So, being a teen, I boarded Royal Caribbean\u2019s newest ship, Legend of the Seas, I was convinced I knew what the next five days would look like.<\/p>\n
The voyage would see us departing from Malaga in Spain and finishing in Rome\u2019s Civitavecchia port.<\/p>\n
What I found onboard was even better than I expected: a ship that felt like it was built for teens, solving the holiday problem most families with teenagers struggle with \u2013 how to balance independence with spending time together.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m 16, and it\u2019s a tricky age for a family holiday. I\u2019m too old for kids club (disappointing because Royal Caribbean\u2019s Adventure Ocean has an indoor sports court, science experiments, craft workshops and even a puppet theatre), but I\u2019m not quite old enough for my mum to happily wave goodbye while I disappear with my friends for a Euro summer.<\/p>\n
The cruise offered a balance of independence and family time, with activities and a teen club. Photo \/ Emily Hubbard<\/p>\n
I\u2019m stuck in the middle. I want independence, but I also secretly like it when my mum knows where I am.<\/p>\n
Cruising gets that balance right. There\u2019s so much to do that teens are always entertained, parents are happy to let them go off alone because they know they\u2019re safe on board (unlike hotel rooms, it\u2019s very difficult to sneak off a cruise ship), and everyone meets up at mealtimes to catch up and share stories.<\/p>\n
Better still, the ship stopped at La Spezia in Italy, and passengers went to Florence and Cinque Terre, but we stayed on board cause there is so much to do. <\/p>\n
For teenagers, the cruise usually starts with one thing: finding new friends to share it with.<\/p>\n
While cruising gives teens plenty of fun to fill our days with, the best thing it gives us is other teenagers. On Legend of the Seas, Social020 is a private teen club with a secret entrance and a meet-and-greet on the first night on board. It\u2019s so easy to make new friends to spend the rest of the cruise exploring with (and it\u2019s how I made two of my best friends in 2023).<\/p>\n
Teen-only club Social020 gives 13- to 17-year-olds their own private space to hang out. Photo \/ Emily Hubbard<\/p>\n
Social020 is a huge, colourful space just for 13- to 17-year-olds, with lots of chill areas and comfy couches and cushions. There are gaming pods, foosball, TVs, a digital jukebox, interactive screens and spaces designed for teenagers to actually hang out. If you want to do sports and other activities, the Teen Takeover activations mean teens have putt-putt or outdoor sports activities all to ourselves \u2013 generally in the evening before the 1am curfew kicks in.<\/p>\n
Unlike a resort holiday, where new friends come and go, everyone is on the same ship for the entire voyage, so the people you meet on the first night are often the same people you\u2019re still hanging out with on the last.<\/p>\n
It also helps that most cruises are all-inclusive. For teenagers, that means not constantly asking Mum and Dad for money, food or permission. Feel like nachos, fresh juices, smash burgers or sushi? No problem. A huge buffet lunch? See you at Windjammer. Midnight pizza at Sorrento\u2019s? Not even a question.<\/p>\n
Before long, you\u2019re racing your friends down the six waterslides at Category 6, seeing who can stay upright longest on the FlowRider, playing a round of Lost Dunes mini golf or standing on Crown\u2019s Edge wondering why you agreed to step out over the side of the ship.<\/p>\n
Putt Putt golf. Photo \/ Emily Hubbard<\/p>\n
After spending the day with my friends, I\u2019d meet Mum, and after dinner we\u2019d set off to whatever show we\u2019d booked that night. On Legend of the Seas, that meant everything from a theatre performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory[ITALICS] with a live orchestra, to the Fusion ice-skating show at Absolute Zero \u2013 the largest and most technologically advanced ice-skating arena at sea, and Shockwave\u2019s high-diving performance that has everyone holding their breath.<\/p>\n
Afterwards we\u2019d stop at Duelling Pianos to sing along with Justin and Gina-May, dance at a deck party or watch another show before heading back to the cabin. Sometimes I\u2019d meet up with my friends from Social020 and stay out until our 1am curfew.<\/p>\n
By the end of the cruise, I realised the thing I loved most about Legend of the Seas wasn\u2019t the attractions, restaurants or shows. It was the freedom it gave me to have fun and holiday my way. That and the fact I hadn\u2019t had one argument with Mum.<\/p>\n
Emily with her mum. Photo \/ Emily Hubbard<\/p>\n
So, if you\u2019re wondering whether your teenager is \u201ctoo old\u201d for a family cruise, I would say it\u2019s the perfect time to book a cabin and sail away.<\/p>\n
Your teens are old enough to enjoy having some independence, and young enough to still want the security of knowing you\u2019re nearby \u2013 and while they\u2019re off having fun, you can enjoy the adults-only pool and unlimited drinks package. Everybody wins.<\/p>\n
And, when you\u2019re back on land, they might even thank you for booking it.<\/p>\n
They just probably won\u2019t admit it while they\u2019re still on board.<\/p>\n
The writer travelled courtesy of Royal Caribbean. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So, being a teen, I boarded Royal Caribbean\u2019s newest ship, Legend of the Seas, I was convinced I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[308,269580,2037,42153,119360,21982,49239,2109,189,239727,3223,5978,111,139,69,1118,3766,15147,9855,23432,213,4054,672,269579,52506,1361,223,1961,274,4276,15146,1965,1959],"class_list":["post-548877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-actually","tag-caribbeans","tag-cruise","tag-cruises","tag-dear","tag-emily","tag-enjoy","tag-family","tag-holiday","tag-hubbard","tag-legend","tag-might","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-parents","tag-prove","tag-royal","tag-seas","tag-sports","tag-teenager","tag-teens","tag-teentraveltested","tag-thank","tag-that","tag-the","tag-this","tag-travel","tag-why","tag-works","tag-writer","tag-your"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}