22+ year olds in the 18-21 year old group?

[LemonPie]

My sons will be 22 & 24 on our next cruise. I want them to have a good time and join people their own ages. Could they join the 18-21 year olds. Not sure how else they can find semi organized activities for their age group.

 

[MTmomma]

Seriously? They are fully adults. They are capable of reading the navigators and joining in the "regularly scheduled programming." I am also pretty sure they will have no problem finding something to do that is not listed specifically in the navigators.

 

[disneybeachprincess]

I sure hope not!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My sons will be 22 & 24 on our next cruise. I want them to have a good time and join people their own ages. Could they join the 18-21 year olds. Not sure how else they can find semi organized activities for their age group.

If they attempt to join the 18-21 group, they won't be with "people their own ages".

As noted, they can attend any of the adult & family activities onboard.

 

[OrcaPotter]

22 is not a magical number when a person is automatically interested in wine tastings and seminars. What's wrong with 22 year-olds socializing with 21 year-olds? They're all legal adults starting at 18, BTW, so how can the one DCL host turn anyone away because they're not exactly within that age group? Scoffing at such a notion is really silly, IMHO.

OP, I wouldn't discourage your young 20-somethings from seeking out the college group, as long as they're respectful of whatever they're doing. The worst that could happen is the DCL host says "not a good idea" (which I highly doubt would happen unless it's too awkward for whatever reason). If nothing else, they could meet others and arrange to hang out at other times around the ship.

 

[DMMarla07860]

I've cruised when I was 18 years old, 19 years old, 20 years old, 21 years old, 22 years old, 23 years old and 24 years old. All of these cruises I've met and hung out with people of ages 18 and up. Really at the ages your sons are at the can hang out with anyone in the club, just get to talking to people and they might meet some chill people

 

[TDC Nala]

If they want a group to hang with, why don't they find the DIS meet thread for their cruise and see if there are more young adults aboard? I mean, I don't know about assuming that a guy who is nearly 25 would want to hang out with a semi-organized group of college age.

 

[DMMarla07860]

22 is not a magical number when a person is automatically interested in wine tastings and seminars. What's wrong with 22 year-olds socializing with 21 year-olds? They're all legal adults starting at 18, BTW, so how can the one DCL host turn anyone away because they're not exactly within that age group? Scoffing at such a notion is really silly, IMHO.

OP, I wouldn't discourage your young 20-somethings from seeking out the college group, as long as they're respectful of whatever they're doing. The worst that could happen is the DCL host says "not a good idea" (which I highly doubt would happen unless it's too awkward for whatever reason). If nothing else, they could meet others and arrange to hang out at other times around the ship.

I don't think the host will discourage them from hangging out. When I was 22 they said to come the the first meet. Of course I didn't go since I know just by going to the club at night I usually find someone to talk with etc, but they did say come

 

[ohsnapxitsamanda]

I'm 24 years old, and if your 24 year old son is anything like me, he's not going to want to spend his cruise around 18 year olds. No offense, but the age difference is enough at this point where I get annoyed with a lot of the 18, 19, and some 20 year olds that I work with. A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that I'm in a different point in my life than they are. I'm a college graduate, I'm getting ready to move out on my own, and I'm generally learning to be a "real" adult. Most 18-21 year olds are not there yet. So I don't have too much in common with them, and I just don't want to spend a lot of time around people I don't have much in common with.

 

[DisSarahK]

I just can't imagine a 24 year old (someone who is out on his own "in the real world") wanting to hang out with an 18 year old who might have just graduated from high school.

 

[DMMarla07860]

I'm 24 years old, and if your 24 year old son is anything like me, he's not going to want to spend his cruise around 18 year olds. No offense, but the age difference is enough at this point where I get annoyed with a lot of the 18, 19, and some 20 year olds that I work with. A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that I'm in a different point in my life than they are. I'm a college graduate, I'm getting ready to move out on my own, and I'm generally learning to be a "real" adult. Most 18-21 year olds are not there yet. So I don't have too much in common with them, and I just don't want to spend a lot of time around people I don't have much in common with.

well said, I'm 24 and I know I find some 18, 19, and 20 year olds a little annoying and some aren't totally grown up yet, though I have met just as many who are more mature then people I know that are 24 or older as well so it goes both ways. If I have a common interest with someone I'll get to know them whatever age

 

[ohsnapxitsamanda]

well said, I'm 24 and I know I find some 18, 19, and 20 year olds a little annoying and some aren't totally grown up yet, though I have met just as many who are more mature then people I know that are 24 or older as well so it goes both ways. If I have a common interest with someone I'll get to know them whatever age

Same here. There are some 18-21 year olds that I find to be very mature, but for every 1 of them, there's probably at least 5 others who annoy the crap out of me.

 

[aymekae]

I will agree with trying to find others on your meetup board around the same age. Also, it's highly likely you'll have table mates in a similar demographic. Going to various activities will help them meet people their own age, if they want to and are willing to strike up conversations. I don't see it as being an issue.

 

[Cinderashlie]

Agreeing with those that say they probably won't be interested in hanging out with 18-21 year olds. I'm 23 and, while not much older, I'm married with a college degree and a full-time job. While your sons may not be in the situation I am, most people go through huge life changes in the years between their late teens to mid-twenties. If they want to hang out with college kids, more power to them but it isn't difficult to find activities on board.

 

[kcashner]

The character of the 18-21 group changed markedly in December 2011 when it changed from "college club" to 18-21. This change was due to the legal rules change that no adult will be allowed in the Vibe programming regardless of school status. SO....what has happened...is that there are more than a few high school seniors (and even a few juniors) in the 18-21 group. Many of the more advanced college students have bailed on the group, not wanting to hang with the high school crowd. DD has taken to going the first night (if at all) just to see if anyone she considers reasonably mature shows up.

Odds are that they won't turn away your 22 and 24 year old, but they won't find a group that they want to hang with at this brief meeting. And what normally happens is the "group" meets for 30 minutes and then moves over to the nightclub shows as a group. They are certainly welcome to take available seats near people who appear to them to be of a similar age.

 

[Disney Dreams]

My sons will be 22 & 24 on our next cruise. I want them to have a good time and join people their own ages. Could they join the 18-21 year olds. Not sure how else they can find semi organized activities for their age group.

They are 22 & 24. Why would they feel more comfortable with 18-21 year olds (okay, I understand the 22 year old) rather than just going to activities that interest them and encountering others there in their age range that have similar interests?

I guess if I were the 24 year old, I would not want to limit my social circle for the week to the 18-21 year old group.

I would suggest they just do stuff they enjoy and by natural process, they will meet people they will enjoy spending the week with.

- Dreams

 

[kcashner]

FWIW, our next cruise is on another line. DD's biggest concern is meeting anyone her age (as opposed to a bunch of old fogies like her mother). I laughed and said that this would be because she met so many people in her age range on our last 2 DCL cruises, right? No kidding--NO ONE showed up at the 18-21 group on the two nights she went. And she didn't see any "hot guys" who weren't wearing CM costumes. Such a bummer. She did meet a CM who wanted her to come to his country to meet his mother. Now THAT we found creepy.

 

[HyperionDreamer]

The character of the 18-21 group changed markedly in December 2011 when it changed from "college club" to 18-21. This change was due to the legal rules change that no adult will be allowed in the Vibe programming regardless of school status. SO....what has happened...is that there are more than a few high school seniors (and even a few juniors) in the 18-21 group. Many of the more advanced college students have bailed on the group, not wanting to hang with the high school crowd. DD has taken to going the first night (if at all) just to see if anyone she considers reasonably mature shows up.

Odds are that they won't turn away your 22 and 24 year old, but they won't find a group that they want to hang with at this brief meeting. And what normally happens is the "group" meets for 30 minutes and then moves over to the nightclub shows as a group. They are certainly welcome to take available seats near people who appear to them to be of a similar age.

I'll expand on this with my own personal experiences. I was 21 on my Alaskan cruise a few years back and when the group was still called "the College Club," and I had a great time with them (granted, I think the Alaskan cruises tend to skew older). I ended up hanging out with a lot of those kids for the rest of the trip.

A year later, I went with the family on a cruise on the Dream. I was 22 and going into my senior year of college, but this time the 18 year+ rule was in effect for the teen groups. What I didn't realize was that the College Club was now "Club 18*21", so I went anyway and thought nothing of it, seeing as I was still in college and this was "the college club." If I recall correctly, I stated my age when I introduced myself at the first meeting, and nobody commented or seemed to care. I did, though, notice a small shift in maturity from the group present from on the Alaskan cruise (to say nothing of the much smaller size), and ended up not hanging out with anyone afterward. I'm guessing in hindsight, it was all the 18yo high-schoolers present.

To sum it up: I'm sure the 22yo and 24yo could go and be fine. Whether they find anyone they want to hang out with is a different matter.

 

[ImprovGal]

On the Hawaii cruise, one of the special activities they offered was an improv workshop with a former Comedy Warehouse performer who is now (I may have the title wrong) Show Director for DCL. Initially, they held a workshop for the 18-21 Club. Since I do improv comedy on the side, I was interested in attending the workshop (and I had no idea they'd offer a session for all adults on a subsequent sea day). Since I'm no longer a 20something, I asked Cruise Staffers if it would be ok if I participated since it wasn't a kids program. Nobody had any issues and we all had a lot of fun since it was a very manageable group size of 1/2 dozen or so. That was the only 18-21 event of the cruise that I crashed.

Now, I will admit that I look rather young for my age, but I really didn't think I passed for that age bracket. So you can imagine my surprise when towards the end of the cruise, one of the young men asked me why I hadn't been to any of the other Club 18-21 activities during the cruise. I embarrassingly explained that I had aged out of College Club but that I was really appreciative that they let me join them, especially since the later adult session had such a large group show up that it meant less individual participation. He nodded his head and said, "Ohhhhh... you're 22."

Uh, yes. Yes, I am.

 

[Pfsedita]

I have the opposite question. We are planning a cruise on the FAntasy for July 2013 as a graduation celebration for sevaral families who have kids graduating from high school. I was lumping the "just graduated" crowd all together but then realized there might be a difference between those who are still 17 when we sail and those who have turned 18. We will have two kids already 18 and then one who will be 2 weeks away from his 18th birthday. Our last kid will turn 18 midway thru the cruise.

I want to be sure they can have a good time together before all of us commit to the trip. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I know now that the "already 18 YO" cannot hang out in Vibe. I know they will be bummed!