So how bored will a 17 year old be?

[papergypsy]

We are sailing the Inside Passage on Zuiderdam in June - first cruise for any of us. It is a graduation present for our daughter. It looks like she is too old for the clubs. Are there activities on board that she can participate in on "at sea" days.

 

Thanks!

[cruisinmom68]

We took our 17 year old on a cruise to Alaska last year for her graduation gift as well. We did not take HAL but rather NCL. I really think it depends on the young adult. My daughter was way to old for any of the kids activities but she is the type who loves peace and quiet (she has 4 younger brothers!) so she absolutely LOVED just finding a quiet spot and reading. She brought 4 novels and read them all.

She would go back to the cabin and nap through out the day. We found her a few times in the buffet getting an ice cream. She just did her own thing most of the time and said it was the most relaxing time of her life.

[meterman2]

We are sailing the Inside Passage on Zuiderdam in June - first cruise for any of us. It is a graduation present for our daughter. It looks like she is too old for the clubs. Are there activities on board that she can participate in on "at sea" days.

 

Thanks!

 

There are not a lot of activities IMO for that age. Like adults, sea days are primarily about relaxation. The pools, hot tubs, sun bathing, reading, etc. The spa might be nice for her (there are spa activities too). There may be others in her age group because "school is out". If she is interested in culinary arts, there are usualy classes on sea days. The internet is expensive (and kinda slow), but that is an option.

[papergypsy]

Thanks to both of you for your help. Yeah, I kinda figured she should be doing some kicking back and relaxing, but then she gets antsy and needs to "do something". Reading is a good option for her, too.

 

Anyone else with ideas?

[mamadot]

Our 14 & 16 year old grands did this last summer and loved it! They found a myriad of things to do!! Especially enjoyed the dining room!!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

HAL offers cooking classes, and your 17-year-old is eligible to join the adult group. Sign up when you board; the "events planner" or "party planner" or whatever she's called, should be in the culinary arts center to provide information. You can sign up with the front desk or the Neptune Lounge concierge if you're in a Deluxe Verandah or Penthouse Suite (that's what we did). There is a nominal fee; I think it's something like $29 per person per session. These classes can get full quickly, so definitely look into it as soon as you board. Maybe now you can actually sign up with the "events planner" if you meet her in the culinary arts center; I don't know as it's been a while for me.

 

There's also the covered swimming pool in the Lido. There will be some activities/talks related to Alaska which she may enjoy attending. There should also be "Dam Dollar" events scheduled, whereby participants acquire dollar coupons that can be redeemed at the end of the cruise for HAL logo stuff, like hats, mugs, sweatshirts, etc. "Dam Dollar" events can include things like a ship-building contest, where you have to build a ship that can hold a six-pack of coke in the swimming pool, made only with items you find on the ship (and that can withstand getting wet).

 

I'll be honest here. I'm a HAL fan, and I enjoy the cruiseline, but we took our then 17-year-old daughter on a HAL Alaska cruise almost three years ago. That was her first, last, and only cruise, as far as she was concerned. She was too old for the teen group (most of them in there were 13-15 on that particular cruise). Luckily, she enjoyed the cooking classes, and the "Dam Dollar" activities, as well as all the port excursions we did, and that saved the trip for her. So keep your teen busy while in port.:)

[pipedreams62]

Plus an inside passage cruise is very port intensive go go go. When you get back to the ship after an Alaskan excursion,you're pretty tired (a good tired) from all the fresh air and just want to relax on the ship.

 

Have Fun

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I also want to add that officially, the HAL teen group runs from ages 13-17. On your cruise, there may very well be some other older teens for your daughter to meet within the teen group. My recommendation is to attend the teen "ice-breaker" that is offered on the first evening of the cruise. Then your daughter can scope out the other teens, and she may end up finding some older friends to hang out with. She may actually enjoy participating in the teen group. You just never know with teens.;)

 

I apologize for the six or seven times I used the word "teen" or "teens" in the above paragraph.:o

 

 

ps I keep thinking of more things! I ran all the way up the stairs from the laundry room just now to tell you that your daughter may also enjoy some of the entertainment onboard ;-) On our cruise, we had a British duo of Beatles impersonators who were really good, and our daughter enjoyed going to their shows.

[FoxyTerrier]

I also want to add that officially, the HAL teen group runs from ages 13-17. On your cruise, there may very well be some other older teens for your daughter to meet within the teen group. My recommendation is to attend the teen "ice-breaker" that is offered on the first evening of the cruise. Then your daughter can scope out the other teens, and she may end up finding some older friends to hang out with. She may actually enjoy participating in the teen group. You just never know with teens.;)

 

Great advice MAM.

 

We took DS on a Med cruise for his HS graduation in 2006 he had just turned 18 so he was a few weeks too old for the Teen Club group, but he met a lot of college age kids. Three years later he still keeps in touch with some of them on FaceBook. The kids seemed to do off ship activities with thier families and then met up back on the ship in the afternoon or evening.

 

Also join the Roll Call for your cruise and ask if there are other teens of similar age so you DD can meet them on the first day and not half way through the cruise.

[bplazo]

I have always let my daughter bring a friend along with her. She always had a better cruise when she had someone else her age.

[kryos]

Thanks to both of you for your help. Yeah, I kinda figured she should be doing some kicking back and relaxing, but then she gets antsy and needs to "do something". Reading is a good option for her, too.

 

Anyone else with ideas?

Others here are focusing on the ship. But how about the ports? She's gonna have plenty to do at the port stops and maybe, since its her graduation gift, you can give her a couple of really nice excursions that she would like to do. My feeling is that a 17-year-old could have a blast doing some things in port that she would never get a chance to do at home ... maybe helicopter flightseeing and landing on a real glacier, hiking, etc. ... whatever it is she particularly likes. When she's on the ship, she shouldn't need a whole lot of "stimulation." She can go to the shows, she can even play Bingo as long as you are with her, she can go to cooking demonstrations, listen to the naturalist lecturers, particpate in "Sports of Call" events ... all that kind of stuff. Then, of course, this is a prime season cruise. There are gonna be other young people on the ship too. She'll be fine chatting with them, etc. Also, don't forget the food. She can keep busy just eating if she wants.

 

But the thing to remember is that the real highlights of Alaska don't involve shipboard activities at all, and thus the ship or cruise line itself shouldn't matter. They involve viewing wildlife and doing things in port ... things you cannot do at home.

 

I don't honestly see any problems for a 17-year-old. I think this is a wonderful graduation gift.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[bplazo]

I would wonder why any child or teen wold be bored going on a cruise. I remember when I was younger we never went on vacations, three channels on the tv, no computer, no ipods, no cells, even going out to McDonalds was the big treat.

[scottjeanne]

I have taken my 17 year old daughter on many cruises from transatlantic crossings to the Mediterranean to Australia. She has not been a big fan of the teen clubs, but she has gone to the meet and greet on the first day and always found a group of people her age to hang out with. I never saw after that except shore excursions and dinner (both of which we required her to attend!). She has a fantastic time and makes very good friends.

 

On the other hand, as someone said earlier, Alaska is port intensive and there are wonderful and exciting things to do and see. We did a float plane excrusion to the fjords, a helicopter trek on a glacier, you can go dog sledding, hiking, fishing, animal watching. The list is endless.

 

She should have plenty to occupy her time.

[FormerHALWorker]

I have worked in club HAL before as well for a couple of years after in another position. In the summer especially he will have NO problem finding other "kids" his age. I would highly recommend he go to the first night of intros for the teens(check your daily program). Some times the kids went to all the activities together and other times they just broke off and did their own thing with eachother. Hopefully he will stay with club HAL because there is not a lot for them to do on sea days.

[djengel]

We will be on the Noordam from June 28 to July 8th leaving from Rome with a total of 15 of us including 7 kids (9, 12,14, 14, 16, 18, 19). The culinary programs sounds great and I am hoping that the weather is good so we can use hte pool, etc.

[m steve]

just as if you planned something at home. Just give them a game machine and hope they don't fall overboard. Remember you can't understand them or do anything right.

[Jenbo57]

We took our son with us on our first Alaska cruise, when he was 18. Honestly, if we hadn't given him a video camera and made him our official videographer, I think he would have been bored out of his socks! The demographic on an Alaska cruise tends to be older, no matter what line you're on (we were on Celebrity), and there's really not that much for a kid that age to do. The ports were another matter, but on the ship, well...he was glad he brought his Nintendo DS and other assorted forms of entertainment.

 

Shot some outstanding wildlife footage and some beautiful scenery, though! ;)

[kryos]

I would wonder why any child or teen wold be bored going on a cruise. I remember when I was younger we never went on vacations, three channels on the tv, no computer, no ipods, no cells, even going out to McDonalds was the big treat.

LOL ... ahhhhhh, you're bringing back memories, my friend. Same here. We did our annual two weeks at the Jersey Shore in August ... my parents and I, and my brother and his wife and five kids ... crammed into a two bedroom, one bath cottage for one of those weeks. Like you said, maybe we had about ten channels because we got New York stations off the cable hook-up, no computer, no iPOD, no phone ... none of the stuff kids have today. My oldest nieces and nephews were at least eight years younger than me, so no real companionship either. You brought books, maybe some crafts, whatever. It wasn't bad if the weather was nice, because then you were on the beach all day anyway. At night we always did something ... a playground, a movie on a rainy night, the boardwalk some nights, maybe just a barbeque at the cottage. But you learned to keep yourself occupied because you knew that if you bothered the adults ... at least in my case because I was older ... you'd get punished by not getting to go on any rides the next time you went to the boardwalk. So if it was raining and the adults were sitting in the cottage playing cards, you'd better not trouble them with the "I'm bored" crap. You found something to do. In fact, that's where I developed my love for writing. I spent hours writing stories in composition books in those years.

 

Today it is different, though. The kids are used to "structured" activities and they get bored a whole lot quicker. They are also used to all the toys that we didn't have when I was growing up, and even if they had been on the market, I sure wouldn't have had most of them. My parents were of limited means.

 

I only wish my parents could have taken me on a cruise when I was growing up. I never even got to travel anywhere that involved flying. We just did our Jersey Shore thing every summer, and not in a nice motel with a pool either. My father felt that if you want to swim, you've got the Atlantic Ocean right there. They weren't spending the money for a motel when they could get a good deal on a cottage that was maybe three blocks or so from the boardwalk. The folks would head down there on Easter Sunday to look for a deal, and while I always hoped they would come back and say they rented a room in a motel, they always came back talking about the cottage they found at a really great price because maybe it was four blocks from the beach or didn't have any off-street parking. That was a particular pain because no off-street parking meant that as soon as dad could find a spot in front of the house for the car, the car was moved there and then it sat. He wasn't giving up that spot. So we walked to the beach ... everyone carrying chairs, blankets, etc.

 

But you know what? We had fun on those vacations ... because we knew it was either them or nothing. So we made do.

 

I only wish I was a kid growing up today. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[iancal]

Our daughter said NO thanks at 18, and just said NO THANKS again at 21 -justtwo days ago. She wants the beach-Cuba or Hawaii. And she has been on an Alaska cruise before when she was about 12. We did not even get as far a which cruise line.