15 YO Boy?

[skinnyv]

This will be our first Disney cruise since we have a teenager. Our last D cruise was in 2014. We now have 15 and 12 yo boys and 6,4 girls. I wasn't to worried last time both boys had a blast in the lab but I'm starting to get a little worried for things to do for my oldest. We are doing wonder Halloween to Mexico.

I am probably just over reacting he loves cruising but is on the mature side Any suggestions or things to calm these nerves would be great!

 

[cruiser21]

I have two boys that age. Your oldest will be able to go to Vibe. It really depends on your oldest personality. My oldest has fun hanging out in the Vibe with the other teens. If your son doesn't like hanging out in the teen club I'm not sure what he'll do all day. The main pool is toddler and grade school kid soup. My kids have always stayed busy in their respective clubs. When we cruise on other lines they are out and about more because those ships have rock wall, ropes courses, bowling and more stuff for active boys. Sorry I can't be of more help. If I knew what your son liked to do I could probably answer your question a little better.

 

[JW9DVC]

Girls girls girls.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm sure he'll meet other kids in the teen club and will have a great time.

 

[skinnyv]

I have two boys that age. Your oldest will be able to go to Vibe. It really depends on your oldest personality. My oldest has fun hanging out in the Vibe with the other teens. If your son doesn't like hanging out in the teen club I'm not sure what he'll do all day. The main pool is toddler and grade school kid soup. My kids have always stayed busy in their respective clubs. When we cruise on other lines they are out and about more because those ships have rock wall, ropes courses, bowling and more stuff for active boys. Sorry I can't be of more help. If I knew what your son liked to do I could probably answer your question a little better.

Your older sons or children like the vibe? Is it just a hang out or do they have activities as well?

He is a sports person but loves to read and draw too.

 

[BartmanLA]

Sailed with my older brother and his 2 teenage children on the Magic in February, Girl 15, and boy 13, both had such a good time at the teen clubs they kept getting into trouble with their parents for coming back to the stateroom after 1 and 2am in the morning. They made some great friends and really enjoyed all the time they spent on board. It was their first Disney cruise and they could not say enough of what a good time they had. I don't think you will have to worry about your son, he should be able to meet and make lots of kids his own age.

 

[skinnyv]

Sailed with my older brother and his 2 teenage children on the Magic in February, Girl 15, and boy 13, both had such a good time at the teen clubs they kept getting into trouble with their parents for coming back to the stateroom after 1 and 2am in the morning. They made some great friends and really enjoyed all the time they spent on board. It was their first Disney cruise and they could not say enough of what a good time they had. I don't think you will have to worry about your son, he should be able to meet and make lots of kids his own age.

Thanks! That makes me feel a lot better.

Hopefully he will still dress like a pirate for me lol!

 

[MaleficentRN]

My 15 year old was almost always at the club last October and he's a fairly introverted guy. They always have some activity planned. He usually played video games and they also made a zombie movie. Plus, there are Halloween activities like trick or treating that even the adults participate in. He'll be hard pressed to find nothing to do.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Depending on the type of kid he is (and I im only going to go off of how I would have been) the ship won't have as much for him maybe as other cruise lines would. If he likes basketball they have a court on the sports deck. They also have the golf/sports simulator which you can book ahead of time. Maybe book a 30 minute session and tell him he can invite a friend he meets on board and you'll pick up the tab.

Because the ship will lack things like high thrill slides, rock climbing walls, etc. maybe let him choose one port adventure/excursion. Give him some control and be flexibile.

Jet ski riding, okay. Snorkling, okay. Maybe let him play golf with dad in one of the ports. I would try and not make him just the tag along and passenger the entire cruise.

 

[DisneyConvert]

Our son was almost 14 when we did Northern Europe in 2016 . . . and we weren't sure if he was going to enjoy Edge or Vibe or neither.
In retrospect, there was no need to worry as, except for MDR.Dinners and the morning's (DW and him liked the room service), we barely saw him. Oh, sometimes we saw him running around Deck 9 getting ice cream with his friends. And we let him go on the "Teen Excursion" to Tivoli . . . and we may have gone there at the same time. And yes, we snuck peaks into Vibe every now and then and saw he was doing well.

Let's just say he enjoyed the cruise a lot . . . which means we enjoyed the cruise a lot.

 

[FigmentSpark]

My 14 year old spent the first day and a half moping around and saying the cruise was boring. He refused to go to the Vibe and wouldn't go to the Edge with his brother. Only did movies with his dad. Finally, near the end of the second day, I made him explore the ship with me and led him to the Vibe entrance. I told him to just go look in and come and tell me what it's like. He went in and came back a minute later (maybe 2 minutes), telling me that he'd made a friend from our hometown and he was going to stay. I smiled and chalked one up for mom. The next day, at breakfast, there were a couple of guys that came up to him to say hi. Now my son is very social, but he already had a posse of friends. Everyone there is looking for friends, so that's a bonus from the start.

 

[cruiser21]

Your older sons or children like the vibe? Is it just a hang out or do they have activities as well?

He is a sports person but loves to read and draw too.

Both activities and hanging out.

Girls girls girls.

That too.

 

[CamColt]

My DSs are no 17 and 20. They have been to the Vibe pretty much throughout their teen years. We hardly see them on the cruises, I force them to go to dinner and an occasional excursion with us, and they don't want to do other cruise lines because they like the Vibe so much. When my oldest was on his last cruise as a 17 yo, this being his last time in the Vibe really upset him. So, the moral of the story is my teen DSs love the Vibe and have a blast on DCL. I hope its the same for your's.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Your older sons or children like the vibe? Is it just a hang out or do they have activities as well?

He is a sports person but loves to read and draw too.

I have two sons, who were 14 and 15 last summer on our cruise. They loved it.

Some of the time they went to the Vibe. There are lots of organized activities (Zombified, Gender Wars, Gotcha) at various times of the day and night. (The activities go until 2AM most nights. We made our boys come home before that.) There is also plenty of free form stuff to do there. They had teen activities on Castaway Cay too.

Others have mentioned the basketball and sports simulators, so he may like that. You mention that he loves to read an draw too, which probably means he enjoys some time alone. He can get plenty of that too. Lots of places on deck to sit and read or draw, and who knows even there he might meet some people his age and have fun that way too.

Last comment, I don't know your son and how much he still enjoys hanging with his parents, but we did a lot of things together with them too. There were some family games like "Majority Rules" and a family Pirate contest on Pirate night, that had people of all ages, my sons enjoyed it because it was very interactive. We also went to dinner and the shows together. So some of their fun was "on their own" and some was with us, which was great for us too.

 

[skinnyv]

I am actually a little nervous about them being out on the ship that late at night which is slightly hypercritical since I roamed ships when I was his age.

My older son still likes us parents lol its actually my 12 yo who will likely through the fit. I plan on doing as many family activities, shows and games as possible as I know our years are limited , i was mostly worried if the teen club was like an after thought but you guys have cleared my fears.

Happy Cruising.

 

[bumbershoot]

If each of you has a device that gets wifi you can be in communication with him via the free app.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I am actually a little nervous about them being out on the ship that late at night which is slightly hypercritical since I roamed ships when I was his age.

My older son still likes us parents lol its actually my 12 yo who will likely through the fit. I plan on doing as many family activities, shows and games as possible as I know our years are limited , i was mostly worried if the teen club was like an after thought but you guys have cleared my fears.

Happy Cruising.

I understand your concerns about the late night situation. I found that by setting ground rules that my wife and I were comfortable with, it worked out OK. They told us which evening events they wanted to do. We took that into account and then told them what time we expected them back. Remember, if they are at Vibe, at least they are supervised. (Not just roaming the ship, which definitely happens for some, I've seen some very creative (and mostly harmless) YouTube videos.) Also, you have a lot of leverage in that they want to be able to keep going back in future nights, so they will know they have to obey your rules to keep that privilege. And finally, if they don't show up, it isn't THAT big of a ship, and they are probably in the Vibe or Edge anyway (our #1 rule for them was NEVER go into someone else's cabin), so easy for you to find. We did go up to Vibe one night to enforce our curfew, only to find them coming out the door at that very moment to head back to the room, knowing they were running late and trying to fix it.

 

[jrabbit]

First Night in the Vibe is VERY IMPORTANT - time to meet the other kids, the councilors get to know the kids and can plan accordingly.

Our son didn't care for the Vibe from the time he was 14 (and I was NOT allowed to take his place ) But he always made new friends (what a concept) and they hung out. Sometimes in the Vibe, more often out and about the ship. Doing the activities they wanted, time on the sports deck, time getting sunburned , some time at the pool.

One of the differences now is that the Twist and Spout slide in the "kiddie area" is available to all guests of the appropriate size (minimum height requirement - got to be taller than the kiddies)

He had a great time on every cruise (well except when he was missing club basketball games - and then only on sea days - port days were fun and busy). He is now mid 20's, single and still enjoys cruising on DCL.