Tell me about Regal Princess (especially with kids :)

[mrsgthatsme]

We sailed on the Emerald Princess years ago without kids. We are now considering a trip on the Regal Princess with our 9 and 12 year olds. How would you compare these two ships? Are there adequate pools for kids on the Regal? Is there a list somewhere of the activities that the ship offers each day for kids? Trying do decide if we should go for it (the price is right! :) or try Royal Caribbean, which I have heard is Kid Friendly. However, I want to avoid the Party Boat feel, and am guessing Princess would be a "nicer" experience as long as the kids can find enough to do. :) Thanks!

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, mrsgthatsme said:

We sailed on the Emerald Princess years ago without kids. We are now considering a trip on the Regal Princess with our 9 and 12 year olds. How would you compare these two ships? Are there adequate pools for kids on the Regal? Is there a list somewhere of the activities that the ship offers each day for kids? Trying do decide if we should go for it (the price is right! 🙂 or try Royal Caribbean, which I have heard is Kid Friendly. However, I want to avoid the Party Boat feel, and am guessing Princess would be a "nicer" experience as long as the kids can find enough to do. 🙂 Thanks!

Where are you sailing to?

Love the Regal. Definitely not a party boat! 

Great family atmosphere.

[mrsgthatsme]

It would be a 7 day to Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Maarten. The length of the cruse is what makes me worry that there wouldn't be enough to keep the kids busy since they are not fans of kids clubs... They do love nature, though, so wondering if there might be some fun, brief activities in the clubs that they would enjoy since they are based on "Discovery."

Edited January 25, 2019 by mrsgthatsme

[Gprotts]

We are doing this same cruise with a almost 12 year old and a two year old...the end of March.

[voljeep]

the internet on the Regal should be excellent on that itinerary...plus you 'should' have phone service in St. Thomas depending on your carrier

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

29 minutes ago, mrsgthatsme said:

It would be a 7 day to Princess Cays, St. Thomas, St. Maarten. The length of the cruse is what makes me worry that there wouldn't be enough to keep the kids busy since they are not fans of kids clubs... They do love nature, though, so wondering if there might be some fun, brief activities in the clubs that they would enjoy since they are based on "Discovery."

we are doing this cruise with our soon-to-be 8 yo this Thanksgiving. We've done it with him on Regal twice already.

He doesn't do kid's club, so he tags along to everything. Regal Princess definitely doesn't have much to do for FAMILIES with kids. Ours just soaks in hot tubs on sea days and enjoys a terrific free on demand programming with movies. And his tablet with games and movies. Other than that, he enjoys port days the most.

 

Our friends' kids are the same age as yours, and they love Princess kid's club because at that age the kid's club allows them to play video games from 8 am till 10 pm. Literally.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[mrsgthatsme]

1 minute ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we are doing this cruise with our soon-to-be 8 yo this Thanksgiving. We've done it with him on Regal twice already.

He doesn't do kid's club, so he tags along to everything. Regal Princess definitely doesn't have much to do for FAMILIES with kids. Ours just soaks in hot tubs on sea days and enjoys a terrific free on demand programming with movies. And his tablet with games and movies. Other than that, he enjoys port days the most.

Thank you for the comments... what types of activities do you enjoy doing with your son at those ports? Are the pools busy or is he able to use them as he wishes. Are there any shows that he enjoys?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we do beach time. :) Nice and simple, and that's what all of us want. Especially in St Thomas - stick to the tourist area at Magen's Bay. 

Princess Caye is definitely a beach destination - it's a private island. A simple buffet is included. Nice snorkeling right off the beach - lots of fish and crabs. I'd highly recommend water shoes for the entire family - very sharp rocks under the sand....

St Maarten is also a very beach oriented port.

 

We found the pools to be icy cold in April and November, so my kid doesn't enjoy using them. He loves hot tubs, though. Pools never looked too crowded, and there are usually quite a few kids playing in the pool area (we usually go during school breaks, which means more kids onboard). Other kids enjoy the sports court (basketball, etc.).

 

Our kid enjoys all the shows which include music, dancing or magic, but he was bored during the cooking show and galley tour. So, a trusty tablet comes out during activities like that, or happy hour, etc.

 

I don't know about your 9 yo, but some 12 yo kids can roam the ship freely and usually make friends of the same age and roam together. Of course, that's out of the question for my now 7 yo kiddo. Plus, he is not very social with kids he doesn't know.

 

P.S. So now that DS did 3 Princess cruises, we have given Norwegian a try (he enjoyed it very much), and we'll be on the Allure of the Seas for spring break. We can't wait! His very first cruise was on the Independence of the Seas, and he was hooked.

Edited January 25, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

 

didn't you just ask very similar questions a couple of days ago?

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[mrsgthatsme]

7 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

 

didn't you just ask very similar questions a couple of days ago?

 

Yep, I was newly feeling things out regarding Princess as a line at that point and now I have an actual itinerary and ship picked out, so looking for more specific info on those factors before making our final decision.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

oh, something else you should know about Regal/Royal Princess - the deluxe balcony cabins have a sleeper sofa and are a little bigger than standard balcony rooms. Kind of comes in handy when you have 2 older kids with you.

 

While our kid loves sleeping on the pullman bed, I found Regal beds to be very uncomfortable in general. To my huge surprise, the sleeper sofa was more comfortable than a regular bed. 

 

We usually find the obstructed deluxe balconies on deck 8 (Emerald) to be slightly cheaper than regular balconies and deluxe balconies on other decks. But you gotta catch a sale...

[Cafedumonde]

We are doing this ship and itinerary in nov with 3 kids.  1st time on princess for us too.