Cruise holidays: Would you go on a cruise with your teenager?

Would you go on a cruise holiday with your teenager? Photo / Getty Images

My ‘too cool for school’ 19-year-old is doing a perfect impression of Mr Bean as he juggles his wallet, passport, and phone at port security in Sydney. We’re about to board P&O Cruises’ newest ship Pacific Adventure, and I’m nervous and excited at the same time. What was meant to be a romantic cruise with my husband has turned into a mother-and-son adventure due to his work roster being changed at the last minute.

Tiana's romantic cruise with her husband turned into a mother-and-son adventure. Photo / Tax Templeman

Tex is more than happy to join me, but I know from past experience that travelling with teens can be tricky. I'm hoping the next five days will be a wonderful bonding experience and not see one or both of us wanting to jump overboard and swim to shore before the end of the cruise.

One thing I'm not worried about is our choice of ship. Previously sailing as Princess Cruises' Golden Princess, Pacific Adventure is fresh from a multi-million dollar refurbishment and packed with glamorous bars, fee-free specialty restaurants and attractive public spaces.

Pacific Adventure is fresh from a multi-million dollar refurbishment. Photo / Supplied

Our four-night trip from Sydney to Moreton Island for a day of fun in the sun and back again is already looking promising. During sail away on our balcony with the Opera House as a backdrop, we agree that P&O Cruises' newest ship looks excellent, and my apprehension begins to melt away.

That night, Kids Club is swapped for pre-dinner drinks in The Blue Room, a sultry bar decked out with midnight blue velvet seats, moody lighting, and a swinging jazz band. We get so caught up in the music that we lose track of time and race to Angelo's, one of four restaurants included in our fare.

Kids Club is swapped for pre-dinner drinks. Photo / Supplied

Tex encourages me to stay up way past my bedtime to catch the late-night 18+ comedy show – a first for both of us – and I can't believe what I've been missing. Cruising with my son as an adult is giving me a glimpse into a whole new world.

Even though we aren't morning people, complimentary room service breakfast on the balcony proves impossible to resist the following day. We can't wait to try out the other perks included with our Byron Beach Club suite, especially the Byron Beach Club retreat on the top deck with its outdoor sundeck, private pool, and exclusive bar (where, sadly, the drinks aren't included).

However, it's the sun loungers with 180-degree ocean views that we're immediately drawn to. Whether the seas are calm, rough, or anything in between, there are few things we love more than sailing. Except possibly Wi-Fi, as we're about to discover. We thought not buying an internet package would help us relax, but we're fidgeting like druggies desperate for a hit as soon as we sit down.

Pacific Adventure is packed with glamorous bars, restaurants, and attractive public spaces. Photo / Supplied

It takes a (long) while, but we eventually start reading our novels and stretch out side by side, immersed in our books and companionable silence. Sunlight dances across waves that ripple like silk, and Tex catches my eye and smiles. This isn't the afternoon spent zooming down the ship's new waterslides that I was expecting, but it couldn't be more perfect.

The evening sees us at another music venue before a leisurely three-course meal in the main dining room with linen tablecloths and some of the best food on the ship. The servers are friendly, the wine is chilled, and so are we until we get to Blanc de Blanc, the saucy adults-only burlesque show in the Black Circus theatre. The performance is fantastic and worth the $20, but we spend most of it praying we won't get pulled up on stage. My son's love of audience participation on previous cruises has also been left behind.

After another late night, we wake up to the kind of stunning blue sky day you usually only see on tourism posters. Every time we've visited Moreton Island in the past, the weather has been lousy, but today luck is on our side. With towering dunes, crystal clear waters and an adventurous activities program, the world's third-largest sand island holds the promise of a great day in port.

A peek into one of the suites aboard P&O Cruises' Pacific Adventure. Photo / Supplied

After looking at the tour options which range from Segway tours and sand tobogganing to snorkelling and glass-bottom boat rides, we settle on paragliding – another first for us both. The take-off provides an adrenalin rush, but any fear is forgotten when we take in the view. Pacific Adventure looks like a picture postcard with its shiny white hull and bright orange tender boats bustling to and from shore. Dolphins dance across the waves like a chorus line as we come in for a smooth landing on the back of the speedboat, a grand finale for our paragliding adventure.

On our return to shore, the sparkling ocean tempts us to dive in, but the water is chillier than it looks, so we head back to the ship's twin racer waterslides instead. Unlike the slides on previous cruises, these have a timing clock, but we don't need it. Some things may have changed since he was a kid, but others remain the same. Tex still beats me down the waterslides. We've got just enough time to take in the view from the highest point on the ship and zoom down the zipline at the P&O Edge Adventure Park before we set sail from Moreton Island for the return journey to Sydney.

Cruising with your kids when they're adults inspires the same sense of wonder as when they were babies, minus the early morning wake-ups, sleepless nights, and tantrums. While we've been onboard Pacific Adventure, our new mother-and-son relationship has unfurled like a mainsail that's been waiting for the perfect conditions – and it's a thing of beauty. Captain Jack Sparrow was right when he said not all treasure is silver and gold.

A new mother-and-son relationship unfurled aboard Pacific Adventure. Photo / Tax Templeman

CHECKLIST

P&O Cruises

Pacific Adventure sails round-trip from Sydney around Australia and New Zealand, including themed sailings like comedy and 80s cruises, and also offers South Pacific itineraries. Prices start at NZ$445 per person, twin share. Find out more at pocruises.co.nz.