First time with 19yo and 21yo children

[wrg]

Hi all,

We are wanting to take our young adult children on a family vacation. This will be their first time cruising. Will we all enjoy Princess? 

[sammyjoanne]

I have two girls 17 and 21. When it comes to family holidays, for us, we like things like entertainment game shows, quizzes, bingo, mini golf and the pool. We have not been together on one yet, but we plan to. On the ship it will be ideal for us all, but sightseeing I think will be more tricky with the youngest not so bothered about the history side of things so we would have to have a good think about the trips side of things, or if they plan to do their own thing.,

[sammyjoanne]

Sorry also meant to add we have been on the Ruby princess last year, and loved what they had to offer.

[JimmyVWine]

13 minutes ago, sammyjoanne said:

When it comes to family holidays, for us, we like things like entertainment game shows, quizzes, bingo, mini golf and the pool.

Same here.  On of the best things about cruising as a family is that it causes people to reconnect.  Put down the devices, and enjoy some good old-fashioned together time.  When my daughter was in her mid to late teens, she enjoyed meeting others in that age group and hanging out with her new posse while on bard, and that was great.  But as she aged out of that, we found that cruising caused a sense of togetherness that we missed once she went away to college, then to grad school, and now lives in another country altogether.  While this really says nothing about Princess specifically, we find the atmosphere on Princess to be perfect for our needs, without too many distractions.  Trivia, Majority Rules, Drinks in Crooners, Dinners together every night. Pretty much perfect for us.   

[JGmf]

Eager to hear what people chime-in.

 

I'm bringing my own 19 year old on our first Princess cruise in June, after years of her coming along with us sailing on NCL (which she loved). 

 

At this point, she has aged-out of the teen groups -- which were great ways to initially meet new friends.

 

I'm hoping Princess has some sort of casual meet-ups for people her age listed on the daily sheet.

 

(That's a wonderful thing you are doing for your own kids. Our kids are lucky to be enjoying such nice vacations!)

[negn]

Princess seems a bit sedate.   This is a 10 day cruise so that may account for older demographics.  Entertainment is lacking also.  For DH and myself it’s a good fit.   Younger people may prefer NCL.   That’s the line we take our granddaughter on

[nwnittany]

Here's some of my comments from a similar inquiry:

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My family (DW and two sons - 20 and 21) have done Alaska and Caribbean in the last year(ish).   We are lucky that they don't mind hanging with Mom and Dad, but still spent some time on their own. 

 

From what I could tell, the biggest challenge for the kids is meeting the other kids.  Once they have met some others, there are lots of things they can do together (shows, pool/hot tub, trivia/games, karaoke, movies, sports, dancing, and the ever-popular 'teenagers walking around in a group to see and bee seen'.

 

My youngest is fairly athletic and met alot of kids of similar age on the sport court, ping pong, and walking track.  From what I could tell, this area was conducive to both shy and extroverted kids.  The friends he met there would often seek each other out when the stumbled across each other later on the ship.

 

Another place they met friends was on the excursions (smaller groups), which then carried over to the ship.  We did mainly active excursions (hiking, snorkeling, etc). 

 

Unfortunately, both seemed to have inherited dance genes from their dad (me) so they were never seen anywhere near the dance floor (resulting in much rejoicing from all...most wanting to avoid an Elaine from Seinfeld moment).  But, I noticed a bunch of young women dancing on the floor and they appeared to have a bonding experience since most everyone else around them dancing was alot older. 

 

I guess the last few places I saw kids meet were the hot tub (they just need to find a way to bust into the group) and the karaoke and trivia events (although it was tough to tell if they actually met at these or if they met up there once they were comfortable). 

 

Interestingly, I didn't see anyone really meet anyone at the gym...everyone kind of kept to themselves. 

 

Princess won't be full-time party...from what I've read/watched, it's more chill.  I think it really depends on the kids and what they are looking for.

[snoozecrooze]

2 hours ago, wrg said:

We are wanting to take our young adult children on a family vacation. This will be their first time cruising. Will we all enjoy Princess? 

The biggest question to ask yourself is how sedate are they? I've met other young adults who have been eager to be by themselves, enjoy their own company, carve out their own plans, and spend time with their family. There was no desire to really make friends of similar age groups. There was also the polar opposite -- very social and eager to form bonds.

 

I think there is actually a good niche for either end of the spectrum. Princess is a great cruise line if you do not want to do anything and just want to chill, spend time relaxing with the family, do some trivia, play fun games with the parents, etc. etc. Or, if they're very eager to get to know people, I'd actually recommend attending everything organized by the cruise staff. The cruise director's staff are young and energetic and often enjoy the company of the peers from their own age groups who come on Princess. Just my two cents.

 

However, Royal Caribbean/Norwegian/Carnival/MSC are frankly much easier to recommend if you know your young adults are looking to party and/or looking to be very active (i.e. ziplining, car racing, water slides, etc.)

[SCX22]

I'm in my 30s and have been cruising with Princes since I was a kid.  In my teens and 20s, I always found it hard to meet people I jived with because I was always outnumbered by guests who were double/triple my age.  There's usually young adults on Princess cruises, but that doesn't mean that all the personalities will get along.  My biggest gripe about Princess ships is that they don't have many venues where young people who age out of the kid's program can just hang out, except the pool, library, and buffet.  Most of the venues are dining and bars.  Depending on the drinking age of your cruise, the bars are just awkward for the 18 to almost 21 year old to hang out because they can't drink.  The Vista Lounge is usually reserved for events throughout the day.  There are activities like the Scavenger Hunt which can be fun, but most participants are old.  I was on a Caribbean cruise on the Regal this past January and there was a Lido Deck pool party that started at 10:30 p.m., but only 5 (younger) people, the CD, and ACDs attended it.  Princess ships are pretty quiet after 11:00 p.m.

 

Hate to say it, but the most of the activities Princess offers (Knitters and Natters, enrichment talks, , galley demos, etc.) are what you find in a nursing home or are way out of reach for young folks (Art Auction, Medispa consults).

 

Whether or not your kids will like it will depend on their personalities and how they make the best of the cruise.  I like Princess and have found always found a way to enjoy and make the best of my cruises with Princess throughout the years. 

 

Maybe pick a port intensive itinerary, so there's less time to spend on the ship.