Parents of Teens, FYI

[lzj21428]

We just got back from a 4 day Wonder cruise and we all had a wonderful time.

The one thing I was concerned about was the teens getting ahold of alcohol. I didn't think it could happen, but it did. On the last night of the cruise dh was walking around the ship (around 1:00/1:30 AM) and came across a large group of teens near BBB. They were are drunk. Two girls were getting sick (you know what I mean) in a stairwell and there were two other teens passed out on the floor. He called security and they came up and took over from there. Don't know the outcome.

I just wanted to let people know that it doesn't seem to be that hard for these kids to get alcohol. I can't figure out how they go it. Maybe from parents or older siblings. I don't know.

We had a curfew for our two teens (16 & 17). They weren't very happy about it, but I didn't feel comfortable just letting them stay out roaming the ship at all hours. I was out one night around 12 and walked around decks 4, 9, and 10 and the place was deserted. I think I saw one other adult walking around.

I guess my point is that alcohol seems to be readily available and the teens need real supervision.

 

[DVC'96]

Wow! I'm shocked that these kids were able to get so much alcohol that they were all drunk. Maybe they got into the alcohol that one of their parents bought at one of the ports. Anyway they got it, it still shows that the teens on board need to be supervised a little more. People think they are in a safe place when they are cruising, but they don't check criminal records before you board.
I'm sure Disney kept the situation quiet, but I wonder how often that happens.
Thanks for the reality check.

 

[kcashner]

I really don't think they were able to buy it on the ship. As the parent of a teen, I've been careful of these things. When you buy anything, including alcohol, they swipe your KTTW card. It comes up showing your age. It is the policy on the ship that a DCL employee (CM) will not serve alcohol to anyone under 21.

The fact that they couldn't buy it on board in no way prevents them from drinking it. It could have come from a parent's supply in the cabin. It could have been purchased by an "over 20" person who then gave it to them. The teens are warned about alcohol being available in some of the ports--told not to drink it and not to come back to the ship in any compromised condition.

It's the age old story....I trust my teen totally when she is alone. However, one teen brain + one teen brain can easily equal about a negative 7!

 

[krhardy]

We were just having this discussion with our children the other night for our upcoming cruise. Our kids aren't as old as some of the others, but I'm not naive enough to think that the pressure isn't there. I'm also not naive enough to think that my children can't be tempted, or that they are perfect, even though I know that they are good kids. We are travelling in a large group with several other families, and so our children will be with friends from home, but I know that they will also meet new friends. (DH still writes to somebody she met on our cruise 2 years ago) My kids know that even though they will be allowed to check themselves in and out of the clubs, they will have to let us know where they are at any given time, and if we go there, and do not find them, they are in big trouble. They know that any priviledge given can, and will be recended if need be. Fortunately, for us, they know this by experience. It saddens me when I see teens behaving in this manner, for many reasons. First, it makes me sad for the teens, that they are allowed to behave this way. Second, it makes me sad for my own kids. They know the difference between right and wrong (even if they don't always follow), and THEY get sad when they see people behaving in an inappropriate manner.
Thanks for the info...will make sure I pass it on to them, along with the reminder that this kind of behavior is NOT acceptable in our house...even if they were that age.

 

[cjsmith]

We've also witnessed teens drunk and getting ill on DCL. Some of the teens were actually drinking with their parents in Cozumel at Carlos and Charlies/Senior Frogs and then came back on board completely smashed! Remember, in some of the ports the drinking age is 18 and so they can buy the liquor and bring it back on board with their families and some of the parents may not care. Some of the teens also hang around teens who are there with older siblings who may purchase the liquor, who knows.

Thanks for the heads up about what you saw, it's something good for all of us who have teens to be aware of.

 

[westjones]

I remember reading that someone said on their cruise there were teens going back to their staterooms and drinking their parent's alcohol. I am sure they didn't get it directly from Disney, but I can see how it would be easy to get it from your stateroom if you parents had some in there.

DJ

 

[ragdoll]

My DD now 21 just recently confessed to me that on our Disney cruise five years ago when she was just 16 she and a few others got a few free alcoholic drinks by flirting with the bartender. I must say that I was surprised. I'm sure any CM's caught doing this would be fired.

 

[barkley]

i'm not very surprised by this-given that alcohol is sold by street vendors (who also give free samples) in many of the ports. i'm just surprised that disney has not implemented the same hard alcohol procedure many of the other lines have in place. that being that any bottle purchased in port is taken from the passenger upon reboarding the ship, the alcohol is then held for you and delivered to you on the last night (along with any you have purchased in the duty free on board).

 

[mmouse37]

i'm not very surprised by this-given that alcohol is sold by street vendors (who also give free samples) in many of the ports. i'm just surprised that disney has not implemented the same hard alcohol procedure many of the other lines have in place. that being that any bottle purchased in port is taken from the passenger upon reboarding the ship, the alcohol is then held for you and delivered to you on the last night (along with any you have purchased in the duty free on board).

I hope they do not go the way of other cruise lines.....I think it is wonderful and money saving to be able to purchase liquor in port and enjoy it in your stateroom (and we don't even drink a lot) but I like that we can have it when we want it......just because a small percentage of kids are messing around with it should not make DCL change their policy. Again, it comes down to rules.....and kids will always try to break them. I hope the parents came down hard on these kids but I do not think the actions of a few should take away from the many adults that enjoy a drink in their cabin. Parents have to keep a more watchful eye on what their kids are doing and who they are doing it with.

MJ

 

[lzj21428]

I have to agree w/ barkley about the alcohol being held until the end of the cruise. I have a strong suspision that the alcohol was obtained by the parents for the kids. How could the kids buy it and then get it onto the ship. Wouldn't that be against Disney policy of anyone under 21 being allowed to drink?

Parents sometimes surprise me. Just because we may be in a place that allows alcohol at 18, doesn't mean I would allow my child to drink when in my eyes the legal drinking age is 21. Am I making sense?

This whole thing just really upset me.

 

[auntie k]

I recently saw on one of the news shows ( 20/20 or Dateline) that it is a new trend for parents to supply liquor and sponser parties for their teens. How crazy is that?

In AR, A lady was recently convicted for having a party in her home and was charged for each minor there (plus additional charges because it is a non-alcohol selling county). Evidently it was a cash cow for her. She would buy the liquor, charge kids to attend, and give them an armband to show they paid and basically they could party and drink all night. A large amount of cash, liquor and drugs were siezed.

Geez - why do people want kids to grow up so fast?

 

[musicgirl]

I believe that even though the drinking age is lower in some ports, even if they can buy the alcohol, DCL WILL NOT allow under 21 to bring it on board.

There were kids who tried this, and it was taken when they checked back in.

I seriously doubt that alcohol is readily available to teens other than if parents have it in their rooms. Even if someone leaves a glass with something in it, a CM will take the glass away very quickly. If you think about it, DCL is extremely tidy and there is rarely anything just left on a table somewhere.

So, parents who have alcohol in your rooms, beware of your kids.

I have a ds-almost 15 who stayed out late every night on our last cruise. I trust him. He's not perfect, but I think I would know if he got into enough alcohol to make himself sick.

I am by no means condoning getting a hold of any amount of alcohol.
The subject would be dealt with very seriously with any amount of alcohol.

But I don't think I'm going to worry to much about it happening on board. Half the fun for a teen is the freedom on the cruise. If he messes up, then he will have consequences. But since he has given me no reason to mistrust him, I think I will treat him accordingly.

 

[Momeska]

This upsets me terribly!!! I'm the parent of two teenage boys who did NOT have a curfew on our cruise because, frankly, they didn't need one. We've taught our boys right from wrong, to always be polite, especially around their elders and abide by the rules. My DH enjoys beer on tap so two years ago, for Christmas, I had a beer tap installed on our kitchen counter. Many of our friends were outraged that we would do that having two teenage boys in the house. It isn't an issue. They obviously know it's there yet have no desire to use it. They know the rules and it's because we've been parents to them, not friends! When are parents going to wake up and realize that their kids have enough friends, already???

 

[mmouse37]

I recently saw on one of the news shows ( 20/20 or Dateline) that it is a new trend for parents to supply liquor and sponser parties for their teens. How crazy is that?

In AR, A lady was recently convicted for having a party in her home and was charged for each minor there (plus additional charges because it is a non-alcohol selling county). Evidently it was a cash cow for her. She would buy the liquor, charge kids to attend, and give them an armband to show they paid and basically they could party and drink all night. A large amount of cash, liquor and drugs were siezed.

Geez - why do people want kids to grow up so fast?

Unfortunately I do not think this is a new trend....just getting more publicity. There are parents who just want to be their kids friend or to be a "cool" parent...not a real parent.

I still don't think DCL should change their policy. It is one of the few things DCL does that helps cruisers save some money. There is nothing wrong with responsible adults enjoying a drink in their cabin.

MJ

 

[musicgirl]

Well said Momeska!!!

My ds has had more than a few opportunities at family parties to experiment and he didn't. Will there be a first time? Absolutely! I do not think my son is so wonderful that he would never try it. I would be fooling myself. Will I be watching for signs? Absolutely!!!

Am I going to trust him to make to make good judgements based on what we have taught him? Absolutely!!! How can I teach him trust if I never trust him?

I also have to agree that parents are trying way too hard to be friends rather than a parent. As a teacher, more and more what parents will do to get their kids out of trouble or blame someone else is growing at an incredible rate.

The excuses that parents make for kids is one of the reasons many of today's kids can not function in real life. They don't learn that there are consequences for their actions because mommy or daddy will put up a fuss or make an excuse for them. What are those kids going to do when they are trying to hold down a job and something goes wrong? Call m or d?????


Ok, I have vented enough about parents and I realize this is not really the original topic, but it is related.

 

[bcswebco.com]

Unfortunately I do not think this is a new trend....just getting more publicity. There are parents who just want to be their kids friend or to be a "cool" parent...not a real parent.

No ... nothing new.

I worked for Raddisson Hotels back in the early 90s and was not unheard of for parents to actually rent several hotel rooms for HS graduation and proms and then supply alcohol to the underaged children.

When we found out about such bookings they were quickly stopped/cancelled ... unfortunately there were those that we would find out about after the fact.

Am sure that this happens on the cruises as well. Personally I would love to just slap the daylights out of the parents for being so irresponsible ... Disney probably feels the same way.

 

[mom+3girls]

we are cruising in Sept. I never even thought of talking to my daughters about this, but I will be sitting down with them tonight.

We had a lady that was recently arrested here in our town, for having parties at her house and suppling the booze. She said that she just wanted to be friends with her daughter and her friends.

Local radio started a call-in the other morning about would you let your underage child drink as long as they drank at home and in front of you. OH man it was a wild discussion, one lady said yes I would because kids are going to expirement and the DJ said well would you let her/him have sex in your house, the lady so NO WAY, DJ says why not what if they were just expirementing, she said well thats different, you can get pregnant, the Lady DJ says well sometimes when you drink you get pregnant.

 

[LCTsMom]

We just got back from a 4 day Wonder cruise and we all had a wonderful time.

The one thing I was concerned about was the teens getting ahold of alcohol. I didn't think it could happen, but it did. On the last night of the cruise dh was walking around the ship (around 1:00/1:30 AM) and came across a large group of teens near BBB. They were are drunk. Two girls were getting sick (you know what I mean) in a stairwell and there were two other teens passed out on the floor. He called security and they came up and took over from there. Don't know the outcome.

I just wanted to let people know that it doesn't seem to be that hard for these kids to get alcohol. I can't figure out how they go it. Maybe from parents or older siblings. I don't know.

We had a curfew for our two teens (16 & 17). They weren't very happy about it, but I didn't feel comfortable just letting them stay out roaming the ship at all hours. I was out one night around 12 and walked around decks 4, 9, and 10 and the place was deserted. I think I saw one other adult walking around.

I guess my point is that alcohol seems to be readily available and the teens need real supervision.

I appreciate the 'heads up' about this. My teen boys will be 15 and 13 when we sail. Fortunately, I have never had a problem nor even suspected a problem with my kids thus far. As many with teens will agree, I am constantly aware of the tempation and curiousity. I know it happens everywhere, all the time. It's nice to be made aware of the situation to prevent any problems. Thanks!

 

[cjsmith]

i'm not very surprised by this-given that alcohol is sold by street vendors (who also give free samples) in many of the ports. i'm just surprised that disney has not implemented the same hard alcohol procedure many of the other lines have in place. that being that any bottle purchased in port is taken from the passenger upon reboarding the ship, the alcohol is then held for you and delivered to you on the last night (along with any you have purchased in the duty free on board).

Yes, but a lot of the other cruise lines, Princess for example, allows you to buy liquor from them either prior to the cruise as a gift or from room service or any bar and have it in your cabin. It's not that they have hard alcohol procedures, they just want to make sure you buy it from them!

 

[cjsmith]

I have to agree w/ barkley about the alcohol being held until the end of the cruise. I have a strong suspision that the alcohol was obtained by the parents for the kids. How could the kids buy it and then get it onto the ship. Wouldn't that be against Disney policy of anyone under 21 being allowed to drink?

Parents sometimes surprise me. Just because we may be in a place that allows alcohol at 18, doesn't mean I would allow my child to drink when in my eyes the legal drinking age is 21. Am I making sense?

This whole thing just really upset me.

Just interested, how old was the drinking age when you grew up? It was 18 when I grew up in NY, (I'm 43 now) so I don't know how I would feel about our daughter when she is 18 if we were in a country that is 18 having a sip of something. Now getting drunk in front of me at 18, no way, but I don't want to see that at 21 either.

The funny thing is, most countries in Europe don't abide by the same rules. We were just on a 10 night cruise out of Southampton, England aboard Princess and one of our stops was Brugge, Belgium. At lunch they put a glass of house wine in front of all 5 of us, including my 13, 15, and 17 year olds! When I told the server that they were all under age with the youngest being 13 they just shrugged their shoulders!

I think back to what went on when I was young and I do firmly believe that there are many more teens that drink than we as parents all think. We all like to think that it's not our kids and we would know, but I wonder what really goes on behind our backs sometimes. I know that I never let me mom know that I had tried alcohol prior to turning 18 and still haven't. I'm just now starting to tell her some stories and she laughs and laughs, some they had figured out and some they truly never knew!