Which cruiseline? 2 teenage sons (16yo and 12yo)

[oladunk]

I am not a first time cruiser. I have been on 2 cruises with Rccl (Sovereign 91, Enchantment 08) and 2 with NCL (dreamward 92, Norway 99). But only one of these are recent (RCCL- Enchantment of the seas from Ft.Lauderdale 2008).

 

I live in Europe and would like to try out a mediterranean cruise this year. I have to admit that I am a little biased towards RCCL and tend to favourise that line. But looking at ports, itineries, ships and prices I don't seem to find the ultimate choice. So I have asked myself if I should widen my horizon and try something else.

 

I have to teenagers (12,16 so the youngest isn't really a teenager yet) and I was a little surprised after last cruise with RCCL - Enchantment o.t.s. when they apparently was a little bored during the cruise. They are normally quite social and not easily bored, so this surprised me. Seems that they had trouble getting to know others on board.

 

Based on this info and the fact that most cruise lines are represented in the Mediterranean...can you recommend other lines than RCCL that I should consider? So far I have focused on departures from Italy but it's not an absolute requirement.

 

PS:Feel free to be specific about ships not only cruise lines.

 

BH

[oladunk]

Answering myself here but...

I Googled and found this great article:

 

"Best Cruises for Teens "

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=159

 

Might end up with RCCL after all then.

Matching this article with my country/departure port/port of calls wishes I seem to have good candidates in:

 

Navigator of the Seas

Norwegian Gem

(Adventure of the Seas)

 

I am not sure how recent this article is though since as an example some of the newest RCCL-ships are not mentioned in that article.

 

Another good article with general tips on cruising with teens (from a mothers view):

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=815

 

BH

[cruiserking]

Some other cruise lines you might consider are

 

MSC - They have a vast fleet that is very popular amongst Europeans.

 

Princess Cruises - Beautiful ships with dozens of onboard activities.

 

P&O - Very popular U.K. based line with enormous ships like Ventura, Oceana and Arcadia, tons of restaurants, pools and activities.

 

Celebrity - Elegant ships with traditional cruise experience featuring brand new ships with Solstice Class including the Soltice, Equinox and Eclipse.

 

 

Do some research, read about these lines on Cruise Critic, check out the reviews and look for pictures of the ships at http://www.shipparade.com

 

Jonathan

[Cruisin' Chick]

You might also want to consider what time of year are you sailing. If you are planning a cruise when kids are in school, there will probably be fewer on board. Not sure about the market for that area, but I know that with cruises that Americans would tend to go on with school-aged kids, June through August, the last couple weeks of December and the week around Easter tends to be popular for family cruising.

[oladunk]

CruiserKing,

Thanks for the info. I noticed that Princess and especially MSC have many cruises around the area that is of interest to me (Italy). And those MSC ships looks quite good.

[oladunk]

Cruisin' Chick,

Good point. My last cruise was in middle of august from Ft Lauderdale, so I would have expected that to be in a high season with many kids. But I don't think numer of kids was the problem in that case. I think I took for granted that my kids would socialize by them self since they are normally good at that. So I didn't pay attention to the fact that they never talked or were with other kids on he ships. Now in retrospect I think I should have been more active in helping them socialize in this unfamiliar environment with english/american speaking kids. It just didn't cross my mind since they never normally need "help" in that area. I know better now.

[DonnaK]

If you're checking out RCCL again, you need to stick with their newer ships for the teens. Navigator and Adventure are both Voyager class and have all the activities/amenities to keep the teens entertained.

 

Also, bear in mind that Mediterranean cruises are very port heavy, so you spend less time on the ship - you come back onboard in the evenings very tired and aren't looking for as much activities as you would on a Caribbean cruise with lots of sea days.

[cruisenfamily]

We sailed the Med. last summer on RCCL Brillance of the Seas. My two teenager boys (16 and 13) LOVED this ship. Besides the teen lounge and the video arcade, they have pool tables, ping pong, shuffle board, miniature golf course, checkers and backgammon. They were able to go to the SEAVIEW cafe or Windjammer whenever they wanted to eat. Basketball court and rock wall. There is a movie theater, too. They were never bored. They made friends from Europe that they still talk to on facebook!! The ports are intensive (long, long days) but they couldn't wait to return to the ship and see their friends. Can't recommend this ship enough. Good luck!:)

[rimau]

Some cruise lines have special programs for different age groups. We became quite friendly with a family on a pre cruise tour that included two teenagers and know they had a great time on the ship with their groups. That was Princess. We have also been on cruises that were during the school year that had almost no kids and one of those was a Princess cruise.

[BroncosFan2010]

If you want to stick with RCCL, I would choose one of the newer and larger ships for the sake of your teens. The Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis Class ships have so many activities, it would be difficult to be bored.

[cruisenfamily]

You know, the newer and larger RCCL aren't always better. Depends on your boys. My two teens could care less about ice skating rinks and flow riders. Give them a sports court and food 24/7 and they are happy. Depends on your boys. What do THEY like to do? Plus, the bigger ships have A LOT of people. We like the Radiance Class because there carry only about 2500 NOT 3000-6000 people YIKES!!!:eek:

Saw you are from Norway - we visited your BEAUTIFUL country a couple years ago - just lovely!!! Hikes and waterfalls and fresh blueberries YUM!

Good luck!

[cosytoes]

We did Costa Victoria last summer with son age 16 and daugther age 13 and they had a fab time. They were mainly french, spanish and italian kids but they were far more out going than english kids so soon got dragged into the action as they were a novelty and they all wnated to practise their English.