ever.

 

By the way, she did not get away with this behavior. The day before she got her licsense I had a tracking system put on her car. She cannot go anywhere in it without me finding her, cannot go past a certain speed limit and if she misbehaves I can turn the engine off on her car and she doesnt go anywhere.

 

I always tell my daughter also if she has drink (non-alcholic of course) not to leave it unattended.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

Thanks to ALL of you! I feel so much better:-)

To the poster who said the teens enjoyed watching movies--do the cabins have a DVD player? (This is on Sovereign). The girls LOVE watching movies, hadn't even thought about that option!

There are no DVD players in the rooms on sovereign unless you have a suite. (I think) someone will correct me if I am wrong, I have been in interior and ocean view and had no DVD player in those catagories.

Happy sailing

[chitowngoose]

I would always make a bed check around 130 am to make sure they were safe and secure.

 

 

After you call, head down to the disco. That's where my kids ended up! lol

[piercetc4]

i only read a few of the posts here- just wanted to say you know if your teens can room apart from you and be safe- some kids don't think and some do- some act responsibly and some dont- some care if they are doing the wrong thing and some dont- point is, only you can answer this question- you know the kids , we don't............take time to figure this out- it is a safety issue- theirs- hope you have a great time.........:)

[brigittetom]

I agree with most others. You are the only one who knows your daughter. I would definately take the advice that you get together with the other girl and her parents and go over rules. I would also make it very clear that there are no second chances. One strike and freedom is over.

 

Unfortunately, you will be the one who pays for this the most. :D

 

I've actually made a complaint on board one time. There were staff on board that got way too friendly with two very young girls. The girls were obviously enjoying the attention to the point where it made me uncomfortable. I never could figure out who the parents were and did not feel comfortable approaching the girls because I just didn't feel like being told to mind my own business, which I normally do but this was just too extreme.

 

Give them all the warnings and have a wonderful cruise. :)

[beachchick]

tamtot: It's been years (more than 15 years actually) since our DD was a teen, but I still remember the pains and joys of having a teenage DD. Like yours, she was not perfect. She broke curfew a few times (and paid the price) and did a few foolish things (got a speeding ticket at 16--no driving for a month and she had to pay for the ticket; ran up a phone bill that made me choke, yep, she paid for that too), but we knew we could trust her (to the extent that any parent should trust a 16 y/o just learning to "fly" and wanting to spread her wings). Being horribly mean parents, we didn't take her cruising, but we did travel and camp quite a bit. Sometimes she brought a friend. We always made our expectations very clear beforehand so that there would be no confusion. Had we cruised, we would have booked two cabins, definitely adjacent and preferably adjoining, because we knew we could give her that much freedom, while remaining close at hand. She would have felt grown up and probably would not have done anything to cause us to take away the privilege.

 

As many have mentioned, only you know your daughter and her friend. It sounds like you are a concerned mom who wants to make sure her precious DD is safe. It also sounds like you do think you can trust her. One question is how well do you know and how much do you trust her best friend? If you know her and her family well, and if you believe you can trust her, then I think you will be fine. Do make sure to lay out the rules, specifically, in advance and talk to the friend's parents about your expectations for her behavior. For safety, the same rules should apply on a ship as at home: No drinking/drugs/smoking; be on time for curfew--and yes, I think you should set a curfew and stick with it; check in at regular times and make sure you know where they are; everyone has some time together each day, whether it's dinner or afternoon by the pool or lunch or going to a show, it doesn't matter as long as they know that they can't just "ditch" you for the duration; don't take beverages from strangers, keep an eye on your soda, no going into someone else's cabin, and vice versa, etc.).

 

All warnings or other considerations aside, it sounds like you are on the ball about this, which means you will all have a wonderful time!

 

beachchick

[KeithAustin]

I have taken my sons on cruises and they had their own room (on another deck). I have no problem with them having their own room and I let them have a lot more freedom than most parents would. I actually didnt want them around while DW and I were in our room :eek: . I told them...If the ships a rockin dont come knockin. Any how, everything was great and they enjoyed themselves. Burgers and Pizza every meal. The only time they HAD to eat with us was formal night which DW insisted on. They met lots of cruisers their age and when we did the excursions, they were with us for every one.

 

Actually, if you are a cruising single mom, you dont want them with you 24/7 as it might crimp your style LOL.:p :p :p

[CUinSeptember]

our boys have always had their own cabin and it worked out fine. We were just on the Explorer last month, booked it through RCCL and was told by RCCL rep on the phone that she had to write it with a parent in each room but we didn't have to actually do it. I was upfront too and she was very openly ok about it.

We kept a key to their room too.

[Happy ks]

Thought I better comment on the last post. The latest info is that as of Jan 8, 2007, all passengers leaving the US on a ship or plane will need to have a valid passport. Birth certificates will essentially be worthless for travel. Since this deadline is fast approaching, you can expect the passport office to be slower than usual so its a good idea to apply several months before your cruise.

 

Hank

 

I did realize this when I posted. Before I answered in my post, I looked at when they are cruising and it will be in October of this year:)

[HunnyBunnyTink]

Now from a teens POV:

I am 17 right now and will be going on another cruise in Dec. The last cruise I went on was the Celebrity Mercury in December of 2004. Me and my brother always share a room when we cruise (he is two years younger). We have never gotten into any trouble and are always very responsible. Many of the teen programs (especially of RCCL) can run right up until 2 am while being supervised. My brother and I would usually hang out and go to the late night eateries with some of our new friends and then come back to the cabin. Our parents didn't feel the need to impose strict rules on us because they know how responsible we are. We went to dinner with them and on the shore excursions but other than that we did our thing and they did theirs.

 

I would suggest that you just determine how responsible your daughter and her friend are and make rules from there. But I have to say that I think having them check in with you every hour is a little much because once you get into one of the activities you tend to lose track of time.

 

Good Luck and have fun!

[tamtot]

Interesting to hear from a teen perspective. I have talked to my daughter extensively, and I feel she'll do fine. The biggest thing I took away from all of this is go with your gut! I'm also grateful for the advice to not let anyone know their cabin number, NOT to have any guests in cabin, and to get double room keys.

Thanks to EVERYONE!

Tammy

[Glencoe3]

having said that, returning from the Sept. 4th sailing...we were in hell.......(a family reunion I believe) the cabin next to us had 4 teens and bounced off of each and every single wall to be had and we didn't even countall of the walls bounced off of. Please believe we are not haters, as we had our own 8 mo. old child with us (our 4th child). I am just a firm believer in "cat's away, mice will play......."

[bplazo]

I have taken my sons on cruises and they had their own room (on another deck). I have no problem with them having their own room and I let them have a lot more freedom than most parents would. I actually didnt want them around while DW and I were in our room :eek: . I told them...If the ships a rockin dont come knockin. Any how, everything was great and they enjoyed themselves. Burgers and Pizza every meal. The only time they HAD to eat with us was formal night which DW insisted on. They met lots of cruisers their age and when we did the excursions, they were with us for every one.

 

Actually, if you are a cruising single mom, you dont want them with you 24/7 as it might crimp your style LOL.:p :p :p

 

Sounds like a nice family cruise. I often traveled with my daughter before I was married. I wanted my daughter with me 24/7. Thats why I took her with me.