The Suite Life on Deck TV Poster Image

The Suite Life on Deck

age 9+
(i)

 

Disney spin-off is implausible but fun for tweens.
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What parents need to know

Positive messages

Characters sometimes learn lessons about topics like friendship and responsibility, but in general the show is intended to entertain and amuse rather than convey specific positive messages. Potty humor includes body odor and farting.

Positive role models

Adults are rarely present and are ineffective when they're around, so the teens pretty much do whatever they want without consequence. A main character often brags about her family's wealth and tries to control others with money. The central twins frequently get up to mischief, though most of it isn't meant in a mean-spirited way.

Violence

Some pranks and pratfalls (a man leaps over the edge of a ship to get away from teens he dislikes, for example), but there's no mistaking that they're strictly for laughs.

Sex

Teens have crushes on each other, but everything's pretty innocent, with just the occasional kiss or two. Zack in particular makes a fair number of comments regarding girls' attractiveness (i.e. "I'm going to study anatomy, starting with her"). Zack briefly shares a room with a girl, but nothing happens.

Language

No cursing, but some use of words like "butt."

Consumerism

Lots of associated Disney tie-ins.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Not applicable

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that, like its popular parent series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, this show is filled with content that's bound to entertain tweens but might leave parents rolling their eyes. The largely unsupervised teen characters engage in lots of mischief, discipline is virtually nonexistent, and no problem arises that can't be solved by the time the credits roll. One of the twins is pretty flirty and makes mildly suggestive comments, while another main character constantly gloats over her family's wealth and uses money and expensive gifts to control her peers -- her manipulations are played for laughs, of course, but they're still grating. Tween fans may need to be reminded that little of what they're seeing is relatable to most people's reality.

What's the story?

In THE SUITE LIFE ON DECK, twins Zack and Cody Martin (played by Dylan and Cole Sprouse, respectively) leave the luxurious confines of the Tipton Hotel for the equally swanky S.S. Tipton to set sail on a study-abroad program called Seven Seas High. Joined by spoiled heiress London Tipton (Brenda Song) and long-suffering hotel manager-turned-ship supervisor Mr. Moseby (Phill Lewis), Zack and Cody are primed for adventure -- and with new friends by their side, there's no shortage of fun or mischief to be had at sea.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

It's a no-brainer that this spin-off of the very popular Disney series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody will entertain fans left adrift when that show ended in September 2008. The trouble-making twins won't let a change of scenery interfere with their penchant for mischief, and new friends Woody (Matthew Timmons) and Bailey (Debby Ryan) happily sign on to follow the boys' often misguided leads.

It's just too bad that Disney didn't mix a few more positive lessons in with all of the fantasy-based fun. Zack and Cody are teens now, but they're still allowed to run amok (and encourage others to do so) without any real adult supervision. Spoiled London takes every opportunity to remind her peers of her fortune and often attempts to sway their actions with money, which sends some iffy messages about materialism and peer pressure. If your tweens do tune in, take the opportunity to do a reality check: Point out that little of what kids are seeing here would be accepted as responsible teen behavior and that in the real world, there are consequences for your actions that last beyond a 30-minute episode.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about how real life differs from Zack and Cody's world. How is their lifestyle like a fantasy? Do they ever seem affected by anything serious -- like money, illness, or family struggles?

  • Kids: Do you ever worry about those things? Is there any part of Zack and Cody's life that you can relate to?

  • Tweens: Do you think you'd enjoy living in another country? If so, where would you go?

TV details

Premiere date:September 26, 2008
Cast:Brenda Song, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse
Networks:Disney Channel, Disney XD
Genre:Comedy
Topics:Book characters
TV rating:TV-G
Available on:DVD, Streaming

This review of The Suite Life on Deck was written by

Emily Ashby
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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Teen, 13 years old Written bythe green guy December 21, 2010
age 2+

cool show but not as funny as the first one

at first i hated it now i love it lol
What other families should know
Great role models
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Teen, 14 years old Written byBlueSunday November 28, 2010
age 2+

Mind Numbing

This is horrible. I mean I gave it a shot at first, but I knew how bad the Suite Life with Zach and Cody went, so I pretty much expected this. The characters are too rude and annoying to bear. Mosby has gone crazy, he no longer has control like he once did, and now he's been sucked into this sheer madness. Zach is so obsessed with girls, I'm beginning to think he has some sexual disorder. EVERY SINGLE EPISODE he sees this 'chick' that he thinks is 'a hot smoking babe' and flirts with her, has a short relationship, then she leaves so he could do it over and over again. Cody and his 'darling little Baily' (which we knew were going to be together in the first place) use to be insepereable, but then of course they broke up for the dumbest of reasons, and of course they STILL have feelings for eachother. GET OVER IT YOU TWO! GOSH. And Cody somehow has gotten to think that he's a prize and is always right. Puh, whatever. And Baily, she can and cannot be okay. She's a nice girl in some ways, but also rediculous, and if I was from Kansas I would be appauled. In one episode she covered up curse words with "what the corn" "what the haybills" and all of that. Seriously. London is horrible, I would throw her overboard. How is it she's still in High School anyway, they can't carry that out for much longer. She squeals, she howls, she cries, she does everything possible for you to hate her. The show went severly down the hill, it doesn't have a point anymore. They just need to end it.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
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Adult Written byOriginal May 8, 2011
age 8+

Best TV show

This is show is awesome, and Zack and Cody are funny
What other families should know
Great messages
Great role models
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