Parks or Cruise with 17 year old DD

[Dixiemom]

Thinking of booking a park or cruise trip for my daughters graduation gift in Summer 2022. She LOVES the parks but doesn’t want us to go alone because I don’t ride coasters, etc. she wants to take a friend. Because of the expense that won’t be an option and I’m sure her parents wouldnt want to pay for her to go.
I was thinking we could do a Disney Cruise but she’s hesitating even entertaining the idea.
I even thought the land and sea package but she still wouldn’t have a ride buddy. She did the single rider option last time but apparently wasn’t really comfortable it. ( She has a bit of anxiety).
I’m sort of at a loss. I would like to go ahead and start paying for whatever I decide so I could hopefully have it paid off by travel time.
Any ideas?

 

[gumbypee]

why is she hesitating to entertain the idea of a cruise?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thinking of booking a park or cruise trip for my daughters graduation gift in Summer 2022. She LOVES the parks but doesn’t want us to go alone because I don’t ride coasters, etc. she wants to take a friend. Because of the expense that won’t be an option and I’m sure her parents wouldnt want to pay for her to go.
I was thinking we could do a Disney Cruise but she’s hesitating even entertaining the idea.
I even thought the land and sea package but she still wouldn’t have a ride buddy. She did the single rider option last time but apparently wasn’t really comfortable it. ( She has a bit of anxiety).
I’m sort of at a loss. I would like to go ahead and start paying for whatever I decide so I could hopefully have it paid off by travel time.
Any ideas?

If neither of those options are attractive to her, have you asked her what she would like to do as an alternative?

 

[gotomu212]

When does she turn 18? If it’s just the 2 of you it might be more fun when she’s 18 and can go to the spa, adult restaurant, evening adult shows (still pretty tame so not uncomfortable for an 18 year old), and hang at the adult pool.

Just my personal advice, but I’d set aside payments but wouldn’t actually start paying for anything yet. I predict a lot of travel deals in a year.

 

[Rob1872]

Thinking of booking a park or cruise trip for my daughters graduation gift in Summer 2022. She LOVES the parks but doesn’t want us to go alone because I don’t ride coasters, etc. she wants to take a friend. Because of the expense that won’t be an option and I’m sure her parents wouldnt want to pay for her to go.

Sounds to me that this is more that you don't want her to bring a friend and have someone else spoil your idea of a great trip with your daughter. The comment about the expense doesn't make sense to me.

Assuming a 4 night Dream cruise in the summer, you are talking about $4,000 with gratuities for two people. (not including transportation to the port, excursions, 'spa day', bingo, Palo, or any other expenses)

Assuming a moderate Disney resort, you are talking about $250/night per room. If you had a room for yourself and a room for your daughter and her friend, that would be about $2,000 for 4 nights. 4 day park tickets right now are $356, so just over $1,000 for three people. So you can blow through over $200/day for food at the parks and not be over what you'd pay for the cruise.

The cost for the parks scale favorably no matter what length cruise you pick, even with an extra person and an additional room.

 

[Dixiemom]

why is she hesitating to entertain the idea of a cruise?

I wish I knew. She just keeps saying she doesn’t want to. Of course she doesn’t graduate for 2 years so of course a lot can change.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As PP noted, why make a decision now? Why not just start saving some money toward a gift and make a decision maybe a year from now? Or when your DD knows what she'd like to do? If she would like to take a friend to WDW, perhaps find ways to cut down on costs? Stay offsite or at a value, purchase base tickets, etc.

 

[Dixiemom]

Sounds to me that this is more that you don't want her to bring a friend and have someone else spoil your idea of a great trip with your daughter. The comment about the expense doesn't make sense to me.

Assuming a 4 night Dream cruise in the summer, you are talking about $4,000 with gratuities for two people. (not including transportation to the port, excursions, 'spa day', bingo, Palo, or any other expenses)

Assuming a moderate Disney resort, you are talking about $250/night per room. If you had a room for yourself and a room for your daughter and her friend, that would be about $2,000 for 4 nights. 4 day park tickets right now are $356, so just over $1,000 for three people. So you can blow through over $200/day for food at the parks and not be over what you'd pay for the cruise.

The cost for the parks scale favorably no matter what length cruise you pick, even with an extra person and an additional room.

Wrong. Her friend went with us to the beach last year and they had so much fun. However, there’s a big difference financially between a few days at the beach and a week (maybe) at Disney. I will not (and cannot) pay for her friend to go and again I rather doubt her parents would be able to pay for the expenses. Looking 2 years down the road who knows what the rates will be (for the park or a cruise). I actually mentioned going to the beach again just the two of us and she still wants the friend to go but she really wants to go back to Disney World. At least I have time to figure this out.

 

[Dixiemom]

When does she turn 18? If it’s just the 2 of you it might be more fun when she’s 18 and can go to the spa, adult restaurant, evening adult shows (still pretty tame so not uncomfortable for an 18 year old), and hang at the adult pool.

Just my personal advice, but I’d set aside payments but wouldn’t actually start paying for anything yet. I predict a lot of travel deals in a year.

Sadly she won’t turn 18 until the end of August 2022. I am hoping she’ll feel differently about a mom/daughter trip by then but who knows. I do want it to a fun, special trip for her. Lots of time to figure it out; I’m such a planner it’s hard not to try and figure it out now.

 

[CamColt]

My kids loved going to the Vibe during their teen years, and both were very disappointed when they aged out, however with anxiety, that may not be as entertaining to your DD. They made friends, some who they still keep in touch with online (they are 23 and 20 now). But they both definitely preferred the cruise over the parks by 17, actually starting around the tween years.

 

[anjuan]

My teen loves the cruises and has made so many friends through them! If you decide on the cruise I would strongly suggest that you join a social media group. They usually then have a separate teen chat group where she could get to know other teens who are going on the cruise. Also, it's really helpful to have them go to the get to know you session they have the first night in Vibe where she can meet the other teens.

 

[Karin1984]

With the facts you have now, neither is an option.
Park is out due to friend/financial reasons, and if she cannot articulate why she doesn't want to go on a cruise (maybe a fear of open waters that never came up, maybe prejudice that cruises are for old people, or that she's going to be bored because no rides, maybe it's covid and the stories of getting quarantined on a ship), but I wouldn't push her on it.

Put the money aside and let her determine the pace of this trip.

 

[MomOTwins]

A teen is definitely old enough to learn how to research vacations and budget. I'd tell her, budget is "$[insert amount here]"--choose any vacation you like as long it covers flights, food, lodging and entertainment for everyone going.

 

[taaren]

Every kid is different.

We've done a few cruises with nieces and nephews that were teens as they transitioned to adulthood. One of my nephews loved the Vibe, found kids to hang out with and roamed the ship with them the entire cruise, then when he was over 18 couldn't find anyone to hang out with and even though he still loved cruising just didn't have as great a time. One of my nieces was delightful to travel with because she ended up hanging out with us adults when she was 15-16, even though she has a lot of friends at school she wasn't into hanging with anybody at the Vibe so didn't end up in those teen packs that roam the ship that her brothers seem to enjoy, but loved coming to Palo and the adult entertainment options with us after hitting 18.

A lot can change with kids during those years. Buy Disney Gift Cards for your planning/saving brain, then maybe reexamine in a year? You'll also have a better idea of pricing then, likely things are going to be changing wildly regarding discounts/pricing over the next few years ... also I love MomOTwins concept of giving her a budget and more of a say in her dream trip.

 

[travelmomof3]

How about a trip somewhere else? My kids have loved trips to Europe and Hawaii, each child has different favorites. Each of them also has specific places they want to travel to in the future. Getting a CC with miles earning potential is great for more $$ flights. And to be honest, we've spent less on a trip to Europe than we would have spending a week at Disney!

 

[SL6827]

I feel for you as my 15-year-old does not want to go on any vacations without her friend and I get that. Luckily her parents can afford the cost because if they couldn't we couldn't as well.