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Posted

We have no cruise experience and are contemplating a family cruise in June 2026 for our kids’ HS graduation.  They will be 18.67 at cruise time.  Son will want speedy internet on ship, and scenery, museums, and culture at port stops.  Daughter will want pool, dancing, and alcohol on ship, and shopping and adventurous foodie experiences at port stops.  Mrs. T. and I want to relax and eat/drink well on ship, and are good with whatever the kids want to do in port stops.  While we don’t want a party ship, we also don’t want our kids to feel like they are hanging out at a Del Webb clubhouse.  My general sense is that we need a European cruise to check the most boxes, including for the kids to be able to order alcohol.  

My initial research points to Virgin Voyages (adult only), which has two Mediterranean cruises with workable dates.  Please recommend other suitable cruise lines and/or regions.  I probably need to consider some cruise lines that allow kids, but which will not feel like we are at Disney or summer camp…. 

Posted
42 minutes ago, Tonesky said:

We have no cruise experience and are contemplating a family cruise in June 2026 for our kids’ HS graduation.  They will be 18.67 at cruise time.  Son will want speedy internet on ship, and scenery, museums, and culture at port stops.  Daughter will want pool, dancing, and alcohol on ship, and shopping and adventurous foodie experiences at port stops.  Mrs. T. and I want to relax and eat/drink well on ship, and are good with whatever the kids want to do in port stops.  While we don’t want a party ship, we also don’t want our kids to feel like they are hanging out at a Del Webb clubhouse.  My general sense is that we need a European cruise to check the most boxes, including for the kids to be able to order alcohol.  

 

My initial research points to Virgin Voyages (adult only), which has two Mediterranean cruises with workable dates.  Please recommend other suitable cruise lines and/or regions.  I probably need to consider some cruise lines that allow kids, but which will not feel like we are at Disney or summer camp…. 

The other thing is that, once you get out of American territorial waters and adjacent, particularly out of the Gulf/Caribbean, the quality of the passengers escalates tremendously.  I think that might be true of Alaska cruises, also.

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

They will be 18.67 at cruise time

Okay.  Are they twins and that is a fractional age?

 

Is one 18 and the other 67 but still just now graduating from high school?

 

Or is one 18 and the other 17, i.e. 67 was a typo, and you want a cruise where everyone can drink, minors are permitted, but it's not a butt-wiping Disney Cruise?

 

Or some combination of the above?

 

Zero cruise experience here, but I am confused.

Edited by dcbc
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Posted

Talked to a friend last night that just got back from a European cruise with their three daughters aged 18, 20 and 20. Said it would be their last cruise.

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Posted
3 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

Why are you interested in a cruise and not simply going to 1 or 2 destinations that check all of your boxes?

9xy9k6.jpg

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Posted
8 minutes ago, royiv said:

Talked to a friend last night that just got back from a European cruise with their three daughters aged 18, 20 and 20. Said it would be their last cruise.

Are they all pregnant now? 

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Posted

For the money you will spend I wouldn't go on a cruise, but if you are committed to cruising I have heard nothing but awesome things about the Alaskan cruises. River cruises in Europe haven't gotten very good reviews from the friends of mine that went.

The best cruise I went on was adults only and on a boat with 275 passengers and 325 crew. The carnival and royal Caribbean cruises I've been on are like being on a really big floating mall. 

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Posted
48 minutes ago, immamac said:

For the money you will spend I wouldn't go on a cruise, but if you are committed to cruising I have heard nothing but awesome things about the Alaskan cruises. River cruises in Europe haven't gotten very good reviews from the friends of mine that went.

The best cruise I went on was adults only and on a boat with 275 passengers and 325 crew. The carnival and royal Caribbean cruises I've been on are like being on a really big floating mall. 

Friends and family have been trying to get us on a cruise for about 40 years now, and we envision fat people gorging themselves at buffets, lame gambling, lame shows, hordes of people on excursions with hours of waiting, and other unappetizing experiences. We’ve concluded the river cruises and the high dollar low ratio of passengers to crew cruises are the only way to go. 

Posted
3 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Friends and family have been trying to get us on a cruise for about 40 years now, and we envision fat people gorging themselves at buffets, lame gambling, lame shows, hordes of people on excursions with hours of waiting, and other unappetizing experiences. We’ve concluded the river cruises and the high dollar low ratio of passengers to crew cruises are the only way to go. 

Watch some videos first.  They look cool, but the average age on those boats looks to be north of 70. And you're stuck with the same 50-60 people for the entire trip so if you get some dbags, you're SOL.

Posted
Just now, Chewbacca said:

Watch some videos first.  They look cool, but the average age on those boats looks to be north of 70. And you're stuck with the same 50-60 people for the entire trip so if you get some dbags, you're SOL.

Which is why we won’t go on one for another ten years. Hahah. 

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Posted
10 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Watch some videos first.  They look cool, but the average age on those boats looks to be north of 70. And you're stuck with the same 50-60 people for the entire trip so if you get some dbags, you're SOL.

Every orgy needs a witness.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Friends and family have been trying to get us on a cruise for about 40 years now, and we envision fat people gorging themselves at buffets, lame gambling, lame shows, hordes of people on excursions with hours of waiting, and other unappetizing experiences. We’ve concluded the river cruises and the high dollar low ratio of passengers to crew cruises are the only way to go. 

We had a butler and I was served steak and eggs formally every morning with a different sauce of my choosing cooked perfectly and salted and peppered fresh.

Anything we wanted to do we just talked to him or someone walking by and poof we just got to walk in everywhere. I played probably 1000 hands of blackjack and the dealer was top tier. The boat parked in with the yachts in st Barth and went to a lot of places that big cruise ships can't get into. Everyone was always well dressed and smelled nice etc. Skewed older for sure. 

 

 

Posted
Just now, immamac said:

We had a butler and I was served steak and eggs formally every morning with a different sauce of my choosing cooked perfectly and salted and peppered fresh.

Anything we wanted to do we just talked to him or someone walking by and poof we just got to walk in everywhere. I played probably 1000 hands of blackjack and the dealer was top tier. The boat parked in with the yachts in st Barth and went to a lot of places that big cruise ships can't get into. Everyone was always well dressed and smelled nice etc. Skewed older for sure. 

 

 

Sir.  This is an Arby's.

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Posted

My wife and I went on a cruise when we were dating.  That was the first cruise for both of us . . . and the last.  I've been the recipient of surly "don't go to SF, go to SD" advice when I had a specific reason to go to SF, but man, if you can consider some other kind of vacation with your kids, I would highly recommend it.  Otherwise, good luck, we're all counting on you.

Let them go batshit crazy on the Amalfi Coast or some such.  Check in every once in awhile.

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Posted
5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

My wife and I went on a cruise when we were dating.  That was the first cruise for both of us . . . and the last.  I've been the recipient of surly "don't go to SF, go to SD" advice when I had a specific reason to go to SF, but man, if you can consider some other kind of vacation with your kids, I would highly recommend it.  Otherwise, good luck, we're all counting on you.

Let them go batshit crazy on the Amalfi Coast or some such.  Check in every once in awhile.

I bet you’re still regretting not listening and ditching your SF trip in favor of SD. 

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Posted
3 hours ago, dcbc said:

Okay.  Are they twins and that is a fractional age?

 

Is one 18 and the other 67 but still just now graduating from high school?

 

Or is one 18 and the other 17, i.e. 67 was a typo, and you want a cruise where everyone can drink, minors are permitted, but it's not a butt-wiping Disney Cruise?

 

Or some combination of the above?

 

Zero cruise experience here, but I am confused.

Twins.  They will be 18 years and 8 months old, or 18 2/3 years old, or 18.67 years old, in June 2026.  Maybe I should have gone with "almost 19."

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Posted
3 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Why are you interested in a cruise and not simply going to 1 or 2 destinations that check all of your boxes?

3 hours ago, royiv said:

Talked to a friend last night that just got back from a European cruise with their three daughters aged 18, 20 and 20. Said it would be their last cruise.

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

My wife and I went on a cruise when we were dating.  That was the first cruise for both of us . . . and the last.  I've been the recipient of surly "don't go to SF, go to SD" advice when I had a specific reason to go to SF, but man, if you can consider some other kind of vacation with your kids, I would highly recommend it.  Otherwise, good luck, we're all counting on you.

I am 67 and wife is 65 and there is a reason we have never been on a cruise.  We have zero interest in a traditional cruise ship cruise.  This is totally driven by what the kids want to do for their graduation gift trip.  They have done lots of traveling choreographed by their parents.  Now, it is their turn.  They have lots of friends who have been on cruises and tell them how awesome it is.  

Posted
3 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Why are you interested in a cruise and not simply going to 1 or 2 destinations that check all of your boxes?

The kids have traveled a lot, both touring around (like 2 weeks in New Zealand) and hanging in one location (like a week in Paris).  As mentioned above, they want to cruise....

Posted
2 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

 We’ve concluded the river cruises and the high dollar low ratio of passengers to crew cruises are the only way to go. 

2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Watch some videos first.  They look cool, but the average age on those boats looks to be north of 70. And you're stuck with the same 50-60 people for the entire trip so if you get some dbags, you're SOL.

Until this (kids' graduation request) came up, the only cruise wife and I have talked about - which we still would like to do - is a barge float in France.  That can be as small as 3 or 4 couples, with the possibility of the other couples including friends.  Bike villages and wineries by day, and eat/drink chef prepared meals on deck in the evening.  

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Posted (edited)
14 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

Have you considered getting a private catamaran to sail around Croatia or somewhere similar? That could be classified as a cruise and you make your own itinerary.

Interesting.  Was not even on my radar.  That is exactly the purpose of my post.  That, and to find out which section at Kyle Field is good to sit in.

Edited by Tonesky
Posted
39 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

Have you considered getting a private catamaran to sail around Croatia or somewhere similar? That could be classified as a cruise and you make your own itinerary.

Funny you mention that. The friends that I brought up earlier in this thread did this exact trip two summers ago and they all loved it. This most recent trip was the graduation request of the 18 year old and they all hated it.

46 minutes ago, Tonesky said:

I am 67 and wife is 65 and there is a reason we have never been on a cruise.  We have zero interest in a traditional cruise ship cruise.  This is totally driven by what the kids want to do for their graduation gift trip.  They have done lots of traveling choreographed by their parents.  Now, it is their turn.  They have lots of friends who have been on cruises and tell them how awesome it is.  

Ho-Lee Fuk. You guys are some old ass parents. Maybe y’all should consider a Viking cruise.

Posted

I don't think your kids know what they're asking for. Regardless of what approach you take they are not going to have many peers on that boat. Alaska or Europe you are going to have a ton of old people. Domestic you are going to have a trailer park at sea. 

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Posted
21 minutes ago, royiv said:

Ho-Lee Fuk. You guys are some old ass parents. Maybe y’all should consider a Viking cruise.

I don’t want to be surrounded by old people!  The best part of being old ass parents is all the (now) 50 year olds we befriended when our kids were in daycare/kindergarten. 

Posted
2 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

I don't think your kids know what they're asking for. Regardless of what approach you take they are not going to have many peers on that boat. Alaska or Europe you are going to have a ton of old people. Domestic you are going to have a trailer park at sea. 

Liam Neeson Good Luck GIF

Added to the captures I am texting my daughter (currently camp counseling), who is the primary driver of “party at sea .”

Posted

I think this place is a great resource for someone like you. Describe exactly what you're looking for and I guarantee you that you will have some folks who come through with great advice. You just have to know how to weed your way through it. I don't think a cruise is what you all are looking for. My .02. I will let others recommend what that might be. 

Posted
1 hour ago, Tonesky said:

I don’t want to be surrounded by old people!  The best part of being old ass parents is all the (now) 50 year olds we befriended when our kids were in daycare/kindergarten. 

So you’re saying it makes the swinging more fun?

Posted
5 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

I think this place is a great resource for someone like you. Describe exactly what you're looking for and I guarantee you that you will have some folks who come through with great advice. You just have to know how to weed your way through it. I don't think a cruise is what you all are looking for. My .02. I will let others recommend what that might be. 

Just to add to that, the greatest vacation my family has ever done (Costa Rica) was a direct result of ideas and input I got from Shaggy/Surly. 

The knowledge is incredible. We just got back from Scotland and had a fantastic time. We picked up tips and ideas from folks on here that made the trip great and also helped us avoid a few disaster scenarios. 

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Posted

I don't think your kids want to go on a cruise with you for their graduation gift, no offense. I think they want to go on a party cruise with their friends. Put them on a boat in Galveston for 3 days and tell them to have fun. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, immamac said:

I don't think your kids want to go on a cruise with you for their graduation gift, no offense. I think they want to go on a party cruise with their friends. Put them on a boat in Galveston for 3 days and tell them to have fun. 

You are correct that their answer to "what is your dream graduation gift vacation" likely does not include parents, but too fucking bad.  As for Galveston party cruise, son would hate it and none would allow alcohol to under 21 age kids.  But, thinking about the greater issue, i suspect daughter (primary driver of cruise, and likely driven by desire not to be dragged on hikes, etc. every day by dad) would be happy to spend 7-10 days in a couple of places in the Sorrento/Amalfi area, with iron clad guarantee that (1) I will not over plan, (2) many chill days will be baked in, and (3) she can opt out and go to the beach as desired.

Posted
12 hours ago, Tonesky said:

They have lots of friends who have been on cruises and tell them how awesome it is.  

They need classier friends. 

Posted

My parents dragged me on a cruise spring break of my senior year because they didn't want me going to Padre.  I was pretty much over that by then anyway.

This was in the late 80s before cruises became whisky tango destinations and was just a Caribbean cruise.  And it was definitely on the older, more genteel side.

Turned out, I really enjoy being on a ship, just kind of lying around and chilling, reading a book, etc.

But, also turned out there was a family including some teen, early 20s kids, who had recovered some money in a car wreck and some injuries, and it  included a rather comely lass about my age.  So, we'd buy liquor in every port and have a pretty good time.

Posted

To set the tone - we are not cruise people but we did a Mediterranean cruise on Virgin Voyages last fall. It was a lot of fun and we would consider doing another one, maybe for Alaska. Again - we are not really into cruises and we have zero desire to do any of the Caribbean cruises, not even on Virgin. For that, we would just visit any islands individually.

What convinced us to do a Virgin Mediterranean cruise:

1. Europe is a long trip and traveling to only one of the many islands from the US is not really efficient. We were never going to say "Let's travel to Europe and visit Crete or Sardinia" but the cruise allowed us to see many places we never really would have otherwise. 

2. Virgin looked to offer a very nice/not cheap experience and it was. We did upgrade to Rockstar status, which removes waiting in any lines and a larger cabin. I totally would suggest it if you can afford it. You also get a personal concierge that takes care of bookings events/other requests as well as access to a less crowded deck area. The "skip to the front of the line" was worth the price alone. 

3. No kids under 18 on Virgin are allowed. This is huge and not because we hated kids, but because it changes the atmosphere. There are a lot of adult themed events on Virgin that I believe you do not get on other cruises. This will keep you & your 18 year old kids engaged and entertained while not felling like an amusement park. 

4. No buffets - all of the dining is restaurants. Most of them were decent and nothing was awful. It also means there is not a lot of options for snacking, which we liked. 

All in all, I would definitely suggest Virgin for anyone without young kids and especially for traveling the Mediterranean. 

Posted
50 minutes ago, smokebomb said:

To set the tone - we are not cruise people but we did a Mediterranean cruise on Virgin Voyages last fall. It was a lot of fun and we would consider doing another one, maybe for Alaska. Again - we are not really into cruises and we have zero desire to do any of the Caribbean cruises, not even on Virgin. For that, we would just visit any islands individually.

What convinced us to do a Virgin Mediterranean cruise:

1. Europe is a long trip and traveling to only one of the many islands from the US is not really efficient. We were never going to say "Let's travel to Europe and visit Crete or Sardinia" but the cruise allowed us to see many places we never really would have otherwise. 

2. Virgin looked to offer a very nice/not cheap experience and it was. We did upgrade to Rockstar status, which removes waiting in any lines and a larger cabin. I totally would suggest it if you can afford it. You also get a personal concierge that takes care of bookings events/other requests as well as access to a less crowded deck area. The "skip to the front of the line" was worth the price alone. 

3. No kids under 18 on Virgin are allowed. This is huge and not because we hated kids, but because it changes the atmosphere. There are a lot of adult themed events on Virgin that I believe you do not get on other cruises. This will keep you & your 18 year old kids engaged and entertained while not felling like an amusement park. 

4. No buffets - all of the dining is restaurants. Most of them were decent and nothing was awful. It also means there is not a lot of options for snacking, which we liked. 

All in all, I would definitely suggest Virgin for anyone without young kids and especially for traveling the Mediterranean. 

Thanks, this validates my initial sense that IF we choose to cruise, Virgin Mediterranean seems the best option.  I understand that the average passenger is older, but what about 18-21 year olds?  If we do this, will there likely be young adults my kids can latch on to, or will they be hanging with geezers like their parents?

Posted

 

7 minutes ago, Tonesky said:

Thanks, this validates my initial sense that IF we choose to cruise, Virgin Mediterranean seems the best option.  I understand that the average passenger is older, but what about 18-21 year olds?  If we do this, will there likely be young adults my kids can latch on to, or will they be hanging with geezers like their parents?

Compared to other cruise lines, Virgin skews towards an older crowd in general and more so on the Mediterranean cruises due to their higher costs. It is not a ship with as many 20 year olds so if they are looking for a bunch of 20-something young adults to hang with, Virgin won’t have a ton. But the general atmosphere on Virgin is young at heart so I think they’d still have fun. Virgin also has a mixer for solo cruisers (any age) the first night for people who are looking for a friend group to hang with. And with all the events the cruise puts on throughout the trip, they will have plenty of things to choose from. 
 

Damnit - I am sounding like one of those cruise people I said we weren’t… 

Posted

Allow me to help…cruises fucking suck balls. There’s another cruise thread here…read it. 
 

Shit ass cruises like Royal Caribbean cost an arm and a leg and still are floating wal-marts full of corpulent sweatstacks lining up for their 5th trip through the buffet. Imagine 200 people teeming together to share a 1k square foot pool that’s simmering at about 88 degrees. 

unless you’re going on a cruise like immamac said, where it’s a few hundred people and you’re outnumbered by staff, run the fuck away and cover your tracks so the person suggesting you cruise can never fucking find you again. Wife, kids, doesn’t matter who it is, just cut your losses. 

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Posted

I’ve been on 2 and can’t disagree with anything Sydney said above. I actually went on one of them when I was 20 during spring break expecting a party and there were probably 10 other people our age on the whole ship. Pass that information along if they think it’s going to be a party. 

Posted
3 hours ago, smokebomb said:

 

Compared to other cruise lines, Virgin skews towards an older crowd in general and more so on the Mediterranean cruises due to their higher costs. It is not a ship with as many 20 year olds so if they are looking for a bunch of 20-something young adults to hang with, Virgin won’t have a ton. But the general atmosphere on Virgin is young at heart so I think they’d still have fun. Virgin also has a mixer for solo cruisers (any age) the first night for people who are looking for a friend group to hang with. And with all the events the cruise puts on throughout the trip, they will have plenty of things to choose from. 
 

Damnit - I am sounding like one of those cruise people I said we weren’t… 

Sounds like a great opportunity for the girls to lock down a sugar daddy.

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Posted
i suspect daughter (primary driver of cruise, and likely driven by desire not to be dragged on hikes, etc. every day by dad) would be happy to spend 7-10 days in a couple of places in the Sorrento/Amalfi area, with iron clad guarantee that (1) I will not over plan, (2) many chill days will be baked in, and (3) she can opt out and go to the beach as desired.


If you’re willing to fly to Europe and also to spend 7-10 days possibly split between 2 locations, you have so many incredible options that would check all of your boxes.

Do a major city for 3-4 nights to give your son the museums and cultural stuff and your wife and daughter the shopping and nice dinners. Then head to the coast to relax near the ocean, essentially what you would be doing on a cruise ship, except in a nicer hotel in a single location for probably less money and a better mix of people around you.

Some examples would be:

1. Italy - Rome or Florence, then Amalfi Coast or Capri
2. France - Paris, then Saint-Tropez or Nice
3. Spain - Madrid, then Barcelona
4. Croatia - Split, then Hvar or Vis
Posted
40 minutes ago, wild_turkey said:

If you’re willing to fly to Europe and also to spend 7-10 days possibly split between 2 locations, you have so many incredible options that would check all of your boxes.

Do a major city for 3-4 nights to give your son the museums and cultural stuff and your wife and daughter the shopping and nice dinners. Then head to the coast to relax near the ocean, essentially what you would be doing on a cruise ship, except in a nicer hotel in a single location for probably less money and a better mix of people around you.

Some examples would be:

1. Italy - Rome or Florence, then Amalfi Coast or Capri
2. France - Paris, then Saint-Tropez or Nice
3. Spain - Madrid, then Barcelona
4. Croatia - Split, then Hvar or Vis

 

I am working on daughter.  She is away for the summer as a camp counselor and I am texting her screenshots of comments here.  She thinks you bastards are a hoot.  Hopefully, she isn't savvy enough to google quotes and ID both Surly and Tonesky.  

I am developing some gravity towards one or two Campania base locations, with opportunities for day trips to Pompeii/Herculaneum and Paestum. 

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