<p>Okay I am new to this and would just like some thoughts. I am 18 years old just graduated high school and am planning to go on a 4 day or 7 day cruise in late july. I will be going with my 15 year old brother and parents. Which is better for my age around 18/17 so older teens? I have heard carnival ships are the party ships but do either cater to young adults? Which has better clubs and activities for older teens? any help is appreciated looking to book soon. I have narrowed it down to these two so please help as soon as possible</p>
<p>I have nothing to contribute but I like your username. Reference to The Office?</p>
<p>Try the website called cruise critic dot com. They have great info, and informed passionate cruisers who will be able to answer all your questions.</p>
<p>I second above mentioned website, lots of info esp in cruise line specific forums and details about every ship ect. We took a cruise on Royal and loved it kids were 14 & 16 at the time</p>
<p>Given the age ranges, I’d say go RCL. If you were graduating college and looking for some “rollicking” fun, I’d have said Carnival.</p>
<p>yeah I have been to that site but its a lot to look at and I was looking for some quick thoughts from here or any personal experiences… coskat what did you like about royal did it cater to young adults? honestly rite now I am in a bind I want to have a good time and want to make the right decision as it is my last vacation before college and first cruise.</p>
<p>You will enjoy either. A lot depends on time of year, length of cruise and the itinerary as to whether it is a “party” ship or a mixed group. My son in law played in a Carnival ship’s orchestra on vacations to help pay for med school, and he loves Carnival. For our family, I tended to prefer RC.</p>
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<p>What defines “a good time” for a 17/18-year old may be different from person to person and definitely different for your younger brother. Try to avoid the BP oil spill regions.</p>
<p>We went on a RCI cruise on the Mariner two summers ago with our then 19-year-old and there were tons of teens and young adults. They tended to hang out on the sports deck during the day and the hot tubs at night. Keep in mind that there’s a difference between 17 and 18; I believe the teen club only goes to age 17 and might not allow 18-year-olds in. They did not have organized activities for young adults but the disco was open early some nights for underage, who were then kicked out at a certain time. Drinking age is 21 on most routes and gambling is age 18. Party ships means drinking and gambling, but summer cruises are filled with families. The shorter cruises tend to be more party; the longer ones more families.</p>
<p>I would recommend a 7 night cruise then consider which ships fit your timing and costs. The bigger the ship, the more there will be to do for teens. Once you have some options, sign up on cruisecritic and post your question on both the Carnival and RCI boards to see what specific experiences people have had with your age group on those specific cruises.</p>
<p>this obviously doesn’t include drinking cuz thats not allowed on the boat and I am probably too old for the teen lounge so I am trying to make sure there are more people my age and more things to do, i know my brother will have fun. right now I am thinking Caribbean or bahamas, and 5 day or 7 day cruise… I am trying to figure out which is better if anyone has some experiences</p>
<p>I sent you a PM with a link to a cruisecritic discussion thread on the topic. I think in general the cruise lines do not plan specific activities for 18-20 year olds. There are tons of activities that teens and young adults can do together like dance classes, sports, etc. I don’t know the facilities on the new giant Carnival ships, but the larger RCI ships have climbing walls, mini golf course, surfing, ice skating, etc. Also contests and parties during the day. But it’s unlikely that the ships will have planned events just for your age group.</p>
<p>I do advise once you pick your cruise, register on cruisecritic and check out the roll call for your cruise - every sailing normally has its own roll call thread. You may be able to find out how many other kids in your age group are cruising, and make contact with them ahead of time.</p>
<p>thanks I do realize from reading that thread that not many activities are planned for the 18-20 age group. I am assuming i wont be able to go to the teen club with my brother and am too young for the bars. I guess I am just wondering where I can find more people my age, royal or carnival?</p>
<p>Finding the most people your age is going to be a bit of a gamble as it will change a bit cruise to cruise. Most 18 year olds can’t afford to go on their own so you have to try to guess on a cruise that mommy and daddy will take them on. Since most of the “shorter” cruises are cheaper the families tend to be a little bit younger since they have less disposable cash to spend. If I were to take a guess I would go with a 7 day cruise. Usually those will have family units where the parents are in the 40 to 50 range and should have children in the teens to very early twenties. Just a guess on my part but that is what I have seen in the past. 4 to 5 day cruises tend to have more youth and early teens.</p>
<p>Not only can most 18 year olds not afford to go alone, the cruise ships don’t allow it. My 19 year old daughter has been wanting to go with friends. The cruise lines require someone over 25 to go along…
Carnival is definitely a younger (30s crowd) and bigger drinkers than RCI. I have done both, including the shorter ones from LA to Mexico and longer from FL to the Carribean. I would agree with MemphisGuy on the age for the 7 day and go with the nicer line, Royal Carribean.</p>
<p>Depending on where you are cruising, 18 is legal in international waters. A parent has to give permission for this. You would then be allowed (I’m assuming) in the ‘adult’ clubs. This is not to say that there would be more people your age on one cruise line than another, simply that you may be allowed in the adult clubs.</p>
<p>Yes, my S did have a problem as an 18 year old on a Celebrity cruise last summer, as they had no activitities at all for 18 year olds - he could not participate in any of the teen activities and Celebrity would not allow 18 year olds in any of the “adult clubs” (except for certain teen hours).</p>
<p>Royal Caribbean by far. They have great boats, great interiors for walking around, etc…</p>
<p>We’ve been on quite a few cruises. Son and husband took a Carnival cruise (to use time between last day of class and only final- last day of finals week). Carnival was good, but RC is better. </p>
<p>You and your brother will be fine as long as you try to meet the other kids. </p>
<p>Enjoy… and don’t forget your snorkels!</p>
<p>I think Carnival would be better for you. Save RC for your honeymoon :-).</p>
<p>My D (now 22) says Carnival 100%. She’s been on several cruises, several lines. We were looking at a cruise for Jan 2011, and the first words out her mouth were, “Carnival, please” - not just the atmosphere, but a more relaxed dress code, and the nightclubs stay open later. The food on both RC & Carnival are (mostly) comparable. The cabins are comparable. She doesn’t want to have to dress up, and be comfortable not dressing up. At 18, you’ll find some amount of people your age, but as already mentioned, a lot will depend on when (if school is in session). The trip she took when she was 18 she did a lot of hanging out with family (we play Scrabble and other games), reading on a quiet deck, karaoke & comedy shows at night. She was not much into ‘disco’ type dancing at that age. She has enjoyed every trip.</p>
<p>OP, I just completed my 24th cruise this past Sunday coming off RCCL’s Mariner of the Seas. 10 of my cruises have been with Royal, 3 with Carnival.</p>
<p>First, both of the cruise lines you mention tend to lack much in terms of organized activities for the 18-20 age group. Both lines do make an effort to organize mixers and such during the first few days of the cruise to get them to meet up, but after a few days you’re on your own. However, Royal’s ships tend to offer more in terms of activities that appeal to the younger groups so in my opinion it would be a lot easier to meet up with someone your own age without having access to the teen club and/or hover around a bar.</p>
<p>Second, cruising in the summer and on holiday breaks is a great way to be on a ship with families traveling together which means more kids and more teens. There were over 3600 people on my ship of which well over 200 were teenagers. Since you’re looking to cruise in July you should have a pretty strong group of people in your age group.</p>
<p>It was mentioned above that the atmosphere tends to be more formal on Royal than on Carnival. This is true and you will be surprised at how many young adults and kids I saw dressing up and looking nice every night of the cruise. On carnival things tend to be way more relaxed but there is nothing wrong with that. I personally enjoy dressing up in the evenings. There was one gentleman I met on the cruise - 21yo fraternity guy from SoCal. During the day you could find him poolside with buckets of beer having a blast but in the evenings he was always dressed up in the concierge lounge drinking wine and talking about his favorites. Totally blew me away lol</p>
<p>Lastly, a quick note on the clubs. On Carnival it has been my experience that the adult dance club tends to get utilized by a wider range of people than on Royal. You’ll have your 18-20’s all the way up to your 50’s+ so the clubs can be busy year-round. On Royal, the club tends to get utilized mainly by the 18-39 age group. During the summer, spring break, and holidays this means the club is packed as it was on my cruise last week. However, on my cruise this past January on RCCL’s Voyager, the club was a lot less busy but was still mainly utilized by the 18-39 age group. </p>
<p>So have your family book your cruise and don’t worry about meeting someone. There are countless of other teens who are worried just like you but at the end of the week go home with countless Facebook requests.</p>