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

[jahber]

He nodded his head and said, "Ohhhhh... you're 22."

Uh, yes. Yes, I am.

Wow!
What a coincidence! I'm 22, too! . This will be my 13th time celebrating. It gets better every year.

Enjoy looking younger as long as you can

 

[PrincessShmoo]

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!

As you noted, the already 18 year olds will not be able to go to Vibe (or, for that matter, the one who turns 18 during the cruise after after he/she turns 18). That leaves only the 17 year old who can go to Vibe and the others who will be part of the 18-21 group. Have you thought about maybe cruising after everyone is 18? It's only 2 weeks. That way the "kids" could all be together in the 18-21 group.

 

[sissy_ib]

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!

The only places they could hangout together would be the "Family" areas. So the Family pool, sports deck, arcade, family shows and events. The 18+ cannot go in to the teen areas and the under 18 cannot go to the adult areas.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Age doesn't matter in compatability and friendship (I'm 46 and my two besties are 28 and 30...go figure).

What I find interesting is that Mom is looking for something for her adult sons to do. I started cruising (with friends/sisters/roommates) at about age 21 and we never needed any clubs to find friends or entertainment. We had a blast just doing the regularly scheduled adult events. Even made some great friends for the week that were in thier 60s. Now THEY were a blast!

 

[Rogillio]

My son was 19 on our last cruise and hung out with the college-age kids. There must of been some that were over 21 becuase thay group didn't seem to have problems getting alcohol on the ship. ;-)

 

[tinkerone]

heres my if.....if i had a daughter who was 18 and if we were going on a cruise where there was entertainment listed for 18 to 21 year olds i would be PISSED if the cm's allowed a 24 year old man to join that group. my thinking is that i want to protect my child while letting her have a feeling of free reign. ages are listed for a reason. its not like its a six year old wanting to play with the seven year olds. i don't know this 24 year old and i certainly do not know if he is there for the entertainment or to prey on young girls.
now i don't have a daughter so this is strictly speculation on my part but i can see some ones parent having issues with it.
jmo

 

[Rogillio]

heres my if.....if i had a daughter who was 18 and if we were going on a cruise where there was entertainment listed for 18 to 21 year olds i would be PISSED if the cm's allowed a 24 year old man to join that group. my thinking is that i want to protect my child while letting her have a feeling of free reign. ages are listed for a reason. its not like its a six year old wanting to play with the seven year olds. i don't know this 24 year old and i certainly do not know if he is there for the entertainment or to prey on young girls.
now i don't have a daughter so this is strictly speculation on my part but i can see some ones parent having issues with it.
jmo

I think the phrase "prey on young girls" is a bit of a stretch....what is your concern? What happens with your 18 year old girl goes off to college and is around 24 year old grad students?

Also, 21 is 3 years older than 18 just as 24 is 3 years older than 21. Hmmmm....NM, forgot where I was going with that. LOL

 

[tinkerone]

I think the phrase "prey on young girls" is a bit of a stretch....what is your concern? What happens with your 18 year old girl goes off to college and is around 24 year old grad students?

Also, 21 is 3 years older than 18 just as 24 is 3 years older than 21. Hmmmm....NM, forgot where I was going with that. LOL

but there in lies the problem. it may be 'a stretch' to some 24 year old boys to be preying on young girls but not to others. you can't tell me that it is an impossibility a male 24 may be looking out for young girls. also, there can be a whole world of difference between a 18 year old and a 24 year old whether or not they are male or female. doesn't mean there is, just means there could be.
sending her off to college is a whole other game with a whole new set of rules. its apples to oranges. in my theory we are talking about allowing a young girl to go off on a ship by herself and my feeling safe about it. young people always feel safe even if it is the rose colored glasses that make them feel that way. i can think of several bad things that could come of the situation so i go back to my 'if it said 18-21 i'd be pissed to have a 24 yr old man attend'.
again, jmo

 

[kristof65]

While I can't speak for the DCL policies and likely conditions, nearly 7 years in the Navy and another dozen working for companies that hire primarily high school and college students give me some perspective on the age thing.

In my experience, the 18 year olds who need protection from preying 24 year olds have been way too sheltered by their parents and/or have always been immature for their age. Also, the 24 year olds who like the immature 18 year olds tend to be immature themselves.


As a parent, I would worry more about where my 18 year old daughter was working and who she was working with than I would about age policies on a cruise ship.

 

[bumbershoot]

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.

And going the other way, when I started college there was a 22 year old who managed to get a room in the mainly-freshman dorm. CREEPY-galore! He partied harder than even the guys who pledged fraternities that year, and just creeped everyone out. We were all 17 (me) and 18...WHY did he want to be around us? Ick.

Not all guys that age creeped me out, but the ones that went out of their way to hang out with those of us so much younger than they were sure did!

 

[kcashner]

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!

They will all be welcome in any family time, area, or venue. The 17s will be welcome in the Vibe but not in adult areas while those 18 and older will be welcome in the adult areas but not permitted in the Vibe. SO....family activities are the time they can all be together.

 

[hurleysweety]

OP - Having been married for over 4 years and being 26, DH (28) and I could probably walk into the college group, sans rings and changing to boyfriend/girlfriend, and no one would question our age; well until we opened our mouths, haha. (*ahem, yes...I'm also 22...*)

Having never been on a cruise and am not as aware of the atmosphere of activities and such, but I'm guessing that most people find friends when they are doing something of similar interest - whether its bingo, poolside drinks, dancing, Pilates, cooking, people watching, etc.

Also love the opinion that if I had a 18 year old daughter, I would not feel comfortable about her hanging around in a group with a 24 year old guy.

 

[Bookwood]

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.

In fact some of those 18 yr olds haven't even graduated yet. My one DD turned 18 the year she started HS (Indiana had some weird birthday/school rules then) so was 18 her whole senior year. Although she's now 24 I would not have wanted her hanging with even the college crowd (some of whom can legally by alcohol and maybe "share") while she was still in HS. That being said I can't see her wanting to hang with HSers now.

 

[DMMarla07860]

I went to the college club when I was 18-21 the age limit and also when I was 22, but I had turned 22 on the cruise so I could still go since I was 21 to start and I had been talking with most of the people in Facebook before and we all got along. I have cruised when I was 22, 23, and 24(still 24 till March 2013) and I can tell you, from talking with cruise staff they will invite people ages 22 and 23 to the college club that first night. I never went, but two times they said come to the meet. Since I cruised a lot before I knew how it worked and didn't feel a need to go. I knew if I wanted to meet people to just go to the club at night, the college club usually goes to the night club at night. I know when I was in the Magic in August I met people older then me and younger then me. All were cool

 

[lorenni]

To the OP - I'm trying not to laugh as I sit here and imagine your grown sons' horror when they discover their mother has been trying to plan out their social activities with a group of online strangers. 15 years ago when this was me I would have died of embarrassment.

Don't worry about your boys - they're adults. Trust me when I say they'll be just fine enjoying all the places kids can't go. The pool, the gym, the spa, the adult only beach. If they are interested in making friends, they will!

Too funny.