Pirate Party Question on Magic

[masylimed]

Our family is taking our first Disney cruise in May - 3 night to Nassau/Castaway Cay. Children are 12, 15, and 18. I'm already getting some eye-rolling from them when I mentioned the pirate party. Does anyone else with teenagers participate in this? Do you dress up? Not sure if it's really geared to younger children or if most people get in the spirit.

 

[missyp]

Our family is taking our first Disney cruise in May - 3 night to Nassau/Castaway Cay. Children are 12, 15, and 18. I'm already getting some eye-rolling from them when I mentioned the pirate party. Does anyone else with teenagers participate in this? Do you dress up? Not sure if it's really geared to younger children or if most people get in the spirit.

My boys were 10 and 14 on our cruise last year, 10 year old dressed up but really wasn't overly into it. This year neither will be dressing up. I think it depends in the kids but my guess is if they are rolling their eyes now they will probably not participate or they will watch from a far as my kids did. Still fun to watch

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Our family is taking our first Disney cruise in May - 3 night to Nassau/Castaway Cay. Children are 12, 15, and 18. I'm already getting some eye-rolling from them when I mentioned the pirate party. Does anyone else with teenagers participate in this? Do you dress up? Not sure if it's really geared to younger children or if most people get in the spirit.

I think they will " engage" when their on the ship.

When your at home you have to be "cool" but if they see other children enjoying it they will say why didnt you pack anything.

I had to buy a pirate costume on the ship once due to this reason.

 

[cris0809]

A surprisingly large percentage of guests participate in this activity. Consider bringing them a themed tee at least.

 

[tiffyms02]

I agree with the others in maybe having a few "pirate items" in case they do decide to join in, because everyone will probably be surprised at how many actually DO participate onboard. However, at their ages I doubt they'll be disappointed if they don't have a full out pirate costume.. esp. if they're already rolling their eyes.

Have a great cruise!!

 

[avgsuperheroine]

If they aren't into it I wouldn't bring anything special. They'll get a headscarf, and that's probably enough. I was SO excited (I used to be a costume designer so I love costume parties), but it was cold that night and my boys were so tired that they were crabby and really not into it.

Next time I'll let them choose what they want to do. I may dress up more since it's fun for me. That's the nice thing is I feel like people fit in whether they weren't dressed up at all or dressed to the nines.

 

[MDTerp]

Our DD (now 16) doesn't "dress up" in a costume, rather tends to pack something that can fit in to the theme easily. Last cruise she had black jeans, red cami, white over top (you could see red) and "bigger" jewelry. Maybe consider something along those lines, they'll blend in but won't stand out for "not" participating. Our DD's friend (met onboard) had jeans and boots with similar styled top. She has dressed up on our longer cruises when we did also.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[SILLYANDI]

My DD16, DD14, DS12 & DD9 go through phases, they have gone "full costume" and also done a simple tank with skull & crossbones and jeans. If nothing else, I'd have them pack clothes that could double as pirate clothes (skull & crossbones, flowy blouses, etc). It's pretty easy to do [irate makeup (half the teen girls LOOK like pirates with the amount of black eyeliner they wear ) They ALWAYS "participate" as in going to the pirate party; especially if they've met friends on board that they want to hang out with. Sometimes they dance & act goofy, other times they've just watched and pigged out on pirate feast food but I don't think they've missed a pirate party in the 6 cruises we've been on. If nothing else, they go just to people watch and there are ALWAYS people worth watching!

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

Our family is taking our first Disney cruise in May - 3 night to Nassau/Castaway Cay. Children are 12, 15, and 18. I'm already getting some eye-rolling from them when I mentioned the pirate party. Does anyone else with teenagers participate in this? Do you dress up? Not sure if it's really geared to younger children or if most people get in the spirit.

While my kids aren't teens yet, if your kids will be active with the kids groups for their ages, during the pirate party is usually when the tweens and teens group take over the AquaDuck and then these groups will usually meet in a specific area to watch the fireworks as a group. I know my 12 yr old loves this night and will only wear a pirate t-shirt at most and maybe a eye patch or bandana.

 

[disprincess4ever]

I'm 17 and have cruised while 15 and 16 so I can speak from experience. I dress up, but not full costume. Usually I wear black and red colors, and a bandana or some Minnie Mouse ears. I do enjoy going to the party and dancing around, but if you're kids aren't big Disney fans they'll at least enjoy the fireworks and the buffet after. So my final answer is yes, dress up but not an actual Halloween type costume.

 

[tinks_1989]

Have you tried disney bound for pirate costume ideas. I saw a mr anew one which would be really easy to do

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

Our family is taking our first Disney cruise in May - 3 night to Nassau/Castaway Cay. Children are 12, 15, and 18. I'm already getting some eye-rolling from them when I mentioned the pirate party. Does anyone else with teenagers participate in this? Do you dress up? Not sure if it's really geared to younger children or if most people get in the spirit.

While my kids aren't teens yet, if your kids will be active with the kids groups for their ages, during the pirate party is usually when the tweens and teens group take over the AquaDuck and then these groups will usually meet in a specific area to watch the fireworks as a group. I know my 12 yr old loves this night and will only wear a pirate t-shirt at most and maybe a eye patch or bandana.

 

[SolitaryPhoenix]

I'm going on our first cruise in September with my DD, 17, and nephew, who is 16. My daughter, who is a huge PotC fan, is really looking forward to dressing up. I'm planning on getting my pirate on too. My nephew, not so much, but he's still looking forward to the party. I think it's really going to depend on the kid.

 

[jdb in AZ]

DH and I didn't plan on dressing up but when we saw lots of other adults dressed up, and I saw some were wearing cute t-shirts purchased right there on board, we did the same. Another example of DCL marketing at its finest.

 

[masylimed]

Thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate it! We are huge Disney fans but don't normally dress up in costumes (although we did dress up for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party one year).

Since we're flying on Southwest, we can check in 2 bags free per person. I think that I'll slip in some "just in case" pirate-like wear so we'll be ready!

Counting down the days until we leave! 67 days to cruise!!!

 

[su_A_ve]

Our family is taking our first Disney cruise in May - 3 night to Nassau/Castaway Cay. Children are 12, 15, and 18. I'm already getting some eye-rolling from them when I mentioned the pirate party. Does anyone else with teenagers participate in this? Do you dress up? Not sure if it's really geared to younger children or if most people get in the spirit.

Although we've done only 3 cruises, I hardly saw any teens dressing up. They will wear a bit of pirate - like a pirate t-shirt. Many will wear the bandanas they're given at the MDRs, and at least they put in in their wrists or hang them from their belts.

Regarding 'doing something'? The teens do get together with their respective clubs and they usually have a section reserved for them. They will dance (music is pop for the most part) with themselves and their counselors.

Regarding the 18, that's a tough age - they can't go to the clubs anymore - there's a counselor that tries to get the 18-21 together to do some things, but not very much organized...

 

[LemonPie]

6 dollar t shirts has a pirate shirt that I got for my whole crew. They have kid and adult sizes. It was a good choice for us and did not take up the suitcase space of an entire costume. My son also wears his for Talk like a pirate day.