Kimbo2112 Posted July 26 #1 Share Posted July 26 I have been on a few cruises with P&O Pacific Adventure and just love the crew, they are always so happy and relaxed and the kids club crew are fantastic with this kids, they really make for a great holiday! Recently we went on Disney and Royal Caribbean out of Sydney and felt the opposite to be true, both crews seemed stressed, overworked and the kids club crew on Ovation barely made eye contact with the kids.. it felt very much like they were herding cattle and the crew that were attentive were vying for tips due to them being an American ship. Because of this I am wary of booking another cruise line. I was wondering if anyone could share their experience with Princess cruises? I’m looking at booking a 14 night cruise with Crown Princess in January but wanted to hear how people have found their crew? Are they happy/content to be there and how did people find Discovery Kids Club for ages 3-7? I was hoping as they are both run by Carnival which also own P&O that they may be similar? Thank you! Kim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jean C Posted July 26 #2 Share Posted July 26 Hi, 5 of my grandkids went to the 8-12 year olds kids club on Princess last year. The older ones to an extent picked and chose what activities they wanted to do and loved it all. The oldest boy was moved up to the next age bracket because, in his words, he was thrashing all the young kids at all the games (he was older and head and shoulders above the others there). The staff were flexible with the age brackets, our youngest at 7 years was able to join her sister, two cousins and her brother (while he was there) in the 8-12 grouping. I think your lot will have a ball, my lot still talk about how good the cruise was! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Mycruiseobsession Posted July 26 #3 Share Posted July 26 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Kimbo2112 said: I have been on a few cruises with P&O Pacific Adventure and just love the crew, they are always so happy and relaxed and the kids club crew are fantastic with this kids, they really make for a great holiday! Recently we went on Disney and Royal Caribbean out of Sydney and felt the opposite to be true, both crews seemed stressed, overworked and the kids club crew on Ovation barely made eye contact with the kids.. it felt very much like they were herding cattle and the crew that were attentive were vying for tips due to them being an American ship. Because of this I am wary of booking another cruise line. I was wondering if anyone could share their experience with Princess cruises? I’m looking at booking a 14 night cruise with Crown Princess in January but wanted to hear how people have found their crew? Are they happy/content to be there and how did people find Discovery Kids Club for ages 3-7? I was hoping as they are both run by Carnival which also own P&O that they may be similar? Thank you! Kim We have only travelled on P&O and Princess. In my experience the staff have always been great towards the kids. P&O are in my opinion the best for kids in terms of the right balance of activities, supervision and sensory experiences. In saying that, Princess is still quite good, a few less activities depending on the ship and public area supervision of the older kids (the ones that can sign them selves out) is not as good. Staff wise, energy and friendliness both great! Edited July 26 by Mycruiseobsession Typos 😝 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruise_critical Posted July 26 #4 Share Posted July 26 (edited) I've been on numerous Ovation & Quantum RCCL cruise with my 2 boys from when they were both in primary school to young teens that they are now. 7 months ago, we went on a 14 night Princess cruise (on Royal Princess which is near identical to Majestic) for the first time. Both my kids raved on how much better the kids club in Princess is compared to RCCL ones. Better facilities and supervised / non-supervised activities So, we've booked another Princess cruise his summer holidays as they really enjoyed it. (wife & I did also!) Not exactly the same as the age group that you are asking about, but seeing the kids club rooms, I think the young ones will also have a ball! Check out this vid for how the area looks inside them. https://youtu.be/FdUHuY6QjCk?t=1301 Edited July 26 by cruise_critical 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted July 26 #5 Share Posted July 26 (edited) Very similar level of amenity, staff & activities between P&O and Princess. Our daughter has now left the nest, but loved her kids club days on Princess. Crown Princess will be based in Austalia fulltime from October, so I expect they will develop a similar Aussie flavour on the ship that your kids would have experienced on P&O. In AU/NZ, Princess is also an inclusive fare, so the tipping culture isn't present. If they like burgers, pizza, soft-serve, these ate also included for them, not charged like P&O. Go for it. Edited July 26 by arxcards 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jean C Posted July 26 #6 Share Posted July 26 2 minutes ago, arxcards said: If they like burgers, pizza, soft-serve, these ate also included for them, not charged like P&O. Freudian slip, hehehe 😋 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare arxcards Posted July 26 #7 Share Posted July 26 1 minute ago, Jean C said: Freudian slip, hehehe 😋 I am on my phone, so likely a fat finger error followed by an android auto correct. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted July 26 #8 Share Posted July 26 Welcome to Cruise Critic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted July 26 #9 Share Posted July 26 (edited) We cruise often on Princess and on P&O. The staff on both are excellent and I couldn't 'pick' between them but I prefer Princess mainly because of the inclusions and benefits from loyalty level. On P&O and also on Princess, the staff aren't angling for tips because they aren't expected. In January I went with my daughter's family on the Coral Princess, 14 days to NZ. Her daughters were 4, 8 and 9 at the time. They spent a lot of time in the Kids' Club and absolutely loved it. The staff were FANTASTIC. Every day they came 'home' with projects they had made and they also received some gifts, ending with a lovely soft toy for each child. We our meals in the Main Dining Room (except for port day lunches when they are closed). After the first night, we had a table allocated. When we went there, the waiter already had an activity sheet and coloured pencils out for each child, as well as their favourite drink waiting. The Head Waiters were lovely and made a fuss of the children, making them little animals out of the serviettes etc. If you like your cruise on P&O, you will love Princess. Edited July 26 by Aus Traveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimbo2112 Posted July 26 Author #10 Share Posted July 26 Thank you everyone for your feedback, that is soo helpful!! You have put my mind at ease and I have now booked the Crown Princess 14 day cruise on 11th of January to NZ from Sydney. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dididi Posted July 28 #11 Share Posted July 28 OP, Great decision. The kids' clubs on Princess are fantastic, according to my DD who has "moved" up from one club to the next during the past decade. Lots of activities for the 3-7 crowd -- make room in your luggage for all of the craft projects. Very engaged, caring staff at the clubs, whether on Princess ships in the Caribbean or Europe. We went on a P&O cruise last year and will be on the Encounter in two weeks. DD looks forward to meeting other teenagers at the club, where they'll hang on and off during the cruise. DD preferred the Princess and P&O clubs to the one on Royal Caribbean to which she went when she was eight. Waiters at the main dining rooms on Princess go out of the ways to please kids. If they want extra cheese, they'll get extra cheese. Fettuccine used to be on Princess's always-available dinner menu. That's no longer the case but just talking to the maitre d' and ordering it for DD the night before worked every time. And if you want the volcano banana split desert from the kid's menu, you can order it for you, you don't have to be a kid. As other posters mentioned, pizza by the slice on the Lido deck, as well as ice cream (soft served usually but once on the Star Princess, the machine broke so there was premium scooped ice cream available in substitution), burgers, tacos, fries and other grilled snacks, are included in the Princess fare. Princess doesn't have P&O's fun water slides, but everything else available to children is comparable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted July 28 #12 Share Posted July 28 5 hours ago, Dididi said: Waiters at the main dining rooms on Princess go out of the ways to please kids. If they want extra cheese, they'll get extra cheese. Fettuccine used to be on Princess's always-available dinner menu. That's no longer the case but just talking to the maitre d' and ordering it for DD the night before worked every time. And if you want the volcano banana split desert from the kid's menu, you can order it for you, you don't have to be a kid. I had heard about the volcano dessert so I suggested my grand-daughters order one. It was so big it literally stopped them in their tracks. It was the one dessert none of them could finish. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windsor26 Posted July 28 #13 Share Posted July 28 On 7/26/2024 at 2:36 PM, Kimbo2112 said: Thank you everyone for your feedback, that is soo helpful!! You have put my mind at ease and I have now booked the Crown Princess 14 day cruise on 11th of January to NZ from Sydney. See you on board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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