NCL vs Carnival for a 12 yr old girl

On our next cruise (next year over New Years Eve), my daughter will be 12 and in 6th grade. We are trying to pick the ship/itinerary now. Carnival Breeze or Horizon vs NCL Getaway or Bliss.

On Carnival, she would be in the 12-14 teen age group, with the possibility of nighttime parties for the 12-17 yr olds (at least according to the website, I don't have first hand experience). I get anxious just thinking about this. She is tall and already at age 11 looks older than she is, and I don't want her to be approached or involved with older kids.

On NCL, she would still be in the traditional kid's club (Splash Academy) 10-12 yr old age group, with more supervision. I feel more comfortable here, but worry that she will be bored and won't want to go.

Does anyone have experience with cruising with this awkward age child (lol) that can give me some input? To be honest, I'm really hoping to hear that your 12 yr old was just fine in the 10-12 yr old age group, but I am open to all feedback!

On our next cruise (next year over New Years Eve), my daughter will be 12 and in 6th grade. We are trying to pick the ship/itinerary now. Carnival Breeze or Horizon vs NCL Getaway or Bliss.

 

On Carnival, she would be in the 12-14 teen age group, with the possibility of nighttime parties for the 12-17 yr olds (at least according to the website, I don't have first hand experience). I get anxious just thinking about this. She is tall and already at age 11 looks older than she is, and I don't want her to be approached or involved with older kids.

 

On NCL, she would still be in the traditional kid's club (Splash Academy) 10-12 yr old age group, with more supervision. I feel more comfortable here, but worry that she will be bored and won't want to go.

 

Does anyone have experience with cruising with this awkward age child (lol) that can give me some input? To be honest, I'm really hoping to hear that your 12 yr old was just fine in the 10-12 yr old age group, but I am open to all feedback!

My 11 year old Prefers the Carnival programs.

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We sail on NCL, kids loved the younger program, and teen program, refused it at 10 - 12.

The older teens rarely spend time in the "clubs"...they use it as a "meet up" place, then go off and do their own thing...so I don't believe you would have to worry overmuch about if and when they "combine" the age groups.

The older teens rarely spend time in the "clubs"...they use it as a "meet up" place, then go off and do their own thing...so I don't believe you would have to worry overmuch about if and when they "combine" the age groups.

My main worry would be the nighttime teen parties. But I don't really want to spend the cruise worrying about who she is meeting up with and what they are talking about or doing. I need another year or two to mentally prepare for that lol.

My kids are 15+, for a year or two I had five teens. The older teens do no want to hang out with the younger teens, they will group themselves. On one cruise I had a 17 and 15 year old, their groups rarely mingled.

My kids are 15+, for a year or two I had five teens. The older teens do no want to hang out with the younger teens, they will group themselves. On one cruise I had a 17 and 15 year old, their groups rarely mingled.

That is good to know for when she turns 13 and the teen clubs can't be avoided, thank you!

It sounds like you are picking NCL no matter what anyone says! Which is totally fine. I hate to tell you this, but she will be a lot older emotionally/socially in a year. My son is 12 and definitely would not fit with the kids club. We chose Carnival specifically because he could be with the young teens at age 12. It is a weird age. We are cruising this New Years. I will try to remember to come back and comment on the kids clubs for this age range as I am generally having trouble finding much info on line.

We cruised last January on Carnival and our 11.5 year old was able to attend the Circle-C programming and loved it. We are somewhat free-range parents so we told him the basic safety rules (go with a group, don't go into anyone's cabin ...) and told him to be back by 1:00 AM (When the Circle-C programming ended) and that is what he did. He is excited to go cruising again as we have one booked for this March.

Only you know YOUR 12 year old. Mom of 4 (16,15,12,9). For my kids NCL would have been a NO, Thank you with that age grouping. However, I also see some of their peers still skipping around the bus stop. So only you can really know for sure : ) The other thing is ..Do you trust her to make good decisions and follow your guidelines? If yes, at sometime you are going to have to let your little butterfly spread her wings. In any case, enjoy your cruise which ever you choose!

It is an awkward age and the best advice for Carnival is to go to the meet and greet the first night - that is critical. They meet their group of friends and spend very little time in Circle C. If she is social and outgoing, she likely will be OK - though even my youngest who has no issue making friends did not like it when he was 12 - but I think that was due to the counselor - they kind of make it or break it for this age group.

My older son is now 19 and has been cruising since he was 8, so done all these groups. He has never reported the 15-17 year olds having a party that included the younger group. Now if a group forms that involve families with both age kids, yes, she could be hanging out with a 12 or 3 year old that has a 16 year old brother...but such is life.

If she is mature, she is going to have an easier time with kids that are in 7th and 8th grade than kids in 4th and 5th, so I would go Carnival.

What is your child like? 12 is a tough age developmentally. Do you trust her? Is she going to take care of herself? Or does she need more of the structure and care of a 10 year old? Is she going to categorically refuse to go to a 10-12 kid's club? You know her better than anyone else here will, and it sounds like while *you* want her in more sheltered activities, you think *she's* not going to go for it. So if I were you, I'd send her to the one she will actually enjoy, with some ground rules.

You can put her in the 12-14 group and just pull her in rather than let her do late night parties. Or swing by and check in on her to see if they're "lets hang out and watch a movie and chat" parties or "WOOOO!" parties. (The wildest kid's club night time party I ever walked by was a bunch of preschoolers on a light up dance floor. Possibly the wildest time I've seen on a cruise ship.)

My kids went to the NCL clubs on the first night and then wanted nothing to do with them. I now threaten that if they're obnoxious, I'm sending them to the kids/teens clubs. 😂

Here's why... My 9 year old daughter was just a few weeks shy of 10 and stuck in a group of mostly 6 year olds. My 13 year old son was a young 13 and intimidated by the older kids there, so he sat by himself and did nothing.

It's a weird age, for sure. I would ask your daughter what she'd prefer and prepare for the possibility that she might not like either of them.

The couple of times that my husband and I wanted to do adult things, we let the kids hang out in the room together.