Can a group of youth take a cruise?

Question

I might need a travel agent to answer this question. Our Venture Crew (an expansion off of boyscouts) would like to take a cruise to Alaska in 2 years. We are looking into the cost of it but I was wondering if a group of teens with a few parents can go on a cruise? Most of the participants will be over 18 but we will have a range of ages from 14-21. Can these students take a cruise with out there parents being with them? And would we just have to make sure someone over the age of 18 is in each room? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I suggest you begin to work NOW with a travel agent who handles a lot of cruise business.  It costs you nothing but is invaluable!  You should be able to sit down and have all your questions answered very quickly, and for the odd question the travel agent doesn't know or isn't sure about, the travel agent can find out with a "travel agent only" web site or "travel agent only" phone number.  

Yes, groups of minors can travel on cruises!  There are requirements about how many in a cabin, ages, documentation, etc., and these vary from cruise line to cruise line.  It might be a good idea to choose a particular trip that looks good and work from there to see what the restrictions are.  

And HAVE FUN!  

Answer 2

each room has to have someone over 21 in the room.  It may even be age 25.  contact your specific cruiseline for details.

Answer 3

YES you can as long as you have adults along.  All of the cruise lines require that at least one person in each cabin be age 21 or older.  Carnival requires at least one person age 25 or older.  BUT, all of the cruise lines make adjustments for groups so that, for example, if you group has 16 people and you have 3 or 4 adults you can arrange it so that a adult covers every two cabins.  In other words they will let one adult supervise kids in adjoining cabins.

The kids CAN take the cruise without their parents BUT you will need the parent to prepare a notarized permission slip simply saying that you (or whomever leads the group) have the parents permission to take the kids of the cruise.  You would need one to cover each kid/person under the age of 21.

This is from the Royal Caribbean web site:

"Q:   What if I'm traveling with a minor and I'm not the parent or legal guardian?

A:   Adults who are not the parent or legal guardian of a minor traveling with them must present an original notarized letter signed by the child's parent(s), authorizing the adult to take the child on the specific cruise, supervise the child and allow emergency medical treatment to be administered.

Please note: An individual's age on the date of sailing determines his or her status for the entire cruise vacation. Royal Caribbean International does not accept reservations for student groups. Please consult a travel agent for Royal Caribbean's group policies."

ABOUT PRICES AND ALASKA CRUISES

There are a lot of factors that affect what cruise you should select. Cruises generally cost about $125.00 per day per person AND all cruises are priced based on double occupancy (2 people per cabin).  Then the price for the third and fourth person in the cabin is usually about 50 percent of that of the first two.  The price per person will depend mostly on how many days your cruise is and also on the type cabin/accommodations that you choose.

There are 4 basic types of cabins on ships;

- inside (no window),................................... least expensive

- outside (a window or porthole),

- balcony/veranda, and

- suites and penthouses.......................... most expensive.

The "FROM" prices you see will always be for an inside cabin.

In my opinion the best cruise for you would be a cruise-tour. The cruise tour allows you to see more of Alaska by land (bus and/or train) either before or after the cruise. They typically afford an opportunity to stay a night or two in/at Denali National Park, Anchorage, Talkeetna, or Fairbanks, Alaska. There are four cruise lines that use the train to transport you from/to the cruise point to/from the park and Fairbanks. The train ride is magnificent and when you do the cruise tour you will have the best opportunity to see wildlife like bears, caribou, moose, fox, wolf, and a few others. These cruise-tours can be from 12 to 15 days or more while normal cruises are 7 days.

There are several ways to have a cruise to Alaska. You can cruise north from San Francisco, Seattle, or Vancouver Canada or cruise south from Anchorage (Whittier or Seward). Cruises typically cruise the "inside passage" which is a waterway much like a river where you can in most places see land on both sides of the ship. It provides a very smooth ride on that part of the cruise. Cruises typically go to Juneau (the capitol), and Ketchikan, Skagway, and stop at one or more glaciers like Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord. Some cruises do other port stops. So you need to pay attention to which itinerary (port stops) the cruises will have.

The 4 cruise lines which offer the cruise-tours and all would be good; Princess Cruise line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Holland America.

We did our cruise tour with Princess and it was very good. We did the cruise part first and then had a day and night in Anchorage, a great train ride from Anchorage to Denali National Park, and after a night at a lodge owned by Princess We took the train the next day to Fairbanks for a night there. My recommendation is to do the tour part first and do fly to the start point a day early so you don't get caught in a flight delay.

All four of the cruise lines that I have mentioned use the train for the land tour. But Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Celebrity have special domed train cars that provide great visibility. Not all tour segments are the same so you really have to pay attention to how the land tour is organized and whether it uses the train or buses.

The best time to go on an Alaska cruise is when you can get the best price. The Alaska cruise season is from May to Sept. So right now you are near the end of the Alaska cruise season and thus your options may be limited. But, some cruise lines do have specials and do consider them as they can save you hundreds over the exact same itinerary on a different date.

The best prices will be in May and Sept but you will see the same things as other times. The weather is generally warmer in June, July and Aug, but it can also be pleasant in May and Sept. When we went a few years ago in May it was shirt sleeve weather (70's) in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

You will do well to book your cruise very early, like a year in advance so you get the best price AND can pick your cabins next to or near each other.

Answer 4

Nope, you won't need someone of the age of eighteen in each room. I myself am fifteen and going on a cruise with all my family, (19 people) and I have my own room.  

Answer 5

The very 1st guy answered correctly. U need some 1 @ least 18 or older in each cabin im 15 and u do need this. Awwm Also what we usually do is just get our keys redone @ customer relations. I 4got what its called but its right like in the middle in all ships on the main floor. Awwm if not we just switch room keys and switch back.

Answer 6

Yes, you will be allowed to do that as long as there is somebody 21 years of age or older with the group. You don't have to have somebody 18 or older in each cabin, just having someone 21 or older for the group is fine. Just keep in mind that for every student who is under the age of 21 and their parent is NOT coming on the cruise must have a notorized note giving the child permission to be on the cruise with the adult.

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

What Tinkertoy said, except I want to emphasize that "18" is not an adult, as far as the Cruise Lines are concerned.  You will have to have several over 21's, or with Carnival, over 25's to act as chaperones.