<p>Wow, what an amazing offer! You’ll have to pay for liquor/soda on the ship. Water, lemonade, tea are free. I spend hours researching the options in the different ports. It’s simpler to choose on offered by the cruise line (and safer, since they guarantee your timely return to the ship), but sometimes quite a bit cheaper to go find a local operator. Sometimes it’s just fun to wander around near the port and shop or take a cab to the beach.</p>
<p>I urge you to go. There are teen activities and activities for singles. There are shows in the evenings (free). Our family loves cruising. </p>
<p>Oh, the standard gratuities will be expected. Sometimes the service is so awesome you feel compelled to add a bit. They take very good care of the passengers! That’s all I can think of me. PM me if you want an excellent cruise forum. Those people can answer any ship-specific questions for you.</p>
<p>Check the Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor web sites, which are ver similar in approach to this one and very, very helpful, even as to particular ships</p>
<p>Just watch the liquor and soda $</p>
<p>Go on at least 1 excursion–swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, etc–that you cannot do at home. Book early to avoid getting shut out</p>
<p>Sunsets and stars while on the ocean are fabulous and free</p>
<p>PM me for more info–I have been to several Bahamas ports on cruises</p>
<p>Different lines attract customers with different profiles. If you choose a cruise that generally attracts families with older kids, there will likely be some number of college-age kids on board. I have heard of other families doing this, so it’s not unlikely that you will find something where there would be people her own age for your daughter to talk to if she wanted.</p>
<p>My wife and I took a cruise to Alaska a few years ago, with my parents and sister, but without our kids (who declined to come) – one was about to be a college sophomore, the other a high school senior. It wasn’t a huge ship, but there were definitely 10-20 kids their age on board, and they would have enjoyed it.</p>
<p>One of our children (then college freshman) came with us for a week at a minimalist eco-resort in the Caribbean. There were lots of other college students there, with and without families, and a sizable group of high-school seniors, too, on a class trip. As far as I could tell, our kid spoke to none of them the whole week. He just wasn’t interested. For him, the point was to be with us, and he was happy to put his energy there (for a week).</p>
<p>Every Thanksgiving we go on a Club Med vacation. My 20 and 16 year olds like Club Med better than cruise because there are a lot more younger people there. Everyone that works there is around their age, so there are a lot of people for them to hang out with. For us everything is included - activities, sports, alcohol, soda, food, no tipping. Everyone is very friendly. We have met a lot of nice people on our trips. You could sit with different people at each meal or you could eat by yourself. I have taken my kids by myself a few times, always had a great time meeting new people.</p>
<p>Just something else to consider. I wish my parents would pay for a cruise for me.:)</p>
<p>Check out [Cruise</a> Reviews, Cruise Deals and Cruises - Cruise Critic](<a href=“http://www.cruisecritic.com%5DCruise”>http://www.cruisecritic.com) and you can look on the forum for your specific cruise and nail down the extra expenses by posting your question.</p>
<p>musica’s link is the same one I mentioned (I wasn’t sure it was legal to post the link). It has VERY helpful & active forums for each ship & port. </p>
<p>I’m really jealous just thinking about this…I’ve been on 3 and would love to go again!!!</p>
<p>I do agree with yabe about the excursions. I paid WAY too much for my younger son to ‘Swim with the Dolphins’, but he will remember that his whole life. It makes me smile whenever I pass the photos on his wall to remember his joy! Happily all my older son wanted was to rent a jetski in Cozumel (much cheaper!!!).</p>
<p>I definitely recommend that you go! DW took my D on a 5-day cruise as a graduation present. Both of you will have lots to do on-board, and of course plenty of excursion opportunities. Rain forest and snorkeling excursions were definitely memorable, as was shopping opportunities. 24-Hour Cabin Service was free!</p>
<p>First, be aware that on many of the lines, your D will be able to drink. There’s one line–can’t remember which-where kids 18-20 can drink beer and wine, but not hard booze. </p>
<p>It IS tough to find this age group on a cruise. However, while my experience is “past its sell date” now, we actually found this type of cruise the easiest to find other kids on. This is in part because your boarding pass gets a special symbol–or at least it did back then–which said you could have beer & wine–which actually meant they could generate a list of those 18-20 easily. it also meant that the kids who are 18 or 19 could hang out with the 21 year olds since there wasn’t this “you are underage so you can’t go into the disco at all” mentality. </p>
<p>Most of the cruise lines-at least back then-had teen activities which only went to age 17 or 18–depending on the line–and single activities which start at age 21, due to liquor restrictions. The age 18 to 20 demographic is neglected, except for honeymooners. </p>
<p>Some of the cruise lines won’t let you go without a parent unless you are 21 or married. Again, while that’s nice in theory…it means you won’t see a lot of kids. Look for the ones where you can book even if you are 18. </p>
<p>So, accept the present, but in choosing a cruise, pay more attention to demographics than you normally would.</p>
<p>You’ve received a lot of good cruise specific info from other posters. I have taken several “all inclusive” vacations over the years with my college age kids. Something that we found important to do in advance was to talk with our kids about the changing dynamics and roles in our relationship and our expectations versus theirs.The dynamics and roles in parent child relationships can change dramatically even after only one semester of college. Oftentimes, a college student comes home from their first semester with an expectation of having the autonomy to structure their days and activities that can be at odds with a parent’s expectations. Issues surrounding curfews, the students communicating where they are and what they are doing, time with the family, appropriate activities and, yes, drinking can take on a whole new dimension. College students can expect that they will have the same ability to make those decisions as if they were away at school and parents can often fall back into the “old way” of handling these issues as if the student was still in high school living at home. Family vacations with college students can be great fun because they are so much more developed as adults. The whole idea is for the family to enjoy their time together and we found addressing these issues up front eliminated any contentiousness while away due to conflicting expectations . Don’t know whether any of this would apply in your relationship, but I thought it worth mentioning. In any event, have a great time. Vacations with college kids are a blast.</p>
<p>Go! You will be hooked on crusing after that!
I took my family just before Christmas break 2007 to Mexico. There were not very many kids at all on the ship, so my kids basicly hung out by the pool and did lots of eating. Even so, they loved it and can’t wait to cruise again! They learned more the week they missed school by traveling and seeing other cultures than they would have been if they were at school (jmo).<br>
Just try not to over pack! Have fun! Any other questions, PM me!</p>
<p>Oh I’m jealous! I cruised with D when she was 14 and then 16. Obviously some of the issues will differ with a college-aged D, but just a few random thoughts:</p>
<p>Royal Carribbean seems to draw young adults more than Carnival, the other line we’ve cruised. </p>
<p>Your fare will take care of your living quarters, obviously, and meals in the dining room. Other than that, decide ahead of time your budget for other expenses, or you could easily debark at the end with a giant unplanned credit card balance. The things that can come back to bite you are legion: alcohol, casino, spa, shopping, and ship excursions. But there are also a ton of free or low-cost things to keep you busy. My personal favorite is getting frilly coffee drink, finding a quiet corner on deck and curling up with a good book while the ocean goes by. The ship’s shows every evening are wonderful, and free. Napping whenever I want to – priceless!</p>
<p>Take half of the clothes you think you’ll need. But some comfortable walking shoes are essential.</p>
<p>Don’t fly into your port city the day of the cruise, thinking you’ll just taxi from airport to ship. CruiseCritic (which I also recommend) has lots of stories of cruisers who missed their ship that way, or their luggage has.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the current passport requirements are, but find out now and begin working on that if necessary.</p>
<p>Son and husband took a cruise out of Miami between the end of classes and his only final which happened to be teh last day of finals. Left him with 14 days off. They booked a Carnival cruise to the Caribbean. (western). </p>
<p>Took one excursion. Taxis to the beach for snorkeling and relaxing (do research on the computer for good beaches).</p>
<p>Extra expenses: Excursions, tips, liquor. For a change, you may want to try the restaurant on board. Make reservations early. For a nominal fee you will have much better food. You can spend as much or as little as you want on a cruise.</p>
<p>We’ve been on 4 or so (and are leaving soon for a cruise without the kids- both in college now). You may plan to eat breakfast, head out shopping/touring, back to boat for lunch, change and grab a cab to the beach. No rush. you have plenty of time in port.
Travel days aboard the ship are relaxing. Make sure you take a good book.</p>
<p>My son did not hang out with other kids. Too old for kid clubs, too young for bars, etc. It was a time to be together and relax (and study for his final!!)</p>