(2) 14 yr old girl teens

[CruiseDis]

Hey, we are thinking of taking a Disney cruise with our 14yr old and her friend. I need to know if anyone has taken their teens on a Disney Cruise and did they enjoy it? Please any feed back would be welcome. We went on the Disney Fantasy when my daughter was 10 and she loved it! My husband and I really loved it! However, this Cruise is so expensive and we're worried about their age and if they will think it's still cool enough and have other teens to hang out with.

Thank you!

 

[Sytrace]

I have a 14 year old son and a 15 year old daughter who have been on 11 Disney cruises since 2013. (Soon to be 12) They would be very upset if we left them home for any Disney cruise.

There are teen clubs that they would enjoy, the Aquaduck water coaster, meet and greets with characters...they might actually like those too) There is quite a bit to do on the ship that they might be entertained by.

 

[CruiseDis]

I have a 14 year old son and a 15 year old daughter who have been on 11 Disney cruises since 2013. (Soon to be 12) They would be very upset if we left them home for any Disney cruise.

There are teen clubs that they would enjoy, the Aquaduck water coaster, meet and greets with characters...they might actually like those too) There is quite a bit to do on the ship that they might be entertained by.

 

[CruiseDis]

Thank you so much for responding. Did they actually hang in the teen club? We're there a lot of teens on the ship? Did they make friends?

 

[tigerchic89]

My girls LOVE the clubs, We have to set strict rules on eating, watching shows and doing excursions together.... otherwise we'd never see them. They've made friends in the clubs, also met plenty of kids that didn't click, but the DCL staff makes it work and my girls love it. My oldest is begging for us to cruise as often as possible before she turns 18.. she can't imagine cruising and not being in Vibe!

 

[over50visits]

When DS was in that age group (he was 16), there were a LOT of teens who hung out in the club (it was well run by the staff) and around the ship. He made lots of friends and seems like we hardly saw him! He really missed the teen club when he turned too old.

 

[Sytrace]

Thank you so much for responding. Did they actually hang in the teen club? We're there a lot of teens on the ship? Did they make friends?

My son has gone a couple of times...but is not really into it that much. My daughter enjoys them more, but doesn't go as often as she gets older. She gives it a try for the first day or so, but if she feels like the teens in the group are more of a clique type of thing, she doesn't like to go. Some cruises were fine and she met some fun and nice kids and other times, not so much.
She would go for specific activities though regardless.

 

[GoofyNewfie]

My son loved, loved, loved, cruising at all ages. He most preferred the teens clubs. This past April was his last under 18 cruise and he is much saddened.

 

[aggiedog]

My 13 yo loved the younger teen club, Edge, particularly the video gaming and gaga ball. We also had to set rules about dinners and shows or we'd have never seen her. My older 16yo twins did not like their club, Vibe, much. Both cruises they felt their club was too "cliquish" as well, though they did make a friend on one cruise that they hung out with the rest of the cruise. I think whether you dd and friend will like the club will depend on their personalities and the other kids there. My younger dd is comfortable anywhere. My older girls are more introverted, and feel less need to belong to a group.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

My teen travelled DCL at ages 13 and 16. She attended the clubs and I knew to have her attend day 1-2 to meet counselors and kids and decide on activities. She met a few kids she liked, but being introverted (not shy), she didn't attend the clubs much. She happily found many other things to do during the cruise, and was never bored. Traveling with a friend will likely make the experience even more fun for both-whatever they decide to do.

 

[CruiseDis]

My teen travelled DCL at ages 13 and 16. She attended the clubs and I knew to have her attend day 1-2 to meet counselors and kids and decide on activities. She met a few kids she liked, but being introverted (not shy), she didn't attend the clubs much. She happily found many other things to do during the cruise, and was never bored. Traveling with a friend will likely make the experience even more fun for both-whatever they decide to do.

 

[CruiseDis]

That's what I really want for them is just to have fun and not be bored.
Thank you!

 

[PurplePencil]

The teen club also doubles as a meeting place, its not uncommon for teens to meet up in the teen club and head elsewhere on the ship

 

[lorimay]

My now adult daughter went on her first DCL cruise at 14, she LOVED it! We had to make her come to dinner at night, she did not want to leave the teen club and all her new friends.
She cried when we got off the boat. She is now about to turn 29 and she still loves DCL and now her children do as well.

ETA: On Castaway Cay they have an excursion for teens only, she had a blast and did it on the next cruise we on sailed on too.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

We went on the Fantasy for 7 nights with my two sons, who were 14 and 15 and my two nieces who were 13 and 16. They loved the Vibe. There was a large variety of activities, both in the club and around the ship, organized by Vibe. They made a bunch of friends, but there were also activities they could do at Vibe by themselves if they preferred. One thing that surprised me was how late some of the activities ran. You may have heard that Disney ships "roll up the sidewalks" at midnight? Well, not for the teen clubs. They had events planned until 1 or 2 AM most nights. It did give us a chance to have some time to visit the adult only clubs/shows, and when we wanted them to come home, well that was a good opportunity for them to show their maturity and come home when we wanted, and if they didn't come home on time, well we knew where they were to go get them.

You know your kids best, but I'd say it was great "low-stakes" chance for them to have fun, meet people, and have a little bit of independence, while still being safe. The CM's were great at being their friends but still enforcing the rules (No PDA, etc.)

Plus, there are plenty of other things for them to do on the ship, by themselves or with you.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Daughter's first cruise was at 13. She was just okay with it. I think she was not feeling well and really wasn't up to doing anything. She did not like the kid's club, so we just let her do her own thing. I think she would have been fine to never cruise again. With that said, we're going on the Wonder in Feb. She's going and I think she's excited. She will be 15, so maybe her perspective has changed. I'm going to have her wear a motion sickness patch. I tried one our last cruise and it worked wonderfully.

I really got my hopes up for her on her first cruise because everyone said she would have a blast. She didn't. That's ok, though. Not everyone is going to like to cruise. I hope this 2nd time is better for her.

 

[Sanchez]

I am not sure what question you are asking. If the general question is "have your teens had a good time on a Disney Cruise" then I would imagine mostly positive responses and the answer is absolutely yes.

However, there are two other questions to consider. First, is there a better cruise for teens? This is largely dependent on whether the teens are into Disney characters and movies. If not, we found the RCL Oasis a much better fit given the multitude of teen options. There are probably other good options that others can weigh in on.

Second, you mention the expense so that appears to be of some concern. The question then is whether your teens can have a good time on another cruise line for far less money. The answer is absolutely yes. There are a number of newer and better ships, with better itineraries, better food and equivalent service out there.

 

[gamecock817]

My favorite cruise was the one I took when I was 14. I spent a great deal of time in the teen club though I was quite shy at the time, and am still close friends with some of the other girls I met in the club (almost 10 years later!).

I would set some ground rules before you go, though. I was engaging in the teen club activities that extended to 1 or 2am, and then would hang out with my group of friends on the ship often until 3am or later. My parents had no idea that they'd be setting a curfew on a Disney Cruise ship, of all places.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Sailed with my daughter on DCL when she was 8 and 10. Loved it both times.

That being said, she spent a fair amount of time in the clubs on the first cruise, and not nearly as much on the second. She was starting to get to the point of "I'm on vacation and want to lay in a lounger, read my books and listen to my ipod", rather than participate in organized activities.

Knowing that, when we sailed again last year (she was about to turn 12), we ended up sailing on the new NCL Escape. Since all she/we wanted to do was relax on sea days and she was interested in doing the evening activities with us (the shows/karaoke/dueling pianos/etc), it didn't make sense to pay nearly double for an oceanview room on DCL, compared to the large balcony mini-suite we had on NCL (large enough for 3 loungers, a table and 2 chairs) and the unlimited adult beverage package.

There was a teen club available to her on NCL, but my little nerdette was thrilled to have unlimited reading time instead (she's a tv-meh, books-yay kind of girl), so we can't comment on its quality.

All to say that DCL is great, but for what she/we were looking for out of a cruise, DCL no longer fit the bill for us. Sounds like you might be in the same boat (pun intended).

 

[CruiseDis]

I am not sure what question you are asking. If the general question is "have your teens had a good time on a Disney Cruise" then I would imagine mostly positive responses and the answer is absolutely yes.

However, there are two other questions to consider. First, is there a better cruise for teens? This is largely dependent on whether the teens are into Disney characters and movies. If not, we found the RCL Oasis a much better fit given the multitude of teen options. There are probably other good options that others can weigh in on.

Second, you mention the expense so that appears to be of some concern. The question then is whether your teens can have a good time on another cruise line for far less money. The answer is absolutely yes. There are a number of newer and better ships, with better itineraries, better food and equivalent service out there.