First Princess Cruise - Suite and Kid questions

[GoldenRose]

We're fairly frequent cruisers who have just about decided to try Princess for our Alaska cruise. We've cruised with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, and Disney, and we always sail in suites or concierge class these days. We are cruising with 3 generations - us (in our 40s), my mom, and our kids (4 and 10.)

 

On some level, I know a cruise is a cruise, but there are enough differences between lines that I wanted some input. We're looking specifically at the Ruby Princess, if that matters.

 

How do the kids clubs and programs compare? Our 4 year old daughter loves DCL's clubs; she's active and she loves to run and play and climb, and to socialize with other kids. Our 10 year old son prefers Celebrity's kids club, because he prefers more focused activity in smaller groups. Our daughter would rather be in a kids club with other kids than doing just about anything else, our son would rather be us doing something we can all do together. How does Princess do on activities the whole family can do together? (In our experience, Disney does that best.)

 

It doesn't look like the Ruby Princess has an indoor pool. Are the pools bearable mid-August?

 

I've seen the pdf of suite perks on Princess, and was trying to decide how they compared. It doesn't look like there is a dedicated concierge or butler to help with special requests? Or a concierge lounge? Does sailing in a suite give you any priority in booking things like the Chef's Table, or priority seating if you choose anytime dining? Any sort of reserved areas for shows? It sort of looked like the perks are a little less than what we're used to, but it is hard to tell from the brief description. I am trying to get a feel for it before we embark, and set reasonable expectations for our party.

[NavyVeteran]

We're fairly frequent cruisers who have just about decided to try Princess for our Alaska cruise. We've cruised with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, and Disney, and we always sail in suites or concierge class these days. We are cruising with 3 generations - us (in our 40s), my mom, and our kids (4 and 10.)

. . .

I've seen the pdf of suite perks on Princess, and was trying to decide how they compared. It doesn't look like there is a dedicated concierge or butler to help with special requests? Or a concierge lounge? Does sailing in a suite give you any priority in booking things like the Chef's Table, or priority seating if you choose anytime dining? Any sort of reserved areas for shows? It sort of looked like the perks are a little less than what we're used to, but it is hard to tell from the brief description. I am trying to get a feel for it before we embark, and set reasonable expectations for our party.

 

Is your entire party - all five of you - in as suite, or is part of your party in a non-suite cabin? This will matter for some - but not all - of the suite perks.

 

Sailing in a suite does give priority reservations for anytime dining. You still need to call for a reservation before they close for the day, but you will get a reservation for whatever time you want. There are some times that they do not normally take reservations, but they will take them for people in a suite. You may need to tell them that you are in a suite - the person taking the reservation may not recognize your cabin number. This will work even if some of your party is not in a suite, since you can make a reservation for five even if you don't have five in a suite.

 

Those of you in a suite will have complimentary dining in one of the specialty restaurants - Sabatini's or Crown Grill - on the first night of a seven-night cruise. You will need to call the Dine Line to make a reservation when you board. If some of your party are not in a suite, they can join you - but they will need to pay the cover charge.

 

One of the nicest perks is breakfast each morning in Sabatini's. The food selection and the service are much nicer than the normal breakfast. This is for suite passengers only - no guests. If any of your party are not staying in a suite, they will not be able to join you.

 

Another suite perk is being able to order room service breakfast, lunch, or dinner from the normal dining room menu instead of from the limited room service menu. Members of your party not staying in a suite can share in this as long as the meal is delivered to the suite.

 

There is no reserved area for shows. I believe suite guests have some priority in reserving shore excursions, but I have not personally experienced this since I always book any ship excursions online well in advance. I don't know about priority for the Chef's Table, and I'm not sure that it's consistent from one ship to another.

[Kamloops50]

We're fairly frequent cruisers who have just about decided to try Princess for our Alaska cruise. We've cruised with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, and Disney, and we always sail in suites or concierge class these days. We are cruising with 3 generations - us (in our 40s), my mom, and our kids (4 and 10.)

 

On some level, I know a cruise is a cruise, but there are enough differences between lines that I wanted some input. We're looking specifically at the Ruby Princess, if that matters.

 

How do the kids clubs and programs compare? Our 4 year old daughter loves DCL's clubs; she's active and she loves to run and play and climb, and to socialize with other kids. Our 10 year old son prefers Celebrity's kids club, because he prefers more focused activity in smaller groups. Our daughter would rather be in a kids club with other kids than doing just about anything else, our son would rather be us doing something we can all do together. How does Princess do on activities the whole family can do together? (In our experience, Disney does that best.)

 

It doesn't look like the Ruby Princess has an indoor pool. Are the pools bearable mid-August?

 

I've seen the pdf of suite perks on Princess, and was trying to decide how they compared. It doesn't look like there is a dedicated concierge or butler to help with special requests? Or a concierge lounge? Does sailing in a suite give you any priority in booking things like the Chef's Table, or priority seating if you choose anytime dining? Any sort of reserved areas for shows? It sort of looked like the perks are a little less than what we're used to, but it is hard to tell from the brief description. I am trying to get a feel for it before we embark, and set reasonable expectations for our party.

 

 

To go to Alaska , don't focus on the ship but the ports . In Alaska it's about scenery and ports not the ship. Determine what is important to see and look at port times .

[ceilidh1]

We haven't sailed on Ruby yet but are frequent Princess cruisers - I have two kids aged 8 and 4, both of whom have been cruising since they were 6 months old! I have to say, kids clubs are different each ship (even within the same line) and each trip so its hard to give a "general" overview. My 8 year old would live in the kids club the entire trip given the chance - she is social, loves arts/crafts, dancing, and just being among other kids. Princess has always provided the best kids club experience for her. My 4 year old is the complete opposite - has no time for arts/crafts and would rather sit and build Lego than do a group activity. Princess has been great on some ships but awful on others for him! I believe the ratio of kids to staff and the ages in each program play a big role in the experience. On our recent trip on Grand, there was only one staff member (with one "floater") for 20 kids - most of whom were aged 6-7. The activities were obviously geared for the older kids and involved mostly art/craft and Wii games. There really wasn't any plan for kids like my son who don't want to do these things, so he got bored easily and got very little out of it. On the flip side, my daughter had a blast! On the coastals we just returned from on Golden and Star, there were two staff (with one "floater") to about 15 kids, with most kids in the 3-5 age range. There were still arts/crafts but there was also lots of free play, outside play, and a great jungle gym on Star! Both kids had a blast!

 

We did Disney last year and neither kid really liked the kids club. The age range was just too much (they didn't split them, just had 3-12 years in the same program) and the activities were either too old for the little one, or too young for the big one! Disney definitely had lots more family friendly stuff outside of the kids club, which we enjoyed. Princess doesn't really do too much outside of kids club for families - you rarely see kids outside of the clubs to be honest with you!

 

We stayed in a suite on our recent Hawaii cruise and my favorite perk (with kids) was the fact that there was a full room service menu for breakfast. We never did Sabatinis since its tough to get both kids up and moving in the morning, so we did room service each morning at breakfast and this was wonderful for us! We were treated like royalty in the suite and whenever we called for dining reservations we were given whatever we asked for!

 

I will be happy to answer any specific questions you may have!

[Colo Cruiser]

I doubt that many will use the pool in Alaska regardless of the month.

We have had snow in every month we have sailed (May/June/July/August/September). Weather can change in an instant.

Princess pools are notoriously cold even in the Caribbean.

 

No dedicated area for entertainment.

[sherryf]

I doubt that many will use the pool in Alaska regardless of the month.

We have had snow in every month we have sailed (May/June/July/August/September). Weather can change in an instant.

Princess pools are notoriously cold even in the Caribbean.

 

People DO use the pools on Alaskan cruises, even the uncovered ones. Remember that it can be quite nice sailing in and out of Seattle. I have spent days sitting in the sun by the pool and have gotten sunburned.

 

 

Personally, I can't see spending so much money on a suite and choosing an itinerary that only goes to Tracy Arm rather than Glacier Bay.

[Colo Cruiser]

People DO use the pools on Alaskan cruises, even the uncovered ones. Remember that it can be quite nice sailing in and out of Seattle. I have spent days sitting in the sun by the pool and have gotten sunburned.

 

 

Personally, I can't see spending so much money on a suite and choosing an itinerary that only goes to Tracy Arm rather than Glacier Bay.

 

 

We have had 70's and got burned too, this was in Ketchikan/Juneau, however the OP needs to be prepared that the pool may not be an option every day since she was specifically asking about a covered pool.

[ceilidh1]

We've used the pools on every one of our Alaskan cruises, both indoor and out! When in port the weather is often really nice and the sun is hot (even in Alaska). On Golden last month, the covered pool was more like a hot tub - I loved it, but my kids complained it was like being in the bath! :D Usually, the Princess pools are a little chilly!

[giselleacttwo]

My kids have never been bored on a Princess ship, and they have done itineraries ranging anywhere from 2 to 19 sea days. As mentioned above the Kids Clubs are pretty heavy on crafting and hands on stuff, plus they do movie nights, video game tournaments, dance parties, etc. Princess doesn't offer organized activities that the whole family can join in that I've seen. If Jr. Chef at Sea is offered on your ship I would highly recommend it with your 10 year old. (I think the 4 year old is too young). Parents can come along and watch as they meet the Executive Chef and see the galley and decorate a cake or cupcakes.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Some of the ships that are on the Alaskan itinerary (or used to be such as the Diamond, and the one we went to Alaska on, the Sapphire) have the retractable roof over the pools, but not the relatively newer ships that just recently have been moved over to the west coast (like the Crown and Ruby). In mid-August, there may be milder weather. Some people we met on our embarkation day (they just got off a HAL ship) told us they were able to wear shorts. The weather turned by our second day to 60-ish and often rainy. So layers work best.

 

Our girl was 7 on that cruise and the group made models of the solar system and glaciers, among the other activities.

[NavyVeteran]

If your cruise goes to Glacier Bay National Park, then Park Rangers will be onboard while the ship is in Glacier Bay. The Park Rangers will have some specific activities for the kids relating to the glaciers. Check your patter for time and place.

[GoldenRose]

Assuming we go ahead with the trip as planned, we've booked two suites, so we would all be entitled to the same perks. I couldn't find any available suites that would hold 5, so it was just easier to book us 3 and 2.

 

I've been to Alaska, although admittedly not in years, so I'm not as worried about ports, or Tracy Arm vs Glacier Bay. Almost all the routes we looked at do Ketchikan, Skagway, and Juneau, and those out of Seattle do Victoria. The one port my son specifically wanted to make sure we made it to was Ketchikan so he could go on the Aleutian Ballad for the Alaska Crab tour. We're happy with the ports. We're just hoping for lots of wildlife. This is not intended to be a once in a lifetime trip. (If it were, we would do a one way and I'd go back to Denali.) We want to go in and out of Seattle because it will be easiest with a 4 year old.

 

We're not exactly doing this trip for the kids, but we are looking to make it as fun and easy as possible.

 

I'm sorry it doesn't sound like they have as much for families together as a whole, but that seems pretty typical of most of the lines we've been on.

 

Has anyone tried the science at sea programming for kids? That looks really interesting.

Edited May 21, 2015 by GoldenRose