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Cruising with teen and tween

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Brandee1013

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Hi all! Planning in advance (depending on how our solo virgin cruise livesd up) for a summer 2011 cruise with my (then) 18 y/o daughter for a graduation gift and my 14 y/o stepson. Looking for anyone who's cruised with kids--

what are our best arrangements for cabins? It would be myself, my husband, and the two kids. i don't think either of the kids would be willing to share a cabin together (between age adn them being related by marraige, not really see each other very much becuase of custody schedules), so would it just be best that th guys get a cabin and girls get a cabin, or spring for larger room that accomodates all four?

do the cruises give kids a hard time being unchaperoned on deck? i want us to have a vacation, but don't want to be tied to the hips for days to the kids.... if you took kids, what did they like best and least about the cruise?

any suggestions on a fmaily friendly cruise? we are using carnival (departing from baltimore, but not sure if we'd use them for the entire family) for ourselves, but open for other cruises-- alot of it boils down to cost for all four of us.

we don't think momma will agree with us to get child a passport, but I've read closed loop tours allow people to get away with a photo id and birth certificate- anyone in experience with that?

I appreciate all the help adn look forward to any answers-

Brandee

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Hi all! Planning in advance (depending on how our solo virgin cruise livesd up) for a summer 2011 cruise with my (then) 18 y/o daughter for a graduation gift and my 14 y/o stepson. Looking for anyone who's cruised with kids--

what are our best arrangements for cabins? It would be myself, my husband, and the two kids. i don't think either of the kids would be willing to share a cabin together (between age adn them being related by marraige, not really see each other very much becuase of custody schedules), so would it just be best that th guys get a cabin and girls get a cabin, or spring for larger room that accomodates all four?

do the cruises give kids a hard time being unchaperoned on deck? i want us to have a vacation, but don't want to be tied to the hips for days to the kids.... if you took kids, what did they like best and least about the cruise?

any suggestions on a fmaily friendly cruise? we are using carnival (departing from baltimore, but not sure if we'd use them for the entire family) for ourselves, but open for other cruises-- alot of it boils down to cost for all four of us.

we don't think momma will agree with us to get child a passport, but I've read closed loop tours allow people to get away with a photo id and birth certificate- anyone in experience with that?

I appreciate all the help adn look forward to any answers-

Brandee

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Hi Brandee;

Best to get connecting cabins which will also give feeling of more space. If you go for balcony cabins I believe some lines can even open the balcony partitions to make on big balcony. A bigger cabin depends if you are talking Penthouse type with a separate bedroom for kids and sitting area as well as 2 bathrooms (NCL). A single room will be crowded for 4 and limit privacy in a major way especially for the situation you describe.

Have sailed Carnival a few times and they are fine. 18yr.old will want to doing her thing and kids program is good for 14 yr old. On all the lines we have sailed on the kids programs have always been well run and my now 12 year old has always enjoyed them. Kids are grouped by ages so your 14 yr old would be with 13 to 16 group. Have you thought about inviting a friend of the 18yr old? You, your husband and your 14 yr old could share one cabin and they the other? I think she would would enjoy being with one of her peers for the fun factor and really make it special for her and you since you wouldn't be seeing them that much. Of course the 14 yr old might feel left out and would hang out with you if he doesn't connect with kids in program.

Our experience is that Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean and Cunard are all very family friendly and provide plenty of activities for kids and adults.

As long as kids are well behaved there should be no problem with them roaming the ship. As always they should be aware that they are among strangers and should use common sense.

As far as what my children have liked best is the kids programs and interesting shore excursions. Those would depend on their interest (ie beach, shopping, exploring etc) as there are all sorts of options.

Better check on passport option for younger. I don't know details for kids, but for adults you need to have . Our 12 yr old has a passport.

Hope this helps;

Sam

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We put our sons in their own inside cabin across the hall from us last year, and will do so again on our next cruise in 2010 (they will be 18 and 14 just like yours). Your situation may be a little more complicated with a boy and a girl, especially since they don't want to share. In 2005, we did an adjoining room with a shared common area on board a Princess ship.

The cruiseline won't hassle your kids, as long as they aren't acting unsafely or harrassing other passengers. They're free to roam the ship, and no one will bother them. There is usually an arcade, but that costs extra so you may want to discuss limits.

One thing we're doing next year to keep them occupied, is SCUBA lessons. They'll go through the classroom on our first sea day, and do open water certification in Curacao. We're also taking a friend of my older son's, so all three of the boys will do this together.

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I've cruised w/3 kids  1 boy 2 girls all related though they had an inside across from my room. Took turns changing in the bathroom it was fine. but adjoining is an idea. No problems w/them doing their own thing onboard. they skated, ate, arcade, email and such they had their sea passes around neck the whole time. I put $$ limits on them for the Cruise. They had to check in often most of the time I was near watching or reading anyway.

For mine if they were caught by anyone misbehaving I was their new best friend the WHOLE trip..lets just say I had NO problems the whole Cruise :biggrin:

Passport issue I have had this problem too but for the Canadian Passport anyone over 16 is an adult passport thus they sign there own. But before that age I had my Lawyer draw up a letter for the other parent to sign permission to allow the minor child to be able to leave the Province or Country. Make sure to have it notarized at the Lawyers at that time also, I then went to the Goverment with that letter and copy of custody papers and it all worked out fine. Since you have time to do this I would suggest this. HTH

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Cruised with my two - then - teens - and their friend.

They had the cabin - inside - opposite us across the hall.

They had a great time with themselves and others from the ship.

I would get the passport just in case.

Treat it like a gift to the child.

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Cruised with my two - then - teens - and their friend.

They had the cabin - inside - opposite us across the hall.

They had a great time with themselves and others from the ship.

I would get the passport just in case.

Treat it like a gift to the child.

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