Suggestions for 13 yo boy?

[lionQueen5]

Well I finally booked our 1st cruise for Jan 2005. Our oldest son will be 13. He's going through that "cool" phase and isn't very excited about the cruise - says he would rather spend those days at WDW. I need your help to convince him he will have fun! Can anyone describe the teen activities that your kids enjoyed? He loves to skateboard and play video games. I thought I read somewhere that they have video game tournaments which he would love. He is very social and I think he will have a good time if he gives it a chance.

 

[TootyJane]

Well, the best piece of advice from my oldest ds is to go to the "Meet and Greet" held on the first night. We have been on two Disney cruises. The first cruise oldest ds was 11 and the second cruise he was 14 and able to go to Common Ground (now The Stack). He also loves skateboarding, video games, and is pretty outgoing. He said nothing much happened the first night but the second night it was much better. After that second night we hardly saw him! There were rules: he had to eat dinner with us, he had to go on any shore excursions that we had booked and he had a 1:30am curfew. There was only one time that he stayed out until 2:00am but that was due to a planned activity. He usually was up, dressed and out of the room by 8:00-8:30am every morning. I think he slept for a week after we got home. What he said to us was "I had the time of my life. I can't wait to go back again." We're going in June and he and his brothers can't wait.

I'm sure that if your son goes to The Stack the first night he'll hook up with some other kids and will have a great time. You might ask your question on the Teen Board. Perhaps he'll be able to find someone else that's going on your same cruise and will be able to email beforehand. Good luck.

 

[xangav]

I just wanted to let you know that our son will be 13 in July. He lives for his next video game and is not too social with people he doesn't know. We went on our first cruise in Nov '02 when he was 10. He was thrilled when they told him he could check himself in and out of the clubs. I , however, was a bit leary because we had never done anything like this. Well, the worrying was for nothing. He had a ball and we never saw him because he was always with the other kids. Like I said, he is almost 13 and in the "too cool" stage, but deep down he would still like to be a little kid. I know this because we are going in two weeks and every day he comes out and announces how many days are left until "the cruise". He can't wait. So don't worry. Just being on the ship is an adventure. Have fun.

 

[lionQueen5]

Thank you both for putting my mind at ease! DS will love the freedom to check in and out and to stay up late. I will make sure he goes to the "Meet and Greet" the first night.
Wishing you both lots of sunshine and magic on your next trip - I'm envious.

 

[PhotoLisa]

My 14 yo dd LOVES to cruise because of the freedom she has while onboard.

On our cruise last month (our 3rd cruise), I only required her to attend formal and semi-formal nights with us but she surprised us and actually ate dinner with us as a family each and every night.

The kids network and usually find a "buddy" with similar interests to hang out with.

There are many activities during the night in the stack for the teens to participate in. If I'm not mistaken, the stack closes at 1:30 or 2:00 AM but it was usually around 3 AM when dd would come in. The teens usually sat around talking until they couldn't stay awake any longer.

My daughter says there are around 18 TVs in the stack and at least four PlayStation 2's as well.

She says there were dances in the stack at night and suggests to forego the Wild Side excursion on Castaway Cay - just go to the teen beach.

Some nights they played basketball on the front of the ship and had their own sailaway parties.

When we were at the MCO Hyatt and Airport Food Court, dd saw many of her cruise friends killing time just like us. It was really heartwarming to see these teens interact. They knew it would be the last time they might see each other.

Lisa

 

[CGBatch]

Originally posted by lionQueen5
Well I finally booked our 1st cruise for Jan 2005. Our oldest son will be 13. He's going through that "cool" phase and isn't very excited about the cruise - says he would rather spend those days at WDW. I need your help to convince him he will have fun! Can anyone describe the teen activities that your kids enjoyed? He loves to skateboard and play video games. I thought I read somewhere that they have video game tournaments which he would love. He is very social and I think he will have a good time if he gives it a chance.

First of all how can anyone not like a cruise they are fun! Anyway I'm 14 so I figured I could help. I also think he will wnjoy the cruise. There were many video games in the Common Grounds so probably for the stack. I'm gonig for my 4th time in November so I'll know then. There are alot of fun activities try reading some of the sample navigators and show them to him.

Edit: and btw the cruise does go in the cool category for anyone keeping score.

 

[crystalrp]

My 13 yo DS lived at the basketball court! Every time we wondered where he was, we would turn the TV onto the channel that shows the basketball court. Sure enough, there he was! LOL To each his own I guess!!

 

[mshinrockford]

We have a son who will be 14 on our next cruise. He didn't really like the Kids Club that much the last time we went (He was 12). It seemed like on our trip there were a lot of family groups traveling together, and the kids his age were already "grouped".

Our son is very shy, but does like video/computer games. Do the counselors in the Teen club help assimilate kids who are "alone" ?. I am going to need to do a lot of convincing to get him to try the teen club, and need all the help I can get! I know he'd have a great time, if he gives it a chance.

I am open to any suggestions. Our next cruise is April 2005, so I have some time. Thanks!

 

[CGBatch]

Originally posted by mshinrockford
Our son is very shy, but does like video/computer games. Do the counselors in the Teen club help assimilate kids who are "alone" ?. I am going to need to do a lot of convincing to get him to try the teen club, and need all the help I can get! I know he'd have a great time, if he gives it a chance.

I am open to any suggestions. Our next cruise is April 2005, so I have some time. Thanks!

All I can say is try to get him to go. IF he does then chances are he'll have fun and want to go again. As for the counselors helping assimilate people they do try to do their at helping.

 

[Tarquin]

My DD will also be 13 when we go on the Magic 1/8/05-she's very interested in chatting on the teen board- but I can't figure out where it is- I tried doing a search for it, but the search just lists individual posts about teens-anybody know?

thanks
Cathym

 

[lionQueen5]

Try Teen Disney:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=21
I'm not sure if this is right, maybe someone else has some ideas.