Teens meeting other teens on board

[jtdl]

My daughter will be 16 when we are thinking of going on a cruise. I know she will not venture off to the teen area by herself. She is not shy, but she will not approach another teen and start up a conversation either. Anyone ever gone with a teen who has not met up with other teens to hang with during the cruise?

[fantavet]

Yes we had the same problem...on Disney of all cruises. When we went our son was 15 and daughter 13. It was their first cruise.

 

We figured as soon as we hit the boat they would want to ditch the parents. We were wrong. We had such a exahusting trip just to make it to the boat that we were too tired to start them in the kids clubs and they didn't want to go anyway. So they hanged with us day 1 because we were too tired to encourage/fight with them about joining the clubs.

 

That was the mistake. Other people have told me now that day 1 is crucial. Each day the kids stay with you it gets much harder to get them to join a club. By day 3 our teens made friends that were already in the clubs and they joined up. Made their vacation and ours much better.

 

I think most cruiselines have a teen club. They are more then meeting areas. Disney had things like "TV Production" class where the kids could film, direct, write a TV commercial.

 

Try to find out about the activities now and get her interested early. Then explain your situation to the teen club director on board. They have heard this about 10,000 times before, a shy teen. They will get her involved early. Their enthusiasm can be infectious.

 

Just tell her that it may feel like the first day in a new school but guess what? It is everyone's first day. No cliques. All the teens want to meet friends, it just takes one person to say "Hi" and it gets easier from there.

 

Good Luck!

[Campcoach]

You are right on! Have her go the first night, even if she is reluctant, it will make getting involved and staying involved much easier. Also, my daughter met several kids ahead of time, on the message boards, which meant she already had somebody familiar during those first awkward moments. Don't worry, there is something for everyone on a cruise and your daughter will love it!

Marie

[NDCruiser]

My now 17 year old is as shy as they come, but she has been on 10 cruises on 6 different lines & always had a blast. She is an "only" and just once cruised with a friend. Every other time she just walked into the get acquainted meeting the first night. Campcoach is right that the first night is key. Don't worry that your daughter won't start a conversation--mine would rather die! The counselors are trained to draw in the shy kids, and many kids come alone the first night. Then they hear about all the cool events planned. You didn't say what ship you are thinking of, but many ships even have special shore excursions just for teens; be warned that they fill up fast. Disney has a teens-only beach on their private island. Check out the ship's web site also before you book. My daughter especially likes Disney and Holland America. Also, once you are booked you can often find out from the cruise line how many kids there are in your daughter's age range so that she knows there will be others. If you have any other questions, I'll check back in a few days. Good luck!

[workinmom3]

We are cruising for the 1st time in Sept w/ our 13D & 16DD. My daughter is not excited at all for our trip (or so she says!). I keep telling her that she will have a ball & will meet lots of other teens. She is not really shy & usually makes friends easily, but she is really skeptical. I started a roll call for our Sept cruise, but so far no one has responded. RCL Enchantment 9/15/07.

[Loviecld]

My now 17 year old is as shy as they come, but she has been on 10 cruises on 6 different lines & always had a blast. She is an "only" and just once cruised with a friend. Every other time she just walked into the get acquainted meeting the first night. Campcoach is right that the first night is key. Don't worry that your daughter won't start a conversation--mine would rather die! The counselors are trained to draw in the shy kids, and many kids come alone the first night. Then they hear about all the cool events planned. You didn't say what ship you are thinking of, but many ships even have special shore excursions just for teens; be warned that they fill up fast. Disney has a teens-only beach on their private island. Check out the ship's web site also before you book. My daughter especially likes Disney and Holland America. Also, once you are booked you can often find out from the cruise line how many kids there are in your daughter's age range so that she knows there will be others. If you have any other questions, I'll check back in a few days. Good luck!

Hi- I was just wondering how i can find out how many kids will be on my cruise.

[NDCruiser]

You didn't say what line you're on. I have a phone # for Holland America's Ship Service Dep't. If it's another line, I'd check the message board for that line & if nothing then post your request there. If you used a travel agent, they might know too. I've never gotten very far with the cruise lines' reservation agents. It came as a revelation after so many cruises that you might be able to get this info! Good luck!

[Loviecld]

You didn't say what line you're on. I have a phone # for Holland America's Ship Service Dep't. If it's another line, I'd check the message board for that line & if nothing then post your request there. If you used a travel agent, they might know too. I've never gotten very far with the cruise lines' reservation agents. It came as a revelation after so many cruises that you might be able to get this info! Good luck!

HI- we are going on the Norwegain Dawn- Thanks

[dobiusa]

Yes the best advice I gave my DD was to meet kids the first day, dont wait!, you only have actually 6 days and if you waste a day now your down to 5. I pushed her to hang out where other girls were and to introduce herself, it took some coaxing but she did it. She met 5 that night and dropped me like a sack of potatoes the rest of the cruise.

[yj2cute]

We are cruising for the 1st time in Sept w/ our 13D & 16DD. My daughter is not excited at all for our trip (or so she says!). I keep telling her that she will have a ball & will meet lots of other teens. She is not really shy & usually makes friends easily, but she is really skeptical. I started a roll call for our Sept cruise, but so far no one has responded. RCL Enchantment 9/15/07.

 

Hi, workinmom3. I just responded to the 9/15 roll call. I hope to be joining you. At that time of year there may not be a whole lot of kids onboard as school is in session. Are your kids not in school during that time?

[workinmom3]

They will be in school, but we decided to take them out b/c we got such a great deal on the 3rd & 4th person rates. We originally were going in Oct during their fall break, but decided to switch it. I have mixed feelings about them missing 4 days (they have Fri off), but they generally don't miss many days during the year & we haven't been on a "real" vacation since 2001.

[wannaBcruzin]

I will also be traveling with my 2 teens in Aug. They also wanted to find kids their age that would be sailing on the same ship at the same time. I was advised by others in my roll call to have the girls sign up at cruismates.com ( Teen Forum )and find their roll call for their sail time. If their isn't a roll call already they can start one and this way they can meet prior to sailing with one another. Good luck and here is the link.

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=45

[CruzinQs]

We have two sons who have been on 9 cruises. They are now 17 and 20. Its important your teen attends the 'welcome party' the very first night at sea. This is when they all meet and make their friendships. My sons still communicate with the kids they met over the years cruising.