Would d family with 9 and 12 year old enjoy Princess?

[mrsgthatsme]

Hi! We are currently looking into a cruise for our family including a 12 and 9 year old. We have cruised Disney twice and loved it. There are some great itineraries on Princess that interest us. Do you think Princess would be a good fit for the ages of our children? I wondered if the movies, dining and activities would be aimed at adults rather than children? They are not fans of the kids clubs, so wouldn't likely utilize those. Also, we have only done shorter sailings... do you think there would be enough to keep the kids busy for a 7 day cruise? (They do like just relaxing and arent kids that have to be on the go every moment.) Thanks so much!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

if they are not fans of playing video games at the kid's club all day, then yes - Princess would be boring...

 

We have cruised on Princess 3 times with our kid (he was on Princess at 5, 6 and 7 years of age). He doesn't do kid's club at all, but he is not a hyper kid either. The only entertainment on sea days was soaking in a hot tub. The pools are too cold to enjoy in either April or November when we cruise. There is nothing else... Well, there was a kid's party at the main plaza once which we enjoyed, but it was more for 4-8 yo kids rather than 9-12 yo... So, having DS's tablet with games and movies/cartoons is great. Now, Regal and Royal Princess have a wonderful free on demand TV with movies and cartoons - that's a huge plus.

 

 So, we tried Norwegian Getaway and will be back on RCI in less than two months. Their ships definitely have fun stuff  - rock climbing, ice skating, trampoline, spider net, ropes course, flow rider... DS was so busy doing fun stuff with us that he didn't use the hot tub even once and we didn't even turn the TV on.

 

We'll be back on Regal Princess in November for better food, but I am now looking at other cruise lines for 2020. :) With more fun stuff to do.

[riffatsea]

Hi,

I just came back from a 15 day Panama Canal cruise where there were very few families with children on board. I had several conversations with one young mother who had her 2 boys on board the same age as yours. They had a fine time! They swam in the pools, played basketball  and ping pong and enjoyed the day trips at the ports.

There were movies of all sorts both outdoors under the stars and on the tv in the cabin.

There were also some games and contests organized by the entertainment staff.

As you can see from the post above , it really depends on the child and what they enjoy!

It will not be Disney but it still can be quite a lot of fun!

Edited January 20, 2019 by riffatsea

[cheeseclan]

14 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

Hi,

I just came back from a 15 day Panama Canal cruise where there were very few families with children on board. I had several conversations with one young mother who had her 2 boys on board the same age as yours. They had a fine time! They swam in the pools, played basketball  and ping pong and enjoyed the day trips at the ports.

There were movies of all sorts both outdoors under the stars and on the tv in the cabin.

There were also some games and contests organized by the entertainment staff.

As you can see from the post above , it really depends on the child and what they enjoy!

It will not be Disney but it still can be quite a lot of fun!

 

I agree.  Our DS has been on over 30 Princess Cruises since he was 3 , he is now almost 21.   He did do the kids club when he was younger but only when they did the group dinners, crafts  etc since video games  was not his thing.

He loved the pool, MUTS and some of the fun lectures by the officers from the bridge.  There were also some great speakers from places we were headed.  We also did shore excursions with him which he chose!

 

We did 7 or 10 day cruises and he loved it.  His teachers would have him do a daily journal to share with his class when he returned home.

 

Give Princess a try!

 

[ssbeagle]

Princess has some fun things for kids to do on board.  They don't have to do everything in the kids' program but they will have a good time anyway.  My grandsons always enjoyed a cruise and my granddaughters always have things to do on a cruise.  Unless you have a lot of sea days there will be tours and things to do in the ports.  Princess has great kids' programs during the summer and spring break season when they get a lot of kids on board.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Princess is geared more toward adults, but their Kids’ programs are awesome! If they’re not interested in those, though, the ship doesn’t have the bells and whistles kids go for like some other lines have. 

[Tak8]

My son enjoyed the kids clubs.  They had a variety of activities.  You mentioned your kids weren't fans of the club, but my son always found a friend or two to hand out with even without the kids club.  I think you all would enjoy Princess and probably be able to cruise more.  I remember the one Disney cruise we did, which we loved, but the price was at least one and a half times the price of a Princess cruise.  

[atobols]

We have 2 boys, they're 10 and 12.  We just did our first Princess cruise a couple weeks ago.  Our younger son is super social and loves kids club and video games.  Our 12 year old is more of a loner.  He spent most of the cruise in the room, swimming, watching movies, and he did a few crafts.  We made sure to go on a cruise where there would be a lot of kids.  It was over winter break and there ended up being over something like 450 kids on the ship.  Everyone in our family loved it.  I will say that the clientele was OLD.  There were definitely some crabby old people on the ship, and that's a direct quote from my mother who is 65.  There were walkers and mobility scooters all over the place.  It's definitely not as much fun as other cruise lines, but there are other things which make up for that.

[mediator]

I think of Princess like cruising as my son says "back in the day".  There was a ship, a pool and kids programs on select sailings.  We were hooked.  He was 2 and is now 35 and loved cruising.   With that said, the grandkids are 10 and 15 now and started cruising at 2 also, however they like the ships with the slides, water park,  merry go round etc.. So we take them on RCL.  Plus with the older clientele like us on Princess we don't want to have to worry about the kids impacting on the people negatively and vice versa.  

[Cruise Raider]

On 1/20/2019 at 8:15 AM, mrsgthatsme said:

Hi! We are currently looking into a cruise for our family including a 12 and 9 year old. We have cruised Disney twice and loved it. There are some great itineraries on Princess that interest us. Do you think Princess would be a good fit for the ages of our children? I wondered if the movies, dining and activities would be aimed at adults rather than children? They are not fans of the kids clubs, so wouldn't likely utilize those. Also, we have only done shorter sailings... do you think there would be enough to keep the kids busy for a 7 day cruise? (They do like just relaxing and arent kids that have to be on the go every moment.) Thanks so much!

 

It really depends on the itinerary and time of year.  We've seen sailings that were packed with kids and then some where there were only a handful of children onboard.  Royal Caribbean is always my suggestion when somebody asks about a family friendly cruiseline, though.  There are a lot more activities set up for that age group than you will find on Princess.  I've heard a lot of great things about Disney but their itineraries are limited and their prices are high.  

As for Princess, if they love to play on their phones, then I would say no, this isn't the line for them.  The internet (non-medallion) is spotty at best.  As for the movies up top, many are geared towards kids but they've cut way back on the daytime movies at sea ... not sure why ... but now only show the same old concerts over and over and over.  During football season, they do show the NFL games on MUTS.  Some of the tv shows in your stateroom will be suited for kids but they are old shows that repeat themselves.  They do show some age appropriate in room movies on their family channel, though.  

If the kid's club is out of their comfort level,  they do have all sorts of events and games set up in the Piazza that the kids would enjoy ... prizes may not thrill them (champagne, coasters, Princess bags, etc).  Egg drop competition,  corn hole bean bag toss, ring around the champagne bottle challenge, etc.  There is always shuffle board and some ships (if not most) have a mini golf course, basketball hoop, Ping Pong.  The also have entertainment for the kids in the Piazza ... balloon animals, jugglers, mimes, etc ... some of the entertainment at night can get a little risque, but the early show is usually family friendly.  

Depending on the itinerary and cruise director, they have pool games set up that the kids might enjoy.   There are usually one or two adult pools set up on each ship, though ... just make note of which ones those are.  The kids are probably welcome there sitting in the loungers, they won't say anything unless they are disturbing other guests.  

Other events that they may not enjoy so much are galley tours, cooking demonstrations, martini making competitions (to watch, not to join in),  etc.  

They would probably enjoy the pizza and hot dog / hamburger grill out by the pool.  There is an ice cream bar (soft serve) they might like as well.  

 

Whatever you choose, have a great family cruise!!  

 

[mrsgthatsme]

On 1/20/2019 at 10:55 AM, cheeseclan said:

 

I agree.  Our DS has been on over 30 Princess Cruises since he was 3 , he is now almost 21.   He did do the kids club when he was younger but only when they did the group dinners, crafts  etc since video games  was not his thing.

He loved the pool, MUTS and some of the fun lectures by the officers from the bridge.  There were also some great speakers from places we were headed.  We also did shore excursions with him which he chose!

 

We did 7 or 10 day cruises and he loved it.  His teachers would have him do a daily journal to share with his class when he returned home.

 

Give Princess a try!

 

Thanks to all for the great comments. It gives me some idea of the options for the kids should we choose to try Princess. Does anyone know if there is a list of the activities/classes offered for kids online? I checked past Patters and only saw adult options. I know on DCL there is a list of what activities are happening in the clubs and around the ship and their times. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. 

[OR_Cowboy_1952]

I agree with many of the comments here about life on board ship, but not much has been said about excursions.  Alaska cruises are great cruises for older kids and teens.  There are so many adventure type excursions that almost any kid would love, sled dogs, glaciers, fishing, rafting, wildlife, zip lines, etc.  And Princess has Discovery at Sea, so even on a sea day their are things to do.  Princess has the best ports and excursions in Alaska.

 

Look at the available excursions that would appeal to your kids, and cruises that have a lot of port days as opposed to sea days.  

[Linsifer]

On 1/20/2019 at 8:15 AM, mrsgthatsme said:

In 2002 my then 9.5 year old daughter loved the kids program on the Star Princess.  There were 300+ kids on board and she had a blast.  Met a girl her age and they hung out at the kids club and outside of it, as well.  In 2003 we went again, this time on the Sun Princess and she also enjoyed her time in the kids program.  Met a few kids and they hung out at the pool when they weren’t at the kids club.  In 2007 my nephews enjoyed the kids program on the Golden Princess.  But then I realize this was a long time ago before all the electronic devices and whatnot.  Maybe kids were easier to amuse back then. 

 

 

 

Hi! We are currently looking into a cruise for our family including a 12 and 9 year old. We have cruised Disney twice and loved it. There are some great itineraries on Princess that interest us. Do you think Princess would be a good fit for the ages of our children? I wondered if the movies, dining and activities would be aimed at adults rather than children? They are not fans of the kids clubs, so wouldn't likely utilize those. Also, we have only done shorter sailings... do you think there would be enough to keep the kids busy for a 7 day cruise? (They do like just relaxing and arent kids that have to be on the go every moment.) Thanks so much!

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Linsifer