Advice from those recently on Crown? (recent reviews iffy) Good for 19 year olds?

I've never cruised Princess before and considering it for the newness factor and that food is supposed to be better on Princess.

But traveling with 19 yr old boys and a bit concerned maybe RCCL, NCL or Carnival a better fit.

Recent reviews mention Crown is due for a drydock, food has declined and IT issues affecting boarding.

Perhaps this is not the best ship to sail first time on Princess especially w teens?

Thanks.

Food is extremely subjective. We've never gone hungry on a cruise. DH is extremely picky and always finds something that fills the bill.

IT issues affecting boarding wouldn't be Princess' fault, that's the folks who contract to run the port.

There's always someone who writes a review and complains that the ship is falling apart. The crew is constantly working (24 hours a day), if you look for problems you'll find them. There are 2000 passengers 24/365 walking around and making a mess. The crew does an excellent job of keeping it neat, clean and safe.

Teens? Who knows? You know what kind of kids you have. Only you can make that decision. If your kids are like I was (bookish, quiet)...no issue. If your kids are like DH was (wild, close to being a juvenile delinquent)...they wouldn't be happy on any ship. Your decision.

Maybe take a short cruise (7 days or less) and see what everyone thinks.

We cruised Crown 27th May this year with a 19 year old DS & a 15 year old dd.

There was one meet-up for 18-21 year olds which DS went to. 3 turned up. There wasn't anything else specifically for them. He had a good holiday with us but didn't find anything else aimed at him on board.

The food was ok (we cruised Celebrity last year & were much more impressed, Princess was "ok"). DS is quite an adventurous eater so it isn't that he's picky. There were a couple of dishes that none of us liked but most were "fine"

There were several issues (IT, immigration, missed ports) so it wasn't a great cruise overall, not a disaster but not something we'd care to repeat. DS says he wouldn't choose to go with them again. I guess only you know what your teenagers are looking for.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Not sure princess is the best choice if teenage entertainment is a priority. Princess ships don't have the wave riders, zip lines, roller coasters and all that kind of stuff RCL or carnival have. This is exactly why we chose princess, less kids:) nothing against them in fact we have couple ourselves, we just wanted a nice relaxing cruise without the kids:) there were some teens and young 20s on our b2b 14 day on the regal in January, but not many. In fact we felt like the youngsters and we're in our mid fifties... perhaps only a couple hundred passengers at most that were younger than us out of over 3000. I'm sure in the summer or when schools out and on shorter cruises their demographic will be younger. they do have areas for the kids with video games and such with some organized events but no amusement park like things . The other reason we chose princess was that we had read they had the best food... and it was very good.

Thanks everyone, thoughtful informative relavent replies from the Princess board!

RCCL bells and whitles of super active stuff aren't that important b/c looking at non-RCCL this go around. Not having many people their age or early nights might be somewhat of a concern of theirs, but it's 5 night around spring break so seems like there would be enough young people.

Seems like all cruise line food has declined.

I was happy with Escape food on NCL so Dawn is in the running as is Carnival Conquest, along with Princess Crown.

Pros for the others are relatively recent drydocks. Crown has a 2018 (I think) drydock coming up so we'd be going right before a drydock which might mean even tho Crown is the newer ship (2006) the other two 2004 ships might feel newer and cleaner.

Crown is 5 night, Conquest 6, Dawn 7. 5 nights is actually a plus for Crown for us this time around. It's the easiest to accomidate. Dawn and their drinking policy for over 18 is likely a draw for the 19 year olds.

I've never cruised Princess before and considering it for the newness factor and that food is supposed to be better on Princess.

But traveling with 19 yr old boys and a bit concerned maybe RCCL, NCL or Carnival a better fit.

Recent reviews mention Crown is due for a drydock, food has declined and IT issues affecting boarding.

 

Perhaps this is not the best ship to sail first time on Princess especially w teens?

We were on the Crown last March 25 - April 8. Food was generally fine and had no complaint with the food itself.

We don't know the checklist for the drydock though there were some refurbishments being done on cordoned area.

Not sure what you mean by "IT issues affecting boarding".

There were no facilities and activities we've noticed dedicated for teens.

We were on the Crown last March 25 - April 8. Food was generally fine and had no complaint with the food itself.

We don't know the checklist for the drydock though there were some refurbishments being done on cordoned area.

Not sure what you mean by "IT issues affecting boarding".

There were no facilities and activities we've noticed dedicated for teens.

Thanks for the input. I was just looking at reviews but now that look closer the IT issue may have been with European cruises so I would not be affected.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=347

Sailed on both the Crown and Conquest. Won't comment on the crowds because our Crown California Coastal cruise only had 5 kids on it.

The Conquest has an excellent CD who includes everyone in the activities.

19 is a tough age on any cruiseline. They can do almost everything onboard. Confirm the age of the Casino. Princess does have a nice Soda and More package.

Carnival's cabins are larger. The third pax will sleep on a very comfortable sofa bed (day bed) in all cabins, except inside. Princess's cabins are smaller, need to get a mini suite for the third bed at ground level. I find Carnival's bunk beds to be more comfortable than Princess's.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

How close are you sailing to the dry dock?

Just off June 9th sailing on the Dawn- Boston/Bermuda with DS 19. They didn't have any type of meet up for the 18-20 group.. no activities all week specifically for that age. I was worried that 1st night. He went to the disco to try to meet other teens with no luck. Saturday they had basketball for ages 16+. No staff to facilitate, and over run with younger kids. Luckily there was 1 boy his age and they were inseparable the rest of the week. Slowly they pieced together maybe a dozen other kids in that 18-20 group but they were proactive. In the end he had a great time but not because of NCL Dawn activities. Also, you can authorize your son to be able to drink beer and wine- you may need to set a $$$ limit.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Food is extremely subjective. We've never gone hungry on a cruise. DH is extremely picky and always finds something that fills the bill.

IT issues affecting boarding wouldn't be Princess' fault, that's the folks who contract to run the port.

There's always someone who writes a review and complains that the ship is falling apart. The crew is constantly working (24 hours a day), if you look for problems you'll find them. There are 2000 passengers 24/365 walking around and making a mess. The crew does an excellent job of keeping it neat, clean and safe.

Teens? Who knows? You know what kind of kids you have. Only you can make that decision. If your kids are like I was (bookish, quiet)...no issue. If your kids are like DH was (wild, close to being a juvenile delinquent)...they wouldn't be happy on any ship. Your decision.

Maybe take a short cruise (7 days or less) and see what everyone thinks.

Great response.! Only you can determine if this cruise is for you.