Have Teens Will Travel, a Survival Guide

I have three grown up kids now and one of the nicest thing we did as a family was to go on cruise vacations. Here are a few tips to ensure that you and your teens can enjoy that cruise vacation.

1. Any ship will do!.
The bigger ships will have more teens and more facilities and programs specifically for them. This is not as important since teens will usually find each other on their own to have fun, irrespective of whether there are programs available on the cruise. The opposite applies when you travel with younger kids, they need more structure.

2. Teens will gripe initially about the trip but usually end up enjoying it.
I am sure you have seen this in your teens, not just when you are planning a cruise but just about anything else. It's pretty much standard to hear that they would rather be left behind at home to be with their friends .. but from my experience, at the end of each cruise, my teens are always glad they came with mom and dad.

3. Teens can carry their own luggage (just kidding!)
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 need their space, so you need to match your budget with choices available -- 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!

Each cruise will present you with various options so it's best to confirm the details with a cruise counselor before you book it. Mini-suites are usually larger than the largest regular room and you will have curtains to separate the sleeping areas. A full suite will have more space than two separate regular rooms so verify if the pricing is lower if you were to go with the regulars.

If the pricing between a suite and two separate rooms are similar, then focus on which is more comfortable while providing privacy at the same time. The full suite might be comfortable for the entire family at the expense of privacy requirements for your teens. Just keep in mind that if you go with separate rooms, it's harder to monitor your teens. To mitigate this, you can always go for the adjoining rooms set up so you can at least hear what is going on with your teens next door.

The adjoining cabins set-up are usually in high demand especially in the summer and at spring break, so try to book 6 months or so in advance.

5. Teens need their freedom.
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.

Just follow these simple tips and you are on your way to a relaxing cruise with your teenagers. Our kids grow up too fast and before you know it, they will be out of the house, so I say enjoy the time you have with them as much as possible!

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