How is Princess for kids?

[sazzifrazz]

Im comparing cruises for Alaska and Princess has the best itinerary but is comparable in cost to Disney. I know our family would love Disney for the ship experience but Im not sure if Princess would be as great for our 8 year old. It seems like Princess is an older crowd. Evening shows/entertainment are important to us.

[paul929207]

The age range depends a lot on the itinerary and length of the cruise. Princess will tell you how many kids are booked on a sailing.

[marylizcat]

I have sailed with both lines and whilst Princess is very good, I would suggest you go with Disney if the price is comparable. They are slightly higher quality overall than Princess in my opinion. Excellent for adults as well as children. And I am sure your child will enjoy the cruise more on Disney. If the children are happy, then so are the parents!

 

 

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[Teris50]

Oh if the cost is comparable, do DISNEY!!! you will not be sorry. CHeck out the Disney Cruise critic page!!! people just love it and I think so would your child

[Keith1010]

I would go with Disney if the price is comparable.

 

You child with love it and I think you will too.

 

Keith

[azgrandmax3]

I believe you will find far more 8 year olds on the Disney!!

[JimmyVWine]

I can't argue with the folks above. But I will say that when considering an Alaskan cruise, itinerary is key and Princess (one way, NB or SB) beats Disney's round trip. Also, while I haven't priced Disney in a couple of months, I find it odd that the price is comparable, especially with the sales that are going on now with Princess. Princess is usually much less than Disney. Check out the "Insane Alaskan Fares" thread. Disney can't touch those prices.

 

Edit to add: I am not a Princess cheerleader. I have sailed on both lines and enjoyed them both.

[Pam in CA]

If you are comparing prices using the Princess website, you should know that Princess allows TAs to discount fares. You can usually save 10-20% using a TA booking a high volume of Princess cruises plus get OBC and incentives. To get the discount, you need to request a quote. So, you're really comparing apples and oranges.

 

Something else to consider is whether you're taking the cruise because you want to see Alaska or taking your kids on a cruise. Alaska is a cruise experience for all ages (except perhaps the very young) and no one does it better than Princess and HAL. Plus, Disney does not have permission to sail in the best area(s) to see Alaska. They do not go to Glacier Bay, for instance.

 

So, the bottom line when considering which line to cruise is to compare a discounted rate for the Princess cruise and decide whether you're cruising to Alaska or a cruise for your kids.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I can't argue with the folks above. But I will say that when considering an Alaskan cruise, itinerary is key and Princess (one way, NB or SB) beats Disney's round trip. Also, while I haven't priced Disney in a couple of months, I find it odd that the price is comparable, especially with the sales that are going on now with Princess. Princess is usually much less than Disney. Check out the "Insane Alaskan Fares" thread. Disney can't touch those prices.

 

I was wondering about that. I know that when Disney sent a ship to the west coast for the Mexican Riviera itinerary, the rates were so much higher (more than significant) for Disney than Princess.

 

If you're talking about going when school is out (from early June to late August), there should be plenty of kids on board the Princess cruises. The program will have many activities for that age group. My daughter was 7 on our Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire. She made models of the solar system and glaciers, plus the usual games, cookie decorating, etc. Plus, kids' dinners in the Horizon once or twice during the week.

 

So don't count Princess out for kids. Unless your family is soooo into Disney (by the time my daughter was 10, she wasn't into all things Disney anymore -- other than going to Disneyland and the occasional Pixel movie), don't feel that that's the only cruise line that caters to kids.

[c-cruise]

Our daughter really enjoyed the kids club on Princess, but I'm not going to pretend it was really comparable to what Disney offers for kids. We just did Disney in April and the kids still talk about it every day, draw pictures of the ship, pretend that they are on it, etc. They don't ever talk about the Caribbean or the beautiful beaches we went to, but they loved the ship!

 

I think Princess would offer you a better product/itinerary for experiencing Alaska, but Disney would certainly be better for an 8yr old.

 

Hard to believe (but great) that the price is comparable. We paid a significant premium over Princess for our Disney cruise.

[sazzifrazz]

The prices Im comparing are for summer 2014 and princess is not offering any special deals on those cruises as far as i can see.

 

Disney Miracle: balcony $6, 138

ocean view obstructed $5, 018 (secret porthole rooms that are priced as a lower category due to obstruction)

 

Golden Princess: Balcony $6, 042

ocean view obstructed $4, 267

 

So Disney is slightly more but not enough to sway me either way.

 

Now Carnival is another story!!! premium balcony $4, 117

ocean suite with balcony $4, 817

 

Am I crazy not to just do Carnival???

[katisdale]

I would choose the itinerary over the ship. We did a 7 day land tour and 7 day south bound cruise on Princess with our 8 and 11 year old grandchildren. The time in Glacier bay was priceless. We all enjoyed our time there and the kids were especially enthralled with the time they spent with the rangers while we were there. They also loved meeting Libby Riddle and she signed her children's book for our granddaughter who was in 3rd grade that fall and her class was studying the Iditirod that year. Overall we were extremely pleased with Princess.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The prices Im comparing are for summer 2014 and princess is not offering any special deals on those cruises as far as i can see.

 

Disney Miracle: balcony $6, 138

ocean view obstructed $5, 018 (secret porthole rooms that are priced as a lower category due to obstruction)

 

Golden Princess: Balcony $6, 042

ocean view obstructed $4, 267

 

So Disney is slightly more but not enough to sway me either way.

 

Now Carnival is another story!!! premium balcony $4, 117

ocean suite with balcony $4, 817

 

Am I crazy not to just do Carnival???

 

To me, more than $1000 is more than "slightly more." That's about $300 more per person. But then, I'm a bit cynical about paying more for the Disney experience.

[NavyVeteran]

It's not just the ship - it's also the shore excursions. Princess and Holland America do a lot more Alaska than anyone else and have a lot tighter control on their shore excursions.

 

Also, I agree with the statement about Glacier Bay. Although the other cruises see some great glaciers, it's not the same. Glacier Bay is a National Park, and the Park Rangers there add a lot that you don't get anywhere else in Alaska.

 

Although not up to Disney for kids, Princess has a great program when they have a lot of kids - and they should have a lot in Alaska during the summer.

 

For the OP, I would recommend Princess in Alaska and Disney in the Caribbean.

[JimmyVWine]

The prices Im comparing are for summer 2014 and princess is not offering any special deals on those cruises as far as i can see.

 

Disney Miracle: balcony $6, 138

ocean view obstructed $5, 018 (secret porthole rooms that are priced as a lower category due to obstruction)

 

Golden Princess: Balcony $6, 042

ocean view obstructed $4, 267

 

So Disney is slightly more but not enough to sway me either way.

 

Now Carnival is another story!!! premium balcony $4, 117

ocean suite with balcony $4, 817

 

Am I crazy not to just do Carnival???

 

No experience on Carnival. But don't let current prices on Princess fool you. They are trying to capture the "I have to lock in my favorite cabin" crowd. If history is any guide, (and it is), Princess will lower its prices far more than Disney. We are headed to Alaska in a few weeks. Had I booked a year ahead, I would have paid $2500 per adult. I waited and booked at $1600 per adult and then got fare reductions so that final payment price was $1400 per adult and that was after a 3 category upgrade. And this cruise had over 200 cabins available as of a week ago in every category. So it's not like choices are now limited. When I booked in March, the ship was wide open. All the while I was comparing other lines including Disney. As of right now, our fare (for a comparable cabin) is thousands less than Disney.

 

One thing to consider (which is what we did) is to pick out a specific cruise and commit to it without booking it. Then, you can book you air, your land hotels and private excursions well in advance whenever the prices are best. In other words, book your entire vacation before you book your cruise. Everything will be cancelable and refundable. Once cruise fares get lower, jump on the lower price. Or, you could book the cruise and check for price reductions and request the lower fare. But one thing is certain. By next Memorial Day (or St. Patrick's Day), Princess will be a lot lower than Disney. (With one word of caution....if you are dead set on a SB cruise in July, prices will stay rather static. The big bargains are the NB cruises and the cruises in August).

[sazzifrazz]

cruisin chic....when comparing disney and princess the prices are NOT more than $1000 difference.

 

Disney Miracle: balcony $6, 138

ocean view obstructed $5, 018 (secret porthole rooms that are priced as a lower category due to obstruction)

 

Golden Princess: Balcony $6, 042

ocean view obstructed $4, 267

 

Interesting about princess prices coming down. Something to consider. I would love to see Glacier Bay and it seems like Princess is the way to go for that route.

[dopeyfanatic]

I disagree....with a young child the ship itself is a HUGE part of the vacation. We've done Disney and it was FANTASTIC. It was 1 1/2 years ago and it was perfect for us. This year we're doing Princess. I know my kids are going to wish we were on Disney, but they are also older any well handle the lack of Disney better. Don't be fooled though...when you take a kid your whole vacation can be ruined if they are bored. If the kids club isn't any good and they won't go in there then you have no alone time. Try and look up past cruise info for Alaska to see what activities they offered in the kids club. Honestly $800 more is worth it to me. Luckily for me though my kids are older and even though they WANT to go on Disney they're ok with saving money elsewhere :)

[turbo46032]

It depends on the kid.

 

My girls have cruised several times on Princess with us from age 7 to 19. Never did the kid program or anything like that. Cruising is a real good time for 'together' time... The girls are relatively close in age and great friends so they did not seek out other kids.

 

If the parents can stand a week with the 8 year old and he's well behaved, I would think Princess would work. Not much downtime in an Alaska cruise (we did Star last year).

 

Price wise Princess seems to be very good in Alaska lately.

[Pam in CA]

The prices Im comparing are for summer 2014 and princess is not offering any special deals on those cruises as far as i can see.

 

Disney Miracle: balcony $6, 138

ocean view obstructed $5, 018 (secret porthole rooms that are priced as a lower category due to obstruction)

 

Golden Princess: Balcony $6, 042

ocean view obstructed $4, 267

 

So Disney is slightly more but not enough to sway me either way.

 

Now Carnival is another story!!! premium balcony $4, 117

ocean suite with balcony $4, 817

 

Am I crazy not to just do Carnival???

I think you're crazy. You're still comparing apples with oranges. My point in mentioning asking for a quote from a TA that books a lot of Princess cruises is that the Princess numbers could look like this...

 

Disney Miracle: balcony $6, 138

ocean view obstructed $5, 018 (secret porthole rooms that are priced as a lower category due to obstruction)

 

Golden Princess: Balcony $6,042 (-10% = $5,438)

ocean view obstructed $4,267 (-10% = $3,840)

Chances are you can do even better than that AND get OBC and perks. Plus, if you're military or have been, you qualify for OBC; if you own 100 shares of Carnival Corporation stock you get more OBC. All combinable.

[giselleacttwo]

We took our kids to Hawaii on Princess when they were 5 and 7. We also went to Disney World for a whole week that year. When I asked them whether they would rather go on a cruise again, or go to DW again, they both responded "CRUISE!". So, while Princess does sometimes get the reputation as being for older people, it isn't entirely deserved. Now, they were 2 of only 11 kids on that voyage. And it had 8 sea days. But they still had an amazing time. There are likely to be far, far, more kids than that on an Alaska cruise with Princess. So, for our family, the cruise was a hit. And they can't wait to go on our next trip- with 19 days at sea this time. :cool:

 

Princess does Alaska well. And they have a great kids program. So those are two great pluses.

[kenzie]

Cruised Princess many times, taken kids and they love Princess, I felt the kids were so safe, I had to "make" them at least spend an hour at dinner with us per day just to see them as they were always at the club. Chose for you, your daughter will love Princess anyway.

[bearette]

Disney does things right and you and evryone will love it. Now that being said, the price will come down on the Princess cruise. If the Disney aspect doesn't excite your family then do Princess as it will save you enough money you could do another cruise. For the price Princess will be a great family vacation.

[dforeigner]

If all you are worried about is the children's program then do Disney. Overall, Princess is better from an adult perspective. Food in the dining rooms is better, a more relaxing atmosphere. The shows are better on Disney.

Another advantage Disney has is that they allow you to bring alcohol on board (not just wine) for in room consumption.

Why do I recommend Princess over Disney? Because you will end up fatigued. Wake up early to eat breakfasts and drop the little ones at the club. Get them out of the club so they can shake hands with the Mouse and other characters, take pictures, etc. Drop them off at the club. But Alaska is port intensive. So off you go to do a tour then upon returning the little ones want to go to the club, etc.

Now if this were a Caribbean itinerary, then I would suggest DCL.

We prefer Princess and Celebrity. The little ones prefer DCL but had a blast on board Princess as well. Would we ever go back to DCL? Yes, but only if the itinerary was the correct one.

[berlingo]

Cruised Princess many times, taken kids and they love Princess, I felt the kids were so safe, I had to "make" them at least spend an hour at dinner with us per day just to see them as they were always at the club. Chose for you, your daughter will love Princess anyway.

 

I agree with Kenzie. Choose the cruise you adults want to do and whether that be Princess or Disney then the children will have a fantastic time. Another factor is that if the children have sight seeing fatigue on Princess you can leave them on onboard in the clubs whilst you go ashore. This can make for a much more enjoyable for all the family.Not sure if you can do this with Disney?

 

Our daughters have had a wonderful time on every cruise we have done. So much so that every other holiday is compared unfavourably with a cruise! And their favorite cruise is always the most recent one.

 

We shall be putting this theory to the test next month with a cruise on Crown to the Norwegian Fjords with two teenagers!!!

[Twinkstarr]

Okay I am a Disney geek(Disney Vacation Club owner) and we usually do 1-2 trips to a Disney park per year(usually 4 day trips) along with our other 2-3 trips per year. Personally I throw up when looking at DCL pricing, the itineraries are blah.

 

And I have done Alaska twice with Princess.

 

If I were planning on doing Alaska with the kids, actually we are thinking of doing this next summer, first line I would look at would be Princess. If you are going to do only one cruise to Alaska I would insist on doing Glacier Bay. I don't think anyone does Alaska better than Princess or HAL since they have been up there since my 1st Alaskan cruise in 1980

 

 

Alaska is so port intensive, other than an afternoon or evening how much time are they planning on spending in the kids club? I have a friend that sails frequently and her daughter preferred Princess kids activities over Disney once she hit the 9-10 yr old range. She sails both lines, but when it came to Alaska she went with Princess for the Glacier Bay, couldn't see paying the Disney premium for a non-GB itinerary

 

My boys are 12/16 so they are getting close to out growing the kids club scene.