Cruise Fears?

Question

My mother is taking me on a cruise for my 18th birthday... some of her friends are coming along but no one my age will be... I was so excited until I came across www.cruisebruise.com which made me realize the threat of real harm on a ship is actually not as small as i previously thought. So I've been here trying to think of how to make myself safe and read the websites suggestions: http://www.cruisebruise.com/cruise_ship_safety_tips.html

It is the one which advised parents to not let their teen out of their sight ever as well as never walk around the ship alone... I was quite looking forward to meeting other teens at the teen hangout club so as to leave my parents to it... after a while being the only teen around will get tiring no?

Answer 1

I have been on eleven cruises and not one time felt scared or afraid of anything.  My boys who are teenagers have been on six or seven and they have always went to the teen things and I feel very comfortable with that.  I would not take any chances but you will be fine and have a great time.

Answer 2

I just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas and had a blast!  You don't have to stay around your parents! Maybe you can find another girl on your trip to become a buddy with that way you are never alone. But if you want to be safe have your parents meet you outside of the club at a specific time so you won't be alone when you go back to your room. The ship that we where on there was chaperons at the clubs for the teens.  Hope this helps!

Answer 3

its just like life there are bad people lurking everywere you still leave your house though right? so just be cautious and dont go alone in dark places at night

Answer 4

Of, for heaven's sake, quite reading that stuff...it's all tabloid.

I have cruised over 100 times since 1976 - never once have I personally felt threatened or in danger....never ONCE has anyone on any of my cruises been assaulted, raped, pillaged, robbed and beaten.

I took my children when they were teeners - and they had the run of the ship with no curfew.  I was asleep most times before they came back to the cabin.  Never, ever a problem.

I now take my grandson once a year - since he was 8. He's now 16.  While he had limits when he was little, of course, when he turned 13, he had the run of the ship with no curfew.  Never has been in trouble, threatened, picked on.

Do things occasionally occur?  Sure. Anyplace where you have a couple of thousand people in one place for 7 days, the law of averages says someone is going to get hurt.....  But rampant crime and assault?  That's just simply nonsense.  Do people drink to much and get stupid?  Sure they do.  Those are the ones that "fall" overboard....It is impossible to fall off a modern cruiseship accidentally....you have to do something really stupid to fall.  Like sit on a railing or stand on a chair on your balcony or climb to a place you're not allowed to be.

Go, have a great time, and stop worrying about the sensationalism.  30 Million people cruise from U.S. ports every year.  If it was dangerous, that many people would set foot on a ship.

Answer 5

You will have a blast.  You will be safe.  You will hang with tons of kids your age.  You will wish that you can take another cruise when it is all done, assuming you are on a fun ship like a Royal Carribean Voyager Class or Freedom Class ship.

Answer 6

The suggestions are good in general, but not specifically.  A cruise ship is like a small town.  You do have to use common sense, but if you would allow your teenager to leave your sight at home, then it is probably okay on the ship too.  

While the website says never let your children out of your sight, it also says to hide a video camera in the cabin for the babysitter.  Well, why is that necessary if the children are never out of your sight?

I have been on seven cruises, including two by myself.  I have gone ashore alone and I have never been in a situation, on a cruise, where I did not feel safe.  However, you still have to use your head.  

For example, don't go into stranger's cabins.  Don't allow strangers in your cabin.  But the same applies at home.  Do you go into the homes of people you do not know?  Do you invite strangers into your home?

Yes, you are on vacation, but that does not mean you leave your common sense at home.  This applies to both being careful and not being overly paranoid.

Answer 7

I took all 3 of my children 17 to 21 on a 7 day cruise. I know that some things do happen. However, my small town in the midwest is just as safe as a cruise. Given this if you are smart there is no reason to be afraid. Use the same safety strategies that you do all the time. Most accidents or incidents happen because of overuse of alcohol. Go to cruisecritic.com and go to the roll call and look up your line and ship and then date. You will be able to find other people sailing the same time. Also there is a special section for teen cruisers. My kids all had a blast and met many other great young people from all over. Bon voyage.

Answer 8

I went on my first cruise right after high school graduation so I was 18.  I went with my family.  I have two younger brothers so they would go do their thing, while I hung out and did my thing.  

I'm not a very social so I didn't meet anyone so it was kind of lonely.  I wasn't old enough to take part in the older activities and too old to hang out with the kids. (I was on an Alaskan cruise and they do not allow 18 years to go to the casino or adult only bars, etc). I was also very homesick for my boyfriend.

I did have a wonderful time though with my favourite moments being the shore excurisions.  I would go off and tour the towns alone, etc.  

As for being safe, I never once felt scared for my safety.  There were always so many people around I never felt that someone would take advantage of my being alone.

I would say to just make sure your smart about where you go when you're alone but make sure you have fun.  Get to know people...you'll have a wonderful time!

Answer 9

First of all I have been on almost 20 cruises and I have NEVER seen anyone accosted assaulted or otherwise harmed on a cruise ship.  Remember that EVERYONE who gets on a cruise ship is screened by providing positive identification with a passport and/or birth certificate and Gov't issued picture ID.

So rif-raf are not boarding ships, plus passengers pay a lot of money to go.  Now that's not to say that there is not an occasional item missing from a cabin or an occasional assault.  But its a rarity rather than something that you have to be concerned about on all of your cruise.

Now You didn't say what cruise ship or cruise line but all of the major lines like Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, etc. have programs for people ages 2 to 17. and they have kids of about the same ages grouped together. So on whatever ship you would or could go to where the 14 to 17 years olds go.  I know for a fact that and have seen it, that each ship has one or more staff members whose full time job is to be with and supervise the kids all day.  I have seen it with my own eyes.

Now, I took a look at the site that you mentioned and here';s what I think.  The person who put that up don't now jack about cruising.  That person did nothing but post a bunch of negatives and they are ALL unjustified.   My bet is that the person has a grudge to bear again cruise lines.  So just delete that site from your list of places to look for information and instead go to a site like Cruise Critic:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/

Or look at news about cruises on the Cruise Ship report site:

http://www.cruise-ship-report.com/

Then there are Yahoo groups composed of people who have been on cruises who post their reviews and comments (good or bad).  For example, here's one for Carnival: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carnivalcr...

There are others for cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Celebrity.  They will provide more accurate information than that junk site you listed.

Now forget about all of that mess and prepare to enjoy your cruise.

Answer 10

I've been on 4 cruises in the last three years and I have never seen or heard of any violence on any of the ships. You need to remember that while there are 3000+ passengers there are 1100+ crew who are constantly cleaning and working around the entire ship so it would be difficult for someone to assualt a passenger without someone seeing. Having said that don't take it as a sign to be foolish. (So don't be cruising the bars at 2 in the morning). Just go on the cruise and enjoy yourself, most of the major cruise lines have ample activities for teenagers.

Answer 11

As with anything else common sense should prevail. I have taken my kids, 17,15 and 11, and although I didn't let the youngest roam freely the older 2 had more free reign. A ship is an dangerous as anywhere else. You dont walk through a dark poorly lit parking lot in the middle of the night. Go and have fun, you will love it. Just be careful, dont take risks, but enjoy. Cruising is awesome

Answer 12

You will meet plenty of people of your age on a cruise and you will have a great time. As everyone else has said, a cruise ship is a small floating village for the time you are on it, you might not get to know everyon but by the end of the cruise you will recognise all the people on your cruise. Just use your natural common sense and you will have a great time.

Have a look at some sensible cruise sites below.

Answer 13

That website was created by an idiot.  You are very safe on a cruise ship - and you will meet lots of other teens.  Worrying about safety should not even be on your mind.  Your going to meet lots of people and have a great time!!