Best kids/teen program: Princess or Carnival?

[sunshinesmiles]

Hello!

My father would like to take my family on a cruise. They cruise several times per year, and would like to reap the benefits of Carnival or Princess. However, they are unfamiliar with the kids programs.(If it were my choice, I would go with Disney:)) We have done Carnival before, and I can't say I was impressed with some of the stuff that occurred with the kids program. However, I will go with whichever program is better.

 

Has anyone taken kids on both lines? We are looking at a 7-9 day, and the kids will be 14 and 9 at time of cruising.

 

Thank you so much for your help!

[fitcanadian88]

Hey sunshinesmiles, I've been on both cruise line's extensively, while both of the cruise lines are good with kids programs, the cruise line that I felt had the best kids programs along with the best activities was RCCL (Royal Caribbean) They had the rock climbing competitions, ice skating, simulated surfing that none of the other cruise lines had.

 

However, if you are adamant about taking either a Princess or Carnival cruise, I would suggest Carnival over Princess mainly because more kids go on Carnival. In my humble opinion, I see Carinival as more of a "Family Cruise"/ Party Cruise. Princess, I see as maybe a bit older crowd (No where near as old as Holland America) And generally the Princes ships in my opinion are nicer. That's why I think RCCL is the best, because they combine the best activities, most kids, and nicest ships in general among all the cruise lines (I've been on celebrity, carnival, princess, norweigan, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean)

 

Also, I'm 22 now but have experienced the kids programs on nearly all the major lines. I used the kid programs all the way up till I was 17 and participated in the 18-20 meet and greet on virtually all the cruises I went on from that age range. In fact, I still go to the 18-20 year old meet and greets to meet and party with people my own age.

 

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

[onthelake]

We are Princess fans. My DS (now 17) has always enjoyed the clubs. He likes Princess better because there are enough young people to have fun, there isn't the 'mob' that Carnival usually has. He would rather be in a group of a couple of dozen than a couple of hundred. Overall, it has to do with the time of year you cruise and the personalities of the kids.

[kassimer1]

We went on carnival valor this summer and DS said the teen activites were boring. All the kids did was sit around and talk most of the time. The kids were so bored they hung out at the jogging track instead!! They really didnt have much for that age group in activities. it was mostly just hang. Oh but we are going to try Royal carribean out since i heard thier teen club was better.

[fitcanadian88]

We went on carnival valor this summer and DS said the teen activites were boring. All the kids did was sit around and talk most of the time. The kids were so bored they hung out at the jogging track instead!! They really didnt have much for that age group in activities. it was mostly just hang. Oh but we are going to try Royal carribean out since i heard thier teen club was better.

 

What most kids do is meet everyone the first night of the cruise at the meet and greet and then either go off and hang out in their respective groups for the duration of the cruise but there are also kids who stay and participate in the teen activities provided by the cruise. RCCL is my favourite cruise line, especially the larger ships. When I was younger, I found that they had the most to offer and I was rarely bored on them.