Life onboard as a teenager
Updated December 2017
There is no better account of cruising than from a first person perspective, and we are always interested to hear about your experiences.
To gain a new point of view, we had guest blogger Henry Dalton offer us the teenage angle on cruising with the family...
As a fifteen year old boy, I’m lucky to say I’ve already been on four cruises. If you’re a teenager who instantly says no to cruising, think again.
Are there many other teenagers?
You might think that cruising is a dull holiday, full of old people strolling around, but that’s not necessarily true. Onboard alone, there’s a wide range of activities for us teens. For a start, almost every cruise line will have a teen club where you can meet people your age and do different types of activities. You can meet people, play snooker, Xbox or whatever it has to offer. Usually these clubs have a detailed schedule of more planned activities throughout the week, that are not confined to one room.
Royal Caribbean's FlowRider
What is the food like?
If you’re a food lover, a lot of ships have free pizza services running throughout most of the day, as well as the breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets that go on for a long time. The food tastes brilliant and you’ll probably miss it when you go home.
What active things are there to do?
If you think being on a ship is limiting in terms of doing sports, you’re wrong. Most ships have fully equipped, air conditioned gyms, which will help you keep fit. Usually positioned at the front of the ship, the treadmills, striders, and more, tend to have TV screens with Sky Sports, BBC News, and other main British channels. As well as gyms, sports courts are frequent on big ships. There are sometimes free to use 5-a-side football pitches, basketball courts, mini-golf (if that counts as a sport!), rock climbing, ice skating, and even surfing!
Are there places to chill out?
You can book to go to the spa for a relaxing massage or treatment, although prices tend to be quite steep from a teenager's perspective. If you want entertainment, a lot of ships have theatres with free shows every night - including magicians, comedians, musicians, and more.
On the outdoor deck, there are swimming pools surrounded by loads of deck chairs, perfect if you’re a lazy sunbather. On a Princess cruise that I went on, I watched Divergent on a big screen, lying on a deck chair under the stars.
What about the destinations?
As well as activities on the ship, many underestimate the magnificence of arriving in a port with beautiful views. One of my personal favourites was waking up and having breakfast whilst looking at the city of Monte Carlo, Monaco. Lots of teens would find the idea of walking around cities very boring, and admittedly, I thought that at first. But you start to appreciate the iconic features that every place has to offer, and very soon you start looking forward to the next place. If you absolutely can’t walk around, I suggest going on a summer cruise to a place with lots of beaches.
Overall, cruising is a very fun experience. You get to visit lots of world-famous places without spending too long there, whilst living on a ship that has loads of brilliant activities. So before you associate cruising with veterans listening to classical music, do your research!
Browse our family cruises departing during school summer holidays.
Cruises for Young Adults
There are also more and more options for slightly older guests who don't necessarily want a traditional cruise experience. Uniworld River Cruises have introduced their incredible and innovative U by Uniworld brand; a brand which is designed with the needs and wants of 21 to 45 year olds in mind. Think stunning and vivacious European cities, a range of excursions from wine tasting to kayaking, and top international DJs onboard. See what U by Uniword itineraries you could enjoy.