Will my 18 Year Old Enjoy the NCL Sun in Alaska?

[wiselindag]

We are contemplating taking a cruise on the Sun this August in Alaska. I have been on an Alaskan cruise before and loved it, and I'm sure my husband will enjoy it as well. I wondered if anyone either has traveled with an 18 year old (or thereabouts) on this itinerary in August or could comment on experiences with a son/daughter of this age on previous cruises. This would be his first cruise since "graduating" from the teen group. In the recent past, he hasn't done much with the group (although he sometimes went to dinner with them or attended activities which appealed to him), but he did use the group to get to know other kids on the ship. As a young adult, it's bound to be a little tougher, but I would think there are bound to be other college-age students on the ship in summer before college starts. I would be grateful for any feedback on this topic.

[jerhardt]

We are contemplating taking a cruise on the Sun this August in Alaska. I have been on an Alaskan cruise before and loved it, and I'm sure my husband will enjoy it as well. I wondered if anyone either has traveled with an 18 year old (or thereabouts) on this itinerary in August or could comment on experiences with a son/daughter of this age on previous cruises. This would be his first cruise since "graduating" from the teen group. In the recent past, he hasn't done much with the group (although he sometimes went to dinner with them or attended activities which appealed to him), but he did use the group to get to know other kids on the ship. As a young adult, it's bound to be a little tougher, but I would think there are bound to be other college-age students on the ship in summer before college starts. I would be grateful for any feedback on this topic.

 

He's going to be in that "lost" group - too old for the teen group, too young for the bar scene/party group.

 

We have been there. Took our two sons with us on an Alaska cruise in '05. I swear that if we hadn't brought both of them, they would have been a little bored. I know that this is subjective and each kid is different, heck our 2 are complete opposites. But, you might want to think twice about 1) bringing him by himself, and 2) the ship/cruise line.

 

I am partial to NCL because I love their product, however if you are really concerned about him having fun, then you could always try Carnival to Alaska. If you want to stay with NCL, one of the other ships might be better (Peal/Star from Seattle) as they are bigger and offer more to do than the Sun.

 

Just my opinion, and welcome all that want to flame me.

[freezing]

i was on the sun when i was 19, and there really wasn't much to do, i felt kind of lost there... it really depends how easily he can make friends.

[ute_fan]

We took our 18 & 20 YO's on the Sun to Alaska for my DD's HS graduation trip. They loved the experience -- but it was their first cruise, so they had a lot of fun just exploring the ship and eating :D . One is a boy and one is a girl, but neither one of them showed any interest in trying to meet up with anyone else on the ship. They were content hanging with us, going to the shows at night, watching the game show/trivia contests and listening to the karaoke participants.

 

We went earlier in the season -- the 2nd week in June -- but I don't remember any other young adults on board the ship at all. I think it helped that they did have each other. Is there any chance your child could take a friend along?

[cruisequeen10]

We are contemplating taking a cruise on the Sun this August in Alaska. I have been on an Alaskan cruise before and loved it, and I'm sure my husband will enjoy it as well. I wondered if anyone either has traveled with an 18 year old (or thereabouts) on this itinerary in August or could comment on experiences with a son/daughter of this age on previous cruises. This would be his first cruise since "graduating" from the teen group. In the recent past, he hasn't done much with the group (although he sometimes went to dinner with them or attended activities which appealed to him), but he did use the group to get to know other kids on the ship. As a young adult, it's bound to be a little tougher, but I would think there are bound to be other college-age students on the ship in summer before college starts. I would be grateful for any feedback on this topic.

 

Hi, when are you travelling in August. We are on the August 19th sailing and we have a 19 year old in our party. Maybe we will be on the same sailing. My niece's brother is 22 so at least the 2 of them can hang together, but it would be nice if there were a few of their own age group to hang with.

[pasavant]

i dont think so.

[SwimnwFishes]

I was on the Sun last September in AK and didn't see many teens on board, but that may have been because school had or was getting ready to start for most all of them.

 

I would say this though, so many of the shore excursions provide employment to young adults during the summer months that it won't be like he'll never see anyone under 30, and there's certainly a wealth of tours to choose from. Perhaps generating interest in selecting tours in advance will help quell any hesitancy on his part.

[Ann262]

We went to Alaska 5 years ago and took our 20 year old son with us. He loved Alaska. I am not sure he would've loved an Alaska cruise, however. But he and my DH went on a fishing charter (which you couldn't do from a cruise because you have to be at the pier at 7:00 am) and he like that. He also booked us on an ATV tour which was really fun.

 

It depends on the kid. Our daughter would not have loved an Alaska cruise. If it isn't sun, sand and calypso music, she's not interested.

 

I think there would be more college age people on a caribbean itinerary. I love Alaska now, but I would have had no interest in Alaska at that age.

[wiselindag]

Thanks to all of you who replied. This is very helpful. This would be his fourth cruise (one in Europe when he was 10 and hung out with the daughter of a crew member for 11 days; two to the Caribbean over the Christmas/ New Years holidays. He is very friendly and good at making friends, so I don't think that would be an issue. We are looking at August 5 or 12 because he needs to start college on the 30th (August 19th would be a little late although it helps to know there would be some people his age on that sailing!). I think he would find Alaska interesting (he's currently taking AP Environmental Science). He likes to swim and snorkle, but it's not that big a deal for him. The size of the ship might make a difference, but it really comes down to whether or not there will be anyone else in his age range with whom he could connect. Thanks again for your help. I'll run it by him again with this feedback and any other responses we get in the next week or so.