Opinions please!!

[kcrc]

Hi all!

Everyone here has always been so helpful in the past. I'm hoping you can help me figure out a solution here!

My dd will be turning 16 next year. As her present, we told her we would take her and up to three of her friends on a vacation wherever she wanted. She wants to do a four night Disney cruise, followed by a four night stay at Disneyworld. We have never done a cruise before, so that would be new for us, followed by a visit to our comfort place! :mickey:

Our issue is this... The three girls she wants to invite, two of them will be 16 when we travel. The third (who is actually her cousin) will be 18 and just graduating high school. From what I read, this will pose a problem on the cruise because the teen club only goes up to 17.

So would you...

1. Just invite two friends. Three can be an awkward number sometimes though...
2. Invite all, potentially knowing that they will split up at times on the cruise. I am so not comfortable with an 18 year old hanging out in all of the adult venues though! For anyone who has cruised, do the teens spend as much time in the teen lounge as I picture them doing? And how would the three girls say to the fourth ok - we are leaving you now?
3. Invite her to join us for the Disneyworld part of the trip. This is awkward too. How do you invite someone for half a trip?

What do you think? Other ideas??

Does she have other friends? Yes, but there are friends and then there are the ones you are really close to. And she really only wants to bring the truly special ones with her.

Opinions? Ideas?

Thanks in advance!!

[TheDuckRocks]

I would call the Disney Cruiseline and ask them. My guess is they will let the one who is just slightly older use the teen areas and activities. I also think she would be much more comfortable there than with the adult groups.

[kcrc]

I have actually called and emailed twice. All three times I've been told no way, no how, will an 18 year old be allowed in.

[Scar]

I agree, call to be sure, but I don't think it would be an issue. My brother and I stumbled into a teen club when we were exploring the ship (didn't see any sign or anything,) and there was no one there to "card" us. The CM just asked if he could help us, we apologized, explained, and left.

And, although I also agree that she would probably be more comfortable with her friends, I must ask... What makes you uncomfortable about an adult hanging out in adult venues? I mean, this is Disney, not Cancun.


ETA: Posted before I read previous post. Seems kinda harsh.

[cajunprincess]

The pp is correct....no over over 18 is allowed in the teen club. And I think all of your information is linked to you key card for your room, so I think they will know. As for your situation, I am not sure what I would do. Perhaps you can invite them all, and instead of doing the teen activiteis, that can participate in other things such as pool deck activities, and the activities in the show lounge. My kids didn't go to the kids clubs at all, and there was PLENTY for us to do!!! I think it can be worked out for sure!!!

[buzznwoodysmom]

Not sure my opinion will be a popular one, but here is what I would do.

I would give my child the following choice. Invite the 18 year old friend and not spend anytime in the teen lounge. Or leave that friend out of the trip and then get to enjoy the teen lounge. Even as young adults, I think it would be very rude to invite someone along on a trip as your guest then spend time in an area that is off limits to your guest. Especially since the 18 year old would be the only one left out. I would not allow my children to do it. I would make my child decide what is more important to them in this case, the teen lounge, or their friend.

I hope this doesn't come off as harsh, just my opinion and what I'd do with my own children.

[BrerGnat]

I would compromise by skipping the cruise part and taking a longer WDW vacation. Save the cruise for a HS graduation present, when everyone will be 18.

It will actually be quite a pain for you to travel with non family member under 18 "friends" on a cruise. You will have to have certified letters of consent from their parents, they would need to have passports (of course, it's not absolutely necessary, but in that situation, it would be foolish for them not to have them), you will technically be taking them out of the country, and there are rules about that sort of thing, etc. If some sort of emergency arises, you would have to find a way to deal with that in a foreign country, etc. The risk is too great, IMO. I would not take minor "friends" on a cruise. WDW, no problem!

The cruiseline will NOT budge on the age restrictions in the clubs. Under no circumstances will an 18 year old be allowed access to the teen club. This is a liability issue after there was an incident on a cruise awhile back involving an 18 year old and a younger cruiser.

[wildernesslady]

My daughter is a current castmember on the Magic in Vibe. 18 year olds are not permitted in the club. No exceptions. She has had guests turn 18 on the cruise and they are not allowed to back into the club once it is their birthday.

[kcrc]

Thank you all for your responses! She is leaning toward asking her 18-year old cousin, and dealing without the teen club.

Can any of you experienced cruisers fill me in on the nightly activities outside of the youth clubs and adult lounges?

[Tick-Tock]

We haven't been on DCL, but typically there is some sort of stage show, and maybe a comedian and/or magician. Musical performances in lounges. Maybe a theme night. Pools and hot tubs are open. Sports like ping-pong, maybe mini golf. Cards and board games, or the arcade.

[Katzateer]

I would compromise by skipping the cruise part and taking a longer WDW vacation. Save the cruise for a HS graduation present, when everyone will be 18.

cruiser.

I agree:thumbsup:

[BrerGnat]

Is there nightlife on Disney Cruises? I wouldn't know. We were DONE by 10pm every night. ;)

Actually, I was kind of disappointed that the Pirate Party and Fireworks were SO late (10:45pm). My kids have never been awake that late at night, but my older son would have loved to see the fireworks. Even DH and I were sound asleep by that time. :blush:

Honestly, from what I've heard, the Disney ships are sort of lacking in "nightlife" (after 10pm or so). All the main shows are over, the pool deck closes at 10, I think, and most people are sleeping not much after 10. The adult bars are open and stuff, but I think you have to be 21 to go in there after a certain time. There are really no "scheduled" activities after 10pm or so. I think it all really depends on the crowd of your sailing and how many night owls you have.

[minnie04]

This happened to us when we took my DD on a cruise (Carnival) for her 16th Birthday. She had two friends that were 16 already and the other her cousin who was 14 at the time. We never had a problem with the teen clubs, because my niece did not look or act like a 14yr old. (Not that she tried to be older), she just didn’t act her age. We spoke to the young girl running the club and explained about the age difference and they were able to get her in the club. As long as she didn't act loud & crazy and get in trouble she would be just fine. Anyway they spent most of the time in the teen club at night they would do other things during the day. Hang out the pools; hang around the basketball court, all over the ship. I don’t think it will be a problem they will probably let the older girl go in the younger club, more than the younger ones in the older club. They met so many people and had such a good time. If you call and ask they will give you the rule as it stands, but I would just go for it. I’m sure once you’re on board they will be fine.

[minnie04]

I would compromise by skipping the cruise part and taking a longer WDW vacation. Save the cruise for a HS graduation present, when everyone will be 18.

It will actually be quite a pain for you to travel with non family member under 18 "friends" on a cruise. You will have to have certified letters of consent from their parents, they would need to have passports (of course, it's not absolutely necessary, but in that situation, it would be foolish for them not to have them), you will technically be taking them out of the country, and there are rules about that sort of thing, etc. If some sort of emergency arises, you would have to find a way to deal with that in a foreign country, etc. The risk is too great, IMO. I would not take minor "friends" on a cruise. WDW, no problem!

The cruiseline will NOT budge on the age restrictions in the clubs. Under no circumstances will an 18 year old be allowed access to the teen club. This is a liability issue after there was an incident on a cruise awhile back involving an 18 year old and a younger cruiser.

I agree with your first statement. Maybe do a great trip to the parks and let the girls take the lead on what they want to do with the time your there.
We traveled with two non family members under 18 and my niece also under 18 and we just planned it out in plenty of time to make sure we had papers signed if anything happened while away. We planned when they would make phone calls home (every time we went ashore) and kept their parents very informed on what we were doing on a daily bases. It worked out great. The Girls had a blast and we had no problems with them. Wendy @ MJ gave me some really awesome tips on how to travel with teens and they came in very handy.
Your third statement I do agree they say they will not budge, but we were able to work it out so my niece could be with the older girls. I know this doesn’t happen all the time, but we did speak to the lady running the club and she allowed it as long as they didn’t do anything stupid. (We checked on them enough to know what was going on) now as far as 18 that might be a different story. Also it is Disney, they might be tighter on the rules. And I have no problem with that (it just happened to work out in our favor for our cruise. If they would have said no, they would have found something else to do. :mickey:

[BrerGnat]

Also it is Disney, they might be tighter on the rules. And I have no problem with that (it just happened to work out in our favor for our cruise. If they would have said no, they would have found something else to do. :mickey:

Yep, you were on Carnival. Other cruise lines are much more lenient on their policies regarding the kids/teen clubs. Most other lines also have "adult only" areas, but they are rarely enforced.

Disney prides itself on two distinctions:

1. STRICT enforcment of Adult Only (18+) areas.

2. STRICT enforcement of Age Requirements for the Nursery, Kids's Club, and Teen Clubs.

No joke, on our cruise on the first day, when we went to the kid's club, a mother was trying to argue that her 2 year old child should be okay to use the Oceaneer's Club because his birthday was in a week and he would be three then, and he was potty trained. They would NOT allow it at all, wouldn't even discuss it. She pulled out his birth certificate to point out that his birthday was only days away, and their rebuttal was "according to this document, your son is two years old. This club is for kids 3 and up." They referred her to the Nursery several times before she walked away in a huge huff.