Are my kids too old for Disney Cruise?

[renesmom]

I am planning our first cruise for my oldest son's 18th birthday.

We have been taking him to Disneyland every other year on his birthday since he was a little boy and thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate his 18th. Any advice?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I am planning our first cruise for my oldest son's 18th birthday.

We have been taking him to Disneyland every other year on his birthday since he was a little boy and thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate his 18th. Any advice?

Some 18 year olds think they're too cool for Disney. Others never outgrow their love of the Mouse. How does your son feel about it?

 

[Bear3412]

18 year olds are not allowed in any of the kids clubs. They have a seperate 18 - 2X meet outside of the clubs. Often it's vibrant, at times it's not. It so variable per sailing.

Link up with the Cruise Meet.

When are you sailing?

HTH

 

[renesmom]

March 28th

 

[renesmom]

Some 18 year olds think they're too cool for Disney. Others never outgrow their love of the Mouse. How does your son feel about it?

He isn't as excited as I am.

 

[renesmom]

Thanks for that info, I assumed my 14yr old would be able to hang out in the teen areas with his older brother.

 

[Bear3412]

March 28th

So, 3 night Magic out of PC. Nassau, CC. yes?

ETA; Cruise Meet Thread; http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=48505135

 

[the_bUg]

So, Has your son been cruising before? I presume he still enjoys the annual Disneyland trips right?

I view DCL cruises as magic optional cruises. If your son is at that "too cool" for everything age (which he will certainly regret in a few years) you can let him know that there is plenty of non disney type experiences on the ship. I would push the 18-21 club, the spa, the adult dining, the adult pool area, the shore excursions. Honestly, on my first DCL cruise last year, I was surprised w/ the level of sophistication and elegance. The wife and I skipped Animators Palate to dine at Remy.

The ship is beautiful. The experience of cruising is beautiful. I'd say "You're getting a cruise for your 18th birthday, and you're gonna like it dammit!"

 

[pillow]

Is there any way you can sail before he turns 18 so that he can go to the teen club? My DS16 didn't want to go on our last cruise. But he enjoyed himself more than he expected - primarily due to meeting some great teenagers in the teen club. He was in the teen club almost every night and had a great time!

Jodie

 

[mmouse37]

Our kids have enjoyed DCL since 1998 when we all went on the MV of the Magic and they are close to 30 now and still enjoy it. They have liked it at every age when we sailed and the experience evolved each time due to their age on each cruise. They talk about talking their kids onboard when they have them and that makes me smile!!!

Your 18 year old can do as much or as little as he wants onboard. Think of the cruise as a visit to a nice resort. There are historical or fun excursions, game shows, adult comedy, adult dining, hanging out at the pool either reading or sunning or watching movies on deck or in the movie theatre. A nice coffee bar with big screen TV. Trivia games, Irish Pub on board that shows sports, had board games, etc. Seeing the stars and feeling the force of the wind up at the bow of the ship is awesome at night...hold on tight!!! Just realizing the sheer vastness of the ocean during the day or night is awe inspiring.

A lot of his enjoyment onboard will depend on his attitude going in. He may be quite surprised how much there is to do onboard.

MJ

 

[Narnia_girl]

We took our first Disney cruise when our oldest had just turned 18. He loved it. On our second cruise this summer he will be 23 and our second son will be 19. Both are looking forward to it.

 

[mdvlprof]

DD had just turned 19 on the last DCL cruise she took. She's coming with me on next one, and bringing a friend. So it must not have been TOO bad

 

[KKKKCS]

We have a set of Irish triplets, 18, 17, 16 and they cannot wait for the cruise this summer to celebrate my daughter's high school graduation. This will be their 4th Disney Cruise and they LOVE them. Being 18 your son will have access to all the adult areas of the ship and the adult beach area on CC, and he can still do all the other things the ship has to offer, other than the kids clubs.

 

[renesmom]

So, Has your son been cruising before? I presume he still enjoys the annual Disneyland trips right?

I view DCL cruises as magic optional cruises. If your son is at that "too cool" for everything age (which he will certainly regret in a few years) you can let him know that there is plenty of non disney type experiences on the ship. I would push the 18-21 club, the spa, the adult dining, the adult pool area, the shore excursions. Honestly, on my first DCL cruise last year, I was surprised w/ the level of sophistication and elegance. The wife and I skipped Animators Palate to dine at Remy.

The ship is beautiful. The experience of cruising is beautiful. I'd say "You're getting a cruise for your 18th birthday, and you're gonna like it dammit!"

No he is not at the too cool stage yet, he would rather enjoy the teen stuff and hangout with his brother. I think the best solution is to go a week earlier while he is still 17. Thanks!

 

[renesmom]

Thank you!

I have decided to go March 6th instead I was trying to avoid having the kids miss any school but oh well its just 2 days and this way my kids can hang out together.

 

[madelyn]

Just returned from a 4 night New Year's eve cruise with our kids 15 (boy), 12 (boy) and 7 (girl). They have been to Disney World multiple times and love it. My 15 year old says when he graduates in 2016 he wants to go to Disney World (with his school friends). When we were planning our first cruise, our oldest son was not excited....he said he would prefer to stay with his grandparents rather than to cruise with us! I think his main fear was being disconnected from his friends - no phone access and no internet. Once on the cruise, he seemed to enjoy himself. He never set foot in Vibe but did enjoy doing his own thing, sleeping in, walking around the ship, getting food (and room service) when he wanted and watching movies and shows. He swam with the Dolphins in Cozumel. I think he enjoyed the cruise experience more than he would admit.

 

[gzmtlock]

No he is not at the too cool stage yet, he would rather enjoy the teen stuff and hangout with his brother. I think the best solution is to go a week earlier while he is still 17. Thanks!

My kids (DS18 and DD17) are 20 months apart. And best friends. They've cruised four times together. Their least favorite - when they were in different kids' clubs. For this reason, we won't take them together again until DD turns 18. And we can all do all the adult stuff! They're really looking forward to Palo

However, that's not stopping us from taking DD and a friend later this week. . .