Did your teen enjoy Vibe?

[Kathy Muniz]

Hi all,

Just looking for other people's experience with how their teens enjoyed vibe, especially if they went alone and had to meet new friends. We're cruising in november and my son is 8 and my daughter is 15 so I was just wondering if it would be better to pay to have a friend join, or if most teens enjoy the teen activities even if they didn't know anyone at first (I know it depends on the kid, just wondering what other teens thought of it too).

Thanks

 

[jenpink]

My daughter loves the Vibe. She goes the first night and makes a group of friends that she hangs out with the rest of the cruise.

 

[Kathy Muniz]

My daughter loves the Vibe. She goes the first night and makes a group of friends that she hangs out with the rest of the cruise.

That's great to hear!! I was stressing about it a little because my best friend is bringing her 7yr old daughter so her and my son would get to hang out at the oceaneer club, but I felt bad my daughter wouldn't have a friend. Glad to hear kids enjoy vibe and make friends they can hang with throughout the trip. I was thinking of bringing her friend but it's super expensive at this point to add someone.

Thanks for the info!

 

[NAB]

Even my shy 16 year old loved the Vibe and made friends . They do some pretty cool things in the Vibe and around the ship.

 

[cheermom2four]

Honestly my 16 year old son is extremely shy and you have to kind of gently push him into meeting others. We went this past September and he had a blast. Because of him, we met the families of some of the kids and are now taking cruises with them (and the kids are happy about this). Make sure your daughter goes the first night (even if it interupts dinner) as they have an ice breaker get together where they meet each other. If my son hadnt attended that, he probably wouldve never hung out with teens as thats when they kind of form friendships and it carries on thru the week.

Edited to also add he then wanted to do the Castaway Cay teen wildside adventure with his new friends so we signed him up for that too. He said that was a total blast

 

[Geomom]

It definitely depends on the kid and their attitude going in. DD16 just went to activities that interested her (mostly arts and crafts ones), and she had fun at those. She's more of an introvert and not the type (at this age) to just go and make friends--although since the cruise she has texted with some slightly younger girls she met in Vibe. I think she went to Vibe 3x on our Alaskan cruise, the rest of the time she spent with us, going to the movies, shows, and an animation class. DD12 is more easy going and had fun in Edge with the other girls that were there. Their experiences may have been different if they'd gone to that first night meet, but it was too late for us (3 hr time difference.)

 

[Kathy Muniz]

Even my shy 16 year old loved the Vibe and made friends . They do some pretty cool things in the Vibe and around the ship.

That's awesome! I feel a lot better now, thanks!

 

[Kathy Muniz]

Honestly my 16 year old son is extremely shy and you have to kind of gently push him into meeting others. We went this past September and he had a blast. Because of him, we met the families of some of the kids and are now taking cruises with them (and the kids are happy about this). Make sure your daughter goes the first night (even if it interupts dinner) as they have an ice breaker get together where they meet each other. If my son hadnt attended that, he probably wouldve never hung out with teens as thats when they kind of form friendships and it carries on thru the week.

Edited to also add he then wanted to do the Castaway Cay teen wildside adventure with his new friends so we signed him up for that too. He said that was a total blast

Awesome! I will definitely make sure she's able to attend the first night! Thanks!

 

[Kathy Muniz]

It definitely depends on the kid and their attitude going in. DD16 just went to activities that interested her (mostly arts and crafts ones), and she had fun at those. She's more of an introvert and not the type (at this age) to just go and make friends--although since the cruise she has texted with some slightly younger girls she met in Vibe. I think she went to Vibe 3x on our Alaskan cruise, the rest of the time she spent with us, going to the movies, shows, and an animation class. DD12 is more easy going and had fun in Edge with the other girls that were there. Their experiences may have been different if they'd gone to that first night meet, but it was too late for us (3 hr time difference.)

Thanks for sharing your kids' experience. I'll definitely make sure she's able to get to the club the first day so she can meet everyone that day and I'll just let her decide how much time she wants to spend there based on how comfortable she feels

 

[PurplePencil]

Be warned that some activities stretch late into the night (ie. 1 am), so if you want her back at a certain time set some boundaries

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

My daughter is shy and gets nervous talking to new people. She loved Vibe on both Magic and Wonder.

 

[richmo]

My kids went to Vibe on the opening day and participated in a couple of the activities (scavenger hunt, as I recall), but wound up spending most of their time either with us or each other.

 

[party-of-five]

Last year DS was 15, but his sister was only 13 so he went to the Vibe alone, she went to the Edge alone. They both had a great time! (DS is a very friendly kid, but is a little shy)

In the Vibe, they played some different competitive games (computer games, bingo, etc), ice cream social, crafts, lots of different activities for all interests. They even filmed a zombie movie that they showed on the last night in the theater. It was so fun - and DS had the leading role! He had a blast!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

while our teen loved the way the vibe was set up and decorated, he never wants to hang out there (same with edge). We haven't figured out why because he tends to be quite social and we always make him go that opening night.

 

[Kathy Muniz]

They even filmed a zombie movie that they showed on the last night in the theater. It was so fun - and DS had the leading role! He had a blast!

Wow that sounds awesome!!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

The great thing about Vibe is that there are so many different activities of different types, and they take place in Vibe and throughout the ship. That means that there is a lot of opportunities to meet people and to hang out with the ones you get along with. My sons were 14 adn 15 and my nieces were 13 and 16 and they all enjoyed Vibe.

Another great thing is the counselors there. They befriend the kids, but they also set some boundaries and rules (about PDA, about teasing etc.) to keep it a safe, fun space for all.

 

[cheermom2four]

Be warned that some activities stretch late into the night (ie. 1 am), so if you want her back at a certain time set some boundaries

Definitely this! My son we didnt the first two nights and omg he would just stroll in from hanging out in VIBE till it closed at 2am. I was like what the heck could you possibly do till 2am (then again I am old by his standards lol). So we set boundaries finally and he still got to hang out but had to be back BY 2am not 3 etc.

 

[MUN]

Hi all,

Just looking for other people's experience with how their teens enjoyed vibe, especially if they went alone and had to meet new friends. We're cruising in november and my son is 8 and my daughter is 15 so I was just wondering if it would be better to pay to have a friend join, or if most teens enjoy the teen activities even if they didn't know anyone at first (I know it depends on the kid, just wondering what other teens thought of it too).

Thanks

My teens have loved the Vibe.

 

[aggiedog]

Younger dd loved Edge, and her time in Vibe (she bridged the age cut off on one cruise) as long as they were playing games or video games of some sort. Older dds did not love Vibe. One in an introvert, so that's not a huge surprise, but the other is quite social. Social dd is a deep thinker and world traveler. She found she did not have much in common with what she called "the Kendra Scott" girls - which I think meant girls that are more into current trends and fb/instagram than political discussions. One cruise older dds did find a girl that first night at Vibe that they hung out with the rest of the cruise.

So I think it depends on the kid and the composition of the club itself.

 

[diznymom]

We couldn't keep DS out of vibe. He absolutely loved it.
He would eventually get up in the morning, go eat b'fast, then would be in vibe until they kicked him out. I did insist that he eat dinner with us and go on a couple of shore excursions. I always knew where he was.
I'm not sure what he is going to do this next cruise.....he will be 19. He's looking forward to the adult areas (until he realizes we are boring).