Children on Princess cruises

[GUT2407]

Saying that we have seen children, not being under proper supervision, and that we dont have a problem supervising properly.:)

 

OK get ya.

[The_Big_M]

Kids do require an adult staying in cabin with them.(any ideas on this one people

 

4 adults, 6 children, easy to arrange (except at last minute). You can either have 2 or 3 assigned to share with adults cabins e.g. 3 or 4 share and/or have children in adjoining cabins.

 

It more comes down to how many cabins you want to book.

[MicCanberra]

Saying that we have seen children, not being under proper supervision, and that we dont have a problem supervising properly.:)

 

In y experience, it is sometimes the parents that need the supervision.:(

[mrs and mrs]

In y experience, it is sometimes the parents that need the supervision.:(

 

Gee really, We are shocked. We are figuring 2 as a start, 2 adults, 2 children, we are thinking suite.

 

We don't believe in putting the kids in kids club, and no disrespect to parents who use it. It is just not our style, but by all accounts the Kids love it.

Who knows what transpires in the future, its one big learning curve.

[Womble99]

If traveling as a family booking you can have a teen of 16 rather than an adult for a room to make it a little easier for families to use multiple rooms. We have used this with our boys.

 

As for how many kids on board I guess it depends on the cruise. We got off the golden today and it was mentioned at the Captains circle cocktail party that they had 800 kids on the Xmas cruise last year!

Edited November 20, 2016 by Womble99

[MicCanberra]

If traveling as a family booking you can have a teen of 16 rather than an adult for a room to make it a little easier for families to use multiple rooms. We have used this with our boys.

 

As for how many kids on board I guess it depends on the cruise. We got off the golden today and it was mentioned at the Captains circle cocktail party that they had 800 kids on the Xmas cruise last year!

 

WOW, that is a lot of kids.:eek:

BTW, How was your tassie cruise?

[Womble99]

Gee really, We are shocked. We are figuring 2 as a start, 2 adults, 2 children, we are thinking suite.

 

We don't believe in putting the kids in kids club, and no disrespect to parents who use it. It is just not our style, but by all accounts the Kids love it.

Who knows what transpires in the future, its one big learning curve.

 

Depending which ship you are looking at there is surprisingly few 4 berth suites? The Grand class ships have a family suite which has 8 berths but it is known to be hideously expensive, Emerald has interconnecting minis on deck 8 aft which are covered balconies that are much cheaper.

 

Don't write off kids club, you can sign your kids up for it in the personaliser to reserve a spot so Princess knows how many children to expect. You are not obliged to send them to the kids club if they do not want to after you check it out. You can also give you children the right to sign themselves in and out if you believe they are responsible so they can come and go to the kids club as they please (age dependent of course)

[Womble99]

WOW, that is a lot of kids.:eek:

BTW, How was your tassie cruise?

 

Well since we boarded in Syd we found once the turn around was completed in MLB the vibe picked up. The shorty seemed a little weird with a mix of passengers who were at the end of 25 days and looking ready to get off and a fresh bunch hitting it hard?

 

Once underway for Tassie though is was great sailing, pretty smooth only minor bumps barely noticeable (well to me anyway). Despite the poor weather for the cruise prior to us we ended up with cracker days for Wineglass Bay, Port Arthur and Hobart. Now if Princess had of left the cruise itinerary there and added 2 sea days back to Melbourne it would have been a magnificent cruise but instead some mental midget added Phillip Island as a port visit on the last evening.

 

Now Phillip Island makes for an ok place for a port visit, not a whole lot to do there so they keep it short, a half day. If you did this say on your way out of MLB at the start of the cruise it would probably be not too bad, however trying to run a port visit up until 2300 the night before disembarkation??? We booked a ships tour to go see the Little penguins (they are little now) 1845-2145 the earliest of the 3 tour groups on offer.

 

Phillip Island is a tender port right. The pier is only able to take a single tender at a time. The tenders cannot load or unload at the pier at low tide. There is 5 tours not 3 going to the penguins, all at the same time not staggered like advertised. Can anyone guess what the tide is when all 5 bus loads return to the pier at 2200? You hit the nail on the head, low tide, that mental midget didn't bother checking the tides when planning this cruise to ensure it wouldn't be a low tide when the ship was leaving... (did anyone notice the supermoon this week? made for really nice high and low tides too ;) )

 

So with an entire pier covered with passengers Princess had hired a local charter vessel to ferry passengers. Larger boat doesn't mean faster transportation, I think they miscalculated how long it takes to load now it is dark and this vessel has a steep ladder between decks and how long to disembark as there is nowhere for the passengers to congregate before passing through security on the boat.

 

It was quite farcical to watch and I could hear the captain over the crew radio getting more and more agitated the longer it took. If it wasn't so cold and miserable out there it wouldn't have been so bad. if it wasn't the night before disembarkation it really wouldn't have mattered, however now all they have done is left several hundred passengers with their last memory of their cruise as a negative? All of which derived from poor planning and could have been rectified before the cruise was even released for sale.

[mrs and mrs]

Well since we boarded in Syd we found once the turn around was completed in MLB the vibe picked up. The shorty seemed a little weird with a mix of passengers who were at the end of 25 days and looking ready to get off and a fresh bunch hitting it hard?

I think we were with that lot, worn, and tired.We had a 100 odd TA;s get on in Brisbane.Was like chucking fresh soldiers in with battle hardened warriors.Then the rumour that 600 schoolies and families getting on in Syd.Weird, yep I said it from the get-go this cruise was weird, still fun though

 

Once underway for Tassie though is was great sailing, pretty smooth only minor bumps barely noticeable (well to me anyway). Despite the poor weather for the cruise prior to us we ended up with cracker days for Wineglass Bay, Port Arthur and Hobart. Now if Princess had of left the cruise itinerary there and added 2 sea days back to Melbourne it would have been a magnificent cruise but instead some mental midget added Phillip Island as a port visit on the last evening.

Yep,Earth calling Princess

 

Now Phillip Island makes for an ok place for a port visit, not a whole lot to do there so they keep it short, a half day. If you did this say on your way out of MLB at the start of the cruise it would probably be not too bad, however trying to run a port visit up until 2300 the night before disembarkation??? We booked a ships tour to go see the Little penguins (they are little now) 1845-2145 the earliest of the 3 tour groups on offer.

 

As Above

 

 

Phillip Island is a tender port right. The pier is only able to take a single tender at a time. The tenders cannot load or unload at the pier at low tide. There is 5 tours not 3 going to the penguins, all at the same time not staggered like advertised. Can anyone guess what the tide is when all 5 bus loads return to the pier at 2200? You hit the nail on the head, low tide, that mental midget didn't bother checking the tides when planning this cruise to ensure it wouldn't be a low tide when the ship was leaving... (did anyone notice the supermoon this week? made for really nice high and low tides too ;) )

 

Earth call*&, ahh no-matter, last one off, turn the lights out, and drain the pool.

 

 

 

So with an entire pier covered with passengers Princess had hired a local charter vessel to ferry passengers. Larger boat doesn't mean faster transportation, I think they miscalculated how long it takes to load now it is dark and this vessel has a steep ladder between decks and how long to disembark as there is nowhere for the passengers to congregate before passing through security on the boat.

 

sounds like fun, (NOT), and dangerous

 

It was quite farcical to watch and I could hear the captain over the crew radio getting more and more agitated the longer it took. If it wasn't so cold and miserable out there it wouldn't have been so bad. if it wasn't the night before disembarkation it really wouldn't have mattered, however now all they have done is left several hundred passengers with their last memory of their cruise as a negative? All of which derived from poor planning and could have been rectified before the cruise was even released for sale.

 

Sounds very familiar

[Womble99]

Originally Posted by Womble99

Well since we boarded in Syd we found once the turn around was completed in MLB the vibe picked up. The shorty seemed a little weird with a mix of passengers who were at the end of 25 days and looking ready to get off and a fresh bunch hitting it hard?

I think we were with that lot, worn, and tired.We had a 100 odd TA;s get on in Brisbane.Was like chucking fresh soldiers in with battle hardened warriors.Then the rumour that 600 schoolies and families getting on in Syd.Weird, yep I said it from the get-go this cruise was weird, still fun though

 

Don't think it was rumours, we had friends that we met up with in Sydney who came down from Beijing. They were on Aloha deck and after the turn over at Sydney they couldn't find a single interior quad cabin that had matching surnames on their deck anymore :eek: There were plenty of schoolies age bracket on board though I found them to be well behaved, it was generally the older crowd that caused problems.........

[mrs and mrs]

it was generally the older crowd that caused problems.........

 

Well aint that a surprise :););)

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Womble99 for the review, glad you had a great cruise despite the Phillip Island debacle.

[wishfulone]

Cruised New Caledonia/Noumea Sydney return in January this year. There were heaps of kids of all ages on board but we were unaware of how many until we sailed back into Sydney Harbour. The deck was flooded with kids experiencing the dawn arrival with their new friends.

 

We generally cruise the longer itineraries where you rarely see children but all these kids had had an amazing cruise on Princess without all the kid friendly trimmings you find on Royal Caribbean & Co. There were tears aplenty as they farewelled new friends and exchanged email addresses.

 

Later in the departure lounge a young boy about 17 told us he'd met many new friends on his summer holiday cruises over the years and kept in touch with all of them either in person or via social media. He'd even visited a family in the USA to holiday with their son.

 

In short, Princess ships have heaps of kids too depending on the itinerary but you don't see them because they're too busy enjoying themselves with other kids their own age.

[Ship Drongo]

We have several reasons for choosing Princess - Elite status, familiarity with the Princess 'product' and another that it is a cruise that suits the working people time-wise. The particular cruise we are considering is during school holidays so I am sure there will be quite a few children on board. Except for one 13 y.o., the other four are aged are from just-turned-one to just-turned-six. We realise that under-three years cannot be left in the Kids Club without a parent present.

 

I don't think you will have a problem with Princess and your children. I agree Princess does attract an older demographic, but each cruise we have been on has had a good mix of age groups.

 

I also agree with you that Princess offer really good quality cruising and is good value. It may not have all the bells and whistles of other cruise lines, but the quality of their service transcends this.:D

[Aus Traveller]

I don't think you will have a problem with Princess and your children. I agree Princess does attract an older demographic, but each cruise we have been on has had a good mix of age groups.

 

I also agree with you that Princess offer really good quality cruising and is good value. It may not have all the bells and whistles of other cruise lines, but the quality of their service transcends this.:D

The children are not ones who would want or expect all the bells and whistles. Four of them are too young for that anyway. At the moment, there isn't capacity for these four under-6-year-olds on the cruise we have selected. Our TA is watching for cancellations.

 

We might find an alternative cruise (difficult with people's other commitments) or book for a year or more ahead. :)

[Aus Traveller]

The children are not ones who would want or expect all the bells and whistles. Four of them are too young for that anyway. At the moment, there isn't capacity for these four under-6-year-olds on the cruise we have selected. Our TA is watching for cancellations.

 

We might find an alternative cruise (difficult with people's other commitments) or book for a year or more ahead. :)

Just in case someone thinks that we have four under-6-year-old children I should mention that these are grand-children. The proposed cruise would include three sets of parents and one 13-y.o. When we looked at cruises next Christmas, my other half baulked at the prices. Taking 13 people on a holiday-time cruise is expensive. :(

[MicCanberra]

I find paying for my cruise is always doable as I can justify the expense for treating my wife or even myself. However, when paying for the family to cruise with us, that is always expensive no matter how good a bargain we can get. We pay it anyway.:cool:

[Aus Traveller]

I find paying for my cruise is always doable as I can justify the expense for treating my wife or even myself. However, when paying for the family to cruise with us, that is always expensive no matter how good a bargain we can get. We pay it anyway.:cool:

We took all the family on a cruise around eight years ago. Four years ago, when we were planning another one, one couple had to drop out because they found that they were expecting a baby. This time we have said "all in or all out". This makes choosing a cruise more difficult, but we want everyone to be together.:)

[MicCanberra]

We took all the family on a cruise around eight years ago. Four years ago, when we were planning another one, one couple had to drop out because they found that they were expecting a baby. This time we have said "all in or all out". This makes choosing a cruise more difficult, but we want everyone to be together.:)

 

Good luck, sounds like it may be easier to herd some cats.

Edited November 21, 2016 by MicCanberra

[Aus Traveller]

Good luck, sounds like it may be easier to herd some cats.

Maybe. :) Although everyone is happy to have a free cruise.

[mrs and mrs]

one simply does not herd cats, One musters them.

[MicCanberra]

one simply does not herd cats, One musters them.

 

Maybe that is why herding cats is so hard.:p

[Aus Traveller]

one simply does not herd cats, One musters them.

I love that video clip of 'herding' or 'mustering' cats in the wild west.:)

 

We used to have a lovely Kelpie-cross dog. They naturally have a herding instinct: it was funny watching her trying to herd our three cats.:)

[mrs and mrs]

Ha haha we have a 14 yr old kelpie/cross visitor, and watching him with the 2 black cats is funny as all get out.

Not sure who wins in the end but its a constant chair,bed,furniture shifting exercise.

They are never aloud to settle in one place for long, so to beat him they get up high.Thats when the fun begins.

[cheznandy]

I love that video clip of 'herding' or 'mustering' cats in the wild west.:)

 

We used to have a lovely Kelpie-cross dog. They naturally have a herding instinct: it was funny watching her trying to herd our three cats.:)

 

We have a black Kelpie, she doesnt work the cattle on the farm anymore, but she still likes to herd everything.......the birds, my grand children, the neighbours kids.......everything is a play thing to her. We take her out to the farm for a run, she is too slow now and just plays around with the calves trying to herd them with the mums chasing her down:p

Actually, she is off to the farm this Saturday for two weeks while we cruise, she will be sad as she will mostly be on the chain:(