Princess kids programs

[gkrnjlr]

Does anyone have any experience that they can share opinions and such with me about Princess' kids programs?

 

My kids will be ages 3, 6 and 7 next year when we are booked.

 

Princess is totally new to us so we don't know anything about their programs. Are the comparable to Camp Carnival (they're sister lines, aren't they?)? Are they open while in port?

 

Thanks for any information you can share with me.

[Scrapchick]

Have you done a search on these boards for info about this??? I know there are several threads, some recent on this board, discussing the Princess kids cub.

 

We have always had a very positive experience with Princess and our DD now almost 9, has enjoyed her time in the kids clubs very much. Princes kids clubs are open in port too.

[gkrnjlr]

Have you done a search on these boards for info about this??? I know there are several threads, some recent on this board, discussing the Princess kids cub.

 

We have always had a very positive experience with Princess and our DD now almost 9, has enjoyed her time in the kids clubs very much. Princes kids clubs are open in port too.

 

 

I haven't used the search feature, but should have. I'll do that! Thanks!

 

It's good to hear that your 9 year old liked it. Kids can be a good source of "reviews" without even realizing it!

 

Thanks!

[chrystine]

We always had good experiences with Princess' kids club. We sailed on the Caribbean Princess twice (when my son was 7 and 8) and he enjoyed it both times. Carnival is his favorite and I think Carnival's program is better in terms of variety of activities but Princess did a good job, too.

[tmitchell82]

We took DD, who was 5, on a Princess cruise last year and she loved the kids club. With your kids being the ages that they are they will all be in the Pelican's room (3-7) On sea days, the kids club was open at various times (9-12, 2-5, 7-10, if I recall correctly) On port days, you can leave your kids in the kids club on the ship while you are ashore and the kids club is usually open the whole time while in port. They do give you pages while on the ship in case they need to contact you, but those do not work ashore. They were a variety of activities that the kids did (shirt painting, pirate night, etc) and DD loved them. Not a lot of watching TV/movies as the only activity (that was usually later at night) They also had a couple of kids dinners as well, one which was on formal night. They do not take the kids swimming at all. DD really enjoyed the kids club and would be asking us to take her there as soon as it opened on the sea days. The staff did a nice job. The do offer late night babysitting as well, for a fee, till 2am if you want.

 

The number of kids varies greatly. We went in November during school and there was only 23 kids in DD age group. Have been on other Princess cruises while school was out, and there were a lot more kids. Also depends on the length. We took a 10 day panama canal cruise and I think there was 3 kids on the whole ship.

 

We just booked another Princess cruise with DD and she is already very excited to go back to the kids club.

 

Tim

[gkrnjlr]

Such great news here! Thank you so much for the info! I'm excited about trying Princess now!

 

I just wish that Princess had cabins for a family of 5 without having to book the family suite. We priced a family suite for a 5 night cruise and it was over $12,000! Ack!:eek: We'll just get two cabins, thank you! :)

[tmitchell82]

Such great news here! Thank you so much for the info! I'm excited about trying Princess now!

 

I just wish that Princess had cabins for a family of 5 without having to book the family suite. We priced a family suite for a 5 night cruise and it was over $12,000! Ack!:eek: We'll just get two cabins, thank you! :)

 

Forgot to mention that the kids club is not in operation the day of embarkation. You do need to go an register your kids that day and you'll get a brief orientation as well.

 

Also, if you have anytime dinning and can get the same wait staff each night, it works out really well with kids. We did that and our waiters definitely took care of DD. If there is stuff you want that is not on the menu for the kids, just ask. DD liked a bowl of fruit each night with chocolate milk and after the first night, DD got her fruit and chocolate milk without us even asking.

 

I hear you about wishing Princess had better options for a family. We ended up getting 2 rooms as well since my FIL is joining us. Got a minisuite and an inside across the hall for my FIL. Technically DD is in that room as well, but somehow, I suspect she'll be in our room....

 

Tim

[scubababy]

We just got back last week from a long cruise (15 days) on the Crown Princess.

We have a 7 year old daughter, and we used the Princess Pelican Club daily - LOVED IT! We used it last year on the Ruby, and she loved it then.

 

They had great organized activities planned for the kids every day. When we came on board, we had a notice of the open house for the kids and parents. We were given a packet that listed all activities for each day of our cruise.

 

Now that our daughter is older, the kids club is such a great asset to our cruising. We had 3 port days that she stayed on the ship because she was tired of "going to places". So, it gave us a break for a few relaxing days. Every night, she was at the kids club the minute it opened. We planned our meals with the waiter so that they brought her meal quickly so she could leave at 7:00. I normally had an appetizer and soup before she left. Got my entree after I dropped her off. Then we had several hours to do whatever we wanted. She stayed until 10:00.

 

So, other than a few highlights on our tours, the kids club was the highlight of our daughter's cruise!!

 

I haven't used the kids club on other cruise lines - just Princess.

[gkrnjlr]

We just got back last week from a long cruise (15 days) on the Crown Princess.

We have a 7 year old daughter, and we used the Princess Pelican Club daily - LOVED IT! We used it last year on the Ruby, and she loved it then.

 

They had great organized activities planned for the kids every day. When we came on board, we had a notice of the open house for the kids and parents. We were given a packet that listed all activities for each day of our cruise.

 

Now that our daughter is older, the kids club is such a great asset to our cruising. We had 3 port days that she stayed on the ship because she was tired of "going to places". So, it gave us a break for a few relaxing days. Every night, she was at the kids club the minute it opened. We planned our meals with the waiter so that they brought her meal quickly so she could leave at 7:00. I normally had an appetizer and soup before she left. Got my entree after I dropped her off. Then we had several hours to do whatever we wanted. She stayed until 10:00.

 

So, other than a few highlights on our tours, the kids club was the highlight of our daughter's cruise!!

 

I haven't used the kids club on other cruise lines - just Princess.

 

What a great vacation and experience you had! What were your ports that you visited on the cruise?

 

Thanks for the info on what to expect!

[jam82]

Has anyone ever used the late night sitting at the kids club? Do they put a movie on and let the kids fall asleep? Do they do it like a slumber party with blankets and pillows?

[scubababy]

gkrn - We embarked in Rome, Italy. From there Florence, Genoa, Cannes, Barcelona, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Dublin, Greenock Scotland, LeHavre (Normandy), Zeebrugge, and debarked in London.

I am in the midst of jet lag, so I may have missed some ports!

 

 

We never used the late night sitting, but from what I could tell, they had nice fluffy bean bags that the kids could lay down on and sleep or watch a movie.

[scubababy]

Oh, and wanted to mention the dining room staff. They are great on Princess. I am a "healthy food ****", so I really want the veggies and fruit every night for our daughter.

After our first night in the dining room, there was a plate of blackberries, rasberries, strawberries and grapes in front of Annie's chair every night. They also figured out she loved sauteed zuchinni (I requested some type of veggies the 2nd night) and brought this out every night.

She mentioned fried calamari one night, and the waitress asked the head waiter to get us a platter of fried calamari one night.

 

So, whatever you ask for in the dining room on Princess, you will get it!

 

They also worked very hard to get her food out fast so she could get the kids club at 7:00.

Patti

[tmitchell82]

Has anyone ever used the late night sitting at the kids club? Do they put a movie on and let the kids fall asleep? Do they do it like a slumber party with blankets and pillows?

 

We used it once. There is less structured activities, particularly if there are not many kids on the ship. They do have bean bags/pillows for the kids to fall asleep on. When we went to pick up DD, she was passed out sleeping away. There was a movie on and some of the kids were still watching it, so it was like a little slumber party.

 

Tim

[jam82]

We used it once. There is less structured activities, particularly if there are not many kids on the ship. They do have bean bags/pillows for the kids to fall asleep on. When we went to pick up DD, she was passed out sleeping away. There was a movie on and some of the kids were still watching it, so it was like a little slumber party.

 

Tim

 

Thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to know.