Taking Teens on a Disney Cruise
Unsurprisingly, I'm a kid at heart and love Disney Cruises! I am very excited about our next Disney Cruise, which is less than 45 days away. My children are aged 12, 14, and 16 years old. With their varying interests, I wonder what excitement they will find on their second sailing on the Disney Dream. Teen parents know teens can be independent, emotional, risk-taking, and occasionally bored. There are many beautiful reasons to travel with teens, but they voice their opinions about everything. In this blog, I am putting myself in the mindset of my teens to think of suggestions to point my teens toward during our adventure.
Verandah
For this sailing to Bermuda, I worked with my travel agent, Joy Falzarano of Travel Brilliant, to book a Deluxe Family Ocean View Stateroom with Verandah on the Disney Dream. Yes, even as a travel specialist, I find great value in working with a travel specialist. The accommodations will be excellent, but we prefer the children to spend only a few hours in the cabin at a time. I touched on some of the significant characteristics of a Disney Cruise in a previous blog. Read my blog, Discovering Disney Cruises — The Garbarini Group, LLC (syreetagarbarini-dreamvacations.com), for more on Disney Cruises. One thing that may entice them to stay in the room is the verandah. The first time we sailed on the Dream, we were in an inside cabin with a magic porthole. Will they miss that? Probably, my daughter will, but perhaps she will also enjoy sitting out on the verandah, watching New York City go by as we sail away, or having a healthy breakfast from room service in the morning. The boys will certainly enjoy room service, but will they find entertainment with the video games in the teen clubs?
Edge and Vibe
All Disney Crusie ships currently have spaces geared to entertain young adults. Edge is for teens and tweens ages 11 to 13, while Vibe is for teens 14 to 18. Both venues have board games, video games, and movies. My boys are very much into video games! Edge has a dance floor and video karaoke. Vibe is a 9,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor space. The club has a beverage station and snacks to make it more enticing for the older teens. Even though it's not childcare, the teen clubs still have dedicated cast members to plan activities like scavenger hunts and t-shirt making, not leaving the "bored" kid alone to find some fun. It's not all high-energy activity offerings either; there are spaces for the teens who like a quiet place to read, similar to the portholes around the rest of the ship. Speaking of peace and tranquility, one of my other suggestions is the spa.
Chill Spa
With the princesses and superheroes on board, one can't help wanting to look and feel one's best. Where my daughter might have enjoyed the full-treatment princess makeover in the past, she can opt to graduate to the day spa, especially for teens aged 13-17 on the Disney Dream. A guardian must accompany the teen; however, they have services like massages (some parent and me options), wraps, and facials. Even though my boys probably are not interested in the spa, they have some services targeted toward males, and I will mention it as an option for all three of them. They are already chill and relaxed, so I suggest the AquaDuck for some excitement.
AquaDuck
Among the first water coasters at sea, the AquaDuck is a 765-foot-long ride of enjoyment. The entrance is found on deck 12. The rider climbs to deck 16 to begin their splash down the tube. There are two port stops where the kids can get some relief from the long lines on the AquaDuck. A forever classic, I don't believe my now teens have grown out of this fun ride for all ages (you do have to be 42'' tall to ride). We will not purchase Wi-Fi for the kids during these precious days aboard the ship. I want them to disconnect and make friends. The vessel supports a texting app to facilitate accessible communication among members of parties.
We can't wait to see what our teens report about the ship. We welcome you to continue to read our blogs to learn what of my suggestions they take and what adventures they get up to on their own!
