Well, I have already done 2 cruises and I can tell you for a fact, that I heart Carnival. We were on a different ship this time and there were a lot of things I liked and then, of course, there were those things that were just not the same.
Be prepared to go on the trip of a lifetime and to be totally annoyed by your siblings at times and then be the annoying one at other times. It’s a vacation like no other. I travel at least 5x a year on road trips and long extended vacations, and always I will vote for a Cruise! While I love cruises there are 8 things teens need to know about cruises. Since I am a teen travel pro, let me share my expertise!
8 Things Teens Need To Know About Cruises
Before you ask, I feel that is is my duty as a teen travel pro to help answer questions you might have. I wanted to know a lot before I cruised a year back for the first time, but it is all adults online talking, no teens. Let’s change this! My dream cruise brand to work with is Disney because I hear it’s like a rager on their ship all the time for teens! We were on a trip with Holland America for my mom’s work, and before we sailed with Carnival.
1. Us – We– Me
Yeah, in a room for 10 days together, try it. If you think she is annoying try living this way for 10 days! Thankfully we were hardly in the room and Mom and Dad were right next door. That Verandah was way cooler than our first cruise, where we had an inside cabin! We used the Verandah as our space to read and get out of each other’s hair. But we NEVER went on it at night unless we were with our parents (their rule and we listened)
2. Roommates
My sister thinks she is in charge of us, and I guess in some way she is. She is the oldest. What made this room different than our room on Carnival were the beds. We had ONE king size bed and one sofa bed. However, if the room steward would have used the bed above, we could have all had our own bed. We liked Carnival better for that. On Carnival, we really got to know our room steward and he made the difference in our stay.
3. Be Prepared To Dress Nice For At Least One Meal
Hey, I love my ties, and my dad taught me how to tie them a while back. So part of the dress up gig is a tie, and I love that! Plus, right after we eat, my mom is cool about it, we come back and change into shorts. For all those seeing the red bag, remember I have severe food allergies!
4. Lunch – Burgers & Breaking The Rules
Every once in a while, we would come back from our day excursion early. If you read my ‘how to get the cruise pool to yourself‘ you will learn why we were back today. The ship was empty and I loved it. I went to the adult side of the LIDO deck to eat – rule breaker here! I could, no one was around. Get a burger, if you do nothing else on the whole cruise eat a ship burger. That Good!
A personal suggestion and not to get you in trouble: when everyone else is off the ship, try the other side out like I did. Suddenly you will realize there is nothing special about the Adult only side. Oh, and the kid-friendly side has all the junk food (burgers,fries, ice cream and more) so you don’t have to walk far with it to eat!
5. Popcorn Without A Movie
I was walking the ship early one day with my mom and dad (seriously there was nothing to do on this ship- I’ll go into that more later) so the stroll was my big deal! Anyway, we all smelled popcorn. Personally as a teen, one of my favorite foods to load up on, is Popcorn. I think rooms on a ship should come standard with a bucket of popcorn (Where Niko Travels Suggestion to Cruise Ships)!
SOURCE The POPCORN – it’s somewhere on the ship, trust me!
Anyway, my mom is as bad as me with a popcorn addiction, so we sniffed our way (yeah, like dogs) to the source. We found it in the movie theater (yeah my brother and sister tagged along a different day to get some, and that’s the picture). Every day, I went down and visited the table, where popcorn was IN the theater and ‘jacked’ a few bags, I am a growing teen and I need my popcorn! Don’t forget to have your parents check the ‘bar’ zone for popcorn. Because there was a Steelers – Jaguars football game on, they had it in there too, stacked to the wall (and then in my belly!)
6. Your Excursion Pack Is Important
So, every time we came to port we got off the boat (disembarked) and went to shore. This is fun partly because the longer your cruise and the more you visit the land, you get sea legs. You get on land and stand still and the land beneath your feet feels like it is moving wait till you feel it! You can get one like me here –> Under Armour Cinch Bag.
You have to bring your room key, you go through security on the way out and scan out and you gotta scan back in. Your backpack is super important to help you keep this.
One day, one of the 3 of us, forgot our room key. We held up the line, ticked off our parents, and then we were late for an excursion. Since I already took the heat for you, remember your keycard when you leave.
Don’t forget a charging block because the islands (you will love this) have WiFi. We were totally WiFi deprived on this cruise so when we got to port we cranked on the WiFi and drained our battery. Pack a hat and sunglasses too, you will thank me later because the sun is strong on the islands.
7. Elevators are Great Rides
Never forget, we are teens and we need to have a little fun. Behind US you see the elevators, always make sure to press a button or two to give someone else a nice ride. Our faces are giving us away and we got busted by my mom coming off of one.
Be Prepared For Parents To Snap Snap Snap
Alright, so you know vacation is a family thing and parents are so sentimental about their pictures. We had to stop for my mom in front of all these things. Hey, it is the price you pay for being on a cool cruise. Suck It Up, we do! Get the oddest picture you can and share it on IG, that’s bragging rights! That’s it, for this post of Where Niko Travels and 8 Things Teens Need To Know About Cruises. Hit me up on IG! ~ Niko
I am Niko Vento a teen travel writer, who has severe food allergies. Follow more of my adventures on my mom’s site (on my Tab Niko Travels) and Travel and adventure run deep in my veins. I write to share my triumphs in dining out with allergies and to share adventures that teens need to experience too! Want me to visit you and really tell your story? email me through my mom of course, I’m just a kid [email protected] – Hope to see you soon. I am a #TMSJuniors travel writer
