Surviving That Cruise Vacation with the Teens

My teens are all grown up and one of the nicest experiences we shared as a family has been to go on cruise vacations. Here are a few tips to ensure that you and your teens can enjoy that cruise vacation.

1. You can pick any ship and it will work out.
Odds are the bigger the ship, the more teens will be on-board and the more activities available for them. These programs are nice but not critical since teens, as we all know, just find other teens to hang out with. The opposite applies when you travel with younger kids, they need more structure.

2. Teens will always complain during the planning stage but always end up enjoying the trip.
Teens griping about something is almost a universal rule, so don't let this faze you. It's pretty much standard to hear that they would rather be left behind at home to be with their friends .. but what usually happens at the end of each cruise is that you teens will be happy that they went with you.

3. You don't have to carry their luggage anymore! (just teasing)
Some truth to it though ... remember those days when you have to push them on strollers when you go on vacations? Now you can focus on more adventurous destinations that you have always wanted to visit.

4. Teens need the space while on board.
When the kids were small, going for a triple cabin worked since it was cozier for everyone. Teens will need more space, so depending on your budget, you have several options -- mini-suites or family suites which can hold five or more people, adjoining cabins with a private connecting door between them (similar set-up you can find in hotels), two adjoining cabins with no privacy door, or cabins facing each other with one across the hall and one with a balcony and a nice ocean view!

Options will vary for each cruise that you take so it's recommended that you reach out to a cruise counselor before you even start booking. In my experience, mini-suites are usually larger than the largest regular room, with curtains separating the sleeping areas. A regular suite will be larger than two regular rooms combined and might be less expensive than the two rooms.

If you will be charged the same for a full suite versus two regular rooms, then you need to evaluate which one is better in terms of comfort and privacy. The suite might be able to accommodate your entire family but separate rooms will provide more privacy to your teens. If you go with the separate rooms approach, you will not be able to track your teens activity as much. To address this, you can always book adjoining rooms so you can at least hear your teens activities next door.

Due to the above factors, adjoining cabins are usually the first to be booked during summer and spring breaks, so try to reserve them months in advance.

5. In addition to their need for space, teens need their freedom too.
As a parent, you just want to enjoy that cruise vacation with the entire family. Your teens, on the other hand, might have a different agenda and might just want to be as far away from you as possible!

Not a problem with cruise vacations -- you can compromise by being together on those on-shore excursions but when you are on board the ship, let your teens set their own activities away from you. Just adopt a simple curfew and check on them once in a while.

If you follow these basic guidelines, you are set in terms of enjoying that cruise with your teens. Time goes by too fast for all of us and these teens will be out of the house on their own before you know it, so enjoy the time you have with them as much as you can!

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