Think tweens (11 and 13 y.o.) would have a great time on Sun Princess?

[w@ntonsoup]

I cruised a lot as a kid, all lines but mostly Carnival and RC of course, and want my kids to have a great time.  Sun Princess is on the table for us and my only real hesitation is that they don't have water slides and it's a more mature less-party cruise line.  

 

I know it's a brand new ship so people can't say for certain what the experience will be, but would you expect a fall break (October) cruise on the Sun Princess to give our tweens a really super fun vacation?  

 

Thanks!

[Thrak]

Depends a lot on your kids. Children, like all people, vary greatly.

[memoak]

Who knows when it will even sail. I would wait for reviews to see what the experiences are. Personally I do not like the class concept that they have on the new ships

[Cruise Raider]

44 minutes ago, w@ntonsoup said:

I cruised a lot as a kid, all lines but mostly Carnival and RC of course, and want my kids to have a great time.  Sun Princess is on the table for us and my only real hesitation is that they don't have water slides and it's a more mature less-party cruise line.  

 

I know it's a brand new ship so people can't say for certain what the experience will be, but would you expect a fall break (October) cruise on the Sun Princess to give our tweens a really super fun vacation?  

 

Thanks!

It will really depend on the itinerary and how long it is.  I’ve not seen many children cruising in October.  I’ve not even heard of a fall break as far as the school year goes.  
It looks like it will be a fabulous ship for all ages but summertime would be a better time if they are looking to enjoy soe. activities with kids their own age.  

[Cruise Raider]

26 minutes ago, memoak said:

Who knows when it will even sail. I would wait for reviews to see what the experiences are. Personally I do not like the class concept that they have on the new ships

 By October?  

[skynight]

Warm weather? There is a youth water park, activity area on the upper deck. Take a look.

[zyx2008]

My kids loved their cruise on the Ruby Princess at that age.  We had a lot of sea days and they became good friends with the kids onboard in the teen/tween club.  They also loved the regular ship activities - my daughter went to every ballroom dance class during the cruise and she loved it so much that she now takes a ballroom dance class each week at home.  My son loved all the trivia challenges and the random fun events (i.e., he was chosen to be a judge for the egg drop contest).  We didn't spend much time at the pool because we were in Alaska.  We're going on the Sun Princess this summer and they can't wait.

[Amy G]

My daughter (now 12) has loved meeting friends on the ship.  They either stay in the kids club, or hang out at the pool together, or even have lunch at the buffet.  We too will be on the Sun this summer, and we are going with a family with 2 kids her age.  I imagine they will have fun with their "freedom" of doing things on their own (we track her constantly when she is not in the kids club!).  

[Wishing on a star]

The new Sun Princess will have what they call Park 19...   So, it will not be completely devoid of any features that might be good for kids and tweens.

 

And, how excited would they be about what you might plan for days in Port.

There might be excursions and things you can do on-your-own that they will be excited about and find memorable.

 

It really and truly does depend on the kid!!!!

We took my son on Princess...  (older than your young teens).  And, for him, I will say that he didn't have the greatest time.  Some boredom factor...  And, I will say that 'that is 'Him''.

He did love it on one trip when we rented a golf-cart and spent the day touring around Isla Mujeres.

 

Another factor is if they might be in the same kid/teen programming.

That could make a difference.

I am thinking that they would have to be in different programming.  Isn't the oldest age group 13-17 ???

That would be easy to double check .

 

The ship will be in Europe until Oct.  And, that can be a different cruise experience than Caribbean

So, take that in consideration if you get more feedback over the Summer.

 

[elaine5]

I'd say Sun is the best bet if you want Princess, with Sun adding more fun/active things. I read this was Princess trying to attract families/younger cruisers with Sun's design. My kids also really enjoyed the RCCL Navigator/Freedom class ships. Just the right size with lots of "fun" things. There are likely to be more kids their age on RCCL in October. But at 11/13, they likely are happy to explore the ship together-that's what they did as tweens/teens. Mine also enjoyed the Princess MUTS (poolside movies) at night (when age appropriate) if the stage entertainment didn't appeal to them. If you're doing Princess 3/4 in cabin for free, it's a great deal. I'd think it'd have enough to keep them busy and happy for the week on the Sun. IMHO, food better on P than RCCL in MDR.

Edited January 27 by elaine5

[nasa1974]

21 hours ago, w@ntonsoup said:

I cruised a lot as a kid, all lines but mostly Carnival and RC of course, and want my kids to have a great time.  Sun Princess is on the table for us and my only real hesitation is that they don't have water slides and it's a more mature less-party cruise line.  

 

I know it's a brand new ship so people can't say for certain what the experience will be, but would you expect a fall break (October) cruise on the Sun Princess to give our tweens a really super fun vacation?  

 

Thanks!

Check out Camp Discovery.

Family Cruises - Family Friendly Cruises for Kids - Princess Cruises

 

My daughter's family will be on the Caribbean Princess in April and the grandkids can't wait and are excited. 

[cjpj]

22 hours ago, w@ntonsoup said:

I cruised a lot as a kid, all lines but mostly Carnival and RC of course, and want my kids to have a great time.  Sun Princess is on the table for us and my only real hesitation is that they don't have water slides and it's a more mature less-party cruise line.  

 

I know it's a brand new ship so people can't say for certain what the experience will be, but would you expect a fall break (October) cruise on the Sun Princess to give our tweens a really super fun vacation?  

 

Thanks!

YES!

[Wishing on a star]

We are booked for SUN Princess for October.

About one comment above...

And, I would not say that there will not be as many kids onboard.

FALL BREAK is huge...  Brand new Princess Ship, also huge.

Do not be surprised or underestimate.  There will be enough  others in that age group to befriend this posters kids.

While it is my preference that the ship not be 'overrun' with kids, We are booked for this cruise, as we wanted the shorter cruise and are waiting for the SUN Princess to be here in the U.S.

 

[TN-Mountains]

I haven't looked into the Sun Princess, but I took my kids (13, 12 & 10) on Discovery Princess last month.  It was their first cruise and it was a short one (4-days) with one sea day.  They all had fun, but it was different levels of fun.  My 12-year-old loved the kids club and my 10-year-old hated it.  My 13-year-old refused to go to the teen club by himself.  It kind of sucked that he couldn't join his siblings in the younger club.  My 10-year-old would have enjoyed it had her oldest brother been there too.  That said, they still had fun doing other things outside the clubs.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

my kid is about to turn 13, and his favorite line by far is Princess. However, he doesn't care for the company of other kids, doesn't do kid's club, and doesn't even want to do everything RCI has to offer.

 

[KKB]

On 1/26/2024 at 12:24 PM, w@ntonsoup said:

I cruised a lot as a kid, all lines but mostly Carnival and RC of course, and want my kids to have a great time.  Sun Princess is on the table for us and my only real hesitation is that they don't have water slides and it's a more mature less-party cruise line.  

 

I know it's a brand new ship so people can't say for certain what the experience will be, but would you expect a fall break (October) cruise on the Sun Princess to give our tweens a really super fun vacation?  

 

Thanks!

Our children began cruising on DCL at the ages of 5-7-10.

They have since also sailed Celebrity, Princess & RCCL.

They are now 28-25-23.

This last year I asked each of them which cruise was their fav & each one (in separate conversations) said "All of them!"

They LOVE cruising!

The Princess cruise was to the S. Caribbean over NYE 11 years ago, so they were 17-14-12.

Now, our kids have gone to kids club/teen club--some sailings they loved it, other times not so much.

They do enjoy new destinations, pool time, nice dinners together, even trivia & game shows. 

More likely than not, you kiddos will have a great time no matter what line you sail.

 

[JillK]

Hi. Weighing in on this as I literally just booked a 14 night on the Sun for next March with hubby and our sons who will be 13 and 15 at time of sailing.

 

I will add the caveat that we have cruised on various lines but our preference is NCL. Unfortunately NCL didn't have a cruise more than 7 days on a ship that offered the amenities we wanted to keep our kids happy in the time frame we were wanting to cruise so we opted for this ship.

 

We cruised the Norwegian Getaway, Carnival Panorama and Ruby Princess with our sons (as well as our older daughters) in 2021. I give this info as background to provide context. 

 

Frankly the boys were pretty bored on the Ruby. They didn't care for the kids club (they were in that age range at the time) so only went once and the only thing they liked was swimming in the family pool and watching the occasional MUTS. 

 

From the renderings, it looks to me like the Sun is adopting several family friendly activities top deck that we REALLY enjoyed on the Panorama. I think that although the Sun may not have water slides there will be enough to capture their interest (I certainly hope so now that I've committed to 14 nights!) Between the three cruises that year, everyone's favourite was the Panorama.

 

When I told my youngest (currently 12) I was going to book Princess he actually groaned and said - oh no not the boring ship. I told him it was their newest and they had some of the cool stuff he liked on the Panorama and then he got really excited. 

 

So - will your pre-teens like the Sun? Probably - Princess has done a lot to appeal to families with this ship but yet will still have that nice Princess touch and level of service the brand is known for.

 

I'm really excited to try Princess' newest ship at a much more favourable price point than I can book NCL's Prima class (their newest ships). 

 

If you can afford to tie up the deposit amount, you can always book and re-evaluate once the ship sails and the reviews start rolling in. I suspect that once it sails the price point might creep up so if you've got a good price like I found, no harm in locking it in.

 

Hope this helps and whatever you book - happy cruising!

Edited January 30 by JillK

[AbbyGirl]

Our son will be 11 this summer when we cruise on the Sun and is soooo excited. He loves the look of the new ship and Park 19. He also enjoys the kids area (most recently on Discovery in Alaska). While he didn't get to enjoy the pool much in Alaska, he really enjoys the pools and MUTS on the other Princess ships he has been on but my kid can make friends with a wall. 🙂  We have also booked her again in Feb 2025. If he hates it in June, I'll cancel or reschedule.

 

Anyone with kids on the June 22nd cruise for Barca to Rome?

[levonfan]

We will be on the June 1 cruise. Our 11 year old daughter is going. This will be our first time on Princess so looking forward to what they might have for kids. 

[aussiecruiser275]

My two girls (12 and 13 when they cruise)  and DW will be on her 28DEC24 for 21 days but they love Princess cruises (they hate RC and P&O Aus, carnival OK). this will be their 17th cruise and they cant wait for the Sun to sail and they seem to be enthralled with Park 19 for what has  been said so far.