Teens Only Excursion on MR cruises

[son3disfan]

I am thinking of allowing my soon to be 15 year old DS to go on the Learning to Surf excursion in Cabo. It is a teen only (no grownups) with staff from the Stack to supervise. He did the teen one ( Wild side?) at Castaway Cay in Feb and loved the alone time. It was great for him to have that independence!

My DH is not too sure about this, and now has me second guessing myself.
What do you think? Has anyone let there teens go alone on excursions?

 

[disneygirlinphoenix]

Hey!

I would myself be a bit leery of unsupervised in Mexico. At Castaway, it is a private island, more controlled. Maybe you can compromise, and spend a few hours with your son doing that, and then going and doing something you all will enjoy.

Just my two cents.. I would like to read what you discover.

 

[Dicecatt]

I think I'm going to let mine do it in March. She'll be with a few more of her friends though, and she'll be 16 1/2 at the time...

 

[Luvstocruise]

Hi,
Personally, I see a big big difference in Castaway Cay -completely controlled by Disney with no outside non Disney Employees and Mexico. What would happen if something happened to your son, and he is in a foreign country with too many variables. I would find this not to be clear cut situation.

Regards,
Dan aka Luvstocruise

 

[hopelea]

I was going to let my almost 15 year old go.....but have now decided against it. If things don't improve in the MR we will be staying on the ship. It is such a sad time for Mexico. Safety is a concern for all of us. Glad we love the ship so much....lots of time to enjoy it.

 

[son3disfan]

I was going to let my almost 15 year old go.....but have now decided against it. If things don't improve in the MR we will be staying on the ship. It is such a sad time for Mexico. Safety is a concern for all of us. Glad we love the ship so much....lots of time to enjoy it.

Hi Hopelea!

I think we are on the same cruise....

I am reading a lot about Mexico lately also, and I think I too have changed my decision. My DH wants to do something all together. I am having trouble finding something for all 5 of us to do together, that allows kids 10 and 12. I was thinking if my 14 year old went surfing, then we would be 4, and be able to rent dune buggies or jeeps or something. A family of 5 always leaves one child out. The excursions also seem a lot more pricey then they were on our other 3 cruises??

 

[hopelea]

Son3disfan....have you joined our March 13 meet thread? I also agree the prices are expensive for the excursions. I really didn't want to spend lots of $$ on excursions. If the travel warning is still out, I will use it as an excuse to stay on the ship to save money!

 

[mrosen]

I have 2 kids but none are 15 yet. I personally would have a tough time doing this but my kids already think I'm too conservative. I am very cautious in what I let mine do so not sure in my own personal case that I would change my mind on this in a few year. But some of this will come down to personal choice and what each parent is comfortable with his or her children. I assume if Disney is offering this, they have had people do this in the past. Maybe there is some additional information by calling Disney Cruise line that can be obtained here around #s of kids to tour guides, etc to discuss specifically on that teenager shore excursion.

I also saw reference in another posting here to trouble finding excursions for 10 and 12 year olds for whole family can do something of interest. I did notice several that require kids be 12 which eliminates these for one of our kids. We have ruled all those excursions out as in our case, we will only sign up for excursions that all of us can do together. There are a few I would have liked to consider that I think my 10 year old could actually do but doesn't meet that 12 year old age requirement. We have been able to find choices but I did notice in some ports quite a few that had 12 year old minimum age for more outdoor adventure type excursions. I don't know if this is typical on Disney cruises. I went on one other Disney cruise (in Med in Spring) and I only recall 1 shore excursion we had to eliminate that was neat with the 12 year old age requirement. Fortunately on that cruise, we had so many neat choices that it didn't matter about this one we had interest in.

 

[Dicecatt]

I hear you with the concern...I am an extremely paranoid parent even around home. My younger ones can't play outside without me or another adult supervising.

But, on the other hand (and I know this may sound contrary to what I just stated), I want to encourage adventure and experience with my children, and I want them to be brave in life in general. I believe at 16 1/2 with DCL supervision, as long as I don't feel unsafe to get off ship myself, that she'll be fine. By 18 she'll be ready to live on her own at college, only a year and 1/2 after the cruise, and hopefully do things like study in another country, or maybe do the Disney college program.

Although I am conservative at home, I have also taken my three older ones on a shark snorkel. I personally am adventurous and I want my kids to travel and experience all the world has to offer. I've done "crazy" things like meet my sister in Egypt, two females traveling alone (and Gaza strip was exploding in turmoil during that time, not so far away). The result of that craziness is that I experienced what I think might be the most amazing place on the planet.

Having said all that, I really do understand why some parents wouldn't want their kids to do it, and that is fine! To each his own. You know what is best for your family and your kids!

 

[danfromca]

I am thinking of allowing my soon to be 15 year old DS to go on the Learning to Surf excursion in Cabo. It is a teen only (no grownups) with staff from the Stack to supervise. He did the teen one ( Wild side?) at Castaway Cay in Feb and loved the alone time. It was great for him to have that independence!

My DH is not too sure about this, and now has me second guessing myself.
What do you think? Has anyone let there teens go alone on excursions?

We're on the PC cruise with a teen - and that will be the very first time that excursion is being offered by Disney. As far as we're concerned, if he wants to go, We'll send him without a moment's hesitation.

There's always risk in life - there's even risk crossing the street. But if you want to give a teen a chance to learn to surf, how better than with experts trained to teach surfing under the supervision of Disney staff?

As far as I'm concerned, any risk due to it being in Mexico, or not as "controlled" as Castaway Cay is nothing compared to the inherent risk of surfing (which would apply anywhere).

 

[DaniellefromOttawa]

Hi!

We are headed to MR in feb 2012, and was wondering if anyone (or their kids) recently has been on the teen surfing excursion?

Based on these comments here, it seems that most parents felt it was too dangerous but these are from quite a while ago...interested in hearing from people who have either been on this excursion or maybe were at the same beach? Did it seem safe? I have a hard time imagining that Disney would offer an unsafe excursion, especially with unsupervised teenagers, but do want to do my homework first!

Thanks for any insight you can offer!

Danielle

 

[geffric]

I have done it before and would do it again..

I feel the staff from the Stack really watches out for the kids and therefore I feel that my child is safe with them.

 

[DaniellefromOttawa]

Thanks geffric! Anyone else out there?

Danielle

 

[lvmy2boys]

We were on the MR cruise in February. My son was 14 at the time and did the teen surfing and loved it!! He said he never felt like it was unsafe and he was always supervised. The Disney staff made sure all the teens were safe and having a good time. There were probably 20 teens that went and all of them came back on the ship raving about what a good time they had. They take them to a resort fairly close to the ship for the surfing lessons. We are sailing in April again and my son has already put in a request to do the excursion again and without hesitation, I will sign him up. Hope that helps!

 

[lvmy2boys]

We were on the MR cruise in February. My son was 14 at the time and did the teen surfing and loved it!! He said he never felt like it was unsafe and he was always supervised. The Disney staff made sure all the teens were safe and having a good time. There were probably 20 teens that went and all of them came back on the ship raving about what a good time they had. They take them to a resort fairly close to the ship for the surfing lessons. We are sailing in April again and my son has already put in a request to do the excursion again and without hesitation, I will sign him up. Hope that helps!

 

[TheLanes]

Cabo and PV are no more dangerous than many American cities, especially for tourists. Please check your facts before posting your irrational opinions on safety in Mexico. It makes me sad...

Edit: sorry, not all of you were irrational, some did brave the wilds of coastal tourist Mexico.

 

[DaniellefromOttawa]

Hi!

Thanks for your replies, it's always great to hear of others experiences who have been there!!

Thanks!
Danielle

 

[manitobamickey]

My 16 year old daughter and all of her new found friends from the stack ventured on this excursion in March 2011. They had a great time and never mentioned being unsafe. THey went directly to a resort to partake in the surfing and then straight back to the ship. They were late getting back to the ship so that was a bit nerve wracking for us when security phoned us to see if she was onboard, but as soon as we said they were with the teen group, they said, oh ok, we knew they were going to be late. She loved the experience and would definitely do it again!

 

[DaniellefromOttawa]

Them being late must have been stressful!

I booked it for my son today, going in February and going to give it to him as a Christmas present!

Danielle